The house had exploded. Minseok was calling the police. Chanyeol had tried to hold Baekhyun, but he pushed him away. Kyungsoo and Junmyeon were patting him everywhere, trying to soothe him enough to tell them the details of the call, but so far he’d only managed to get out, “Yixing…Yixing is hurt. Somebody call the police, please. Now. Now.” And something about a stepbrother, before he’d broken down into a panic attack. Jongin and Sehun tried to make Baekhyun look at them, to calm down, because they knew that at Baekhyun’s current state he couldn’t afford another episode. His body wouldn’t be able to take it.

Then Baekhyun was freeing himself from the hands and he was stumbling towards the door, fumbling to wear his shoes to go out into the chilly night and search for Yixing. Chanyeol quickly wrapped a thick down coat around Baekhyun and tied his shoelaces for him. Everyone left together and split up in different directions, with Chanyeol and Luhan who were following behind a desperate Baekhyun.

He had a hunch; his heart was telling him that Yixing would’ve taken the street that they always walked. Through the tears in his eyes he scanned the entire alley, and there was where they first held hands…where they first kissed…

There was a car driving away from beneath the lamppost, and Baekhyun recognised his stepbrother Yifan’s black Audi. His knees gave away and Chanyeol caught him before he crumpled onto the floor in a heap. Baekhyun pushed him away and headed for the open gate closest to where the car had parked.

Luhan ran ahead of them. Chanyeol supported Baekhyun as he blindly blundered through the unkempt grass, holding him up whenever he tripped over his own feet. They heard a splash before they rounded the corner of the mansion and when they finally arrived at the clearing, Luhan was already pulling a wet body out onto the edge of the pool.

There was no mistaking Baekhyun’s favourite hoodie; it was Yixing.

Luhan, dripping wet, freezing cold, pulled Chanyeol away when he tried to catch Baekhyun from falling onto his knees beside Yixing. They clutched at each other as they looked at their member, their friend, their brother, lying unmoving in front of them.

At first Baekhyun felt nothing, as if the part of his brain that decided his emotions were frozen with shock. His fingers were running through the short black hair, down his face, wiping the wetness from his cheeks, his lashes, his forehead. He felt the icy water soaking into his own clothes and he tried to protect Yixing’s body from the cold. He saw the bruises on skin, the cuts, the patches of dark red on his clothes, and he felt Yixing’s broken ribs on his motionless chest. He didn’t have the bravery to peel off his clothes and see the blossom of purple all over his body.

“I’m here now… Jagiya…I’m here now.”

“It’s not funny anymore...”

“Why won’t you wake up…”

“I’m here…”

Both Luhan and Chanyeol were standing behind Baekhyun, so neither of them saw the line of blood that travelled up his body and trickled out of the corner of his mouth. They watched, hearts clenched with sorrow, as Baekhyun slowly lowered himself to lay his head on Yixing’s unbeating heart, and in this position he stayed for a long, long time.

Chanyeol felt Luhan shivering from wetness beside him, and he finally snapped out of his stupor and whipped out his phone to text the other members with shaking hands. Replacing it in his pocket, slowly he approached Baekhyun and silently knelt beside him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. When he didn’t react, Chanyeol thought he’d passed out from shock and weariness, and he pried his arms from around Yixing’s chest.

Suddenly Luhan gave a cry and ran towards Baekhyun, holding his face in his hands, and turned Baekhyun’s face so it was facing Chanyeol. The blood had trickled along Baekhyun’s chin, down his neck and across his collarbone. And it was only then did they realise that this night had been too much for him.