Anywhere

Chanyeol lay in his bed, wide awake, staring at the ceiling. He could hear the clanging of pots and pans coming from the kitchen. D.O. was cooking. A part of him wanted to get out of bed and talk to Kyungsoo again. He was already regretting their last conversation. Instead of bringing them closer, it had created an awkwardness, an invisible wall. Not knowing what else to do, he pulled out his cell phone and texted the one person that always lifted his spirits.

     Hyung, how are you? Where are you? I wish you were here. –Not-so-happy-virus

Several minutes passed with no reply. Chanyeol sighed. It wasn’t normal for Luhan to ignore a message. “He must not have his phone on him,” thought Chanyeol, disappointed.

As he put his cell phone on the nightstand, Baekhyun walked in. Their eyes met momentarily before they both turned away. Neither of them spoke. Chanyeol tried to fall asleep but his heart was racing. Baekhyun rummaged through his belongings for a few seconds before heading out of the bedroom, backpack in tow.

Chanyeol wanted to run after him, but he couldn’t. He felt terrible. He couldn’t speak to two of his closest friends and his favorite hyung was nowhere to be found. He wanted to go away. Anywhere but here. As he pulled himself up out of bed, he heard voices coming from the common room. Sehun and Kai were back from their outing.

“Hyung,” asked Kai hesitantly as he watched his roommate cut up some vegetables, “can I talk to you?”

D.O. looked up, knife in hand. “You don’t have to ask permission.”

“Maybe we should let him finish,” said Sehun.

“We?” asked D.O. suspiciously. “You need to talk to me too?”

“Are you mad at me?” asked Sehun as innocently as possible.

Kyungsoo slammed the knife down hard on the cutting board, making the two youngest members jump. “Just get it over with. What do you need me to do?”

Sehun began to apologize but Jongin stopped him. “Why don’t you go get your things ready Sehun-ah.”

Sehun was relieved at the opportunity to escape.

Kai walked around the counter towards D.O., who had made his way to a pot on the stove. He did not look up from his vigorous stirring when Kai gently put an arm around his shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” said Kai quietly. “We didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s not you, Jongin-ah,” replied D.O. after short pause. “I’m just having a bad day.”

Kyungsoo stopped stirring and turned towards his roommate, who pulled him into his chest. “I can’t take it anymore.”

Kai felt horrible. “Why are you working so hard? We could’ve just ordered food. You should’ve gotten some more rest. You need it more than anyone.”

“I don’t mind cooking,” replied D.O., pulling away and turning back to the stove. “It’s the only thing that relaxes me nowadays.”

“But you don’t seem relaxed. What’s wrong?”

D.O. could not get himself to reveal the truth, so he tried to change the topic. “So what did you need to talk about?”

“Hyung!” Kai insisted. “You have to tell me what’s bothering you.”

“I don’t have to tell you anything,” replied D.O. rather coldly, regretting it immediately as the words fell out. “Just tell me what you need.”

Kai was hurt but he didn’t have the heart to show it. His best friend had been through enough. “It’s okay, hyung. It wasn’t anything important. I’ll let you get back to what you’re doing. Sorry for disturbing you.”

Before D.O. could protest, Kai turned away and walked towards Sehun’s bedroom. Kyungsoo tried to force himself to go back to his cooking, but his heart was no longer in it. He haphazardly poured the half-finished dish into a container and stored it in the fridge. After cleaning up the mess in the sink, he made his way back to his room and threw himself onto his bed. “What’s the point of having a day off,” he thought to himself as he buried his face into his pillow, “if it’s gonna be miserable like this.” As the bitterness overtook him, he let himself drift off into a deep sleep, hoping his dreams would take him elsewhere, anywhere but here.

 

---

 

“Did you ask him?” asked Sehun, as Kai sat down on the side of his bed. The maknae was clutching his phone tightly in his hands.

“No,” replied Kai solemnly. “He wasn’t in the mood. I think I’ll just leave him a note.”

“Maybe we can tell Chanyeol hyung,” suggested Sehun.

“I don’t know, Sehun-ah,” said Kai after considering the idea. “He didn’t look too happy today.”

“What’s wrong with everyone?” asked Sehun sadly. “Why can’t we even be happy on our days off anymore?”

“It’s complicated, Sehun-ah, but I think you already know why.”

Sehun looked down at his phone before responding. “What’s wrong with Chanyeol hyung.”

Kai was reluctant to respond, but couldn’t help himself. “I don’t know the details, but I think he was having some trouble with Baekhyun hyung.”

“I already assumed that much,” replied Sehun. “I guess I just don’t understand why.”

“Things aren’t always gonna be easy,” answered Kai all too knowingly.

Sehun got out of bed and walked towards the window. “I know. I just wish everyone would appreciate what they have while they can. It’s not any easier when you’re in different countries.”

The reality hit Kai’s stomach like a brick. He hadn’t realized how ungrateful it might seem to complain to someone who’s best friend was hundreds of miles away. “I’m sorry, Sehun-ah.” He couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Sehun did not reply.

Kai waited for what felt like an eternity before finding the courage to speak. “I’ll go get my backpack ready.”

Sehun nodded without turning away from the window. Soon, he was alone.

As Kai walked into his own bedroom, he froze. Chanyeol was sitting on the side of Kyungsoo’s bed, holding the small boy in his arms. Not knowing what to do, Kai quickly grabbed his backpack and began to stuff it with random objects. Nobody spoke.

“Jongin-ah,” called Chanyeol softly as Kai carried his belongings out of the room. He didn’t turn back.

 

---

“Let’s go,” said Kai from the doorway of Sehun’s bedroom.

Sehun did not need further instruction. He had prepared his own backpack soon after receiving Luhan’s message. Although they were early, he didn’t complain. He was ready to go elsewhere. Anywhere but here.

 

---

Nowhere Sehun and Kai climbed into the very back seat of the white van.

“Where to, gentlemen?” asked their driver.

Kai hesitated and turned towards Sehun, who had put on his best poker face.

“To the airport,” replied Sehun calmly.

“The airport?” asked the driver as he turned around. “Your manager didn’t tell me anything about a flight.”

Sehun continued to show no emotion. “We’re meeting a friend there.”

“And does your manager know that you’re meeting this friend? Has security been notified?"

“We won’t need security,” replied Sehun. “You can take us directly to the VIP lounge.”

The driver was not convinced. “I’m afraid it’s not so simple, Sehun-shi. We have to get prior authorization before we can drive to the back entrance to get into the VIP lounge. Only your manager has the authority to request access to that part of the airport.”

The two boys looked at each other, the concern becoming evident in their eyes.

“Look,” he continued. “I try to help you and the other members as best I can. I know it must be tough living in the spotlight and sometimes you just want to get away without having to ask permission or having security follow you around. But there’s a reason we have to be careful. I know I bend the rules for simple things like going out to eat, but the airport is a different story. I can’t take you there without getting permission.”

“Hyung,” said Sehun, with a hint of pleading in his voice. “If I tell you the reason, will you promise to keep it a secret?”

Kai’s eyes widened as he stared at Sehun. “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

“We have to try,” replied Sehun. “We don’t have any other choice. We’re running out of time.”

“I’ll promise to keep what you say to myself, if it doesn’t endanger your safety,” answered the driver. “But I can’t promise that I’ll take you to the airport.”

“Ok hyung,” said Sehun. “The truth is, we have to get to the airport to meet Luhan hyung. He asked me to be there at 7PM. He didn’t give any explanation why, but I trust him completely. He asked Jongin to come with me. We both promised we wouldn’t tell anyone, and we’re only breaking that promise to get your help. Even if you don’t trust us, you have to trust Luhan hyung. You know he would never do anything to hurt anyone, especially not the two of us. It must be something important. Please, hyung.”

The driver thought carefully before responding. “And does Luhan-shi have any security with him? Does anyone else know he is flying here? How did he get to the airport in China? Surely, EXO-M's manager would’ve notified us by now if he was aware of this trip.”

“We don’t know, hyung,” replied Kai with an urgency in his voice. “We don’t know any of these details.”

The driver shook his head. “The lack of details just makes this even more dangerous. Even if everything you told me is true, it doesn’t make any sense. I can’t put you two at risk with such limited information. How can we be sure that Luhan-shi himself is safe? We need to contact his manager and then notify your manager that something might be wrong.”

“No!” cried Sehun. “Hyung! You promised! You can’t tell anyone! Please!”

“Sehun-shi,” re