Chapter 33: Turnabout

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Jongin tiredly sighs. Exams were finally finished and a few more recaps of lesson for the following weeks, vacation will be next; finishing up the semester. He had two more later, but that isn’t the case. He’s hungry and its lunch time and he wants to eat. Chanyeol isn’t with him and Jongin has a hunch where he is right now. Probably at Baekhyun’s café and he doesn’t mind, because he had already plans for his lunch.

He stands in front of Kyungsoo’s flower shop, finding the shop open. He takes a look on his watch, finding that it is quarter to one. Jongin nods his head, hopefully praying that Kyungsoo is inside. He walks in the flower shop, and he immediately smelled the aroma of flowers inside.

He felt a bit eased at the aroma of flowers as he takes a look inside. The shop was empty and Sehun came out from one of the doors.

“Jongin?” Sehun asked, “What are you doing here?”

Jongin blinked before letting out a nervous laugh, completely not expecting Sehun to be the one to greet him.

“Oh, Sehun-ah. Is Kyungsoo hyung here?”

Sehun looks at him with a raised eyebrow before nodding his head.

“Yeah, he’s here. I’ll get him,” he replies before disappearing again to one of the doors. Jongin lets out a sigh, but didn’t leave his place. He suddenly felt nervous about meeting Kyungsoo for a moment that he could feel his sweat trickling down to his neck.

He waits for a few seconds when the door that Sehun went in opens and Kyungsoo comes out from the room. Kyungsoo spotted Jongin at the doorway, quite awkward and nervous. He furrows his eyebrows, concerned for Jongin. He approaches the younger, wondering what he is doing here.

“What are you doing here, Jongin?”

Jongin takes a step back, before flashing him a smile.

“Oh, hi hyung. I was wondering if I could take you out for lunch,” he whispers, his cheeks filling with warmth as he cast his eyes down, refusing to look at Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo blinks, totally not expecting that Jongin would ask that. He was about to close the shop for lunch time and by the fact that Jongin is asking him out for lunch, is just so unexpected. He wasn’t expecting that the younger would ask him that, but somehow it gave his heart a feeling of affection and warmth.

His heart races, his cheeks paints up with a pink hue as he closes the gap between him and Jongin, taking his hand that made the younger look up to him before giving a slight nod and smile.

~*~

Sehun walks around the mall with his headphones softly tucked on his ears, with mild music emitting out. Today is his day-off from his two works. Actually, no, the case is that he really has a day-off from work in the hospital, but, from Kyungsoo’s flower shop, no. It’s not. Jongin actually gave out a nerve to treat Kyungsoo out for lunch and yeah, the older couldn’t deny him and yeah, closed the shop for this day. So that’s how he collected a two day-off from his two works.

Now, he’s enjoying his free day by going to the mall and takes a good look around. Wearing a blue denim jacket underneath with a black tank top and a half-cross cut tight jeans paired by sneakers, girls and boys swoon over him.

Not minding them like always, but feeling a bit cautious, Sehun picks up his pace, just in case some weird girl or boy talks to him. 

Arriving at the second floor, Sehun takes a turn in to the clothing shops direction.

 

Luhan arrives at the mall by using one of his cars, Jaguar XKSS. He parks his car in the vacant slot and takes a step out. He shuts his door close and pressed his car keys before leaving with sunglasses in his face.

Wearing a black cap with a name of ‘Lulu’ sewed in front, black butterfly shirt and loose jeans paired with blue sneakers, girls and boys swoon over him. Luhan chuckles lightly, before giving off melting gazes and smiles that makes girls and boys blush and murmur to their friends.

It’s been a while since he went out to a mall, the last time he had was a month ago with Tao. His schedules were always busy and packed that he didn’t have the time to shop around the mall, missing out the latest designs of the shops that he often went to.

Now that he is back at the mall, somehow and for some reason, Luhan is reminded of Sehun and him. Shopping at the mall, smiles and laughters escapes their lips with their hands filled with paper bags. And they would always visit their favourite café at the balcony of the mall that considered as the beauty of the mall because of its beauty.

He remembers the memories for a brief moment, a bit pained but happy. He smiles sadly to himself, slightly feeling the pain in his chest. He’s glad to remember the cherished memories but by the fact that Sehun isn’t by his side anymore, tops over the emotion of being happy.

He shakes his head, trying to cast away the memories and walks his way to the clothing shop direction.

 

Sehun steps out from the 10^th clothing shop he is in and looks at his hands. In his hands are a lot of paper bags containing clothes from different set of clothing and he sighs.

“I’m wasting too much money again.”

But thinking back his closets, his clothes were all worn out already and small to him since it’s been a long time he changed his clothes.

“Nah, who cares? I need to change my clothes anyways. It’s too old and worn out.”

Shrugging it off, Sehun walks away from the clothing direction and passes by a boy who is wearing a black cap, black butterfly shirt and loose jeans paired with blue sneakers.

Passing the guy he has long wanted to meet.

 

On his way to the clothing direction, his phone rang, making him stop and pockets out his phone. He blinks at the caller and grins a bit when he saw the name at the screen.

He answers the call and turns around, making the person he wants to meet a long time passes by him.

“Oh, Reporter Park! Yes, what could I help you with?”

After the conversation with the reporter, Luhan pockets back his phone and turns around to continue his walk to the clothing direction.

Missing the chance to see him again.

 

After wee hours of buying nothing but looking around the 10 shops Luhan is, Luhan decided to stop and goes grab a bite of food.

Luhan exits the clothing corner and went to the bubble tea store located at the balcony of the mall with a garden spree of beauty.

Arriving at the bubble tea store, Luhan contemplates what to buy. 

‘Vanilla? or Chocolate?’

“One Vanilla milk tea for Oh Sehun,” the cashier calls out for the person and Luhan freezes.

Is he hearing right? Oh Sehun is the customer? Is the Oh Sehun that he has been looking for is the same with the Oh Sehun now? Is he right?

His heart quickens in beat as his heart anxiously expects that it is the same Oh Sehun that he is looking for.

He already has his expectation from Kyungsoo before, but it turned out the person Oh Sehun is not the same Oh Sehun he is looking for, yet, he never saw him in person. He only heard the profile life of Sehun that is working from Kyungsoo’s workshop.

So Luhan expects now. He gets his hope high again like last time. He turns around and…

Wrong.

His heart quickly dropped, a frown painted on his pretty face.

The Oh Sehun who ordered a vanilla bubble tea is not the Oh Sehun he is looking for, instead the boy only has the same name as he have.

Feeling disheartened, Luhan lost the appetite to drink his favourite milk tea. With a dejected look, Luhan leaves and decides to go back to the hotel to sleep at his room. The frustrations he has are long away gone, but only now with a broken feeling once again in his heart.

Shortly, after he left, the same boy Luhan saw, went to the cashier.

“Um…I’m sorry. But I think you got the wrong person. My name is Oh Seru, not, Oh Sehun. I would like to return this drink of the person and kindly get mine?” the person, Seru, told the cashier lady. The lady blinks before she checks out the order and gave out a nervous laugh to the customer.

“Oops. Sorry. I’ll get your order, sir.”

The cashier lady took from the waiting area the milk tea of Seru, and the person left. The cashier lady sighs before she calls out again.

“Oh Sehun! Vanilla milk tea is ready!”

In the corner of the shop, Sehun just finished off his ice cream and stands up and took the paper bags once again in one hand and went to the cashier lady.

The lady spotted him walking over to her and she suspected that it’s him, since he is the only customer who gave her partner a paper of what he’ll order.

Once Sehun arrived, the lady smiled.

“Oh Sehun?” She asked even though the answer is already obvious, but, just checking.

Sehun nods his head and smiles as he takes his milk tea from the lady’s hand. He bows and takes his leave with the lady smiling and waving back; telling him ‘thank you and come back again.’

They missed again.

~*~

“Hey, hyung, um…may I know why are you mute?” Jongin asks nervously. They were in a restaurant, seafood paella ordered for both of them and a green tea shake as their drinks and a bowl of banana split at the side as their dessert. After Kyungsoo agreed to have lunch with him, Jongin felt a happy feeling bursts inside of him when the older agreed to have lunch with him. While smiling and showering Kyungsoo with thanks, in the corner of his eyes, he could see Sehun shaking his head, a smirk evident in his face, but he ignores it because he’s happy that Kyungsoo agreed to have lunch with him.

It’s been awhile since he wanted to ask Kyungsoo out for lunch and it’s been a long time since he wanted to ask Kyungsoo why he is mute. He feels embarrassed to ask him that and quite nervous of the reaction and response the older will give him. He knows that it’s not advisable to ask someone who is mute to ask him why, because he knows it’s painful, but he’s wanted to know why for some time now.

He had been with Kyungsoo for some time now, a month and half to be precise and they had actually grown a bond together. They had this link together as if they were bound to each other. They had their connections together as if it’s like a red string.

He fidgets on his seat, feeling his heart pound loudly in his chest under Kyungsoo’s undefined gaze. Kyungsoo stares at him for a moment, wondering why he asked that. He was about to ask him, but then, he concluded that he didn’t need to ask anymore. He was bound to tell the younger sooner or later anyways, so why bother ask why?

The corner of his lips tugs a bit upward before he tells Jongin why he is mute.

After hearing Kyungsoo’s story, Jongin could feel tears pool up in his eyes, threatening to spill because the story was just so cruel, sad and twisted that Jongin couldn’t help but wanted to comfort the older. It breaks his heart to know the story behind his muteness.

He wanted to comfort the older, be with him and help him with all he can. And that’s the time where Jongin vows to help him recover his voice; to help him regain his voice because he needs to.

He takes Kyungsoo’s hand from the table, clasping it with his that made Kyungsoo look at him confusingly. The younger looked at with concern and care that Kyungsoo could feel his cheeks warm up from affectionate stare.

Jongin pats Kyungsoo’s hand, a habit of his when he is worrying for someone or want to tell something important. Kind of weird for others, but it’s his habit since a long time ago. It started from his childhood days where it developed; kind of childish but with a good heart and motive.

“Kyungsoo hyung, I want to help you regain your voice back. I…” he whispers as he squeezes Kyungsoo’s hand a bit, “I want to do all what I can to help you regain your voice back. I don’t care if you don’t want to, but I want to, hyung. I want you to have your voice back. What was robbed from you, I want it to give back because it’s yours and you deserve to have it back, don’t you think so, hyung?”

Kyungsoo is dumbfounded. He doesn’t know what to say at all from Jongin’s speech. He wanted to tell that it is okay but hearing his words makes his heart swell with affection, concern and warmth that a smile bloomed on his face, tears rolling down from his eyes.

Yes, he wanted to regain his voice back. Yes, he wanted to have his voice back because it is his. Yes, he wanted to recover his voice back so that he won’t be suffering from being able not to talk with other people. It’s such a pity that he doesn’t know what his voice sounds like back then since he lost it at a young age that he doesn’t remember the memories and his voice back then.

And hearing Jongin’s speech of wanting to help him regain his voice back made a big impact on him, wanting to cry out because his words were just precious, so small yet so big. It gave him hope again, to regain his voice back and for some matter, Kyungsoo isn’t afraid anymore. To regain his voice back. He was afraid back then, he admits. Because he doesn’t know what his voice sound at all and he’s afraid that regaining his voice back would be difficult and hard and he doesn’t want that. But now that Jongin is here and is willing to help him to regain his voice back made Kyungsoo yearn for his voice, to know what it sound like back then.

Jongin stares at his face, eyes glazed with affection and comfort. With his other hand, he wipes off the tears rolling down from Kyungsoo’s eyes that made Kyungsoo chuckle after Jongin retreated his hand.

He gazes at Jongin with happiness and affection, a warm and grateful smile painting his face.

“Thank you, Jongin.”

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A/N: And so it ended up this way. Sehun and Luhan missed each other...again. And Jongin wanting to help Kyungsoo regain his voice back.

And by the way our daily question, what are your favourite songs in the XOXO album?

Our boys' voice are so....>< Gosh, I can't explain my feels!!! Everything in the album is so perfect and especially Baby Don't Cry! Oh my gosh! I cried, frick, i cried. My favourites are Peter Pan, Baby Don't Cry, Heart Attack, Don't Go, Baby, Wolf, 365, Black Pearl and My Lady. Yeah, that's the oder of my favourites. I really favored Peter Pan and Baby Don't Cry ><

So Suho kind of like begs to let their song be one, so shall we do it? I mean for our boys' hard work and not to mention their album of course ^^ For their hard work for a year and for the boys' that we love and dear, let's support them with all we can, okay?

Oh yeah, tell me what you think of this chapter. Any suggestions or so?

Thank you and love you all! <3