Cold December wind pushed aside the last fallen leaves and rubble as if it were a child throwing its toys in a temper tantrum. It spared no one, not the underdressed beggar outside the library doors, not the well-wrapped businessman, now hurrying home, not even the mangy dog who lay curled under an abandoned treehouse, hoping to salvage any warmth available.

Oh Sehun watched the wind making everything in its path its plaything, and he imagined he was the one controlling it.

There is little the small blonde-haired boy could do to entertain himself; little he could find the life to do.

His eyes passed over the abandoned treehouse, and he let out a sigh way beyond his years. So many memories did that old wooden shelter hold - so many, that were so harshly snatched away from him, leaving a bitter aftertaste to even the most treasured memories.

Sehun looked away, unable to see the now broken down treehouse minus its former glory.

Distant voices that could've been from yesterday, from last year, tickled Sehun's ears: "Suho Oppa...."

Eyes shut tight, Sehun tried to ward off the coming memory, but all his attempts were in vain.

~

"Suho Oppa! What we gonn' do today?"

"It's Hyung, Sehunnah, not Oppa," big-mouthed and big-eared Chanyeol, who loved being right, corrected, and looked over to the said 'Hyung' for approval, but was blatantly ignored.

"Well, Baekhyun said he'd something to show us," Suho reminded, wondering if he was going to cart in another cousin this week.

They could all remember too well how that had worked out last week, with the arrival of Do Kyungsoo who "liked cream cow-es," and Lay "the unicorn" from around a month back - that boy, Baekhyun's cousin from China, was the most droopy lost case there ever was!

As if on cue,  a clatter of dustbin lids were heard, announcing the arrival of Byun Baekhyun, and a couple of squeals and groans later, the ever clumsy Baekhyun emerged into the treehouse, Kyungsoo trailing in not too far from him.

"Baekon!“ Chanyeol grinned excitedly, pulling in the tiny boy. "Whacha got to show us?"

Baekhyun glanced around, frantically, looking close to tears. "It was t-th-there, but c-cat, the s-sc-scary cat, again.... dropped it.... because, I was.... SCARY!" he broke out into a wail, earning confused looks from everyone, save Suho 'Eomma' who draped a comforting hand over Baekhyun.

"Exo-k," he said, "it’s okay. We'll go down together and protect you from the scary cat and find what you dropped, okay?"

Baekhyun gave a small smile, and allowed himself to be pulled up by the Maknae who announced:

"I will save you from Mr. Bad Cat, by adopting him and calling him my bestfriend and making him not scary so he won't be scary for you anymore, okay?"

The memory faded away in the light of happy laughter, in the light of everything Sehun's world was lacking right now. But it wasn't like the colour had suddenly drained out: it had started out as a trickle, so small that no one would've guessed that his happy little world would collapse around him.

It began with the widening of the gaps between each the Exo-k club meeting in their treehouse - no one noticed.

Then Baekhyun got sick - he kept having to visit the hospital every month, almost every week. Kyungsoo began to avoid the meetings, feeling awkward without his cousin's presence. Even Chanyeol began to grow bored of the Exo, now that he could no longer laugh at Baekhyun's antics and kkaebsong lifestyle, and thus his participation dropped as well.

With the club's Happy Virus gone, the place was so much more duller....

Then the New Year came, and Suho graduated to Middle School, and when he did, the changing process picked up speed from a crawling pace to racing.

Chanyeol left for abroad around that time, and Suho, Exo-k's "Eomma" stopped altogether, because treehouses and gang meetings were too childish for mature middleschoolers to be taking part in. Middle school provided new friends to Suho, who suddenly realized how small his old friends were, and apparently, small wasn't cool anymore. He didn't like the new ways but he didn't want to risk his pride.

And finally, all that was left of Exo-k was Sehun and a broken down treehouse.
 

~

Emotions battled with Sehun, but he concurred them, and let not one cross his face that had grown to be as emotionless as a board. Oh Sehun was a big boy now; he was eight (twice of three) and was practically a grown man! He wasn't going to cry.
He was not hurt.

He looked down at the street below him, wind tossing everything around relentlessly, couples holding hands and walking towards the cinema, groups of kids running towards the playground....

Exo-k. The k had stood for 'kids'. The kids had all grown up now.

Exo-k. It was meant to sound like 'It's okay'.

He saw his five year old self sitting alone on a park bench, surrounded by mounds of snow and kids at play. Tears stained both cheeks, slowly turning pink because of the cold. He hadn't expected the warm arm around his shoulders, nor the caring voice, saying, "It's okay."
"Exo-k?" Sehun repeated, lisp making it sound like a whole new word. 
The face belonging to the arm draped around Sehun broke into a smile.
"Exo-k," agreed the boy who came to be known as Suho to Sehun, "Exo-k"

Exo-k. The broken board announcing the disbanded gang's name, fallen at the base of the tree, laughed mockingly at Sehun. 
It-it wasn't okay. It wasn't okay at all!

A single tear, the last tear -the only tear he had left after days of non-stop crying, escaped his eye, and rolled down like a silvery drop of mercury.

'I wish I had a friend,' Sehun sobbed... 'Just one!' The mercury tear drop splashed onto the frozen snow, sizzling into it. And in the very same instant, a silver streak zoomed across the sky. 'One, who will never ever never leave my side.'

{End of part one: "The Star"}

~