Chanyeol hated hospitals. He also hated Kris, who'd apparently become his one and only doctor. He swore at the guy every time he came in, because the er wouldn't let him get discharged, no matter how often Chanyeol claimed he was fine. 

Chanyeol had been there for a whole week and two days when he decided he couldn't take it anymore. He ripped the sheets off of himself, and stumbled out of bed. Not caring about the dirty, cold floor on his bare feet, Chanyeol charged down the halls as if his life depended on it. 

He didn't exactly know his way around, but he eventually found himself at an elevator bank. he figured he'd be able to find the exit from there. He just needed air, he needed to ing breathe. he couldn't stand just sitting in his hospital bed as if he was a corpse. 

It only reminded him of Baekhyun's lifeless body lying in his coffin, waiting to be buried. And it ing hurt.  After what seemed like an eternity, the doors finally opened, and after a few people bustled out Chanyeol moved in. 

He didn't realize what a mess he'd become until he saw himself in the mirror of the elevator. His hair was dishevelled and there were large bags under his eyes, results of his sleepless nights. The elevator, although there were only four people, felt claustriphobic to Chanyeol. 

He watched as the numbers of the floors slowly counted down. 

9..8..7..6.

I stopped. Three people made their way in, and Chanyeol felt impatient, and was almost about to explode but contained himself. The doors closed again. 

5..4..3..2..1.

The doors opened and Chanyeol pushed his way out, ignoring the murmurs of dissent thrown his way. At this moment, he couldn't care any less. He ran through several hallways before he found a clear exit. Two sliding doors, leading to a carpark were right in front of him. 

He ran--more like flew--through them, and took large breaths of the air, as if he'd just resurfaced from a pool of water. He closed his eyes and cherished the moment. Wind blew through his hospital gown, and he didn't notice the large body towering over him until he opened his eyes again. 

Kris looked at him, an amused smirk on his face and said. "Did you enjoy that?"

Chanyeol scowled at the guy and was about to make a run for it, but he felt hands grabbing at his arms. They lifted him off the ground and he felt himself being dragged back. His eyes widened in fear and he screamed, "No! No! No, I'm not going back in there!" He tried to pry the hands off of his arms, but they too strong. 

He struggled and struggled, screaming like a little kid. People started looking his way, but Kris would have none of it. The poor kid was sick and he wasn't losing anyone again. He grabbed a syringe and after a small mutter of "Sorry", jabbed the needle into Chanyeol's arm.

Chanyeol went still and slacked into his captors arms.

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Kyungsoo soon figured out the location that Junmyeon wanted to meet at when he was examining the photograph. On the back someone had written 'rooftop', but Kyungsoo wasn't sure who because it was too messy to be Junmyeon's, and the writing had faded quite a bit. 

The photo however, wasn't taken too long ago. Maybe a year or so? Kyungsoo could tell because Baekhyun was sporting his yankees jumper, the one gifted from Junmyeon himself. As he scaled the stairs, Kyungsoo thought about Chen, who just so happened to be the shorter person standing next to Baekhyun. 

He didn't know how the hell that guy had a connection to his friend, but they seemed to be really close in the photo. Kyungsoo also wondered who'd taken the photo. Maybe it was Sehun? Or Kai? He didn't know, but he suspected it to be either of the two. 

When Kyungsoo reached the top and opened the door to the roof, he took a whiff of the air and noticed the smell of smoke ringing through his nose. He felt like gagging at the scent. He spotted Junmyeon's figure near the edge and saw the clouds of smoke circling him. 

Since when did he smoke? 

Kyungsoo approached him. "I didn't know you smoked. You always seemed to hate it." 

Junmyeon removed the cigarette from his mouth and puffed, letting it flow from his nostrils. He closed his eyes. "And you still do, don't you?" 

Kyungsoo nodded. "Yes, so why are you doing it?" 

Junmyeon shrugged. "I felt like it." 

Bull. Nothing with Junmyeon was ever for a stupid reason like that. There were always reasons behind Junmyeon's actions, and precisely thought out plans. Kyungsoo felt hurt that the older was lying to him. 

"Sure you did." Kyungsoo remarked sarcastically. 

Junmyeon chuckled and flicked the stub away, off the edge of the building. "You're more perceptive than I thought. When did you grow up so fast?"

Kyungsoo suddenly felt anger flush over him, and the thought of pressing the older about smoking erased from his mind. "When everyone decided to leave." 

Junmyeon's heart suddenly felt heavy and remembered that he never apologised. Which was one of the first things he decided he would do when he returned. He really regretted leaving the kid on his own, and knowing his background wasn't the greatest made him feel even more selfish.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry Kyung. I truly am. You know I couldn't talk to anyone at the time, my parents went away and I was on my own. I got caught up in some business that I'd really like not to talk about, and the past three months have a been hell. Please understand that I didn't leave you on purpose Kyung. I also never meant to be away for so long. Things just...got out of hand."

Kyungsoo, although still angry, nodded in understanding. "I know Hyung, it's just that...I didn't have anyone. My situation was probably nothing compared to yours, but it was pretty crap."

"Anyway, about the photo. You said you knew the guy and that he comes to this school. Care to introduce me to him?" Junmyeon cut straight to business. Any previous emotions were pushed to the back of his mind. He couldn't afford to be emotional.

Kyungsoo nodded, "Yeah, I know him. I'm not close, but good enough to talk. But he's a hard case. There's something about him that's just...off, you know? He's like a walking corpse." Kyungsoo studied Junmyeon's response, but as usual, he sported a blank expression. 

When the latter didn't answer, Kyungsoo spoke again. "What are you thinking of Junmyeon?" 

Closing his eyes and inhaling a breath, he replied. "It's just...I knew someone who was like that. A walking corpse." He opened his eyes and turned to Kyungsoo, "So, how about we talk to him? After school or something." 

Kyungsoo gave him a grave look. "Chen isn't someone who socializes hyung. Apart from Xiumin and his two kids, I haven't seen anyone else talk to him." 

Junmyeon's ears perked at the mention of his cousin, and an idea began to formulate in his mind. "Xiumin? My cousin?"

"He's your cousin?"

THe boy nodded. "Yeah, since birth I guess. Anyway, are they close?"

Kyungsoo thought for a moment. He did notice Chen looking at the guy a lot more than he did with anyone else. "I wouldn't say that they're close, but he's probably our only shot."

"Let's do it."

"Do what?"

"Talk to him."

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