“Hyung, why are you here?” Tao asked Kris, standing still.

“No, I am the one who should ask you why are you here in my place.” Luhan asked, moving closer to Tao, but his wrist was grabbed and pulled behind by Kris. Luhan gazed up to Kris. After he saw Kris shook his head, Luhan stepped back and calmed.

“Tao, stop looking for me again. We should stop...”

“Hyung…” Tao approached closer but then he stopped after seeing Kris moved away. He seemed to grab his backpack.

“Stop calling me. Our friendship is now over.” Kris said, without looking to Tao.

“But why? Tell me the reason,” Tao uttered. Kris didn’t turn back but walked away. Tao become impatient, so he grabbed the ball which was in Luhan’s arms and threw it on Kris. The ball hit on Kris’s backpack and bounced away.

“No!” Luhan said. With anxiousness written on his face, he threw his hand forward, trying to catch and stop Tao.

Kris moved towards the ball, bent his knees and picked up the ball. He turned his back, heading towards Tao.

“Alright. What do you want from me?” Kris asked.

“Stay.”

“No. I won’t.”

“Okay. How about a round of a basketball battle? If I lose, you can do whatever you want. But if I win, you’ll stay.” 

“Well, alright then.” Kris agreed, dropping his backpack at the spot where he was standing.

Tao dribbled the ball while looking at Kris. Kris was preparing himself to barge in, looking for a chance when Tao was off-guarded. At the moment Tao moved forward while dribbling the ball, Kris quickly hindered the way. Kris didn’t expect that Tao was even faster than him, that the ball dashed away with Tao (as if he could vanish) went towards the hoop. However, Kris ran towards him and grabbed the ball.

Kris smirked. He moved towards the hoop at the other side of the court. Tao aggressively blocked him from shooting the ball into the hoop. When it was the moment Kris was nearly shooting, he tried, but the ball didn’t go in. The ball went into Tao’s grasp, instantly.

“You have improved a lot. Not bad,” Kris uttered while surprised.

“I won’t lose this time,” Tao rolled his eyes, smirked. He moved faster towards the goal, dribbling the ball while Kris was trying to block him in every possible way. Tao was like a bull though; he was unstoppable, trying hard to win. Kris, the national basketball player, seemed struggling to get the ball, his face had turned red. In few seconds when they were almost at the hoop, Tao tried to shoot, and it turned out that he accidentally pushed Kris so hard to the side until he stumbled and fell. The ball went in.

“Kris!” Luhan stood up from his seat and approached them. While Kris was rolling on the floor, Tao grabbed his hand and pulled him to sit.

“I won. So, you have to stay.” Tao smiled and he gave the ball to Luhan.

“No way. I am still leaving,” Kris said, rolling his eyes. He stood up and picked his backpack.

“But you have promised!”

“I didn’t say a thing! I only have agreed to play!”

“What’s the difference?”

“Look kid, our friendship is now over, we are now strangers okay? I hope you will understand. Farewell.” Kris said, leaving the arena without looking at his face. Tao stunned for a while.

“Why don’t you at least give me a reason so that I can step back and let you go? So I can forget you easily? But that is not easy either. I don’t understand. After these two years, don’t you remember what we have done together?” Tao uttered, nearly yelled because Kris is getting further.

“Because I am already sick of you. That’s all. And I’m going off to Canada tomorrow. Don’t ask me to stay because I won’t. Done!” Kris stormed off, leaving without turning back.

* * *

The following winter.

Tao was having a week break off shooting, because the weather was too cold. It was the third week of the season; the roads in Seoul were already covered with white ice.

He was rolling on his bed, covered himself with a heavy comforter while staring at two husky plushies beside his bed. One named Eurongie, and the other one is Baby. About a year ago both of them, Tao and Kris bought the plushies out of a Chinese store during their visit to China Town. Eurongie was the one which belongs to Kris.

Tao sit down on the bed and took Eurongie out of the shelf.

“Eurongie, why did your appa hate me? Didn’t he tell you anything?”

As expected, the plush didn't say anything. Tao grabbed the plush and walked towards the verandah. The cardigan he was wearing perhaps enough to cover him but maybe for a while. For it was cold, he hugged the plush tight while tilting his head slightly out from the opening, looking at the basketball court while reminiscing.

All of a sudden, Eurongie slipped off from his hand and fell all the way down, passed a total of twelve floors. Eurongie lay on the white snow, close to the frozen pool. Tao grabbed his sweater while unlocking the door, putting on the sweater all the way to the elevator because he was rushing to pick Eurongie.

However, he stopped when he saw someone he knew waiting at the lobby. He approached the guy, standing in front of him while the guy gazed up to him and smiling awkwardly.

“I was going to meet you at your house but I only know Kris’s house and Kris had never told me about yours. So, I have to wait here until you get out, because I really need to tell you something,” Luhan explained.

Tao sat beside him, on the couch, quietly.          

“I can’t hold it in anymore… Kris was actually in Canada because he had to undergo a heart surgery. His chance of survival was 20% and the surgery was so complicated that none of the doctor in South Korea is experienced enough to conduct the operation. So, he decided to stay with his family in Canada.”

Tao was stunned.

“I’m sorry Tao, but I have a promise with Kris, not to tell you anything about this. He didn’t want you to know about his sickness because he didn’t want you to worry about him. He thought that if anything happens to him, you won’t be sad because he knows; leaving you like this will make you think of his selfishness all the time. So, you will hate him and forget all the good things that you have gone through together. So that you can move on easily," Luhan took a deep breath and sighed heavily. He slowly gazed at Tao. A thin clear-glass-like layer of tears formed on his eyes.

"But then, since it has been a couple of months that I've not heard of anything about him, so, I think that it is important for you to know that he may not be with us anytime, anymore.”

Huang Zitao was muted. With tears flowing on his cheeks, he directly ran away to his home like one could ever stop him. Locking himself in his apartment, he didn't come out for days.

* * *

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