chapter twenty two: moonlight

"have you lost your way again? ... the closer i get, the more it'll hurt."   

Seoul had never appeared more beautiful for the Chinese membres. It's been years since they've set foot in this country, their last was that being after disbandment.

It was kind of new to them again, but it wasn't much of a bother. Besides, they were pretty much safe and sound with Xiumin and Huiying reunited to them. It was better since they were back in Korea with each other, with their brothers, and with their family— well, part of it. Huiying had to be careful from the public eyes. Who ever knows what could happen if a fan approaches them, recognized the former EXO members and causes a ruckus? Instant media reports and the surprise would be no more! 

"So, how do we get to your place?" Kris asks as he eyes Huiying through his sunglasses, still used to the airport he carries since, well, he's an actor that flies here and there often. "Is someone fetching you or...?"

"I've got a car." she smiles. "Well, a car that I borrowed from one of my friends. She said she'll just get it two days from now."

"Wait, wait," Luhan gasps as he holds on Huiying's shoulder. "You can drive?"

"Well, yeah." she nods. "I got my driver's license a year ago."

"How can I not know about this?" Tao whined as he walked beside Huiying. "You're a baby! You are not allowed to cruise down the roads like a boss—"

"I wanted to learn how to drive 'cause, first off, my two older siblings are useless in driving." she huffs before smiling playfully. "Eonni can't parallel park and oppa tends to fall asleep whenever he's on a car. We might get in an accident if any of those two drives!"

"Sheesh, and you beat your siblings?" Lay blinks. "What have you become, Chang Huiying?"

"Not sure," Huiying grins innocently before she sings playfully. "The best nightmare~"

"Hey!" Xiumin hisses as he hits Huiying's head, making the young lady wince and whine in pain. "Who taught you to talk like that, young lady? I disapprove of your innocence fading!"

"It was in our latest release, appa!" Huiying whined. "Blame eonni, she wrote the lyrics!"

"She should be thankful that she's sick or else, I'm teaching her a lesson." Xiumin pouted.

"Anyways, the car?" Luhan reminded. "We should hurry if we don't want any of the people to recognize us, actually." the doe-eyed one reminds, making everyone hurry in their walking.

Having Huiying claim a driver's license was already too shocking for the five to handle, what more is the fact that they'll be reunited with the grown man, Jonathan? The fact that they'll be reunited with the other seven? What else would the fact that they would be experiencing all that is said within a couple of minutes. 

It took quite some time for Huiying to finally arrive at the said location where the other seven had been contained. Jonathan was standing outside, waiting for his younger sister and the members she had "gathered". Upon seeing his sister get out of the vehicle, Jonathan instantly hurried and hugged her tight, since technically, they haven't seen each other for a few days. There was a bit more conversation shared by the two before Jonathan's attention was stolen by the five men that was accompanying Huiying. He nearly teared up in joy and a wide grin that somewhat wanted to tear right through his face slowly crept up. It would be surely a teary reunion but the young man had to keep it in, not wanting to tear up anymore. (since technically, he has no tears to cry anymore). Instead, he decides to just run and hug the five, still sure that he'd convey the message that "I missed you so much" through this gesture. 

The Chinese members and Xiumin nearly teared up upon seeing the well-grown man. He is defintely a lot taller compared to his past self years ago— when he was still nothing but a thin, average-sized young boy. Now, he was around the same height as Kris, definitely has well-formed muscles and his hair— damn did he look good in it. 

"How've you been?" Kris asks in English, completely aware up until that time that Jonathan would converse to him better in the said language. "You've grown well, I must say. You're no longer a kid, huh?"

"Officially an adult." Jonathan replies in fluent English. "You guys didn't seem to change neither, especially Xiumin-appa," he laughs before he eyes Xiumin with a grin. "You still look younger than your age." he complimented in Korean.

"Thanks." Xiumin laughs as he smiles ear-to-ear afterwards. "Sheesh, why do I always get to be the smallest whenever you guys are around? I always hoped Jonathan wouldn't grow taller than me! Look at you, you're as tall as Kris!"

"Kids these days." Lay huffs.

"Are the rest home?" Huiying asks as she nudges her older brother, smiling excitedly. 

"Of course." Jonathan nodded. "I managed to contain them here 'til you guys arrive. Sheesh, you have no idea how they were itching to go around all together today! I had to be a bad guy, Huiying!"

"You did a well job, villian." Huiying grins before she gestures the five to follow her and Jonathan. Of course, the five cautiously followed the two younger ones. When Jonathan reached and turned the doorknob, they were sure that each one was feeling a bit nervous, excited, and extremely anxious. Well, reuniting them after a rather "bitter" disbandment won't be easy.

And their hunches were rather right.

They were still capable of taking a glimpse on how hyper and happy the other seven gathered by Jonathan. They were having fun, laughing and doing their own things like watching the television, scrolling through their phones or simply chit-chatting. Unfortunately, upon having the front door open and reveal the remaining five— Xiumin and the Chinese members— the atmosphere suddenly went stale and heavy. There was a heavy tension suddenly surfacing through the whole house. 

The seven stopped what they were doing and eyed the newly arrived ones. There was fire burning through each of the twelve's orbs— a fire that Huiying and Jonathan could easily distinguish as a fire lit by extreme anger. Years had passed and just as they've thought that all the hatred and anger had been extinguished, this scene happens. Everyone was glaring at each other, shooting deadly glares at one another. Even the seven who were gathered earlier slowly scattered away from each other and glared. It was as if the seven suddenly became enemies. Huiying and Jonathan slowly distanced themselves from both sides. Even the five's trust with each other slowly wavered and now, they were looking at each other with doubt.

"I didn't expect you guys to really fly back here to Korea." Baekhyun started, fists clenched tight as he eyed the four Chinese men. "All they way from China, where you're surely living in a worry-free life style, you really agreed to fly back here in Korea, huh?"

"Of course." Tao hissed, talking in a broken Korean accent as he flashed a mocking smirk. "We're not a coward like you claim us to be, Baekhyun." 

"Says the one who ran away because he couldn't bear the pain any longer." Chanyeol scoffed as he glares at Tao before eyeing the rest. "What am I saying? Y'all ditched the remaining four members just because you were much of babies to even bear the pains a bit longer."

"We left because it was fruitless, you dimwit." Kris glared.

"Besides, we knew that leaving was the best option because, let's face it," Kyungsoo added as he glared at Chanyeol. "We weren't blinded anymore by those pitiful lies the company was throwing at us. Unlike you four who stayed and refused to remove the blindfolds already."

"Hey, don't talk like that, Kyungsoo. Chanyeol here is still your hyung." Lay cried, speaking in Korean with all his might.

"You're one to talk about respect." Suho glared at the dimpled Chinese. 

"Don't you dare talk like that to Yixing, Joonmyeon." Luhan hissed.

"And now you're standing for your friends, huh?" Sehun laughed in disappointment as he glared at Luhan. Yes, they were so close before, but now, Sehun was seeing everything in red, even his closest friend Luhan. "I wonder why you didn't do this years ago... when you suddenly left and followed Kris here."

"Take. That. Back." Xiumin glared as he eyed Sehun.

"Why should he?" Kai questioned as he crossed his arms. "Sehun's right. You guys ran away. We were supposed to stick with each other 'til the end, no matter how much injury or pain were given to us. Disappointing, y'know? 'We are one' my ."

"Take that back!" Chen cried in anger before he lunged towards Kai, grabbing the tanned latter by his shirt's hem before he tackles him down. Chen's action lit up the fight  and made everyone dart towards one another, throwing curses and hurtful words at each other before getting physical. Chanyeol was the first to throw a punch at Kris, which Tao blocked before he kicked Chanyeol away and helped the Chinese-Canadian male up. Baekhyun backed Chanyeol quickly, kicking Tao down. 

Kai targetted Luhan, who was then busy fighting with Sehun. Sehun took the chance and kicked Luhan down on the floor, pinning him down as they share a brief moment to exchange deadly glares.

Everything was happening so quickly.

Everyone was fighting all of the sudden.

They were screaming at each other.

Anger rose.

Forgiveness vanished.

Huiying was crying.

And Jonathan screamed.

"Can you all please shut the  up?!"

Everyone froze and stopped upon seeing the often seen pacifist Jonathan lose his temper as he tries to comfot his younger sister, hugging her tight while Huiying sobs her heart out. Now that the twelve had seen it, Huiying was actually sobbing and trembling. She is afraid, terribly terrified. Jonathan, on the other side, was glaring at them, those black orbs burning with the same fire they used to have minutes ago in their eyes. He was trembling too, but not because of fear but because of the anger lighting up in him. 

"You're just being childish... all of you! Me and Huiying took the time to reunite you for you guys to reconcile with each other and ing be one again, and this is how you repay us? Screaming profanities and fighting like kids? Punching and kicking each other? Letting the anger in you take the best of you guys?" Jonathan scolded as he eyed the twelve. "You guys are disgusting... I'm disappointed with you, appa! I'm disappointed that you twelve are even deserving to be called 'fathers'!"

Silence.

"We reunited you guys to fulfill one damn wish our sister wants to come true before she runs out of breath. We reunited you twelve to be one again as what you used ot say." Jonathan continued to exclaim, hot tears finally rolling down his cheeks. "Hyerin-noona... do you think she'd like to see you guys fighting? That you, who saw each other as brothers for years, bickering and fighting like immature children?" 

Jonathan suddenly appeared so mature.

"Can we please stop this and be a family again?" Jonathan pleaded, his stance slowly fading into his typically-seen weak physique. He was sobbing, worse than how Huiying was sobbing a few seconds ago. His tears were unstoppable as he tries to croak out the next words. "All she wanted was us to be a happy family again for once. For once, be there by her side as a complete family before she runs out of days to live. She won't be here for long, nor will you guys since you've taken your own paths and live new lives now. And even idruing this small time we've got together, please... just please let this last for as long as it can." Jonathan weeped.

Everyone knew he was right.

Bickering like this wasn't supposed to happen.

Indeed, it wasn't easy to let a group of twelve reconcile with each other in a snap of the finger. It took a few hours and more for them to finally let go of all that hatred and anger towards each other. It was pretty dramatic, based on how every now and then, when one of the members would speak up or when Huiying or Jonathan would say his or her part, one would tear up and sob quietly. There would be confessions that no one expected to be kept in that person— like the fact that Xiumin and Kai both have lost sisters, the fact that Kris now has a son, and that Chanyeol,  Kyungsoo and Tao now have tattoos. 

There were lots of things they missed about each other and soon, anger and hatred was replaced by the feeling of happiness of being reunited once more. The feeling they used to experience when the group had no troubles and only had fun slowly surfaced once more. The vibe of "family" was slowly felt. Smiles soon overlapped the frowns and scowls.

"Alright, you guys know what'll happen soon." Jonathan begins as he eyes the twelve. "Noona's at home alone, not expecting a single thing about you guys being here, complete. Let's make it the best surprise, alright?"

"Yeah, one question though," Suho huffs as he leans back. "How are we going to do it with this many people?" he asks, obviously referring to their big group number. "I'm sure that we'd attract attention outside."

"Agree." Chen nods. 

"How come?" Huiying blinks.

"Well, if we put it this way," Xiumin begins as he eyes everyone. "It's obvious that me, Jongin Sehun here are living the ordinary life. The rest're in three fields— acting, music or entertainment. And with those three fields, we all know what's gonna happen."

"Public attention, of course." Kris sighs as he leans back. "Of course, what else. We appear in the media! We're popular, of course being spotted will be easy!"

"And when we get caught, it's serious trouble." Kyungsoo nodded in worry.

"Then, what do you suggest doing then?" Lay asks as he eyes Huiying. "I'm sure you two had come up with a perfect plan to let us slip in without getting noticed, right?"

"Simple." Huiying grins. "Move fast. That's it."

"That's it?" Tao blinks. "Are you playing with us right now, Huiying?"

"Nope."

"... Well then, might as well obey the genius' instructions!" Kai clapped his hands before standing up, only to be followed by the rest. Quickly, they leave the place and hurry to Pandora Street's residence. Six members of EXO were riding the two cars Jonathan and Huiying were using. Of course, based on what Huiying had said before, Jonathan isn't much of a great driver so Suho takes the wheel in their vehicle. On the other vehicle, Huiying takes the wheel, based on how expertly she drove before.  Yes, the destination's quite near, but taking a vehicle would be a lot easier to not get spotted (since the windows are tainted). 

It took a few minutes before the group finally arrived in their residence. It was quiet, yes, and obviously, Hyerin was doing nothing but watch the television and lay down, resting. Jonathan and Huiying sneakily took a peek and assured the twelve that she was, indeed, there.

"Okay, Huiying's going to go in first, understood?" Jonathan whispered before he nudges his sister, gesturing her to go in. Huiying nods and calmly makes her way in their place, greeting Hyerin warmly. The thirteen could clearly hear Hyerin being worried that Jonathan still isn't home, but more or less, more worried about Huiying since she's just been out for days. Hyerin was busy asking if Huiying was okay, if she did well, and so on. It was like a normal sisterly talk.

With that settled, Huiying takes her move. As normal and unsuspecting as it looks, she asks for something the thirteen weren't capable of hearing clearly, but surely, she said something about losing something in her room. Jonathan knew very well that as the eldest sibling, Hyerin would help the clumsy Huiying find that stuff. There was a sound of the door closing and Hyerin saying something like "are you sure you lost it here?" or something

Seeing that as an opening, Jonathan silently snuck inside with the twelve as quiet as they can be, not wanting to ruin the surprise. They moved fast, three going to the kitchen and the remaining ones in the living room, trying to pose and stand as comfortable and natural as they can be. 

In the kitchen were Kyungsoo, Lay and Xiumin, who were setting up something like the cake Jonathan had bought earlier that day before Huiying even arrived. 

Sehun and Luhan were outside Huiying's room, scattering petals as quiet and careful as they can, so they wouldn't be caught. Talk about being dramatic, huh?

Jonathan was acting like a mute person, using hand gestures and facial expressions as he tried to instruct everyone where they would stand and stay.

"Huiying, did you hear that? I think someone's outside!"

"What? No, I didn't hear anything."

"I swear there was rustling outside— maybe it's Jo!"

.

"Kai-appa!" Jonathan shouted softly as he gestured to Kai, who was running in panic upon hearing Hyerin's voice. Thanks to Chanyeol and Baekhyun's help of pushing him towards Jonathan, he was soon placed in front, just a few meters away from the door to Huiying's room. 

Finally, when the door creaks open, that's when reality hits them.

It was a brief moment when the twelve finally saw the well-grown lady version of Kim Hyerin. Slim-bodied, gentle facial features, black orbs that were still full of hope despite her situation, her seemingly pale, ice-cold thin lips of hers, her pale, white skin, the dark circles forming around her eyes, her silky smooth, hazelnut-colored hair was was slowly fading back to the color black.

The surprise on her face.

And her falling on the floor.

"Oh my gosh, this is not what I was expecting!" Baekhyun screeched upon seeing Hyerin faint. Everyone hurriedly gathered around the fainted lady before Kai lifts her up slightly, trying to see if she is still okay. Feeling that her heart was still beating, Chanyeol gives a thumbs up, making everyone sigh in relief. 

"Get a damp towel and water!" Chen instructed as he taps Sehun, who simply grumbled and stood up— well, was about to.

Hyerin's eyes slowly fluttered open and soon, her vision cleared up, the bluriness soon fading away just to let her see clearly the twelve familiar faces gathered around her.

But what stood out the most was the feeling of Kai's arms around her and his face above her, looking directly at her.

Kai had never seen Hyerin this close for years, and indeed he was happy— or so, at least he was until he heard Hyerin shriek in astonishment again...

And feel her fist on his face.

"Holy , that was not okay!" Hyerin gagged as she stood up straight, looking at the new faces gathered around. She was indeed left speechless, digging for words to say as she recognized who was gathered around. 

She slowly recognized who was around her. Those on her right were six persons: The baozi she knew as Xiumin, the doe-eyed one named Luhan, the Picasso Kris, the motherly Suho, the dimpled, clueless unicorn, Lay, and the one who wears eyeliner 24/7, Baekhyun. Those on her left were never forgotten: the giant with those damn big ears, Chanyeol (though he did look a lot different), the camel-eyed guy who sings high notes like a boss, Chen, the AB-style panda named Tao, the real motherly one who eyes are that of an owl's, Kyungsoo and the youngest of them all, Sehun.

And the one laying on the floor as Kai, the one she is closest to.

"Am I dead, or am I dreaming, or am I high?" Hyerin blinked.

"This all real, sweetie." Suho smiles as he ruffles Hyerin's hair. "We're really here."

"Are... you for real?"

"Do we look un-real to you?" Chanyeol asks, raising a brow at her.

The smile on Hyerin's face was beyond words before she tackles everyone to a hug (mostly her siblings since they were in front of her). Everyone was laughing and giggling, extremely blissful to be reunited again throughout all those years of separation. They were finally reunited here, smiles on their faces and the happiness they were experiencing undescribable. It was great to be this way again.

It felt so nice and warm. Lots changed, but so what?

"What're you guys doing here though?" Hyerin questioned as she eyed the twelve and her siblings.

"Well," Xiumin smiles, "Two little birds here told us that you wanted to see the twelve of us as one again."

Hyerin happily eyed her siblings and hugged them tight, nearly making Jonathan and Huiying wheeze. "You two are seriously the best siblings ever! I love you two so~ much!"

"If you do, please let go of us before we forget how to breathe—" Jonathan pleaded, making the eldest let go quickly, smiling.

"Guys, can we offer a moment of silence for our unconscious Jongin?" Kyungsoo asks as he points at the knocked-out Kai, who was formerly punched to the face by Hyerin.

"Hella strong, huh?" Sehun laughed.

"Talk about being sick," Luhan giggles.

"Is he okay though— he's not moving." Chen says, poking Kai's forehead.

"," Hyerin cursed. "Call the hospital—"