Beast – 12:30

Smells of caffeine and heat filled the classic yet modern café as people were bustling with monochrome paper works in hand. Including the doctor as he was sitting in a formal manner in front of Se Kyung, who seemed to be the only person without any white sheets or briefcase anywhere around. A faint nod was given towards Kai, as a signal of her utmost understanding. “A friend of mine–Lay–had changed the destiny by returning my memories, so it is no wonder why you couldn’t meet an end for a car accident earlier. Because if I am still blind—”

“Se Kyung-ssi.”

“—no one will be there to save you.”

An amused grin with knitted eyebrows appeared on Kai’s features, before he leaned back and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Se Kyung-ssi, do you realise that you are talking of something unusual?” A brow was raised at the exact moment the woman in front of him covered in silliness, as he spotted shades of blush began to appear on her milky cheeks. Se Kyung shook her head aggressively without a word, which brought Kai to lay all ten fingers on the top of the table. “It’s okay… I already know.”

Flustered by the range of syllables which escaped the doctor’s lips, Se Kyung gestured for an explanation before her hands slowly fell back onto her laps. Her heart thumped in a high expectation as it clenched to prepare for the answer.

A gaze which was deep with longing and nostalgia flashed in Kai’s dark chocolate orbs as he peacefully let his guard down in front of the woman, who was once his patience. “Perhaps you don’t remember a doctor called Oh Se Hun, but me and him—ages before—used to be high school friends with your friends.”

Soft intake of breath pumped oxygen into Se Kyung’s lungs, as the words began to sink into her mind.

“We had this ridiculous group name. It was called EXO.” A painful grin graced upon Kai’s plump lips as he stared straight into Se Kyung, who seemed to be startled by his confession. It wasn’t the doctor’s nature to open up so easily to a person—moreover for someone who was once his patient. However, Se Kyung had the every connections which Kai had left behind, in the aching past. And he thought, that ever since he saw Se Kyung in Jessica’s apartment with a drunken Kris—that woman was reliable. The only reason why he didn’t decide to stay connected with Se Kyung (with a hope that maybe, just maybe, he could bond back with s), was due to the refraction of innocence inside of her when he first officially met her by Krystal, who rushed to get to her sister before all of them flew to heaven. But now, after Se Kyung had saved his life from an accident (which she assumed as a fair payment for Kai who had treated her before), he noticed a different look inside of that woman. It was as if her pure innocence had been taken away. And Kai wondered how she could coped with an abrupt roller-coaster which had inserted itself into her life, without breaking into pieces. So the man decided to let his guard down, and flashed her his true emotions, even though it seemed to be upside down since Se Kyung was only a mere person, when Kai was a trained doctor yet he was the one who poured out his hidden problems to her. “But then it all scattered away. Our friendship broke. Ties were left cold in the unsettled past. And before I knew it—all of us began to back-stabbing one another. In the end, we all graduated without peace—even though most of us did succeeded for our bright futures.”

Somehow, Se Kyung found it hard to blink after the outburst of pasts from Kai. The only thing that she could do was nodding in understatement after a few minutes ticked by. Staring at her unpolished nails, Se Kyung eventually took a sip of the ice-blended mocha, not having a clue to response as it was the first time for someone to pour out all of his tangled problems at her.

Steadying his breathe, Kai threw a glimpse towards his paperwork, which was laid on the square table, before he spoke up again—both of them were lucky that everyone else was bustling around, that they couldn’t really digest the deep conversation into their busy minds. “Sorry for not heading straight to the point.” A tilt of head from Se Kyung somehow calmed his pacing heart after the nostalgic confession escaped his lips. Perhaps it was due to her characteristic which refused to judge people by their pasts, which gave Kai an open space to seek for a listener. “Anyway, Se Kyung-ssi. I said that I knew about the unusualness that you were talking about.”

At that point, something snapped within Se Kyung, as she was sure that she accidentally let the spilled beans about EXO M’s powers forgotten. “What do you mean, Kai-ssi?” The earlier anxiety crept back into her, the deepest secrets of EXO M were now in a danger. Looks like her child’s innocence hasn’t completely faded away.

The similar amused expression plastered on Kai’s bronzed flesh once again, before he purposely took a sip of his cappuccino to lengthen her anxiety. “I knew they are supernatural.”

As if a dreadful erosion fell onto her, Se Kyung paused her act along with her breathe as her eyes remained unblinking, staring straight into Kai.

An old habit of smirking—which appeared from the inner Kim Jong In—unintentionally jumped out of his professional demeanour, before the truth rolled out of his tongue. “Guess how?” Deep inside, Kai realised that he shouldn’t have be playful like Kim Jong In he was, but somehow, talking back about his past (which of course, rewind a couple of contentment memories when he was together with EXO) caused Kai’s true personality to appeared. “Because I’m a supernatural too.”

No words could describe a familiar yet fresh wave of shock which vibrated towards Se Kyung, sending her to lean back in a full startle. “W-What?” The question only came in a hushed manner, but the man across caught it clearly.

Lowering his head, Kai allowed a smile filled with despair to be present in front of Se Kyung—trying to show him that he was still strong. “I did the same mistake as Xiu Min hyung did, too.”

A greater alert washed away the earlier shock and anxiety, as Se Kyung found herself lost in the sea of Kai’s syllables. “May I ask—what mistake are you talking about?”

“He didn’t tell you?” The table had turned. It was now the doctor’s time to be surprised by Se Kyung’s response. And a huge possibility that he might have blurted out something personal caused him to be troubled. However in this case, Kai had a feeling that Se Kyung had the right to know.

Just when the woman shook her head in bewilderment, a warm hand tapped her from the back, causing her to tilt her head upwards. Faux smile was what greeted her first as it was unfamiliar for the man who stood behind her to give anyone a forced expression.

“Kyungie, what are you doing here with this man?” Luhan’s eyes judged Kai from head to toe, and somewhere in between the smell of coffee brews, his nose detected the smell of nostalgia along with… the old Kai.

How?

Barely minding the firm grip on her shoulders, Se Kyung stared back towards Kai with a loud thumping heart about discovering the untold mistake behind their powers. “Luhan oppa, do you remember Kai-ssi?” Without gazing back to properly greet Luhan like she always did, Se Kyung asked as her body was half-turned towards the telekinetic.

A shot of warning look was thrown towards Kai, who only sat still, unwavering. “No. I don’t know him. Now Se Kyung, let’s go back, okay? Everyone was curious about why you are taking so long.” His grip on the woman tightened as she stood up in a full hesitance, before both of them spun around to leave.

“Luhan-ssi, wait.” Kai’s strong demand halted their movements as he walked steadily towards the said man, and handed him a tiny contact card. “Sehun said he misses you.”

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Possessively, Xiu Min pulled Se Kyung away from Luhan’s side as soon as both of them were visible in sight. Even receiving a telepathy from Luhan earlier, who informed that he had found Se Kyung, alone could made Xiu Min panicked like hell. Yes, the oldest one hadn’t treat Luhan with his utmost trust ever since he caused Se Kyung to be blind. And like everyone else who dumped the blames on him at the second Kris smashed onto the ground—Xiu Min couldn’t forgive Luhan easily.

“Oppa—don’t worry, I’m safe and sound with Luhan oppa. See?” Regardless, Se Kyung was still trying hard to fix the broken bonds—and her enthusiasm had just risen with the earlier talks with Kai, who admitted to lost contact with EXO M. Somewhere deep inside, Se Kyung promised herself to gather them back together, and make it all right.

They eventually were back inside of the villa, after Se Kyung insisted to steal a couple more minutes in buying the groceries before Luhan could take her back. Despite the others who were about to chase insanity when they found out that Se Kyung hadn’t return from the near grocery, Chen and Li Yin were nowhere to be spotted. It caused Se Kyung’s heart to be squeezed by an invisible force, as her memory vividly pictured the perfect scene of her contentment in the moment Chen introduced her to Li Yin. Perhaps, that was how Kai felt like when he spoke about his scattered past.

“Hyung, where are you going?” Tao’s voice which boomed throughout the villa blinked Se Kyung back to reality. The youngest man trailed after Luhan, who was heading to the door. “You had just come back from grocery.” If anyone had noticed, Tao was being extremely clueless about the sneaky gesture of Luhan. When the time controller usually didn’t, as he had seen the future and recorded everyone’s action through his mind. And the moment Luhan lingered his fingers around the doorknob, was the moment when Tao began to doubt everything which he had witnessed in the future. Perhaps they were right—perhaps, the fate did changed ever since Lay returned Se Kyung’s memory. And somewhere in between the high hopes and realisation, Tao wished for everything to be better.

Luhan’s gaze was hollow, his back was facing the puzzled members as the question slowly dispersed into the crisp autumn air, before he eventually replied. “I need to go.” His foot trailed behind the other one as he plastered onto the spot, unmoving.

“Where?”

“Tao… you knew everything, so why are you putting me into the centre of attention like this?”

“Hyung, just answer me.”

Hesitation reached out for Luhan, and his lips parted open to response, when a loud wail echoed in the household. It was then when Se Kyung noticed another person missing—Lay. Without wasting any seconds, all of them sprung upstairs toward Lay’s bedroom. A sharp gasp left Se Kyung’s lips at the moment Xiu Min flung the door open.

It was a dreadful sight of a woman’s dead body, rotten in a transparent wardrobe. A huge dark blanket hung loosely over the top of the glass wardrobe, seeping to the corner of it in an attempt of falling. Lay was found quivering on the carpeted floor, harsh tears were b down his face as his palms were flat open. “My power—it—it—couldn’t…” His sentences were cut by a hopeless sob. “I—I couldn’t—! It’s gone…”

Despite her cringe for the corpse which was decomposing in the glass wardrobe, Se Kyung chose to crawl towards Lay and wrapped her comforting arm around him. His cries were shushed by her as she gently rocked their bodies from east to west. Unknowingly, a tear slipped down her eyes from witnessing the misery of a friend. “S-Se Kyung—! Why? Why—?” An abrupt hiccup escaped Lay’s lips as he buried his face in between her neck and hair. Cries were loud as it spread sadness to the other’s, who eventually felt dampness dropped down their cheeks.

Xiu Min’s feet walked towards them, before his knees met the ground as he wrapped his arm around both Se Kyung and Lay protectively. In his memories, Xiu Min could remembered bitterly that the last time he saw Lay cried so miserably like that, was when he received the news about his girlfriend. Yet now, the healer was crying again. And Xiu Min’s once frozen heart undeniably cracked when he saw his friend in such state. It reminded him of the day of Min Yun’s death. Perhaps it reminded the others too, which may be one of the reason why they were tearing down as well.

“Please—! C-Come back! Useless power—! Mi-Min Seok hyung…! Help me! P-Please!” Lay’s wails were mixed with yells along with a series of deafening crashes from the east wing of the villa—Chen and Li Yin—but no one dared to even flinch or to even check on them, as they were drown in endless sea of grieves. Perhaps the despair came from all of the deaths – from their ex-girlfriends, to Jessica and Kris.

A tiny thing that Tao didn’t realise was that not all of the future had changed.

And that included the forgotten couple at the back of their room who were left untouched.

Autumn breeze ruffled Tao’s jet black locks as he stared into space, a mug of warm tea was in his grip along with a company of Se Kyung at the balcony of Xiu Min’s room. Being the youngest one he was, Tao found comfort almost in everywhere, but he preferred to be with the ones who were more understanding—like Se Kyung and Kris. An unbearable pang attacked his fragile heart at the mere mention of his name, and Tao shook it off as his eyes glimpsed towards Se Kyung who sat on a crescent-shaped chair beside him. “I think Lay hyung had lost his power.”

Snapping out from her thoughts, Se Kyung distanced the mug of hot chocolate away from her lips as a frown graced upon her forehead. “Why did you think that?” Both of their voices were hushed by the night breeze, as a light shiver travelled down her spine.

Throwing a slight glance over his shoulder to caught an image of Xiu Min who sat up on the bed with his thinking face, Tao eventually responded, “Because hyung kept begging for his power to come back.”

“Maybe Lay meant his girlfriend. And he hasn’t recovered properly yet, right?”

“Yes. But can’t you see his gesture, noona?” Tao’s eyes collided with Se Kyung’s as the woman shrugged her shoulder lightly as a response. “Lay hyung opened his palms wide, and usually, if one of us grieved with palms opened like that—our powers will go out of control and destroy almost everything.” His dark orbs refracted the frightful experiences from the past, when everyone was out of control. However, in the end, Lay was the one who got the most control of his power after Kris, as he relaxed their throbbing heartbeats and lessened the panics. Today, when the healer was in a perfect despair, no one could do any of those actions back to Lay. And each of them felt useless as a friend.

Casting her gaze downwards, Se Kyung heaved out a sigh before her sight caught the twinkling stars ahead. “I don’t know, Tao.” The peaceful yet tensed atmosphere of the night allowed Tao to catch her whisper. “Haven’t you seen the future though?”

With exchanged gazes, Tao shook his head in response. “Yes. But I think that everything had changed.”

Faintly grinning in an acknowledgement of Tao’s realisation, Se Kyung let her head to bob up and down for countable seconds in agreement. “So you know that different ways could lead to different futures now?” The question sounded more like a tease, which was hinted with a statement, as her lips met the mug just in time Xiu Min wrapped a blanket around her from behind.

“Se Kyung… aren’t you tired?” A moan escaped in between the stifled yawn of Xiu Min, as he rested his chin on the top of her left shoulder.

The woman only shook her head lightly as a smile graced up her lips. “Go on and sleep first, oppa. Tao is not going to murder me, don’t worry.” With a soft tone, Se Kyung spoke up as her fingers ruffled his locks.

A moment after Xiu Min disappeared to the dreamland with a murmur of goodnight for both Tao and Se Kyung, the youngest one eventually heaved out a sigh as his stare plastered on the dim moon. “The thing about Lay missing his power did happened for real when I was travelling to the future. But it happened in much terrible way.” Deep frown shaded his smooth forehead as his eyebrows were furrowed.

“In what way, Tao?”

Throwing Se Kyung a faint cautious gaze, the young man spoke up, “In a way that you actually haven’t discovered about our powers yet—and you knew our secrets by accidentally opened Lay’s glass wardrobe. His ex-girlfriend fell onto you, and you were so shocked that you decided to run away.” A pause filled the surrounding as another sip was taken. “I think if Lay refused to give back your memories, then all of that would’ve happened.” Another hit of guilt registered in Tao’s heart upon realising about the enormous amount of helps which Lay had done to all of them, when they hardly do anything as he broke. “And Jessica noona’s little sister with her boyfriend will passed away. Along with Chen hyung and Li Yin noona.”

“Tao?”

“Yes?”

“Krystal did passed away two nights ago.”

 Should I call it a double update? Heuheu.. I was kinda excited for this one since Kai appeared! Yeay~!
And guys, I hope that you didn't see this as something bad, but like any other authors, I want my story to be upvoted too. I knew that my story isn't as great as the others', but at least do upvote if you guys enjoyed it so far ;)