“Next week is exams week.”

“So?” Suho face palmed himself at Jongdae’s reaction. Of course, the newbie would be reacting that way.

“Which means, Cheonsa would get all of us to take those hella tests,” Minseok answered.

“And if we live a normal school life, I’m sure we’ll get obliterated,” Luhan continued.

“We wouldn’t want that,” Kris finished. Chen’s mouth was shut up by the consecutive statements from the eldest ones. He wouldn’t contradict anymore.

“But of course, we wouldn’t go without a plan. Right, Suho hyung?” Tao said cheerfully.

“Right.” Suho leaned on his desk. “For a little thrill,” he smirked. “I’ll reveal the plan on the exam date.”

“Then what are we doing here—“Baekhyun was cut off by Suho once again.

“I’m going to announce the members that will be participating in this plan.” Chanyeol, who was eating, suddenly perked his ears up.

“You mean not all of us are included?” Suho nodded. All the members exchanged looks. It’s the first time that something like this happened. Maybe it’s something critical?

“So, shall I say it?” Suho let out a sigh before speaking. “The noisy trio: Baekhyun, Chen, and Chanyeol—“

“WHAT?!” Two high-pitched voices and one deep growl echoed the room. The members covered their ears. Not a good combination. Suho waved it off and continued announcing.

“Next, D.O—“

“Do you think I can—“

“Yes, you can.” Suho glared at him to show who’s holding authority. D.O just crumbled onto one side while Kai patted his back to give some encouragement.

“Also, Kris—“

“Exams are really not my style—“

“So are the other members’ style, Kris. Okay?”

“You can do it, hyung.” Tao comforted him after he saw Kris being sulky.

“Lastly, Luhan hyung—“

“Wait! Me? I just joined!” Luhan complained.

“Me too! Duh.” Chen followed.

“Choose Minseok instead!” Luhan pointed at his seatmate who was drinking coffee. Xiumin almost spit it out.

“What? Why me?” Xiumin questioned.

“Uh...because you have more experience?”

“Hyung, that’s exactly why I chose you. Because you have less experience.” Everyone started to talk at the same time, on which Suho commanded on.

“Calm down, okay? Everyone calm down.” Suho stood up and wavered his hands as the members got more rumbled after the choosing scene. “There’s a reason why I chose you guys instead of the others. Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Chen, D.O, Kris hyung, and Luhan hyung. What do you think you guys have in common?” The six of them thought deeply, unsure on what to answer to the leader’s question. But Kai immediately spoke of it as the thought hit him.

“They’re the ones who joined only this year.” All of them turned to Kai, especially Luhan and Chen. They didn’t know that not only them are new ones but also the others who seemed like they’ve been here for a long time already.

“Exactly.” The six them shared a comfortable silence before Suho spoke again. “Do you understand now? The reason why I wanted the six of you to do it is because I want to tell you that we’re not just ting around firing our guns at a certain person. I want you to understand more on why we do this, and what the real purpose behind this group is.” He let out a sigh, wanting the members to fully understand his goal. “The very first members were me, Tao, Kai, and Xiumin hyung. Also Lay..." he was haltered for a while, but he continued speaking. “We experienced more than you had, so I want you to try and engage more on this...thing that we're doing. So before you obliterate, at least you can tell that you've done something your worth. Okay?" 

“So, that’s about it. Don’t worry, I’m not mad. But you guys deserve some lecture once in a while.” Suho smiled. “Prepare yourselves for exams day, because this is the most critical plan that I’ve ever thought of. It might lead to Cheonsa’s downfall...forever.” Luhan’s ears did not miss that comment. Somehow, his nerves wanted to back out. Honestly, Luhan didn’t think of Cheonsa as a bad guy from the start. He didn’t want to continue hurting him...as if he’s someone fragile and special at the same time.

“Meeting adjourned!” Suho stepped forward, so did the others, disturbing Luhan’s thoughts. “1, 2, 3!”

“EXO SARANGHAJA!”

**

Luhan immediately went out of that room. He went straight to the rooftop, with his head throbbing at his own thoughts. He didn’t want Cheonsa to get hurt...especially by him. But what’s the point in continuing, right?

As soon as the air breezed by him, he felt relaxed. Nothing’s better than being alone, thinking about your thoughts and making a way to get through them. It felt really nice for Luhan.

Until someone—sometwo, opened the door, on which surprised him.

“Excuse me, but can you please leave?” Luhan said jokingly to the new guests on his comfort place.

Kris and Tao just laughed. "We're the ones who are supposed to be saying that."

They just sat on the floor and talked to each other as the sun was setting. Luhan laughed so hard when he learned that Tao was afraid of horror houses.

"The members were having fun after school back then, then we decided to enter one. We were in front of the door when I felt someone shivering in fear. Turned out it was Tao," Kris told him.

And they just all roared in laughter at the memory.

"Say, Luhan hyung, have you learned the other's stories?" Tao asked.

"A few. Just Minseok's, Suho's and Lay's."

"Oh. Suho had the worst," Kris said sadly. 

"Yeah, they told me."

"What's yours? If you don't mind telling me," he asked Kris.

"Ugh. Kris hyung never told anyone about his story. Such a killjoy," Tao teased his hyung.

"Well, that's because I haven't remembered yet! I just joined a month ago!" Kris fought back. Luhan just laughed and thought they were cute.

"Wanna hear mine instead? It's interesting, hyung~" Tao cooed.

"Okay, if you insist," Luhan just said and smiled.

"Okay. So when I was alive—“

"His life was perfect, I tell you," Kris commented.

"It wasn't that perfect, hyung, I still died." Tao said. "I can say that we were rich, and I had everything I want. I even got myself a boyfriend," Tao smiled at the thought. "But of course, it wasn't permanent. Later in my life I learned that I had lung cancer. I died after six months of being diagnosed."

"Until my last breath, I was with my boyfriend. I can't remember his name, nor his face now. But I got mad at him before I died. You know why?"

"Why?"

"Because he killed himself."

"And his reason...his stupid reason..."

"He said he wants to be with me, even in the afterlife."

The three of them silenced after that. It was a bit sensitive, and only now did Tao realize that he was crying because of mixed emotions. Sadness, anger, even pain was visible in his tough eyes. It’s a complete opposite to Tao’s hard looks. Softness was the word to describe him while he’s in deep pain right now. Tao felt really sad, he didn’t plan to tell Luhan that. He just wanted to tell Luhan how life can be happy as he did have it that way, but he ended up crying in front of his hyungs.

"So, that's about it. I'll just get something to drink," Tao finished and went downstairs. He’s too embarrassed to see them now.

"Say, Luhan, can I trust you a secret?"

"Sure, Kris. What's it?" Luhan said as he came back to his senses.

"I know exactly how I died. I just needed to take this burden off my chest because I can't take it anymore. You're the only one who'll know about this because I trust you enough among all the other members. Okay?" Kris felt his heart palpitating. Finally, he’ll tell someone. He lied about joining a month ago. He came to this world exactly a day before Tao, because he died a day before him in the real world. He watched as Tao stood up by himself, not depending on anyone. And how Tao joined EXO as well. Tao seemed happy, until Kris can’t control himself anymore and joined the group one month ago. He didn't know what to feel as he realized that Tao didn't recognize him anymore. His heart broke at the thought.

"Okay. Spill it." Luhan had the feeling on what Kris was about to say. He readied his heart, but realized that he didn’t feel his heart at all. What’s wrong with him? This is getting more complicated.

"I died because...I killed myself."

Luhan was about to ask why when he realized what those words meant. Oh no. He wasn’t actually—

"Does that...mean you're—“

"Yes, I was Tao's boyfriend in the real world.” Kris broke. Literally. Tears flowed down his cheeks. Kris looks so manly at the first look, but seeing him crumble like this made Luhan shed tears as well. Kris is a nice guy. He doesn’t deserve to be treated like this. He kept all of these feelings to himself. And now that he said it to Luhan, it was like he let all the stress out that he just cried. Finally, Kris has lifted a burden from his chest. It was like he was freed after being caged for a very long time.

Tao didn't come back.

**

Sorry it took long! :( But anyway, how was this? Only a few changes were made...and I just added some emotional words to it. How did it turn out? Can you comment on it? :)

Well, thank you for everything! This story is my first story here, and I can't help but feel flattered by the comments even if all I do is just edit the original ones. Haha. Thank you thank you thank you! <3 And I love love love y'all~ <3 really. :D