w  a  r  r  i  o  r | {13}

“I’m leaving.”

“WHAT?”

Zitao stood up and held his hands up. “Guys let me explain…”

Yixing furrowed his brows. “Leaving? What do you mean leaving?”

Luhan stood up as well. “Dude…”

Sehun looked up and gawked.” WHAT THE…Out of all the …this…what…”

Chanyeol sat there silently and sighed as he pulled everyone else down. “Guys!”

Zitao sighed. “Listen, I’m sorry that I didn’t say anything earlier but my flight is in two hours and I’m going to the states. It’s not permanent; I’m going there for just a few weeks…or months. I don’t know yet.”

“Why?” Yixing asked.

“There’s something that I need to do, it won’t take long but I’ll be back…I promise.”

Sehun shot up. “OH MY GOD IS THAT WHY YOU’VE BEEN HANGING OUT WITH NOONA SO MUCH IN THE PAST WEEK, YOU , YOU USED HER DIDN’T YOU. WHY DID YOU CRAMP ALL THE DATES INTO ONE WEEK LIKE WHO DOES THAT OH MY GOD ZITAO YOU SAVAGE WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU HOW CAN YOU …” He sat down and took a deep breath. “You’re an .”

Luhan pulled the younger down and shot up. “Zitao…why…what?” He said in disbelief. “All of a sudden…you’re leaving?”

Zitao nodded. “Guys I’m sorry I didn’t say anything about it but for the time that I’m gone…please look after Miyeon.” He said. “Make sure she eats and sleeps and doesn’t overwork herself.”

Chanyeol looked up. “She doesn’t know?”

He shook his head. “Don’t tell her, please.”

Luhan rolled his eyes. “How can you keep this from her?”

“I can’t bring myself to tell her…I don’t want to see her cry because of me.” Zitao said softly. “Besides, what I’m doing in the states is for her anyway…and I can’t say anything about it either because I don’t want to give any false hope.” He explained.

Sehun glared at Zitao. “Out of all the situations this was the most unexpected one! How can you tell us the hour before you leave? What the hell?”

“I know you’re all pissed off and have mixed feelings but please…for me, and Miyeon, just calm down and try to keep things under control.”

Minseok stood by the door. “Zitao, your ride’s here.”

Chanyeol furrowed his brows. “You knew?”

Minseok nodded. “Guys, this is all for Miyeon.” He said hastily. “I can’t explain much either but…just wait for him to come back okay? For now, do anything and everything for Miyeon.”

***

“You ready?”

Zitao nodded and looked at Kris. “Thanks.”

“No problem man, what do you need to do in Los Angeles anyway?”

He looked down at his keys and pressed his lips into a firm line. “You know that theory I told you about?”

“Theory?”

“The…Miyeon…one?”

Kris nodded. “What about it?”

“I’m gonna check it out and see if I’m right.” Zitao said. “It’s just that…her situation doesn’t match up to me.”

Kris nodded along. “Alright. Where are we going once we land?”

“The house of a CEO, he owns one of the biggest Calvin Klein franchises in LA. His name is Keith Han.” Zitao explained. “When we get there I’ll show you what I mean.”

Kris nodded. “This all seems fishy to me.” He said softly. “Her family situation and all…but why LA out of all places?”

“Trust me, when we get to the hotel and settle down, I’ll show you on my laptop. Something’s very off about Miyeon’s family.”

Meanwhile

Miyeon froze when she stepped into the weight room. There was too much tension in the air and the fact that everyone was in a daze threw her off even more.

“Guys?”

Yixing looked up and fumbled with his dumbbells. “Morning.” He said quickly before going back to his workout.

Sehun looked at Miyeon and sighed. “Yeah, morning.”

“Where’s Zitao?”

Luhan gawked at her words; everyone seemed to act a bit more awkwardly when she asked the question they feared to hear.

“Um…” Chanyeol looked at the pile of yoga mats from the across the room. He too was at a lost for words.

“On his way to Los Angeles.” Minseok said as he walked in.

Miyeon turned around. “Oh he- what?”

Minseok looked at her. “He’s on his way to the United States.”

“Why?”

Minseok shrugged. “There’s something he needs to do and in order for him to do so he needs to cut off all communication until he comes back, let’s respect his personal issues okay? Guys, get your back to wherever the hell you were and start moving. Sehun, I know it’s your leg day why are you planking?”

Luhan watched as Minseok left as if nothing happened. Then he looked at Miyeon, she did look disheartened that Zitao wasn’t around but she didn’t look hurt or anything. Luhan sighed in relief and stuck his headphones back into his ears as he continued working out.

Chanyeol frowned as Miyeon dropped her things down onto the ground and left the room. He knew that there was nothing he could do at this point to win her over because the only person she loved was Zitao.

Miyeon ran out of the gym and down the streets to Zitao’s home. She had only been there once and it was to drop him off after work.

She felt the tiniest bit of anger boil inside of her. How could he just leave without any notice? Especially after all they’ve done together and all the secrets they shared, how could he just get on a plane and fly across the world without telling her?

Flashback

“There’s one last thing I want to know about you.” Zitao said.

Miyeon held onto his strong arms and pressed her back against his chest as she kept her eyes on the TV screen. “Yeah?”

“About your fear of children…why…how did it become a fear?”

Miyeon looked down at his hands and quietly thought for a moment as he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

Zitao rested his head on her shoulder. “Tell me.”

“My step-mother was so abusive to me as a child that…when I see kids, images of my step-mother abusing Jongin and I flash back to me. It’s all I see and it scares me. I know I took mixed martial arts to defend myself and to prove that women are strong too but…when I see a child, I get scared that I might lay a hand on them too like my step mother did.”

He kissed the nape of her neck and smiled. “I’ll help you get over that, I promise.” He said. “We can face your fears someday.”

“That’s why falling in love scared me too…because love leads to marriage and …starting a family just…” Miyeon shook her head and sighed. “I just keep on seeing my step-mother over and over again vividly in my head since it’s been years since I last saw her.”  

End of flashback

Miyeon ran down the streets and wiped her eyes. “No wonder he wanted to know so much about me.” She muttered. 

[a/n]: *casually drops hints on why Zitao is in LA*

Any thoughts? I'd like to see your input :D Comment!!!