Something's Not Quite Right..
The Dark Side of Our World
Morning came faster than Tao would have expected. He spent the night in Luhan’s hotel room since he couldn’t get his key back from Lay. It didn’t occur to Tao to get a spare from the front desk until later that night, but Luhan suddenly stopped him. There was a grave look on Luhan’s face but Tao didn’t ask. He didn’t have to. Considering the recent events, Lay suddenly became the prime suspect in Tao’s mind. He wasn’t sure of anything, so he would keep his promise and pretend everything was normal.
Luhan decided he was going to talk with Suho and Kyungsoo before formally discussing the matter with Tao. The last thing they needed was Tao going on a rampage against anyone - even if Kris and Lay deserved it.
It still bothered Luhan a lot more than he expected, though. He didn’t think Lay would be the kind of person to betray his friends. It was horrible when the group of 6 went to eat dinner. Luhan couldn’t help but glare daggers whenever he looked at Lay. Tao had to pull Luhan from his thoughts before he threw something at the boy.
What was worse was the way Lay avoided Tao. Tao had tried to sit next to Lay, but Lay said he had saved the seat. When Tao tried to sit across from Lay, Lay said Xiumin was already sitting there - which turned out to be a lie because Xiumin had yet to arrive. It was apparent that Lay was guilty of something, but Tao still had to pretend nothing was wrong.
Xiumin had asked Lay what was wrong, but he merely brushed it off as having gotten into a tiff with Tao. After that, Xiumin tried to play bodyguard and stuck near Lay so he had an excuse to not be near Tao.
The only one who seemed to be enjoying himself was Kris. It wasn’t so much that he had a smile on his face, but he acted totally normal and wasn’t swayed by any of Luhan’s subtle “you have fun with Lay last night?” hints.
In the end, Luhan and Tao quietly snuck off to their room with very little to say. Kris left soon after.
Now that it was morning, Luhan took his free time talking to Suho over the phone in the privacy of his hotel room. Tao had stepped out like always to exercise and eat.
“I don’t want to believe it’s Lay. He would never do anything like that but he just...and the key...and everything that I heard...” Luhan struggled to convey his words, but Suho understood him anyway. “How could Lay do this?”
Suho was at a loss, too. Lay seemed too nice and that made Suho suspicious. “You’re sure that it was Lay?” Suho asked for the third time.
“He went straight to Tao and Kris’ room. And when I was outside I heard and-”
“Okay, I don’t need details of Lay having with someone else.”
“Oh. Right. Sorry...”
“It’s okay.” Suho sighed and brought the conversation back on topic. “We still don’t have solid proof, though. Kris and Lay will deny it. Keep looking and I’ll see if I can find anything out on my side of the team. And keep an eye on Tao for me, okay Luhan? I’ll call you if I find out anything.” Suho hung up and rolled onto his side. He was sleeping until Luhan had called. The thought of Lay having with someone else was a little sickening to Suho. He knew they were nothing official, but at the same time Suho was under the impression that as long as they were sober, he and Lay were off limits to anyone else.
Suho turned back onto his back. Something in his peripheral vision caught his attention. He glanced to the side and saw Sehun standing there. “Morning, Sehun.”
“Lay...and Kris are...”
Oh he heard... Suho got up and shut the door. He grabbed Sehun and pulled him towards the far wall. “You heard nothing, okay?”
“I...Suho what’s going-”
“Nothing, got it?” Suho hissed. He tightened his grip on Sehun’s arm not caring that Sehun was wincing from the pain. “Got it?!”
Sehun pulled back into himself. “Hyung, you’re hurting me...!”
“Nothing. Is. Going. On. Understand me?”
“Yes! Yes! Hyung, please!” Sehun shouted as he kept trying to pull away. Suho finally let go when a knock on their door interrupted them.
“You guys okay in there? I heard screaming.”
Suho opened the door. “It’s nothing, Kyungsoo. Actually, I need to talk to you in private.” Suho motioned for Sehun to leave for a bit. Before Sehun was thought the threshold, however, Suho grabbed him again and squeezed hard. He locked eyes with the younger boy before letting him leave. Suho shut the door again and invited Kyungsoo to take a seat. “I have news for you.”
“Would it have anything to do with you trying to kill Sehun with your eyes?”
“No. Well...yes. We have a slight complication now. But Luhan just called and said Lay is our prime suspect.”
“Great! We can-”
“But Luhan doesn’t have any more proof than you do. And now Sehun knows that Kris is not as good of a guy as we thought. Give Luhan a call later so he can explain everything to you in more detail.”
Kyungsoo groaned at the thought of it all. He was failing pretty badly at the whole “don’t trust anyone” and “don’t let anyone else know” bits. And even with people on his side, he seemed to be stuck in limbo.
The two boys dismissed themselves from the room. They saw Sehun putting on his shoes and jacket with a dazed look in his eyes before he slipped out - likely to meet with Luhan. They were going to have to keep an eye on Sehun from now on, but they trusted that Luhan could handle things. Suho and Kyungsoo were going to leave until Kai got up and approached them.
“Hyung, can I talk to you for a bit?”
~~~~~
Chanyeol woke up with a heavy weight on his chest. He was confused until he looked down and was met with a tuft of hair. Then he remembered that Baekhyun crawled into bed late the night before. The shorter male was still sleeping, so Chanyeol remained where he was and held Baekhyun tighter to himself.
Chanyeol really liked these moments. Sure the bubbly and hyperactive side of Baekhyun was fun, but there was something really pleasing about seeing Baekhyun calm and not trying to put on a show for everyone. It was a side Baekhyun seemed to save for Chanyeol’s eyes only.
A few minutes passed before Baekhyun started waking up. “mm...m’ngh...” Baekhyun tried burying himself further into Chanyeol’s chest.
“Morning~!” Chanyeol sat up with Baekhyun still on top of him and tried to pour some of his energy into Baekhyun with a good morning kiss. “Where were you last night? You were out until almost midnight.”
Baekhyun yawned before answering. “I was not. And I was just out...running a few laps at...at the park.” There was a little bit of hesitation in Baekhyun’s voice, but Chanyeol seemed to miss it.
“Running makes you ?”
“No!” Baekhyun shoved a pillow in Chanyeol’s face. “Why would you say something like that...”
Chanyeol tried to pry the cushion from his face, but the odd position they were in made it hard to. “Because when you came back you-”
“Yahh!” Baekhyun pushed the pillow even harder. “I wasn’t any hornier than normal.” Baekhyun got up and walked to his closet.
“Well you’ve been doing something different. Lately your drive is all over the place and, though I’m not arguing, it’s almost too much. Like how in the world am I keeping up with your insatiable libido?”
“I just...I just...wait, did you just...”
“I have a larger vocabulary than you think, thank you very much.” Chanyeol pouted. “And you’ve been out a lot more lately. I swear you’re gone twice as often as normal, and equally hornier than I remember.”
Baekhyun just changed his clothes without a word.
“Everything okay, Baekhyun?”
“Yeah. I’ll see you later.” Baekhyun shut the door behind himself, leaving Chanyeol to his confusion.
~~~~~
Lay left the hotel and made his way to the SM building on his own. How he got there with as few interruptions and fan sightings was beyond him, but he wasn’t complaining. Lay just needed to blow off some steam and dancing was the best thing for him. There was always an open studio for anyone who wanted to practice freely. Lay made a beeline to that room. Fortunately it was empty. Lay liked having an audience most of the time, but today was not one of those days.
Lay plugged his mp3 playing into the sound system and threw together a quick playlist. After some routine stretches, Lay got to work. He had been working with some of the choreographers and Kai to make the dance for their comeback, so Lay started experimenting with moves and beats.
“You said you wanted to take things into your own hands. Go ahead. Take it.”
The sudden memory of last night hit Lay as his feet slipped out from under him.
“Kris what...why is he...”
Lay got up. He was determined to push the images out of his mind.
“You said you already knew. But no one would believe you, would they? That’s why you didn’t say .”
Lay could feel it. His dancing felt angry. He didn’t have to look in the mirror to know his moves embodied every ounce of frustration Kris suddenly dropped onto him.
“Kris! Stop this right now! And of all people, why with-”
“Lay?”
Lay looked at the door through the mirror. At the door was a thin framed boy. He turned around to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. They weren’t. “...Baekhyun...”
~~~~~
Kai and Suho ended up going back up to Suho’s room while Kyungsoo sat down and waited for Suho to come out. Kai was acting shy. More shy than normal, that is. He was fairly quiet in the dorms, but something about him was even more subdued than normal.
“Why have you and Kyungsoo been really close lately?”
Suho laughed at Kai’s question. “Uh...we’ve always been close, Kai. Remember? Mom and dad of the group? You’re not jealous, are you?”
“No, it’s just uh...did he say anything weird to you about me or Luhan lately?”
To this, Suho just shook his head. There was nothing that Kyungsoo had mentioned outside of the Kris issues, and Luhan seemed to be fairly normal outside of the scheduling mishap. Then a light went off in his head.
“Donghae told me he saw Luhan at the company and he was acting kinda edgy and freaking out...that’s why I really didn’t want you around, Luhan. I thought maybe you were the guilty one.”
“What happened between you and Luhan the other night?”
“No-nothing.” Kai turned to leave but Suho stopped him. “Hyung, I-”
“You’ve been complaining about Kyungsoo sneaking around behind your back. Something happened between you and Luhan and that’s why you’re curious, aren’t you? You haven’t said anything about it to Kyungsoo. Tell me what happened right now.”
“Okay! Just promise you won’t tell Kyungsoo. Or Luhan. Or Sehun. I’d like to live a few more years and not get killed by the group’s mom, pretty boy, and baby.” Kai sat down and muttered something into his hands.
“Come again?”
“I said I may or may not have had a little too much fun with Luhan that night.”
Suho rolled his eyes. “We were all a drunk - or at least tipsy - and we’ve kind of resigned ourselves to whatever crazy things happen. We agreed a long time ago that whatever happens when we’re not sober isn’t something we can hold grudges against.” He opened the door, but Kai quickly kicked it shut.
“Luhan was the only drunk one. I was still totally sober.”
Suho whipped his head around. “Okay, that’s very different.” Suho paused a moment. “But Luhan can hold his alcohol pretty well. And he was even with Kris and Baekhyun helping everyone inside.”
“He sobered up part way through the night. But he hadn’t had much to eat that day because he was still worrying about being...uh...” Kai hesitated. He stumbled over an excuse but Suho knew that Kai knew.
“Luhan was up for probation. I know. He had that schedule conflict and it wasn’t completely sorted out until a day or two ago. So what about it?”
Kai was surprised that Suho knew, but he kept going on with his story. “He was...really panicking and didn’t get the news about it until after that night. I couldn’t find Sehun and I guess I had a little alcohol in my system but I was totally fine and knew what I was doing and I started kissing Luhan cause it was the first thing I thought of to get him to relax and we kind of got heated and it seemed he didn’t even remember but then Kyungsoo asked me about Luhan and-” Kai would have kept going but a hand over his mouth stopped him.
Suho was rubbing his temples with his free hand. “And Luhan really doesn’t know?” Kai shook his head. “You are so dead...”
Kai ripped Suho’s hand from his face. “I said don’t tell them! I’ll talk to Kyungsoo about it...I just need a little time to gather my thoughts.”
“Like with Chanyeol and-?”
“Will you all let that go?!” It was more of a command than a request. “I know I screwed up. I know I’ve done stupid things! It’s not easy being 19 and having everyone scream at my face when we’re on stage! Sometimes...sometimes it’s too much...and I hate myself for what I do because I feel so confused...”
Suho was speechless. He knew they were in a stressful position. But for Kai, it had to be even harder. He was one of the main visuals. He was the first thrown into public eye. He was the most publicised member until their debut. He just graduated high school, but had been training for years. Jongin was so young and innocent, but the demands of the fans and industry pushed him into a dark hole - into “Kai”. And now, the hybrid existence of Jongin’s innocence and Kai’s stress was finding comfort and relief in alcohol and - it was a dangerous path and Suho realized Jongin needed help before Jongin completely drowned.
Kai took in a deep breath before continuing. “I’ll talk to all of them soon. I just needed a little bit of time to figure out what to say and how to apologize. But now I’m curious. Why was he concerned about Luhan? And why has he been over at Super Junior Land all the time?”
Suho looked at Kai dead in the eyes. He pulled out his phone and held it out for Kai. “First, you tell Kyungsoo, Luhan, and Sehun everything right now. Second, we’re going to work on your stress and drinking issues because I can’t let all this crazy keep happening to you. Third,” Suho opened the door and made sure no one was around. He turned around and knelt down in front of Kai. “Well, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about Kris having with anyone, do you?”
~~~~~
It was a very uncomfortable phone call for Luhan. It went bad when he heard Kyungsoo trying to beat Kai with a pillow over the phone. And it went even worse when Luhan had to physically control Sehun and keep him from going back to his house so he could strangle Kai. In the midst of it all, Sehun knocked Luhan hard in the face with his elbow. It wasn’t a bad hit, but Luhan managed to cut his lips with his teeth and needed a little medical attention.
The two went to find their manager to explain the incident before riding back to the EXO-K dorm. Sehun promised not to hurt Kai, but Luhan had his doubts. He had his own issues with Kai, but let it slide. Kai fessed up. Kris and Lay, on the other hand, were keeping their lips sealed.
When Luhan was certain the air was clear and no one would try to hurt Kai, he left for the hotel. It was a quick ride. Luhan went up the elevator and walked down to his room.
“Luhan Ge! I-” Tao jogged to Luhan but immediately stopped at the sight of Luhan’s cut up lip and swollen cheek. “What happened? Did someone hit you?”
“No, it was just an accident. Don’t worry about it. I’m going to talk to our manager and get some ice for it.” Luhan quickly walked off. Tao watched as Luhan went away. He was unconvinced, but knew that Luhan was the kind of person who could handle himself. Luhan might be cute and baby-faced, but he was strong and protective when needed.
Tao turned around when he remembered he wanted to talk to Luhan. “Ge!”
“Tao, it’s a hotel. Not so loud...” Luhan said gently. “What is it?”
“I’m going to talk to Lay. I’m sorry, I can’t not talk to him. It’s clearly awkward between us and I have the right to know why he-”
“Tao, don’t. We’ve got the plan with Kyungsoo and Suho.”
“Ge!”
“Tao, that’s final. We have it under control and we’d like to keep it that way. I care about you and I agree you have the right to know, but there’s a lot more at stake than your relationship. Lay’s reputation, Kris’ reputation, and Kyungsoo’s reputation are all on the line, and if there’s a missing link anywhere and this all turns out to be a misunderstanding, then people are going to get unnecessarily hurt.”
“So it’s okay if I get hurt?!” Tao lashed out at Luhan. “Is me being hurt “necessary” for everyone? It’s okay if I just sit around wondering if I’ve been lied to and used by someone I really care about?!”
Luhan tried to calm Tao down. “I didn’t mean that. You know I didn’t mean it like that, Tao.”
“Well sorry I’m such a kid.”
“Okay, I know I didn’t say that. Tao, let’s go talk somewhere private so you can calm down.”
“I’m going downstairs.” Tao pushed Luhan aside and made his way to the elevator. Luhan rolled his eyes and allowed Tao to calm down in his own way.
~~~~~
Kyungsoo and Sehun were still mad at Kai. And they were totally justified. So it was a shock to Sehun and Kai that Kyungsoo just calmly sat there like nothing was wrong. It was probably to Kai’s advantage that Suho had come down and helped mediate.
“Now that this is all clear, can we focus on the actual problem? Namely, Kris and Lay?”
“Suho!” Kyungsoo’s eyes grew as he tried to telepathically tell Suho to shut up.
“Kai knows, Sehun basically knows, what’s to hide?” Suho plopped himself down next to Kai. “Clearly we need to work on the group’s secret keep skills, but that’s a matter for another time. Now if you don’t mind...” That was Kyungsoo’s cue to retell his story. Suho supplemented where he could, but by now Kyungsoo had the story down and pat. It was a little scary that he was able to tell the story with a straight face and not cringe at the facts.
“...Luhan called this morning and told Suho he’s pretty sure Lay’s the guilty cheater.”
Suho spoke up. “Kyungsoo, can you call Luhan and ask him to re-explain to you all? I...don’t want to be the one to explain the Lay development.”
Kyungsoo nodded. He pulled out his phone but before he could even dial the phone went off. “Speak of the devil...Luhan, what’s up?”
“Get everyone down here at the hotel, now! No time to...Tao, stop it!” Before the line went dead, the four K members swore they heard a scream.
The sound of the door slamming shut sent another shock down their spines. They saw the back of Baekhyun running to his room. Kyungsoo followed him and called for him and Chanyeol to immediately get ready to leave.
When Baekhyun and Chanyeol finally came out, Baekhyun was clearly hiding behind Chanyeol, and Chanyeol was clearly trying to hide Baekhyun.
“Okay, fess up, what happened with you two?” Suho asked as the two normally energetic boys were as quiet as a sleeping baby. “Baekhyun, what- holy...” A large bruise on Baekhyun’s face and slight traces of blood from his nose painted Baekhyun’s naturally milky skin. “Damnit, more things to...we’ll deal with it later. Trouble at the M’s hotel. Let’s go.”
~~~~~
Lay caught a cab back to the hotel. He wasn’t in the mood to walk anymore after dancing and running into Baekhyun.
“...Baekhyun...why are you here?”
“Lay, I-”
“Don’t even.”
Lay was in a bad mood ever since he left the company building. He didn’t second guess anything that happened at the dance studio; he didn’t regret anything. But he was still mad. As he walked into the hotel, the stinging sensation in his hand started to fade. His knuckles felt swollen, but Lay didn’t care. He ran into Xiumin and Chen at the elevator and made small talk with the two Korean boys as they rode the elevator up. Luckily, neither noticed the red discoloration on his jacket sleeve.
He couldn’t say the same for Tao. The second Tao laid eyes on Lay, he rushed him and grabbed his arm. “What’s this?”
Lay wasn’t going to lie. Not to Tao. Not about this. “Blood.”
“Who’s? And don’t say your own because it isn’t.”
“Well if you’re so smart, why don’t you just tell me who’s blood is on my hand?” snapped Lay. He honestly didn’t intend to sound so brash, but his current mood wasn’t helping. Lay tried to ignore Tao, but before he realized what was happening he found himself being shoved into one of the rooms. “Tao, what’s your-” a swift right hook shut Lay up.
“Don’t you ing dare have an attitude with me.”
“Lay!!” Xiumin and Chen, who were both still with the two boys, tried to get between the two.
“Don’t defend him! He’s the reason I’ve been feeling like a piece of for so long!”
“Tao, calm down...Chen! Go get Luhan, Kris and the manager!” Chen nodded before running off, leaving Xiumin to be Lay’s sole shield. “Tao, I’m certain you guys are just having a misunderstanding. Let’s just talk about this.”
“No!” Tao tried to get past Xiumin, but he was surprisingly able to hold his ground. “I’m sick of just talking and waiting!”
In a matter of seconds, Kris was in the room and had Tao in an arm lock. “Not another move, Tao.”
“Let me go! I’m going to kill him!”
“Tao, what’s wrong with you? You aren’t normally like this.” Kris said as he tried to restrain Tao’s thrashing.
“It’s his fault! He’s the worst.” Tao turned his attention back to Lay. “I trusted you, Lay! I thought we were friends. Brothers, even!”
Kris loosened his grip enough to turn Tao around. “What’s this about Lay?”
“Like you don’t know! You were-”
“Tao, you’ve got it wrong. Kris didn’t do anything.” Lay got up. He cautiously approached Tao. “I...I’m sorry. I started the rumors about you getting replaced.”
Tao stopped attacking Kris. “You...what did you say?”
“I was jealous! I liked Kris. A lot. But you guys...it was stupid and I know it was horrible of me to do that. But...I was talking with Kris one day and it just slipped after I had a little too much to drink.” Lay cautiously stood up. “The rumors got out of hand and before I could stop it, everyone in the company knew a different version of the same story.”
Tao tried to approach Lay, but Kris kept a hold on him. “I don’t care if you were drunk. That hurt me a lot more than anything! Do you know how much I was crying because of your stupid rumor?!”
“Tao, stop yelling.” Kris tried to pull Tao outside, but Tao ripped himself from Kris’ grasp. “Tao, listen to-”
“Shut up you good for nothing cheating bastard!” Tao took a rage-filled swing at Kris, but Kris managed to duck and avoid Tao’s fist. If Tao wasn’t fueled by his anger, he probably would have hit Kris no matter what he did. But right now, Tao wasn’t thinking straight and it was showing in the way his body reacted to everything.
Luhan came back with Chen and got between Kris and Tao before anything else happened. “Tao! I told you not to do anything.”
“It’s Lay’s fault, anyway! He had blood on his hands. He’s the one who hit you, wasn’t it?”
“What? No! I told you it was an accident. Sehun elbowed be in the face earlier and that’s how I got hurt.”
“But he-”
“I was trying to tell you, Tao, that you have it all mistaken. I’m not sleeping with Kris.” Lay took a few small steps towards Tao. Tao was confused and felt a wave of guilt hit him. He was wrong. Maybe not completely, but Tao still accused Lay of something he didn’t do. It was just like Luhan said - there might be a misunderstanding and someone would get unintentionally hurt. It still wasn’t fair to Tao. He hurt a lot, but no one else-
“Tao! Kris! Lay!” Suddenly, three more bodies entered the room. Suho, Kyungsoo and Baekhyun were the first of EXO K to arrive to the room. They all came in and dispersed themselves between the respective parties. Kai and Sehun trailed in, still a little confused by everything they were told not even an hour ago. Chanyeol was lagging far behind with their manager and was still outside.
“What’s going on?”
“Tao attacked Lay and is accusing me of cheating on him.” Kris said calmly.
“But you are!” Kyungsoo and Lay screamed in unison. The two looked at each other with questioning looks.
“How did you know?” Lay asked.
“I...Kris dialed me the other night. I heard everything.”
. Kris was wide-eyed as he stuttered and stumbled over an excuse. “You’re...you’re mistaken, Kyungsoo. I didn’t have with anyone the night we went out drinking.”
“I never said anything about that night. I just said you dialed me.” Kyungsoo said adamantly.
Oh ... Kris tried to stand his ground. He silently waited for a chance to redeem himself, but there wasn’t a single opening.
“Kris, fess up.” Kyungsoo said. “We know you’re cheating on Tao. I don’t know who with, but I think it’s for everyone’s benefit if you just be honest right now.”
Kris remained quiet.
“Kris, if it’s true, then just admit it.” Suho egged him on. “If you’re stressed, then we can help you. Kai’s in the same boat. I’m going to help him-”
Kris walked towards Lay, leaving Tao in Suho’s hands. “And here I thought you might grow some balls and rat me out...”
Luhan decided he was going to talk with Suho and Kyungsoo before formally discussing the matter with Tao. The last thing they needed was Tao going on a rampage against anyone - even if Kris and Lay deserved it.
It still bothered Luhan a lot more than he expected, though. He didn’t think Lay would be the kind of person to betray his friends. It was horrible when the group of 6 went to eat dinner. Luhan couldn’t help but glare daggers whenever he looked at Lay. Tao had to pull Luhan from his thoughts before he threw something at the boy.
What was worse was the way Lay avoided Tao. Tao had tried to sit next to Lay, but Lay said he had saved the seat. When Tao tried to sit across from Lay, Lay said Xiumin was already sitting there - which turned out to be a lie because Xiumin had yet to arrive. It was apparent that Lay was guilty of something, but Tao still had to pretend nothing was wrong.
Xiumin had asked Lay what was wrong, but he merely brushed it off as having gotten into a tiff with Tao. After that, Xiumin tried to play bodyguard and stuck near Lay so he had an excuse to not be near Tao.
The only one who seemed to be enjoying himself was Kris. It wasn’t so much that he had a smile on his face, but he acted totally normal and wasn’t swayed by any of Luhan’s subtle “you have fun with Lay last night?” hints.
In the end, Luhan and Tao quietly snuck off to their room with very little to say. Kris left soon after.
Now that it was morning, Luhan took his free time talking to Suho over the phone in the privacy of his hotel room. Tao had stepped out like always to exercise and eat.
“I don’t want to believe it’s Lay. He would never do anything like that but he just...and the key...and everything that I heard...” Luhan struggled to convey his words, but Suho understood him anyway. “How could Lay do this?”
Suho was at a loss, too. Lay seemed too nice and that made Suho suspicious. “You’re sure that it was Lay?” Suho asked for the third time.
“He went straight to Tao and Kris’ room. And when I was outside I heard and-”
“Okay, I don’t need details of Lay having with someone else.”
“Oh. Right. Sorry...”
“It’s okay.” Suho sighed and brought the conversation back on topic. “We still don’t have solid proof, though. Kris and Lay will deny it. Keep looking and I’ll see if I can find anything out on my side of the team. And keep an eye on Tao for me, okay Luhan? I’ll call you if I find out anything.” Suho hung up and rolled onto his side. He was sleeping until Luhan had called. The thought of Lay having with someone else was a little sickening to Suho. He knew they were nothing official, but at the same time Suho was under the impression that as long as they were sober, he and Lay were off limits to anyone else.
Suho turned back onto his back. Something in his peripheral vision caught his attention. He glanced to the side and saw Sehun standing there. “Morning, Sehun.”
“Lay...and Kris are...”
Oh he heard... Suho got up and shut the door. He grabbed Sehun and pulled him towards the far wall. “You heard nothing, okay?”
“I...Suho what’s going-”
“Nothing, got it?” Suho hissed. He tightened his grip on Sehun’s arm not caring that Sehun was wincing from the pain. “Got it?!”
Sehun pulled back into himself. “Hyung, you’re hurting me...!”
“Nothing. Is. Going. On. Understand me?”
“Yes! Yes! Hyung, please!” Sehun shouted as he kept trying to pull away. Suho finally let go when a knock on their door interrupted them.
“You guys okay in there? I heard screaming.”
Suho opened the door. “It’s nothing, Kyungsoo. Actually, I need to talk to you in private.” Suho motioned for Sehun to leave for a bit. Before Sehun was thought the threshold, however, Suho grabbed him again and squeezed hard. He locked eyes with the younger boy before letting him leave. Suho shut the door again and invited Kyungsoo to take a seat. “I have news for you.”
“Would it have anything to do with you trying to kill Sehun with your eyes?”
“No. Well...yes. We have a slight complication now. But Luhan just called and said Lay is our prime suspect.”
“Great! We can-”
“But Luhan doesn’t have any more proof than you do. And now Sehun knows that Kris is not as good of a guy as we thought. Give Luhan a call later so he can explain everything to you in more detail.”
Kyungsoo groaned at the thought of it all. He was failing pretty badly at the whole “don’t trust anyone” and “don’t let anyone else know” bits. And even with people on his side, he seemed to be stuck in limbo.
The two boys dismissed themselves from the room. They saw Sehun putting on his shoes and jacket with a dazed look in his eyes before he slipped out - likely to meet with Luhan. They were going to have to keep an eye on Sehun from now on, but they trusted that Luhan could handle things. Suho and Kyungsoo were going to leave until Kai got up and approached them.
“Hyung, can I talk to you for a bit?”
~~~~~
Chanyeol woke up with a heavy weight on his chest. He was confused until he looked down and was met with a tuft of hair. Then he remembered that Baekhyun crawled into bed late the night before. The shorter male was still sleeping, so Chanyeol remained where he was and held Baekhyun tighter to himself.
Chanyeol really liked these moments. Sure the bubbly and hyperactive side of Baekhyun was fun, but there was something really pleasing about seeing Baekhyun calm and not trying to put on a show for everyone. It was a side Baekhyun seemed to save for Chanyeol’s eyes only.
A few minutes passed before Baekhyun started waking up. “mm...m’ngh...” Baekhyun tried burying himself further into Chanyeol’s chest.
“Morning~!” Chanyeol sat up with Baekhyun still on top of him and tried to pour some of his energy into Baekhyun with a good morning kiss. “Where were you last night? You were out until almost midnight.”
Baekhyun yawned before answering. “I was not. And I was just out...running a few laps at...at the park.” There was a little bit of hesitation in Baekhyun’s voice, but Chanyeol seemed to miss it.
“Running makes you ?”
“No!” Baekhyun shoved a pillow in Chanyeol’s face. “Why would you say something like that...”
Chanyeol tried to pry the cushion from his face, but the odd position they were in made it hard to. “Because when you came back you-”
“Yahh!” Baekhyun pushed the pillow even harder. “I wasn’t any hornier than normal.” Baekhyun got up and walked to his closet.
“Well you’ve been doing something different. Lately your drive is all over the place and, though I’m not arguing, it’s almost too much. Like how in the world am I keeping up with your insatiable libido?”
“I just...I just...wait, did you just...”
“I have a larger vocabulary than you think, thank you very much.” Chanyeol pouted. “And you’ve been out a lot more lately. I swear you’re gone twice as often as normal, and equally hornier than I remember.”
Baekhyun just changed his clothes without a word.
“Everything okay, Baekhyun?”
“Yeah. I’ll see you later.” Baekhyun shut the door behind himself, leaving Chanyeol to his confusion.
~~~~~
Lay left the hotel and made his way to the SM building on his own. How he got there with as few interruptions and fan sightings was beyond him, but he wasn’t complaining. Lay just needed to blow off some steam and dancing was the best thing for him. There was always an open studio for anyone who wanted to practice freely. Lay made a beeline to that room. Fortunately it was empty. Lay liked having an audience most of the time, but today was not one of those days.
Lay plugged his mp3 playing into the sound system and threw together a quick playlist. After some routine stretches, Lay got to work. He had been working with some of the choreographers and Kai to make the dance for their comeback, so Lay started experimenting with moves and beats.
“You said you wanted to take things into your own hands. Go ahead. Take it.”
The sudden memory of last night hit Lay as his feet slipped out from under him.
“Kris what...why is he...”
Lay got up. He was determined to push the images out of his mind.
“You said you already knew. But no one would believe you, would they? That’s why you didn’t say .”
Lay could feel it. His dancing felt angry. He didn’t have to look in the mirror to know his moves embodied every ounce of frustration Kris suddenly dropped onto him.
“Kris! Stop this right now! And of all people, why with-”
“Lay?”
Lay looked at the door through the mirror. At the door was a thin framed boy. He turned around to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. They weren’t. “...Baekhyun...”
~~~~~
Kai and Suho ended up going back up to Suho’s room while Kyungsoo sat down and waited for Suho to come out. Kai was acting shy. More shy than normal, that is. He was fairly quiet in the dorms, but something about him was even more subdued than normal.
“Why have you and Kyungsoo been really close lately?”
Suho laughed at Kai’s question. “Uh...we’ve always been close, Kai. Remember? Mom and dad of the group? You’re not jealous, are you?”
“No, it’s just uh...did he say anything weird to you about me or Luhan lately?”
To this, Suho just shook his head. There was nothing that Kyungsoo had mentioned outside of the Kris issues, and Luhan seemed to be fairly normal outside of the scheduling mishap. Then a light went off in his head.
“Donghae told me he saw Luhan at the company and he was acting kinda edgy and freaking out...that’s why I really didn’t want you around, Luhan. I thought maybe you were the guilty one.”
“What happened between you and Luhan the other night?”
“No-nothing.” Kai turned to leave but Suho stopped him. “Hyung, I-”
“You’ve been complaining about Kyungsoo sneaking around behind your back. Something happened between you and Luhan and that’s why you’re curious, aren’t you? You haven’t said anything about it to Kyungsoo. Tell me what happened right now.”
“Okay! Just promise you won’t tell Kyungsoo. Or Luhan. Or Sehun. I’d like to live a few more years and not get killed by the group’s mom, pretty boy, and baby.” Kai sat down and muttered something into his hands.
“Come again?”
“I said I may or may not have had a little too much fun with Luhan that night.”
Suho rolled his eyes. “We were all a drunk - or at least tipsy - and we’ve kind of resigned ourselves to whatever crazy things happen. We agreed a long time ago that whatever happens when we’re not sober isn’t something we can hold grudges against.” He opened the door, but Kai quickly kicked it shut.
“Luhan was the only drunk one. I was still totally sober.”
Suho whipped his head around. “Okay, that’s very different.” Suho paused a moment. “But Luhan can hold his alcohol pretty well. And he was even with Kris and Baekhyun helping everyone inside.”
“He sobered up part way through the night. But he hadn’t had much to eat that day because he was still worrying about being...uh...” Kai hesitated. He stumbled over an excuse but Suho knew that Kai knew.
“Luhan was up for probation. I know. He had that schedule conflict and it wasn’t completely sorted out until a day or two ago. So what about it?”
Kai was surprised that Suho knew, but he kept going on with his story. “He was...really panicking and didn’t get the news about it until after that night. I couldn’t find Sehun and I guess I had a little alcohol in my system but I was totally fine and knew what I was doing and I started kissing Luhan cause it was the first thing I thought of to get him to relax and we kind of got heated and it seemed he didn’t even remember but then Kyungsoo asked me about Luhan and-” Kai would have kept going but a hand over his mouth stopped him.
Suho was rubbing his temples with his free hand. “And Luhan really doesn’t know?” Kai shook his head. “You are so dead...”
Kai ripped Suho’s hand from his face. “I said don’t tell them! I’ll talk to Kyungsoo about it...I just need a little time to gather my thoughts.”
“Like with Chanyeol and-?”
“Will you all let that go?!” It was more of a command than a request. “I know I screwed up. I know I’ve done stupid things! It’s not easy being 19 and having everyone scream at my face when we’re on stage! Sometimes...sometimes it’s too much...and I hate myself for what I do because I feel so confused...”
Suho was speechless. He knew they were in a stressful position. But for Kai, it had to be even harder. He was one of the main visuals. He was the first thrown into public eye. He was the most publicised member until their debut. He just graduated high school, but had been training for years. Jongin was so young and innocent, but the demands of the fans and industry pushed him into a dark hole - into “Kai”. And now, the hybrid existence of Jongin’s innocence and Kai’s stress was finding comfort and relief in alcohol and - it was a dangerous path and Suho realized Jongin needed help before Jongin completely drowned.
Kai took in a deep breath before continuing. “I’ll talk to all of them soon. I just needed a little bit of time to figure out what to say and how to apologize. But now I’m curious. Why was he concerned about Luhan? And why has he been over at Super Junior Land all the time?”
Suho looked at Kai dead in the eyes. He pulled out his phone and held it out for Kai. “First, you tell Kyungsoo, Luhan, and Sehun everything right now. Second, we’re going to work on your stress and drinking issues because I can’t let all this crazy keep happening to you. Third,” Suho opened the door and made sure no one was around. He turned around and knelt down in front of Kai. “Well, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about Kris having with anyone, do you?”
~~~~~
It was a very uncomfortable phone call for Luhan. It went bad when he heard Kyungsoo trying to beat Kai with a pillow over the phone. And it went even worse when Luhan had to physically control Sehun and keep him from going back to his house so he could strangle Kai. In the midst of it all, Sehun knocked Luhan hard in the face with his elbow. It wasn’t a bad hit, but Luhan managed to cut his lips with his teeth and needed a little medical attention.
The two went to find their manager to explain the incident before riding back to the EXO-K dorm. Sehun promised not to hurt Kai, but Luhan had his doubts. He had his own issues with Kai, but let it slide. Kai fessed up. Kris and Lay, on the other hand, were keeping their lips sealed.
When Luhan was certain the air was clear and no one would try to hurt Kai, he left for the hotel. It was a quick ride. Luhan went up the elevator and walked down to his room.
“Luhan Ge! I-” Tao jogged to Luhan but immediately stopped at the sight of Luhan’s cut up lip and swollen cheek. “What happened? Did someone hit you?”
“No, it was just an accident. Don’t worry about it. I’m going to talk to our manager and get some ice for it.” Luhan quickly walked off. Tao watched as Luhan went away. He was unconvinced, but knew that Luhan was the kind of person who could handle himself. Luhan might be cute and baby-faced, but he was strong and protective when needed.
Tao turned around when he remembered he wanted to talk to Luhan. “Ge!”
“Tao, it’s a hotel. Not so loud...” Luhan said gently. “What is it?”
“I’m going to talk to Lay. I’m sorry, I can’t not talk to him. It’s clearly awkward between us and I have the right to know why he-”
“Tao, don’t. We’ve got the plan with Kyungsoo and Suho.”
“Ge!”
“Tao, that’s final. We have it under control and we’d like to keep it that way. I care about you and I agree you have the right to know, but there’s a lot more at stake than your relationship. Lay’s reputation, Kris’ reputation, and Kyungsoo’s reputation are all on the line, and if there’s a missing link anywhere and this all turns out to be a misunderstanding, then people are going to get unnecessarily hurt.”
“So it’s okay if I get hurt?!” Tao lashed out at Luhan. “Is me being hurt “necessary” for everyone? It’s okay if I just sit around wondering if I’ve been lied to and used by someone I really care about?!”
Luhan tried to calm Tao down. “I didn’t mean that. You know I didn’t mean it like that, Tao.”
“Well sorry I’m such a kid.”
“Okay, I know I didn’t say that. Tao, let’s go talk somewhere private so you can calm down.”
“I’m going downstairs.” Tao pushed Luhan aside and made his way to the elevator. Luhan rolled his eyes and allowed Tao to calm down in his own way.
~~~~~
Kyungsoo and Sehun were still mad at Kai. And they were totally justified. So it was a shock to Sehun and Kai that Kyungsoo just calmly sat there like nothing was wrong. It was probably to Kai’s advantage that Suho had come down and helped mediate.
“Now that this is all clear, can we focus on the actual problem? Namely, Kris and Lay?”
“Suho!” Kyungsoo’s eyes grew as he tried to telepathically tell Suho to shut up.
“Kai knows, Sehun basically knows, what’s to hide?” Suho plopped himself down next to Kai. “Clearly we need to work on the group’s secret keep skills, but that’s a matter for another time. Now if you don’t mind...” That was Kyungsoo’s cue to retell his story. Suho supplemented where he could, but by now Kyungsoo had the story down and pat. It was a little scary that he was able to tell the story with a straight face and not cringe at the facts.
“...Luhan called this morning and told Suho he’s pretty sure Lay’s the guilty cheater.”
Suho spoke up. “Kyungsoo, can you call Luhan and ask him to re-explain to you all? I...don’t want to be the one to explain the Lay development.”
Kyungsoo nodded. He pulled out his phone but before he could even dial the phone went off. “Speak of the devil...Luhan, what’s up?”
“Get everyone down here at the hotel, now! No time to...Tao, stop it!” Before the line went dead, the four K members swore they heard a scream.
The sound of the door slamming shut sent another shock down their spines. They saw the back of Baekhyun running to his room. Kyungsoo followed him and called for him and Chanyeol to immediately get ready to leave.
When Baekhyun and Chanyeol finally came out, Baekhyun was clearly hiding behind Chanyeol, and Chanyeol was clearly trying to hide Baekhyun.
“Okay, fess up, what happened with you two?” Suho asked as the two normally energetic boys were as quiet as a sleeping baby. “Baekhyun, what- holy...” A large bruise on Baekhyun’s face and slight traces of blood from his nose painted Baekhyun’s naturally milky skin. “Damnit, more things to...we’ll deal with it later. Trouble at the M’s hotel. Let’s go.”
~~~~~
Lay caught a cab back to the hotel. He wasn’t in the mood to walk anymore after dancing and running into Baekhyun.
“...Baekhyun...why are you here?”
“Lay, I-”
“Don’t even.”
Lay was in a bad mood ever since he left the company building. He didn’t second guess anything that happened at the dance studio; he didn’t regret anything. But he was still mad. As he walked into the hotel, the stinging sensation in his hand started to fade. His knuckles felt swollen, but Lay didn’t care. He ran into Xiumin and Chen at the elevator and made small talk with the two Korean boys as they rode the elevator up. Luckily, neither noticed the red discoloration on his jacket sleeve.
He couldn’t say the same for Tao. The second Tao laid eyes on Lay, he rushed him and grabbed his arm. “What’s this?”
Lay wasn’t going to lie. Not to Tao. Not about this. “Blood.”
“Who’s? And don’t say your own because it isn’t.”
“Well if you’re so smart, why don’t you just tell me who’s blood is on my hand?” snapped Lay. He honestly didn’t intend to sound so brash, but his current mood wasn’t helping. Lay tried to ignore Tao, but before he realized what was happening he found himself being shoved into one of the rooms. “Tao, what’s your-” a swift right hook shut Lay up.
“Don’t you ing dare have an attitude with me.”
“Lay!!” Xiumin and Chen, who were both still with the two boys, tried to get between the two.
“Don’t defend him! He’s the reason I’ve been feeling like a piece of for so long!”
“Tao, calm down...Chen! Go get Luhan, Kris and the manager!” Chen nodded before running off, leaving Xiumin to be Lay’s sole shield. “Tao, I’m certain you guys are just having a misunderstanding. Let’s just talk about this.”
“No!” Tao tried to get past Xiumin, but he was surprisingly able to hold his ground. “I’m sick of just talking and waiting!”
In a matter of seconds, Kris was in the room and had Tao in an arm lock. “Not another move, Tao.”
“Let me go! I’m going to kill him!”
“Tao, what’s wrong with you? You aren’t normally like this.” Kris said as he tried to restrain Tao’s thrashing.
“It’s his fault! He’s the worst.” Tao turned his attention back to Lay. “I trusted you, Lay! I thought we were friends. Brothers, even!”
Kris loosened his grip enough to turn Tao around. “What’s this about Lay?”
“Like you don’t know! You were-”
“Tao, you’ve got it wrong. Kris didn’t do anything.” Lay got up. He cautiously approached Tao. “I...I’m sorry. I started the rumors about you getting replaced.”
Tao stopped attacking Kris. “You...what did you say?”
“I was jealous! I liked Kris. A lot. But you guys...it was stupid and I know it was horrible of me to do that. But...I was talking with Kris one day and it just slipped after I had a little too much to drink.” Lay cautiously stood up. “The rumors got out of hand and before I could stop it, everyone in the company knew a different version of the same story.”
Tao tried to approach Lay, but Kris kept a hold on him. “I don’t care if you were drunk. That hurt me a lot more than anything! Do you know how much I was crying because of your stupid rumor?!”
“Tao, stop yelling.” Kris tried to pull Tao outside, but Tao ripped himself from Kris’ grasp. “Tao, listen to-”
“Shut up you good for nothing cheating bastard!” Tao took a rage-filled swing at Kris, but Kris managed to duck and avoid Tao’s fist. If Tao wasn’t fueled by his anger, he probably would have hit Kris no matter what he did. But right now, Tao wasn’t thinking straight and it was showing in the way his body reacted to everything.
Luhan came back with Chen and got between Kris and Tao before anything else happened. “Tao! I told you not to do anything.”
“It’s Lay’s fault, anyway! He had blood on his hands. He’s the one who hit you, wasn’t it?”
“What? No! I told you it was an accident. Sehun elbowed be in the face earlier and that’s how I got hurt.”
“But he-”
“I was trying to tell you, Tao, that you have it all mistaken. I’m not sleeping with Kris.” Lay took a few small steps towards Tao. Tao was confused and felt a wave of guilt hit him. He was wrong. Maybe not completely, but Tao still accused Lay of something he didn’t do. It was just like Luhan said - there might be a misunderstanding and someone would get unintentionally hurt. It still wasn’t fair to Tao. He hurt a lot, but no one else-
“Tao! Kris! Lay!” Suddenly, three more bodies entered the room. Suho, Kyungsoo and Baekhyun were the first of EXO K to arrive to the room. They all came in and dispersed themselves between the respective parties. Kai and Sehun trailed in, still a little confused by everything they were told not even an hour ago. Chanyeol was lagging far behind with their manager and was still outside.
“What’s going on?”
“Tao attacked Lay and is accusing me of cheating on him.” Kris said calmly.
“But you are!” Kyungsoo and Lay screamed in unison. The two looked at each other with questioning looks.
“How did you know?” Lay asked.
“I...Kris dialed me the other night. I heard everything.”
. Kris was wide-eyed as he stuttered and stumbled over an excuse. “You’re...you’re mistaken, Kyungsoo. I didn’t have with anyone the night we went out drinking.”
“I never said anything about that night. I just said you dialed me.” Kyungsoo said adamantly.
Oh ... Kris tried to stand his ground. He silently waited for a chance to redeem himself, but there wasn’t a single opening.
“Kris, fess up.” Kyungsoo said. “We know you’re cheating on Tao. I don’t know who with, but I think it’s for everyone’s benefit if you just be honest right now.”
Kris remained quiet.
“Kris, if it’s true, then just admit it.” Suho egged him on. “If you’re stressed, then we can help you. Kai’s in the same boat. I’m going to help him-”
Kris walked towards Lay, leaving Tao in Suho’s hands. “And here I thought you might grow some balls and rat me out...”
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