http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm5nNjscJiI

Exo-K: Baby Don't Cry

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The entire town came to mourn for Kim Pansuk. It didn’t matter if people actually cared for him or not. He had been the longest resident of Malhwa, and now, he was gone.

Dressed in black, everyone attended the funeral.

Danji stood on the side. Over the past few days, her physical appearance had drastically deteriorated. Her face was gaunt and insipid, as if she had a disease. Her body grew thinner and frail. Dark bags weighed under her eyes, and her lips were chapped and cracked.

Her exterior was the last thing on her mind though.

She was still living in a horrible nightmare.

Was her grandfather really gone? Had he really left her behind? Alone?

It seemed surreal.

Minyoung and her parents bowed in front of the photo of her grandfather. They laid white flowers on the table and bowed again. They walked up to Danji and also greeted her. Danji absentmindedly bowed back. “Oh, Danji!” Minyoung threw her arms around her neck, “I’m so sorry. I feel so bad for you. How could this happen?”

*I don’t know either.* Danji thought, dazed.

Minyoung pulled back with a sniffle, “Want me to stay with you?”

Danji shook her head. “Go,” She whispered, “There’s food in that room.”

“I’ll be back.” Minyoung squeezed her hand and left with her parents.

Teacher Han entered the room next. After respectfully bowing and laying a flower, he came towards her.

Danji bowed, “Thank you for coming.”

Teacher Han squeezed her arm, “Be strong, Danji.”

*I don’t know how.* Nonetheless, she nodded.

“Now…I hate to bring this up right now…but the school wants to know. What will you do now that your grandfather is gone? You have no other guardians, and you can’t be living alone. You still have another year of high school left. You need someone to support you.” He studied her gloomy face.

“I…I’ll take care of it somehow.” Danji whispered.

“I know you will. I just…I wish there was some way I could help. I don’t want to send you to an orphanage-“

“No! Please!” She blurted desperately, “I-I don’t want to leave Malhwa. I don’t want to be sent somewhere else. I still have a home. Let me…let me stay there.”

Teacher Han gave her a sympathetic look, “Okay, Danji. We’ll work something out so that you won’t be taken away. I’ll arrange something with Minyoung’s parents.”

Danji sighed in relief, “Thank you.” He patted her shoulder and left.

The next visitors came. Exo-M was dressed in black suits. Heads lowered, they entered the morbid scene. Luhan’s eyes remained on Danji as he passed by.

The six of them bowed and placed the flowers on the table. They walked towards Danji and bowed to her. Eyes on the floor, she bowed back.

Tao hugged her tightly, “I’m sorry, mei-mei.”

*I’m sorry, too.* She closed her eyes and tried hard not to cry.

Lay hugged her also. Xiumin and Chen squeezed her shoulders.

Kris, who knew the pain of losing someone more than anyone, embraced her tightly. “You’ll be fine. It’s hard at first…but you’ll survive.”

Danji swallowed hard and nodded. He touched her head one more time before leaving.

Luhan walked up to her. He had no idea what to say or do to console her. He wanted to hug her, but he was afraid she might break. The next guests came, and he had no choice but to leave. Luhan stopped at the doorway and looked back. *Danji…what can I do?* With a sigh, he left.

Night fell, and people slowly stopped coming.

The funeral room was haunting and dim with only one light on. Her grandfather’s photo was the only thing that was comforting Danji. She sat on the mat and curled up into a ball.

She felt empty. There was a gaping hole in her heart where her grandfather should have been.

Danji looked up at the photo. His smiling face made her stomach clench with guilt. She couldn’t help but feel as if his death was her fault. *If only…if only…*

Beyond exhausted, Danji lay down on her side and pressed her cheek against the rough, straw mat. She wanted to cry, but she was dehydrated. She had not eaten anything the entire day and only had had half a glass of water.

Someone entered the room. At this point, she didn’t care if it was a coyote.

He lay down behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. “I’m here for you.” Luhan whispered.

Danji squeezed her eyes shut as her tears ran down her face. She bit into her fist to keep from sobbing out loud. *I miss my grandpa. I want him back.*

Luhan held tightly onto her and vowed to never let her go.

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Knowing that Danji was still grieving, the school allowed her to be excused from coming. Instead, Minyoung drop off her assignements, and Uishik would tutor her for anything she needed to be catched up on.

Eight days had passed since her grandfather’s funeral.

Danji stood in front of her grandfather’s room. She closed her fists and took several deep breaths. *I can do this. I have to. It’s time I cleaned out his room. I can’t just leave it like this forever.*

Danji swallowed hard. She clutched the doorknob with a quivering hand. Holding her breath, Danji twisted the doorknob and swung open the door.

Everything was absolutely still. It was quiet.