Unknown Caller.

                Decline?

Accept.

"-cuking , how do we even know it's working?!"

"Shut it! I can't hear a damn thing on the other end with you shouting in my ear!"

"This is getting ridiculous, you didn't hear anything last time-"

"Seriously? You're gonna keep talking?"

Tao continued to listen as the strangers on the other end bickered endlessly with each other. He smirked into his coffee when he heard the resonating aftermath of a smack and whimpering from one of the boys there.

Normally Tao would never answer unknown numbers, especially when the actual number is blocked from his phone. However, for the past seven weeks he's been receiving the same call at the same time, 9:26 am every Wednesdays and Fridays. He thought it was a stalker at first and changed his number, changed his phone even, but the calls kept coming.

Eventually he answered and was not met with heavy breathing or 'I can see you' statements, but this.

"That is my foot! I need that!"

"Then shut the up and let me concentrate!"

"Tao?" a gruff, sleep laden voice interrupted the one-sided conversation and Tao hung up. He turned towards the hallway and smiled at the towering figure blinking tiredly at him, "Why are you up so early?"

"I'm use to having classes at eight. At least I slept in a little," he walked back towards the counter and poured another mug of coffee. Two arms wrapped around his waist and a heavy weight rested itself on the dip of his shoulder, "Why are you up?"

"The bed was cold," he mumbled weakly, "I heard your phone go off though. Who called?"

"Jongdae," he lied, "He dialed me. I could hear him snoring. He must have fallen asleep texting his girlfriend."

"Sounds like him."

"Have some coffee Kris, you look like you're going to fall asleep on me any minute now."

The blond's lips quirked up in a half smile as he squinted at Tao, "I'm so comfortable though. I could go for another thirty minutes."

Tao laughed as the man turned his head and growled into his neck when he made a move to break free, "Jesus Kris! You're such a child sometimes."

"You keep me young."

Tao turned in his grasp and pushed him lightly, "Yah, you're only three years older than me!"

"I grew up too fast though," he sensed a pout in Kris's voice, "Let me be childish right now."

"There's nothing good about being a child. Granted kid's meals are cheaper, but that's probably it."

"I think you may be over looking some things," Kris smirked and finally released the maroon haired male. He leaned against the counter next to him and picked up his drink, "For instance, children can still play with toys-"

"That has never stopped you from buying them," Tao pointed out with smug satisfaction.

"Hey, you like Ace too. He's our son anyways, how could you say about our only child?"

"Our 'only' child? What about all those other stuffed animals in our room!?"

Kris blinked, "... We got busy, didn't we?"

Tao laughed and shoved him lightly. Kris wasn't so easily moved and instead leaned forward to connect their lips in a soft kiss, "You didn't brush your teeth."

"I just woke up."

"Gross."

Kris tried to kiss him again, but Tao's phone went off. The two looked down and the younger boy saw it was the reoccurring unknown number. His eyes widened and he looked back to Kris, who lost all traces of sleep from his face and reached to pick it up.

He answered and listened for a few seconds, then his eyes narrowed and he hung up immediately. Kris then looked to Tao, brow's furrowing in concern, "They're still calling you? I thought we changed your number."

"We did... they found out again. Kris, I seriously think they just got the wrong number-"

"Jongdae didn't call earlier, did he?" Tao shook his head, "Did you talk to them?"

"No."

"Good," he sighed in relief and looked back down at the phone. Tao couldn't read his face, meaning he had no idea what the taller male was thinking. Kris shook his head and pocketed the phone, "I'll bring you a new one when I come back from work."

"So you're just going to take my phone?"

Kris gave him an innocent, pleading look, which didn't suit him at all but was still ridiculously cute none the less, "Is that okay? Do you want to keep mine?"

"No... it's alright. I'm not going anywhere today," he smiled instead, swirling the black liquid in his cup.

Kris sighed and approached him once more, pulling him into a tight hug as he spoke in his shoulder, "I'm not trying to be possessive, I'm not trying to forbid you from anything. I just don't want you in danger of some potential kidnappers or anything like that."

"Well they certainly don't sound like kidnappers," he mumbled, and Kris pulled away to give him a look that read 'Really?' "I understand. I'm not a child though, I'm sure if I talked to them-"

"That'll encourage them," he pecked his cheek lightly and left for the bathroom, "I'll be back at 5. Maybe we can see a movie or something?"

"Or something," Tao smiled as he left and drank his coffee, scrunching his face bitterly at how cold it had gotten.

--

"New phone?" Luhan asked, seating himself across from the martial artist with a stranger at his side. Tao looked up from his Iphone and greeted the elder with a smile, nodding affirmatively in response to his question, "Didn't you just get a new phone? What happened to that?"

"It broke," he shrugged, "Kris actually broke it. He got me a new one."

"Ah, of course he would."

"Well you know how clumsy he is. I'd say he's got as much balance as a giraffe but Chanyeol has claimed that animal."

"Speaking of Chanyeol," Luhan smiled evilly and elbowed the boy besides him, "This little guy here happens to be that giant's new infatuation."

"Really?"

"No," the male groaned, his voice surprisingly deep for a baby face, "Luhan, don't. Hi, my name is Baekhyun. I work with Chanyeol and Luhan."

"Tao, I'm friends with the two," they exchanged a smile before Tao proceeded to interrogate Luhan, "His new infatuation you say? You don't mean he has a crush, do you?"

"Chanyeol doesn't like me!"

"He definitely does," Luhan argued back and turned to Tao with shining eyes, "Baekhyun works in the accounting department, but he has some knowledge about tech support. Whenever our main repairman is out, he comes and tries to fix the problem the best he can. We met when my computer overheated and Chanyeol happened to be bugging me. You should have seen it, he was a complete and utter mess when Baekhyun arrived."

"Oh god no. Stop," Baekhyun ruffled his brown hair in a frustrated manner and stood up, "I'm gonna get a drink, might as well since this coffee shop looks really nice."

"I recommend a chocolate mocha, it's their specialty," Tao offered and Baekhyun mulled it over briefly before nodding in agreement and leaving.

Luhan rolled his eyes and leaned forward, "Don't listen to him. As soon as he walked in Chanyeol spilled a cup of coffee on himself and didn't react to the heat until after the guy left."

"Wow. That's... painful."

"Right? He tried to play off but god knows that boy can't act for ."

"Did he make a fool of himself?"

"You bet your tight little he did."

"Ew."

"He's exaggerating," Baekhyun returned rather quickly, assuming there was no line and left over pre-made drinks, "Well, I don't know about your being tight but the coffee was cold, he told me so himself."

"Yeah? Did he show you the third degree burns he got after I drove him to the hospital?" Tao's face burned as Luhan shot back a reply, "Guess that must have slipped his mind... Along with every logical thought that he gets before he talks to you."

"He... he..."

Tao rolled his eyes and leaned forwards, "What do most of your conversations revolve around?" Baekhyun looked away, and that was all that Tao needed to know, "Oh . Ferrets?"

Baekhyun nodded, "Ferrets."

"ing ferrets," Luhan repeated, practically deflating in his seat.

Tao felt a hand slide across his shoulder and looked up to see Kris smiling down at him. He had his hair dyed black and partially in his face. Tao instinctively reached up and brushed the strands away so he could look at him better, "Hey hot stuff. I like the new look."

"Hey yourself. What's got Luhan all bummed out?"

"FEEERRREEETSSSS," he said with a groan and Kris furrowed his brows.

"Okay... I'm going to order something. Do you want anything?"

"I'm good with this," Tao tapped the lid of his coffee, black, and flushed at the smile Kris gave him.

Sometimes that man was too much... even when he wasn't doing anything at all. Baekhyun let out a low whistle and smirked at Tao once Kris was out of earshot.

"So... how did that happen?" he asked.

"What?"

"He means Kris," Luhan mimicked the boy's face and livened up immediately, "Do tell. I find this story highly amusing."

"Why? Is it cheesy?"

"Far from it," Tao sighed, "How far do you want me to go back?"

--

It was probably the tiest weather ever, no really, complete and utter . I don't even know why I left the house- wait no I do. It was because I was out of ing pens. I don't know what happened, it was like all the pens in my house decided to just melt into the floor and never appear again. I was editing a draft for my Communications class and my printer was out of ink as well. I had to make hand written corrections, but doing it in pencil? Yeah, that'll impress the professor.

But anyways, ty weather. Rain, hail, I was half expecting hell to freeze over on my way to the store. I was in a bad mood already when I left, and to make matters worse some giant jackass soaked in water ran right into me. No, let me rephrase; not ran...crashed. I would have been knocked to the pavement if it hadn't been for the building.

I barely caught myself and was about to ing murder the person when he grabbed my arm and pulled me away.

Now I'll have you know that the first thing that ran through my head was not ' I'm getting kidnapped' but 'what the I need to get my pens'.

So I yelled at him, "Hey! man, what are you doing?! Let me go!"

"Sorry, just come with me," he said, "We're almost out of there."

Real quick, do you remember the old drug store shooting last year? The drive by with the gang Black Pearl? Well at the time I happened to live in the apartment a few blocks away and that particular store was the only one nearby that carried pens.

Needless to say, I was scared less when I heard guns go off around the corner. The stranger at the time just ran faster and didn't stop until we were a good 8 blocks away. Yes you heard right, eight. ing. Blocks. Away. I was so exhausted but confused out of my mind.

"W-what the hell was that?" I asked him, or something along the lines of that. Hard to remember when all I could think about was barely getting away from a shooting.

When he turned around, I recognized Kris. This wasn't our first meeting. He actually worked at a youth center in Gangnam as an coach for the basketball camp. I had seen him a few times when I went to use their Gym for training. I never held a proper conversation with him though, just a nod here and there so the fact that he addressed me by my name was surprising.

"Sorry Tao," he panted, just as out of breath as I was, "I couldn't let you go in there."

"How did you know that was going to happen? How do you know my name?"

Kris shrugged, "I-I heard them talk about it in an alley way. I called the cops and walked to the store to warn the people. I saw you and but the gunmen were right behind me so... I guess the rest is self-explanatory."

I just nodded; I was way too tired for this. I intended to just thank him and leave, but when I looked at him I saw that his nose was bleeding, "Did they get you?"

"What?"

"Your nose," I motioned, "Looks pretty bad..."

"Oh this?" he wiped it away, disgusting but attractive in a gruff 'I can take care of myself' kind of way, "Don't worry about it. I'm prone to random nosebleeds."

"Ah huh... Well look, it's still raining pretty bad and I think the old man inside is gonna yell at us if we loiter under his terrace any longer."

--

"And thus, Tao sneakily invited me back to his place where we made sweet love... three times," Kris finished as he rejoined the group, smirking at the now flushed boy besides him, "Just telling the truth."

"That didn't happen."

"Three times?" Baekhyun gaped, "That's... interesting. You kept count?"

"Of course."

"He's lying!"

"Aye Kris, go easy on your boyfriend. He looks like he's going to explode any minute," Luhan cackled and flicked Tao's forehead. The martial artist veered back and rubbed the throbbing spot, "But seriously, Kris is exaggerating."

"Thank you."

"They only went at it twice."

"Luhan!"

"Almost three times," Kris corrected, "If a certain someone hadn't called him in for work."

"Oh my god, kill me now," Tao groaned and hid his face in his hand. Baekhyun and Luhan laughed while Kris rubbed his shoulder affectionately. The maroon haired male peeked through his fingers and frowned when he noticed a small swipe of red under Kris's nose.

He sighed and reached for a napkin, pressing it against his face unsympathetically, "It's bleeding again."

"Really? Damn," Kris took it from him gratefully and tilted his head back, waiting for the blood to subside.

"Those have been getting more frequent, huh?" Luhan observed, narrowing his eyes with concern for his friend. Tao was just as worried and rubbed Kris's back.

"Probably because it's nearing allergy season. It's attacking my nose early," he cursed under his breath and stood up, "Sorry, I need to use the restroom."

"Take your time..." Tao mumbled as he walked off. He turned back to Luhan and Baekhyun with a sharp look in his eyes, "It's winter."

"So it's obviously not allergies," Luhan confirmed, "Have you tried taking him to the hospital?"

"He refuses to go. Says it's too much trouble for something that rarely happens."

"I wouldn't exactly use the word 'rare' anymore."

"You know..." Baekhyun spoke up, "My grandfather runs a small clinic in Daegu. He visits me often, especially since I got my own place. I could ask him to do a quick checkup on your boyfriend when he comes back."

"Thanks, but Kris is ridiculously adamant about not seeing anyone," Tao sighed, "He's too damn stubborn. He thinks he knows better just because he's claimed to have seen 'a lot in his life'. How much more can you see in three years?!"

"Something tells me this isn't just about the nosebleeds anymore..." Luhan mumbled, "Has he done anything to you?"

"What? N-no!" the younger male shook his head furiously, "Not at all! You think he's abusing me?"

"I never said that, but if he's doing something he shouldn't-"

"I'm fine. We're fine. It's just... remember those phone calls I told you about?"

The baby faced male nodded and leaned over to Baekhyun to explain, "Tao use to get not-so random phone calls every couple of days or so-"

"Wednesdays and Fridays," Tao corrected.

"Yeah whatever, and it was always people arguing on the other end."

"Did you ask who they were?"

"No hyung-do you mind if I call you that?" Baekhyun smiled and shook his head, "Kris told me not to in case it was a stalker. He didn't want me encouraging him."

"Alright... Are you still getting these calls?"

Tao nodded and Luhan glared, "You said you'd tell me if this continued! Is this why you have a new phone!?"

"Yeah, they called yesterday."

"And yesterday was Friday," Baekhyun nodded, thinking deeply about something, "I might know someone who could help, if you're interested on finding out who it is."

"You do?" The boy blinked in surprise, "Really?"

"Yeah. Well it's not his specialty, but he definitely has the equipment that could track it down."

"That's great, I might take you up on that..." Tao trailed off when he heard something shatter and turned to the source of the noise. Kris was leaning against the counter, jagged pieces of glass were scattered in front of him and one of the cafe barista's were asking if he was alright, "I have to go."

"Yeah, I think you should," Luhan agreed as his friend stood and gathered his coat.

"Give Baekhyun my number for me."

"Will do."

"It was nice meeting you Tao-ssi," Baekhyun smiled, his teeth shining with his eyes, "I'll talk to my friend for you."

"'Tao' is fine, and thank you," He bowed slightly and approached Kris, who had stabled himself enough to assure the employee that he was fine, "We're going."

"My drink-"

Tao held up a little plastic cup, "I got it."

"What about your friends? I can just leave on me own."

"I won't allow you to walk back like this. Are you done for the day?"

"Yeah, I clocked off at 3," Kris mumbled and let the shorter male help him into his coat, "Thanks."

"Anytime. Let's go," Tao gave some money to the cashier to pay for the broken glass and swiftly left the store, missing the concerned looks from his friends. As they took the subway back, Tao noticed how Kris was looking paler than usual, especially with his new hair accentuating the look.

Kris was obviously hiding something from him. As soon as they stepped through their apartment, the taller male quickly locked himself in his room, throwing false reassurance over his shoulder to his troubled lover.

Tao didn't know what was going on, but he hoped Kris would fix his ing stubbornness and tell him sooner rather than later.

--

"You're still trying?"

"There's still a chance."

"Suho... we discussed this last night with the others. It's wearing us all out, but you're taking a physical toll."

"I'll be fine was a night's rest-"

"You keep saying that, and yet your bed has been untouched for the past week."

Tao shivered; Wednesday came by quicker than it should have and he woke up extra early to make breakfast for himself and wait for the call. As soon as 9:26 clicked by, his phone rang. He put it on speaker and listened like he always had, although today felt different. He felt like he was intruding on something much more personal.

"I know I'm getting close. The connection-"

"Screw the connection! I'm more worried about your health then some damn dead teenager!"

"Watch your mouth, Yixing!"

"He's gone Joonmyun! He's dead and no amount of par- "

"You don't get it, do you!?" Tao heard something clatter and immediately took his phone off speaker, afraid to wake Kris up, "This isn't just about him anymore! We've lost one of our own, someone who is still living and breathing and unless we get him back-"

"Tao."

His thumb clicked the 'end call' button as he drew the phone away from his face. Kris was awake, looking much better than he had a few days ago, but giving him a scolding look, "Morning."

"Was that them again?"

"No."

"Zitao."

"Switching languages does not make you more intimidating," Tao smirked and stood up, patting his cheek as we walked by, "If anything you're cute for trying."

"That's not fair babe."

"What isn't?"

"You're keeping secrets from me."

He bit back a remark and simply shook his head, placing his mug in the sink, "I'm not."

"You are."

"You're imagining things," Tao checked his watch and realized he had been on the phone for half an hour, that was a long time to stay connected to a call with no speaker. Why didn't they hang up sooner?

"Zitao," his lover's voice rumbled like an incoming storm, "You can't lie to me."

"Neither can you, yet you try to anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Tao stared at him blankly. He wasn't going to get anything from Kris, like he hadn't been able to in the past. He knew that if he stayed any longer he would most likely start fighting, and that was the last thing he wanted, "Nothing. I'm going to Luhan's in a few minutes."

"Tao-"

"I'll be back later this afternoon. Try not to burn the house down when I'm gone," he grabbed his coat off the chair and walked up to Kris. His hand caught his lover's chin and a gentle grip and he turned it slightly so he could kiss his cheek. With a smile and a quick pat on the other side, he snatched his wallet off the counter and left.

--

Tao had his headphones in, drowning every verbal distraction out as instrumentals sang in somber tones. Call him cheesy, he enjoyed listening to music that matched his mood. Today he was feeling a bit more  solemn, his conversation with Kris earlier would have ended badly if he hadn't left and the last thing he wanted to do was upset him.

Tao didn't know if stress was causing the nosebleeds or not, but the last thing he wanted to do was drive him up a wall and cause another one. No, he was fine with playing pretend... for now.

The subway station wasn't as crowded as usual, probably because he had missed the morning rush. Tao stared blankly over the tracks at the platform across from him. Several people were scattered about the area, some sitting on benches using their own music as an escape and others standing off with friends or coworkers, chatting to kill time.

With his hands in his pockets, Tao tightened his black coat and let out a small breath, focusing on how it dissipated into a white fog until an incoming train it away. It wasn't his, unfortunately, and Tao continued to stare blankly at the passing cars.

That is, until he saw a boy collapse to his knees on the platform across him.

He felt like he was watching a picture show, or a horror film with strobe lights. Flickering interruptions from the cars provided him only bits and pieces of the boy, but enough to make out his appearance.

Dark skin covered in a light sheen of sweat, abnormally white tousled hair, a disheveled heavy grey coat, and brown eyes staring directly at him. He was panting, as if he had finished running a mile, and hunched over his knees. But his eyes, they were wide, surprised, scared... hopeful?

'Tao' his lips had said, and the maroon haired boy frowned. He looked around, as if that did him any good. The boy had said his name, hadn't he? Of course it was far too loud to hear, but he could have said now... How...? No, he definitely said Tao.

The said boy looked back and watched with each flicker as the stranger pushed through the mass of people exiting the train, trying to approach him.  It was no good though, the train doors wouldn't open until everyone was completely off the cars.

"Tao!" he heard a shout, and was startled into a jump. This boy looked determined, desperate almost. Tao didn't like the look, he didn't know the stranger either, so what on earth would he want with him?

And then he remembered the voice. He had heard it once, only once, from the unknown caller. It wasn't the main voice, but it triggered a memory of someone complaining about their hurting feet.

, is he one of the stalkers?

Tao his heel and left, not caring if he would miss his train. Luhan would forgive him once he explained the situation... if he could make it to Luhan's in time.

"Oh my god, There's a kid on the tracks!"

Tao froze, had he heard right? He looked back over his shoulder and sure enough, he saw the stranger picking himself back up after falling. Tao guessed that the train had left by the time he reached the edge and then lost his footing.

The stranger looked around, realized where he was and then tried crossing the track back to Tao's platform.  However his leg got caught on a small pole running next  to the rails and sent a wave of electricity through his body, bringing him to his knees once more. There was a gasp as the ringing of another train's bell signaled it's impending arrival.

Tao stood frozen at the stairs, watching as people screamed and yelled for help. Why isn't anyone helping him?!

"," Tao released the railing and shoved  his way through the crowd. He didn't care if they yelled at him, he had to get to the boy. When he got to edge of the station, he fell to his knees and threw his bag off, giving him more freedom to stretch his arm out, "Grab my hand!"

"Tao..." he said again, but the maroon haired boy couldn't be bothered with that at the moment. He looked right and saw the headlights of the train, it's bell blaring loudly.

"Hurry up!" he urged incessantly, "What the are you doing?!"

The boy's eyes were wide as he watched the metal contraption approach.

"GIVE ME YOUR HAND!"

"Kid get back!" someone behind him yelled, grabbing his shoulder roughly. Tao shoved him away and leaned further over the edge.

"Get on your feet and get over here!"  When the white haired male showed no signs of moving, Tao let out a frustrated grunt and stood, making a move to jump down on the tracks as well.

"No!" Several people yelled and next thing he knew, dozens of hands were on him, pulling him back into the crowd.

"He's going to get hit!" Tao shrieked and tried to fight the mass. More and more hands kept holding him back and his continued screaming finally got the attention of the stranger.  The boy looked up and whispered Tao's name before the train blocked his vision.

The crowd screamed, running back from the edge and dragging Tao along with them. An uneasy silence filled the station as the subway car continued to roll by. Tao felt his legs grow weak as his eyes were trained on the spot where he last saw the boy.

, he was dead, he was dead and Tao could have prevented it if he hadn't run. No, he could have stopped it if he didn't even show up, if he hadn't wanted to avoid conflict, .

The train passed through completely, and those who were there to witness the event were still frozen in their spot. Tao, with shaking hands, freed himself of his human restraints and walked to the edge of the platform, expecting a mess of blood and dismembered limbs.

However, when he peeked over he saw nothing.

No body.

No blood.

Nothing to indicated that the boy was even there to begin with.

"W-what the ...?"

The man that had pulled him back earlier approached him and grabbed his arm, "Kid, don't look at it... wait..."

"There's nothing there..."

"What?" Their strange reaction garnered interest from the others and most of the bystanders walked to the edge to see what the commotion was about. They all shared a look of bewilderment with one another. There was a boy on the tracks, wasn't there? They had seen him. He was right there.

Tao didn't say anything and stumbled back, not like anyone noticed. They were all too focused on the last spot they say the boy, so Tao had no problems pushing his way through the crowd and leaving the station.

plans, he had to go home.

--

Tao wondered briefly if he was going mad.

He had almost completely subdued the trembles racking through his body by the time he reached his apartment. His hands refused to cooperate and made unlocking the door a difficult task. However, he managed to get inside without scratching the lock too much and looked forward to a relaxing cup of chai tea.

He wanted to talk to Kris, to vent, seeing as he had no idea what happened earlier but found that impossible the moment he entered the living room.

"Kris, I swear to god I'm losing my mind..." Tao trailed off as he locked eyes with a familiar pair of brown ones.

"Yeah? What happened?" His lover asked with a smile, still seated comfortably on their sofa.

"Nevermind... I'll tell you later..."

"Okay?" He shared a look with his guest before gesturing towards him, "This is Jongin. I used to work with him at the youth center. He was a dance instructor there. Jongin, this is my boyfriend Tao."

"R-right," Tao tried to smile, but it came out as more of a twitch than anything, "Nice to meet you."

Jongin's smile was disarming; in any other circumstances Tao would have been obligated to compliment him and possibly earn a jealous look from Kris. However, he was too busy trying to figure out how he survived his train collision... and how he managed to change his white hair to brown, "Have we met before?"

"No? I'd remember you because I would tease Kris non-stop. It was pretty damn good luck that I was leaving a friend's apartment while he was taking out the trash," he chuckled, pretending to kick the old basketball coach.

"Yeah... I never expected to run into you after I quit to be honest," Kris's voice held an underline tone that Tao couldn't decipher. He chose to ignore it, favoring to question the dance instructor and shake him for answers... politely of course.

"Do you have a brother?" Tao asked suddenly, catching him off guard.

"Ah, no. I have an older sister, but that's all when it comes to siblings."

"Do you take the subway from the Yongsun stop?"

"No, I bike to work-"

"Have you ever colored your hair?"

"Tao," Kris interrupted, "Why are you so curious?"

"Oh? Jealous that your boyfriend is paying attention to me?" Jongin snickered and directed his answer back to Tao, "Funny you ask. I was just making idle talk about it with Kris. My friend's say I should keep it brown but I want to do something dramatic with it. Like... blond? Silver? Something completely different."

"Platinum blond would suit you."

"Really?"

"Tao," Kris was warning him now. The maroon haired male narrowed his eyes and dropped his bag on the counter. He stared once more at Jongin, trying to figure out how in his mind while Kris asked him politely to leave.

"I understand," the boy sighed, "I was supposed to meet someone for lunch anyway. If I stall any longer I'll be late. It was nice catching up Kris, same with meeting you Tao."

"Likewise."

"Don't be a stranger," Kris smiled as he walked him to the door. Tao didn't hear the rest if his farewell and retreated into the kitchen. He took out a cold water bottle from the fridge and downed half of it in one go, gasping for air as he pulled back.

Kris had returned and was watching him from the doorway. His arms were crossed defensively over his chest, a pose Tao had come accustomed to whenever the male wanted to question him without offending him, "Taozi."

"I saw him earlier," Tao started, "He was at the station... He was hit by a train."

Kris rolled his eyes, "Don't be ridiculous. He's been here with me since you left-"

"He was there!" he snapped, crushing his water bottle as he spoke, "He was on the opposite platform. He saw me, he called me and I had never seen him until today. He started running towards me, I tried to walk away but then he fell on the tracks!"

"What-"

"I ran to the edge, I tried to pull him up. God, I was screaming at him, telling him to take my hand! All he did was look at me before I was pulled back and the car..."

"Tao-"

"When I looked back over, he wasn't there. There was no body, no blood, Kris I don't know if what I even saw was real! But everyone else that was there saw him. They were just as confused. I don't know what happened..."

"Tao, you're shaking," Kris gently grabbed his arm and pulled him into a tight embrace. Tao didn't know when his body started to shudder, but as the older man held him he could feel the tremors vibrate him.

Tao's eyes had also started to water and when he blinked he felt a tear glide down his cheek. Lifting a hand between their bodies, he hurriedly wiped it away and sniffed, "He had white hair... he looked completely confused.... and he sounded so familiar."

"White hair..." Kris trailed off, mumbling under his breath before he gently prodded Tao's chin up to look at him, "What do you mean he sounded familiar?"

"Remember those phone calls?" Kris's eyes widened, "He's not the guy that tries to speak to me, but I think he was on the other end before. I-"

"It's probably nothing Taozi," he smiled warmly, attempting to wear a calm face, "I'm sure maybe... you saw someone else. And maybe that whole act was one of those public advertisement deals, probably something to do with life insurance or protesting subway safety."

"I don't know Kris-"

"Did you stick around long enough to see someone explain?"

"No, I got out of there as soon as I could."

Kris nodded and guided Tao into the living room, picking up the remote from the table as they settled themselves in front of the TV. Kris switched it to the news station, changing to different informative channels every couple of seconds until they had reached the last one. Tao didn't understand until he explained.

"Is there anything here about a disappearing man?"

"No...

"Then the people who did it probably had a permit, and the cops and station guards knew about it ahead of time."

"But he knew my name!"

"And Luhan knew you were coming to his house, didn't he? I bet he's friends with the guy that set the whole thing up and just wanted to spook you."

Tao relaxed into the sofa, "Did he...?"

"Why not ask him?" Kris nudged his side encouragingly.

Tao shook his head, breathing a small sigh of relief as he shifted closer to his boyfriend, "No, Luhan would probably deny it anyways. Thanks Kris, I guess I feel a little better about it. But his voice... it was so familiar."

"I think you're just freaking yourself out now. A lot of people sound similar, surprisingly," Kris wrapped an arm around his waist and gave it a slight squeeze, "Now that this magic show is solved, you want to spend the rest of the day watching movies?"

"Didn't you have work?" Tao frowned as the brunette scrolled through their list of recordings.

He shook his head, eventually deciding on the thriller 'Ahjussi' "Decided to take a day off and clean a little. I was actually going to surprise you with dinner when you came back, but there goes that plan."

"You still can you know," he smiled smugly, "That way it won't be a surprise and you'll be able to ask me what I like."

"At this point, I'd be a failure of a boyfriend if I didn't know what you liked and didn't like."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, so when you fall asleep half way through this movie, like you always do- don't deny it! I'll sneak into the kitchen and make some chow mein and Scallion beef."

"Do we have ginger?" Kris looked away thoughtfully before he nodded, "Oh my god, that sounds so good! You're the best."

"I know," he huffed proudly and bent down to steak a quick kiss, "Can't leave the chief hungry or else he'll eat all the food."

"Ew, Cheese."

"Don't worry, there won't be any in the dish."

"Better not be."

--

Tao almost didn't pick up. The number wasn't unknown, but it wasn't registered in his phone. Still, thought that maybe the callers from before had messed up and forgot to set the number to private. With this, he could use the number to track them down and threaten them with his wushu if they continued to bugging.

He wasn't expecting Baekhyun's voice on the other end though.

"Hello? Tao?"

"Baekhyun? You're my stalker?"

"What? God no!" His pitch raised and Tao stifled a laugh, "I got your number from Luhan, remember? Anyways, I talked to my friend about helping you track down your mysterious caller and he said that he was available later today. Do you have time?"

Tao glanced up at the clock above his desk. Kris had left three hours ago for a training session for newer employees, he wouldn't be back for another five hours at least and Tao was almost done with the schedule he was going to use for martial arts class. The maroon haired male worked at a dojo and taught morning/night classes for both small children and older, more serious clients.

However, possibly finding out who the strange voices were took priority over work (not that he even followed the schedule anyways. He usually winged it when he got there), "Yeah, I'm free all day."

"Great! He works at E.X.O headquarters next to the Trade Tower in Seoul-"

"I know where the trade tower is."

"Then finding it won't be a problem."

"Yeah... Say, Baekhyun... what does your friend do?"

"Boring stuff involving something with hydropower."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you can ask him yourself when you get there. Just go to the lobby and ask for Kim Joonmyun."

"Alright," Tao wrote the name down just in case he forgot, "and you're sure he can help?"

"He's got the means to do so and a heart that would forbid him not to. Let me know how it goes."

"Will do, thanks," Tao smiled and stared down at the name.

Kim Joonmyun.... he had heard it before. Joonmyun had made a 'splash' in the business industry if Korea, pardon the pun, with his work on water-purification; he created a cheap solution to decontaminate water sources in third world counties.

It was no wonder he worked with E.X.O- External Xerophytic Operations that focused most of their money and projects on water related issues. Because of that Tao had to hold his laughter when he entered the building, since the color scheme was various shades of blues and had a giant fountain in the center. As impressive as it was, it just went to show how dedicated they were to their symbol.

"A bit much, don't you think?" he asked the clerk as he stepped up to the desk.

She looked behind him and sighed, "A little, but at least it's pleasant to look at. Better than the Aqua Man theme they have in America."

"You're kidding."

"I wish I was."

Tao laughed whole heartedly, "Oh, I'm here to see a Kim Joonmyun. My name is Huang Zitao."

Her fingers clicked across the keyboard, then she nodded and brushed some hair from her face before printing out a visitors pass and handing it to him, "Dr. Kim is currently working on an issue in the lower floors. This card will give you access to his room only, please return it to the desk when you are done. Enjoy your visit Mr. Huang."

"Thank you Ms. Lee," he smiled, accepting the badge and making his way to the elevators. He hoped he wasn't coming off as flirting or anything, Tao just wanted to be polite but some people misinterpret those kinds of things.

Luckily, she didn't seem to take it as anything other than friendly and smiled back. Tao, thankfully, didn't have to wait to crowd into the employee elevator with other late workers either. There was a service elevator not too far from the main lobby station that was specifically used for basement transport, if the sign on it was any indication.

Tao noticed how the elevator was clear and wondered if he would see the cement flooring of the underground structure when it went down, but then proceeded to freak out when he was lowered into what looked like a giant freaking aquarium.

The martial artist knew that the company was very successful because of Joonmyun's purifier, but being rich enough to build what seemed like a 150 meter tank below the 30 foot building made them... well... very well off, so to speak.

The elevator stopped right after a school of fish swam by and opened up onto a floor that reminded Tao of a hospital. He wondered briefly why the change of environment was so sudden when a man down the hall noticed him staring.

"Because the fish would get scared if they could hear us. The walls are soundproof and prevent any sort of vibrations from disrupting their habitat," he answered, as if reading Tao's mind, "Everyone usually asks questions about this. I thought I'd just answer before you ask."

"Ah..."

"I'm Joonmyun," he smiled, his cheerful face shaped perfectly by his chocolate brown hair, "You must be Tao? Baekhyun told me about you, said you had a very strange problem."

"What else did he tell you?"

"That you have impressive martial art skills and a cell phone that needs to be looked at."

"Right," Tao smiled, taking his phone out, "Well they're not going to call for a while."

"Doesn't mean we can't look at it," Joonmyun motioned to a door across from them and let Tao enter first. He closed it behind him and the overhead lights. Inside were numerous computers, wires, and other strange contraptions that looked like an operation room for technology. In the center were two chairs, one that looked ridiculously comfortable in all its leather glory... and the other looked like it was dragged in from an old office.

Joonmyun walked into the middle of the room and sat on said chair. He offered the black leathered one to Tao, who took it without hesitation.

"I have a bad back," he explained, snatching the maroon haired boy's phone and plugging it into the mass of wires. Immediately, the monitor on standby illuminated with beautiful graphics that came to make the anagram "E.X.O". Joonmyun disrupted the screen with his mouse and logged in, letting the computer download the phone's information, "This chair helps straighten it out."

"No kidding."

"Alright, Huaaang Zitaoooooo," Joonmyun elongated his name as he turned to look at his guest, "What brings you to my humble domain."

"I keep getting calls from unknown numbers. The phone number doesn't show up on the screen, and I've changed my phone and number several times already. They keep calling though; same time, same day."

"On the dot?"

"Not a minute too soon."

"Interesting," he turned back and pulled up Tao's call log, "9:26 am? Wednesday?"

"And Friday, yes."

"Alright, let me run a tracker program on it," his fingers jumped across the keyboard, eyes never leaving the screen as dozens of screens popped up, "Of course this works best when the call is active, we can see what we get. Maybe they used some internet connection or a router."

"Ah huh... Say Joonmyun-ssi."

"You can call me hyung," he smiled kindly, "I may be... somewhat old but I'm not senile."

"Right. Joonmyun-hyung then," Tao grinned, he liked making new friends and Joonmyun seemed like a good one to have. After all he was helping him track down the mysterious callers, "What do you do exactly?"

"Lots of things," he answered vaguely and didn't bother to explain. The rest of the time was spent waiting was silent, except for Joonmyun pulling up Pandora and playing an old album by Kansas.

"Lay your weary head to reeeeeeest, don't you cry no- AH!" he yelled cutting himself short of his solo. Tao jumped, having gotten too comfy in the chair and started dozing off.

Joonmyun's eyes were shining as he stood from his seat and scanned the windows of data flowing across the screen, "Tao!"

"Yes?"

"I got a hit. I have a last known location of where the call took place."

"R-really?"

"Yeah, which is quite strange considering what they used."

"What do you mean?" Tao leaned forward, trying to decipher the strange numbers and codes presented.

"They used a cell tower specific to our company. At least, that's what it reads but it says there's an error in the data. Like the location doesn't exist when it actually does," Joonmyun frowned and pushed his chair back. He stood and grabbed a tablet hanging precariously near the edge of the desk.

He tapped rapidly across the sleek screen and Tao could see his action taking effect on the monitor in front of him. Maps, blue prints, security cameras were pulled up, flashing and changing locations quickly until it settled on one specific building.

"... Impossible," Joonmyun breathed, staring wide eyed at the screen.

Tao was in shock as well as he watched himself gape at the computer screen... from a security camera in the room. The map beside it showed E.X.O headquarters and the blue prints were that of the basement floor (where Tao saw that the aquarium was, indeed, 150 feet. He guessed correctly).

"What does this mean?"

"It means whoever has been calling you has been doing so here... which is impossible," he repeated much more sternly, tapping wildly again, "No one is allowed in this room without my permission. If they are in here then they must be watched by myself, no exceptions."

"So... You've been calling me?"

"I haven't," Joonmyun looked up, brows furrowed under his brown bangs, "This is my first time meeting you Tao. Before this I had no prior knowledge that you even existed... to put it bluntly."

"Very," Tao smiled, "So has someone been breaking in here?"

"That wouldn't make sense. You can use your phones outside this facility and still be connected to the cell tower. This is where the strange part comes in," he pulled up several red screens that had a glaring 'ERROR' ribbon wrapped around it, "It says we don't exist, but we do. It's giving the assumed coordinates and such, which should have a 100% match because this is without a doubt the same place it found... but the similarity reads 0."

"That's... sorry, I don't really understand."

"I don't either," Joonmyun frowned, "You say they call every Wednesday and Friday? No exceptions?"

"Yes."

"Tomorrow is Friday. Tao, for the sake of solving this mystery and feeding my own selfish curiosity I request that you spend the night here."

The boy blinked at him..."You must be joking."

"I am dead serious. As a man of science I must find the solution to this problem. How are they calling from here and yet not?"

"But where would I sleep?"

Joonmyun stepped forward and reached for a lever under the leather chair. The seat fell back and Tao shrieked as he followed. It declined into a horizontal position and the boy laid there confused, "It doubles as a bed."

"Fancy."

"Quite," he moved across the room swiftly and detangled a couple of blankets from the boxes in the back. He tossed one to Tao while keeping a more worn one to himself and reclaimed his spot in the old chair, "Since we've got hours to kill, why not kill it playing games?"

"... What do you have?"

"League."

"Let's do this."

--

Tao was woken rudely by the sound of his phone singing 'Into the Night' with Joonmyun staring at him expectantly. The boy groaned and tried to roll over, away from the bright lights and noisy device... until he remembered what the whole point of his visit consisted of.

He shot up in his seat, earning light laughter as he checked the time on his watch and saw it read 9:26.

"What do I do?"

"What you normally do."

"I don't do anything."

"What?"

"I just answer it and listen," he admitted, staring at the vibrating device, "Should I just do that?"

Joonmyun mulled the idea over in his head before he shook it, "No. I think you should speak to them. We can keep them on the phone longer to track it."

"But they stay on until I hang up."

"Interesting, but none the less. As much as I like the Bastille I'd appreciate if you answered that."

"," Tao cursed, heart rate rising as he answered the call and put it on speaker. He mentally apologized to Kris for disobeying him, but Joonmyun was here... and he was going to track them, right?

He looked to Joonmyun one last time, who simply nodded as he typed away on his computer.

"-This clearly isn't working," They said, "You're wasting time. You could be doing so much more-"

"I have to try!" Joonmyun froze when he heard the voice. Tao hoped that wasn't a bad sign as he took a deep breath, "I promise you this though... If it doesn't work-"

"H-hello?" Tao answered quietly and the line went silent.

"... Hello?"

Tao cleared his throat, "Look, you've been calling me for weeks now. I've been changing my number and that doesn't seem to affect you, but please stop. I don't know how you know me but-"

"Holy hell... it worked."

"Tao! Tao listen to me very carefully, it's very crucial that you believe everything I say. Please don't-"

Joonmyun reached across the table and disconnected the call. He looked shaken from the short conversation and immediately unplugged the cord. He stared at Tao silently, mind calculating.

This frightened the martial artist, does he recognize them? Are they bad?

"Similar... yet different," he mumbled under his breath, then stood and headed for the door, "You should go. I'm sorry to have kept you here, but right now I need to be alone."

"What's wrong? Do you know them?" the boy asked as he followed.

Joonmyun escorted him down to the elevator, all the while breathing profanities and strange, large vocabulary (most of it being colorful insults and 'not possible'). He stopped in front of the silver doors and called for the clear box, then turned his attention back to Tao, "Do not pick up those calls again, although it might be coming more frequent now that you've spoken to them. That was my mistake, i apologize but seriously, do. Not. Answer."

"Alright I won't..."

"I've already got the data I needed from your phone. I'm going to run extensive tests and experiments, I will tell you when I'm done and what I've found. For now, live normally and-"

"-Don't answer the calls, got it," Tao nodded and Joonmyun gave him a tight lipped smile. The elevators arrived and Tao stepped in, asking one last question as he did so, "But hyung, do you know who they are?"

"I do," he reached inside and pressed the lobby, "People usually sound different over the phone, so I'm not too surprised that you don't hear it."

"Hear what? Should I know it too?"

"Yes."

Tao's eyes widened as the door started to close. He tried to hold it open, but the automatic system was stronger than him, "Who?!"

"The person on the other end," Joonmyun began as the gap grew thinner, "Was me."

I don't know where you people came from, but welcome! I'm super tired and I tried to beta this myself, but if my tired eyes miss any mistakes then i apologize. I'll fx it eventually, do your best to decipher it. This may seem a bit confusing at first, but everything will make sense in the final part. I'm trying something new here, so bear with me

I know I promised you all a bandfic, but with tensions high and Kris excluded from EXO activities, I don't want to write anything regarding his lawsuit. I hope you understand and continue to support Kris. Thanks for subscribing, I hope you look forward to the next part

most fics will have this hair style on Tao because i ing love it. Kris is usually blond but i switch to brunet every now and then