chapter six ; change

It was a few days after Amber tried getting Kris to go to the Prom and later she finally succeeded when she proceeded to barge into his house 2 weeks before the Prom and at 6AM where he was finally finishing “Amnesia”, a scary adventure filled first-person game.

When Kris was finished with the game, he was interrupted by a noisy Llama who managed to trip all over his paperwork that was neatly stacked in alphabetical order because of his minor case of OCD. He glared at her once she had bowed with her slightly slanted uneasy smile. Her hands were behind her back and she had a letterman jacket on with an oversized sweater underneath and black tights to hide her pale legs. She looked simple without her uniform on, but the fact that he was in a white wife beater and basketball shorts made him look less appealing. Shoot, he didn’t even have his glasses on which surprised Amber who noticed a few minutes later after he was inspecting her and the mess on the floor.

Kris sighed deeply as he picked up the papers that were scattered on the floor. He looked at the papers that were disordered and heaved a sigh deeper than the one before. Amber felt guilty and wanted to help, but she was scared of messing something up even further that it would make Kris angry with her and not be her friend anymore after all the trouble she’s caused him.

Kris noticed how stiff she looked. He got off his computer chair and motioned for her to sit so he could fix his papers quickly. Amber had sat down and he had sat down on the wooden floor, immediately getting down to rearranging the papers within the speed of light. Amber watched him breathlessly. How could a human put papers in order that quick? His OCD was kicking in as he staggered to get up. He panted heavily as he set his hand to rest on the back of the chair Amber was sitting on. Before Kris knew it, he was already on his knees.

“W-Wu Fan!” Amber shouted after seeing him fall on his knees. She got off the chair and picked him up from the front, well not exactly pick him up. It was more like she hugged him from the waist and helped him to the bed like that.

“G-Get my mom!” Kris hyperventilated.

Amber nodded immediately and set to find his Mom. She was in a panicky mood already and she was worried that she would faint before she even got to Mrs. Wu.

“Mrs. Wu!” Amber yelled throughout the house as her yell echoed back to her.

Amber called out Mrs. Wu’s name again and found Mrs. Wu in her room with her earphones inside her ears. Amber frantically jumped around the room so Mrs. Wu would notice her and she noticed her immediately. She took out the earphones and stared up at Amber who was ready to burst out from crying.

“Wu Fan’s not feeling well! I need your help, Mrs. Wu!” Amber said too quickly for Mrs. Wu to understand, but Mrs. Wu was able to capture the words ‘Wu Fan’ and ‘help’.

Mrs. Wu reached into her nightstand drawer as she pulled out a black satchel with white Chinese calligraphy written on it. Amber watched as Mrs. Wu sprinted out of the room, made a quick dash up the stairs, and was already in Kris’ room within seconds. Amber stood there watching from the door frame.

“Breathe.” Mrs. Wu softly patted Kris’ fluffy bed hair as they breathed together in sync.

“Take these.” Mrs. Wu pulled out a deck of cards that was in the satchel. “Do what your mind wants with them.” Kris took them out of his Mom’s hand hesitantly. He stared at her while hyperventilating softy.

Amber watched at how fast Kris tore the box open as he got the cards out within the speed of light to rearrange them one to the joker. Amber was amazed at how calm he was now. He shuffled the cards and handed them back to his Mom who kissed his cheek lovingly. Amber admired their love for each other and she had always yearned for it with her family.

Do not cry, Liu. Amber told herself repeatedly.

Mrs. Wu sensed that Amber was still watching as she turned around to smile at Amber who was in a daze.

“Yi Yun, you can come over here now.” Mrs. Wu waved Amber over with a toothy smile.

It was like Amber was visiting someone who was in labor or something. That nervous feeling that you know they’ll be alright when in reality, they’re not really alright. Amber pushed away the nervous thoughts and sat on the edge of Kris’ bed. It seemed like Kris had finally settled down since his breathing was a lot steadier than before. His mom was softly patting his bangs that were brushed to the side. His hair must be soft… Amber thought and immediately slapped herself from thinking that odd thought.

“H-Hey, I’m sorry.” Amber apologized while her head went down slowly. She was immensely ashamed that she was the cause of Kris’ hyperventilation and his OCD overboard. If she had not knocked down those papers when she walked in, then this would have never happened. There goes one hour out the door because of her small mistake turning into a huge disaster.

“What are you apologizing for, Honey?” Mrs. Wu lightly placed her hand on Amber’s back.

Amber looked at Mrs. Wu and bowed. “I’m the cause of Kris’ mental breakdown.” Amber confessed. The fact is, she didn’t really know about Kris’ OCD and anxiety attacks that randomly happened which was the main reason to why he never really went to parties and such.

Mrs. Wu nodded her head while letting out a low chuckle. “Don’t worry. Kris hasn’t had one in a while and he needed to let go a bit anyways.” Mrs. Wu assured Amber whose mood had been down since this morning. Mrs. Wu stood up and bowed to Kris and Amber as she left the bedroom to attend to her daily activities.

Amber still sat on the edge while Kris’ back was against the backboard of his bed. Amber stole glances at Kris who had a children’s puzzle in his lap. He looked like he was enjoying it after he had finished it… maybe more than 8 times already. Kris noticed a familiar pair of eyes on him as his eyes slowly met Amber’s. Amber flinched and looked away immediately.

“It wasn’t your fault.” Kris assured her since she still looked nervous and uneasy. “Do you think you can grab my glasses? I feel weird without them.” Kris ordered with a small smile upon his face.

“I-I think I’ll be going. I’ll see you tomorrow when you’ve fully healed.” Amber avoided his request and quickly stood up, leaving Kris dumbfounded for a few moments. He slapped his forehead and closed his eyes in frustration.

“I don’t think I’ll be going to the prom after this little accident.” Kris looked down at his legs and also along with his hands. “What if I were to have an OCD attack right on the dance floor? Or would I hyperventilate first and then OCD?” Kris was thinking of scenarios that would maybe get him laughed at by the whole entire school or not give him friends.

Before he knew it, he was set on already having an anxiety attack. Amber calmed him down by stuffing him in a blanket and letting his breathing only be heard within the room.

“I’m sorry for forcing you to go to the prom with me. I just wanted to go with my bestie.” Amber croaked. Kris’ breathing was settling down as he pushed Amber off of him.

“I’m fine now.” Kris looked down and glanced at the clock on his nightstand. It read 8AM, so they’ve been going at this for about 2 hours already.

“You should probably go home. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Kris softly said with his head down. Amber slowly walked away bit while staring at Kris.

“Get better, okay? Call me if you need anything.” Amber slowly went towards the door backwards, wanting to stay a bit longer just to help him out. Kris had just nodded in response. “Remember, I’m Number 2 on your speed dial.” Amber added in with an uneasy laugh. Kris nodded in response again. “B-Bye, then.” Amber finally exited the room quickly.

Kris slid down so that he was lying down on his bed. He covered himself with his big woolly blanket as he closed his eyes and sighed. Like usual, his thoughts roamed all over his head.

“I don’t want to go though.” Kris hid underneath his blanket with a pout sprouting upon his lips.

Kris was taking to himself. People once said that talking to yourself is the first sign of being crazy. Am I going crazy? He thought to himself. While he was underneath the blanket, his mom had walked in to see what he had said to Amber since she looked a bit sad on her way out.

“Son, what did you say to Amber?” Mrs. Wu asked, leaning on the door frame.

“Nothing. I just nodded to whatever she said.” Kris said, hidden inside his blanket.

He heard a sigh escape his Mom’s mouth. “When are you going to tell her that you’re in the stage zero of Cancer?” His mom said in a demanding tone.

Kris quickly got out from underneath his blanket and sat up to look at his Mom like she was some four headed pig. “Mom, are you crazy? Why would I tell her that?” Kris said with wide eyes.

“Why not? She’s your only friend. I think she deserves to know, Wu Yi Fan.”

Uh-oh.

She said the full name which means she’s talking about some serious business.

“Honey, you need to tell her. Wu Fan, your OCD plus your Anxiety attacks are too much. She just found out that you have a bunch of stuff wrong with you in one day. Did she run out of the house from shock? No, she quietly left the house in shock.” Kris’ Mom spat out.

“Mom.” Kris gave her a look that said ‘cut it out’. “It’s my decision whether or not I want to tell her. It’s not like I’m going to die. You told me I’m far from the first stage of Cancer.” Kris stopped to take a deep breath as his Mom was still at the door. “You told me that it wasn’t probable that cancer goes beyond the early stage I’m in.” Kris’ plea sent something to Mrs. Wu’s heart.

She walked towards him and sat on his bed where he was staring at her every move. Mrs. Wu hugged him tightly and the hairs on his head.

“Please, just tell her. She has a right to know.” Mrs. Wu kissed her sons forehead as she went back towards the door to leave for work. She stopped and turned her head slightly. “I’m giving you a week, Wu Fan.” Mrs. Wu walked out the door as Kris heard her rushing to go downstairs.

Kris grabbed his pillow and threw it against the wall along with his Alpaca plushy. He inhaled and exhaled with his eyes closed to calm himself down. He let out a distraught yell that echoed throughout the house. Kris slid his legs off the bed and stood up to where his secret door was. He clicked the button as the doors opened before him. Kris walked inside and stared at all the pictures that were last touched by Amber. A flashback entered his mind as he saw Amber smiling and giggling at all the cute photos. He smiled to himself before grabbing his most favorite photo of him and his Mom at the airport when he had finally arrived in Korea.

From what he remembered, it was at Incheon Airport where he met a tall man dressed in black. That tall man dressed in black was his Dad. His Dad from a barrier that was thousands of miles away. Kris never liked him from the start in the first place. No matter how many times his Father prodded him to go outside and play, Kris would oblige and give his Father the cold shoulder. He was so rude that his Father had sent him to a military academy at the age of 7. The horrid memories clouded the mind of Kris’ as he remembered all the other horrible things he was forced to do. The photograph he was holding was now on the floor and in the other hand was a knife that he had unconsciously gotten from the drawer.

Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow…

Kris closed his eyes as he threw the knife at the wall behind him, cutting the cloth that was hanging there. He turned around and opened his eyes to see the cloth attached to the knife. He let out a deep sigh and retrieved the ripped cloth from the knife and throwing the ripped cloth into the trashcan by the entrance as he walked out of the secret room.

“I’m such a psycho.” Kris told himself as he grabbed a plaid dress shirt, black skinny jeans, converse, and his contacts. “I should be different today. Maybe get a haircut, buy some new clothes, and eat some sweets. I should probably go crazy today.” Kris nodded to himself as he messed up his hair in many directions.

Kris exited the mansion with his phone in hand and his keys in the other. Kris felt like a rebel all of a sudden. “Now, let’s go get that haircut.” Kris sped off to his Aunt’s hair salon that was on the other side of town, but he didn’t mind the long drive.

Once he got there, he showed his Aunt what he had wanted and she did it for him yet she was baffled by his sudden offer to take her out to eat along with his mother to repay for haircut. Everything about Kris was new. He wanted to change; not to fit in, nor to stand out, but to change and grow up.

“See you later, Aunty.” Kris hugged his Aunt before heading out to his car. For some reason, it felt like he had a bucket list of some sort and the wishes on there had been marked off his heart. He could feel a smile urging onto his face, but instead it turned into a smirk that sent girls flying in all directions.

“Is he the new neighborhood, Oppa?”

“Wow! He looks like he just stepped out of a magazine!”

“I wonder if he goes to our school…”

“No, he looks like he’s a senior or a person in college.”

Kris entered his car despite being a little shy at the ladies comments on his looks. “If this is how the ladies are going to act…then what will happen when Amber sees me like this?” Kris shrugged the thought off and headed towards the nearest shopping mall.

Ah, the smell of Hongdae street food. You can never have anything better in life.

Kris was leisurely walking, enjoying his time alone while making ladies swoon over his charm. That’s when Kris came upon the middle of the road. This was where he had first met Amber. He let out his boyish smile as he chuckled amongst himself.

Click.

Kris’s hearing was strong as he heard the sound of a camera shutter. He looked around quickly to spot the person that had taken his photo. The streets were so crowded that his height didn’t help him. He was being pushed by several Ahjumma’s who were getting ready for the fish sales.

“You’re paranoid. It’s the after effects of the disaster you caused in the morning.” Kris took a deep breath and continued walking forward, being into the crowd.

“Are you sure that was him?” The lady had asked her lover.

“I know my son more than anyone else, Honey. Kris Wu- I mean Wu Yi Fan always wanted to be the best. It looks like his looks are the best of all too.” The man said with a sinister smile upon his face.

AUTHOR'S NOTES; 

I gained...maybe 2 subscribers. :D Thanks guys~ Hehe, I finally have time to put up some chapters that were already written. 
Chapter 7 is currently being typed up and it'll probably be up by tonight if I keep going right now. 

There was one person who told me to put how many words I wrote up and for this chapter, it was: 2,742. 

It's not much, but since my ideas is limited... it ends there. xD
 

Please upvote, comment, and subscribe! 

I love you everybody~

-Kyde ♥