Halfhearted
Stupid CUPID!
Featured song: Rainy Day by Ailee
Kai tightened his grip around Luhan’s cold palm before the latter spoke, “I’m sorry… but we…”
Chanyeol immediately swung around and sighed while Xiumin butted in upon hearing Luhan’s words “We? What…do you mean, Luhannie?” Kris glanced at his confused face and caught Chanyeol’s pained expression on the side.
“Helloooo! We’re here!”
“Luhannieeee! It’s good to see you.”
“Lulu!”
Tao, Suho and Baekhyun suddenly appeared out of the blue and joined the rest of their brothers. Luhan’s face darkened at the presence of more cupids. He turned to Kai who was also feeling heavy, knowing that sooner or later, he will see his brothers’ distraught faces. Baekhyun and Tao both motioned towards Luhan only to be stopped midway because of an unexpected sight. Baekhyun’s eyes gazed at Luhan’s hand which was intertwined with Kai’s. He took a step backward and stumbled on Suho who was frozen and speechless.
“What’s this?” asked Tao while he moved closer to Luhan. “Lulu? Did Kai do something bad to you?”
Luhan shook his head.
Tao then looked back at his brothers who were all looking away in silence; Suho lowered his head and left speechless while Baekhyun stared blankly on the floor. Xiumin somehow realized what was going on. He immediately walked away from the rest and vanished. Chanyeol’s misty eyes were still fixed on Luhan. He was holding in his words. He felt sorry for himself, thinking how he missed the chance of telling Luhan how he feels. Without even confessing, he already felt rejected.
Kai finally broke the silence, “Luhan and I…”
Tao hissed and butted in, “What Luhan and I?”
“Tao, shut your mouth and listen,” warned Kris.
“Luhan and I,” Kai continued. “We finally confessed to each other. He…he chose me.”
Tao fell silent. The rest gulped simultaneously after hearing the heart wrenching revelation. “No way,” Baekhyun forced a smile. He shook his head and watched Luhan whose expression wasn’t that complicated to read. What Kai said was the truth. Suho muttered, “I ...didn't expect this.” Tao suddenly scratched his head, “Pfft! What the heck is this? Kai? Really? You can’t be serious Lu---“
“Yes,” Luhan blurted out and gasped. “It’s….Kai. I’m really sorry. Please…” he paced towards Tao and the rest. “…please understand…”
The feeling of losing them one by one was starting to fill Luhan’s head. He was never been afraid to lose them until that moment. After all, he considered them as his true friends. Now, he could see them drift away before his eyes. “I’m going to take a walk,” murmured Baekhyun. His usual lively voice went down the drain. He dragged his feet towards the door and when he slowly opened it, he was taken aback on what he saw..
Luhan’s eyes grew even bigger. Standing on the other side of the door was Sehun, listening at their conversation for a while. He lifted his head and with hurting eyes, he clearly expressed his feelings to Luhan. Kris sighed and waited for the wrath. But to their surprise, Sehun moved in and walked towards Luhan and took away his hand from Kai. “Don’t go around talking nonsense, Hannie.” He smiled dryly while Kai’s eyes followed his movements. “Let’s go,” uttered Sehun before he carried Luhan up in the air and glided outside the window.
“Luhan!” Kai reached out for Luhan but it was too late.
“Why don’t you let them talk, Kai?” Chanyeol suddenly spoke coldly. He gulped unconsciously before he continued, "Let Luhan tell him and make him understand at the very least.”
"He might...lose it," muttered Kai while rubbing his forehead.
"I'll go after them," said Kris who motioned towards the window. "You stay right here, Kai. You might also lose it in the process. I don't want to see the both of you hurting each other." He then glanced at Chanyeol, Tao and Suho. "And it's also better if the rest of you talk it out. I'll be back with Sehun and Luhannie."
***
“Where are we going, Sehun?”
The two were swiftly soaring across the city. Sehun didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled Luhan and placed him in front of him. He then wrapped his arms around the latter for a back-hug. “Sehun, please understand…”
“Luhannie, please… just… don’t say that,” plead Sehun while leaning his head on Luhan’s shoulder.
“…Me and Kai.. ---“
The youngest cupid constricted Luhan’s body, stopping the latter from speaking further. “I don’t want to hear it,” muttered Sehun. "Anything but that...." Luhan fell silent. He did nothing but sigh as Sehun held him tightly. They were in the air for a while until Sehun moved lower and they landed at Luhan's university grounds. The cupid almost dragged Luhan to one of the vacant rooms and shut the door closed.
"Sehun. You have to listen to me," began Luhan.
Sehun gulped and smiled forcibly. He was walking back and forth. "You don't understand. I am in love with you." His fear of losing Luhan slowly overpowered his senses. Like how he reacted when Mei Lin invited Luhan to dance at the school festival's night, his bad feelings aggravate his transformation. "I need you..." he mumbled. His eyes were uncontrollably overflowing with tears, in synchrony with how his hair color gradually altered from various bright colors to gold and dark brown.
Luhan hurriedly reached out for the youngest cupid, hoping to stop him.
“It has always been you and you alone, Luhan,” muttered Sehun while his body continued to light up.
It’s as if time moved bit by bit, Luhan lifted his arms and held Sehun’s shoulder firmly. “Don’t do that, Sehun!”
“You have no idea how much I longed to be with you,” furthered Sehun.
“Stop! Please!” Luhan moved in and embraced him. “Please…”
Sehun’s stiff body slowly weakened. His rigid stature loosened as he held Luhan. The latter breathed heavily as he murmured, “Forgive me…”The cupid’s burdened heart which hindered him from listening slowly dropped. Luhan’s voice mended his ill feelings somehow.“Please… stop doing this to yourself,” furthered Luhan as he Sehun’s head soothingly. “Enough already. I don’t want to see you like this. I’m begging you.”
Kris was quietly observing them outside the room. He peered through the narrow opening behind the door. Although he saw Sehun in the midst of transformation and wanted to intervene, he believes that at that moment, only Luhan could make a difference.
***
Worried, Kai remained silent with Chanyeol, Suho and Tao instead of talking to them like what Kris suggested. Chanyeol could sense his anxiousness and sighed, "If you really want to go after Luhan, then do it. I guess I have no right to stop you now."
Kai glanced at him. His intuition was telling him that his brother was sustaining a bitter feeling inside despite his composed facade.
"I know. We don't really need to talk about it or listen to an explanation. It's clear. Luhannie likes you," finished Chanyeol. He motioned towards Suho and tapped his forehead to stop the latter from drifting away, forcing himself to act maturely for the sake of his other brothers. "Pull yourself together. You, too, Tao." He then turned to Kai. "If there's an explanation to be done, you need to do that to the rest of our brothers," said Chanyeol before he vanished with Suho and Tao with heavy hearts.
***
Just when Luhan tried to move away from the hug, thinking that Sehun has finally calmed down, the latter motioned his hand and held Luhan's cheeks before drawing in for an unpredicted kiss. Kris was caught off-guard by his sudden action that he froze there in a instant, not noticing the angered eyes behind him. Luhan's sanity was threw off the window at the contact and he immediately pushed him away. Before his eyes, he saw Sehun's transformed physique; his eyes that of a person who hides sullenness behind the composed front.
Loud footsteps drawing nearer resonated all over the room and it caught Luhan's attention. He turned around and found Kai in motion. The latter was walking towards Sehun; eyes fixed on his younger brother. Kris hurriedly followed Kai and tried to stop him but to no avail. One sharp look from the latter and Kris was blew out of the room. Luhan came running to check him. "What happened?!"
Kai moved some more before he halted, facing Sehun closely as their eyes battled for dominance.
"Kai...stop him...he'll..." muttered Kris.
Luhan looked back at Kai and called out. "Kai! Don't do it...You--" he was stopped abruptly when his eyes caught the cupid's face. His charcoal-colored eyes transitions to a metallic-gray color, dusted with golden red hue. "What--"
Kris furrowed his eyebrows and continued, "...he'll transform."
***
Xyke paused and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was in her room that evening with Qupid. She stopped brushing her hair and put down the comb before she quickly turned to her husband who was on their bed and silently reading a book.
"Dear, I felt...weird."
Qupid closed the book and placed it on the side. "I thought I was the only one feeling it."
"The boys haven't returned yet. I can sense that something's wrong with my Sehunnie..." she furthered. Her intuition was telling her to do something quick, but she couldn't understand what it was. "This is so unclear to me and it's unusual. I always know what's up with them but right now, my mind seemed clouded. I am worried."
Qupid stood up and paced towards the huge crystal window. He moved the red curtain to the side and peeked outside. "Chanyeol, Suho and Tao returned."
"That's good. What about Sehun?" inquired Xyke. Qupid shook his head in response. He then added, "Kai, too. He hasn't returned for a while as far as I know. I'm sure this have something to do with the human."
"Luhannie?"
Qupid nodded, "I have a strong feeling about it."
Xyke pursed her lips and fell into weariness. When he heard faint footsteps outside their room, she immediately motioned towards the door and opened it to see Chanyeol passing by.
"Chanyeol. It's good you're back. Where is...Chanyeol? Channie!"
The cupid passed by her like he heard nothing. Xyke got confused and turned to Qupid for help. The old man called his name out in a dominant voice which made Chanyeol halt in an instant.
"I'm sorry," he muttered as he bowed his head to acknowledge his parents.
"What's wrong with you, dear? You look really pale," Xyke remarked as she moved closer to him and his face gently. "Did something happen?"
Baekhyun was sitting on the park and silently browsing his camera. It was twilight and he was alone, dealing with his sad heart. Tao, who returned home, doesn't really feel at peace. He was on his bed and staring blankly on the ceiling while Suho faced his grief by plummeting himself under water in the bath. Xiumin was inside his room, stuffing his mouth with cakes and other sweets while crying. The best distraction for him was to eat. But then, he remembered the time when he and Luhan spent time in the cafe and joined the competition. He went back to the time when Luhan treated him for his birthday. He would stop every time he goes down memory lane and snuffled back his tears.
Chanyeol sighed and looked away while answering, "It's about Luhannie."
Xyke and Qupid glanced at each other and waited for their son to continue when DO peeped from the other room. He immediately asked upon hearing Luhan's name.
"Luhannie? What about him?"
Chen was also walking back to his room that time when he heard the conversation. "I heard Luhannie's name. What is it, Channie?"
Chanyeol turned to them and could only imagine how the chaos will further if they finally realized the situation between the Luhan and Kai. He sighed even more while Xyke tried to analyze his anxiousness.
Amidst the questions, Lay was secretly observing Chanyeol from the other side of the hallway. He thought momentarily before he decided to leave and go to Earth at once.
Author's note: Sehun and Kai with the transformations. Kris' failed attempt to stop his brothers. Luhan showered with more trouble. Baekhyun's depression and reminiscence. Tao and Suho's ways of dealing with a broken heart. Xiumin's stress eating. Plus (poor) Chanyeol's repressed feelings. =.= idk anymore. Good luck, boys.
PS What I realized in writing this chapter is that it's actually (very) difficult to express various ways of dealing with love problem. Pheew.! 6 (to 9) heartbroken guys y'all. xD
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Thanks for dropping by and reading.
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