Baekhyun stared longingly at the empty streets, cheek pressed against the glass of the window. Springtime was a step away from arriving but it was still cold and Baekhyun wasn’t sure if it was really the weather or it was just the crappy heating the apartment had.

It hadn’t been easy to find a relatively cheap and accommodating apartment, so there had some commodities such as a proper heating system that had been relegated to second plan. But they had a house; it was somewhat safe, in a discreet neighborhood, that wasn’t expensive since none of them had a proper job, opting for doing small things that allowed them to maintain anonymity and at least they all could sleep in some kind of surface.´

A pair of arms wrapped themselves around his middle, hugging him close, providing a sense of comfort that, despite being great, didn’t feel as good as his arms, as Sehun’s.

“It’s really early and it’s cold. You should be sleeping.” mumbled a sleepy voice in his ear.

“I know Jongdae. I just can’t sleep. I don’t know why.”

“You know exactly why, don’t give me that crap; you are unable to sleep because of the same reason we bolted out Oh Estate in the first place.”

Baekhyun choose not to answer, he would hate to prove Jongdae right. It had been almost three months since they had moved out. Three months since any of them had contact with the people they had left behind: friends, lovers, brothers and Baekhyun couldn’t erase the guilt from his mind nor his heart. There was always a heavy feeling that followed him wherever he went.

Jongdae, bless his soul, tried his best to cheer him up every day, partially out of guilt but as Baekhyun told him, this entire mess wasn’t Jongdae’s fault, it was also his own fault, for taking part into some petty revenge, no matter how helpful he had tried to be, towards Jongdae.

Baekhyun silently lifted his own hands, making them finally peek out their warm nest inside the sleeves of his sweater; Sehun’s sweater really. It had been what Sehun was wearing the last night they were together, their special night and it had been the only he had manage to take with him, and hugged Jongdae’s arms, making them squeeze tightly around his body.

“Aren’t the other two supposed to be up by now? As far as I know, they both have work.” asked Baekhyun, voice barely above a whisper still staring down

“The alarm should be chiming in a few minutes, don’t worry about them.” replied Jongdae, chin coming to rest on top of Baekhyun shoulder. “Also, you should worry about yourself.”

“I’m fine Jongdae.”

“No, you are most definitely not. Jia really did a number on you this time.”

Jongdae smiled sadly as he took in Baekhyun’s appearance. Approximately one month and a half after they moved out of the Oh Estate, Jia somehow found they location and sent men after Baekhyun, as skilled as Baekhyun was in Hapkido and as proficient as he was with a gun, after all Kris did teach him something after it all started, Jongdae helped, the man had been unable to protect himself. He never fully disclosure what had happened but he had managed to escape somehow, the only remembrance of the episode were the burn marks all over Baekhyun’s body, bruises already faded long ago and the ragged scar that went from the spot just below his ear, down to his neck and back, to his shoulder. It wasn’t her first try but it was the one who had been the worst yet.

“It’s fine, Jongdae. I am alive; we all are and that is all that matter.”

“I would believe that if you didn’t struggle so much to do some things, such as teaching piano to your kids.”

“It still hurts Jongdae but that doesn’t mean that I am not fine, I am okay with a little pain.”

“You shouldn’t be really! I am getting tired of this Baekhyun. First, her men shot you…”

“It was only a graze.” interrupted Baekhyun.

“You have a scar on your stomach saying otherwise. You almost got hit by a car and they burned you with god knows what. You are starting to look like Kris and not in a good way. Maybe we should…”

“Don’t!” warned Baekhyun, voice raising and turning to throw a glare at Jongdae. “Don’t even suggest it. We are not contacting them, we have done them enough and seriously I wouldn’t face them unless it was a life or death matter, I am feeling ashamed as it is.”

“But you have to agree that you were far safer when you were with Sehun.”

“Regardless. I thought we agreed no more contact with him, no matter how much it hurt us.”

“I am sorry for putting you through this. All because I wanted revenge! I don’t even know what for since Jongwoon forget easily about me and even got married to a girl who looked like she could be my daughter.”

“It’s a two way street. It was my fault as well. Just…let’s keep going.”

“If kept going means that one of you two is going to make me breakfast, I am down with it.”

Both Jongdae and Baekhyun turned to look at the gigantic form of Chanyeol, who stood in the archway of the corridor that gave access to the bathroom and the only bedroom the apartment had.

It had been a surprise to everyone that Chanyeol had joined him. A very big surprise, considering that Chanyeol had been Sehun’s care for so long that Baekhyun never even considered the possibility; they even had somewhat mended their relationship during the last weeks before their departure.

“While I do condemn your actions because revenge is never the option, I can’t stay mad at you.” had explained Chanyeol to him “Because if he hadn’t been for you I would still be in that house being miserable and living ostracized by Junmyeon. I would still be feeling ashamed of myself and feeling alone. I can thank enough Sehun for giving me a roof and food but I just wanted the affection and that was what you gave me. No one else!”

So Chanyeol had parted with them, with Jongdae and Baekhyun, leaving the man who had looked over him while he was a teenager, not raised because Chanyeol had pretty much raised himself, all alone, and now lived in a small apartment, sleeping on a couch that had been settled in the corridor since there was no more space inside the crowded bedroom. Sometimes Baekhyun joined him on the couch, it was an even tighter fit but nobody commented on it.

“I’ll make some breakfast for you, do you want me to make something for you to take?” asked Baekhyun disentangling himself from Jongdae and opening his arms for Chanyeol, who accepted the hug with a smile, snuggling into the warmth provided by the younger male.

“If you please, I need to take a shower before someone else hogs the bathroom. My shift ends at half past three, since I am opening the coffee shop.”

“Does an egg and bacon sandwich for lunch sound good? I can make you some toast and some orange juice. There is not much more left in the fridge.”

“That sounds wonderful. Anything you cook is wonderful. But now I really need to take a shower, before the hot water ends” stated Chanyeol before pressing a kiss into Baekhyun’s hair and disappearing into the corridor.

“We should wake Yixing. As it seems he overslept again and I know that needs to be at the animal shelter in an hour or so.” commented Baekhyun “You should go and wake him up, as you two are such good friends.”

That smirk that he sent to Jongdae did little to nothing to embarrass the other male who simply shrugged and disappeared to wake Yixing.

Yixing had been a pleasant addition to their group. Baekhyun had a really good relationship with him and had an inkling that, when the time came, Yixing would leave with them and he did, he followed them; Yixing told him that it made no sense to remain in a house without the people that he liked the most, therefore he turned their back on them and didn’t look back. Baekhyun couldn’t thank him and Chanyeol for the endless support and he didn’t even mind when they had sat him down, Jongdae too, and gave them the mother of all lectures for the stunt they both had pulled.

He was not going to mention how the three of them had helped him after his encounter with Jia’s men. He remembered stumbling home, barely managing to take steps and fell through the door, not even registering the shocked faces in front of him before collapsing on the floor, unconscious. They had been the ones that nurture him back to a healthier state, using their meager paycheck to buy him medicine, at the same time that they were looking for a new house for them, which was the humble abode they now had. Their previous house had been a little bigger, more comfortable but now they were safer.

Baekhyun carefully climbed down from the windowsill and waddled to the kitchen, stumbling a little since some of the burns on his legs were still in the process of healing, leaving big scabs behind. He pulled out a frying pan and the bacon and eggs out of fridge and preparing himself for another day. While the scrambled eggs and bacon fried, Baekhyun brought the hem of the sweater to his face, trying to inhale Sehun scent that, fortunately, still hung onto the fabric.

“I miss you…” he whispered brokenly.

“I want this documents printed and by my desk in less than five minutes.” barked Sehun to a less than impressed Kyungsoo, who glared at him.

“I don’t know who you think I am but I don’t appreciate that tone of voice with me.” stated the smaller man.

“You are my secretary you’ll do as I say.”

“Your secretary, not your slave.” pointed Kyungsoo “Please remember yourself.”

“If you are so offended by my lack of gentleness, you can go and write your resignation letter. I don’t have time for sobbing pity parties.”

“And here I thought you couldn’t be more of and here you go proving me wrong. That is why Baekhyun left; maybe if you were a little nicer to him, I am not even going to talk about being nicer to other people, he would’ve stay and everyone else too. But I guess that it is asking too much of you.”

Kyungsoo didn’t even notice Sehun standing up and appearing in front of him, eyes blazing and inflamed, face pale and stiff.

“Don’t you dare mentioning him to me; you know nothing about the subject so don’t act like you do.” He whispered dangerously, mouth close to Kyungsoo’s hear, making it sound a lot deeper than it usually was, while his hand was closed around the man’s collar.

“Instead of flattening Kyungsoo to the wall, why don’t you let him go and talk to me, instead?” asked a voice from the door of his office.

“Go away Luhan.” growled Sehun, not paying attention to his brother, after all, the traitor had been screwing Kris behind their backs the entire time. It wasn’t bad enough that Baekhyun had deserted from his life, taking Chanyeol and Yixing with him, he wasn’t even going to mention the other traitor.

Luhan calmly walked to both men, untangling Sehun’s hand from Kyungsoo’s shirt, and sending the black haired male out of the room with a gentle gaze. Kyungsoo acquiesced but not without sending a barely concealed hateful look. Luhan was quite surprised with the look Kyungsoo sent his brother; the small male was not the one for joking around, but he had never reacted like that.

However, thinking about thing thoroughly, Kyungsoo, and everybody for the matter, had gone through a really bad moment when their four friends had decided to abandon them all. They didn’t know all the reasons; Sehun had been very brief about the subject and very evasive as well, but they all felt the loss like it had been the death of a family member, some more than others.

While it was easy for no one, especially Kris, who had belatedly heard the news of his brother departure, Sehun seemed to be one that took it to extreme levels; he had become colder, meaner, and apathetic; he barely talked to anyone, even if that someone was Luhan and when he did talk to someone he was harsh.

Luhan understood it though; Baekhyun, with all his charisma and stubborn personality, had managed to sway his brother’s deviant heart and captured it and then he had left, admitting that all had been a lie. He had felt so badly for Sehun who, for the first time in many years, resembled the happy carefree teenager he had met but he pitied Baekhyun. He would like to hate the man, for what he had done to his brother, but he had lived with Baekhyun long enough to understand a little bit of what made Baekhyun himself. Never once, in a long mile, did the blond male expect to find a love interest in the man he was supposed to ruin, in Sehun.

Luhan had thought about it for a while, dwelled on it with fervor, and came to the conclusion that Baekhyun was really a poor soul. The blond beauty had made a friend in Jongdae, while in college, possibly, due to his constant moving, the first friend, aside from Kris, in a long time and he had blindly offered to help Jongdae in his pathetic revenge just to please his friend, never doubting his reasoning or even the moral of it, and in the end, he ended up falling for the man that Jongdae had told him to hate. There was a certain innocent and naive quality to Baekhyun that stopped Luhan from hating the man; call him mental, but Luhan was always the rational one. Also, he felt like he could relate to Baekhyun, he too had lost his mother at a young age while his father ran away with his new wife; leaving him purposefully behind, since she had deemed Luhan unfit of the life she lived. He struggled a lot as a child and then had the blessing of finding himself someone to give him a family. In the meantime, he had also fallen in love with a man without even wanting to do so.

Kris had been someone he had met throughout his life, due to the innumerous social events that he had to attend as the brother and son of one of the most influential families ever. Logically, being the son of the Wu family, Kris had frequented the same circles he had and the two met. The taller male had been a pleasant surprise; handsome, charismatic, enigmatic and quite goofy, if Luhan was honest with himself, and there had been a sizzling chemistry between them and there was no surprise when they tumbled into the sheets. Once, twice, three times, four times, until they didn’t know how to stop.

What had begun as a one night stand, a quick affair, something to help them blow some steam and pent up frustration, had evolved into something more, they sought each other when they needed and even when they didn’t; the only moment where the two of them had been separated were the months when Kris had run away from his mother to protect Baekhyun. Funny was, Luhan didn’t even know that Baekhyun existed and he had been angry until he realized he had no right to, since Kris was not his anything.

When Kris had return to him, partially due to him, since he pushed Sehun into bringing Kris to their side, insisting like a crazy man, he felt content again: content in having the man next to him again and content in going back to their secret affair, the one that they had been having for so long, under everybody’s noses. Sehun had been thoroughly pissed at him when he discovered about that to the point where he didn’t speak to him for about two days.

The older man had been devastated when he learned that Baekhyun had walked away, after being away for quite some time, in a way that Luhan wasn’t expecting. He had broken down in tears, loud sobs and worried, frantic phrases that expressed his concern at the fact that he could no longer protect his brother from his mother. Luhan did the best he could to support and care for Kris but Sehun was also a mess. A bigger mess if anything!

Sehun, his baby brother, had been extremely angered by the whole situation and it had been extremely difficult for him to analyze the situation rationally but Luhan didn’t exactly blame him for that. He remembered being asleep when a loud scream woke him up, when he gathered his bearings and ran to the auburn haired male’s room, he had found the room trashed to pieces, but Sehun remained, in the middle of the room, breathing harshly, a crumpled piece of paper secured tightly on his fist. Luhan had read the letter, after he pried it from Sehun’s grasp, and when he drew his eyes from the letter to look at his brother, he witnessed the how the raw emotions swirled in Sehun’s eyes, mixed together like a bitter and poisonous concoction, before they disappeared, as if the taller had clicked on a button.

The aftermath hadn’t been pretty; it was as if Baekhyun left a gigantic black hole where Sehun’s heart was supposed to be. Luhan found it intriguing how that had happened, especially when Sehun had sworn that he didn’t love Baekhyun. The only logical answer, for him, was that Baekhyun had been the first person with whom Sehun had created a somewhat romantic bond after Yoora; therefore the younger had become too attached and far too quickly once he understood the nature of said bond, after all, Sehun was only human and he craved love and affection as any other human being, despite his cold demeanor.

The thing that Luhan feared the most was his brother’s volatile reactions; the younger of the two was far more temperamental than he had ever been, getting violent at times and making everyone whimper in fear with his cutting retorts and generally mean words. He had practically shoved Choa, who was one of the kindest people he knew, into the ground, just the other day, if not for Jongin, who had helped her, without a valid reason other than the fact that she had moved some papers on his office desk while cleaning. It had left everyone flabbergasted at the gesture but Sehun could care less, his pain was making him develop a hard bubble around him that was beginning to reveal itself as impenetrable.

“You should lay off Kyungsoo, and everyone else for the matter. You are not the only one who is going through a hard time.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” replied Sehun harshly, sitting on the chair, not even bothering to look at Luhan while they spoke, a habit of his when he was angry or frustrated at someone.

“Yes, you do!” interjected Luhan, throwing his brother a withering look. “Stop with the bull. I know you since we were teenagers and I can very well tell that you are distressed over this. Has you have been, for the last few months.”

“You know nothing!” snarled Sehun, this time looking into his brother’s eyes. Luhan had never seen his brother looking as feral as he did; ire, hurt and sadness together made a far too powerful mixture for Sehun, the stoic man he was to handle.

“I know more than you want to reveal. After all, I am your brother…”

“You are not my brother!” exclaimed Sehun, shocking Luhan.

The blond haired male looked at Sehun with barely concealed surprise. Had Sehun really said what he thought he had said?

“You don’t mean that…” he said tentatively.

“I do!” spat Sehun venomously, even if he didn’t, in fact, mean what he was saying. He loved Luhan but he was angry at the world and he was taking all of his frustrations on the person he had cared for since early years. “You were someone who my father found on the streets and helped. You share nothing in common with me, except for the name and that was because my father was kind enough to give, at least, that to you.”

“ you.” was the answer he received, immediately followed by the sound of the door of his office slamming shut.

Sehun leaned back against into the chair, hand coming to cover up his eyes, feeling tired and drained all of a sudden. He hated to argue with Luhan, which was a rare occasion all by itself, but this argument had exceeded the boundaries of reasonable and he had crossed many limits.

The door opened again, revealing a concerned Minseok, peeking inside and assessing that everything was okay.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, eyebrows high on his forehead, tone of voice very calm and very even; Minseok never really got angry or spoke loudly, he was quiet, worked hard, was perceptive and very strong. Sehun hired him immediately after the boy, at least at the time, and had thrown a guy off Sehun, from a small gang, without anything but his hands.

Sehun wasn’t sure if it was the fact that he just vented his anger or the fact that Minseok was the epitome of calm, but he felt himself growing calmer and calmer by the second.

“Everything is fine Minseok, thank you for the concern.”

“Luhan got out of the building in a hurry, Tao went after him. Do you want me to send Jongin with them?”

“No, Tao will be enough thank you.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes, I am.” replied Sehun a little impatiently “Both Tao and Luhan can take care of themselves.”

“Nevertheless, Luhan was quite…upset when he left. Maybe for precautions it would be better.”

“No, trust me; they are fine on their own.”

“Don’t say it often.” joked Minseok with a small smile on his lips “You may jinx it.”

And jinx Sehun did.

It was early evening and Yixing had just finished serving dinner, it was a very succulent bibimbap and everyone was enjoying the meal. The conversation was animated, with Chanyeol and Baekhyun discussing the outcomes of a chess game they were currently having. They were really the only ones playing it since Jongdae didn’t like chess and Yixing could beat them in his sleep, so they didn’t even ask him to play anymore, unless they were feeling adventurous.

They were happily chatting when one of their phones rang. There was an unspoken rule that said that cellphones were forbidden during meal time; they treasured the moments they had together, especially after leaving the Oh Manor, since they felt the absence of friends and family, so there was no surprise when nobody made a move to pick up the phone.

However the insisting vibrating sound of the phone, ringing time and time again, made Jongdae ask Baekhyun to answer it, saying that it might be an important call. Baekhyun excused himself, slowly moving to pick up the phone that was probably somewhere in the coffee table.

“Hello?” he asked as soon as he answered.

“Baekhyun?”

The voice on the other side of the line made Baekhyun’s breath stop and his chest to heave a little in shock. He did not expect to hear it and it was, quite frankly, very scary to hear; they had got rid of their phones when they left, so hearing a voice that like the one he was hearing wasn’t something he had planned to do that early.

“Kris?” he asked, voice trembling a little bit, with emotion.

“Yes, it’s me, little brother.”

“How…?”

“I always manage to get what I want. You should know that.”

“But…”

“There is no but’s. I always get what I want?”

“Why are you calling me? Forget that, how are you even talking to me?”

“You are my brother, no matter how stupid you can be at times; I would still be on your side. But if you really feel like you really want a lecture about your sudden bouts of stupidity I am more than happy to oblige. However, I have pending business to discuss with you, the lecture has to wait.”

“Is everything okay?” asked Baekhyun tentatively; noticing the glimmer of something in the older’s voice.

“No.” confessed Kris, voice hitching up “She did it, Baekhyun; she really did it.”

“Done what?”

“She took Luhan. My mother took Luhan. He had a really big fight with Sehun yesterday and he walked away angrily from the company, with Tao after him but he never came back home. She contacted us this morning.”

“She wanted something, didn’t she?” asked Baekhyun bitterly, knowing fairly well that Kris’ mom had taken Luhan to have a bargain chip to use against them.

“She wanted you Baekhyun; she wants you and I can’t do that but…it’s Luhan. I don’t know what to do. Sehun is desperate. Help me!” begged Kris, voice strongly wobbling now, since Kris was on the verge of tearing.

The fact that Kris, his manly, stoic brother, was on the verge of tears broke Baekhyun’s heart. It wasn’t right to ask Kris to pick between a lover and a brother, it was rather cruel and Jia knew that, she played not only with Kris’ fears but with Sehun’s as well. She was a smart woman and had made a very smart move, almost a check mate.

This was why Kris had gone straight to business instead of giving him the mother of all lectures and it made him smile slightly to realize that Kris had, unconsciously, picked a side; if he hadn’t there had been no need to call him and ask for his help. Kris had picked Luhan but it didn’t really matter for Baekhyun because ultimately, all they ever wanted, both Kris and himself, was each other’s happiness and if that was Luhan for Kris, so be it.

Also, his brother had abdicated of a lot of things for Baekhyun; family, time, money. The older had even chose to live like a runaway and let himself be submitted to pain in order to protect them so, Baekhyun thought, it was time to stop being a coward and help his brother for once, forgetting about the consequences.

“Don’t worry Kris.” he mumbled into the phone. “Everything will be alright trust me.”

He didn’t give Kris a chance to reply, he disconnected the call.

When he turned around his three friends where looking at him expectantly: they had obviously heard some of the conversation and understood it to an extent.

“Tell us what to do Baekhyun.” stated Yixing firmly and calmly “Whatever you plan to do, you know we will follow you. We’re in this together.”

Baekhyun looked at the three serious faces in front of him; he didn’t want to do this to them but he needed them, he was that selfish. He took a deep breath, releasing it all at once before uttering the words that were going to, once again, flip the board of the game.

“Pack your bags, we are going back."

A/N: Am I amazing or what? I feel like I am completely blowing your expectations for this chapter after the previous one but...well see! A little insight on their new life and the douche Sehun can be when he is feeling hurt! Was it what you expected? Probably not huh!? 
Anyway, thanks a lot for the endless support, you are truly the best!
Have an amazing day, be healthy, be safe and BE HAPPY!
Love, love, love to all of you!