Kai didn’t exactly remember arriving back in Seoul. Actually, he didn’t remember ever leaving. He just knew at some point he was watching the countryside whip by through the window of a train he didn’t remember boarding (much less paying for), watching as rural became suburb and suburb became urban and “Hey, I recognize that…” suddenly he was back in Seoul as the train slowed to a halt at the station. A quick glance at the ticket hanging loosely between his fingertips indicated that was his stop. Did he have any luggage? Another quick glance around his seat answered with a straight, “Nope.”

He trundled off with the crowd of other riders. Most hurried off to their own destinations, paying no heed to the zombie-child that had frozen in the middle of the platform, looking as lost as a child could get. A tall child. Maybe if he were the actual height of a child, someone would help him figure out what the heck he was doing stepping off of a train from – glancing at his ticket again – Taebaekseon over to Seoul. What was in Taebaek, anyway? What was Kai doing in Taebaek, anyway?

“KAI!!!”

A chorus of shouts jolted Kai out of his daze. He spun to where the voices came from and was greeted by a sudden dog pile of noise and squeezing hugs.

“Kai!”

“Where have you been, you punk?!”

“Are you okay?!”

Dumbfounded and slightly embarrassed, Kai tried to pry himself from the tangle. “I… Guys… Come on, guys. People are staring at us…”

That caused some of the boys to let go and take a step or two back, but they didn’t venture far for fear of Kai pulling another disappearing act. Others still held on tight; KyungSoo and ChanYeol, to name a few.

“JongIn-ah.” The eldest of the group of six placed a reassuring hand on Kai’s shoulder. “You’re alright?”

The answer was yes, supposed to be. Physically, he was well. He was in one piece back in his familiar hometown with his close friends around him.

The answer was no, somehow. He still felt a chill from deep within his body. His hands felt dry and brittle, and his bones felt like they were fracturing bit by bit.

But in the end, his answer was yes. Something warm was holding him together from the outside, keeping him from crumbling to dust and nothingness.

“Wait, I was gone for a month?!” he first exclaimed after a few hours of his return.

“A little bit longer, actually,” BaekHyun replied. “Maybe a month and a week-ish.”

Kai insisted he was fine. He could continue with EXO-K’s activities as he had been before, but that was instantly rejected when he couldn’t hold himself together during practices, losing wind easily and suddenly collapsing in the middle of a song. The members weren’t convinced that a good night’s sleep could cure him, so they pestered the manager and ganged up on the magnae to go to the hospital. He finally caved when it took him almost an hour to get back on his feet in between breaks during practice. And after hours at the hospital of questions, testing, waiting, and more questions…

“Hypothermia?” Kai stared at the doctor. “But… wouldn’t I be dead by now?”

The doctor shook his head patiently. “Not necessarily. As with any condition, there are different stages ranging from mild to severe. In your case, since there was little to no damage to either your exterior body or your internal organs and mechanisms, I’d say you were in the mild or moderate range. However, without any recollection of your supposed collapse, that would go more into the moderate range.”

“I don’t have amnesia.”

“No. Just short-term memory loss. Nothing to worry about as I’m sure it will come back to you eventually. For now, just make sure you rest. No practicing or strenuous working out for at least a week. Keep warm, eat warm, and drink warm. Check back with me next week.”

Kai relayed the message to his manager who took the message with relief. “You do as he says, got it, JongIn? You’re scaring the crap out of everyone with this. Just go back home, okay?”

Kai mumbled an apology, drawing his coat closer to his body to keep the chill off his chest. What he was going to do for a week was beyond him. He decided to start with going home.

The early February weather was no help to him, though. The cold wind bit at his face and made his throat and chest burn. He should’ve brought a scarf; it was colder than he really thought. Or was that only because the doctor had just told him to stay out of the cold? Either way, he scurried quickly to get back to his apartment.

By the time he crossed the threshold of his front door, the tips of his nose and fingertips were cold, and he had started to shiver the slightest bit. Kai kicked off his shoes and headed straight for the thermostat.

It’s already pretty balmy in here. Why am I still cold? Oh… Probably since I just came in from outside.

He changed directions and went to the kitchen to make tea or something. As he reached up for his mug in the cupboard, a violent shudder racked his body. The shock made him lose his grip on the mug, and it tumbled downwards, clanging off of the countertop and shattering to pieces on the floor. But Kai barely noticed as his body continued to convulse.

Not again…

He fell to the ground, one hand gripping the countertop. His apartment seemed to be getting colder and colder. Each breath he took tore daggers in his throat. The hand that futilely held the edge of the counter was growing numb, losing its grip. He curled into a ball, trying to keep his core warm.

The world around him was fading out, not to a darkness like he expected, but to whiteness that reminded him of the sky…

A/N: Short segment. I'm sorry m( _ _;)m I have to sleep soon and go to work. I'll write more later...