II

BARE LEG

Kyungsoo’s penguin friend was hot topic of the night when the other members returned home. Sehun and Luhan shared their experience as the first care-takers, and received eye-twitches as response to the sheer un-believability of it all. But there was a positive side though: if they didn’t take care of Kyungsoo, Sehun and Luhan would still be an arguing pair. Now, they were back to being the HunHan brothers.

“I have a feeling that by the time all this is over, our family will be back together,” Luhan cheerily said.

Everyone except Sehun scoffed and sneered; they highly doubted they would get over their differences because of Kyungsoo’s randomness. Sehun just smiled at Luhan and patted his shoulder comfortingly.

“I think it’s possible though.”

“Thanks Sehunnie.”

Everyone fake gagged. They hadn’t had this much bromance off-screen since History era. Sehun and Luhan may have sorted things out between themselves, but there was no guarantee it would be the same for everyone else. Whatever Kyungsoo was going to do, they believed it wouldn’t change a thing… Even though each one actually wanted to go back to the old chummy days.

It was a beautiful morning the very next day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, nature was going through its routine of photosynthesis...

Aaaaand

Jong In was shrieking like a banshee.

Way to ruin the peaceful morning atmosphere, kkamjong.

“Get him off! Get him off! Get him off! Someone spray him with insecticide!”

Joonmyeon groaned. He sunk his face deeper into his pillow. He wasn’t Suho during break—nope. This wasn’t his problem. There was no EXO’s guardian angel right now—all appointments shall be attended to at a later date. You may call Suho’s brain secretary for further notice. Sorry, the phone you are trying to reach is busy now. Please try your call again later.

“What the-” Baekhyun looked at Jong In’s leg in confusion.

Jong In had entered the Baek Yeol room. Chan Yeol was lying on his bed with his blanket covering him. Baekhyun had stood up to get some water. Eyeing new flesh, Jong In’s leg was released in an instant to occupy Baekhyun’s leg.

“YES! I’m free!” Jong In sprinted out of the room. “I love you Baek hyung!”

“NOOO! I AM GOING TO SHAVE YOU BALD JONG IN! YOU HEAR ME!? LET’S SEE YOU ACT Y ON STAGE WHEN YOUR SHINY SCALP FLASHES OVER THE AUDIENCE!”

“How fascinating; he’s like some kind of leech.” Chan Yeol said, amused by the situation.

“SHUT UP AND GET HIM OFF OF ME!”

“Yeah right; as long as it’s not my leg, I couldn’t care less! You deserve this for leaving your eyeliners everywhere in the house.”

“What does that have to do with anything!?”

“Nothing—but I just found a situation to blame you, so I utilized it.”

“Hey, let go off my blanket! Baek! Stop it!”

Baekhyun successfully pulled Chan Yeol’s blanket off to reveal him in only his boxers. New leg flesh was seen again, and so the leech moved on from Baekhyun’s leg to Chan Yeol’s.

“BAEKHYUN!! I AM GOING TO THROW AWAY ALL YOUR EYELINERS! AND I’M GOING TO START WITH THE LIMITED EDITION ONE TAE YEON USES!”

“YOU WOULDN’T!”

“UUGGHH! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!” Kris stepped inside the room. “HOW IS ANYONE SUPPOSED TO SLEEP AROUND HERE!?

Wait, is that Kyungsoo?”

“Hello? Who does it look like? F(x)’s Victoria?” Chan Yeol deadpanned.

Kris blushed. “I’m done crushing on her, and you know that.”

“Wait, why hasn’t Kyungsoo latched onto Kris hyung yet?” Baekhyun asked.

“Ugh… I told my brain secretary not to take any calls…” Joonmyeon muttered as all the members met up in the living room. “Ok, so what’s up with Kyungsoo?”

“He’s got some bare leg , or something” Baekhyun said in disgust.

“I ‘m wearing my pajamas, so Kyungsoo didn’t latch on to me,” Kris explained. “As long as you cover your legs, like wearing pajamas or pants, Kyungsoo won’t attach himself to said body part.”

“Oh, that’s weird. I’m glad I’m wearing pajamas.” Suho said in relief. “Where’s he now?”

“Well, after latching onto my leg, Baekhyun hyung’s, Chan Yeol hyung’s, Jongdae hyung’s and Sehun’s, Yi Xing hyung was the last person he saw wearing shorts. So he’s currently on Yi Xing hyung’s leg,” Jong In explained.

“And where’s Yi Xing?”

“He just went to the kitchen to get some milk.”

As if on cue, the Chinese dancer appeared drinking from his carton of milk. Walking casually with Kyungsoo on his leg like it was the most normal thing in the world.

“Oh, hyung’s here.” Yi Xing said to Joonmyeon. Yup, he calls him hyung even though Suho’s only months older. “Look hyung, look; I have a Koala stuck to my leg.”

He pointed at Kyungsoo who’s arms and legs were wrapped securely around his leg; hugging it like he would die without it—staring up at the members with his huge eyes.

“Creepy…” Jongdae commented.

“Soo-yah,” Tao tried, “Get off Lay ge’s leg. It’s weird.”

Kyungsoo shook his head and nuzzled his face into Yi Xing’s leg.

“Hahaha, Kyungsoo that tickles.”

Suho sighed. The situation was bleak for him.

“Um, may I know who was assigned today?”

“Yeol and me,” Baekhyun answered. “But he already saw our legs, so I’m guessing he’s bored of them? He latches onto the last bare leg he’s seen.”

“Oh…” Suho sighed again. He was hesitant. Very very hesitant. But there wasn’t a choice.

“Ok, looks like it’s an exchange for today. Yi Xing and I aren’t assigned until three more days, but we’ll take your place since Kyungsoo’s stuck to him.”

*FLASH*

“What the... Luhan? ”

 Luhan just shrugged. “I took a picture of him on Lay’s leg for remembrance purposes.”

“Oh, hyung look look! Kyungsoo’s on my leg! When did this happen?” Yi Xing stated as he and Joonmyeon were on the couch watching television.

Joonmyeon didn’t respond. His right eye twitched. Why? Why you say?

Oh, no special reason really… EXCEPT MAYBE LAY’S NON-EXISTENT ATTENTION SPAN WAS DRIVING HIM CRAZY!

It was already the thirty-fifth “Oh! Hyung, look! Kyungsoo’s on my leg!” since this morning. Joonmyeon was about to combust. Why couldn’t Lay have been born with Alzheimer’s instead? Why did he have to posses an attention span the size of an ant? A molecule? An amoeba? Whichever was smaller! Actually, did he have an attention span at all? If it isn’t about choreography, Lay’s brain cells might all be taking vacation at Las Vegas playing poker, getting drunk or hooking up with y female brain cells at a casino!  

Joonmyeon closed his eyes and tried to relax, as Yi Xing suddenly stopped talking about Kyungsoo and his attention was grabbed by the tv screen. Not for long anyway.

It wasn’t always like this… Believe it or not, Yi Xing used to be a normal human being, once upon a time. But ever since the start of Wolf, Yi Xing was pushed to his limit as one of the main dancers. And it pretty much got worst during Growl and Overdose.It resulted to him using a large part of his brain for dancing, that nothing was left for simple use such as paying attention. Joonmyeon knew. He tried to understand. But he himself, as the leader of EXO K, had his fair share of pressure; and so it couldn’t be helped that he snapped at Yi Xing every so often for being the way he was. However, he cared. He really did. He’s just stressed, that’s all.

Breathe in, Joonmyeon; Calm down. You can handle this. It could be worst right? At least Kyungsoo is safe and not doing anything against the law. And you’ve dealt with Yi Xing’s “condition” for like, ever. This is nothing. You can get through this…

While Joonmyeon was calming himself down, Kyungsoo’s stomach suddenly growled. Well, he didn’t really join anyone for breakfast or lunch—they tried to persuade him, but he refused to detach himself from Lay’s leg. Lay’s attention from the tv was broken because of this. His eyes flew to Kyungsoo.

No.

No, no, no, no, no—don’t say it!

“Oh! Hyung, look! Kyungsoo’s on my leg!”

“GAAAAAAHHHH!” And Joonmyeon mentally flips tables.

“YI XING, WOULD YOU SHUT UP!?

I KNOW  HE’S ON YOUR LEG! EVERYONE KNOWS!

BUT YOU’RE TOO BUSY BEING DISTRACTED BY EVERY LITTLE THING IN THE WORLD TO REMEMBER FOR 5 SECONDS THAT HE’S BEEN THERE SINCE THIS MORNING!

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?

MAYBE YOU SHOULD GO DOWNTOWN TO THE NEAREST MENTAL HOSPITAL AND RESERVE A ROOM!

OR SHOULD I CALL FOR SOMEOME TO PICK YOU UP?

SINCE YOU’RE PROBABLY GOING TO GET DISTRACTED BY A FLYING SPECK OF DUST BEFORE YOU EVEN GET THERE, AND END UP LOSING YOUR WAY!

OH, SOMEONE CALL THE DOCTOR!~” Joonmyeon finished with Overdose’s first line of chorus.

A moment of silence ensued.

Joonmyeon was panting after lashing out. Yi Xing and Kyungsoo were just staring at him in shock.

After a while, Yi Xing decided to speak up.

“Well, I supposed I’ve paid enough attention to hear everything you just said.” He had a poker face on, but his voice gave away the hurt. “If you didn’t want me around, you could have just said so. Anyways, I’m going out to buy Kyungsoo something to eat. And maybe I’ll reserve a room at that mental hospital while I’m at it.”

*BAM*

Yi Xing left the apartment.

Yi Xing went to the nearest convenience store. Unfortunately, there was some guy there wearing shorts. As soon as Kyungsoo spotted the leg flesh, he immediately got off Lay’s leg and ran towards the guy.

“Kyungsoo! Stop!”

“Hey—what the!? Dude, get off my leg!”

“I am so sorry! My friend isn’t really feeling well today. He’s a little nuts.”

Lay crouched down to pull Kyungsoo off the guy’s leg. But no matter how hard he tried, Kyungsoo wouldn’t come off. They had to call the ahjussi handling the counter for help. Thankfully, they succeeded. The guy ran away, as Kyungsoo squirmed in Lay’s hold.

“Leg! Leg!”

“No Kyungsoo, that’s rude! You can’t hug the legs of strangers!”

“Noooo! Leeeeeeggg!”

“KYUNGSOO, STOP!” Yi Xing glared at him, which was pretty intimidating since he was rarely ever angry.

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!? DO YOU THINK IT’S OK TO INVADE PEOPLE’S PRIVATE SPACE!?

DO YOU!?”

Kyungsoo was cowering before him. Unfortunately, much too scared to give a reply.

“DO KYUNGSOO, WHEN I ASK A QUESTION, YOU ANSWER!

WERE YOU OR WERE YOU NOT BEING RUDE!?”

And, what a wonderful world we live in, because Kyungsoo just cried. Tears streaming down his reddened cheeks. Yi Xing’s rage disappeared at the sight of his crying team member, who he was supposed to take care of. As far as he knows, making someone cry wasn’t a form of caring. He yelled at Kyungsoo. Just like Joonmyeon yelled at him. Yi Xing felt guilt pool in his stomach.

He sighed tiredly and took a seat at one of the tables in the convenience store. He sat Kyungsoo on his lap, and wiped away the latter’s tears with his thumbs. Thank goodness he chose a rather hidden table at the corner of the store; it would be pretty awkward for the ahjussi to see them like this. 

“I’m sorry Soo-yah… It’s just that, you really shouldn’t be clinging to other people’s legs. You intrude their personal space and it makes them feel weird. And I’m sorry I raised my voice like that… I haven’t recovered from Joonmyeon hyung shouting at me… So, yeah… I’m sorry…”

Without noticing it himself, a tear rolled down Yi Xing’s cheek.

Because Joonmyeon didn’t always get mad at him like this. There was a time that he and Joonmyeon were very close.

The leader of K had always been kind to him; he admired Joonmyeon for seriously being Suho—EXO’s guardian angel. Although the K members made fun of him for carrying around a medicine kit, Yi Xing respected how much of a leader he was being. Yi Xing would never forget the day Suho was there to massage his leg cramp. Ever since then, he knew he could always rely on Suho. If you asked him personally, he would choose Joonmyeon over Kris any day of the week (no offense to Kris that is).

But ever since his attention span capacity started decreasing, Joonmyeon easily got frustrated with him. He knew Joonmyeon had a lot to handle being a leader; he knew Joonmyeon didn’t need him to be additional baggage. But he couldn’t focus on anything that wasn’t dance anymore. It was so hard to concentrate, but he didn’t mean it. He didn’t mean to get distracted so easily. He never meant to frustrate Joonmyeon.

Yi Xing snapped back to reality when he felt a warm thumb wipe across his cheek. He was crying? Wow, he didn’t even know. Kyungsoo was looking at him with concern; wiping away his tears. Kyungsoo patted Yi Xing on the head. And for the first time today, he spoke without inserting the word “leg” in the sentence.

“Joonmyeon hyung likes Yi Xing hyung. He likes it when you dance on stage.

He thinks it makes you look cool.” Kyungsoo giggled. “That was supposed to be a secret though.”

Yi Xing blushed at what he heard. He smiled his dimpled smile, and hugged Kyungsoo tightly. If it was for Joonmyeon, he supposed he could do better than best at trying to improve his poor attention span.

“Let’s get your food, and go back home.” 

Joonmyeon was lying on the couch the whole time. Staring up at the ceiling, reflecting on what he just did, calling himself an idiot because he let his emotions get the best of him. He shouted at Yi Xing. And Yi Xing, though he would never make it known, was a tad bit sensitive. Joonmyeon knew that. But still, Joonmyeon lashed out at him.

Joonmyeon wasn’t fit to be called a leader. Leaders understand; leaders don’t crack under pressure; leaders don’t hurt their team members. Although Lay was a part of EXO M, he had always had a soft-spot for the unicorn. Yi Xing was gentle, Yi Xing wasn’t rowdy like the K members (save for Kyungsoo). Yi Xing obeyed when told to dance morning til night—no complains, only perseverance. Joonmyeon admired that. Joonmyeon liked to see Yi Xing dance and smile and enjoy on stage.

And even though Joonmyeon lashed out at him, Yi Xing didn’t even shout back.

Joonmyeon fisted his hair. Why was he so mean to someone so nice? If anyone was the angel, it was Lay. He can’t believe he even thought of telling him to—

At the realization, Joonmyeon immediately stood up from the couch.

“And maybe I’ll reserve a room at that mental hospital while I’m at it.”

Worry instantly clung to Joonmyeon’s heart. He immediately started putting on his shoes; hoping he could get to Lay before it was too late. As he reached to open the door, it opened on its own.

And there before him was Yi Xing. Carrying a paper bag, with Kyungsoo still on his leg.

“Oh, hyung…” Yi Xing was pretty surprised. “You’re going out?”

Joonmyeon didn’t reply. Only grabbed Yi Xing by the arm and hugged him tightly.

“I’m sorry…” Joonmyeon’s voice shook. “I didn’t mean it; I wasn’t thinking straight. Please don’t take what I said to heart. You are wonderful in your own way. You make mistakes, but that’s ok. People make mistakes. I know you’ll learn from them. I didn’t act like a good leader. I didn’t understand you. I only tried to understand myself. I’m sorry. I--”

“Hyung, shut up.” Yi Xing giggled.

Joonmyeon let go of him in confusion.

“Huh?”

Yi Xing gave Kyungsoo the paper bag with food. Kyungsoo took it and went to eat at the dinner table. That very view left Joonmyeon gaping.

“H-he’s not clinging to your leg!”

“So you like it when I dance on stage huh?”

“W-what?” Joonmyeon blushed.

“I look cool, right?”

“D-did Kyungsoo tell you this?”

“Answer my question first, hyung~”

“This conversation is over. I’ll take it that you’ve forgiven me.” Joonmyeon walked away completely red.

“Hyung~ Come back~ Something’s wrong with your face~”