The sunrays were rushing, barging into the room as Zhang Yixing immediately opened up the curtains after he had taken a warm bath on that freezing morning. The fogs were invisible and there are a few thin layers or lines of clouds like a shredded orange red coloured cotton candy. He squinted as Vltava river was reflecting too much of sunlight. The sunlight was fierce, but the weather was such a titanic refrigerator. Yixing inhaled deeply, as if he could breathe in the entire warmth of the sun as a shield against the frigid sensation.

As he turned around and sat on the bed facing towards his roommate, he has been aware that the sunrays hit the latter on his face, which had made him squinting.

“Time to wake up,” Yixing uttered. He then grabbed a ukulele which sat perfectly on the bedside table, just within his reach. And he plucked the strings; he didn’t have it in mind to wake up the other, but then he need to be alarmed anyway.

So Jongdae did hear the ukulele in his dream. And he woke up, gradually. The first thing that Jongdae always did after he woke up in the morning was to look at his phone, so he automatically stretched his hands up and reached for his iPhone on the bedside table, which was pretty much at the north west of his head. And abruptly the muscles on his face began to stretch like a morning exercise, as he gasped, and grumbled.

“Yixing! Why didn’t you wake me up earlier? Do you know that we have so many things to do today?” Jongdae said, jumping off the bed, rushing immediately into the shower. Yixing chuckled upon seeing him being chaotic but still, he was being calm; plucking out some random notes.

Jongdae went out from the shower like 5 seconds after he went in, so Yixing was quite surprised; imagined that how disgusting Jongdae would be as he had only taken his bath within 5 seconds. Actually he had forgotten to bring along his towel into the bathroom, which made Yixing’s chuckles turned into an earsplitting laughter.

“Relax dude,” Yixing guffawed.

“You relax,” Jongdae rolled his eyes, alarmed by Yixing’s hyper demeanour on that particular morning, indirectly asking him to stop laughing. “Yah, don’t waste time. Put on your clothes and get ready,” he said before he stomped off into the shower again. Yixing stopped laughing but he continued plucking the strings in a wife beater, while he was still being wrapped in a white comforter like a piece of chicken in a Mexican burrito.

5 minutes had passed. Jongdae was out of the shower, freezing cold and shaking, as if he suffered from Parkinson’s disease. Though he was wrapped by a super thick towel, and Yixing still wrapped in the comforter, Jongdae glanced at Yixing and took some clothing from his baggage before putting them on his body. Yixing was still calm.

“Where are they? They’re supposed to be here at this hour, right?” Jongdae gazed up to Yixing while putting on his ripped jeans just after stuffing into a brief within a dash.

“Yeah. But it was only Minseok hyung who came.” Yixing said. He put off his ukulele and started packing it into its case.

“When I was sleeping?”

“Mhmm,” Yixing clarified. “It was like… half an hour ago.”

“Weird. If then everyone should be here right now.”

“Right.”

“Hmm,” Jongdae paused and looked at the floor, taking a while to think. “Okay, I’m gonna call hyung now, then,” he continued, letting himself drop onto the bed, while tapping on his phone. While on the other hand, Yixing was pulling a shirt out from the wardrobe.

“Hyung, wh-” Jongdae was talking on the phone but he took a pause for a while, making Yixing’s eyes forced onto only him.

“What?” Jongdae uttered again and he laughed loudly. And then he put down his phone.

“Waeyo?” Yixing asked, being curious, at the same time chuckled.

“It’s going to take some time,” Jongdae laughed, hoping that the latter could understand his gist. But Yixing cringed his eyebrows as a response. Jongdae continued with a sigh, “Minseok hyung is now in a sticky situation. Sticky sticky tall, huge bolsters.”

“Ah,” Yixing uttered like he’d understood, but Jongdae could sense that he actually didn’t get a thing.

Jongdae had been sleeping with Tao for years after Kris had left him, sometimes he just wanted to come up with a fact that it is impossible to wake Tao up from his bed. Anyone, ever. But Tao was only second to Kris in waking up early, it’s just Jongdae who was unaware that Kevin and Kris were the same person.

“Yah ppali! We’re going to Tao’s room,” Jongdae uttered.

“Jigeum?” which in Korean means ‘now’.

“Then?” Jongdae stopped at the door. “It’s now or we’re going to be really late.”

Yixing chuckled. “Okay okay wait,” he said, crawling to pack his guitar into its case. “5 minutes. Please be seated, alright?” he said while dragging a chair for Jongdae to sit as he wanted to lag Jongdae’s potential anger.

“Fine,” he said while moving away from the door. “Not more than 5 minutes,” and he pushed away the chair, on the bed he had collapsed like a shrunken building. Buried into the white comforter.

And not less than one minute, low, distant snores filled up the atmosphere, as if he had set a snooze alarm on Yixing, and yes, Jongdae fell into a snooze mode.

* * *

“We are really late.” Jongdae said like he’s reciting, and Yixing had already lost counted on or after the twentieth times since they left the hotel that morning.

“So?” Minseok finally uttered something while they’re eating brunch at a well known café in the city, seemed like he’s already annoyed.

Jongdae mouthed again, “Yeah, if you guys weren’t late, we could still get that special cheeseburger breakfast combo on that menu.” He was referring to a combo that had listed as the best cheeseburger on earth he had watched on TLC channel. It was off the menu since it was already sold out early that morning, and it is only available on Fridays.

Minseok chuckled. “But still you’ve got a cheese burger on your table, right? Is it a big deal?”

“It is. It’s the only friggin cheeseburger of that type in the world that restricted number of people on planet Earth could experience the pleasure of savouring it while I’m like Columbus jumping off his boat into the rough sea before he could meet the Indians.”

Tao nearly spurted out lemon juice listening to the metaphor. Kris swallowed an ice cube and coughed. Minseok laughed out loud.

“It’s okay. I could get you a cheeseburger. A special one that no one has tasted before, if you really want one,” Yixing muttered when he realized how disappointed Jongdae was.

“Jinjia? Where can you get it?”

“From my kitchen when we get back to Seoul,” he chuckled. Jongdae tch-ed while looking away.

“Don’t you aware of the occasion? Yixing, make one for me then,” Kris chuckled.

“I mean, really?” Jongdae responded immediately, like he had finally realized that he shouldn’t reject a free food. “Please, hehe, I want it,” he muttered while his lips puckered.

“Anytime if you guys want to, of course,” he replied. “Perhaps I could show you how a good cook I am,” and then he chuckled.

“Indeed you are a good cook,” Jongdae continued while blinking slowly, delivering a smile since the expression was way deep from his heart. It looks like he really did appreciate what Yixing said to ease him. Kris cringed while seeing their invisible dialogue after that, though.

“Well, I can’t wait!” Minseok uttered after a short time while people on that table have been silenced by the food. Everyone cheered after that and continued devouring everything edible on the table until someone finally spoke out.

“So… where are we going after this?” Tao asked.

“Yixing and I need to go somewhere.” Jongdae immediately replied.

“Yeah, me too, but I rather go alone,” Minseok said. “Perhaps you should go anywhere you want with Kevin. Everything outside is a lot worth than a scenery. Plus, it is not the first time Kevin being here. He knows a lot of good stuff going on around here,” as Kevin’s manager, he informed Tao before he could take a gulp of fresh pulpy orange juice.

Tao and Kris looked at each other at the moment while both of them felt a kind of glee though different motives;

“Perfect slave-and-boss time.”

“Great. Time to spend with Tao.”

And so they split their ways.

* * *

Minseok was on the bridge, filling his lungs with fresh air as he in deeply the uncontaminated air, walking at a slow pace. Crowded by people but he didn’t feel surrounded. And deep in his heart he wandered, searching for something missing in place, which usually filled up the emptiness he could feel though he’s alone.

He kept on looking into the river, but in fact, he really missed Luhan. The fact that he’s literally searching for Luhan in that water, thinking that perhaps he would drag him onto the bridge if he found him. Typical, when everything’s possible for people who still had that cupid’s arrow stuck on their hearts.

Luhan at that very time was really busy as he had to coach the next basketball player for the nation. The international match was around the corner and he had to give more efforts to make sure that victory was going to be in their hands. That was the reason why Luhan couldn’t be there. And what concerned him the most was, Luhan was spending his time coaching Oh Sehun.

Indeed, Oh Sehun was the new player, replacing Kris the one who used to be an infamous player. If it wasn’t on an official assignment- to coach Sehun and his teammates, he would do anything to avoid Luhan from seeing Sehun more. Plus, Sehun demanded more coaching than Kris had ever received at the past. Therefore less remaining happy hours for Minseok.

Minseok even told Luhan continuously to stop doing his work and search for another, though. While on the other hand Luhan told him that he couldn’t stop doing whatever he loved doing the most- basketball.

He indeed was alone and lonely. Just imagine that it was a scene in a soap opera and Lonely by Akon filling in as the OST.

And right at the moment the ring of his phone broke the serenity, he was annoyed at first. But he gasped as he looked at the name on the screen. He immediately answered the call.

“Yah. Get your feet off the bridge. But don’t jump into the water. What are you doing up there actually?” and again Minseok gasped over the high pitched voice he heard.

“Wait. You’re here?”

“Who said that I can’t have a vacay huh? I’ll kill you for not inviting me.”

Minseok laughed. “Where are you now, idiot?”

“It’s coffee time, idiot. Don’t take too much time searching.”

And then Minseok saw a coffee shop right in front his eyes. Smiling, he uttered, “Not more than a second, Lu-ge.”

* * *

And so they’re walking on a street which was full of citizens and tourists. Tao kept on tailing him. Kris couldn’t help but to smirk and chuckle at times, well, surreptitiously.

“So?” suddenly Tao uttered, perhaps he had no idea of where the person he followed was going to.

“So what? Why are you following me?” Kris uttered while beholding the person he was talking to as he looked over his shoulder.

“So... where are we going?” Tao asked, fluttering his eyes, like butterflies did to their wings.

“We?” Kris chuckled. “I thought I was walking alone?”

“Hold back your wishes, slave. Be my tour guide today.” Tao pointed his fingers towards his face while laughing like a villian. Kris sighed before he uttered his words after that.

“Sure and after these two days gone I’ll make you into a broth.” Kris glared deep into his retina until it cringed before he turned away, and Tao just could feel his spine shivered.

‘I’ll be dead,’ and then he forced down saliva through his throat. Kris was older than him, he thought, and he couldn’t be rude to his senior.

Kris rolled his eyes, but actually, the heart just got what it wants. Further and further they walked without a single word uttered from their mouth, and finally someone felt that it was getting deadening.  

“Tao, can I ask you something?”

“Why can’t?”

Kris swallowed hard. “Erm,” he chuckled, but them he wished that he didn’t ask a thing so he said “erm... nevermind.”

Tao chuckled. “What is it?”

“Nothing, actually.”

“Just ask. I won’t mind.”

Kris laughed. “You won’t die if you don’t listen to this one.”

“Yah! Just ask, okay? I could die curious.” Tao insisted.

“Fine,” he chuckled. “It’s about Kris, if you mind.”

Tao paused and refused to step forward, apart from Kris a step away when he stopped and looked at him. When Kris gazed at him, Tao looked at somewhere else.

“Told you that it isn’t a good idea, right?” Kris chuckled and wrapped his arm around his shoulder. “Let’s forget about it shall we?”

“No.” Tao glanced at him. “I’m okay,” and then he chuckled, “Besides, it’s been a long time not talking about him. I’m kind of... missing him already,” and finally he laughed. Tao then lead him towards the nearest bench, and they seated.

“Alright, what is it that you wanted to ask about?” Tao uttered, seemed like he’s way more interested in that topic than Kris. Kris was getting awkward, kept asking himself whether not he should ask him further.

“Erm, okay,” he chuckled to wash away the awkwardness. “So, I heard that he looked a lot like me?”

“More than a yes,” he uttered. “You couldn’t imagine how I felt at the first time I saw you until I knew that you’re actually someone else,” he continued after he took a breath. Kris paused a while, looking at the building that stood in front of him.

“So...” Kris uttered again and chuckled before he continued, “I wonder what did you actually feel at that time,” and he paused again.

“Erm... I don’t know,” and then Tao took a break. Kris looked at him, trying to look until he met his eyes. At the moment Tao did finally saw him looking at him, because he seemed to be interested of his next response, he began to laugh.

“I mean, it was all mixed. It was delightful at first, but then when I landed back on reality, I knew it’s merely my deepest wish, and then everything went down again,” he sighed. Kris was speechless after that.

“There’s nothing to be think of about now. Past is past.” Tao uttered, and then sighed. Both of them silenced, and the breeze swept their faces like a soft cotton wool. The serenity, as if it could made the clock stop ticking when they were lost deep into thinking. As if the clock has lost its seconds until they were conscious again. Kris was the first one who came out from his mind, so he was the one who broke the silence then.

“What if,” he stopped. “What if I am Kris?” 

* * * 

Like finally. Done a chapter. Phew.

Thank you so much for reading though I've been hiatusing toooooooooo looooong *hitting myself* Really really sorry for that. I hope that you like the new chapter (though I think it's a bit boringg) but don't worry, the next chapter is a better one. NEW CHARACTER COMING UP! (clue: he's from EXO-K) lol obviously, like that will kinda help haha.

SO STAY TUNED! 

P/S: pls ignore my typos and grammar errors. thank you!!! SARANGHAJA! XOXO