EPILOGUE

The smell of kimchi wafted in the air.

There was the clinking of plates and glasses, as they were placed on the surface of the dining table. If someone were to listen just a bit more, light humming could also be heard. Lidded eyes opened widely to such nostalgic harmony in the morning. The members shot out of their beds all at the same time; darting through the small distance that separated their rooms—bumping into each other in the process.

They continued to run. Sudden excitement coursing through their veins. The humming got louder. Pretty soon, it had turned into singing. The familiar deep voice full of emotion only urged the boys to run faster.

As they stood outside the kitchen, they were greeted by the sight of a small male—clad in his blue apron, singing “What is Love” from EXO’s MAMA album. He was busy placing the Kimchi Spaghetti onto the plates around the table. The members just stood there, probably overwhelmed by the moment. Or maybe, asking themselves if they were dreaming or not.

The small male must have felt the strong stares sent his way, finally looking up to see the eleven members just standing at the door. Mouths hung low, eyes blown wide, and shoulders slumped to the ends of oblivion. He raised a brow at them, as his lips formed the familiar heart shape they were known for, a chuckle escaping his lips from how weird his band mates looked.

“Well? Are you guys just going to stand there? There’s Kimchi Spaghetti on the table, for cry it out loud! You should all be rushing to take first bite and—oof!”

Kyungsoo was crushed in a super, mega, ultra group hug.

“Kyungsoo! Kyungsoo!” Luhan was the first to cry. He frantically started kissing Kyungsoo’s face. “Are you back to normal? Do you see me? How many fingers am I holding?”

“Uh…” Kyungsoo was very confused, plus he was blushing because his face was kissed all over. “Three?”

“Omigosh, yes!” Luhan embraced him tightly.

“Luhan get off! My turn!”

“No, I want to kiss Kyungsoo next!”

“Me! Me!”

“So… I hit the back of my head… and I was nuts for twelve days? Is that what you guys are saying?” A curious Kyungsoo asked while eating breakfast.

“Pretty much,” Sehun supplied. “It’s something that’s supposed to run in your family. Have you never talked about 4D Irrationality?”

“Hmm…” Kyungsoo thought for a while. “Oh… I think we did. But it was way back when I was a kid. And I never experienced it happen to anyone, before I left for SM entertainment. So I guess it was pushed to the very back of my mind.

But… I still find it hard to believe, though. What were the things I did?”

“You bought a penguin online.”

“You clung to my leg like a Koala.”

“You got stuck in revolving doors.”

“You nearly threw me down the Han river.”

“You dressed up as a girl and dated all eleven of us.”

“You-”

“ENOUGH! ARE YOU ALL TROLLING ME? IS JONGDAE PAYING YOU GUYS TO DO THIS?”

Jongdae innocently raised his hands in defense. “Sorry Soo, but this is all legit. I’ve got nothing to do with this.”

“Finish eating your breakfast, then we’ll show you the scrapbook we made. Hopefully everything will seem more believable afterwards.”

Kyungsoo nodded and continued to eat his meal.

Throughout breakfast he noticed something different. The members were all talking animatedly, smiling at each other—and it seemed that time flew back to when they first became EXO. He couldn’t help but smile at the way things were, but he also couldn’t help asking how it seemed like their family got fixed all of a sudden.

“A-are you guys… All friends again?”

The members looked at him, smiling. Kris decided to be a tease.

“When did we ever stop, Soo?”

“Well, you used to be mad at Tao. Because he didn’t like your drawings.”

“What are you talking about? I love Tao.”

“But-but!”

Kyungsoo tried to protest, arms flailing, eyes widening. Everyone started laughing at him.

Baekhyun placed a hand on his shoulder. “He’s just playing, Soo. Finish eating first and we’ll explain later.”

Kyungsoo sat on the couch with a colorful scrapbook at hand.

He opened it to the first page, where 4D Irrationality was written in bold letters; 12 days with Kyungsoo 2014 written underneath. He turned the page to find a picture of himself with a Penguin. His eyes grew to the shape of saucers. Turning the pages, more outrageous pictures were seen: him clinging onto Yi Xing’s leg, dancing in the rain, wearing a cardboard box. Him and some of the members wearing flower crowns, and even cramped inside a lego house. But maybe the craziest pictures had been him together with Chan Yeol, Kris and Jong In— the three wearing doggy ears, collars and furry tails. Or maybe it was him cross-dressing—and taking loved-dovey selfies with each member. How did that happen?

The members smirked at Kyungsoo’s obvious cluelessness.

“So, would you like to know what you’ve been up to the last twelve days?” Minseok offered.

Kyungsoo nodded; eyes sparkling in curiosity. “Tell me everything.”

And they did, right from the very beginning—starting with Hunhan. They told their stories; shared the feelings tied within those moments. And Kyungsoo couldn’t believe it; Couldn’t believe that in his state of craziness, he actually managed to bring the family back together. An answered prayer.

“All of you made up with each other?”

They nodded.

“J-Jong In and I…” Kyungsoo looked at the tanned male. “Did we make up?”

Jong In took Kyungsoo’s hand in his, squeezing it tightly. He smiled at the latter.

“Yeah, we did. But I’m still going to apologize again later. I want to properly tell you how I felt, and the reason behind my obnoxious behavior. I’ll re-apologize when we go back to our room. Then I’ll take you out for ice cream.”

Kyungsoo couldn’t hide the heart-shaped smile that overwhelmed his features.

By the end of the scrapbook, Kyungsoo reached the twelfth day of 4D Irrationality. But there was no weird picture—nothing unusual. What was placed there was a picture during their pre-debut; dark circles underneath their eyes, towels hung on their shoulders, and smiles on their tired faces.

“Guys, this is our pre-debut picture. Why is it in here?”

The members smiled at him, remembering that sad sad day. 

One by one, they explain to him why that picture was placed there.

“Kyungsoo, on the last day of your randomness, you thought we were dead.”

“According to you, we died after releasing Wolf.”

“It was because of a car accident: a drunk driver collided with the company van.”

“You didn’t die because you were still at the recording studio.”

“And on that day, you cried. Cried so much as you took this very photo in your hands, asking us why we left so soon.”

“You pleaded for us to come back, Kyungsoo.”

“You said that we weren’t the perfect family, but still you loved us.”

“You kissed our beds.”

“You thought of our favorite music.”

“You greeted us goodnight, even though we’ve been dead for a year already.”

“You missed us.”

“Of course.”

Kyungsoo said with longing in his eyes.

The members looked at him with the same longing.

“If… if you guys ever died,

And left me alone,

I…

I…

I wouldn’t even think about that!

How would I live to wake up each morning, preparing breakfast for only one person?

Or-or, how could I ever sit down on the couch in the living room, without being squished by two or three members taller than me?

Who do I dance with? Who do I sing with?

To whom do I share my laughter, tears, joys, hurts, and everything in between?

Who do I call my second home,

If you guys go missing from my life?

I know we had our tough times as a family,

but I never stopped loving you guys;

always will.

So don’t ever speak about you guys dying ever again.”

The members pulled Kyungsoo into a hug. The petite male was getting teary eyed after his dramatic speech; Just the same, the members also felt water pool in their eyes. Such a straight-forward expression of affection warmed their hearts ever so much. It felt like a sweater, cozily encasing them in its soft fabric. It felt like socks, and mittens, and scarves. It felt like hot chocolate, and warm soup, and cup ramyeon. It felt like love.

Fighting and arguing—it happens to everyone. It’s a natural human thing. But in the end, you’ll realize that it just isn’t worth it. Sometimes, it takes a difficult situation for you to realize that; to realize what you have and how much you should treasure it. For EXO, they learned this in twelve days of unforeseen activities, because of a certain little omma who made a crying wish in his prayer. It was heard up in the heavens, and they do say the Lord works in mysterious ways. It was the craziest twelve days they’ve ever had. And they couldn’t have asked for anything better.

From that day forward, they made it a point to have a family outing once a week, no matter how busy they were. They talked about the things that happened to them—the good stuff and the bad stuff. They listened to each other. They spent time with one another. They showed how much they loved their brothers, because honestly, they won’t be around forever. 

So while you have the people who have given you the best days of your life, Show them, tell them, make them feel the love. Be thankful that you have them, because these are the kinds of people that make living worthwhile.

END