Since Tao got moved to post surgery room, both Kris and Chanyeol never left. They sat on either side of the bed, watching Tao and the equipment surrounding him, hoping every second that the youngest would wake up. Baekhyun stopped by everyday, going back and forth to their apartments and the hospital to bring food and change of clothes for the other two. It was tiring, but he knew it was more tiring for Chanyeol and Kris; they haven’t been sleeping well since the accident.

None of them has.

Baekhyun had been worrying even from the apartment he shared with the elf. Chanyeol haven’t been coming home since Tao was admitted and after sharing the bed together with him for so long, sleeping alone in the king sized bed made him felt very lonely and cold. Waking up alone was just as torturous. He was used with waking up first and cuddled into Chanyeol’s long and strong arms before nudging him awake and now he was greeted by the cold state of the other’s side of the bed. Baekhyun had never felt so selfish. He knew he was not supposed to feel this way. Tao was struggling for his life everyday and he knew Chanyeol is beyond frightened of losing the only family member he had left. So he it all up and came by everyday, juggling between his own work, rest, and making Chanyeol rest; everyday.

Some of their friends had stopped by, some left fruits and cake, just in case Tao would wake up the day after and he craved for some sweet treats, because he always does.

Baekhyun threw the cake into the trash bin yesterday. The cake was ruined and Tao was still static.

Chanyeol and Kris’ colleagues had visited too; they had to come down to the cafeteria downstairs to get some things sorted out. It was hard since now both of them are parts of the board. Kris’ father, the chairman, had taken over the daily business for now. Victoria, Kris’ elder sister, Joonmyeon and Luhan had also agreed to take over Chanyeol and Kris’ responsibility at the company for the moment. Baekhyun was grateful, at least Chanyeol was still sane enough to hand over his task to his colleagues other than forcing himself to do it or completely disregard it. The company was what he had been working so hard for, the legacy of his parents that he value so much. Baekhyun was proud of him because of that principle too. Chanyeol was a dedicated man, and he lived his life for his passion, the people he loved, and for his family.

But sometimes, Baekhyun really wanted nothing but for Chanyeol to be able to put himself first.

“Baby, would you please go home?” Baekhyun begged Chanyeol, who was watching Tao like a hawk. His eyes red, his hair messy, and his beard had grown a lot. It’s Friday already, a week since the accident.

“No, I’ll stay,” Chanyeol mumbled, eyes never left his brother.

“Honey,” Baekhyun kneeled next to Chanyeol’s chair and held his cheek.

Chanyeol’s gaze was so tired. Everyone’s is.

“Please. You’ll get sick if it continues on like this. Eight hours. We’ll go home and get eight hours of sleep, and then I will drive you back here in a blink of an eye. Or we can take turns if you want. I’ll stay here and call when he wakes up,”

Chanyeol didn’t respond but blinked, and Baekhyun knew Chanyeol had realized he needed rest badly. The taller closed his eyes and leaned into Baekhyun’s hands, while the other pulled him into an embrace, kissing his hair.

“You too, Kris,” he said, turning his head to the man on the other side of Tao’s bed.

Kris shook his head stubbornly. He needed to be here for Tao.

“We both know you’re in the verge of going insane. Go home and rest. I would be here to take care of him. If something changed I would call and you’ll be here in a heartbeat. Please,” Baekhyun said again, still cradling Chanyeol.

Kris sighed, and Baekhyun knew he had gotten into his head too.

Chanyeol pulled himself back and kissed Baekhyun’s nose, “Thank you,”

Baekhyun smiled and patted Chanyeol’s arm, “You’re welcome, honey. Now lets go,”

Baekhyun stood and pulled Chanyeol up with him, “I parked the car in the front lobby, you go to the apartment and rest, take Kris to our apartment too. I don’t think he could handle going to his and Tao’s. I have set up the guest bedroom for him. I also made stew and noodles in the fridge, you can warm them up when you guys wake up,”

Kris rose too, leaning and kissing Tao’s forehead, “I will be back soon,”

Of course Tao didn’t respond. Kris pressed another kiss on the younger’s head and mumbled against the bandage, “You would call me if anything changes right?”

Baekhyun nodded, “And you’ll be here in a heartbeat. Go,”

Both Kris and Chanyeol looked reluctant, lingering for a while as they watched Tao again.

Baekhyun had to push them out.

Kris and Chanyeol returned noon the next day. Turns out both were so tired and eight hours was not enough to make up for their sleep deprivation. They came into the room fully recharged, finding Baekhyun asleep with his head next to Tao’s hand.

Chanyeol pulled him back softly, patting his shoulder.

Baekhyun yawned, “You’re back,”

Chanyeol smiled softly, “Good afternoon,”

Baekhyun smiled back, “Good afternoon. Was it a good rest?”

Chanyeol nodded, kissing his fiancé’s forehead, “Your turn now,”

“I am okay,” Baekhyun smiled, “Tao was so peaceful and so was I,”

Kris approached the side of Tao’s bed, kissing the younger’s forehead, somewhere on the bandages that covered his eyes and head, “Good afternoon baby,” he greeted, before turning to Baekhyun and nodded his head thank you.

“Did Dr. Park stop by?” Chanyeol asked, looking at his brother.

“Yes. He said he would be in the hospital tonight if we needed something,” Baekhyun leaned on Chanyeol’s stomach, “I really hope he would wake up soon,”

“Yesterday Dr. Park said Tao is healing well…” Kris reached and caressed a part of Tao’s hair, “He’s just taking his time… He would wake up soon,”

Just as Kris finished his sentence, there was a knock on the door. The three of them turned to see who were coming, and the door opened to reveal Victoria and their parents.

“Good afternoon,” Mrs. Wu greeted with a soft smile, carrying a big bouquet of flower.

Kris raised from his seat, “Mom,” he said as he approached his parents.

Baekhyun greeted them before taking the flower bouquet and settled it on the desk in the corner. Mr. Wu pulled Chanyeol into a hug, patting his back in sympathy before doing the same thing to his own son.

“How is he?” Mrs. Wu asked, standing on one side of Tao’s bed, caressing the boy’s cheek.

“He was stable,” Kris answered, one of his ear is still focused on the constant beeps of Tao’s machine despite whatever is happening in the room, “Nothing has changed,”

Victoria turned to his brother and circled her arms around Kris’ waist, “Did you at least have some rest?”

She was concerned. She knew that her brother loved Zitao so much, and that the recent event has consumed a lot of his energy.

So she was glad when Kris nodded, “I just got back actually. Slept for twelve hours straight. It helps when I don’t have to think about work for a while. Thanks, jie,”

“No worries, Yifan, you know I would do anything to help you… How are you, though?” Victoria asked, pushing Kris’ bangs out of his eyes, “Don’t even think to lie,” she pouted a little.

Kris shrugged, staring at his lifeless fiancé, “I just want him to wake up,”

“He would,” Mrs. Wu said, still caressing Tao’s cheek, “He would always return to Yifan,”

Victoria smiled at her mother’s words, and turned to her brother, “Believe in your bond,” she whispered, encouraging.

Kris smiled a little. He does believe in their bond, and never once he doubt it. But it was nice to be reminded, that Tao would always come back to him. They indeed have this invisible bond of some sort, “Thanks jie,”

Victoria leaned her head on Kris’ shoulder, squeezing him a little, trying to give him as much energy as she could. Her brother is going through hard times and she wanted him to know that she’d always be there for him. Kris seemed to understand. He circled one arm on his sister’s shoulders, nudging his head on hers to let her know he’s thankful.

Mr. Wu cleared his throat, “Actually, there’s something I would like to discuss with you two. Baekhyun too, if you’d like to come with us outside,”

Kris was ready to protest but Victoria, knowing her brother too well, cut him before he opened his mouth, “Mom and I will be with him. I want to have time with my baby too, you know. Go,”

Kris gave her a look, but their mother nodded firmly. So even reluctant, he followed his father out to the hallway, Chanyeol behind him with Baekhyun, who was looking rather confused.

When Baekhyun pulled the door close, Victoria sighed and approached the other side of Tao’s bed, sitting next to him carefully. She reached and held his hand, warming it with both of hers.

“Little panda, I miss you,” she said, pressing her cheek on Tao’s hand, “Lets go to the salon and get our hair done or something… Who’s going to company me to get nail art when you’re here? See? My cuticles are going crazy from all the paperwork I have to do at work…”

“Don’t whine, Qian. You’re doing extra work to help your brother,” Mrs. Wu gave her a look, her lips forming a small smile.

“I know and I don’t mind. It’s just that I need extra cuticle care. And I know it’ll be fun to do it with Zitao,” Victoria grinned sheepishly. She then examined Tao’s fingers, “He needs one too, see?”

Mrs. Wu smiled wider, “I do think he would be happy to get a treatment with you,”

“He would,” Victoria mumbled, as she reached for her bag, trying to find her hand cream to apply on Tao’s dry skin. She carefully applied it on both his hands, giving a massage on his right where the IV needle is absent.

“Mom?” she called, and Mrs. Wu turned her attention to her daughter, “He would wake up, right?”

She wanted to make sure she’s not giving her brother a false hope. Deep in her heart, she also wanted to reassure herself that his little panda is coming back.

Mrs. Wu smiled, caressing Tao’s arm, “He would…” she said, before leaning into Tao’s ear, “Wake up, son… Yifan needs you… Gather your energy and open your eyes… We’re here for you, and we will wait as long as you need… We love you, Zitao…”

Victoria listened to her mother whispering prayers into Tao’s ear the next. She didn’t sound worry, but rather light, like she was willing to give Tao time, confident that he would return. Victoria didn’t know how she does it, but her mother’s hunch had always been right. So Victoria held the boy’s hand tightly between her own fingers as she silently pray too, hoping that his soon to be brother in law would wake up and relieve everyone from the mess of emotion in their hearts.

When Baekhyun pulled the door close on the other side, Kris immediately voice his thoughts, “What was it that you could not talk about inside, Dad?”

“I actually just got back from meeting the inspector about Tao’s accident,” he answered.

“What about it, Sir?” Chanyeol asked, “Was there something wrong?”

“The location of the accident was peculiar. It’s like Zitao intentionally being at the wrong place at the right time,”

“What do you mean? That my fiancé consciously stood still in front of a speeding vehicle?” Kris asked in disbelief, “That he did that at his own will?”

“No, son. I am saying that it looked like it,”

Chanyeol frowned, “Was it fabricated?”

Baekhyun turned his head towards Chanyeol and the other’s expression confirmed his suspicion. His eyes widened, “Someone did this to him?”

Mr. Wu took a deep breath, “They are still investigating, but it did indeed seem peculiar even to me too. Zitao was hit by something, clearly. The police hasn't informed me about what actually hit him. Maybe they knew but not able to tell me yet,”

“And how was the bus driver? Did they find him? Was he drunk or something?” Chanyeol asked, folding his hands in front of his chest. He’s not liking where this is going.

“Bus driver? Who told you about that?” Mr Wu asked, frowning.

“Dr. Park,” Baekhyun answered, “When he finished operating on Tao,”

“Maybe he assumed it from the extent of his injuries, because we were not sure of what hit him,” Mr. Wu concluded, “I would inform Zhoumi about this so he could talk to the inspector and Dr. Park. But meanwhile, I don’t want you to panic, I have assigned Zhoumi to help us with this and the inspector had also assured me that he’s assigning his best man on the case,”

“Who dared to do this to him? Why would they do this?” Kris asked, on his sides. He couldn’t believe this. Someone dared to harm his Tao. This person would be worse than dead when he found him.

“My best speculation would be because of something related to his work… Or yours,” Mr. Wu looked straight into Kris’ eyes while the other’s widened, realizing.

Chanyeol turned and stared at Kris, “Do you think…”

Kris eyed Chanyeol, and knew in an instant that they put their suspicion on the same person.

“It must be him,” Kris said, realization washing through him. Of course it was him.

“What? Who? Him who?” Baekhyun asked to no one in particular, both Kris and Chanyeol looked like they were in their own world.

Kris’ breath turned uneven, like he was trying hard to suppress the rage that was building inside him. His hands fisted hard, shaking.

“Is there something you need to tell me?” Mr. Wu asked, eyeing both Kris and Chanyeol this time.

Chanyeol stared at Kris. He should be the one to tell his father.

And Kris began, “For a while, we have been trying to expand our business and enter automotive industry. We have an eye on this one company, and we have been meeting with them, talked about working together. Chanyeol and I, we have even considered acquiring it, if all goes well in the next ten years,”

Kris had to stop to take a deep breath and Chanyeol continued for him, “But just before we sign the contract to work together, Luhan informed us about how the owner of this company had another business in the black market. We could not afford that; we cannot risk our own company. So on the day we were supposed to meet and sign, we came to tell him that the deal was off instead. He didn’t take it well, he even yelled and went mad,”

“Long story short,” Kris mumbled, “He threatened us for refusing to work with him and for disrespecting him. We could barely left the place in one piece. He literally jumped at us. It was a couple months ago. The person I was meeting before the call from the hospital last week was the representative of the other automotive company we were planning to partner with. Perfect timing,” he concluded bitterly.

“And who was this person?” Mr. Wu asked, frowning.

“Ok. Ok Taecyeon,” Chanyeol answered for them both. Kris looked so mad and Chanyeol felt anger building up inside him too.

“That was a serious acquisition, Yifan. Ok family and the company are respectable, they have become a very influential player in that industry and in the country,” Mr. Wu said, his voice remained on the same tone.

“I am not just pointing finger, Dad,” Kris said, his voice impatient, “That person owns a damn black market business for something that is more than illegal. It’s inhumane. And I don’t think it would be impossible for him to own a gang or mafia or some people that could do this! Come on, Dad. Everyone knows who we are, who Tao is. He wanted to get his revenge and used Tao to get to me!”

Mr. Wu reached and patted Kris’ shoulder, “I am not saying I don’t believe you. I am saying we have to let the police investigate this, and not to make conclusion based on assumptions,”

“I am assigning someone from us for it too. I don’t want to only rely on third party. We have to have a hand in this, make sure it’s not corrupted. God knows if Ok has access there too,” Kris sighed, almost couldn’t believe what’s actually happening.

“I agree. Let’s have Chen and Xiumin to do this,” Chanyeol said, his face was so serious. It frightened Baekhyun a little; he had never seen Chanyeol looking this… mad.

“Even if it was him, it was still odd to me. Why would he left Tao there and not bring him along? I mean I am not complaining, the situation could be completely different if he had got Tao, but… It’s odd,” Chanyeol added, his eyebrows knotted.

Kris bit his lip, shaking his head, eliminating his analysis one by one, “Indeed. There must be something. I will have someone to guard Tao from now on,”

“Alright, I think it would be good indeed. We have to anticipate everything,” Mr. Wu said, taking a deep breath before continuing, “The inspector would want to talk to you guys soon. I’ll ask him to come here so you wont have to leave Tao for too long, but please don’t say anything until Zhoumi was with you too,” he added sternly.

Both Chanyeol and Kris nodded, while Baekhyun looked overwhelmed.

“Are you okay, Baekhyun?” Mr. Wu asked, his expression softened all of a sudden.

“Uh- Yes, sir. I’m just processing all this,” Baekhyun said, holding his breath.

Chanyeol turned to him, reaching and pulling him close, like apologizing that for a moment he forgot Baekhyun was right there. Baekhyun leaned into Chanyeol’s shoulder, feeling a little selfish. His fiancé must have felt awful inside; he was supposed to be the one to comfort him and not the other way around. But it was overwhelming for him too, right now, so he would let Chanyeol calm him before he does the same after.

“Very well, then. I think you guys should get back inside. I am going to talk to Zhoumi about all of this,” Mr. Wu said, opening the door again to inform his wife.

Kris nodded blankly, eyes searching the floor; Chanyeol knew he must have came to at least one conclusion with his habit of analyzing and assessing everything in his head.

Chanyeol leaned and whispered into Baekhyun’s ear, “Would you come inside and be with Tao for a moment? I need to talk to Kris,”

Baekhyun looked up and kissed Chanyeol’s cheek, “Sure,” he replied with a small smile, “I’ll wait for you inside,”

Chanyeol smiled back, “Thank you,”

He slowly let ushered Baekhyun back into the room, opening and closing the door for his fiancé. The elf then turned and stood straight in front of Kris, “Tell me what you got there,”

Kris shook his head, reached for his phone and dialed Chen. As always, their head IT researcher answered immediately.

“Kris,”

“Chen, I need you and Xiumin to do something for me. I need you to investigate Zitao’s accident, and get all kinds of information you can find on Ok family business, Ok Taecyeon’s in particular. Luhan had some with him, so you need to call him too,”

“Sure but why? He did this? The accident?”

“That’s what we’re trying to find out. Contact me when you found anything. Its just between us four and Chanyeol. Only my father knows aside from us. Don’t tell anyone else until I decide to do so,”

“Understood. I will contact you when I have my findings,”

“Thanks,” Kris mumbled, cutting the connection.

“Kris,” Chanyeol called, but Kris shook his head again, dialing another number. The person on the other line answered immediately too.

“Fei. I need a bodyguard for Zitao. Find someone around his age, one I could trust. Driving skills, self defense, martial arts, assassin skills if necessary; get me the best as soon as possible. Check his records thoroughly, I don't want him to have any prior relation with Ok family,”

“Affirmative, sir. I will find one now,”

“Thanks, Fei,” Kris said, and ended the phone call. When he was about to make another phone call, Chanyeol reached and took his phone.

Kris was about to protest, but Chanyeol was just looking at him. His gaze made Kris’ annoyance disappeared and he just flicked his tongue, running his fingers through his hair while looking at the floor again.

“What was it?” Chanyeol asked again, same tone and still looking at Kris.

Kris finally looked up, meeting his best friend’s eyes, “I did this,” he said, the bottom of his lips trembling, “I did this to Tao,”

Chanyeol frowned, “How?”

“If we didn’t— that deal, Yeol. !” Kris spat, pulling his hair, “The contract, goddamnit! I was so reckless! !”

“There was no way we could know about anything he was doing until we actually did, Kris. There’s no point in blaming yourself,” Chanyeol said in monotone, “You know this,”

“That’s why! There were so many things I could do to actually know, Chanyeol. Many things that would not end up with my fiancé lying there on a hospital bed, fighting for his life and unconscious for more than a week!” Kris said loudly, pointing at Tao’s door, “There was so many things I could have done but didn’t!”

“Get it together, Kris!” Chanyeol said in an equally loud voice, trying to knock some sense into his best friend. He had reality and emptions jumbled together now, and it was not good for anyone, “There is no way we could do anything different! There’s no way we could go back and do anything differently! It happened! We learned from this, we needed to be more careful, not just about work, but about everything! Done! Get it together!” Chanyeol patted Kris’ shoulder with a strong force.

Kris blinked a few times, letting Chanyeol’s words sink in and trying to even out his breath. Chanyeol was right, he needed to get it together and proceed with that they have now.

“My brother is in there and he needed you. Go,” Chanyeol said when Kris had calmed down.

Kris slowly nodded, taking a deep breath, composing himself again.

When the two of them entered, Mrs. Wu and Victoria were still on either side of Tao’s bed. The youngest hasn’t shown any change.

Mrs. Wu was caressing Tao’s cheek lovingly, whispering a few words every now and then. Baekhyun was next to her, watching what she was doing, learning.

Mr. Wu stood on the back, typing on his phone, most likely writing an email for Zhoumi, their family lawyer.

Slowly, Kris walked closer and stood next to his sister.

Victoria mumbled something but he wasn’t listening. The thought of him actually being the cause of his fiancé struggling for his life right now made him feel disgusted of himself. Kris had never hated himself so much until that time.

Chanyeol was silent, still watching Kris trying to prevent himself from breaking down in front of everyone. It really was hard not to know when Tao would wake up and now what was in Kris’ mind doesn’t help. He was actually stressed too. He too, caused this, and he too, was afraid. All of them had fair share of insecurities, doubts, and desperation for Tao to wake up.

Baekhyun reached and held Chanyeol’s hand, “Don’t give up,” he whispered, like knowing what Chanyeol was thinking.

Chanyeol’s nodded, giving his fiancé a small smile. He was grateful for Baekhyun.

It was when the shorter reached and wiped his eyes that he realized, he was crying.

Baekhyun’s heart broke right then right there. He had never seen Chanyeol so devastated, on the verge of losing hope even though he still put up this façade of him being strong. Tao had not shown any improvement ever since he was moved out of the ICU and he knew that his fiancé is losing hope. He moved closer and pulled the elf into his arms.

Chanyeol hid his face in the crook of Baekhyun’s neck, trying to let the warmth his embrace calm him. But it was hard.

“It’s like the storm all over again, Baek…” Chanyeol whispered. He could feel his lips trembling, “But this time I have looked everywhere and I couldn’t find him. I don’t know anywhere else to look, and I don’t know how long I have to wait for him to show up… I need to find him, but how?”

Baekhyun didn’t know what to say. He was not exactly smart to deal with this kind of situation; he had never experienced one. The only thing he was sure about is that he wanted his fiancé to smile again. He wanted everything to be okay again.

“He must be scared. It must have been so scary, Baek… You know him, he must be,” Chanyeol whispered again.

Baekhyun could only nod, running his hand on Chanyeol’s back, trying to comfort him as best as he could.

It was when Chanyeol’s breathing was calmer that Baekhyun finally whispered something back, “Do you want to go downstairs and get some coffee?”

Chanyeol shook his head, “I need to be with him. I need to,”

Baekhyun turned to Kris, who was still watching Tao. He hasn’t even moved an inch, ignoring everything around him, “I actually think that Kris needed some time alone with Tao… He was away for a while last night and now with the news... Shall we get ourselves some coffee to give them a moment?”

Chanyeol pulled back and took a glance at Tao and Kris, and finally agreeing, “Not for too long,”

Baekhyun smiled softly, chastely kissing Chanyeol on his lips, “Of course,”

Baekhyun then turned to the rest in the room, “Chanyeol and I are going to have some coffee, would anyone like to come with us?”

Mrs. Wu glanced at Kris, and knew what Baekhyun was trying to do. She looked at her husband and nodded, “We would come with you, Qian too,”

Victoria nodded, turning to her brother, “Believe in your bond,” she said, giving him a hug.

Kris nodded absentmindedly, not taking off his eyes from Tao even for a second. There were sounds of shoes and rustles, and finally a sound of the door closing.

It was silent now, aside from the sound of Tao’s machines.

Kris slowly pulled a chair close to the bed and sat. He reached for Tao’s hand, squeezing it a little.

“Hey baby, it’s me… It’s Kris…” he said in a low voice, “I just got back from your brother’s apartment,”

He pulled the younger’s palm and rest it against his cheek, “The place was very different now from Baekhyun’s remodeling, but not any less comfy. Their order of baby grand piano came in last Monday. You can play there too now,”

Tao didn’t respond, and when Kris looked up to the different monitors, none of it had shown any changes.

“Baby,” Kris called, his eyes filled with tears. He blinked multiple times, trying not to cry, but he couldn’t, “Taozi, I miss you,” he choked, “I miss you so much it hurts…”

His breath went uneven again and his tears had wet Tao’s hand too, “Come back to me, baby… I love you…”

“Please come back…”

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Hey y'all! Back with another chapter. Just a heads up, I know that it has been a while since I put the first chapter up, but I have reasons for that.

I am writing this story differently compared to my other ones, I do not have anything pre-written yet. I kind of go by and write everything that comes to my mind as it goes. This means I wouldn't be updating regularly. Nevertheless, I promis you I would finish the story and wouldn't abandon it, and I will try to minimize the time I need to write in between chapters so you won't have to wait for so long.

Thank you so much for the support and comments you have been giving since the start! You guys are so awesome! 

What do you guys think of this chapter?

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