Chapter Three
Chasing a MemoryKris was at school when he received the call about Baekhyun's accident. He didn’t hear any details about it, but he knew he needed to be there. Rushing to the airport with only a quickly packed bag, he took the next flight to America.
After a long, nerve-wracking flight, Kris arrived in America and rushed straight to the hospital. Running to the desk, he forced a smile on his face. "Ma'am, I'm here to see Baekhyun Byun. Is he in a room yet? I really need to see him." He looked very worried, but the woman shook her head, giving him a pitying look.
"Sir, Baekhyun passed away at the scene,” she smiled at him. “I’m very sorry.”
Kris stared at her, shaking his head. “Ma’am, there must be a mistake. He can’t be…” Kris was beginning to feel dizzy, and his mouth had gone dry.
She began to touch him one the hand, but Kris jerked it back. He didn’t want comfort from a stranger. He wanted it to not be true. Baekhyun was injured, not dead.
He finally snapped out of his daze. “May I see the documentation? I just need to see it.”
She handed him a paper, and he looked it over. Baekhyun had been brought in, but had died on the gurney before he had been taken to the ambulance. The doctors had tried to resuscitate him, but he was gone. Kris felt as if he would pass out, so he wobbled over to a chair and sat down. Staring at the paper again, he looked back at the woman. “May I see him?” He asked, numb.
The woman smiled at him. “I’m sorry, but if you aren’t family, you won’t be allowed to see his body, at this point. I really am sorry.”
Kris glanced at her, too tired to care about her rudeness right now. “Fine.” He felt as if he wasn’t even alive, himself, as he walked out of the hospital. He bought a bottle of vodka and went to a hotel. If he couldn’t see Baekhyun’s body, he didn’t really want to be alive. He was better off drinking himself to death. If he wasn’t able to, he would, at least, kill all of his senses so he wouldn’t think about his lover. He could pretend that this had never happened.
He fell asleep after finishing the bottle, and didn’t wake up until the next afternoon. While he was asleep, he dreamt of a room filled with cologne bottles. He smelled each scent, but couldn’t find the scent that Baekhyun used. He was frantically searching, and crying out in anguish. As he continued to search, he forgot the scent he was looking for. Trembling, he fell to his knees, sobbing. He had forgotten Baekhyun.
He looked up to see a man in solid black with sinister eyes staring at him. He motioned for Kris to move closer to him, but Kris stayed were he was.
Kris woke up in a cold sweat, feeling hot to the touch. He was feverish. Trying to figure out why he would feel this way and what had happened, he saw the card that the woman at the hospital had given him. A grief councilor. He had lost Baekhyun. Feeling the tears that had been frozen inside of him the day before, he closed his eyes and let them fall down his cheeks. This started a rush of emotion as he shook with sobs for the lover he had lost. As much as he denied it, Baekhyun was gone.
He lay on the bed all day, unable to find any strength. At 4:00 PM, he finally called the hospital again, asking if he could see Baekhyun. He was still forbidden, since he wasn’t family. Getting to his feet slowly, he walked over to the door and left. He had an idea. He remembered which dorm room Baekhyun had lived in.
Driving to the college, he noticed that a tall, young man was already in Baekhyun’s room. He recognized him from pictures as Baekhyun’s roommate, Sehun. Sehun looked exhausted, and his eyes were red. He glanced at Kris, but didn’t smile. That was understandable, considering the situation. Kris didn’t feel like smiling, either.
Beside him was another tall guy who looked young, but Kris could see age in his eyes. He smiled at Kris. “Hi…You must be Kris. I’m LuHan, and I guess you’ve already heard about Sehun."
Kris managed to smile at him. “Yeah, I’m Kris. I’m just here to…” He suddenly couldn’t think of a reason he was there. Maybe to see evidence that Baekhyun was really gone? He wasn’t sure. “I should be going.”
Without another word, he walked away, heading to his car. As he was leaving, he smelled something familiar. Looking around frantically, he noticed that someone had walked by wearing the same cologne that Baekhyun had used. Taking a deep breath, he fought back the emotions again. It was just a memory. Before he got in his car, he heard his name.
“Kris Wu, I believe you’re searching for something.” He looked over to see a young man in black clothing staring at him. “I can get him back for you. I have the ability to turn back time…at a price.”
Kris glared at him. “What would you know?”
“I know that you lost your lover, Byun Baekhyun. As I said, I have the ability to turn back the clock to before 9:35. That’s the time that Baekhyun died.” The man held out his hand, and Kris could see a flower retreat back into the ground. He waved it back up and the flower came back out of the ground, looking exactly the same. “I can do that for Baekhyun, if you will follow the rules. This is your only chance.”
Kris was impressed despite his depressed state of mind. “Who are you? You have my attention. What do I need to do?” He knew this could be a bad idea, but if the guy was a killer or something, Kris didn’t really have anything else to lose.
The man smiled at him, his sharp, hawk-like eyes gleaming. “My name is Huang ZiTao, but you can call me Tao. Come with me and I’ll show you what you can do to bring him back.”
Kris nodded, and Tao led him over to a black car. “Get in, and I will take you to the place I can help you.”
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