Chapter 3

Roommates: Luhan/Lay, Kris/Chen, Xiu Min/Tao

Fan-accounts dog Luhan’s footsteps eventhough he slips out of the dormitory late that night with his manager. Recounting how he fainted fades to a mumble as the doctor frowns. The doctor eventually declares him a clean bill of health; eventhough he is eyeing the thinness of his body and the dark rings that circle his eyes. They leave with only a few bottles of vitamins.

In the van, the manager starts muttering about their duizhang overreacting. Luhan quickly interrupts, anxious not to get Kris into trouble. If anything, it is Yixing’s fault for screwing with his mind. (Not that he says that aloud.)

“Fine,” the manager tells Luhan, “but short of fainting, try to keep it to yourself and recover well. The last thing we need is bad press saying we overworked the new group.”

But we are overworked, Luhan replies, but silently. He knows what he has signed up for.

When they get back to the dormitories, Luhan starts to sneeze. His nose just feels slightly itchy at first, and he resists the urge to rub it. By the time they arrive at the front door, he is coughing badly. It sounds as though his lungs would rather be outside his body.

“Good gracious,” the manager rolls his eyes. “Your timing, Luhan! Well, at least we have the vitamins.”

Yixing is nowhere to be found. The manager sits down with Kris and gives him a loud pep talk. It is about the importance of caring for the members; and the equal attention that needs to be paid to their idol group image. Nobody wants an idol who is stumbling in and out of the hospital. For goodness sake, especially if he is healthy!

At this, Kris turns around slightly in his seat and looks directly at Luhan who is hovering near the counter, pressing Tao’s handkerchief against his mouth and sorting out the pills. Kris’s mouth has already thinned to a severe line and his expression is colder than usual. He is someone who shows explicitly when he is displeased. However, the way his eyebrows are raised also shows his surprise.

“He barely could breathe a few hours ago,” Kris states. He does not believe the manager’s words, that Luhan is healthy. Which quack of a doctor did they go to?!  

The manager stares hard at him.

It is only a few moments later that Kris backs down and promises to look after the band better. The words are sincere, but the way they are forced out from him as an apology… It makes Kris sound as if he did not do his job as a leader.

Luhan feels awful.

He goes to apologise. He needs to, to everyone, for freaking them out. Seeing them, his family members, will make his head stop hurting.

He really hates hospitals. The headache has not left him since he got out of the hospital and into the car.

Your timing, Luhan!

But he leaves Kris to his thoughts in the kitchen first. Duizhang’s gaze is still following him, but he is angry from his conversation with the manager and knows he needs to cool down first.

The first person Luhan goes to is Tao, because the maknae’s bedroom is the closest to the kitchen. Tao is practicing yoga. It is to keep his muscles elastic for his wushu. Tao greets him happily, asks the generic “Better now?” questions and readily agrees with him that traditional Chinese medicine probably will work better wonders than those multi-coloured pills. Luhan leaves the bedroom with two more clean handkerchiefs and brighter spirits.

Luhan bumps into Xiu Min on the way out, as the latter was carrying a basket of fresh laundry. Unlike their stage clothes, which are either stored at their performance venues by their coordi noonas or iron-pressed and sealed in a travelling bag in their wardrobe, they wear sweat pants, jeans and printed shirts to practice. It is Xiu Min’s turn to take out the laundry that week. The basket knocks into Luhan’s chest. Xiu Min yells “Germs!” in Korean, and then asks instantly, “What’s the Chinese word for ‘germs’?” Luhan tells him, and he shouts again in Mandarin before dumping the basket on the ground and slugging him on the shoulder.

Chen wanders into the corridor, holding an elementary Chinese book in his hand. He is startled by Luhan’s reappearance, but his lips break into a smile. “Hyung!” he says. Luhan is secretly pleased. In China, they rarely adhere to Korean manners, like pushing some responsibility to the maknae or insisting on specific honorifics. Xiu Min is older than most of them, so only Chen says ‘hyung’. After these few months in China, the honorific only slips out when he wants something (that manipulative little-) or when he forgets he is not in Korea. That is usually during an emotional outburst, which is rare for the Korean member. It means he is really happy about something.

“The doctor says I’m fine,” Luhan smiles.

“Are you sure?”

Kris comes out from the kitchen and leans against the doorframe, folding his arms. It has the same effect as dousing all of them with cold water. The happy feelings evaporate, replaced by self-doubt and concern.

“Of course I am,” Luhan says, and sneezes promptly. He looks up, blearily. “I’m sorry for troubling you all. I’ll get better. Soon.”

He looks up hopefully at the leader. They are the same age, but Kris has the final say. He is their decision-maker, mood-maker and guide. That is the least to be expected of the duizhang.

After all, a leader does not turn up suddenly in the back stage of a performance show.

Kris gives him a hard look and then nods slowly. “Okay. Go make up with Yixing and then take your pills. The manager is right. No matter what, this is no time to fall ill. We can afford that later.”

Your timing, Luhan!

 “Ah, to be a normal man… to experience sickness… and have more sleep… and be able to eat deep-fried food…” Xiu Min lists in a teasing voice, and the basket wobbles dangerously in his arms as he avoids Kris’s half-hearted whack above his head. Xiu Min laughs, and the tension is broken. Life continues. Kris disappears into his room and Xiu Min goes to dump clothes on their respective owner's beds. 

But instead, Luhan stands shell-shock. Revelation has hit him like a ton of bricks. He whirls around. “Chen!”

The remaining member in the room turns around, raising his eyebrows. “Huh?”

“Where’s Yixing?” It is not uncommon for Chen to be found pouring over Chinese characters with Yixing. While all four Chinese members were patient, Yixing has the best attention span.

Your timing, Luhan!

Yixing had yelled, “I’m fine!”

Maybe it is his timing.

Yixing is dying.

But Luhan knows it first.

"In his room," answers Chen, giving him a concerned look. He looks hesitant for a while, as if he is debating with himself. Then, he shakes his head and gives a final wave to Luhan before going to his own room. 

Inside, Luhan panics. He needs to talk to someone. Someone who can calm him down. He gets out his handphone and looks for a name.

Sehun.

TBC