Tao bursts into the kitchen, Kris following suit. The latter heaves exhausted breaths and flops against a kitchen counter for support. Kyungsoo flinches at the loud noise of the doors banging against the wall and whirls around, away from Kai, whom he had (not) been staring at. "What happened to you two?" His huge eyes widen even more in his astonishment. Kris is a wheezing mess and motions for Tao to explain. The panda boy rolls his eyes at the taller boy's lack of sportmanship.

"Have you seen Baekhyun? Please say yes..." He searches the kitchen with a desperate look in his eyes.

Kyungsoo simply shakes his head. "No. He hasn't been in here for a while now. But if you do see him, could you PLEASE remind him of his duty?" he asks with a sickeningly sweet smile.

Tao shudders and retrieves a step. "Er... Sure... C'mon, Kris, let's look elsewhere..."

The doors slam shut and Kyungsoo chuckles, slightly amused by their behaviour. At this Kai stirs in his sleep and Kyungsoo is quick to be silent again.

Tao continues his chivvy throughout the café, Kris trailing behind, until the tall boy can't take it anymore and slumps in a chair. He pulls Tao back by his wrist and pushes him in the opposite chair. "Calm down. I'm sick of running around. Why don't you start by telling me what's going on?"

Meanwhile in the boy's bathroom, Chen slowly opens the stall he's been sitting in and stares into the mirror. He had caught Baekhyun's words and his face had turned a ghostly white. This was serious, unlike all of those regular banters between Chanyeol and Baekhyun. He heaves a deep sigh. I have to warn the others... or no. I have to stop Baekhyun... or should I find Chanyeol? He continues debating back and forth, when suddenly hears a crash outside, underneath the bathroom window. Quickly he gets up and runs outside.

Turning around the corner, a gruelling scene unfolds in front of his eyes and Baekhyun is forgotten. The thugs, that (unknown to Chen) had annoyed Baekhyun earlier, had Xiumin crashed against the wall, a few centimeters above ground. The smaller one flails helplessly with his legs, gasping for air and clutching feverishly at the hand threatening to choke him. The five, tall and well-built boys laugh at Xiumin's attempt. "You're dead meat, bun! A meat bun!" the tallest roars.

Chen's subconscious mind shakes its head at this groaner. He thrashes forward, prepared to rescue his best friend, when suddenly within a blink of an eye, Xiumin had somehow managed to free his throat from the grip and landed on his feet. Chen stops dead in his tracks and gawks at the scene disbelievingly. The smaller rams his little fist into the stomach of the leader. The tall thug stumbles back from the impact, clutching his stomach and looking astonished. Then he snarls. "Get him, guys!" Chen releases his breath, he hadn't realised he was holding and staggers a few steps towards the fight. Xiumin looked so small. No way he could beat those huge guys...

But Xiumin proved him wrong. Due to his little height, Xiumin begins ducking and avoiding the thugs' punches, who are much slower. They stumble from their own force and one even falls facedown to the ground. He lands with a heavy thud and another follows soon. Chen finds himself inable to move a muscle. He's simply too astounded by Xiumin, fighting off those thugs completely on his own. Suddenly, he hears a loud roar behind him and Tao appears, a furious Kris at his side. He throws himself into the fight with such ferocity and wushu-techniques, that the thugs soon scramble away from them. A furious panda boy, a sneaky bun, and a giant angry bird dragon were obviously too much for them to handle.

Xiumin grins. "Thanks guys! I was always..."

"We don't have time for that now!" Tao interrupts. "Have you seen Baek or Chanyeol? It's really important."

At this Chen snaps out of his reverie and comes closer. "Baek and Yeol? Why..." His eyes widen. "!"

Xiumin glances from Tao to Chen to Kris and back to Chen. "Did I miss something? What's the matter?"

"I overheard Beakhyun in the bathroom. He's planning something against Chanyeol!" Chen explains quickly.

Tao nods furiously. "I overheard him too... He seems to have a habit about talking in bathrooms" he muses.

Kris shakes his head at the panda boy. "Really, I don't think this is the time now..." Tao pouts at this but seems to recollect his wits pretty fast.

"So what do we do now? Does anyone have an idea, where Baekhyun might be or what his evil plan is?"

Shaking heads. Silence.

Kris suddenly claps his hands and Tao and Chen flinch in surprise. "We have to split up. It's no use standing here and contemplating won't get us anywhere." 

Xiumin nods and chips in, "Chen and I will search the upper part of the festival 'till the kissing booths. Will you take the lower parts?" A silent agreement was made, and the four friends depart.

Meanwhile, Baekhyun squats behind the tarpaulin of the fortune teller's tent and eyes Chanyeol, who is currently engrossed at a shooting stand. He grits his teeth. Instead of working at the café, he plays hooky and leaves the work to us!  His knuckles crack dangerously when he balls his fists. He clutches a small bag and a devilish grin spreads on his lips. Just you wait, Park Chanyeol! You'll regret this day to the end of your life!

The boy comes forth from his hideout and approaches the giant, currently shooting at some ducks. "What's up, Channie?~" he chirps.

Chanyeol whirls around with a shocked expression on his face. When he recognizes Baekhyun, his mien sets in an annoyed frown. "What do you want? Get lost!" He harshly spits at Baekhyun as he returns to shooting the wooden shapes.

Baekhyun scowls and takes a step forward so that he is standing beside Chanyeol. Two heavy guns are lying in front of him on the counter. "Five shots please" he tells the third year, who eyes the two EXO-members carefully. Unnoticed by Chanyeol, the shorter boy fidgets at the gun, his back turned towards the giant. The latter heaves an annoyed sigh and continues shooting, trying to blend out Baekhyun and enjoy his free time. "Channie..." Baekhyun whines. The other growls but turns towards his sworn enemy none-the-less. "Help me pleeeeeaseeee?!" He hands Chanyeol the gun. "The trigger seems to be jammed!"

Chanyeol, not being an expert, takes a quick glance at it and passes it on to the third year. Baekhyun's eyes widen and hastily he snatches the gun from the surprised third year's grip. "I'm sure it's fine..." he mumbles. Chanyeol has enough. He puts down his own gun and turns towards Baekhyun again, his eyebrows drawn together. "Haven't you harrassed me enough?! Just leave me alone. Go play with somebody else!" he shoos.

Baekhyun, though taken aback, gives out his cutest pout. "But you rescued me. You're a hero! My hero!" He throws himself into Chanyeols arms, his weight making the surprised giant stagger backwards.

"Stay away from me!" Angrily he shoves at the smaller, sending him to the ground. Baekhyun can hear his wrist snap and tears start welling up in his eyes. He tries getting up, but hot, searing pain shoots right up his arm and he clenches his teeth in agony. He glares up to Chanyeol, who's still oblivious to the other's pain.

"You must really hate me" the smaller mutters under his breath, before lunging at the taller and giving him a good punch with his unbroken hand. Chanyeol is too taken aback to block the hit, that sends his head flying backwards. Slowly he turns it toward the glaring younger, his eyes narrowing.

"Now you're done for" he hisses and rushes onto Baekhyun.

Later, none of the two remembers who had shot the gun, but suddenly during the fight, a trigger was pulled, a loud shot resonated in the air and the two boys tense. A gun clatters on the ground, Baekhyun and Chanyeol lock their gazes, both widening their eyes in panic.

*

When none of the maids entered the kitchen for new orders, Kyungsoo had begun to feel restless. What was going on? He peeped through the kitchen door and saw a cramped café, but no hosts nor maids. He cursed under his breath, left his apron on the kitchen counter and a sleeping Kai at the table and left in his search for the other members. It was at the exact moment that he rounded the corner of the shooting stand, that he hears the deafening sound of a shot and a sudden, numb pain in his upper chest. He stops dead in his tracks.

In shock, he stares down at the small hole in his shirt. Looking up he sees Baekhyun and Chanyeol, both clutching onto each other and gaping at him in horror, a gun laying to their feet. Kyungsoo's knees buckle. He falls down on his shins and gasps for air, still not fully comprehending what's going on. Then he hears an ear-piercing, high-pitched scream. Must be Luhan, he thinks in a daze, as black dots appear in front of his eyes and his lids flutter shut.

In an instant, a pair of large, strong hands catch the lifeless body of the cook as it is about to collapse and cradle him carefully. "Kyungsoo", a deep, raspy voice chokes.

Chanyeol stares at Kai and Kyungsoo, the tall boy embracing the sickeningly white Kyungsoo. We've shot him. He's dead! This can't be! I shot a person! He completely turns off the growing crowd around them, as well as the other EXO-members gathering around the couple. His gaze is fixed on Kyungsoo's face. Please, please, pleaaaase don't be dead! I won't ever call you Satan-soo again, if you're alive! Pleaseeeee! He unconsciously clutches Baekhyun's hands.

Kai stokes Kyungsoo's cheek, his eyes searching the boy's body for any sign of life. "SOMEONE CALL A DOCTOR!" he shouts, not bothering looking over his shoulder and checking if someone is complying. "Kungsoo, please! Kyungie!" A silent sob escapes his lips and a tear rolls down his cheek and gets soaked up in Kyungsoo's stainless white shirt. .... Wait! Stainless? Shouldn't there be blood? Kai gasps, not daring to hope and with a furious gesture rips open the shirt's collar. Underneath it, a long necklace with a wooden tag attached dangles around the smaller's neck. The bullet had hit the tag and was still stuck in the intricate design. Kai releases a breath. Quickly he searches Kyungsoo's upper body for any sign of injury but comes up with nothing. "He's alive!" he mumbles. Then louder "He's alive! The bullet missed him!" Disbelievingly he stares at his love's face, still unconscious. It must've been the shock, he thinks.

The crowd around the crime scene quickly disperses after these news and leaves the EXO-members around Kai and Kyungsoo. Suho clutches the fringe of his dress, still in shock. He bends down and examines Kyungsoo's pulse. Then he turns on his heels and glares upwards at Baekhyun and Chanyeol, neither of them meeting his eyes. "Who shot?" he asks, his voice dangerously calm.

Baekhyun shudders and throws a quick glance towards Chanyeol, finally realizing their intertwined fingers. Quickly he lets go of his hand and distances himself from the taller boy. "I don't know", he mumbles, eyes downcast. "It sorta kinda happend... I guess!"

Chanyeol nods furiously. "Suho, we're really sorry. We didn't know, that we..." he stops nervously. "I mean, we were fighting and then suddenly a shot went off by chance?!" he tries.

Suho's eyes seem to shoot bolts of fire. "You were fighting? YOU WERE ING FIGHTING?"

The two culprits flinch at Suho's sudden change of tone. They don't dare to reply and hang their heads low. Suddenly a silent groan draws all attention to Kyungsoo, who's coming back to his senses. He blinks slowly, his eyes cracking open and meeting a beaming Kai above him. He lets his gaze wander, confused, until his eyes catch his ripped shirt. Then he screams.

Kai nearly drops Kyungsoo and furrows his brow. "Kyungsoo, it's okay!" he tries to soothe the smaller. A fist hits him downright in his stomach and the taller groans, doubling over and clutching at his tummy.

The cook scrambles backwards, away from Kai. "ert!" he shouts.

Luhan, standing beside Suho can hardly restrain a laughter. He ducks behind their leader and coughs. Suho jumps in, in an attempt to save Kai from Kyungsoo's flying fists. "Kyungsoo, stop! Kai wasn't doing anything. You were shot and fainted. We were worried about you and Kai was merely checking, if you were okay. He had to rip your shirt to search for any injuries. Fortunately, there are none!"

The boy looks towards Suho, bewildered and letting his fist drop. "Oh." He looks back at Kai. "Sorry" he mumbles, not daring to meet his eyes and pulling his shirt around his exposed chest.

Suho tries to divert the member's attention from Kyungsoo's obvious discomfort and turns towards Baekhyun and Chanyeol again. "Now back to you two..." 

Gulp! The two shaking boys shudder.

*

Meanwhile Kai had managed to pull Kyungsoo away from the other members and went scurrying towards the kitchen to get him something to drink. Kyungsoo heaves a deep sigh. He couldn't believe it, he had fainted. He of all people. And there wasn't even a scratch. Once more he looks down on his chest, now chastily covered by Kai's jacket. He must have been feverish from the shock, since his face felt so warm. I should drink some water to calm down... Suddenly, someone taps his shoulder. Kyungsoo turns, only to be met with the cold glaring stare of none other than Oh Sehun. The smaller stiffens.

"What's the deal with you and Kai, ?" Sehun snarles. Kyungsoo furrows his brow. Sehun hasn't called me that name for... a long time now. "Stay the hell away from him" the blonde boy hisses under his breath and stalks off.

Kyungsoo couldn't stop himself. "You tell him, to stay away from me!" he yells after the younger.

At that moment Kai appears again. He watches Sehun's retreating back. "What's going on? Who's staying away from whom?"

Kyungsoo waves it off. "Nothing" he says and drifts off in a brooding silence, finishing the glass of cold water Kai hands him, in one fierce gulp. He had thought Sehun and him were good. At least at the point of mutual understanding. Obviously, he had thought wrong.

His face sets in a firm scowl. He isn't the same as three years ago anymore.

He'll fight back this time.

Hey, all you lovlies! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Make sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think! Have a nice week! <3