This is it... Chapter Two! ^^

Kyungsoo sighed as he waited for Jongin in the lobby of the condominium. He played absentmindedly with the sheet of paper that Jongin gave him earlier. He wondered if he wrote the correct address. This would be the first time that he would be going to Jongin’s home, so he was feeling really nervous. He was just about to get his phone to kill some time when Kyungsoo saw Jongin entering the building.

“Hey!” Jongin called him. “Let’s go!”

Kyungsoo followed Jongin to the elevators. They did not talk much. Well, Kyungsoo did not even know what to say in the first place. He was too busy remembering how to breathe or how to function without appearing like a fool. When they stepped in the elevator, he saw Jongin pushing the button of the top floor.

“Top floor?” Kyungsoo found himself talking. “That’s like the penthouse isn’t it?”

Jongin looked at him weirdly. “Yeah, well it’s my brother’s, so I won’t make much of a big deal out of it.”

Kyungsoo gaped.

“What?” Jongin asked. “You’re acting weird again. Where did your clever comebacks go?”

“I just can’t believe I’ll be going to your house.” Kyungsoo answered in awe.

Jongin laughed. “I can’t believe it either.”

Kyungsoo finally gained control of himself and cleared his throat. “I did not know you live with your brother.” He said in an attempt to change the subject.

Jongin nodded. “We all live here, my brothers and I. We kind of “runaway” from home. He smiled bitterly.

“Oh,” Kyungsoo said. His eyes were filled with concerned as he looked at Jongin. “Is Tao-hyung gonna be there?”

“You know hyung?” Jongin looked at Kyungsoo in shock.

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo replied. “I kinda ran into him earlier in school.”

“Oh, okay.” Jongin nodded.

The elevator door suddenly opened. Jongin led Kyungsoo to another door. Kyungsoo could not believe his eyes when he entered the penthouse. Everything looked expensive. There was some elegance in this place. The place looked spacious. There was even a second floor. Kyungsoo was in awe.

“Sit wherever you want.” Jongin pointed at the living room.

“Isn’t anybody home?” Kyungsoo asked when he sat down in one of the most comfortable chairs. He’s in heaven.

“I think so.” Jongin looked around to be sure. “My oldest brother, Baekhyun-hyung, well he’s not really around this early. He usually comes home past midnight, and then leave before dawn.  Tao-hyung meanwhile just comes and goes whenever he wants. Sometimes he’s gone the whole day, sometimes you’ll just see him bumming around the house the whole weekend…”

Kyungsoo smiled as he watched Jongin talking about his brothers. There was some sparkle in his eyes as he spoke. This is the first time that Kyungsoo saw this side of Jongin, and he felt happy that he was opening up to him.

Suddenly the door of the penthouse opened.

“JONGIN!” someone called. “There you are!”

“Tao-hyung!” Jongin stood up.

Kyungsoo stood up and bowed to Jongin’s older brother. “Good evening!”

Tao greeted Kyungsoo, and then turned at Jongin. “I didn’t know you were gonna bring a friend! We were searching for you!”

Jongin looked lost. “Huh? Why?”

“I knew it.” Tao said shaking his head. “You forgot about the party.”

“The party! Right!” Jongin hung his head. “It’s tonight?!”

Tao nodded. “You two better suit up soon, I’ll be waiting for you downstairs. Baekhyun-hyung is waiting, and you know how he is.”

“Can I just not go?!” Jongin pleaded. “It’s just we needed to study and all…”

Tao narrowed his eyes. “You? Study? (Kyungsoo coughed to cover up his laughter. Jongin glared at him.) Just make an appearance, and then you two can just go to Hyung’s office and study.”

“But my classmate, his parents might not allow him…” Jongin looked at Kyungsoo.

“It’s okay.” Kyungsoo said. “I’ll just call my dad.”

“That’s settled then.” Tao smiled. “I’ll have the car ready downstairs.” He left.

Jongin and Kyungsoo stared at the door. Jongin was thinking fast about what to do.

“I’m sorry about that.” He apologized. “If I had remembered about tonight, I wouldn’t have bothered you.”

“It’s no problem.” Kyungsoo said quietly.

“Let’s go upstairs. You can borrow my clothes.” Jongin said and led Kyungsoo to his room.

Kyungsoo can’t help but to smile. He tried so hard not to laugh, that a weird noise came out.

“What?” Jongin looked at him.

Kyungsoo looked embarrassed, but he laughed. “I’m sorry, but you’re really different here at home. It’s quite refreshing.”

“What?!” Jongin looked at him defensively. “I’m not!” He crossed his arms and pouted.

“See?” Kyungsoo teased. “You’re like a big baby.”

“You’re weird.”

Half an hour later, they were riding the car to the company. Kyungsoo, along with Jongin and Tao sat awkwardly at the back of the car. Kyungsoo’s head was in a huge mess trying to figure out a topic to say, but he could not think of anything. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. It would’ve been easier if he was not sitting between the two brothers. He could imagine in his head the murderous glares he would be receiving from his classmates if they found out what was happening now.

He tried to fiddle around the sleeves of the shirt that Jongin lent him. Tao and Jongin finally started talking. Kyungsoo breathed a sigh of relief. Hearing them talk somehow relaxed him. Quite honestly, he found it interesting because he always found Tao to be scary. Well, especially this afternoon when he came in the Home Economics room. But now, he saw another side of him. He seemed to be really nice. Come to think of it, this is the first time Kyungsoo saw the two brothers together, even though they both go to the same school. Kyungsoo also noticed that Tao seemed to dote a lot on his little brother. Kyungsoo smiled to himself as he watched Jongin act like a child around his older brother. He felt a bit of envy, because grew up to be an only child. Kyungsoo’s thoughts were interrupted when Tao suddenly turned to him.

“So, Kyungsoo,” Tao said. Kyungsoo suddenly straightened up. “Jongin told me you were the top in your class.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened. “Ahh that’s too much. I’m really surprised he was praising me.” He scratched his head embarrassedly. Jongin coughed embarrassedly.

“I’m surprised this found a smart friend.” Tao smiled at him.

“We’re not friends!” Kyungsoo and Jongin suddenly shouted defensively. The two of them looked at each other and both looked away at once.

“So you say.” Tao smirked at the two. “Kyungsoo, if this guy gives you any trouble you can punch him anytime.”

Kyungsoo laughed and nodded enthusiastically. Jongin however muttered. “If anything, he was the one who’s always giving me trouble.”

“I heard that.” Kyungsoo said as Tao laughed.

“We’re here.” The chauffeur announced. The three of them climb down, and for the second time that afternoon, Kyungsoo was in awe when they entered the lobby. Everything around him seemed to tell him that he does not belong in there. Unconsciously, he held on to Jongin’s elbow tightly. The latter turned to Kyungsoo and he noticed how the other was feeling uncomfortable. Jongin in turn smiled at Kyungsoo encouragingly.

“Whatever happens, don’t let go, okay?” he said in a low voice so that only Kyungsoo would hear him. It was enough to make Kyungsoo feel at ease. His grip to Jongin seemed to loosen ever so slightly.

“Finally! What took you guys so long?!” A loud voice was heard behind them.

“Ask this guy over here, hyung.” Tao pointed at Jongin with his thumb. “He forgot about today.”

“Aish, Tao-hyung, you’re so mean to me.” Jongin was protruding his lower lip. “I’m sorry, Baekhyun-hyung.”

“It’s okay Jongin.” Baekhyun ruffled Jongin’s hair. “I see you brought a friend!”

“We’re not friends!” Jongin and Kyungsoo said in unison.

Tao chuckled. “Seriously, hyung don’t even start. They’re defensive about it.”

“Aw, you guys are so cute!!” Baekhyun pinched Jongin and Kyungsoo’s cheeks.

“Hyung, you’re so small.” Jongin pouted as puffed his cheeks out.

“Shut up, Jongin.” Baekhyun pretended didn’t take the comment well.

“By the way, hyung this is Kyungsoo.” Jongin introduced Kyungsoo. “He’s a classmate of mine.”

Kyungsoo bowed at Baekhyun, and Baekhyun bowed in return. “Ah, Kyungsoo, you seem like a good kid. Maybe you could teach Jongin thing or two.”

“Hyung!!!” Jongin whined while Tao and Kyungsoo laughed.

“Fine, I’ll stop.” Baekhyun laughed as well. “Come on, you guys! The party’s starting! I need you to meet some people!” He gestured the three to follow him.

“You’re brothers are really nice.” Kyungsoo said to Jongin.

Jongin sighed proudly. “They are, aren’t they? Wait for it, Baekhyun-hyung’s got one of the coolest jobs ever!”

“What is his job?” Kyungsoo smiled at Jongin’s enthusiasm. Jongin didn’t answer him, but instead pointed somewhere.

“There he is!” Kyungsoo turned to where Jongin was pointing and stood there shocked.

“Isn’t that…?” Kyungsoo stared. “Is that Lay?”

“Yup! Baekhyun-hyung is his manager!” Jongin exclaimed.

“That’s really awesome!” Kyungsoo cannot hide his excitement.

“Isn’t it?!” Jongin smiled at Kyungsoo.

“Hyung! Can we go to Yixing-hyung? Please?” Jongin pleaded to Baekhyun.

“Later.” Baekhyun said. “Kris-hyung wants to see you and Tao first.”

Tao and Jongin groaned. They were both afraid of Kris, but they did not say anything. They know that their hyung respects him a lot.

“Is Sehun-hyung here too?” Tao asked worriedly.

“Yes.” Baekhyun answered. “Why?”

“Nothing.” Tao and Jongin sighed in relief. If anything, Sehun is way more likeable than Kris.

“Kris-hyung is the president of the company.” Jongin explained to Kyungsoo. “He’s a bit scary, you’ll see. Sehun-hyung… Well, Sehun-hyung is Baekhyun-hyung’s best friend. You might have seen the movie “Two Moons”. He was the one who directed it.”

“Omo,” a voice came from behind. “Is little Jongin bragging about me?”

“There you are, Sehun!” Baekhyun said. “Have you seen Kris-hyung?”

“Yes,” Sehun answered. “And he’s been searching for you guys. He said it’s something important.”

Baekhyun looked worried. He did know anything about this.

“He’s in the VIP room.” Sehun continued.

“I wondered what it is about.” Baekhyun whispered to himself. He gestured to the others. “Let’s go you guys.” Tao, Jongin and Kyungsoo followed him. When Baekhyun opened the door and saw the people inside, the three brothers stopped on their tracks.

“Joonmyun-ah,” Chanyeol looked worried. “I’m really, really sorry. I didn’t know this was his party. We could go home if you want.”

“No, no!” Joonmyun waved his hands. “No worries. We would not be able to pay this month’s rent if we don’t do this job.”

“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay with this?” Chanyeol asked.

“Yes.” Joonmyun tried to smile to convince his friend, but he himself doubts his feelings too. “I’ll be okay. I’m more worried that you’re gonna play hooky with work tonight.”

Suddenly their boss appeared in front of them. “Yah! You two might want to start working! I am not paying you two to talk all night!!”

Chanyeol and Joonmyun both apologized and picked up a tray of finger foods and went outside the kitchen. Before they separated to serve the guests, Chanyeol pulled Joonmyun aside.

“Fighting, Joonmyun-ah!” Chanyeol whispered. He patted Joonmyun before he walked into the crowd.

It didn’t take too long for Joonmyun to see Yixing. As always, he was surrounded by a lot of girls. Joonmyun sighed as he stood longingly on the sides. He could hear them talking to Yixing.

“Lay-oppa, let’s go somewhere after the party~~”

“Oh shut up, bish… Lay-oppa’s gonna go with me, right?”

“Nuh-uh! Why is he gonna go with a face like yours?”

“What did you say?!”

“You heard me!”

“Girls stop it.” Yixing managed to break them apart. “You might hurt your pretty…” He paused when he looked at Joonmyun’s direction. For a split second, their eyes met, but Joonmyun managed to hide behind the other party guests. Yixing just stared after him. He was pretty convinced he was daydreaming. The girls started to talk to him again, and he decided to push Joonmyun out of his

“Father?” Baekhyun stared at the man standing beside Kris. Tao and Jongin went closer to Baekhyun’s back. “What are you doing here?”

“So this is how you greet your father, Baekhyun?” Baekhyun tensed up. Even after all these years, his father always gave him the chills.

“What the hell do you want?” Tao asked. He immediately held on to Jongin whose face was full of fear. “Go away!”

Baekhyun turned to his brother. “Tao, calm down.”

“See how ungrateful my sons are?” Their father said to Kris, who for the first time in Baekhyun’s life, did not seem to have a control in the situation.

“Uncle, please.” Kris said calmly. “You promised you won’t do this.

“First they ran away from home, and now they think they have everything figured out.” He turned to Baekhyun. “So this is what you’ve done with your life huh, Baekhyun? This is what you are proud of? How quaint.”

“Oh, please,” Tao shouted. “Don’t start talking like you’re the perfect father right now. You don’t know anything!”

“Hyung, I’m scared.” Jongin’s voice was shaking as he held on to Baekhyun, who was frozen on his spot.

“Why aren’t you saying anything, Baekhyun?” His father taunted him. “It’s because you know everything is your fault isn’t it?!”

“Don’t blame Baekhyun-hyung!” Jongin shouted. His eyes were wide in fear. His breath was becoming labored. “It’s not his fault! Don’t blame him!”

Baekhyun and Tao tried calming Jongin down. Baekhyun turned to a stunned Kyungsoo. “Kyungsoo, please. Take him away from here, please.” Kyungsoo nodded and brought Jongin out of the room.

“Great, one of them lost its mind.” Their father commented nonchalantly.

Before Tao could even lunge on his father. Kris interfered.

“Uncle, I’m afraid you need to go right now.” Kris said.

“Ah, Kris.” Their father said. “How can you stand seeing these pitiful people?” And with that, he left.

Baekhyun, Tao and Kris stood silently in the room for a minute. They all needed time to calm down after the incident.

Tao was the first one to break the silence. “Baekhyun-hyung, are you okay?”

“Yes.” Baekhyun said silently.

“Tao, leave.” Kris told the younger. “Go enjoy the party

Tao was about to protest, but when he looked at his brother, he decided to just go out.

Kris eyed Baekhyun whose expression is something he can’t decipher.

“I’m sorry, Baekhyun.” Kris said. “I should’ve just told Uncle to leave when he came.”

“No,” Baekhyun said. “Don’t apologize, Kris-hyung.”

“Baekhyun,” Kris said. “What happened three years ago, it’s not your fault, okay?”

Baekhyun snorted. “I’m not really used to you comforting me, hyung.”

“Do you want me to call Sehun or something?” Kris sighed. “I’m not really good at this.”

“No, I’ll be okay.” Baekhyun said. “Besides, Sehun might be busy right now, if you know what I mean.”

Kris shook his head exasperatedly. “Seriously, that guy…”

“Whoa, this is some party!” Luhan exclaimed when he and Jongdae walked in the entrance.

“Behave yourself.” Jongdae said.

“Ugh, I can’t promise that.” Luhan said.

“Luhan…” Jongdae said exasperatedly.

“I’m kidding!” Luhan said defensively. “But, can I go now?”

“Fine.” Jongdae nodded. “I’ll go find Baekhyun.”

“Good luck!” Luhan winked at him, before he ran off.

Jongdae could only shake his head. He just hopes to see Baekhyun before he ran into Kris.

Kyungsoo quietly followed Jongin. He looked at the boy, and for a moment, he saw nothing but vulnerability on his face. Kyungsoo wanted to say something to comfort him, but thought it’s better if he stayed silent. Jongin suddenly stopped walking, causing Kyungsoo to slightly bump on his back.

“I’m sorry about what you saw earlier.” He said. He was looking down. His voice was barely audible. Jongin knew that if he makes his voice any louder, it would give him away.

Kyungsoo hardly dared to breathe. Whatever he does or says in that moment would be a mistake. He suddenly grabbed Jongin’s hand and started to run. Jongin did not even have the time to react and started to follow him.

“Hey!” he shouted when he finally realized what was happening. “Where are we going?!”

“Away from here.” Kyungsoo replied. “Wherever our feet take us…”

Jongin stared at Kyungsoo. Only this morning, they were strangers, but now they ate lunch together, he met his family, and now they were running off to God knows where. The two of them sneaked away from the party and out of the building. They ran and ran until their legs could not anymore. Kyungsoo still held on to Jongin’s arm. He pulled him to a deserted park and they sat on the edge of a fountain. The both of them were gasping for air.

“I haven’t run that far for a long time.” Kyungsoo said, slightly swinging his legs.

“Aren’t we supposed to be studying?” Jongin asked slightly worried. He started swinging his legs too.

“It’s surprising that you’re the worried one.” Kyungsoo replied. “Did you really think you could study in that condition earlier? You might throw a book at my face.”

Jongin considered this for a moment. “Thank you.” He stopped swinging his legs as well and looked at Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo smiled. “I’m hungry. Do you want to eat something?”

Jongin smiled in return and nodded.

“Wait for me here.” Kyungsoo said. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

Kyungsoo stood up, but when he started to walk away, he was stopped when Jongin tugged the back of his shirt. Kyungsoo swears that if it’s possible, his heart had already stopped, dropped on the ground and started rolling like a buffalo on the grass.

“Don’t take too long, okay?” Jongin said quietly. He only let go of Kyungsoo’s shirt when his classmate saw him nod.

Kyungsoo could still hear his heart beating when he returned to where they we sitting earlier. He was carrying a huge paper bag filled with bread. When Jongin saw Kyungsoo, he smiled widely and waved his hands happily. Kyungsoo chuckled as he saw this.

“You look stupid.” Kyungsoo said as he settled down. He put the paper bag between them.

“What?!” Jongin said. “I’m just happy. So what are we having? Bread?!”

“Yes.” Kyungsoo gave a piece to Jongin.

“You can find warm bread at this time?” Jongin looked at Kyungsoo surprisingly. His eyes are full of fascination.

“Yes.” Kyungsoo replied. “My father is a baker, that’s why I know where to buy warm bread.”

“That’s awesome!” Jongin tried a bite. His eyes widened. “This bread is delicious!” He ate the whole thing in three huge bites.

“Yah, slow down!” Kyungsoo said as Jongin got another piece in the bag.

“We should really go to your dad’s bakery soon!” Jongin said happily.

“Sure.” Kyungsoo felt a bit proud of his dad. “You know, whenever I feel sad, I always eat a piece of warm bread. After that, I’ll feel happy again.”

Jongin paused for a second. “It has to be warm bread?”

“Yes.” Kyungsoo nodded.

The both of them ate in silence. Jongin ate most of the bread. Kyungsoo just let him, because Jongin seemed to be smiling a lot now. Suddenly, Jongin stopped eating and his face turned serious.

“Aren’t you gonna ask about earlier?” Jongin looked at Kyungsoo intently.

Kyungsoo stopped eating as well. “No.”

“Why?” Jongin asked.

“If you’re gonna tell me, you’ll tell me. If not, I don’t have any right to intrude in other people’s business.” Kyungsoo answered.

“Are you close with your dad?”

Kyungsoo smiled. “Yes.”

“I’m really jealous of you, Kyungsoo.” Jongin said. It took every inch of his pride to say that.

Kyungsoo was surprised by this that he nearly dropped his bread.

“You shouldn’t be.” Kyungsoo said when he got a hold of himself.

“Why?” Jongin asked.

“You have Baekhyun-hyung and Tao-hyung who loves you no matter what.” Kyungsoo smiled.

“You’re right.” Jongin nodded and the both of them finished eating their breads.

“So what are we gonna do now?” Kyungsoo said when all the bread was gone. “Are we gonna go home?”

“I can’t.” Jongin said.

“Why?” Kyungsoo asked.

“I don’t know how to go home alone.” Jongin said as he hung his head.

“There you are, Baekhyun-ah! President!” Yixing said in relief, when he saw Baekhyun and Kris.

Baekhyun smiled. “You seem flustered.”

“Well, I just stopped a catfight.” Yixing smiled proudly.

“Wow, I’m so proud?” Baekhyun said confusedly.

“Are you alright?” Yixing looked at him.

Baekhyun avoided his eyes. “Why? Is there something on my face?”

“Nothing.” Yixing scratched his head. “Something seems off tonight.”

“Let it go, Yixing.” Kris said. “Nothing is wrong.”

“Yes, pres…” Yixing was cut off when he saw the person behind Baekhyun.

Baekhyun and Kris took one look at Yixing’s face and turned around.

“Aish…” Tao said when he drank the last drop of his soda. He was sitting at the back alley of the building’s kitchen. He chose to be alone at this time, because he might punch everyone’s faces. After crushing the can, he decided to throw the can as hard as he could into the darkness.

“OW!” someone shouted. “What the hell?”

Tao immediately stood up and smiled when he heard the oddly familiar voice. He had to contain his laughter when he confirmed his suspicions.

“What the…?” Minseok gasped as he made a ninja pose when he heard someone approaching him. “Whoever is there, I... I know kung-fu!!”

“Relax, it’s just me.” Tao said as he walked closed to Minseok so that the other would recognize him.

“Are you the one who threw the can?!” Minseok couldn’t help but to breathe out in relief when he saw Tao. “Is it your life’s mission to make mine miserable?!”

“You really need to calm down.” Tao said barely concealing a smirk. “Why are you even here?”

“I was just throwing the garbage when a can zoomed towards me and hit me in the head.” Minseok rolled his eyes.

“Why are you throwing the garbage?” Tao asked.

“It’s my job, okay?” Minseok said. “I need to work for my money, unlike some.” He added when he saw Tao narrowed his eyes. “And why are you here?”

“It’s my brother’s party.” Tao replied. “So technically, I’m your boss.”

“Never,” Minseok scowled. “That’s the last thing I ever want to happen.”

“Stop looking at me like that.” Tao said.

“What?” Minseok narrowed his eyes

“Stop doing that face.” Tao repeated.

“What am I doing with my face?” He narrowed his eyes more.

“That!” Tao pointed at Minseok. “That judgmental bun face! Stop it! It’s creepy”

“Judgmental bun?” Minseok said annoyed. “You threw a can at me! Is that how you treat your employees, “Boss”?”

“What do you want me to do?” Tao was afraid to see the Judgmental bun again.

“Give me back my phone!” Minseok demanded.

“I can’t.” Tao said. “I left it at home.”

“You what?!” Minseok can’t contain his feelings.

“Well, what now?” Tao asked.

“Jongdae-hyung!” Baekhyun proceeded to hug his hyung. “I’m so glad you could come!”

“Are you kidding me?” Jongdae hugged Baekhyun back. “Of course, I won’t miss this!” From the corner of his eyes, Jongdae could see Kris rooted in his spot.

“Jongdae-hyung,” Baekhyun pulled Yixing to his side. “This is Yixing.”

“Good evening, Jongdae-ssi!” Yixing did a 90 degree bow. “I’m Yixing. It’s so nice to finally meet you. I’m one of your fans!”

“Thank you,” Jongdae held a hand to Yixing who shook it enthusiastically. “I’ve seen you perform a few times before too! And you’re really good!”

“No!” Yixing shook his head. “I’m nothing compared to you!”

“You’re too kind.” Jongdae smiled to Yixing.

“Please.” Kris finally spoke up. “Don’t try to deny that you like what you just heard.” He turned around and walked away. He was sure that he bumped into someone because he heard a crash, but he did not dare to turn around. He wanted to get away from Jongdae immediately.

Jongdae tried to follow Kris, but he went back to the source of crash. He went to see one of the waiters trying to clean up the mess. He seemed to be carrying a tray full of glasses, since there were a lot of shattered glasses around.

“Are you alright?” Jongdae asked the waiter. The waiter nodded. Jongdae went to help him, but he seemed to be losing Kris. He felt Baekhyun’s hands on his shoulders.

“I’ll take care of this.” Baekhyun said. “Go follow him, hyung.” With that, Jongdae decided to chase after Kris.

“You don’t have to do this.” Baekhyun said as he kneeled down beside the waiter who was trying to pick up the broken pieces of glasses on the floor. “I’ll have someone to clean this up right away.”

“N-no…” Joonmyun answered. “It’s quite alright. You don’t have to bo…” He was cut off when a piece of glass cut his finger.

“You're bleeding!” Baekhyun gasped as he saw the blood emerging from the other guy’s hands.

“Baekhyun-ah,” Yixing gently pushed Baekhyun aside. “I got this.” He put his handkerchief on Joonmyun’s bleeding hand and pulled the injured guy away with him.

Baekhyun stared at the two as they walked away.

“Kris!” Jongdae called he was already running. “Stop this. Stop walking away.”

Kris stopped walking. The two of them were in a deserted hallway in the building. Jongdae was panting behind him.

“What do you want?” Kris did not turn around.

“Is this how you want to our first meeting to be after three years?” Jongdae pleaded.

“I don’t know, Jongdae.” Kris replied sarcastically. “You were the one who suddenly left from what I remember.”

“Okay.” Jongdae said. “I deserved that.”

He tried approaching Kris.

“Don’t come near me.” Kris suddenly snapped.

“What do you want me to do?!” Jongdae asked. Tears were starting to well up in his eyes.

“Just… answer this question,” Kris said. “Were you ever happy, when we were together?”

Jongdae sniffed as tears were already falling down. “Of course! How could you even ask that?”

“I just needed to know.” And Kris walked away leaving Jongdae behind.

Yixing brought Joonmyun in an empty bathroom. All the while that Yixing was pulling him, Joonmyun had his head down. He knows that people were looking at him, but he did not dare look at them. When Yixing was sure that they were the ones inside the bathroom, he locked the door immediately and proceeded to wash Joonmyun’s hand on the sink. Luckily, the bleeding had already stopped.

“It’s not deep. “ Yixing said as he examined the other guy’s hand.

Joonmyun did not say anything. He just looked at his hand as Yixing held them. This was like when they were kids. Yixing was always taking care of him.

“Does it hurt?” Yixing asked when he put a bit of pressure on the wound, and Joonmyun shook his head.

“I guess we won’t need this.” Yixing was gonna keep his handkerchief, when Joonmyun snatched it away.

“No.” Joonmyun held it tightly as Yixing stared at him. “It’s full of my blood. I need to clean this up, before I give this back to you.”

Joonmyun carefully folded the blooded handkerchief and put it in his pocket.

“Thank you, Yixing-ah.” Joonmyun said quietly. Yixing paused to take in the moment that Joonmyun said his name.

“You never came, Joonmyun.” Yixing suddenly said.

Joonmyun was surprised that Yixing was the one who brought up the topic. “I’m really sorry Yixing-ah. There is no excuse that I could ever say to make things better between us.”

“But it’s okay now, isn’t it?” Yixing said bitterly. “We both moved on with our lives.”

Joonmyun stared at Yixing. “Do you hate me?”

“I don’t even know if I’m feeling anything towards you right now.” Yixing said. He knows deep inside he was lying, and he does not know why he’s doing it.

“Oh.” Joonmyun’s voice sounded hurt. “Okay.”

“Listen,” Yixing said. “I need to go now, you’re okay now right?”

Joonmyun nodded. Yixing walked towards the door, but before he could turn the knob, Joonmyun spoke up.

“Yixing-ah,” Joonmyun called. “You’re not waiting for me anymore, are you?”

Kris was sitting alone in the VIP room drinking scotch, when the door suddenly opened.

“Oh,” Yixing was about to enter the room when he noticed Kris inside. “I’m sorry, President. I’ll just leave.”

“Wait.” Kris called him. “Join me for a drink.”

Yixing sat awkwardly beside Kris. Kris poured a glass of scotch for Yixing too.

“Have you ever waited for someone?” Kris asked Yixing. “Like you’re not even certain if that person will come, but you keep on waiting and waiting. You have all these scenarios playing in your head for when they come back. You know what to say, you know what to do, but in the end, it does not turn out the way you want, does it?”

Yixing sat silently beside Kris. Yes, he did know how it felt. He was quite surprised to see the President in a very vulnerable state right now. He did not even know what to say.

“I don’t even know what to do.” Kris continued. “When I saw him, I just wanted to just run to him and hug him and kiss him and just never let him go again. But in the end, my pride screwed me up. I screwed everything up.”

“President…” Yixing said. He did not finish his sentence when Kris suddenly crashed his lips onto his. Yixing was surprised when he felt himself returning the kiss. The both of them did not even care. They were just aware of the neediness that they were feeling at the moment.

Sehun sat himself beside the bar. He sighed as he read the message on his phone. He knows it’s from a random girl he probably played with a few nights ago. But he can’t seem to remember her name. He decided to just reply some random cheesy line that she probably wanted to hear. He smiled to himself as he imagined her reaction to his mail. While waiting for her reply, he decided to order a beer. As he absentmindedly reached for the bottle, he felt another hand reaching for the beer as well.

Sehun took his hand away, “Whoops, sorry. I thought it was mine.”

“It’s okay.” the stranger smiled at him. “It’s really yours.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Sehun looked confused.

 “The beer, it’s yours.” The stranger said while laughing softly. “I was just kidding you.”

“Why?” Sehun smiled teasingly. He slowly set aside the bottle of beer and moved his face closer to the guy in front of him.

The stranger raised one of his eyebrows, but he did not move. “Well, you seem to be focusing a lot on your phone; it’s the only way I could get your attention.”

“Why do you want to get my attention?” Sehun asked with a wide grin on his face.

“Does it matter?” The stranger answered. “You’re looking at me right now.”

Sehun was about to answer, when his phone rang. He looked at the message. The stranger made a face. “Getting some tonight?”

“I don’t know.” Sehun put his phone down, and turned again to the guy. “Am I?”

“I’m Luhan.” Luhan held out his hand.

Sehun looked surprised. “Sehun.” He shook Luhan’s hands. “And that was totally unexpected, and random.”

Luhan chuckled. “I want you to know my name, because I wanted to know yours.”

“Really?” Sehun asked in a hushed voice, that only Luhan could hear. “What if I gave you a fake name?”

 Luhan rolled his eyes. “I’ll take what I can get.”

“You’re interesting.” Sehun smiled happily.

“I know.” Luhan said coolly. “Wanna get out of here?”

“Sure,” Sehun stood up and intertwined his fingers with Luhan’s. “Follow me.”

They slowly made their way through the crowd. Luhan grinned to himself as he looked at his and Sehun’s hands. He liked the way how Sehun held them tightly. They exited the building and walked quietly outside. Neither one of them said anything. Luhan was expecting that Sehun will bring him to his car, but he did not. They just walked and walked and walked until they reached a park nearby. After making sure they were alone, Sehun finally let go of Luhan’s hands and ran to the swings. Luhan ran after him and they played silently.

“I can’t believe you followed me.” Sehun was laughing. “What if I turned out to be a bad person?”

“Seriously?” Luhan said exasperatedly. “You’re asking me that? I was the one who flirted with you first! You can take me anywhere you want.”

“That’s a good point.” Sehun nodded.

“So how many girls have you brought here?” Luhan asked with a slight tone of annoyance. “Or… how many guys??”

Sehun shrugged. “I guess it really doesn’t matter to me whether it’s a girl or a guy, but in all honestly, I have never brought anyone here.”

“Ugh,” Luhan rolled his eyes. “So how many times have you practiced that line? Seriously.”

“You won’t ever believe that I can be a sensitive, caring guy?” Sehun pretended to be hurt.

“No,” Luhan stuck his tongue out. “You don’t seem the type.”

“Yet you took all the effort to get me.”Sehun slowed his swinging using his feet to stop.

“Exactly.” Luhan stopped as well. “That’s exactly why you’re perfect. You don’t want anything serious.”

“You seem like you were the type to be hoping to find the right man and have a happy ever after, and all that bull.” Sehun said.

“Tch,” Luhan pouted and pretending to barf. “I don’t even believe in that stuff. I mean, what is love really, anyway?”

“Interesting.” Sehun nodded absentmindedly. “Did someone break your heart?”

“Oh, please stop the drama.” Luhan said. “You don’t seem to believe in it yourself.”

Sehun laughed. “Well, I enjoy games. Besides, I think love is not for me.”

“Really~?” Luhan said playfully. “So you’re like me.”

“Ever been in a relationship?” Sehun said, but Luhan shook his head.

“No. I told you, it’s not for me. You?”

“Nah. Never.” Sehun shook his head as well.

“So what will you do in the future? Roam this world alone, like me?” Luhan laughed bitterly.

“Well,” Sehun looked like he was in a deep thought. “I’m pretty sure my dad’s gonna make me marry some daughter of some CEO someday.”

“Aha!” Luhan’s eyes widened. “So you’re one of those guys! You pretty much make sense now.”

“Yeah, well.” Sehun answered. “I’m pretty much gonna have to do it anyway.”

“Do you think somehow you’re gonna fall in love with your future wife?”

“Fat chance.” Sehun answered sarcastically. “Is that even possible? Maybe yes, maybe no, I don’t know.”

“Wanna bet?” Luhan asked.

“What do you mean?” Sehun asked confusedly.

“Like the two of us,” Luhan explained. “Let’s be in a relationship.”

“What the hell?” Sehun was shocked. “I thought you don’t believe in relationships?”

Luhan felt frustrated. “That’s not it. It’s a bet. We’ll just play a game.”

“How exactly would we even do it?” Sehun was finally interested.

“Basically,” Luhan went on. “We’ll be a couple, doing all those lovey-dovey stuff. You know, but of course, feelings will never be involved… No strings attached… So, the one that falls in love first loses. Once one of us falls, then it will be game over.”

“That’s crazy, but I like it.” Sehun chuckled. “You’re crazy, by the way.”

Luhan nodded in agreement. “I know I am.”

“What do I get if I win?” Sehun asked.

“So you’re already assuming you’ll win?” Luhan said defensively. “The winner gets nothing, except for the enjoyment of the game, and the loser gets his first heartbreak. Ha-ha.”

“I’m pretty sure you’ll fall in love with me.” Sehun said confidently.

“Ooooh…” Luhan cooed. “Competitive, I like it.”

“So we’ll really do it?” Sehun smiled at Luhan.

“Why not?” Luhan returned the smile. “Deal?”

“Deal.”

They did not talk for a few minutes. They just went on swinging. But Luhan suddenly thought of something.

“So your real name is Sehun?” Luhan asked.

“I thought it doesn’t matter?”

“Well, you’re pretty much my boyfriend now, so I need to know.”

“Don’t worry, it’s my real name.”

“Good, because I thought I was the only one who told the truth.”

They both smiled, when suddenly Sehun’s phone rang. When Sehun pulled out his phone, Luhan got up from the swing and snatched Sehun’s phone. He took one look at the caller ID and turned it off. Sehun looked at him in awe.

Chanyeol decided to get some fresh air just for a little bit. He went to the rooftop of the venue. Chanyeol felt the cold night air as he lied down on the ground. He looked at the stars and cleared his mind. This is what he needed: some peace and quiet. As he slowly immersed himself to the beauty of the night, he heard a noise. He suddenly became aware of his surroundings. He looked around, and suddenly found figure standing dangerously near the railings. The person then started to shout nonsense at the top of his voice. Feeling a sudden sense of panic, he decided to approach the person. As he went near him, he realized that this person is holding a bottle of champagne, and was drinking straight from the bottle.

Chanyeol shook his head as he went near him. He actually felt annoyed that he was disturbed by this person. Quite frankly, he is not in the mood to see someone committing suicide in his presence.

“Hey!” He shouted. “What are you doing there?”

The boy stopped yelling and turned to him. Even though it was dark, Chanyeol was able to recognize this person.

This guy is really wasted. Chanyeol cannot help thinking when he looked at the flushed face of the guy standing before him

“You’re Lay’s manager, right?” Chanyeol asked.

Baekhyun continued to stare at him, and drank another gulp of champagne. “I’m drunk.” And he gave a small chuckle.

Well, that’s pretty obvious isn’t it? Chanyeol thought. “Yes you are. And I think you need to stop now.” He attempted to snatch the bottle, but Baekhyun slapped his hand away.

“Mind your own business.” Baekhyun said as he moved away Chanyeol. He leaned towards the railings.

“Are you supposed to be drinking this much?” Chanyeol said.

“Who are you, my mom?” Baekhyun answered, he was feeling hazier now.

Chanyeol knew he would get in trouble if he did not put a stop into this, so he attempted to approach the drunken boy again. However, Baekhyun looked at him threateningly and pointed a finger to him.

“If you come near me one more time, I swear I’m going to jump!”

Chanyeol, who was starting to feel annoyed by everything that is happening, asked him bluntly; all his respect for the boy was down the drain. “Why? Why do you want to jump? Why are you even drunk in the first place?!”

Baekhyun shot a look at him, and then replied. “I want to die. Now go away!”

Chanyeol had enough. He glared at the boy, and he finally turned his back. If he gets in trouble, then it, he does not care anymore.

But before he left, he said. “Fine, go jump from this building. I guess the world could do a lot better without you. It’s people like you who I hated the most.”

Baekhyun watched Chanyeol as he walked away. It took some time when he understood what he just heard. Feeling some sort of resentment towards Chanyeol, he decided to chase after him. He began to sway as he walked, but he is determined to give the guy from earlier a piece of his mind. Finally, he found Chanyeol walking towards the elevators nonchalantly. For some odd reason, it annoyed him more.

“You!” Baekhyun shouted as he threw his almost empty bottle of champagne towards Chanyeol. Fortunately, Chanyeol turned around just in time to dodge the bottle. His eyes widened as he looked at Baekhyun.

“Hey! That’s dangerous! What’s your problem?!” Chanyeol shouted as Baekhyun walked towards him.

“How dare you say you hate me?!” Baekhyun yelled at him. “You don’t even know me!”

Luckily, everyone is downstairs at the party. No one is around to see the two of them.

Chanyeol was speechless. This situation was getting too unbelievable for him.

“Answer me!” Baekhyun demanded. He was starting to feel impatient as Chanyeol continued to stare at him.

Finally, Chanyeol found his composure and smirked. “Wow, I’m amazed I did not realize it earlier, but dude, you are crazy.” He started to walk away again.

“What the…” Baekhyun was appalled by the guy’s words. He ran after Chanyeol, and he finally caught his arm. Chanyeol was too fast for Baekhyun. He immediately pinned the drunken boy against the wall.

“Why are you still here?” Chanyeol hissed at Baekhyun. It was almost a whisper. “Didn’t you have some jumping from the building thing to do earlier?”

This was the first time that the two of them looked at each other’s eyes. Baekhyun was quite intimidated by Chanyeol’s glare. It does not help either that Chanyeol is holding on tight to both of Baekhyun’s arms that he could not move an inch. But his pride did not allow his to show his fear to the guy holding him.

“Let me go!” Baekhyun demanded. He could not turn away from Chanyeol.

“You were the one who chased after me.” Chanyeol said coolly. “I’m listening now. Tell me what you have to say.”

As every second passes, Baekhyun is starting to hate the guy more. He started to struggle from Chanyeol’s grip, but the dizziness from the alcohol he drank from earlier is certainly not helping him in this situation.

Chanyeol meanwhile realized that he got carried away from the situation, and started loosening his grip from Baekhyun. He put his arms down and moved a step back. However, Baekhyun suddenly slapped him.

A slap on the face? That was unexpected. Chanyeol thought as he rubbed his cheeks. He almost laughed at Baekhyun’s action.

“You,” Baekhyun said as his vision turned hazy. “I hate you...”

With that, he threw up in front of Chanyeol, and passed out. Chanyeol sighed as he caught the Baekhyun before he collapsed on the messy floor. He carried the boy on his back far away from the “scene of the crime”. Knowing that bringing a wasted person back in the party would just get them in trouble, he decided to call Joonmyun to ask for his help. While waiting for his friend, Chanyeol felt the sudden movement of Baekhyun’s head on his shoulders. He heard a sniff. Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun. He was sure that the boy was still sleeping. As he adjusted Baekhyun on his back, Chanyeol suddenly heard Baekhyun talking.

“Why did you leave me?”

“What the hell happened here?” Joonmyun said as he was still panting from running, but he was unusually cheerful. He looked at the mess from Baekhyun’s little “episode”.

Chanyeol shrugged. “I’ll tell you later. Meanwhile, help me figure out what to do with this guy.”

“Wait,” Joonmyun looked at Baekhyun. “He’s Yixing’s manager!”

“I know.” Chanyeol replied. “What happened to your hand?”

“Ah nothing.” Joonmyun answered. “Just a small cut.”

“Anyway, what happened to him?” Joonmyun continued. “Where did you see him?”

Joonmyun continued with his inquiries, but Chanyeol got tired from all of it. “I told you, I’ll tell you later! Let’s hurry up. This guy’s surprisingly heavy!”

Joonmyun stared at him. ‘Well, who told you to carry him? You could’ve just laid him down while you waited for me.” He was about to laugh when Chanyeol glared at him.

“Okay! Okay!” Joonmyun said innocently. “Do you want me to carry him?”

“No.” Chanyeol replied. “Check his pockets for his phone. Maybe we could call someone and get him downstairs without disrupting the party.”

Joonmyun checked Baekhyun’s pockets, and found his phone. “Here” He handed the phone to Chanyeol.

Chanyeol made a facepalm in his mind. “Are you stupid? I’m carrying a person!”

“Oh right! Right! I’m sorry!” Joonmyun said, and he began pressing keys on Baekhyun’s phone. “Wow, he’s had a lot of missed calls already.” Suddenly he called one of the numbers on the phone.

Joonmyun panicked and nearly dropped the phone. “You talk!” he said, and put the phone in Chanyeol’s ears.

Chanyeol finished talking to the person. “Come on, we’ll be bringing him to the basement parking lot.”

“Okay.” Joonmyun said. “But who did you talk to? Is it the president?”

Chanyeol could only roll his eyes at his friend’s never ending curiosity. “Yes.” He answered as they rode the elevator.

Chanyeol related to Joonmyun what happened on the rooftop. When he finished telling the story, his friend was laughing his head off.

“You mean he threw the bottle… He nearly jumped from…” Joonmyun already has tears on his eyes. “Imagine what you would have done if he threw up on you!”

Chanyeol had to admit, it was pretty funny that he actually smiled.

“He’s pretty knocked out isn’t he?” Joonmyun said when he looked at Baekhyun who was still sleeping.

“Well, he did drink a whole bottle of champagne.” Chanyeol replied as he adjusted Baekhyun on his back. “I don’t want to imagine the hangover tomo…“ He was cut off when the elevator door suddenly opened.

“Baekhyun!” someone shouted when the doors opened. He rushed immediately to the sleeping boy on Chanyeol’s back. He looked at Chanyeol. “I’m sorry for imposing too much, but can you carry him to the car? It’s nearby. I’ll be bringing him home.”

“Sure.” Chanyeol replied. He followed Kris.

I’ll be back in a few.”  He then proceeded to the car.

When he reached the car, a chauffeur helped him settle Baekhyun in the car seat. Wow, rich people really have it all.

After making sure that Baekhyun was okay, Kris approached him. “Thank you so much for taking care of Baekhyun.”

So his name is Baekhyun. Chanyeol thought. “It’s nothing, really.”

“Again, thank you.” He shook Chanyeol’s hand and got on the car.

Chanyeol returned to Joonmyun. “They left.”

Joonmyun smiled. “That’s good.”

“And now you’ll tell me what’s going on.” Chanyeol turned to his best friend.

“What do you mean?” Joonmyun tried to avoid the topic.

“You are not that cheerful.” Chanyeol said. “It’s like you’re injected with Happy Virus. Something happened.”

Joonmyun paused for a moment, and then his happy expression started to wilt away.

“Yixing is not waiting for me anymore.”

“We’re home!” Jongin shouted when he and Kyungsoo entered the empty penthouse.

“Why are you even shouting?” Kyungsoo asked. “It’s not as if anyone’s inside.”

“Don’t you think it’s fun?” Jongin smiled.

“Oh well.” Kyungsoo sighed. “I finally brought you home, so I guess I’ll go home too.”

“What?” Jongin looked up to him in surprise. “You can’t go home! It’s late!”

“It’s okay.” Kyungsoo shook his head. “I’m used to it.”

“It’s dangerous!”

“It’s really not…”

“We did not even study tonight! You need to tutor me tomorrow!”

“I can go home and return tomorrow, Jongin.”

“That’s the first time today that you said my name.” Jongin said which caught Kyungsoo off guard.

“What?” Kyungsoo said. “I didn’t notice.”

“Just sleep here.” Jongin insisted. “We have extra beddings.”

Kyungsoo sighed. He did not even know how to escape this.

“You should just give up, Kyungsoo.” Jongin said.

“He’s right, Kyungsoo,” Tao suddenly entered the penthouse. “Jongin will not give up until he sees you sleeping here.”

“I…” Kyungsoo said as the brothers cornered him. “Fine.”

Jongin smiled triumphantly, while he watched Tao lied in the couch. “What’s wrong, hyung? You seem to be really tired.”

Tao had no energy to open his eyes. “Let’s just say I became a bun slave for the night.”

Jongin and Kyungsoo looked at each other curiously, when the front door opened for the third time. Kris was carrying Baekhyun.

“Baekhyun-hyung!” Jongin gasped as Kris brought their brother inside.

Tao who was almost asleep got up immediately. “What happened to hyung?!”

“Relax, you two…” Kris explained. “He’s just had too much to drink. I’m gonna bring him to his room.”

The other three watched as Kris carried Baekhyun upstairs. When Kris was sure that Baekhyun was safely tucked in his bed, he decided to go home. He turned around to look at his sleeping cousin once again.

So they finally meet. :) Baekyeol feels anyone?

 I had so much fun writing HunHan. They're so cute! <---hardcore shipper

My cousin said it has a lot of Kaisoo moments, but I don't mind.

And then there's Taomin who's so far the most fluffy couple yet.

And lastly, the love square is finally starting. You'll see more of them mixing and matching in the future. 

I already wrote some parts of Chapter Three, I hope to post it as soon as I finish my acad related stuff.

Oh the life of a university student. :O

And EXO's in Japan right now! OT12 FTW! ^^

Thanks for reading! :D Jaa nee~