Time: Present Day

Guys,

By the time you read this, I will be long gone. I’m sorry that I am too cowardly to have said goodbye in person. I am actually quite lost for words other than that I think this has been a long time coming. I’ve been thinking about going for a long time but your friendship kept me grounded. I never thought that I would be strong enough to leave but today, I found my strength. I will finish out the rest of my contract through the end of the year but until then, I need some alone time. I need to come to terms with not only leaving an inspiring group, but some wonderful brothers as well. I’ll send for my things next week. See you sometime next month.

Love,

Chanyeol

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Baekhyun sighed as he shoved Chanyeol’s note back into his pocket. No matter how many times he read through it, he was no nearer to figuring out how he was going to find Chanyeol once he got to Tokyo. He had no idea what he was going to say and any attempt to think it through was being interrupted by being recognized at the airport. It wasn’t difficult for Baekhyun to know where he was headed. Chanyeol loved Tokyo and took trips there as much as he could – Baekhyun knew that would be the best place to find him.

“Attention all passengers; this is the final boarding call for Japan Airlines flight 1427. The gates will be closing in 5 minutes.”

Baekhyun picked up his bag and walked over to the window. He stared down at the workers bringing another plane in with their light sticks. Baekhyun hoped that he knew Chanyeol well enough to find him.

And with that, he walked over to the flight attendant, scanned his ticket, and boarded the plane for Tokyo.

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“Hi, it’s Baekhyun, I made it to Tokyo.” “Have you found him yet?”

“No, I just landed. I haven’t eaten all day. I need to eat lunch before I leave.”

“Can we talk then?” “Of course”

Baekhyun grabbed a meal from Rokurinsha before sitting down at a table in the VIP lounge. He plugged his head phones in so that he could continue his conversation with Mrs. Park.

“What are you going to do when you find him Baekhyun?” she asked. “Uh…I’m not really sure to be honest. He very well could walk away from me or refuse to talk, but I have to try.”

“He left me a voicemail and sounded very upset. I’m very worried about him.”

“I know, me too. I know this is my fault. I wanted to you to know that I am very sorry. I never meant for things to get blown up like this. I didn’t mean what I said and I need to tell him that. I need to find him.”

With a slight tone to her voice Mrs. Park asked, “and what about Chanyeol’s needs?”

“I…um..” “Baekhyun?” “I don’t know!” he blurted out, “I just panicked!”

“Panicked?” Mrs. Park repeated, sounding skeptical. When Baekhyun didn’t respond, Mrs. Park changed her tone into a more loving, motherly voice.

“Baekhyun, do I need to remind you that I saw how you reacted when Chanyeol was in the hospital. I don’t think for a moment that you believe what you said to the media in that interview.”

“I don’t!” “So why did you say it then?” Mrs. Park questioned. “I panicked!” Baekhyun replied nervously.

“You’ve already said that a few times Baekhyun. How about you explain exactly why you panicked?” Baekhyun closed his eyes. How could he tell Chanyeol’s mother that for a small moment in time he had this strong desire to kiss her son and he was terrified that he would develop a crush on Chanyeol if he didn’t distance himself from him? He couldn’t tell her that; especially not after their conversation in the hospital when he defensively denied having any romantic feelings for Chanyeol.

Baekhyun hated the idea of lying to Mrs. Park but he couldn’t exactly tell her the truth either. “A few weeks ago someone sent me a link to an article about Chanyeol and I.” This was true – he saw it on Google and left rude comments at the bottom. “They had a bunch of pictures and videos taken out of context that they were claiming to be evidence to support their speculations that we were gay.” “It made me really uncomfortable and I realized that maybe we shouldn’t spend so much time together. We should take time for the other members.”

“So you started to avoid him?”Mrs. Park asked. “Yeah, I thought if we spent less time together then we wouldn’t be so…”

“Excessive?” Mrs. Park finished. “Um..yea..but I was so miserable and really missed him.”

“Color me surprised…,” Mrs. Park replied, “so what happened last night?”

“Um..someone made a comment…and I over reacted and said some very hurtful things that weren’t true…trying to act like Chanyeol and I weren’t close.”

“Ah…so…why do I get the feeling that there is a lot more to this story that you’re not telling me Baekhyun?”

“Sorry?” Baekhyun replied. With a sigh, Mrs. Park continued, “Nevermind; so, what’s going to happen in the future if someone makes the same comment? Are you going to punish Chanyeol for it again?”

“What? No! Absolutely not, I’ve learned my lesson. I feel absolutely terrible and would never want to hurt Chanyeol again. I’ll just laugh it off – not let it bother me. Chanyeol’s friendship means more to me than anything in the world.”

“I believe you Baekhyun; which is why I should probably tell you that I know where Chanyeol is.”

“What?! Where?!”

“He’s at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel off of Nihonbashi Muromachi.”

“Ah!! Thank you! I’m going to go there right now. I will make sure he calls you when we get home.”

“Alright sounds good; Oh, and Baekhyun?”

“Yes, Mrs. Park?”

“Take care of my son.”

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Location: Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Time: 1 hour later

Baekhyun had to take a 35 minute train from the Kamata Station down to Chuo-Ku. After finding a taxi, he finally made it to the steps of the Mandarin Oriental. Baekhyun knew that he was in the right place because a group of girls wearing EXO shirts were standing on the front steps. He had the driver drop him off at the side door, running inside, before being seen. After checking into his room, he sat on the bed and tried to think about his next move. How was he going to find Chanyeol? He couldn’t search the entire hotel without being caught. Where would Chanyeol go? Baekhyun suddenly sprang to his feet as it hit him exactly where he could find Chanyeol.

He spotted Chanyeol instantly when he walked into the gym. He had his headphones in and was wearing his black tank top. God, when did his muscles become so defined? Ah! Focus Beakhyun! He walked over to the treadmill trying to catch Chanyeol’s attention. Chanyeol was lost in his music so Baekhyun had to rip out one of his headphones, causing Chanyeol to almost fall off the treadmill in surprise. “Baekhyun!” he yelled. “What the hell are you doing here?! How did you find me?!” he said angrily, turning off the treadmill.

“Are you following me?” “No! I came here to apologize,” Baekhyun cried.  “You’re just wasting your time,” he said sternly. “Chanyeol, I know you’re mad at me but please just talk to me. I came all this way to tell you how sorry I was; doesn’t that count for something?”

“Pff..” he huffed, “you get 10 minutes while I catch my breath and then I need to lift weights.” “Okay, just please hear me out.”

“Baekhyun, I get it okay? You were just being honest and I’m grateful that you were the one who finally had the guts to say something about. Don’t make this harder than it already is.”

What?” Baekhyun asked confused, “No! Chanyeol! I was lying!”

“You never lie Baekhyun,” Chanyeol frowned. Baekhyun looked away nervously, “I…I um..”

“Spit it out Baekhyun, I don’t have all day!” Chanyeol said as he stood up and started walking out of the gym.

“I was trying to make you hate me!” he blurted out, covering his mouth in embarrassment.

Chanyeol stopped in his tracks and slowly turned to look at Baekhyun, “What did you just say to me?”

“I…I..” Baekhyun bit his lip, is heart pounding. “Why would you want me to hate you?” Chanyeol said baffled.

Baekhyun sat on the weight bench and told Chanyeol the same story that he had told Mrs. Park. “So let me get this straight. You decided that instead of talking to me, you would just sabotage our friendship?”

Baekhyun covered his face, unable to look Chanyeol in the eyes. Chanyeol sighed and uncrossed his arms - sitting down next to Baekhyun. He wrapped his arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders and said, “Baek, netizens have been saying that stuff since we debuted. Why is it bothering you all of a sudden?”

“I don’t know,” Baekhyun frowned. “So…does it still bother you? What people might say about us?”

“No, “Baekhyun shook his head. “Are you sure?” Chanyeol asked.

Baekhyun lifted his gaze from the floor and locked eyes with Chanyeol. “I’m sure,” he said confidently. Baekhyun knew that he could not live without Chanyeol. He had to find another way to deal with his stupid feelings. “I meant what I said,” he whispered, “I love you.” He cleared his throat and continued, “I know I was being ridiculous. Who cares if the netizens take things too far? It’s what we think that counts, right?”

Chanyeol suddenly pulled Baekhyun close to his chest, “I love you too,” he whispered. Baekhyun could not hold in his tears any longer. He broke down, burying his face into Chanyeol’s chest. Baekhyun finally composed himself and pulled Chanyeol’s note out of his pocket. “So about this leaving the group thing…If you leave, I’m leaving.” Chanyeol smiled, moving Baekhyun’s hair out of his face, “No puppy, the group needs you. You are a powerful singer and the world needs to hear your voice.”

“The group needs you just as much as they need me, Chanyeol. I need you. You can’t leave,” Baekhyun whined, wrapping his arms around Chanyeol again, squeezing affectionately. Trying to change the subject Chanyeol said, “Hey, since you’re here, can I play you a new song that I wrote?”

“I would love to hear it,” Baekhyun said, lovingly looking into Chanyeol’s eyes. “Everyone thinks that I wrote it about some girl, but honestly, I wrote for you.”

Baekhyun sat up with wide eyes, “you wrote me a song?!” Chanyeol smiled, “Yeah, it’s called 'You Are'.”

“Let’s go! I want to hear it now!” Baekhyun said as he jumped up, pulling Chanyeol to his feet. “Okay, uh.. just a minute,” Chanyeol said, clutching his chest.

Baekhyun’s smile quickly dropped when he turned around and realized that something was wrong. “Chanyeol, what’s wrong?”

“I stood up too fast, I just need a minute,” Chanyeol said, wincing at the pain in his lungs. “Tell me what’s wrong,” Baekhyun pleaded.

“I…” Chanyeol started to talk when he suddenly fell to the floor. “Chanyeol!” Baekhyun screamed, “Chanyeol?!”

Baekhyun frantically started shaking Chanyeol, trying to get him to open his eyes. He put his ear to Chanyeol’s heart, desperately trying to hear a heartbeat.

Nothing.

Baekhyun pulled out his phone and desperately dialed 1-1-9.

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Location: Room 61, University of Tokyo Hospital
Time: 2 hours later

Chanyeol slowly opened his eyes, groaning. His head felt like someone smashed it with a baseball bat and his arm was throbbing. The room was dark and he could hear the soothing beeping of his heart monitor. He realized that someone was massaging the pressure points in his hand, as he looked over and saw Baekhyun. “Hi,” he said shyly, “don’t worry, I’m not going to hit you this time.” “Wha..what..” he mumbled, barely able to form his words. “You passed out again. The doctor said that your packed red blood cell count dropped too low,” Baekhyun said, softly touching his cheek. “They had to give you a blood transfusion. The bad news is that you’re going to have a permenate scar but the good news is that the doctor said you shouldn’t have any more problems breathing.” “But don’t worry; I’m sure the fans will love it. They’ll be all like ‘Oppa! Show us your scar! Oppa so hot! Oppa!’” he giggled.

“Baekhyun?”  

“Yes, my love?” Baekhyun said teasingly.

“Shut up.”

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Location: Room 61, University of Tokyo Hospital
Time: 1 hour later

“Damn it Baekhyun!” Suho yelled, “I told you to apologize; not send him back to the emergency room!” Even though Suho and Baekhyun were talking via Skype, Baekhyun could still hear the anger in Suho’s voice. “I didn’t do anything hyung!” Baekhyun whimpered.

“Can…you..keep…it..down,” Chanyeol mumbled weakly.

Baekhyun glanced up to see Chanyeol slowly opening his eyes. “He’s awake hyung!” “Let me talk to him,” Suho said demandingly.

Baekhyun turned the lap top so that the other members could see Chanyeol. “Chanyeol!” Sehun yelled. “Are you okay?” DO asked. “I’m fine guys, where are the other members?” “EXO-M is doing a fan signing in China” “Oh okay,” Chanyeol said disappointingly.

“Did the doctors say when he could come home Baekhyun?” Suho asked. “They said they wanted to keep him here for a few days to make sure that there were no complications from the transfusion. We should be home before the concert next week but Chanyeol will be out of commission for awhile.”

At the sight of Chanyeol starting to tear up, Baekhyun reached over and cupped his cheek. “I’m so sorry you guys. I didn’t mean to do this to you again.”

“It’s okay Chanyeol, we know.” “I want to keep talking but I am so tired…” Chanyeol yawned.

“Hey,” Baekhyun whispered, “don’t stay awake on our account.”

“Yea,” Sehun agreed, “we’re not going anywhere.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” DO added, “Just focus on getting better and come home.”