A/N: Changed the name of the gallery to Dépaysement. 

There’s a conversation in chapter idk, the one with the title “52 fire orchids in your Gaudi bottled vodka” -whatever that is- where Baek and Moon have an interesting hint in regards of a chess piece.

-March 28th, 2015. Paris 11:04.

Zitao found it hard to concentrate. Having dealt with Sehun’s emotional baggage the day before had brought back his personal afflictions, drowning his mind with useless desires that he had ignored for so long for the sake of “the greater good”. 

He had spent every single day of the past years training to gain mental fortitude, to make sure his abilities were more than capable to save his friends. 

Save them; a burden that heavily weighed on his shoulders and kept his priorities fixed. 

One day, he had promised himself repeatedly like a mantra, one day he’d let himself live.

If only he had known that the lives of his group didn’t solely depend on his abilities, but of Jongin’s as well, he would’ve loosen up a bit and would’ve even tried to live a normal life. He would’ve stepped out of the monastery and explored his surroundings, maybe even form some friendships along the way.

Oh, how he would’ve traded his rags for Gucci a long, long time ago. 

However, time was still linear and he wasn’t willing to reverse it out of self indulgence, much less now that they were so close to accomplishing their task. 

Jongin nudged his side, drawing his attention back to their current situation. Mama was looking at him displeased, arms crossed in front of her chest. 

“Zitao, if you’re going to be daydreaming, you might as well stop the clock while you’re at it. Don’t waste our time,” she said sternly, and then turned back to point at the wall behind her desk. 

Right, Mama had been forcing information into their mushy brains all morning, drilling them with every step they must take while being in the past.  

“As I was saying, this is the moment when you’ll have to step in,” Mama said and indicated towards an image taped onto the wall.

It was a picture of the crossroad, the one where they confronted the soldiers and the boggers during the third part of the trials. He couldn’t remember much of that particular moment, especially its denouement. He would have to rely on Jongin for this part. 

“The importance of your task is to give them enough time to safely remove the chip from inside of Kyungsoo’s head, and a jumpstart to escaping the dome.” Mama continued her explanation, leaning back into her chair as she spoke with authority.

“Safely? Safely?” Jongin repeated indignant. “You call, nearly frying up Kyungsoo’s head, safely?”

Mama’s eyes widened for a second. “It’s best to completely deactivate it for a safe extraction,” she explained calmly. 

“Can't you just do that with the controller?”

She shook her head. “Overriding the chip is the best option.”

Jongin fisted his trembling hands. “You hurt him.”

“Overriding the chip won’t kill him.” 

“You ing tortured him!”

Zitao flinched at Jongin’s sudden outburst, completely taken aback by the fury in Jongin’s voice.

Mama remained stoic, impervious. “Don’t raise your voice at me. I did what needed to be done.”

“Like I give a damn!” Jongin fumed. “There has to be another way. There has to!”

“It’s the only option we have.”

“You don’t even care! You’ll hurt him so badly that he’ll lose everything,” Jongin stood up from his chair and slammed his hands against the desk separating them from Mama. “You ing wrecked him!”

Zitao never had witnessed Jongin’s composure break in such an aggressive manner, and knew that whatever he wanted to yell at her was not going to end well. He took a calming breath before reaching forward to hold onto Jongin’s arm. 

“I’m not going to let you hurt him again! I’m not! your stupid plans! you!” Jongin yelled at a motionless Mama, who had been frozen in time. “ you…” his voice weakened as he realized what Zitao had done.

“Enough,” Zitao said calmly. 

“ you,” he said once again, pained but aware of the situation. “I hate this. I hate all of this. I hate you.”

“Stop. Just stop,” Zitao stood while pulling him to look away. “Close your eyes. Breathe.”

Jongin glared at him for a moment before complying. He kept his eyes shut as he took in long, deep breaths, just like Zitao had taught him. 

Zitao waited patiently for the other to calm down and come back to his senses. And, despite everything, he felt rather proud that all his training in meditating had paid off, becoming a useful skill for once.

Jongin rested his head against Zitao’s shoulder, finally relaxing from his sudden rage.

“That was unlike you,” Zitao commented.

“It’s not how I thought I’d manage it,” Jongin admitted, keeping his head down. “I just...I keep remembering that moment and I can’t stand knowing it has to happen again.”

“Technically, that’s not true-”

“Tao.” Jongin drawled out his name in a warning manner.

“I know, I know.” He sighed, pushing Jongin to stand upright. “Think of the bright side. It’s the last time he’ll ever have that damn chip in his brain. That, because of you, he’ll finally be free of it.”

“But at what price?”  

Zitao let out another suspiration, unable to keep from thinking pitifully of the other. “Jongin, you should know by now that freedom isn't free. Especially in the world we live in,” he said condescendingly. 

Jongin didn't hide the disappointment in his features. “We have the chance to fix his past and give Kyungsoo a better future. The one he deserves,” Jongin argued, though it sounded more like a plea to Zitao.

“No, Jongin,” Zitao shook his head slightly in disbelief. “We don’t have the luxury to do what we want, but we have a chance to save him. And the first step is to help us escape the goddamn trials, the exact way we did. The same, exact way. I’m sorry that means Kyungsoo gets hurt and loses his abilities, but it... it is what it is.” 

He seemed to want to argue back, but refrained from doing so with a shake of his head. 

Zitao didn't wait to speak up again. “Let’s try this again. Don't argue with her, don't accuse her of anything just...listen. Maybe it’ll be easier to accept if you let her explain.”

Jongin let his body drop back on his seat. “How’d you suppose I do that?” 

“Just ask why,” he suggested, taking his own seat. “Ready?”

Jongin took a moment before responding with a slight nod of the head. 

Zitao focused on reversing time before finally letting it return to its normal pace.

“As I was saying,” Mama spoke with the same calmness and authority as before, “this is the moment when you’ll have to step in.” She indicated towards the image of the crossroad again.

Zitao fought the urge to look at Jongin, worried about how the latter would react to what they knew would happen next. 

“The importance of your task is to give them enough time to safely remove the chip inside of Kyungsoo’s head, and a jumpstart to escaping the dome.” 

Zitao immediately noticed how Jongin’s body tensed, from his fisted hand to the rigidness of his shoulders. 

“Safely?” Jongin stressed, but Zitao quickly intervened, stretching his arm to take hold of the other’s forearm. 

“Why does it have to be this way?” he asked with a calm and collected tone, hoping his words would draw Jongin out of his own mind. “Why do we have to override the chip? Can’t we just pick it out?”

 Mama’s gaze seemed to question the situation for a fleeting moment, but she answered with the same tone of calmness and rationality as always. “Pulling it out without fully deactivating it could cause an unexpected electrical discharge whilst manipulating it.”

“Isn’t it the same?” Zitao asked.

Mama shook her head. “Jongin will have to touch the chip before phasing it out. The chances of him moving the chip before it is made intangible are extremely high. If the electrical discharge deviates from the normal targets -which they most certainly will- it would cause worse damage than if we deactivate it beforehand,” she explained, eyes centered on Jongin. 

“It’ll still hurt him though,” Jongin mumbled.

Mama sighed as she rubbed her left hand, still covered by a compression wrap. “I understand that overriding the chip will stress Kyungsoo’s neurons, but this will only affect the pathways linked to motility. If the damage affects a different part of his brain, I unfortunately doubt Yixing will be fast enough to repair it, given the restricted time you have.”

“But-”

“Listen to me,” Mama cut Jongin off. “Overriding the chip will break it, it won’t kill Kyungsoo,” she stressed, gaze intense and unwavering, “It will deactivate all of his motor neurons and temporarily paralyze every muscle, including the heart, diaphragm and intercostal muscles. He won’t be able to breathe, he will be ‘dead’ but not brain dead. He will lose consciousness by lack of oxygen, but Yixing can resuscitate him in time.”

Mama paused, giving a brief moment for her words to sink. “He won’t die,” she repeated gravely. “It’s the shot I have to make my cooperation with the company believable and it opens a window for you to extract the chip.” 

“You don’t get it,” Jongin muttered bitterly. “I know he won’t...It’s not that,” he huffed. “It’s the damage done. He won’t ever be the same after this.” 

“No, my dear, I’m afraid you’re too partial to understand,” she said, sounding disappointed, tired. “I...I’m sorry that it has to be this way. But if the sacrifice for your escape is the loss of Kyungsoo’s abilities, then so be it. I’d much rather prefer that than losing anyone of you boys.” 

Her voice carried a weight of concern that felt genuine to Zitao, surprising him. He knew Mama admitting remorse was a rarity.

Despondent, Jongin slouched against his chair, hanging his head low to refrain from looking at her. Mama rubbed her forehead with her good hand. Zitao felt unsure of what to do. He had no idea of what to say, how to steer their conversation to another topic. He didn’t want to try to comfort Jongin, fearing that doing so would make the younger feel embarrassed rather than consoled.

“There’s no time to keep dwelling over this, Jongin,” Mama said, breaking their moment of silence. “What’s done is done, and we must follow as is.”

Jongin didn’t respond. He didn’t even move to show any sign of interest in what she said. Mama didn’t fret over the matter. She leaned to the side and opened a lower drawing from her desk. She pulled out a pair of black sneakers, a booklet, a car key and a USB flash drive, which she kept in her hand. 

“You’re going to need to take these with you.”

Zitao nodded in response. Jongin remained quiet but at least he looked up to pay attention.

“The manual for operating the RV and the key,” she pointed at the booklet and car key. “Jongdae is best suited for this task. Make sure he receives the manual.”

“Why him?” Zitao wondered.

“He’s a fast learner. Given the limited time they’ll have, he’ll be the one able to process this new information efficiently enough,” she answered. 

Zitao merely nodded as response -he remembered nothing about the matter, but could recall Jongdae driving them around. 

“What about the keys?” 

“Leave them in the RV where he can see them,” she instructed. “It’s better for them to be inside the vehicle, so they don’t get lost during all the running and jostling.” 

“Good point.”

“The sneakers are for Kyungsoo, he’ll be needing them,” she continued. “There’s a GPS chip inserted in them. The agents will be able to track your whereabouts with it once they retrieve this flash drive.” 

“Oh, right,” Zitao remembered. “That’s how they found us. Do we hand them the flash drive, or do we leave it someplace obvious for them to find?”

“It’s best to avoid contact. So, yes, leave it someplace they’ll see. I’ve already saved all the necessary files in it.” She looked down at the flash drive still clutched in her hand, “All that’s left is a video message with the instructions I have for them.”

“And an explanation,” Zitao added, remembering the confession tape she’d made.

“Right,” Mama agreed somewhat belatedly, as if she needed to mull over the suggestion first. “You’re right. In order for you boys to agree to receiving their help, you’re going to need some clarity. I will make another video message for you.”

“And you apologize,” Jongin demanded, finally speaking up. His arms were crossed over his chest as he stared right back at her. “Apologize to him for the you’ve put him through. I don’t care if you mean it or not, you do it.”

“I don’t regret the decisions I’ve made, Jongin. What’s done is done,” she said with no malice, but rather rationally. “But I do-”

“I don’t care what you think,” he cut in. “You have to apologize.”

Mama held back, but didn’t waver. “Very well. I will,” she conceded. “Now let’s take a break. Go have lunch, we'll continue this later.”

-March 28th, 2015. Paris 17:40.

Sehun had done his very best in avoiding Baekhyun for the better part of two days now. He still felt bitterness over their disagreement, but Zitao and Jongin’s intervention had helped provide a different perspective over the whole ordeal. Sehun felt he understood better where Baekhyun’s concern was coming from, but that didn’t mean he was willing to speak with him yet. 

However, luck wasn’t on his side. Jongin and Zitao were busy with their last preparations for their mission, Minseok was still gone with Daniel, leaving Sehun relatively alone. Currently,  he was sitting on a chair by Junmyeon’s tank, but the elder was deep in a drug induced slumber. So when Baekhyun appeared in the laboratory, he didn’t have any excuse good enough to avoid him. 

Baekhyun walked in wearing a sweater too big for his frame, hands hidden in the belly pouch with the hood pulled up and falling over the top of his face. He stared at Junmyeon in silence for a brief moment. 

“He looks better,” Baekhyun commented softly.

He wasn’t wrong. Ever since they put Junmyeon in the tank his skin had stopped cracking and falling off, but the damage he suffered remained. However the redness of his wounds had started to fade, which was a sign of a torturously slow healing process. 

Sehun merely nodded to agree with him. Baekhyun sighed.

“Sehun, I’m sorry,” Baekhyun said turning to face him. “I didn’t have any right in saying the things I did. I shouldn’t have tried telling you how to live your life. That was…” He nibbled his lower lip. “That was selfish and inconsiderate of me,” he admitted, slightly hanging his head low. “I just thought of what I believed was right, and I didn’t consider that you could be more introverted or something. I just…” He scuffed his shoe against the floor, “I just didn't understand I guess. We’re different, and the way you lived your life wasn’t wrong. I shouldn’t have called it a waste.”

Sehun stared at him, keeping his features stoic to hide his astonishment. He hadn't expected Baekhyun to outright apologize to him, much less admit his fault. Sehun felt rather surprised at how raw and sincere his words were. 

“I…” Baekhyun wet his lips. Sehun could tell he was struggling with himself, his eyes filled with remorse. “I was mean to you and I know I must've hurt you. I'm sorry for being such an , Sehun-ah.”

Sehun shook his head. “It's…” 

It's okay, he was going to say, but it didn't feel right. What Baekhyun had done, what he had said not only hurt him, but made Sehun question many things about himself. It made him believe there was something wrong with him. 

“Thank you,” Sehun said softly. Baekhyun raised his brows in surprise. “For apologizing, I mean.” 

Baekhyun tentatively stepped closer. “Am I forgiven?” 

Sehun nodded, for he thought it was rather pointless to remain angered at the other. There wasn’t time for petty grudges. 

“I’m sorry for saying you slept around and stuff,” Sehun said while fidgeting with his fingers -too shy to look at Baekhyun. 

“No, no,” Baekhyun said while shaking his hands. “You don’t have to apologize for that.”

“Why not?” Sehun asked, looking up at him.

Baekhyun shrugged his shoulders. “‘cause it’s true.”

“Baek-”

“It’s okay,” he cut in. “I...I guess we can say I wasn’t that good of a person before.” 

Sehun frowned -he didn’t like how Baekhyun was deprecating himself. It didn’t suit him, not as the person Sehun knew he was.  

“Don’t say that,” Sehun shook his head. “It’s not fair.” Baekhyun looked confused at this. “What you did wasn’t wrong either.”

Baekhyun shifted his gaze to the tank. “Maybe I’ve done wrong to others.”

Sehun hesitated as Baekhyun’s gaze fell upon him. His expression was unreadable in a way that made Sehun believe he was wearing a mask. The strength of his gaze made Sehun feel see-through, which was rather unsettling and tantalizing at the same time. Sehun had to look away, confused as to why he felt both allured and intimidate. 

Baekhyun was putting on a tough act, but there was honesty behind the words he spoke. Sehun struggled to believe it so. Baekhyun was complex, confusing, yet he was still a caring hyung Sehun wanted to keep close to.  He couldn't fathom him to be a mean person.

Sehun mustered the courage to ask, “Did you mean to?”

Baekhyun’s features saddened -the mask Sehun envisioned quickly vanished. “I don’t think that matters much. Things don’t go the way you intend them to,” he said, rubbing his arm.  

Sehun sighed in relief, “Everyone makes mistakes.” Sehun held onto Baekhyun's arm, “You might've done wrong, but hyung, you’re not a bad person.”

Baekhyun smiled, finally looking like the Baekhyun Sehun treasured in his memories. Baekhyun reached over to ruffle his hair. Sehun closed his eyes, he always enjoyed the feeling of Baekhyun’s fingers brushing his hair. 

Baekhyun went to sit on the floor, resting his back against the tank. “Can I ask you something?” he said looking up at him. 

Sehun chuckled. “Since when do you ask to question me?”

“Good point,” Baekhyun laughed. “I just…I just wonder if you do have any regrets. I know there’s nothing wrong with the way you lived, but do you, like, wish you would’ve done something you didn’t?”

Sehun thought back to what Zitao told him. He had dedicated his life to the monastery, but there were many things he wished could've done. Sehun knew deep down there were things he felt he had missed out on, opportunities he believed would repeat themselves once he was back with Lu Han and the rest. However, since nothing was certain, he knew he had missed out on things he would’ve liked to have experienced. He did have regrets. 

“Maybe I do,” he finally replied. “But maybe not all of them are things that could only happen once in a lifetime. Maybe they’re things I want to do someday, and I will when the time comes.”

“So you wait.”

Sehun nodded. “I...I just let things happen. I don’t go looking for it, I just accept whatever comes and embrace it.”

“I hope only good things come to you,” Baekhyun said with a gentle smile. 

It should’ve been cheesy. It should’ve been laughable, but it wasn’t. He had really meant it. It was straightforward, without giggles or adding a joke at the end to lighten the mood. The honesty of his statement, the intent, flustered Sehun and he couldn’t even fathom why it made him feel that way.

Baekhyun leaned his head against the tank. “Love, or a relationship, isn’t something that just happens, it’s something you work for,” he said sagely. “And sometimes you need some time apart to find each other again.”

“What?”

“I know Lu Han’s gotten better,” he said. “He really struggled when we were separated. He became prone to losing control again. He was a mess, Sehun. Though Yixing managed to help him out a bit,” he explained. Sehun felt his chest tighten. “Anyway, what I’m saying is that he got worse first. He’s much better now. He manages to control himself most of the time, but he has that hitch, that trauma that keeps him stuck.” Baekhyun smiled reassuringly, “I know he can overcome it. He knows how, but it’s the hardest challenge he’ll have to go through.”

Any thought of Baekhyun being agreeable flew out the window. Sehun was tired of Baekhyun babbling about Lu Han to him. It bothered him so much that Baekhyun seemed to know everything and meddled in their relationship.

“Why do you care so much about Luhan and I?” Sehun asked annoyed. 

“Because I want to help you.”

“Just that? Really?” He scoffed. “I don’t believe you.”

“It’s true,” he said, taken aback. “I really do want to help you two out and -and…” He hesitated.

“And what?” Sehun spat. 

“And I want Lu Han to come back,” he admitted.

Sehun laughed in disbelief. “So you’re just using me.”

“What?” Baekhyun frowned, raising his voice. “No, no,” he furiously shook his head, but then abruptly stopped. “Maybe a little, but no. Sehun,” he scooted closer to him, rising on his knees to reach his height, “Lu Han doesn’t want to come back. Or more like, he didn’t.” 

“What?”

“He didn’t want to come back to the group, so I had to convince him,” he revealed.

Sehun blinked back baffled, “Why? Why would he ever say that?”

“Honestly, I don’t understand either,” Baekhyun said disheartened. “From what I've gathered, he’s alienated himself because of what I mentioned before. He’s had a rough time, and I think he doesn’t have much faith in himself.”

Sehun nibbled on his lower lip, unsure of what he could possibly say. His mind was too preoccupied trying to imagine how bad Lu Han must’ve been to say such a thing.

“I thought going over there to see him and tell him that I’m trying to get the group back together would make him happy, you know, like the rest of us, but he didn’t want it,” Baekhyun told him, sitting back down. “He didn’t want any of it. And I think it’s because of you,” he spoke carefully, “because he can’t handle himself around you. And it sounds so stupid to me,” he huffed. “Like, I can’t even understand how far up his he is, but that’s the way things are right now,” he sounded frustrated. “So yeah, my intentions in helping you two may be muddled, but I mean well, Sehun-ah. If he can get better and be around you, then he’ll come back.”

Sehun stared at him for a brief moment before speaking. “Do you need him for something?”

“It’s not like that,” Baekhyun said disappointed. “Of course I want him in the team, it’s Lu Han for crying out loud. But, honestly, I just want everyone back together.” Baekhyun slouched, resting his elbows on his knees. “I want us again. I want to say we instead of I.”

Sehun mulled over his words, unconsciously playing with the material of his pants to have something to distract himself from Baekhyun's gaze. He disliked how easily he believed the other. Apart from the constant reminder of his relationship with Mama, there wasn't any reason why he should doubt Baekhyun. All he had done was try to unite the group again. Yet there was this odd feeling inside that kept nagging him to seek between the lines. Sehun had this unreasonable need to scrutinize everything Baekhyun did and said. Though at this moment, he couldn't.

He believed Baekhyun was being honest. His disposition seemed open and sincere. However something kept bothering Sehun, and the only reason he could figure was Lu Han. Something about Lu Han and Baekhyun in the same sentence troubled him.

Baekhyun reached over to hold his hand and stop him from fidgeting uselessly. “Sehun-ah, please believe me,” he pleaded softly. “I have no ulterior motive. I just want the group together and you guys to be okay.”

Sehun slowly nodded. “Okay,” he relented and moved his hand to hold onto Baekhyun's. “It’s just…” He sighed and began rubbing Baekhyun's fingers.

“What?” Baekhyun asked, leaning his head against Sehun's thigh. “Tell me,” he encouraged. 

“It's weird that your so invested in..in us.”

“Well, maybe I wanted to focus on something positive for a change.” 

“What do you mean?” he mumbled.

Baekhyun sighed, leaning away. “It’s just that, everything feels like it all has gone to ,” he confessed, pulling his hand away to throw them in the air in exasperation. “Kyungsoo being taken away from us is enough reason to stop hiding. But regrouping ended up being much more complicated than I expected -ing hell, just look at what happened to Junmyeon.” 

Sehun didn't need to look at the tank to know how Junmyeon looked, but he did so anyway. The sheer thought of the pain the elder must've been going through was enough to make him flinch. 

“And then there’s you two -the possibility of happiness,” Baekhyun continued. “So, yeah, maybe I got too invested in wanting something good to happen for a change. I…” He faltered and rubbed his forehead. “I recently went through a break up. And, I ended things with her because we were too different. I couldn’t be myself around her without worrying about being discovered.” Baekhyun smiled sadly. His confession erased any doubt Sehun had about his honesty. “So I thought, that the only way to have a couple would be with someone within the group.”

Sehun nodded slowly, finally understanding the drive behind Baekhyun's actions. It made sense, yet it was sad. If what Baekhyun experienced was the norm, then it limited their chances to having a romantic relationship. And if it took such efforts in protecting what he had with Lu Han, then what were the chances for the rest? 

“What about Yixing?”

Baekhyun was taken aback. “No...that’s…” His brows furrowed together as he shook his head. “We’re nothing.” Baekhyun regarded him for a moment with a knowing gaze, then smiled sadly. “I don’t think there’s hope for me, Sehun-ah, but there is for you.”

Sehun’s heart ached. It saddened him to know that Baekhyun had already given up on himself; that he'd prefer to focus on Sehun's happiness than his own. 

“What about Jongin and Kyungsoo? Why don’t you focus on them?”

“Because Kyungsoo’s gone, Sehun,” Baekhyun said slightly irked from having to state the obvious. “And we need his clone to find him. Don’t you see how messed up that is for Jongin?”  

Sehun hadn’t even thought of it -which made him feel rather naive. He never thought of what having Kyungsoo’s clone around would imply for Jongin, how the situation would affect his friend. Jongin hadn’t even mentioned anything about it yet, all he ever spoke to Sehun about was his task to time travel -and, of course, anecdotes of their time apart. 

“Isn’t it similar to Lu Han and I?” he wondered, “Being apart to find each other again.”

“Maybe it is. And I’ll be rooting for them,” Baekhyun said with a soft smile. “Look, I understand it's bothersome that I keep meddling, but we're like family right?” Baekhyun explained with lightness in his voice, trying to brighten the mood. 

Sehun couldn't help but smile at that. He thought of the many times he went to his brothers searching for guidance, something he hadn’t received much from Baekhyun until now. And now that he thought of it, his hyungs had always been mediating his relationship, ever since he first realized his feelings for Lu Han. 

“I do really care about you,” Baekhyun said with fondness.

Sehun chuckled. “Like a little brother?”

“Well, yeah, but…” Baekhyun’s gaze roamed his body, from head to toe and then back up again. “You're not little anymore,” he smirked.

Sehun flustered furiously. He couldn’t believe Baekhyun had just checked him out so blatantly. 

“Those swimming classes have done wonders on you,” he commented.

“Hyung,” Sehun whined -much to his chagrin. 

“It’s true,” he chuckled. “You used to be this tall, scrawny kid. And now you’re…” Baekhyun gestured at his general direction with his hand. 

Sehun felt his face heat up. Despite him being embarrassed, he really wanted to know what Baekhyun thought of him. “I’m what?”

Baekhyun averted his gaze towards his hands for a second, as if he was hesitant to speak. However, when he looked back, Sehun felt a tremor run down his spine.

“You’re-”

Baekhyun grunted as his body slammed backwards against the tank. Quickly, he got up to run away from whatever force had done that, but he was slammed and held against the tank. Baekhyun cried out as he tried to fight against his own body. It happened so fast and abruptly that Sehun could only stare stupefied. 

“Baekhyun? Baekhyun, what’s going on?” Sehun asked alarmed as he finally got up from his seat.

Baekhyun groaned unintelligibly, eyes wide in desperation -blood gushed out from his mouth. Sehun saw past him, realizing that Junmyeon was awake and standing in his tank, glaring at Baekhyun’s back. It was him.

“Hyung! What are you doing?” Sehun yelled, hitting the glass to gain Junmyeon’s attention. 

Junmyeon noticed him and started speaking, but Sehun couldn’t hear him. 

“Hyung, stop it!” 

More. More. I need more - Junmyeon mouthed. 

“More what?” Sehun screamed back, hoping the other would understand him. 

Baekhyun groaned as his body levitated towards the tank’s monitor. He muttered Sehun’s name and gave him a warning look before closing his eyes. A bright, blinding light emitted from Baekhyun and Sehun was quick to shut his eyes -yet he still was affected with an afterimage. He heard Baekhyun fall and quickly scramble back up on his feet. Sehun opened his eyes and saw Baekhyun at the monitor, needing to lean his body against the tank to stand. Junmyeon had crouched down to the bottom of the tank with his hands covering his eyes. It looked like he was rocking his body side to side, but Sehun realized it was the water; it was stirring and quickly forming a whirlpool. 

“Hyung, calm down! Stop!” he tried to get the other to listen but to no avail. “What’s wrong with him?”

“Cravings,” Baekhyun spoke through bloodied teeth. 

The whirlpool dramatically died down, leaving just a gentle current that lulled Junmyeon’s body. They stayed quiet, carefully watching as Junmyeon’s body visibly relaxed. He settled down comfortably and began falling asleep again. 

Sehun felt frightened over what happened. He couldn’t fathom what could’ve cause Junmyeon to become so aggressive. It was completely unlike him.  

Baekhyun slowly moved away from the monitor -hand clamped over his mouth.

Sehun got closer to check on him. On the outside he seemed fine, except for the blood. 

“You’re bleeding,” Sehun dumbly pointed out.  

Baekhyun wiped his chin. “I bit my tongue,” he explained, voice muffled. 

He tried walking away, but nearly tripped on his own feet. Sehun was quick to catch him. He helped Baekhyun limp his way to the end of the middle section of the lab and then he opened a storage fridge. He picked out a vial, uncapped it and sipped whatever liquid was in it. Baekhyun shook his head and inhaled through his teeth. 

“Burns,” he mumbled and stored the vial back.

“What was that?” Sehun asked baffled.

Baekhyun didn't answer, instead he went to a sink to wash out the remaining blood from his mouth. Sehun followed after him.

“Better?” Baekhyun asked and stuck his tongue out.

“Uh...yeah,” Sehun muttered, taken aback. “Looks normal.”

 “I thought I almost bit it off,” he commented, voice clear again. “That was a healing serum.”

Sehun suddenly remembered Mama's interest in Daniel, saying something about needing to fix a serum that had gone wrong on Junmyeon. 

“But how did you know it wouldn't damage you like Jun- oh!” He grabbed Baekhyun's left wrist and pushed up his sleeve to inspect the subtle scar that ran along his forearm. A perfect, smooth scar with no tracks of stitches, just like Daniel's. 

Baekhyun had said that he had gotten the scar because of an experiment, and now Sehun understood why. 

“You already tried this before,” he declared and the worry he had felt for the other turned into anger. “You idiot!” He smacked Baekhyun's left shoulder. 

“Ow! What was that for?” he complained, rubbing the sore spot. 

“You made me worry over nothing.” 

Baekhyun smiled knowingly -something inexplicable from his grin had Sehun feeling like he was happy about that, which only made Sehun feel more irked. However, the sight of the scar still troubled him. It went down the entire length of his forearm. It must have been a gruesome experience. 

“Did it have to be that big of a cut?” he asked softly.

Baekhyun looked away and pushed down his sleeve. “I needed to make sure it worked.” 

Sehun was speechless at the thought of how far Baekhyun was willing to push himself to accomplish what he wanted -what was needed. 

“So with just taking that thing, you’re okay?”

“I feel a bit battered up, but yeah. I'm okay,” he shrugged. “That blood manipulation felt awful though.”

“I don’t understand why he did that,” Sehun said worried.

Baekhyun rubbed his mouth as he looked down pensively. “I think he must’ve felt withdrawal and threw a fit. I just happened to be in sight.” 

Sehun felt his stomach tighten. “That’s terrifying,” he mumbled. He couldn’t believe how his beloved hyung could’ve attacked another because of needing a drug. 

“Drugs do that to people. They turn them into something terrifying,” Baekhyun said, holding onto his left shoulder. 

“What should we do? Should we reduce his dosage?” 

Baekhyun shook his head. “I think that would just make things worse. If going through withdrawal makes him aggressive, then reducing the dosage would increase the risk of him having fits.”

“But he’s becoming addicted,” Sehun argued. 

“Yeah, and it’s temporary,” Baekhyun countered. “I think the best we can do, is leave him be. Let’s just keep giving him what he needs to feel comfortable until Yixing gets here.”

Sehun huffed. “What if he gets worse? We can’t keep drugging him whenever he wants. What if -if, if…”

Baekhyun raised a brow, “If he overdoes it?” he guessed. “I’ll talk with Mama about it. She’ll know how much he can be given.” He sighed, scratching his head. “Maybe she can figure a way to distribute the doses to avoid his cravings.”

Sehun still wasn’t convinced, too worried over the effects morphine had over Junmyeon. 

Baekhyun noticed his indecisiveness. “I’d rather comply to his indulgence for a couple of days than seeing him in pain,” he said serious. 

Sehun faltered, finally agreeing to Baekhyun’s plan. He didn’t have a clue about how bad morphine could affect the body, but he wouldn’t wish for Junmyeon to suffer. 

“Hey,”Baekhyun called, “I don't want you visiting him on your own anymore.”

“But-”

“Sehun, I was lucky,” he said sternly. “There's no way to know if he'll do something like this again. Don’t come seeing him alone. Understood?”

“Alright,” he grumbled. 

“Good,” Baekhyun nodded.

Sehun hesitated.

“What is it?” Baekhyun asked, tilting his head to the side. 

“Is he going to get better?” Sehun whispered.

Baekhyun held onto his shoulders, rubbing them soothingly. “Yes, Yixing will help him,” he replied with utmost certainty. “We just need Minseok to hurry up.”

“Why is he taking so long?”

“Don’t know,” he shrugged. “Maybe he’s spoiling Daniel with buying every food off the street markets,” he chuckled.

Sehun tried to smile, but his chest felt too heavy.

“Come on,” Baekhyun grabbed his wrist and lightly pulled him along. “Let’s go check on him.” -March 28th, 2015. Montreal 11:40.

Against his better judgement, Yifan found himself across the street of Dépaysement gallery in Mile End district. He was hesitant, fiddling his fingers inside his coat pockets, cold air biting at his skin. He should’ve listened to Agent Wu, he reasoned. He shouldn’t be exposing himself like this, yet the curiosity was too great to ignore. He needed to know, he needed to confirm his suspicions. He was well aware that they weren’t allowed to meet their supposed families, his guardian gave him an earful that morning to remind him of this. Yet Yifan argued through technicalities. It wasn’t his real family he would be meeting, it was Kyungsoo’s -or at least he hoped they were Kyungsoo’s family- so, technically, he wouldn’t be acting against the rules. 

Inside that art gallery was the supposed family Kyungsoo insisted on remembering. Which was the main reason why Yifan was so driven to meet them. The childhood memories they all shared were meant to be Kyungsoo’s, so maybe meeting his supposed family could confirm this.

Yifan ignored the nervous knot in the center of his chest and crossed the street. When he opened the door a little bell chimed. The interior was what he’d expect from most galleries. Spacious and well illuminated, with white walls filled with paintings hung in every possible way. There was a diverse assortment of works, immediately bringing to attention the contribution of numerous artists. From first glance, Yifan noticed impressionism and realism juxtaposed in the works of landscape. Different mediums scattered here and there, some oil, some aquarela, some ink wash and so on. There was much to see, but a certain line of work piqued his attention. 

It was a collection of ink wash paintings that were, objectively, very simplistic, yet he felt they were emotionally profound. They all were of black ink brushed into white paper, with the ink being washed out to give the subtle tones of grey. The line of work consisted on minimalist landscapes, such as a road or a mountain, with a grey sky sometimes including what could either be the moon or the sun. Every piece had a single silhouette roaming through them. 

Yifan’s initial impression wasn’t of someone being lost, but rather someone seeking something. 

But...seeking what?

“Hello, welcome. Is there anything that caught your interest? Oh- Yifan, right?”

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“Fancy seeing you here,” Hyunsoo greeted with a wide, boxy smile -which reminded Yifan of how similar he looked to Kyungsoo. “I see you’ve spotted some of my mother’s work.”

“Your mother made these?” Yifan said with genuine surprise, earning a nod in response. “They’re quite breathtaking -simple, yet so beautiful.”

“That’s very kind of you,” he said with a smile in his lilt. “What do you make of them?”

Yifan took a moment to ponder over his answer, contemplating the paintings framed before him and the feelings he felt they conveyed. “A journey,” he concluded. “I think of someone venturing to seek something...something that’s not -I don’t know, but for some reason it feels like a search of something intangible. Something I can’t see.”

Hyunsoo nodded with a knowing grin. “Seeking of a soul, perhaps?” He suggested, although it was clear Yifan that it was the answer. “Impressive,” he praised.

Yifan shrugged his shoulders. “It might as well be anything else.”

“I guess we’ll never know, unless we ask her,” he chuckled. 

“Didn’t you say it was searching for a soul?”

“That’s what she always says whenever I ask her. And I can’t ever tell if she’s joking or not. She’s  got this dark sense of humor,” Hyunsoo shrugged, lips downturned. “When I asked, what’s it searching for, she said: for a soul. Lost it at a bar and then it jumped on the next bus to nowhere.” Yifan frowned confused. “Yeah exactly, and then I asked, where’s nowhere. She said: nowhere else but somewhere.”

“Wait, what?”

“I don’t know man,” Hyunsoo chuckled, shaking his head. “She also says she takes her coffee: black, no sugar, just like my soul,” he quoted, “So yeah, she must be pulling my leg.”

Yufan laughed, feeling much more at ease than he did when he first entered the gallery.

“Hyun, you’re supposed  to be selling, not gossiping behind my back.” A velvety voice with a slight accent said sardonically.

Yifan turned around to see a middle aged woman, black hair, oval face, fair skinned. She was dressed in black, which matched with her charcoal eyes and brought attention towards her red, heart-shaped lips. Even though she was considerably smaller than Yifan -reaching about half his height- she carried a strong aura that bordered intimidating. Yifan realized right away why he felt he was being looked down upon despite the woman needing to look up to his towering height: it was her gaze. 

Her eyes were exactly the same as Kyungsoo’s, only that they were rimmed with dark, thick eyeliner. Her gaze was the same intimidating one Kyungsoo would make, something akin to a glare.

“Yifan, this is my talented mother, Kim Kyunghee, a.k.a Do Soo,” Hyunsoo introduced. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Yifan politely said, inclining his head as he offered his hand.

“Likewise.” She smiled as she shook his hand.

Yifan was taken aback by the contact of her skin. Something inexplicable, like a force of some sort, shot up his arm and settled heavy in his heart. A memory resurfaced, one of no imageries but of a feeling of comfort and protection. He tried his best not to show how he struggled to breathe as an alarming tremor roamed up and down his body. He knew it was her. She had to be.

He had the greatest urge to hug her, to feel the warmth of her embrace, but he forced himself to keep his composure.

“Yifan, where are you from? “

Yifan struggled to get his voice out. “I, uh...Originally from Guangzhou, but I grew up in Vancouver,” he recited as he always did to answer this question. “Then I moved here.”

“I thought you said you lived in Korea?” Hyunsoo questioned.

“Right, yes I did. For some years before coming here,” he was quick to correct.

“Where in Korea?” Kyunghee said in Korean, eyes shining with interest.

“In Seoul.”

“Obviously,” she chuckled.

She smiled wide, eyes crinkling with glee. Yifan felt his heart constrain. She had the same bright, squishy smile as Kyungsoo. Kyunghee was Kyungsoo, he kept repeating to himself. 

“We lived in Seoul for many years, but moved here when Hyun was still a baby.”

Yifan merely nodded as a reply. He was too awestruck to think of anything else. She had to be his mother and he had to be his brother, the coincidences were too great. If they moved to Montreal when Hyunsoo was just a baby, and considering that he had to be around Kyungsoo’s age, probably younger, then they must’ve moved shortly after Kyungsoo was taken.

“Has Hyunsoo given you a tour around the gallery?” 

“Not quite.”

“Well then, follow me,” she said, switching back to French so Hyunsoo could tag along as well. 

Yifan kept up his charade as he walked with them, knowing full well that he had crossed a line and there was no going back. 

-March 29th, 2015. Paris 11:12.

He felt reluctant to admit that waking up in Baekhyun’s bed felt more comfortable than sharing with Zitao or Jongin. Maybe it was their size difference that made a better fit, having more space to accommodate tired limbs. Or maybe it was the way Baekhyun would brush his hair and hum a song until he fell asleep that made his slumber feel much more peaceful. Whatever it was, he’d rather keep those thoughts to himself.

After breakfast he went to visit Junmyeon with Jongin and Zitao. The elder seemed a little out of it, but he was responsive and tried to converse with them. However, Junmyeon didn’t mention anything about yesterday’s incident, and Sehun didn’t dare bring it up either.

Then they left him, needing to go work with Mama. So Sehun wandered through the halls, all the way back to Baekhyun's room. The room was empty. Sehun had half a mind to leave and find the other, but his attention was drawn towards the chessboard. That damn chessboard that Sehun kept wanting to know more of. 

He couldn't understand nor explain his motivation behind needing to know what that chessboard meant to Baekhyun. Part of him thought that the chess game had something to do with Baekhyun’s plans to reuniting them -maybe it could even be related with the way they were meant to find Kyungsoo. However, a bigger part of him thought he was being foolish; that Baekhyun’s board was just a hobby and he was simply playing a match with Mama to pass the time.

Yet again, if he was playing against Mama then that piqued Sehun's curiosity even more. 

The latest change on white’s side was the advancement of pawn b from b2 to b3. A move that didn’t seem of much importance to Sehun, he could only see it as an opening to later develop the dark bishop. On the other side, black had castled the king, shifting the dark rook to f8 and guarding the king at g8. 

Castling the king was a good defence strategy -something he recently had learned. It probably was best to try to castle the king early in the game, so that could be the next move Baekhyun should play, Sehun thought. Yet the dark knight was blocking the way in g1. 

Sehun still was inexperienced, but by looking at the other pieces, he figured it would've been better to have moved the dark knight before one of the pawns on the other side, such as pawn a. From what he knew, moving the pawns from the ends didn't have much impact on the game since they could only defend one square, therefor they were normally the last pawns to be moved. Yet Baekhyun had pushed pawn a forward. Sehun couldn’t fathom why he would move that piece so early in the match. He couldn’t see the benefit nor imagine a future sequence of moves dependent of that piece. Maybe it was his ignorance that kept his view short sided.

Anyway, despite his limited knowledge, this particular game felt odd. 

Sehun had looked through Baekhyun’s play book, but none of the matches were the same as the one he was looking at. There had been six turns played so far, and none of the plays in the book had the same structure as this game. There were identifiable strategies, well known plays that had names and all. From what he understood, it looked like Baekhyun must’ve started with English Opening, commencing the game with pawn c. There were other pawns pushed forward, pawns a, b and g, however he’d only developed the light bishop behind pawn g. He should’ve done the same after pawn b, developing the dark bishop -or maybe he was about to do it soon. Pawn a to a3 still didn’t make sense to Sehun. It didn’t allow any piece to develop, and it blocked the bishop’s left diagonal. Other than that, he’d only advanced the light squared knight to c3, behind pawn c. 

Sehun didn’t really know if it was a good start or not. 

He stared at the board, unconsciously nibbling on his lower lip. He tried to envision further progressions for the game, but soon realized it was rather pointless. It didn't matter how many moves he could imagine if he didn't have an opponent. 

He then tried to imagine what the game could represent. If it held more meaning than a mere hobby. Perhaps each move could represent an event from Baekhyun’s convoluted plan. He insisted that all he was trying to do was to reunite the group and figure out a way to save Kyungsoo, so maybe each move on the board was a step closer to fulfilling his task. 

He checked the board again. He counted four pawns, a knight and a bishop. Six pieces had been moved.

He considered where he knew everyone was. At the moment, Jongin, Zitao, Junmyeon, Baekhyun and himself were at the underground hideout. Minseok was in China with Daniel, and soon they’d be back with Yixing. Seven of them, eight if he included Daniel. Lu Han was relatively close, in Edinburgh. Yifan was still in Canada. So that meant nine out of twelve where in known locations. Chanyeol was somewhere in the States, and Baekhyun’s agent would bring him back -hopefully sometime soon. That would make ten of them. He wasn’t sure where Jongdae was and Kyungsoo...well Kyungsoo was the reason they all were trying to get together again.

If he thought of them as pawns to Mama and Baekhyun’s plan, then maybe each member could be represented by a piece on the board. 

Six moves had been made. Five members were together in the hideout, soon to be seven. It didn’t add up. Unless, Sehun wondered, unless Baekhyun didn’t consider himself as a piece on the board. 

It felt rather ludicrous to him, thinking of himself and the others as pawns. It just didn’t match up, especially since each side consisted of sixteen pieces and there were only twelve members. Who could the other four be? Baekhyun’s agent? Daniel? It was ridiculous. 

However, Sehun knew better than to completely discard the possibility of it being true. Knowing Mama, anything could be possible, no matter how twisted it could be. 

Sehun huffed in frustration.

Six moves had been made, yet only five members were together at the present time. 

Sehun heard the door knob twist. Quickly, he jumped in the air and flew across the room, flopping soundlessly on top of the bed. His wind manipulation toppled the chair over, but he managed to set it upright before it hit the floor. Baekhyun stepped inside the room in sweat drenched clothes, towel swung around his neck and gaze towards the desk. He stood there for a second too long before looking over at Sehun.

“I don’t mind you playing with my chess board,” Baekhyun said with a knowing smile. 

Sehun bit the insides of his cheeks, flustered about being caught and feeling even more embarrassed for his reaction. 

“You still wanna learn?” Baekhyun asked, stretching his arm over his head.

“Yeah,” Sehun forced himself to regain composure. 

“Okay. Just give me like ten minutes,” Baekhyun easily agreed. He turned towards his drawer and began to pick out clothes. “I thought you were going to hang out with Jongtao.”

Sehun sat up on the bed. “Yeah, but they had stuff to do.” He tried to think of something to continue the conversation. “Do you think it’s weird how close they’ve become?” 

“Uhh, not really. They do need to be completely in sync to time travel,” Baekhyun replied, stacking his clothes together. “Besides, they’ve got like a whole week ahead of us.”

“Oh...right,” he mumbled. 

“You jealous?” Baekhyun asked smugly as he took off his shirt.

“No,” Sehun immediately answered with a huff. 

“Ya sure?” Baekhyun chuckled. 

“Well…” he scratched his neck. “I thought I was closer to Tao,” he muttered embarrassed. 

“Than Jongin you mean? I thought you were pretty close with both of them,” Baekhyun commented, shamelessly taking off his sweatpants. 

“I-I am,” Sehun stuttered, averting his gaze. “It’s just different, I guess. It’s like they’re the same person.”

“Well, they better be if they want to make a round trip.” 

“Hyung!”

“What? It’s true,” Baekhyun defended. “And I wouldn’t worry about them. They can do it. They’re ready.”

Sehun bit his bottom lip. He knew the other two were confident enough to complete their task, however he couldn’t help feeling concerned for them. The thought of them venturing through space-time was frightening enough. 

“How can you be so sure about that?” Sehun asked softly.

“Because,” Baekhyun stopped at the entrance of the bathroom. “We have to trust each other. If they believe they can do it, then I believe in them,” he said with a reassuring smile.

Sehun stared dumbly, incapable of coming up with a reply. When he heard the water pouring down, Sehun flopped down on the bed. He felt like an absolute idiot. Baekhyun trusted him. He trusted all of them. Yet here he was, spying on Baekhyun, trying to uncover his secretes and figure out his scheme.

Of course he was going to doubt Baekhyun because he's involved with Mama, but all Baekhyun ever asked of them was to trust him; to trust each other. 

Could he trust him though?

If he took Mama out of the picture and ignored Baekhyun’s insufferable meddling in his relationship with Lu Han, then there wasn’t a clear reason to not believe in him. Afterall, it was because of Baekhyun that he went to Edinburgh and got a chance to visit Lu Han -even if he didn’t get to see the latter. It was Baekhyun who sent Minseok get him to Paris. It was Baekhyun who got Jongin, Zitao and Minseok together. It was Baekhyun who rushed to save Junmyeon. 

Baekhyun’s efforts were what brought them together again. 

So why did he feel so suspicious of him? It was an unwanted idea ingrained deep inside his mind; a thought he had no recollection of its conception yet it kept obscuring his perspective. He really needed to stop overthinking everything. He needed to trust more.

When Baekhyun was done with his shower, he grabbed his chessboard and brought it to the bed. He made Sehun sit up at the head of the bed and settled down between his legs, laying the board in front of them. 

“Is this necessary?” Sehun asked rather flustered. It wasn’t that he was uncomfortable, but Baekhyun’s forwardness took him by surprise. 

“I want you to see from my perspective,” Baekhyun replied, setting the pieces on their default positions. 

It was a wonder for him how Baekhyun could get all comfortable with him so readily, as if they’re previous argument had long gone been forgiven and forgotten. Sehun had the urge to hug the other, Baekhyun was giving him all the companionship and closeness he had longed for -his shoulders were surprisingly wide and inviting- but he kept to himself.

“Before getting into more complex plays with the heavier pieces, you need to learn proper openings and development with the pawns,” he explained. “The goals you must have in mind with your opening moves are to control the center, how you want to develop your following pieces and challenge your opponent, while keeping your king safe.” He turned his head to check if Sehun was paying attention. “Got it?”

“Yeah.”

“The pawns are half of your army,” he said, indicated the frontline of pawns. Sehun leaned over, hooking his chin on Baekhyun’s shoulder to get a better view. “The placement you give them will greatly affect the mobility of the heavier pieces. They’ll control many squares stunting your opponent, but their structure also determines where your weak squares are -and you don’t want to have many of that.” 

“The best openings are at positions c, d and e ‘cause they’re central. Never move pawn f, that’s a weak spot, it leaves the king’s diagonal open to attacks.” Baekhyun moved white pawn c from c2 to c4. “English Opening for example is an option where you keep your king heavily protected while fighting for the center.” He then reached fo black’s pawn e and moved it up to position e5. “A good defense to English Opening is to go Reversed Sicilian, gaining a strong center presence.” 

“Okay,” Sehun hummed to let the other know he was following.

“You see the difference between starting with pawn c and pawn e?”

Sehun took a beat to respond. “The following developments.”

“Correct,” Baekhyun smiled. “Pawn e opens the development for the dark bishop and the queen, leaving the front of the king exposed -not that anyone would try attacking directly so soon into a game, though. However, English Opening doesn’t help develop a heavier piece that would need to scoot a pawn to gain mobility, but if you add the knight behind pawn c, then you gain a strong presence at the center.” He moved the light knight behind the pawn on c3. “See?”

“Okay.”

“With just one pawn there’s already a big difference with mobility between the two sides. If you include the knights, black has access to move four heavy pieces while white only has the knights,” he kept explaining while moving pieces on  both sides. “Understanding this will give you a better sense of how to organize your pawn structure and strategize a game play.” 

He moved black’s pawn c to c6, in an attempt to keep a strong presence at the center. He placed white’s pawn e to e4, directly in front of black’s pawn e, blocking it from moving any forward and fighting for the center of the board. Then he moved black’s light knight to position f6, intimidating white’s pawn e and taking more presence at the center. He made white respond by jumping the dark knight to f3, getting both knights out for a stronger opening. Then he played black’s pawn d to step forward to d6, granting more space for the heavier piece behind it to develop. White mirrored the moved, pushing its pawn d to d3. Then blacks pawn h stepped forward to h6. Baekhyun finally developed white’s dark bishop, sliding it diagonally to the right to position e3, gaining the upper hand at the center of the board. Black responded by moving its light bishop to e6, opening for the bishops development. Baekhyun pushed his pawn a to a3. Then moved black’s dark bishop to e7, right behind the light bishop. Then he moved forward white's pawn b to b4, being backed up by pawn a. 

“The dynamics of each game will be different depending on your opponent. Now, with this setup, both sides have many opportunities to attack, defend and retaliate. Both sides got the chance to open and develop heavier pieces and have granted different mobility dynamics depending on the placement of the pawns.” He then moved black’s pawn d one square forward to d5. “Now all that needs to happen is to initiate the confrontation,” he said as he took out black’s pawn d with white’s pawn c. “Now the real game begins,” he grinned.

“Do you always have to be a pawn?” 

“Well, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a pawn, but eventually a piece will have to take the initiative,” Baekhyun answered. “In order to advance in a game, you have to sacrifice a pawn to lure your opponent in.” 

Sehun felt a stir in his gut. The same paranoid feeling from before made him speak up before he could think twice about what he was thinking. 

“Is that what you’re going to do?” he asked with suspicion, causing Baekhyun to fall silent and looked at him weirdly. “You’re going to sacrifice a pawn, right? To “initiate” whatever plan you’ve thought up.”

Baekhyun scooted forward to turn around to face him, without caring about knocking the chess pieces over. “You think I’m playing a game, don’t you?” he suspected, squinting his eyes. “You really think I’m that stupid? That I’d be playing you all like I’d play pieces on a chessboard?” He said affronted. 

“You said you were playing with Mama.”

“Are you kidding me?” he rolled his eyes. “Yes, I play with her. It’s something we bonded over through the years.”

“But-”

“But what?” Baekhyun cut him off. “Because I play with her then that must imply that I’m scheming with her and making us all her pawns,” he mocked sarcastically. 

“I know you two are planning something,” he accused, sitting straighter and using his height to intimidate, but Baekhyun didn’t deflate. 

“She’s not the enemy, Sehun. Get that through your thick skull.” He poked Sehun’s forward, to which the younger used his air manipulation to swat his hand away. 

“She might not be the enemy, but she’s no good either.”

“Yeah, she’s the ing worst, but she’s my mother.” Baekhyun said as he got up off the bed. “I don’t care if you don’t trust her, Sehun-ah. I just can’t believe you don’t trust me,” he said disappointed and then left the room. 

Sehun stared down at the fallen pieces scattered about. He felt at a loss. He hadn’t meant to cause another argument and piss Baekhyun off, but he couldn’t help himself from feeling suspicious. It felt beyond his control and was beginning to frustrate him. He needed to do something to confirm if what he was thinking was right. He needed to know.  

-March 29th, 2015. Paris 21:48. 

Baekhyun walked into Mama’s office and closed the door behind him. She was removing the pictures and diagrams that were taped on the wall behind her desk.

“Where’s Jongin and Tao?”

“Taking a much needed nap,” she replied without turning to look at him. 

Baekhyun made his way to her side and proceeded to help her out. 

“Time to record?”

“Soon.”

“You should mention your daughter. It’ll make you seem more human,” he suggested.

Mama frowned. “I am human,” she retorted. 

“Not to them. You’re more of a monster,” he said, looking right back at her, challenging her. 

Mama didn’t reply. She just stacked the pictures in her hands and stored them away. Baekhyun smirked.

“Remember all the you put us through,” he instructed as he handed over his share of pictures. “Everything you’ve done to Kyungsoo. And show that you really are sorry.”

Mama slammed the drawer shut, taking Baekhyun by surprise. “I am,” she said, straightening her back. 

“Yeah right,” he scoffed.

“I am sorry for the pain I've caused,” she stressed. 

“Don't bull me,” he laughed, trying to mock her. “You live by the ‘no pain, no gain’ philosophy.”

“I don’t regret what I did, but I am sorry for how it happened. There’s a difference,” she said firmly. She leaned against her desk and crossed her arms over her chest -she wasn’t backing down this time. 

“You’re not,” he insisted. He straightened his back to look down at her. “He wouldn't be gone if you were.”

Mama frowned, displeased. “I’m doing this for you boys.” 

“And you don't think I know that you’re doing this for yourself as well?” he countered. “They might be looking for us, but you’re still hiding,” he said provokingly, “Living underground, you can't even walk the streets without your goons.”

“Whom you’ve gotten rid of,” she interjected.

Baekhyun ignored her comment. “You faking your death might’ve gotten you away from being behind bars, but it hasn't erased the price on your head,” he argued. 

“I’ve gotten away with it for three years,” she bit back. “You really think I’d do all this just to stroll on the streets without fearing my death?” she asked in disbelief.

Baekhyun cracked a smile, “No.” 

Mama looked taken aback for a second before it finally clicked and she rolled her eyes. “You’re pinning all this on me then?” she called out his bluff.

Baekhyun shrugged his shoulders with a cheeky smile. “It was your suggestion.” 

“I know, it was an option,” she said, relaxing her stance. “I just never thought you’d be mean about it.”

“You’re sad?” he asked baffled.

“No. Surprised,” she corrected without a hint of embarrassment. “You’re taking the lead. Good.” She nodded to herself. 

Baekhyun saw something shift in the background. He discreetly looked to the back corner and noticed a strange distortion of light that seemed too big and static to just be a draught. There was something in the wind. 

Baekhyun quickly looked away, feigning disinterest to avoid inciting suspicion in Mama.  

“Hey,” he said to get her attention just as she was about to look away. “I want you to remember to ask for it. I can't let my mother go to prison.” He smiled fondly as he brushed her hair to the side. 

Mama finally cracked a smile, even chuckled at his antics. 

Baekhyun knew she had no clue about what he was planning to do, he could see it, and even if he was worried about what would happen, he didn’t feel guilt coil his insides as he used to before -which he found rather interesting. 

Playing along, he took her left hand and carefully removed the compression glove that was still hugging her wrist. “I don’t want them seeing you with this,” he claimed. “You’re too powerful to have a silly sprain.”

Mama shook her head in disbelief. 

Baekhyun grinned as he brought her hand up towards his lips, he gauged her reaction as he pressed his lips to the inner side of her wrist. Mama didn’t even flinch as she stared back blankly. 

“Kiss it better,” he said with a cheeky smile.

“You’re ridiculous,” she deadpanned and pulled her hand away. 

“You know,” he drawled out as he made way to sit on top of the desk, next to her. “Someone incredibly smart whom I admire so much created this serum that can make your injuries heal faster.”

Mama snorted. “Those are for you boys. I won’t waste one on myself.”

Baekhyun leaned against her side, tilting his head against her shoulder. “It’s not bad to be a little selfish sometimes,” he spoke softly. 

She didn’t reply to that. She squinted her eyes as she glanced sideways at him. “You’re being clingy,” she commented, trying to brush him off. 

“Yeah, well you’ve been spending more time with Tao and Jongin than with me,” he whined and clung onto her arm.

Mama gave up, leaning back against the desk and letting Baekhyun play with her hand. He kept his gaze on her slim hands to keep himself from looking behind them. He didn’t want to draw her attention on it, so Baekhyun couldn’t check if the third presence was still there, though he felt he was sure it had remained. 

“Mama.”

“Yes?”

“Did you love Lu Zi?” He felt her tense beside him, clearly not expecting him to ask such a question.

“I did.”

He hummed, turning to look at her. “And her father?”

Mama gazed towards the wall, taking a moment to reply. “I admired him. I was infatuated with him, but I wouldn’t say that I loved him enough.”

Baekhyun’s first thought was of course not -for she never spoke of the man. He didn’t press on though.

“What about Lu Han?”

Mama sighed, pulling away from him. “Stop.”

She made to move away, but Baekhyun wouldn’t relent. “Why do we hurt the people we love?”

She hesitated in her steps, stopping to look right back at him. “Because we know they’ll forgive us in the end.”

Baekhyun frowned as he tried to make sense of her answer. It didn’t seem right to him, but he understood why she would believe that. From what he knew about her complex relationship with her parents and her harsh upbringing, it made sense that she would readily dismiss pain with forgiveness. She believed what they made her go through were trials and challenges meant to toughen her up and help her grow -not out of hate, but out of tough love. 

Baekhyun stilled as he had a sudden revelation. His mind quickly thought not of himself, but of the members who most have suffered because of her. 

Kyungsoo.

His heart clenched at the thought. He realized right then and there that he wasn’t the one Mama cared for the most. 

It hurt, but he already knew that she didn’t love him as much as he loved her. He felt like a fool.

“I had a pain in my gut before,” he said absentmindedly, still sitting atop the desk as Mama read a document. “But after I drank a vial of the serum, it went away.”

“Why did you drink a vial?”

“I bit my tongue,” he answered nonchalantly and hopped off the desk. “Wear a white dress.” 

“I will.”

He turned to leave, watching amusedly as the distortion of light quickly left the office. 

Baekhyun took his time to get to the laboratory where he knew he’d find Sehun. The younger was sitting on the floor, leaning his side against the tank as he stared at the floor, eyes unfocused. Finding him distraught confirmed Baekhyun’s suspicions, bringing a smirk to his lips. Sehun was so caught up in his own head that he hadn’t even noticed when Baekhyun walk up to the tank. 

Junmyeon was awake and sitting at the bottom of the tank, looking relaxed with his back slouched against the wall.

“Hi hyung, you look well,” he said. Sehun jumped in his skin when he finally realized he was there with them. Sehun stared up at him like a deer caught in the headlights, but Baekhyun pointedly ignored him, keeping his gaze fixed on Junmyeon. “We got just a few things to do before Jongin and Tao are leaving. I’m sure they’ve told you about it.” 

Junmyeon stared dopely at him and languidly nodded. Junmyeon’s eyes and overall demeanor reminded him of Yixing, and that creeped him out. 

“Chanyeol will be here soon, hyung, but don’t tell Jongtao so they won’t feel bad for leaving before seeing him,” he said, but Junmyeon didn’t seem to understand him and kept nodding along with every word he spoke. Baekhyun knew that there was no way he would remember what he was told. “And I told Minseok to hurry up and bring Yixing. You’ll be out of this tank soon. Okay?”

Baekhyun forced a sigh, looking down to his shoes. The guilt he used to feel everytime he looked at Junmyeon was gone. The persistent throbbing pain in his gut had completely disappeared after he had taken the healing serum, which meant that whatever was troubling him was physical, not emotional.

Everything he had done and felt guilty about was nothing more than a bad stomach ache. 

He was no better than Mama and there was no turning back. 

“Sehun-ah,” he shifted his attention, catching the younger by surprise. “I really meant it. Don’t go telling Jongin nor Tao about Chanyeol. I don’t want them to lose focus on their task.”

“You knew where he was?” Sehun asked, regarding him with suspicion, much like what Baekhyun expected of him. 

“I’ve just recently been informed that Moon found him. He’s well and on his way to France.”

“Okay,” Sehun easily agreed, however he didn’t seem to relax. 

“I told you not to be alone with him,” he said without sounding stern. 

Sehun looked away. “Sorry,” he mumbled. 

“It’s okay,” Baekhyun said, wanting the other to feel comfortable with him again. “Let’s go join Jongin and Tao,” he said, offering his hand. 

Sehun hesitated before reaching for his hand.

That slight vacillation told Baekhyun everything he needed to know. He had the upper hand and the younger had no idea. 

A/N: Sorry it took ing forever to update this. I had a bad case of writer’s block mixed with being in my senior year. Updates are still going to be slow, but I’d rather update once in forever than to drop the story. 

Thank you for you incredible patience guys. 

-B.