It had been in self-defense, of course; Se Hun knew that Lu Han would never be capable of killing anyone on purpose.

Lu Han had spent that night in Se Hun's arms, crying his heart out, remembering and recounting to Se Hun every detail of that horrible ordeal; the horrible ordeal that he had spent so long trying to forget. And Se Hun couldn't do much more than hold him and try to comfort him; he felt useless. Lu Han eventually cried himself to sleep. Se Hun carried him upstairs to their room and then crawled into bed with him, not wanting to leave the older boy alone.

Se Hun felt that much more guilty now about that deal that he had had with Kris; he hadn’t even asked why.  It was of little comfort that he had ended the deal.

Lu Han tossed and turned in his sleep and Se Hun held on to him thinking about what his beautiful Lu Han had been through.

As it turns out, Kris' brother, who had been a year older that Lu Han, had been somewhat of a friend of Lu Han's, and he had been helping him study that day. Everything had been going fine until he tried to make a move on Lu Han. Lu Han, being so innocent at the time, hadn't thought anything of it until Kris' brother actually tried to kiss him. Lu Han had tried to run away, but was chased around the apartment until he had been pinned against the doorway of the kitchen. Kris' brother had forced him into a bruising kiss then, his hands roaming all over Lu Han's body.

He'd tried to push him away to no avail and but only when Kris' brother's hand reached Lu Han's pants and had actually put a hand inside, did he really panic. Flailing about, he had managed to grab the nearest object, which had been a kitchen knife, and blindly stabbed at the man on top of him. He had simply been trying to get the other man off him, but he had accidentally hit an artery and in the end the other man had bled to death. Lu Han had only been sixteen at the time.

This also made Se Hun hate Kris for making Lu Han remember.

"Se Hun..." Lu Han mumbled in his sleep. "Se Hunnie..."

The younger boy pulled the older boy closer.

"It's okay Lu Hannie," He mumbled to him. "I'm here..."

"Se Hunnie..." Lu Han sighed and he buried his face into the younger's chest, still asleep. "I love you..."

"I love you too," Se Hun smiled as he kissed the top of the older boy's head. "More than you know...

When Se Hun woke up the next morning, Lu Han wasn't next to him anymore. He immediately jumped out of bed, fearing the worst, but his fears disappeared when he heard the laughing and happy voices. Slowly and sleepily he made his way downstairs rubbing his eyes.

"Good morning sleepy head," Chanyeol greeted in his loud and deep voice that didn't match his face.

"Why are you guys here again?" Se Hun groaned as he entered the kitchen. "You guys are here so much now."

"Oh, Hunnie," Chanyeol laughed. "We're welcome though, right? Your boyfriend invited us."

Se Hun rolled his eyes while pouring himself some water.

"Good morning Se Hunnie," Lu Han's sweet voice filled his ears and he smiled despite himself.

Putting his water down, he turned around to face Lu Han.

"Good morning, my Lu Hannie," He replied before giving the older boy a light peck on the lips. "How are you feeling today?"

"Better," Lu Han smiled back at him and gave him another kiss. "Thank you."

And then Lu Han was walking away, heading towards Chanyeol and Baekhyun at the table. Se Hun hadn't even noticed Baekhyun at all since he hadn't said anything, and he usually had a lot to say. The youngest boy was warming up to Baekhyun a lot more since what had happened here a bit more than a month ago... Baekhyun still had bandages around his head and his head was on Chanyeol's shoulder, his eyes closed.

"Baekhyun?" Lu Han sat down across from Baekhyun.

"Hmm…" There was only a soft moan in response.

"Um... How are you feeling?" Lu Han was clearly concerned. "Maybe you should lie down?"

Baekhyun's eyes remained closed and he said nothing but he shifted slightly on Chanyeol's shoulder, and a small smile appeared on Baekhyun's lips; a smile that said that he appreciated the thought, but no thanks. Lu Han gave a similar smile in response; he seemed to be cautious around the two of them. Did he, perhaps, blame himself for what happened to Baekhyun?

Se Hun made some breakfast for all of them, but while cooking, what happened that day, when he had gone out and before he had gotten home, was the only thing on his mind.

Eventually, when it got to a point where he couldn't stand being the only one that didn't know anymore, he decided to ask Chanyeol.

So after Chanyeol had laid Baekhyun down on a bed in an empty room in Se Hun’s house, Se Hun had convinced the two of them to just stay, more because of Baekhyun's current condition than anything, Se Hun dragged him aside. The two of them had been sitting on the couch in silence for quite a while before Se Hun finally said something.

"So, how is he?" Se Hun asked hesitantly, referring to Baekhyun. He kept his voice low since Lu Han was asleep as well.

"I... don't know," Chanyeol admitted, his hands gripped his knees tightly. "He tells me that he's feeling better, but it's obvious that he's still in pain..."

"What happened that day anyways?" Se Hun asked reluctantly.

Chanyeol sighed, buried his face in his hands and just stayed silent for quite a while. Se Hun was just about to say that it was okay if he didn't want to talk about it when Chanyeol lifted his head to look at him.

"Those two, Baekhyun and Lu Han, they've gotten quite close, you notice that?" Chanyeol smiled a little at the thought. "That day, Lu Han had called and asked if we wanted to come over. By the time we got here, the house had already been messed up."

Se Hun sighed, looked like he would still have to ask Lu Han afterwards anyways, if he wanted all the details.

"We arrived to find the door unlocked and slightly ajar, so we just came in," Chanyeol leaned back against the couch. "Only to find a slightly smaller mess than the one you came home to and a tall, black-haired guy struggling with Lu Han."

"Zi Tao..." Se Hun mumbled, to which Chanyeol nodded.

"And imagine my surprise when Baekhyun recognized him..." Chanyeol gave Se Hun a wry smile. "More than just recognize actually; Zi Tao is Baekhyun’s ex."

Oh...Se Hun thought. That must have been awkward...

As if he knew what he had been thinking, Chanyeol nodded at him.

"Baekhyun had immediately rushed over to help Lu Han, and for Zi Tao, the sight of Baekhyun was enough to make him stop..." Chanyeol made a face before he continued. "I didn't really think anything of it until Zi Tao tossed Lu Han aside and then immediately kissed Baekhyun. And well, this made me mad, needless to say, or more jealous perhaps, but I digress. So I tried to separate them, only to be knocked aside as well; the kid's a ninja, I swear. That was when Baekhyun pushed him away and rushed to my side."

Chanyeol smiled a bit at the memory. "Of course, this then led to Baekhyun taking hit after hit from Zi Tao to protect me, resulting in his current condition and the rest of the mess in your house.”

Chanyeol paused, the memory obviously quite painful, but he continued before Se Hun could say anything.

“Zi Tao dragged Lu Han upstairs after I begged him to stop hurting my Baekkie... And that was pretty much when you got back... and after you ran off, I just stayed there holding my Baekkie…"

Chanyeol had a few tears running down his face, and Se Hun now felt bad for asking.

"I'm sorry Chanyeol," He reached out and placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder. “But thank you.”

"No," He shook his head. "You had a right to know, I wish I could tell you more..."

"You told me more than enough," Se Hun smiled at him. “Why don’t you go rest? You look tired.”

Chanyeol nodded in response, and got up from the couch.

“Walk with me?” He asked Se Hun.

The younger boy nodded and stood up as well. They walked slowly towards the room that Chanyeol and Baekhyun were staying in, in a comfortable silence.

Both of them were quite surprised, but in a pleasant way, by what they saw upon entering. Baekhyun and Lu Han were in the bed in each other’s arms, but it was clear that it was in a friendly and comforting sort of way.

The other two smiled at each other and left the room. Se Hun let Chanyeol stay in his room and went back downstairs to the couch. As he lay there, he thought about what happened after Zi Tao had pointed the gun at his head; he was still rather confused about the events, and decided to try to sort it out…

Flashback

Zi Tao had the gun pressed against his head, and Se Hun could feel it, that the other would actually do it. Shoot him, that is.

"Come on, Lulu," Se Hun winced as Zi Tao pushed the barrel harder against his head. "Just admit what you did and I won't have to hurt your little boyfriend."

Se Hun reached and grabbed on to the other's arm and tried to weakly pull it away from him. Zi Tao laughed in response, his arm actually tightening. The youngest boy's attention was taken away from Zi Tao when he noticed Lu Han moving out of his peripheral vision.

"Why are you doing this, Zi Tao?" Lu Han asked, his voice weak, but the resolve was there. "Why are you helping Kris?"

"Why?" Se Hun could feel the other shaking against him. "You, of all people, have the nerve to ask me why?"

"Leave Se Hun out of this, Zi Tao," Lu Han was leaning against the wall and panting, and Se Hun was worried about him. "This is between us, isn't it?"

And suddenly, the weak and dependent Lu Han was gone, he seemed determined to save and protect Se Hun.

Zi Tao said and did nothing for a minute, like he was pondering Lu Han's words. And suddenly he just let Se Hun go, or more like tossed him aside, and stalked up to Lu Han, grabbing a fistful of the older boy's shirt.

"Do you have any idea what you did to me?" He growled at Lu Han. "You ruined my life when you just disappeared off the face of the earth so suddenly, do you know what I went through? All because you abandoned me?"

Lu Han's eyes widened in shock as he slowly shook his head.

"You left me alone," Zi Tao's fist tightened. "I had no one... Even Baekhyun abandoned me..."

Lu Han and Se Hun both froze at the mention of Baekhyun, but Zi Tao continued speaking before either could say anything.

"And then I met Kris, and he... He made me feel loved again..."Zi Tao's grip loosened as he mentioned Kris. "He told me that he loved me, that he needed me, that he wanted my help, to find you..."

"Ugh, I don't even know what he wants from you, but I want to help... Because he's my world..." And then he was staring right at Lu Han again. "So, tell me Lulu, tell me what he wants from you!"

"I don't know!" Lu Han yelled.

“You don’t know?” Zi Tao’s eyes narrowed. “I’m sure you know, Kris would never hate anyone for no good reason…”

Lu Han stared, wide-eyed, at him for a good while. Se Hun just sat there, watching this scene unfold before him, and not doing a thing, because he didn’t know just what he could do. And then the gun was being pointed at Lu Han’s chest; this made Se Hun move almost immediately.

The youngest boy ran over to Zi Tao and grabbed hold of the gun, trying to wrestle it away from the other. A frustrated growl escaped from Zi Tao as he tried to get Se Hun away from him, but the younger boy held on. That was when the gun went off.

A loud bang was heard, and for a moment everything was frozen.

“Se Hun!” Lu Han’s voice cried out, shattering the stillness.

The younger boy didn’t know why though; why was Lu Han calling out his name? He turned to look at Lu Han and noticed the other was crying. Out of curiosity, he also glanced at Zi Tao to see that the other’s eyes were wide in shock or horror, perhaps, and staring at him, or rather, his arm. That was when he felt excruciating pain from his upper arm. Finally turning his head, he saw that the bullet that been shot earlier was now lodged into his arm. His other hand released the gun, and with a loud clang the gun hit the ground.

Lu Han got up and tried to run over to Se Hun, but Zi Tao stopped him.

“And this is why you need to mind your own business,” His voice was harsh, but his eyed didn’t reflect the same feelings; his eyes showed regret.

“Why are you doing this, Zi Tao?” The older boy screamed, trying to get past him. “Can’t you see that he needs help?”

Se Hun has collapsed on to his knees, the pain from his arm finally getting to him.

“Just tell me what I want to know, Lulu,” Zi Tao didn’t budge; his voice was still harsh, but he had his attention turned to Lu Han now. “Tell me, and everything will be okay.”

Lu Han turned to look at Se Hun for a moment, his eyes filled with regret, before leaning a little closer to Zi Tao and whispering into the other’s ear.

“So, Kris was right,” Zi Tao mumbled, his eyes widening a little due to whatever Lu Han was telling him. And then he pushed Lu Han towards Se Hun, a smirk on his face. “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

And with that, Zi Tao turned and left the room.

Lu Han crawled towards Se Hun, his eyes overflowing with tears. Gently, the older boy touched the younger’s arm.

“I’m so sorry, Se Hun…” He whispered, his grip tightening a little bit. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this…”

Se Hun’s vision was blurring; he could barely see Lu Han in front of him.

“It’s okay… Lu Han.” His voice was barely audible as he reached out a hand and wiped away a tear off Lu Han’s face. “I… don’t… blame…”

And then he out, collapsing into Lu Han’s chest; the last thing he heard was Lu Han screaming his name.

End flashback

He winced as he touched his arm where the bullet had hit him; it had been awhile, but still hurt. He didn’t know what happened afterwards, but he had woken up in the hospital, so perhaps either Lu Han or Chanyeol had called an ambulance.

Se Hun had been curious as to what Lu Han had told Zi Tao that day, but now he knew, since Lu Han had just told him. He felt his heart clinch at the thought of what the older boy had gone through.

Silently praying for some peace, at least for the night, Se Hun fell into a restless and dreamless sleep.

End of chapter 21

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I'm so sorry for taking so long to update >.< I hope this chapter at least explains some things... I'm thinking of ending the story soon.

Thank you, again to cupcakemini5 for helping me edit ^_^ I really appreciate it. <3

Thank you to all my subscribers!! 270 subscribers... omg. ; A ;

Also, a little shamless self promotion xD for those of you that like BaekYeol, check out my short BaekYeol story? owo

Phone Calls, Smiles and Music

Until next chapter... which will be... I'm really not sure >.<