Kris's POV

I looked around me and all I saw were people in tuxedos and formal dresses, sniffing and rubbing their noses, wiping the tears off their eyes. People comforting each other and giving condolences to Joonmyeon's family, who was standing by the white coffin at the center of the room.

So, I guess you've all heard, that a while ago, at 1:47 a.m., EXO's guardian angel passed away, leaving his promise of being our guardian angel in our hearts.

I entered the residence first, followed by the other members. Just by entering the door, I could already feel a different atmosphere in the house. The aura felt cold, and gloomy, plus the black and white clothes of the people all around the house. It felt gloomy because of the occasion. I, myself, felt so gloomy because I lost someone. I lost my guardian angel. I lost my best friend. I lost Joonmyeon.

 I turned around to check on the other boys. Kyungsoo buried his entire face on Jongin's chest as he started crying like mad. Sehun did the same thing on Luhan as well. Jongin and Luhan on the other hand, just comforted the two boys, as they let the tears, which never stopped flowing since the moment Joonmyeon left, fall from their eyes. Zitao and Yixing were wearing shades, to hide the redness and puffiness of their eyes. Jongdae didn't give a and showed everyone how red and puffy his eyes were from all the crying, which even until now, never stopped. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were silent. They normally cracked up jokes, but now, it seemed like their lips were super-glued that they couldn't even say a word. Minseok-hyung on the other hand, stayed by my side, and started to do the things Joonmyeon left for him, which was to help me with everything.

" So, are we gonna go and talk to Joonmyeon's parents?" Minseok asked me.

" Well, we kinda have to. I mean, they are Joonmyeon's parents. We have to show our respect for them." I replied.

He nodded his head and he led everyone at the center, where Joonmyeon's parents were. He was about to call them, when they spotted us first. They approached us and said:

" You must be Joonmyeon's friends. The other EXO members."

" Yes, that's us." Minseok said as he slightly smiled at Joonmyeon's parents as he bowed at them, signaling us to bow as well.

" We would like to send our deepest condolences. I'm sorry that you had to lose Joonmyeon." I added, trying to sound as manly as possible, even though I wanted to just break down and cry.

" Thank you. And, I would like to send mine to you as well." Joonmyeon's father added.

" Why is that, sir?" Luhan asked, placing an arm around Sehun's shoulder.

" Look, Joonmyeon was still your brother. I know that the eleven of you know him more than anyone else besides me and his mother. And I know that the bond you share with him is inseparable. I know how sad you must feel, and I know that losing him was one of the hardest things you boys have ever done, so, condolences to you as well." Joonmyeon's father replied.

We all nodded out heads in agreement. To be honest, he was right, losing Joonmyeon surely was a hard thing to do, but, sometimes, we just have to move on and let time pass. We have to move on with Joonmyeon, but, we all knew that no matter what happened, Joon would always be in our hearts.

" Uh, Sir? Could we see Joonmyeon? Like, just for a second?" Yixing requested.

" Sure, please. Take your time." Joonmyeon's father replied as he let us pass.

He thanked him as we approached the angel who was sleeping peacefully in his wooden box. He looked pretty normal. I guess with all the darker shaded make-up they placed on him, plus the lip gloss and the eye shadow, he looked very idol-like. His wounds were clearly covered with concealer and a lot more foundation, plus his neatly-combed black hair made him so peaceful. What made him even more angel-like were the white clothes he was wearing.

I was happy that I saw him not struggling anymore. He looked so peaceful that finally, he was put to rest. Although, the occasion calls for me to be sad, I was still happy because finally, Joonmyeon is in a place where he's supposed to be. He belongs in heaven, together with all the other angels.

" He looks handsome. Not being gay, but I'm being frank about it. He looks very handsome." Luhan commented.

" He looks so relaxed. It seems like he's somewhere he wants to be now." Yixing added.

" Seeing him struggle a while ago in the hospital made me sad. Like really really sad. But, right now, he looks happy. He looks peaceful." Baekhyun said in a soft-voice.

" I know, he is. He's happy where he's supposed to be. He's finally reunited with everyone he loves up there." Jongdae added as he pointed a finger up in the sky.

" Yeah, and I know that he's looking down and watching us from up above. And, I think he doesn't want us to be sad." Chanyeol said.

The rest of us nodded our heads as we continued to stare at the eternally sleeping angel in his box.

" The concealer looks so obvious. Just saying." Zitao commented.

" Also the foundation. It's much darker than his normal pale color." Jongin added.

" Well, at least he looks handsome, you gotta admit." Kyungsoo said, as he touched the glass on top of the box.

" Yeah. He is handsome. He was always handsome." Sehun added, sounding as manly as possible so that he wouldn't sound gay.

We ended up staring at him for a few minutes, and during those few minutes, we remembered every thing about Joonmyeon. We remembered how he nags us every morning, or how he squeals whenever Baby Baby plays on the radio, or how gentle and calm he speaks to us whenever we have problems. I looked at the other boys and saw how they looked.I knew what they were feeling, and I knew that they were missing him a lot. Even I miss everything about him. I miss his voice, I miss his nagging, I miss his craziness. I miss him.

" I can't believe he's gone. I just can't believe it." Baekhyun said, letting his teardrops fall on the glass of the coffin.

" I can't believe it to, but, what can we do? He's gone. And he's there, inside that coffin." Chanyeol replied, as he tapped the glass, hoping to wake the sleeping man up, even though it was impossible.

" Guys, you remember the promise he made? He said that he will always be by our side, and he'll forever be our guardian angel. We gotta remember that all the way through, he's gonna be there for us." Jongdae said, to encourage the other boys.

" Yeah, I know that, but, it will always help if he was by our side. Like literally, beside us. It would help if he was there, patting our back, and wiping our tears and hugging us, telling is that everything would be okay." Jongin said, letting his tears fall from his eyes.

We all sighed, because Jongin was right. Even though Joonmyeon promised us that he would be at our side at all times, it wouldn't help because we couldn't see him, hear him or even feel him. And it will truly help if he was literally by our side.

" Guys, I think I'm just gonna go and sit down, I just can't accept this." Kyungsoo said as he left us and sat on one of the chairs in the room.

" Yeah, I couldn't bear seeing him in there. I'm just gonna go with Kyungsoo." Yixing added as he followed him .

The other boys decided to follow him and occupy an entire row of chairs. The only people left standing by Joonmyeon's coffin were Minseok, Luhan and I.

" Can you believe it?" Luhan asked us.

" After seeing him die, taken into a morgue, placed in a coffin and his death announced all over the net and news? Yeah, I do believe." Minseok replied, keeping his head down.

" You know, if we just had one more chance. A chance to tell him what we truly feel, and this time, he should be there listening to us as well." Luhan said, as he wiped his tears away.

" Well, I guess the gods only gave us a chance." I said, as I looked at my two baby-faced hyungs.

" And probably, he was also given a chance to speak to us." Minseok added, looking at me as well.

" Saranghae. The last word he told us." Luhan recalled as he slightly tapped the glass.

The three of us were silent for a while before someone tapped our backs. The three of us simultaneously turned our heads and found the maknaes, Sehun and Zitao, behind us.

" Hyung, Joonmyeon's mother said that the memorial service will be starting in a few minutes." Sehun said.

" And she'd appreciate it if we'd be prepared and sit down while waiting for it to start." Zitao added.

The three of nodded our heads, as we tapped the glass one more time, and followed them back to our seats, where the other boys were sitting.

A few minutes later, the memorial service and lasted for about an hour. The environment felt gloomy once more when a lot of people started crying, including the boys and I. A lot of Joonmyeon's close friends, and even his ex-girlfriend said a few words about him. I know that I was close to Joonmyeon, but, I just can't. I couldn't say anything because every time I talk about Joonmyeon, or every time I even think about him, it always brings me back to what happened last night. I remember the accident and how he saved me. Every thing just happened so fast, it seemed like it happened in just a split second, every thing was still fresh in my mind.

" I'm really gonna miss Joonmyeon. I'm gonna miss my best friend." Joonmyeon's friend said as he wiped his tears and sat back down on his seat.

Joonmyeon's mother then stood up and said:

" Thank you for coming here. We really appreciate everything you've done for us. Thank you for the condolences, the flowers and letters. Most importantly, thank you for giving your time for Joonmyeon. Thank you for giving your time for my son, the angel up there."

We all nodded our heads in agreement while wiping all the tears that streamed down our faces.

" Snacks are at the back, if you are hungry." Joonmyeon's father added as he pointed at the back, where the snacks were.

Immediately, people stood up and got a few snacks from the back, and started eating by themselves.

" So, should we eat?" Minseok asked all of us.

" Well, technically, we all have to eat. We haven't eaten since yesterday night." I replied as I led the ten other boys to the table, and got some snacks.

I felt like . As in literally, I felt so down that I didn't know if I even had a life. I swear, this was like yesterday again. But, I didn't plan on doing anything stupid, because, I know that Joonmyeon will be up there. His mother said it herself, there is an angel up there who will be guiding us everyday. And, I know that whenever Joonmyeon makes a promise, he'll never let it go. I know that he'll be here for us, and I know he'll be here for me.

 

Minseok's POV

This is what I liked about having funerals in rich homes. The food they serve afterwards. I saw a bunch of food on the table, but, for some reason, I didn't even plan on touching one. I want hungry at all. Which was pretty ironic because I haven't eaten for twenty-four hours. My stomach was grumbling, I felt that, but, it seemed like Joonmyeon didn't want me to eat. I didn't have the appetite for anything. I wanted something that wasn't here anymore. I wanted Joonmyeon back.

" I'm not hungry." Luhan replied as he sat back down.

" Guys, it's been twenty-four hours, and we ate nothing but a candy bar. We should at least eat." Kris said, with that slightly worried tone.

" Sorry, hyung. We really aren't hungry. I know that's it's ironic. We haven't eaten in a day, but, we aren't hungry at all." Chanyeol replied.

" Well, I'm hungry for something." Sehun mumbled.

" What is it ?" Yixing asked.

" Joonmyeon-Hyung's presence." Sehun replied, in a soft tone.

We were all silent for a moment, before Jongdae said:

" Well, Kris is right, we have to eat something before we have low blood pressure, or before we starve to death."

" Yeah. We have to eat. Come on, let's go." Baekhyun added as he dragged the other singer going to the table and got some food.

" Yeah, I guess eating is a good idea." Zitao added as he followed the vocalists and got some food for himself.

Kris sighed, and he asked:

" So, who else will be eating?"

" I'll eat. To be honest, I'm as hungry as Mongolian but, I just don't want to eat. But, I'll eat." Jongin said as he approached the table as well.

" I'll go with you." Kyungsoo said as he accompanied Jongin to the table of food.

The six of us remaining sighed and decided to get food for ourselves as well. We got enough food and started eating it. To be honest, the food was great. It was like eating an eat-all-you-can-buffet, but, as of now, I didn't even want to eat as single round.

We were eating in a circle, while standing up. Joonmyeon's mother slowly approached us and said:

" Boys, thank you so much for coming here. Thank you for Joonmyeon's second family."

Kris nodded his head and replied:

" No, he was our family. He was the one who brought us together. He was our glue and our bridge. It was really nice to have someone like him."

His mother just smiled at the nice remarks Kris gave about Joonmyeon, and she asked:

" So, how did you find out about him? I mean, his leukemia?"

" Well, we were already on the hospital after the accident." Luhan replied.

" And the doctor told us that he had leukemia, third stage." Jongdae added.

" Still, I don't know why he didn't tell us about it." Yixing said.

" I know Joonmyeon didn't want to make us worried, but, I just don't get why couldn't just tell us. I mean, he is our family, and we are his too." I added.

Joonmyeon's mother chuckled and said:

" I knew it. I know my son pretty well, I know that he hid it from you. To be honest, he hid from us as well."

" What? He couldn't be serious." Chanyeol said.

" How can he not tell you? I mean, you're his mother, you should know." Baekhyun added.

" I actually asked him why he didn't tell me, and he replied: 'I didn't want to see my mother hurt because of my condition.' And probably, he didn't want to hurt you as well, because I know that he loves you so much." she added.

This time, most of us lost it. We cried, in front of Joonmyeon's mother. What a shame.

" How I wish I could go back in time and tell him how much I want to be with him." Kyungsoo said.

" I wanna go back in time and stop being such a jerk in front of him." Jongin added, wiping his tears away.

" Me too." Sehun said, in a voice so soft that only the bacteria could hear.

" Look, I know how much you miss Joonmyeon and want to spend more time with him. I miss him too, but I can't go back in time and do that. But, boys, don't worry, he'll be up there, looking at us." Joonmyeon's mother replied, pointing her finger up at the sky. The eleven of us, on the other hand, looked up as well, remembering the promise he made.

" We know. We know that he'll always be there for us. He promised us." Zitao said as he  faked a smile.

" And I know that whatever happens, he will never break that promise." Kris added.

Joonmyeon's mother smiled and said:

" That's our angel."

We smiled back at her, and to be honest, all I just wanted to do was break down and cry. Ever since a while ago, I wanted to cry. The whole day today, all I saw on the TV was : " EXO-K's leader, Suho, is dead." or " SM responds to Suho's death." All over the net, in the radio, in the newspaper, it was all about him.

" Well, thank you for coming here. And thank you for being Joonmyeon's second family." she said as she patted my shoulder and left us.

I sighed as I turned around to look at the other boys. Some were already crying- Kyungsoo and Jongin to be specific, most of them  were so close to crying, and the maknaes, they tried to keep their cool image on.

" So, what now?" I asked them.

It took them a while to process the question I asked them, before Kris replied:

" Let's go home. But, before that, let's look at him, just one more time."

Kris approached the coffin, which gave us the signal to follow him there. And just like what happened last night, we found ourselves staring at the angel, sleeping peacefully in his box.

" Bye, hyung." Sehun said, finally letting his teardrops fall.

" Thanks for everything." Jongin added.

" Rest in peace." Kyungsoo said, wiping the waterfall of tears flowing from his eyes.

" Please don't forget us. " Zitao added, tapping the glass.

We were staring at him for a few minutes, before Chanyeol said:

" Guys, wouldn't it be freaky if he just wakes up?"

" Nice try, Park Chanyeol. I'm so scared." Baekhyun sarcastically said, making the former realize that he couldn't do anything to liven up the situation.

" Well, what if he does? Who knows what will happen." Luhan said, as he stared at Joonmyeon with laser-like intensity.

" Probably I'd kiss him, not being gay, I'm being totally honest." Jongdae replied.

This made Yixing chuckle and say:

" Somewhat gay, Kim Jongdae."

Jongdae smiled, but, resumed back to his "mourning-over-Joonmyeon" self.

Once we finished everything we were supposed to do, Kris tapped the glass one more time and said:

" Bye, Joonmyeon. Take care of us."

Afterwards, we left Joonmyeon's house, and went back to our apartment. The entire ride was really silent. As in, you could hear the sound of a pin dropping. We were all doing our own stuff. I was listening to music. Luhan and Sehun were sleeping. So were Jongin and Kyungsoo. Yixing was reading the book Joonmyeon lent him, and as he read, tears were falling from his eyes. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were comforting Jongdae, who was crying the ever since we left the residence. Kris, on the other hand, was just looking out his window, staring the cars passing by, and the city lights.

I looked at my eleven other brothers, and being the oldest, I always felt worried for them. Although it wasn't really my responsibility,since I wasn't leader, Joonmyeon wanted me to do it. He wanted me to help Kris.

I sighed as I reclined my seat, and mumbled:

" Kim Joonmyeon, help us all."

A.N. : First chapter down. :)