Suho gasped out loud as he read the message.

“What’s wrong hyung,” asked Chanyeol from the seat behind him.

Baekhyun awoke with a startle at the sound of his roommate’s voice. He lifted his head up off the taller boy’s shoulder. Suho passed his phone to Chanyeol, who held it in front of him so that Baekhyun could read as well. Their eyes widened in unison. As they looked up, Suho grabbed his phone back and began to dial furiously.

“Jongin-ah,” he cried into the phone when the call connected. “Where are you? What’s going on?” Suho’s eyes filled with tears as he listened to Kai's response. He quickly pulled himself together and continued with more questions. “What about Sehun-ah? Is he going with you?”

Kai’s honest response was almost too much for Suho to handle, but he knew he had to stay strong for his dongsaeng. “It’s going to be okay, Jongin-ah. We’re on our way. Please take care of yourself. Stay at the hospital. We’ll come find you. Text me when you know the room number.” Suho dug his face into his hands as he hung up the phone. He felt like he was falling to pieces. “Why is this happening?” he said aloud to nobody in particular. 

Several of the passengers on the bus stared in his direction. Chanyeol stood up and moved to the seat beside him, taking him into his arms as he sat down. He didn’t have the heart to ask for details.

“Where should we get off?” whispered Baekhyun from behind.

Chanyeol carefully brought his leader up from his chest. “Hyung, it’s gonna be okay. We need to figure out where to go.”

Suho wiped his own face with the back of his hands, then dug deep to find any trace of strength he had left. “We need to stop at the apartment,” he replied. “Kai needs dry clothes.”

“Maybe we should call manager hyung,” suggested Baekhyun hesitantly.

“NO!” yelled Suho, drawing more stares from the other passengers. “Not after what he did to you. I don’t think I’ll be able to control myself if he hurts any of you again. We don’t need him or anyone else from SM. We can do this ourselves.”

Chanyeol looked out of the window, still unsure of where they were. Suddenly, Suho pulled himself up and dug out the crumpled bus time table from his pocket. “Our stop is coming up. We need to change buses.”

Chanyeol and Baekhyun stood on each side of their leader once they made their way out of the bus. They sat together on the cold hard bench. 

Baekhyun ran his fingers gently through Suho’s hair. “What did he say hyung?”

Suho looked at him, an immense sadness in his eyes. “Sehun’s gone.”

“What!” cried Chanyeol as he choked on the lump in his throat. “What do you mean?”

“He didn’t come back to the apartment with Kai,” explained Suho. “He went to the airport. Luhan had asked them to print boarding cards and meet him at the gate. Jongin texted Sehun and asked him to bring Luhan back. He never got a reply. They’re probably on the plane by now. From what the Korean Air attendant told us, they’re probably on their way to Tokyo.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!” yelled Chanyeol.

“What about Kyungsoo,” asked Baekhyun, struggling to keep calm. “What did Jongin say about him? Why are they at the hospital?”

Suho took a deep breath before answering. “Jongin was too upset to explain completely. All he told me was that Kyungsoo had cuts all over his body and that he was bleeding. They found each other at the bus stop outside of our apartment.” 

Baekhyun stared at him in disbelief. “What’s going on hyung?” he asked as tears began to fall down his cheeks.

“I don’t know,” replied Suho. “I don’t know why any of this is happening. We have to get to the hospital. Jongin’s there, by himself.”

The three of them huddled together in the bitter cold, attempting to find comfort in each other’s arms. Soon, the headlights of another bus caught their eyes.

“This one should drop us off in front of our apartment,” said Suho, wiping his eyes as he stood up.

As they exited at their next stop, Chanyeol gasped outloud. Despite the dark veil of the night, tiny drops of blood were visible on the wet pavement. He followed the red trail with his eyes, all the way back to the bench.

“They were right here,” he said tearfully.

Baekhyun went to his side and led him towards the entrance gate. “Come on, Chanyeol! We have to hurry.”

Suho breathed a sigh of relief as the black metal gate opened. The power outage had resolved. The three ran to the elevator and made it to their 13th floor apartment. The place felt cold and uninviting without the sounds of their noisy members and the scents of Kyungsoo’s home-cooked meals.

“I’ll grab some clothes for Jongin,” said Suho. “Meet me in the common room as soon as possible when you’re done changing. Bring your backpacks with you. I don’t know how long we’ll be away.”

Baekhyun and Chanyeol made their way to their bedroom. It was exactly how they had left it, and yet it felt different. The two made their way to the bathroom. Chanyeol sat down on the side of the bathtub, burying his face into his hands. Baekhyun brought a wet wash cloth to him and helped to wipe away his tears. When he finished, he looked into his best friend’s eyes and attempted to smile.

Chanyeol looked back, his sad eyes begging for help. “It’s all my fault.”

Baekhyun took his roommate’s face in his hands, wiping away the wetness. “No Chanyeol-ah. You would never hurt anyone.” He kissed his soulmate on the forehead. “Let’s go.”

The two quickly changed into warm, dry clothes and grabbed their backpacks. They walked into the common room hand-in-hand, where Suho was waiting.

“I’ve called a taxi,” explained the leader. “It’ll meet us at the entrance.”

The elevator doors opened on the ground floor. The three of them took each other’s arms as they stepped back into the cold, unforgiving night.

---

The turbulence startled Luhan, awaking him from his slumber. He reflexively grabbed onto the closest thing he could find, which just happened to be Sehun’s left arm. Sehun reached over with his free hand and pulled Luhan into himself.

“It’s okay Xiaolu.”

The plane continued to shake as it flew through the dense clouds. Luhan could feel it in his stomach. It was his least favorite sensation, like being on a rollercoaster. Except, he didn’t go on those. His fear of heights was only surpassed by his fear of falling.

Sehun smiled as his best friend buried his face into his chest. They had moved the arm rest out of the way so that they could sleep comfortably.

The seatbelt sign flashed on with a familiar ding.

“Ladies and gentleman, the captain has the fasten seatbelt sign. Please return to your seats. We are expecting some turbulence for the next …”

The flight attendant’s voice disconnected as the plane made an especially violent jerk.

“Sehun-ah,” whispered a distraught Luhan.

“Don’t worry, Xiaolu,” said Sehun softly, his hyung’s hair. “It’ll be over soon.”

“I’m glad you’re with me, Sehun-ah,” replied Luhan.

“Me too.”

“We are expecting some turbulence for the next few minutes, as we start our initial descent into Tokyo,” continued the flight attendant. “Please remain in your seats. We will be arriving shortly.”

Luhan’s fear triggered a flood of emotions. He was overcome with guilt. His best friend had left everything behind for him without even asking why. He had ripped the young boy away from his home because he was too afraid to face his fate alone. As tears fell from his eyes, images of all of the other members rushed through his mind.

Sehun felt the drops as they fell onto his shirt. “Hyung, it’s okay! We’re almost there.”

“It’s not that, Sehun-ah,” replied Luhan. “I’m so sorry.”

“What do you mean hyung? Sorry for what?”

The fact that Sehun didn’t even know the reason made Luhan feel even guiltier. His best friend had not hesitated to do exactly what he had asked of him. There wasn’t even a question of having a choice in the maknae’s mind.

“I made you leave everything, Sehun-ah. Don’t you wonder why?”

“Of course I do, hyung. But it doesn’t matter. I’m with you. I don’t need to know anything else until you’re ready to tell me.”

“But what about Jongin-ah? What about your hyungs?”

“They have each other, hyung. They know I want to be with you. What about the members in China? Do they know?”

Luhan’s eyes filled up once more as he remembered the looks on their faces when he had told them. “They do, Sehun-ah. They weren’t ready to say goodbye