The sun was just starting to rise and morning birds were just starting to leave their nests in search for food — after all, early birds get the worms. The streets — which had been void of cars not a few minutes ago — was slowly bustling with busy cars hurrying to their destinations. On the sidewalk, people were also rushing pass each other as they tried to arrive early to wherever they were heading towards. 

          Out of the busy city of Seoul, huge housing areas could be found. They weren't packed together of course, having to sprawl out wherever they could. These places were far from the noisy city, giving them a peaceful atmosphere. The journey from these housing areas to the city weren't far nor were they near, just the perfect distance for people who wants to settle with quiet places that aren't far from the cities. Houses line the neighbourhood and in some corners, mansions could be found too for the richer folks. 

          Around the corner of one of the housing areas stood a mansion, three-stories tall and taking up thousands of square feet. It had both a front lawn and a back lawn, a parking area in the front lawn could be found with three expensive cars — two Lamborghinis and a Rolls Royce. In the back lawn, a swimming pool could be found taking up half of the area while a lone white gazebo sat in a corner under the shade of a tree. 

          The house was mostly quiet, spare for the kitchen where someone was making breakfast for the people under the roof. Otherwise, everyone was still asleep, save for probably one or two who was already wide awake so early in the morning — this included the man who was cooking in the kitchen. One of those few people who was awake was in one of the rooms of the top most floor, down the hall and through the door at the end of the corridor. 

          Rays of sunlight drifted into the room through the only window, the curtains were drawn open and allowing the beams to light up the room. The room was showered in the sun's magnificent glow, walls and floors painted in its golden hue. Other parts of the room which were not touched by the sun could otherwise be seen with their original colour, although if not a bit darker due to the shadow. 

          A male sat on the bed which was situated close to the window, the sun only hitting from his collarbone and below while the shadow covered his face and neck. His sharp eyes looked out of the window, spotting the few birds that flew pass in the morning's yellow sky. He had one leg pulled to his chest — wrapping his hands around it and resting his temple atop his knee — while his other leg stretched out on the bed and rested. 

          The male was wearing a plain long sleeves shirt and a pair of khaki shorts, a towel draped over his shoulders and socks covering his cold feet. The male's hair was damp as droplets of water rolled down the side of his face and down to his jaw, dripping quietly onto his shirt and dampening the fabric. The male seemed to not notice such little things though, continuing to stare out the window as he lost himself in his own train of thoughts. 

          The bathroom door was slightly ajar and steam was still pouring out from within, a sign that the male had just finished taking a bath not long ago. The male inhaled, smelling strawberry scented shampoo which he used to wash his hair not a while ago. The male breathed out slowly, his eyes closing as he rocked himself back and forth. 

          The male's keen ears heard the shuffle of footsteps outside his door — with the walls and closed doors, the footsteps sounded faint but he could still hear it nonetheless. Even so, the male decided to ignore them, not opening his eyes and thinking that whoever it was outside his door had probably no business with him. The male was wrong as a few seconds later, the shuffling stopped and what accompanied the silence was a few knocks on his door. 

          The knocks were loud but gentle — like the person had knocked the wood hardly but not too harshly — and a voice quickly followed suit, "Tao, are you awake?" 

          The voice was deep and smooth, calming the male's nerves right down to the bones. 

          A quiet sigh escaped Tao's lips, eyes opening with much difficulty as he answered to the call, "Come in." 

          Not a beat later, Tao heard the door to the room he was in opening and somebody stepping into the room. There was no sound of the door closing and the footsteps didn't come to his bed, stopping after the person entered. A bit lazily, Tao tore his gaze away from the window so he could look at the door, which was opened and somebody was leaning against the door frame. 

          The sun only shone up until his midsection but that was okay — it wasn't like Tao couldn't see anything that the shadow covers. Under the illumination of the sun, the person's skin seemed to glow white, showcasing his pale complexion. In the shadow, Tao could make out the ruffled hair which was not made yet and the dark eyes looking at him, plump lips still in a pout. 

          Tao looked back to the window once he was done admiring the person standing by the door, leaning his temple against his knee once again as he asked, "Anything that I can help you with, Kris?" 

          The man — Kris, his name was — gave a noncommittal shrug, "Just here to check up on you, see how you're doing so far." 

          Tao nodded but said nothing after that. 

          Now, the footsteps were approaching before it stopped in front of Tao's bed. Tao could feel his eardrums drumming to the same pace as his thumping heart, but he ignored them as he tried not to look at Kris. Tao felt his bed dipping and felt a stare on the back of his head, but even so he dared not look at Kris due to the unrecognisable fear that was clawing inside him. 

          "Did you sleep well last night?" Kris asked and Tao nodded. 

          "The bed is softer than the one in Suho's lair," the male dead panned, earning a chuckle from the other. 

          "I see," he said with a nod and Tao looked over finally, seeing the amused look on Kris's face and frowning as he asked, "What's so funny?" 

          Kris shook his head, "It's nothing." 

          Tao seemed unconvinced but he didn't say anything to voice his thoughts and instead asked, "Where is Jinfu?" 

          Kris looked up at Tao and the male quickly explained, "He hasn't talked to me since I arrived, so I was wondering..." 

          Kris hummed, "He's not here in the house. He left early this morning." 

          Even though an 'oh' left his mouth, Tao couldn't help but to frown at the statement and ask, "Where did he go?" 

          Kris smiled at Tao with a raised brow, "Well, don't you ask a lot of questions?" 

          There was a teasing tone in Kris' voice and Tao unconsciously pouted — it's an automatic mechanism for Tao to pout whenever he hears someone teasing him — making himself look cute even though he was displeased, "Just answer my question." 

          There was a slight pause before Kris smiled at Tao, holding back a chuckle as he told the latter, "Jinfu said he wanted to get some things prepared for the bar. He hadn't opened it since you disappeared and he didn't know if there was anything that he needed to replenish in the bar so he left early." 

          Tao nodded at Kris' answer, "So, he's at the bar now?" 

          Kris nodded and Tao sighed, making a move to get out from the bed, "I should probably go and help him — I have been slacking off for God-knows-how-long already." 

          Kris only watched as Tao got off the bed and stretched, his shirt lifting up slightly and showing a bit of Tao's back — Tao was facing away from Kris. Kris quickly tore his gaze away from the bare skin that could be seen under Tao's shirt, feeling his cheeks heating up from possible embarrassment. Krisknew that he shouldn't be watching others and looking at — Kris' eyes unconsciously darted to Tao who was already done stretching before quickly looking away — exposed areas of a person, it was not right. 

          Before Tao could move from his spot, Kris told Tao, "Jinfu told me to tell you to not worry yourself with him, by the way." 

          Tao turned to Kris with a questioning look and Kris repeated, "Jinfu said that you needed some rest — being held captive probably takes a lot of your energy from you, Jinfu added." 

          "Plus," the taller quickly said before Tao could even think of something to say back, "Jinfu didn't want to bother you too much, after all that had happened. He prefers to do this alone while you occupy yourself with rest." 

          Tao frowned and opened his mouth, about to say something until Kris cut him off yet again, "Jinfu also told me to hold you down if you don't listen to me." 

          Tao scowled at Kris, who raised his hands up in defence, "Don't look at me. I'm not the one making the decisions here!" 

          Tao let out a grumpy huff and crossed his arms, letting himself fall back onto his bed as he growled out, "I swear, I'll kick his when he comes back. Who does he think he is? I'm not weak!" 

          Kris hummed as he pointed out, "Say that to the you who walked right into Suho's trap and got himself held like a prisoner." 

          Tao shot Kris a pointed glare, but it seemed that the taller was unfazed by the glare as he continued, "Also, you do that. Tell him what you think, I'm sure he'll think about it." 

          Tao actually considered the suggestion for a moment — just for a brief moment — but the thought quickly vanished as he remembered that he would probably have to wait for another millennium before Jinfu actually agree to let him do that — telling Jinfu that Tao's fine and that the latter could take care of himself. Tao wanted to shoot a retort at Kris but caught himself before he let it out, a thought suddenly passing through his head. Tao was thinking back to the time when he was back in Suho's lair, talking to Oh Lei. 

          'You know Jinfu?'

          'Yes. He's my brother's roommate, but that's not the point right now.' 

          Then, Tao remembered Oh Lei telling him the name of his brother when the former had asked about it. 

          'My brother's name. His name is Kris Wu Yifan.' 

          If that was the case, then Kris sitting over here was the brother Oh Lei mentioned, and judging by the way he talked about Jinfu's personality made him sound like he knew Jinfu for quite some time already. 

          "Kris," the male called out with an unsure tone to his voice, "Can I ask you a question?" 

          Kris looked at Tao with a hum before shrugging, "It won't hurt me. What's the question?" 

          Tao frowned, shifting in his lying position as he asked, "You're Jinfu's roommate?" 

          Kris didn't reply at first and Tao prompted, "Oh Lei told me. I asked him how he knew Jinfu and he told me his brother was his roommate." 

          When Tao was done speaking, Kris replied with not an answer but a statement, "His name is not 'Oh Lei'." 

          Tao glanced up at Kris, "I beg your pardon?" 

          "My brother," the elder told Tao, "His name is not 'Oh Lei'. It's just a name that he decided to use when he was an undercover in Suho's gang." 

          Tao flipped onto his stomach and propped himself up on his elbows, looking at Kris as he quizzed, "If 'Oh Lei' is just an undercover name, then what is his real name?" 

          Kris raised a brow, folding his arms across his chest as he asked in amusement, "I thought 'Oh Lei' told me that you're Chinese born?" 

          Tao furrowed his brows but nodded, "Yes, what about it?" 

          Kris hummed, "Can't you guess the name by yourself?" 

          Tao let out an exasperated questioning sound which made Kris sigh, dragging a hand down his face as he told the former, "You do know that the traditional Chinese Hanzi is the same as the Korean's Hanja, right?" 

          Tao just looked at Kris as the taller continued, "For each Chinese characters that are written traditionally, the Korean has them too as Hanja but pronounces the characters differently from the Chinese." 

          Kris looked at Tao, "Do you know what is the character for 'Oh'?" 

          Tao frowned and shook his head, "No, what?" 

          Kris blinked at him in surprise, jerking backwards as he interrogated, "You don't know the character for 'Oh'?" 

          Tao knitted his brows in annoyance before shaking his head, "If we're talking about Hangul then yes, I do know how it's written. But we are talking about Hanja — which, just so you know, I didn't learn at school — so no, I don't know." 

          Kris let out a mirth chuckle, confusing the male even more, "What's so funny?" 

          "Oh, nothing," the taller shook his head before stating, "As for your question, the Chinese character for 'Oh' is 'Wu'. Third sounding, the character with the mouth on top of a sky if we're using the simplified version." 

          Tao wrote the character in his mind and his face brightened up when he found the character he was looking for, "Oh, that one." 

          Kris smiled and nodded, "Yup, that is his last name." 

          Tao paused, piecing the names together before glancing at Kris and asking for confirmation, "His name is 'Wu Lei'?" 

          Kris made a ringing sound like he was shaking a bell, letting out 'ding ding' sounds as a huge smile spread across his features, "You are correct!" 

          Tao laughed lightly at Kris' antics — the latter was funnier than the former thought. 

          When Tao first met Kris — which was the month before — Tao had pictured Kris to be the kind of guy who never makes jokes, since his face was always in a frown which gave himself a serious look 24/7. After meeting Kris again just last night, their short lived conversations — also known as 'the place in which Tao would be going to stay at if he's not going back to his house' — gave Tao a feeling that Kris didn't like to talk too much when it comes to business — alternative name for 'business' being 'these kinds of jobs'. Tao had half expected Kris to be asking him about Suho when he arrived, so imagine the male's surprise when Kris was sitting on his bed, being casual with him and talking to him like an old friend. 

          What was weirder was it just felt so natural — their conversation — like they didn't try to force it and make it seem natural. None of them looked tense either and none of their laughs were that of awkwardness — the laughs actually sounded as genuine as one could be. Tao was amazed by how Kris was making the former feel so calm and secure around the latter, his presence was not awkward for him and instead felt comforting. 

          Tao didn't know where this relationship development had came from — from 'just a stranger who took him under his wings in order to keep him and his family safe from harm' to 'best buddies who knew each other for a very long time'. Tao now wondered whether those weirdly formed friendships that one could find on televisions could actually happen in real life — like right now. Tao usually believed that in order for something to develop, you have to give it time — but now, he wasn't so sure. 

          Tao shook his head with a mental sigh. Tao was thinking too much again. Tao should be focusing on the topic that he was currently in! 

          Which reminds him: What were they talking about again? Tao faintly remembered they were talking about Chinese and Korean characters, 'Oh Lei's' actual name and- 

          Oh yeah, Tao remembered now. Tao had been asking if Kris was Jinfu's roommate like Oh Lei had told him. 

          "You still haven't answered my question though," the male gave Kris a look, "So, is Jinfu your roommate or not?" 

          Kris shrugged, "He was, not anymore. See this mansion?" 

          Tao's eyes followed Kris' hands as they gestured around him — motioning to the house — before looking up to meet Kris' gaze and nodding, "Yeah, so?" 

          Kris smiled and let his arms to drop to his sides, explaining with a raised finger, "We used to be roommates. Now, we're housemates, with a few more other people." 

          Tao let out an acknowledged 'ah', nodding absentmindedly, "I see, I see." 

          Kris hummed, "Yeah, like that." 

          A moment of silence ensued before Tao thought of another question. 

          "How long have you and Jinfu known each other?" Tao peered at Kris' expression, waiting to see what his answers will be. 

          There was a hum as Kris' eyes rolled upwards in a thoughtful expression, "I think this year marks our ninth year of knowing each other." 

          Tao nodded, "So, you're the roommate that he rarely tells me about." 

          Kris smirked with amusement twinkling in his eyes, "And you're the friend that he couldn't seem to leave alone." 

          Tao felt his cheeks heat up and he looked away, not trying to deny Kris' claims. 

          Tao had been sixteen when Jinfu graduated high school and moved to Korea, mostly for the reason of being able to be with his childhood friend Tao again. Jinfu had a difficult time in Korea for the first few months since he didn't know any Korean aside from the basics, so Tao was there to be his translator and teacher — not really, but when Jinfu wasn't taking any Korean Language classes, then it would be Tao who teaches him — for a while. Eventually, he came around into learning how to speak in Korean — although not perfect, but at least now he knew how to form complete sentences with little grammar mistakes. 

          Since Jinfu moved to Korea while Tao was still in high school, he would always wait by the gates of Tao's school everyday until the school bell rings and signal the end of classes. Tao would then be taken around the streets for dinner and have a little bit fun in the arcades before being sent back home by Jinfu who was eighteen years old at that time. It was a routine for them until Tao graduated high school at age seventeen. 

          Tao kept telling Jinfu — at that time — to make some new friends since the elder was going to live in Korea, but — as expected — the elder didn't follow through with Tao's suggestion. Instead, Jinfu insisted that as long as he has Tao he would not need any other friends. As sociopathic — or introverted, shy, whatever term a person can use for such a behaviour — as Jinfu had sounded at that time, Tao couldn't help but to feel warmed that Jinfu would still consider him as a close friend after being apart from each other for four years. 

          Tao cleared his theist, a sigh of wanting to change the topic and it was the only warning Kris had before Tao spoke again, "How did Jinfu come around into knowing about-" 

          Tao gestured with his hands, trying to find the perfect word to use, "About this side of the business? When I first told Jinfu about the debt my father owed to Suho, I expected him to be shock and freak out or something. Not saying Jinfu wasn't shock when he heard it because he was, but he seemed more calm than anyone should be after being told about something as absurd as my story." 

          Tao noticed Kris tensing and he frowned, an unsettling feeling rolled in his stomach as he slowly sat up on the bed, "Kris, what happened?" 

          Kris instantly turned away from Tao, not wanting to meet the latter's gaze at the moment. Kris' gesture made Tao frown but the latter made no move to make the former look at him, nor did Tao try to make Kris tell him about what had happened for Jinfu to know about gang businesses. Tao could feel that whatever happened, it wasn't good, and it was up to Kris whether he wants to tell Tao about it or not. 

          Tao could feel the conflict going on inside of Kris's head. One part of Kris wanted to tell Tao about what happened while the other part was scared of telling Tao. The fear and uncertainty that was radiating off of Kris was so obvious that Tao could exaggerate and say he could see wisps of the emotion floating out from the former and others would've believed his claims. 

          However, the fear coming from Kris was not the usual kind of fear. The usual kind of fear when a person hesitates to speak the truth was of what others might say to their claims — whether they believe in the claim or not. Judging from what Tao's observant eyes could tell, Kris wasn't afraid of telling Tao the truth, but rather he was reliving the fear of the time of the incident — whatever might have happened on that day. 

          Tao wanted to convince Kris to tell him the truth — wanted to tell Kris that it's alright and that he could trust Tao to not react badly to the story — but he decided against the idea. Tao didn't know what happened that day, so he couldn't be the judge to how his reaction might be once he knows. Tao also didn't want to try and convince Kris to tell him the story since — if something as terrible as the incident could make stoic face Kris not-so-stoic — then it meant the story was going to be difficult to accept. 

          Tao waited to see what Kris' final decisions would be — whether or not Kris would tell Tao about how Jinfu came around into knowing about gangs and their businesses. Tao wouldn't mind if Kris doesn't tell him but if the latter does decide to, the former will make sure to keep his reaction neutral. Tao would not want Kris to beat himself over something he couldn't control just because Tao didn't react nicely to the story. 

          Finally, after in a deep breath, Kris turned to Tao and asked a bit slowly, "Do you know why Suho held you hostage?" 

          Tao blinked at the sudden question. Since when had they been talking about himself? 

          Nonetheless, Tao nodded — a bit slowly and unsurely — and answered, "He said I was going to lure out some traitor or something..." 

          Kris nodded at what Tao said, casting his eyes to the floor as he asked again, "Can you guess who that traitor might be?" 

          Tao shook his head, "No." 

          "Take a guess." 

          Tao stared at Kris — who wasn't willing to meet his eyes — as his mind's gears started to move. Tao thought back to what Suho said — about using Tao to lure out a traitor — and thought about what Suho might've meant when he said that. Tao thought hard but soon got an answer — maybe, Suho was waiting for whoever this traitor was to save Tao out from the latter's situation. 

          Jinfu may be the one who was worried by Tao's disappearance — of course, Tao's parents were just as worried about him too — and Sehun was the one who told Jinfu and the others about what had happened to him. Oh Lei — Tao shook the name out of his head as he remembered that the boy's name was 'Wu Lei' — may also be the one who saved Tao out from Suho's hideout but the boy only came to his rescue because of an order. An order that was made by Wu Lei's brother, and that brother was none other than the person sitting on his bed with him in this room at this very instant. 

          Tao's breath was inhaled slowly. 

          It was Kris. 

          The traitor Suho had been talking about was Kris. 

          "A penny for your thoughts," the male looked up when he heard Kris talking, seeing a dry smile on the other's lips. 

          Tao let out a breath before asking, "You're the traitor?" 

          Kris nodded and Tao followed along. 

          "I see." 

          Kris tilted his head slightly, "Not curious to know why he dubbed me a traitor?" 

          Tao shook his head, "My question was not why you 'betrayed' Suho." 

          Kris smiled though the expression did not reach his eyes, "You're right, you didn't." 

          Tao nodded, "So, you're that traitor. What does that have to do with how Jinfu come to know about the gang business?" 

          Kris sighed and shifted so he was sitting wth his legs crossed on the bed, looking at Tao with an unreadable expression, "Jinfu knew about the business because of me." 

          "If it weren't for me," the taller shook his head, as if disappointed by himself, "If Jinfu hadn't known me, he wouldn't have been dragged into all of this." 

          Tao frowned — Kris was suspending him. 

          Finally, the words came out from Kris. 

          "Due to my 'betrayal'," the taller told Tao, "Jinfu almost got killed." 

          It was like a bucket of cold water had just splashed over Tao. 

          Jinfu almost died? 

          A sudden memory came to Tao and suddenly, it all made sense. 

          There was this one time where Tao's parents told him that something bad had happened to Jinfu and that he was sent to the hospital. When Tao saw Jinfu at the hospital, he couldn't believe his eyes — the elder was almost fully covered in bandages as black and blue decorated patches of his skin that wasn't bandaged. The doctor had told them that Jinfu suffered several cuts and bruises, along with a dislocation of the jaw and his left shoulder — the news shocked Tao and his parents greatly. 

          The police investigated the scene a