Tao wanted to cry. His face was pressed up against the wall of the small waiting room, his left arm twisted behind his back by a burly police detective. Tao tried to think of what to do next, because he knew for certain he did not want to submit to an interview which would reveal that one of the Huang Family’s sons was not right in the head.

“Ouch, you are hurting me!” Tao whined. He looked to his left, where Sehun was standing with wide eyes.

The agent loosened his hold “We need to ask you some questions before you leave.”

“Okay, just let go of my arm.” Chanyeol was not exactly enjoying the situation either.

The agents let the three of them go. The burlier agent, the one that had met them at the door, pulled out a tape recorder and a notepad. “What are your names? Do you have identification cards?”

Tao was cursing under his breath as he reached for his wallet.

“What do you think you are doing?”

For once in Tao’s life he was extremely happy to see his older brother meddling. Kris was standing in the office doorway, eyeing the agents with disdain.

“And who are you?” The agent asked, clearly not amused by the interruption.

Kris smiled, that smile that said “I am a rich and I will crucify you for looking at me wrong”. The smile that usually meant Kris was gloating, or bragging, or attempting to intimidate someone. “Kris Wu, President of Wu Communications Group. And this is my brother, Tao.”

Tao grimaced automatically, expecting that his brother had revealed his identity. But Kris had not- he had given a fake last name.

“We are here on a school project.” Chanyeol blurted out again, attempting to insure that Kris did not counteract his previous statement.

“What school do you three attend?” The agent pointed towards Chanyeol and Tao “You two look a little old to be students.”

Luhan sighed. He was forever mistaken as a teenager.

“I think that is a bit of a personal question, considering my brother has done nothing wrong.” Kris crossed his arms and stared the police officers down “Unless of course I am incorrect, and my brother has done something against the law.”

“He was found in the office of a missing person.”

“He isn’t a suspect, correct?” Kris mused “If you need to talk to Tao, call our lawyer first.” He produced a small business card from his wallet “For now, I need to get these three to an appointment. If you will excuse us.”

The agent was not amused, but he took the offered business card none the less. He didn’t have anything to hold the three of them on and he knew it. The agents let Chanyeol, Luhan, and Tao walk out of the office, watching the three of men trail behind the arrogant guy that had so rudely interrupted their investigation.

***

“What are you doing here?” Tao asked as soon as they were well across the parking lot and out of earshot of the police.

“What a nice way to say thank you for saving me.” Kris pushed the button on his car keys, the lights on his Porsche flashing as the doors unlocked “Room is a bit limited, so I am hoping you guys drove yourselves.”

“Yeah, I did. But hey- what about Doctor Park going missing?” Chanyeol wasn’t sure what to think about the fact that the strange doctor was nowhere to be found.

“He probably was kidnaped by a drug dealer he owed money to.” Baekhyun offered “Or maybe one session with the six of us drove him to disappear?”

“Funny.” Sehun found this Baekhyun guy to be far too sarcastic for his liking. “But seriously, what does it mean?”

“I guess it means nothing, for now any way.” Luhan looked thoughtful. Doctor Park’s disappearance was strange, but it wasn’t like they knew the Doctor. There could be a million reasons why he would disappear, reasons that could be sinister or selfish. There was nothing they could do at the moment but wait for more information.

“Tao, get in the car.” Kris opened the passenger side door.

“Hold on hyung.” Tao looked at Luhan and Chanyeol “I think we should exchange numbers. I mean…we are the only ones like this, right?”

“Good idea.” Luhan pulled his phone out. It was probably for the best, after all it wasn’t every day he met people who could not only see Minseok but agreed to the fact he was more than a hallucination.

After a quick exchange of numbers they separated, each going their own way. Each a bit curious as to where Doctor Park had run off to. Or been taken to.

***

Tao had done it. He had called Chanyeol, called Luhan and now they were going to meet up. And Sehun was to blame.

“Don’t try to pin this on me! “ Sehun was angry with him. Tao hated when Sehun was angry with him. After accusing Sehun of bullying him into calling the other two guys over, Tao had been witness to Sehun huffing and puffing his way out of Tao’s room, destination unknown.

After a long search Tao found Sehun in the kitchen, staring at the freshly made cookies that the maid had left on the counter.

“Hun-ah.” Tao said his name slowly. When Sehun was mad it was hard to win him back over to a happy state.

“Why do you blame me when you should be the one doing this?!” Sehun made a face- that face – where his lower lip was downturned while being practically enveloped by his upper lip. It was the worst kind of frown Tao had ever seen.

“You know Kris is going to be angry. And what good will it do? What does it matter that they have friends like you?” Tao tried to start by listing why inviting the other two men over was a bad idea, but Sehun continued frowning at him.

“Don’t you want to know why? Why you can see me, they can see me, but no one else can?” Sehun was seriously pouting now, to the point his bottom lip was invisible.

Tao knew this was a losing battle. It always was when Sehun was like this – reminding Tao why he was wrong.

“I am doing this for you.” Tao finally said it, which didn’t help the situation.

“You should be doing this for us.” Sehun sighed, turning back towards the cookies.

“I should be. I am sorry Hun-ah, don’t be mad.” Tao put on his own frown, his own pout.

Sehun turned and stared at Tao, just stared.

“Please…I am sorry.” Tao tried again.

“Fine. But you owe me.”

“Fine, I owe you.” Tao smiled, happy to see some sort of admittance of forgiveness on Sehun’s part. He hated when Sehun was mad at him. Hated it more than when Kris was driving a hundred miles an hour and crying.

***

The door to Jongin’s cell was opened. Jongin jumped at the intrusion. He was not expecting it.

“Kim Jongin, you have a visitor.” The guard stood in the doorway, eying Jongin cautiously. It was well known among the guards that you could never be too careful around Kim Jongin.

“Visitor?” Jongin looked at Kyungsoo, who stared back in surprise.

“Your Uncle.” The guard held the shackles, watching to see how Jongin would react.

Jongin thought hard. He didn’t have an uncle. He wasn’t going to admit that, of course. It was his weekly visitation day and he knew that his Mother wouldn’t be there. After mentioning Kyungsoo during their last visit Jongin predicted his Mother would stay away for a while. It was a pattern that she followed like clockwork.

Jongin stayed calm as the shackles were affixed to his ankles and wrists. He shuffled down the long hallways, the cold cement interior of the prison offering him a soulless landscape as he moved towards the small visitation chamber.

When the guards opened the door, Jongin could see a man seated in the visitation chair, his back turned towards the door. Much to Jongin’s surprise the guards undid his shackles, slamming the door behind them.

Jongin inched towards the table, apprehensive. Until he heard his visitor speak.

“Yo- brother.” It was just above a whisper but Jongin would know that voice anywhere.

“Doctor Park!”

“Shhhhh!” Doctor Park turned towards Jongin, his finger held up to his lips. Joon Hyung had dyed and cut his hair, it was now a short black bowl cut. He was dressed in a baggy sweatshirt and jeans, oversized sunglasses covering part of his tanned face “Just listen to what I have to say.”

Jongin nodded. Kyungsoo was standing next to Jongin, equally enthralled at the Doctor’s visit. It had been years since they had seen Doctor Park.

Joon Hyung leaned forward, motioning Jongin to move closer. Once the younger man was leaning halfway across the wooden table, the doctor began speaking in a low tone “Listen brothers, they are after me now- so I need you to do something for me.”

Jongin was confused. What could he do while he was behind bars?

“You have a hearing coming up, right?”

Jongin nodded. There was going to be a hearing, asking for a retrial. Jongin’s new lawyers had found more than one procedural mistake with the first trial, enough mistakes to make a retrial a very real possibility.

“I am going to send some brothers your way, but I need you and Kyungsoo here to help me out. At the hearing I need you to do something. Are you good for it?”

Jongin and Kyungsoo nodded and listened intently. They would do anything for this man, so it wouldn’t be a problem at all. If Doctor Park Joon Hyung needed them, they would be there.

***

“It is so weird to see you driving.” Minseok was fascinated as Luhan shifted the car into second gear, his eyes glued to the road.

“I am nervous, okay.” Luhan was more than nervous, he felt like hyperventilating. He could have had the chauffeur take him, but then there would be a thousand questions from his Mother. Questions like if he had finally made a friend, if Minseok was gone now, if he was feeling better about life, if he would leave the house on a regular basis now.

Luhan had lied and said he was going to the library. It was lame, and not really a reason for him to suddenly want to drive, but his Mother had smiled and let him go without any questions none the less.

“You are doing great.” Minseok tried to boost his friend’s confidence.

Luhan smiled weakly “Not sure about that, but we aren’t smashed against a concrete wall yet so I guess I can’t be that bad.”

Minseok laughed.

After a few minutes of silence Luhan asked the question that had been eating away at him “Minseok…are you happy to meet other people like you?”

“You mean Sehun and Baekhyun?” Minseok considered the question for a moment “I guess so. I mean, they are the first people I have met that are like me.”

Luhan tried to focus on driving, not on digesting Minseok’s answer. He failed, at least partially. He was still focused on driving, but his anxiety got the best of him as he asked “So…does that mean, you, um, want to be friends with them?”

“Well, isn’t that what we are doing right now? Trying to be friends?” Minseok questioned, looking at his friend with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, yeah. I guess so.” Luhan felt that little gnawing feeling in his chest. The same one that had plagued him before “But you won’t leave me for them, right? I mean, because they are better than me?”

“Are we doing this again?” Minseok asked “After all these years?”

Ten years ago

Luhan was pretty sure he should pull the fire alarm. Why not? His entire life was being stolen right in front of his eyes. Well, not right in front of his eyes, which is why he should just pull the damn fire alarm already. Then he could at least see his life being stolen away. Maybe even do something about it.

He tapped his pencil on his desk, tapping his foot up and down in tandem.

“Yah! Stop it.” The girl next to him shot Luhan a dirty look. Luhan scowled back at her.

The teacher droned on, oblivious to the horrid events occurring outside the school building. Luhan wanted to stand up and shout, to tell him to stop talking and end the class already. Because he was pretty sure if he didn’t Minseok would be gone and then he would be all alone and th-

The bell rang just in time. Luhan grabbed his backpack and made a beeline for the door, almost knocking down a few of his fellow students in the process. He ran down the halls, the stairs, and bolted out of the door. It would be jog to the soccer fields and he couldn’t run fast enough.

When Luhan reached the playing field he hunched over, out of breath. Scanning the stands he came up empty. He looked towards the players on the field, warming up for their practice. Then he saw them. Well, him.

Choi Minho was there, stretching. And next to him was Minseok, miming the boy’s motions. Luhan’s chest tightened. Damn Minho.

Luhan tried to play it cool. Once his breathing calmed he walked up the sidelines, stopping near Minho. “So, big game this Friday, huh?” Luhan asked, leaning against the white concrete wall that encased the bleachers.

Minho looked over at Luhan, “Yeah.”

“Good luck then.” Luhan examined his nails, trying to seem disinterested in the whole affair.

“Are you here to watch too?” Minseok asked, his face breaking into a wide grin once he caught the sight of Luhan walking up the sidelines.

Luhan tried not to look angry. Or jealous. Was he jealous? No. Not jealous. Maybe just annoyed. He was definitely feeling something, ever since Minseok had decided he liked soccer. The day Minseok decided he liked soccer had been seemingly inconsequential…until Minho came on the scene. That was when Minseok started gushing about how amazing the underclassman was at the game – even going to watch him practice while Luhan was still chained to his desk. It was a nightmare.

“Maybe.” Luhan answered Minseok

“What did you say?” Minho asked.

“Nothing.” That was the problem about talking to Minseok on the soccer field. To everyone else he was talking to himself.

“We should go sit in the stands!” Minseok started to walk towards the bleachers, giddy.

Luhan followed his friend, happy to get him away from that accursed Minho who was so good at soccer and amazing and could do everything and-

“The game this weekend is going to be great, I know it.” Minseok sat down, his eyes never leaving Minho.

“So, do you like him or something?” Luhan asked, his spite coming full force as he watched Minseok flash that crooked smile at Minho – who would never even realize how amazing and adorable it was.

“Oh my god! It is that weird kid talking to himself again!”

Luhan looked over his shoulder. There were three girls sitting in the stands to his left. They were snickering in Luhan’s direction.

“I could buy and sell your families. Just wanted to let you know.” Luhan waved and smiled before going back to pouting at Minseok. The girls shut up. It wasn’t a secret at school, that despite Luhan’s eccentricities, he was filthy rich.

“Of course I like him! He is so cool!” Minseok clapped as Minho shot a perfect goal.

“Oh.” Luhan narrowed his eyes at Minho, wishing he could summon a lightning bolt to hit the kid.

“Are you jealous, Lu?” Minseok asked, still not wavering from observing every little movement on the soccer field.

“Jealous?! Me?! No!” Luhan really wished Minho would be sent to some other school, or maybe decide he liked basketball better or something.

“I think you would be a million times cooler than Minho if you played soccer.” Minseok finally turned away from the field to look at his best friend “And then we could warm up together!”

“Play soccer?” Luhan considered the fact.

…..

Two weeks later Luhan was standing on the field wearing a sky blue jersey. It was some kind of strange series of events that ended with Minho being put on the injury list due to a pulled muscle- and Luhan taking his place as team captain.

Minseok was next to his friend, stretching with Luhan as he warmed up.

“Do you think we will win?” Luhan asked.

“What was that?” One of the other players asked, looking at Luhan.

“I asked if you think we will win.” Luhan lied. He had asked Minseok, but details, details.

“Of course.” The player answered.

“There is no way we can lose, not with you on the field.” Minseok answered, his words unheard by anyone but Luhan.

It was enough for Luhan, to hear that Minseok had faith in him. They won the game three to nil. At the after game celebration Minseok managed to see Luhan alone for a moment.

“I knew you could do it.”

“Minho would have done the same.” Luhan thought back to that horrible too good at everything-

“No - he wouldn’t have been as good as you.” Minseok smiled “And you really need to stop being jealous. Remember, I am only here for you any way.”

Luhan had blushed, his face turning a deep red. “I …well…”

“You better get back to your party, champion.” Minseok nodded towards the long table where the rest of the team were busy downing hamburgers and fries.

“Than tha thanks Minseok.” Luhan stuttered, feeling like he had just won the world cup.

Minseok never mentioned Minho again.

***

Kris was not amused. It had been three days since he barged into that damn psychiatrist’s office to drag his brother out of there- only to have to drag his brother out of there to avoid questioning by the police as opposed to stopping his therapy session. Now his brother had exchanged phone numbers with the other men in his group and they were on their way over to the Huang estate for a visit.

“Aren’t you afraid that they are crazy?” Kris had pressed his younger brother, trying to find any button to push that would have Tao cancelling their visit.

“No.” Tao had answered, before launching into a conversation with Sehun.

Kris hated Sehun. Kris hated the fact that those other two guys from the doctor’s office had their own friends hanging off of them – which Kris guessed were exactly like Sehun. He wasn’t sure, because he couldn’t exactly ask who they were without revealing he could see them too.

“You should cut him some slack.” Suho suggested, watching as Kris began another painting. Kris had retreated to his room when it became clear Tao wasn’t about to cancel his friends visit.

“Should I? Why?” Kris asked, dipping his paintbrush in the pale green paint.

Suho didn’t answer, because there really was not a good answer. Not one that would end with anything other than Kris shouting or crying or generally wishing away Suho’s existence. It was the fine line they walked. As long as they weren’t talking about the truth of it all – as long as they weren’t talking about Suho’s true nature, they were fine. As long as they were just being themselves, no questions asked, everything was okay.

A loud bark interrupted their silence. It was Rebel, Kris’s Rottweiler.

“Looks like the crazies showed up.” Kris muttered, still painting.

Suho sighed. It was hard, sometimes it was so hard.

 ***

“The hearing is in a week.” Jongdae wasn’t asking a question, he wasn’t really doing anything but confirming out loud the reason for Yixing’s sour mood.

“Yeah.” Yixing was cleaning the small restaurant. He had volunteered to help out the neighborhood woman who ran the small rib restaurant after she had a nasty fall and broke her arm.

“You will go.”

“Of course I will go.” Yixing finished cleaning off the last table, he began to stack the chairs up neatly, trying to make sure he didn’t crack another of the cheap plastic chairs like he had the night before.

“You will ask for the motion for a new trial to be denied.”

“Yes.” Yixing stopped stacking the chairs. He walked to where Jongdae was perched on a stool, sitting down he ran his hands through his hair.

“I wish I had been there. Saw it, you know.” Jongdae flashed back to that night five years before. He wasn’t there because he was with Yixing. He wasn’t there because there was no reason to be there. Yet he still wished that he had, that for some reason he was in that small alley that night, watching, observing.

“It doesn’t matter Jongdae. He was a bad person, but it was still wrong…. No one deserves to die, no matter how horrible they are.”

Jongdae nodded “After the hearing, we should move back to Seoul.”

Yixing looked at his friend “Why?”

“Because we can’t run away forever.”

“Can’t we?” Yixing asked, standing up he went back to stacking the chairs. He didn’t want to think about returning to the city permanently. Not now. Probably not ever. Not while Kim Jongin was there – in prison or not.