Chapter 27:  Tying the Lace

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 “Minseok hyung?” Jongdae called out in the library. No one responded even the librarian is not present. Jongdae was instructed to go to the library from Minseok through paper. Jongdae was happy yet curious as to why would Minseok meet up with him in the library.

The young male walks inside further the large library, trying to locate a certain senior, but searching for a few minutes around the library, he found no one. Sighing a bit, thinking that the senior might have forgotten the meet up, he decides to leave the library.

But before he could even leave the library, a certain sound reached his ears.

 

Kris yawns as he finished scoring the test papers, leaning his back on his black leather swivel chair, exhaustion evident on his face.

“Kevin, you okay?” one of his colleagues asked. Kris looks at him with tired eyes but smiled at his colleague in return.

“Yeah, I’m doing fine, Jae. Don’t worry about me,” Kris states with a small smile, masking a bit away his exhaustion. Youngjae huffs out but nodded his head, anyways.

“Okay, if you say so. Just tell me if you need something, okay?”

Kris nodded and smiled. Taking a brief glance on the stacked test papers, he took out his phone to randomly check his messages when a sudden thought of the boy he met past few days ago resurfaced in his mind.

“Don’t cry anymore, okay?” Tao nodded his head making his smile wider, “That’s good to know. Have a nice day,” he bids farewell to Tao and the younger bowed his head and mouthed a ‘thank you’. He smiles and entered his car before driving off.

An unconscious smile spread on his lips as he remembered the day he spent with the younger. It was a brief encounter and the meeting was not the ‘normal’ one but it is okay. Their time was short but seeing a smile spread on the younger’s lips made his stomach churn.

Abandoning his phone, Kris thought of meeting up with the young boy. Let’s say that Kris is still concerned for the young male and he wants to check up if he is truly okay and not because he wants to randomly meet up with him. Nodding at the thought of meeting up with the young boy, Kris pocketed his phone and stood up, taking his sweater coat with him.

With his sudden action, Youngjae looks at him quizzically.

“Kevin, where are you going?” he asks with a curious voice. It’s only lunch time and he has a class in two hours. Kris looked at him while he puts on his sweater coat before speaking up, “Ah, I’m going to go out for awhile. Minding to handle my class later? It’s only one class, though.”

Youngjae raised his eyebrow on him.

“You do know that I don’t teach Chemistry,” he flatly says.

Kris smiles smugly at him.

“Now you do.”

~*~

It’s Saturday and Jongdae was lying on his bed, arm draped over his face. He’s been running with flu for the past two days and it’s not going so well. Kyungsoo gave him some medicine for his flu but it’s not working at all. Jongdae knows that it’ll take time but he’s been taking the medicine for the past two days already and his flu is getting worse as days passed by.

Letting out a hoarse sigh, he pulled his arm away from his face and rested his arm on the side. Taking a glance at the digital clock that is at the wall, he cursed a bit, seeing the time that it is already 12 in the afternoon. Good thing that he told Eunhyuk and Sungmin to handle the café early and good thing, he gave both of them the spare key for the café. Letting out breathe of relief, Jongdae slowly closes his eyes, thoughts about the café eased at his mind.

Hearing his phone ring, Jongdae opens his eyes tiredly and looks at the night stand.  Using his strength to take his phone from the night stand, he turns a bit and stretches his arm to get his phone from the stand.. Finally when his hand is on his phone already, he lazily brought it back and answered the call, placing the phone on his ear.

“Hello? Kim Jongdae is speaking. Who is this?” he greets and asks with a groggy voice before coughing a bit, finding that the caller is not in his contacts.

There was no reply on the other side of the line and Jongdae tiredly asks again.

“Who is this? Please answer,” Jongdae kind of begged the person to respond because he’s tired and he really wants to rest and this person is hindering him from doing it.

No answer was replied and Jongdae sighs tiredly.

“Look, if you’re not going to answer back, I’m ha-“

“Jongdae?” the person on the other line asked with concern and worry dripping from his tone.

~*~

 

Soft laughters reached his ears and one of the voices sounds familiar and he thinks he might be imagining things. But when the familiar voice once rang in his ears again, Jongdae thinks he’s not imagining anymore.

Taking quiet steps to the source of laughters, he nimbly hides in one of the large shelves and takes a book out on his side and hesitantly takes a peek on the opening.

 

Kris arrives at Luhan’s hotel, parking his car on one of the sides of the road. Calming his beating heart because of nervousness, he entered the hotel with people murmuring and whispering of his appearance in the hotel. Wearing a simple white sleeveless T-shirt with a black sweater coat on top of it and white tight jeans donned with a pair of white sneakers, caught the attention of many people inside the café in which Kris is oblivious by the fact of that.

Reaching the reception desk, Kris gingerly asks the lady, who seems to be quite blushing.

“Um, is there any Huang Zi Tao booked in the hotel?” he asks hesitantly. The lady snapped away from her reverie and smiles at him.

“Let me check for awhile, sir.”

Typing on the keyboard for awhile, the lady stops typing when something dawned on her. She looks at him with wide eyes.

“Are you looking for Mr. Tao?” she asks in disbelief. Kris blinks and nodded his head, confirming that indeed he is looking for him, wondering why the lady seems to be shocked. The receptionist observed the man for awhile before smiling at him.

“Ah, please do wait for awhile.”

The lady went to other side of the long desk and takes the phone before pressing a certain number whilst Kris patiently waits for the lady to come back. Playing with his fingers, Kris thought of what to tell to the younger. That he wants to know how his welfare is? That if he is okay?

No matter what Kris thinks, he would always think the reaction of the younger. He could imagine that the younger would think that he is stalker or a creep or something and he doesn’t want to get the kind of impression or reaction at all.

Sighing a bit, he looks around and spotted a familiar raven haired boy. Eyes widening a bit, he left the reception desk and approached the male who is sitting on one of the couches on the lobby.

“Tao?” he calls out with a wavering voice and Kris curses mentally for it. The said male turned his head around and his eyes widen at the person in front of him. He stands up quickly from the couch and bowed at him before mouthing a ‘hello’

Kris warmly smiles at him and looks at the younger’s frame. He sighs in relief when he saw that the younger is quite healthy from the look of his body and that he doesn’t have any sickness at all.

Tao looks at him in puzzlement, wondering why the male he met a few days ago is here in the hotel. Sighing in relief that he brought his pad, he wrote on it before passing it to older. Taking a look on the pad, Kris read what is on the pad.

May I ask why you are here?

Giving back the pad to the younger, Kris tried to hide his blushing cheeks but, unfortunately failed, because simply, he has nothing to hide when the younger has a full view of his face. Nervously coughing out, Kris muttered his response.

“I-I just wanted to know if you are okay.”

He scratched his nape to lessen his awkwardness and embarrassment in which Tao blinks and tries to process his words in his mind. When he finally got what he meant, he wrote down on the paper again and gave it to Kris with blushing cheeks.

I’m okay. Thank you for asking.

Kris blinks before smiling and shifts his gaze to the shy Tao in front of him. Taking in his blushing cheeks and shy form, his heart races for some reason; setting that aside, he pats the younger’s hair.

“I’m glad you’re okay.”

~*~

Jongdae froze at the voice, his eyes widening a bit at the voice who responded. He sits up with much effort, feeling all of his body gone jelly, making him hard to sit up hardly stand. Leaning his back on the headboard, Jongdae wonders how he got his phone number.

“H-hyung?” he stutters; completely shocked by the fact that Minseok got a hold of his number.

“Jongdae, how are you? I heard from Sungmin that you’re sick. Are you okay?” Minseok’s worry voice echoed in his ears and he feels kind of eased when he hears that voice but for only a moment.

“How did you get my number?” Is the first thing he asked, ignoring the questions that were asked to him.

“Eh? Oh, um, I got it from Sungmin,” Minseok replies and Jongdae vows to kill Sungmin when he got a hold of him. Rubbing his temple and shutting his eyes to slightly ease the throbbing pain from his head, he mutters exasperatedly.

“Bye,” he quickly said.

“Ah, wait!”

Jongdae sighs.

“Um, I’m sorry for getting your number without your permission and I know I shouldn’t call you and so. I-I’m just worried for you, Jongdae.” Minseok’s voice wavers and Jongdae takes the hint that he is close to breaking down.

Jongdae wanted to believe in those words but his mind refuses to. Shaking his head a bit, he complies with a short response.

“I’m fine.”

And he hangs up.

Dropping his phone beside his pillows, Jongdae rested his frail body on the comfortable bed, his body at eased. Looking at his phone, Minseok’s voice echoes in his ears.

“I-I’m just worried for you, Jongdae.”

Shutting his eyes, a tear rolled down from his eye.

“Lies, lies.”

 

Jongdae took a step back, body tensed and eyes welling up. He took careful and quiet steps back and when he made sure he is at the door, he twists the knob and quickly left the library. Heart racing and mind full of questions again.

Leaving Minseok with a certain senior girl on his lap, laughing in the library.

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A/N: Yo~ Hi guys! So back here with Chemin and Taoris. I guess you can see one of the things that Minseok did, huh?

Question: Some rumors say that EXO will have their comeback at the end of May/June. What are your thoughts of it?

Thank you and lots of love <3