Baekhyun was awake and his life was out of danger for the time being, much to everyone’s delight. Their little puppy had woken up two days ago and, while they really longed to speak properly to the tiny man, he liked taking naps more than he liked to give them attention, as Jongdae had jokingly said; as it was, Baekhyun was still in a fragile state and his body, although it was recovering immensely, had surpassed a lot of hardships and sorest was imperative, and Baekhyun wasn’t too shy on falling asleep on them numerous times.

The man could barely stay more than twenty minutes awake but when he did he smiled at them, eyes crinkling adorably, much to everyone’s delight. Due to his injury, Baekhyun tried to talk as least as possible since his stitches were pulled up something when he tried to say something.

Everyone was positively beaming, to news were nothing but great but, for some of them, this conquer, had a different meaning: Sehun, the eternal lover, was elated, absolutely elated, he spent all of his time near Baekhyun, even if was only to watch the older man sleep, it was as if he needed to be there to make sure that his hyung was really there, to guard him from any nightmare, like a valiant knight; Chanyeol was over the moon to see his best friend back; the giant had been missing the other like a limb and having him awake, smile and saying a word or two, filled his heart with happiness, after all Baekhyun had a large space in his heart; Jongin had been relieved, what he had seen made him face fears he didn’t know he had, and watching death almost reach to one of them had taught him to have a whole new respect for life and especially, a whole new respect for Baekhyun, who had faced it all, survived and smiled to them all, despite the pain and cared for them all. He simply wasn’t ready to lose one of the brightest lights he knew.

However, despite all the lingering feeling of relief and happiness, Kris couldn’t help to have a little sinking feeling on his stomach, like a bad omen; he noticed that Luhan seemed to be a little absentminded as well; he wasn’t sure if Luhan noticed how many times he would look at the door expectantly, as if waiting for someone. Kris knew very well that he was waiting for Junmyeon to burst inside the door so that he could wrap his arms around their leader, even if he, himself, hadn’t realized it yet.

Kris also noticed that, whenever Baekhyun managed to stay awake for more than a couple of minutes, his eyes would sweep across the room, looking for someone, who was not there, and that nobody knew when he would be, since they hadn’t heard about their leader ever since the broke down in front of Luhan. Baekhyun, observant as he was, knew almost immediately that something had been up; he had looked at Kris and one glance had been more than enough for the smaller man to pass all the messages he wanted to: ‘Where is Junmyeon?’ ‘Why isn’t he here?’ ‘What happened?’ ‘Is he okay?’, and Kris almost laughed bitterly at how caring Baekhyun was, worried about his leader, even when the man almost made him die, but Baekhyun was Baekhyun, he loved people with his whole being and stuck to them for better or for worse, despite all their wrong doings, despite everything. It was as admirable as it was heartbreaking.

Kris was hoping to the heavens that Baekhyun wouldn’t try and say anything to him; he could very well sense that the younger wanted to and Kris had even confessed to Minseok that he was not too kind on being left alone with their younger friend. Minseok, glorious Minseok, had smiled at him and offered to accompany him whenever he went to see Baekhyun. Kris felt his heart flutter wildly at the offer and blushed slightly much to Minseok’s amusement.

However, as it is, Kris was not a lucky person; today he was leisurely hanging with Minseok in Baekhyun’s hospital room, while the doctors fussed with the younger man, changing his bandage and revealing the pinkish wound, nicely closed with perfectly sewed stiches. Sehun had been forcefully taken to the dorms to rest and shower by Kyungsoo and Tao, Yixing was serving as a distraction to Luhan while Jongdae and Chanyeol were searching for Junmyeon and Jongin had offered to bring some coffee to their hyungs, the poor boy had taken a look at the wound on Baekhyun’s neck and had left the room in a hurry, the sight bothering him more than it should.

As soon as the doctors left the room, Baekhyun had turned to Kris and, in a raspy but clear tone of voice, mostly due to not talking for so long, and asked where Junmyeon was. Kris was at a loss of words, not expecting Baekhyun to ask the question with Minseok in there room, also what in the world could he say?

“I don’t know Baekhyunnie, Junmyeon has been very busy lately! I am sure he will visit when he had time.” he lied to Baekhyun, light tone of voice but heavy heart.

But Baekhyun wasn’t easily swayed by his lies; he glanced with tired eyes at Kris before narrowing his eyes.

“You’re lying!”

“I’m not…”

“Are you being serious Kris? I have a huge amount of respect for you, don’t make me regret by treating me like some child.”

Kris had never seen Baekhyun so serious in his life, despite his obvious tired state. Naturally, he became flustered, shifting in his chair, trying to think of something to say, something to assure his friend but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He looked up, to Minseok, who stood beside him. The older smiled reassuringly at him before turning to Baekhyun.

“We don’t know Baekhyun. I wish we could say we know, but we don’t have a clue.”

“What do you mean you?” asked Baekhyun, face scrunching up in confusion.

“We don’t know where he is; he simply vanished a good week after you arrived at the hospital.”

“Why? Why, would he simply leave?”

“We can say for sure but we think that he is too ashamed of himself and he could bear the thought of having to face you after you woke up. You are a blatant reminder of his less than pleasant side.” replied Kris quietly, focusing more on the warm hand on his shoulder and avoiding his dongsaeng’s eyes. “Also, and this is only my opinion, he was afraid of you reaction; Luhan’s too. Some members didn’t take the situation well and were a bit harsh on Junmyeon hyung…”

“A little?” scoffed Minseok.

“…a lot!”

“A whole new level of a lot!” exclaimed Minseok, completely ablaze “I talked to Junmyeon, he was absolutely devastated by the situation already, there was absolutely no need to pour more salt into the wound! He cried in my arms for hours! He…”

“We get it Seok.” interrupted Kris gently, putting his own hand on top of the elder’s one and squeezing it.

“And he just vanished. He just went away and we don’t know where he’s at.” finished Minseok with a sigh, head hung low.

“Why are you here then?” asked Baekhyun suddenly “Why are you here with me and not looking for him?”

“You’re hurt!”

“I’ll heal, Kris!” cut Baekhyun “I am awake now and functioning and I am okay. Junmyeon, on the other hand, was way past his breaking point when I last talked to him, I can’t imagine how he is feeling now.”

“Jongdae and Chanyeol are looking for him at the moment.” said Minseok, trying to soothe the other. “We know he took his phone, since we call dial the number, he just rejects the calls and he doesn’t have his GPS on.”

“You should notify the police.”

“He left willingly Baekhyun…”

“But he could do something stupid!”

“He could but the police won’t do a thing in these cases. You know that very well.”

“Has manager hyung been informed?”

“He has but… they turned Junmyeon an inactive members a few days ago.” explained Minseok biting his lower lip. “He is convinced that Junmyeon is just sulking and that his disappearance is nothing too serious, therefore he is not doing a thing to help us.”

“How did this happen?” asked Baekhyun sadly.

“I think that that one side argument he had with Sehun was the last straw for him; he literally couldn’t deal with things anymore.” said Kris, not noticing the slip up until he received a glare from Minseok.

“What argument with Sehun?” pressed Baekhyun, eyes narrowing in an almost impossible manner.

“Sehun was very upset with Junmyeon when he learned the true nature of your accident.” confessed Minseok with a sigh, completely defeat by Baekhyun’s face “When he got to the hospital he had a chance of words with Junmyeon and said…very awful things to Junmyeon; some of those things were really out of the line, and Junmyeon just made himself scarce after that, it was difficult to catch him, then Luhan came and I think he was afraid of what we would tell him, of having someone so close to him to hate him or saying things like Sehun did. We never saw him after that. We have been searching but, so far, we got nothing.”

“How far did Sehun go?” asked Baekhyun, his face the picture perfect of blankness.

“Very far.” interjected Kris “I heard from Tao that he actually told Junmyeon that it would be best for him to…drop dead.”

“He what!?” asked Baekhyun with such a tone that Minseok and Kris were slightly scared.

“Baekhyun…”

“Call him!” interrupted Baekhyun

“What?”

“Call Sehun and tell that dimwit to come here as fast as he can. I don’t care if he is asleep; I don’t care if he hasn’t eaten. Just tell him to be here.”

“I think it would be better if you just rested for now Baekhyun, you are obviously tired!”

“Shut the hell up Kris and do as I say.”

Minseok and Kris were looking at the small man on the bed with wide eyes, completely flabbergasted with the other’s tone of voice. Kris could only nod at Baekhyun, not daring to say otherwise and upset Baekhyun even more, excusing himself out of the room to make the call.

“What are you going to do, Baekhyun?” asked Minseok quietly, honestly afraid of the answer.

“I need to have a word with our maknae!” replied Baekhyun with a steely voice.

Minseok sighed; he could see that any try to stop Baekhyun would be in vain. He just hoped that Baekhyun could put some sense into the maknae’s head and judging by the furious light in Baekhyun’s eyes, he would do more than just that.

Junmyeon kept walking around, feet leading him to heavens nowhere; he had been there, at the hospital, watching his little dongsaeng wake up and he truly had felt happy about it, but after that, he proceeded to do what he had been thinking of for a while: leaving.

Ever since EXO had shown signs of crumbling down Junmyeon had started to be very afraid; he was the one of the leaders of the group and he had a major responsibility towards everyone, be it members or corporates, therefore, he truly believed that the safety of s and their happiness was something that he had been in charge of, naturally, when Kris left, it was strike number one; he couldn’t say how much tears he had to wipe, how many comforting words he had to tell others. He himself wanted to lie down and weep: Kris had been a very good friend and an important member so his absence was a big matter to him and it made him feel like a failure.

After that he tried, so, so hard, to not fail again and maintain his group as a tight one that could go together to thick and thin, like brothers would do, but then came strike number two, Luhan’s departure. That had left a bitter taste on his mouth: he and Luhan had bonded over the years and he was very aware that his little crush towards the older male had evolved to something more, Luhan was charming, captivating, a beacon among others and Junmyeon couldn’t help but to fall. He tried his best not to be obvious but Baekhyun had figure it out quite quickly, maybe it had been that higher octave on his laughter whenever Luhan said something remotely funny, maybe it was the blush he sported whenever the other was around or maybe it were the shy glances and little touches whenever he could. To Junmyeon, Luhan was everything and his everything had flown away from him.

This was even worse, not only he felt like the worst leader that ever was but also he had lost someone that occupied the majority of the space on his heart and Junmyeon allowed himself to be a little selfish and mourn his loss and mourn he did: he drank, he back talked to everyone, he pushed his friends, since they had do a thing to prevent things and specially he bullied Kyungsoo and Baekhyun; Kyungsoo had the love he craved for: Jongdae. Truth to be told, he could have turned to Jongin, since he had Chanyeol. However, no matter how docile his younger friend was, he was also taller and well-built and he could easily subvert him.

Baekhyun was a whole new matter, in Junmyeon’s eyes, the older beagle represented himself, someone who loved someone and yet didn’t have him. He hated the fact that Baekhyun reminded him so much of himself and showed that through his actions. He should have known how to stop, when to draw the line, but he didn’t and everything had culminated in Baekhyun’s coma, due to an injury he had put on the other.

The guilt! That unbearable guilt that he wore on his shoulders crushed his entire being and made it hard for him to breathe. He remembered the faces of his friends: shocked, hateful and unforgiving and he also remembered Sehun’s words, realizing that everything was true. They were completely right, so he left. He had removed the burden that rested upon their shoulders: himself.

He had assured himself that Baekhyun was okay and simply left. He left without destiny, without a plan and without anything else on him, only the clothes on his body, wallet and phone. When he first thought about what to do, how to relieve his friends from himself, he had pondered ending up his own life, however he wasn’t brave enough, or coward enough, some might say, to do it, hence the reason why he chose to leave and now, here he was, walking on the streets, sunglasses in place and cap nestled on his head, disguising himself. He didn’t know what the future held for him but maybe something or someone would put him out of his misery.

Minseok and Kris were at the hospital cafeteria, after calling Sehun and explaining the situation to him, which had made the maknae arrive to the hospital not half an hour after, in a state of complete disarray.

“Did Jongdae or Chanyeol say something?” asked the younger of the two.

“No, they didn’t. As it seems, Junmyeon vanished into thin air.” muttered Minseok sipping a little bit of coffee, before sighing deeply. “Where did we go wrong? Why has this happen to us?”

Kris was bothered to see his adorable, tough as nails hyung being like this. He let his arm raise and rest on his hyung’s shoulder, pulling him tightly against his side.

“Don’t be like that! Everything will work out in the end, you’ll see.”

“And how can you be so sure?”

“I’m not, but I am not giving up until it goes the way I want!”

“That is a very positive way to think. Where did that came from?” asked Minseok, eyebrow rising up in surprise at the other’s attempt to cheer him up.

“From the heart, Minseok! For you it always comes from the heart.” said Kris in an even tone, looking directly into Minseok’s eyes and making the older’s cheeks turn a little rosy.

There was an awkward silence after that, not only Minseok was clueless on how to act after such heartfelt declaration but also Kris was kicking himself over and over for saying it, seeing how it had surprised the other.

“So, Baekhyun was really mad at Sehun!” he said in a desperate attempt to get conversation flowing again.

“He was.” agreed Minseok, recovering a little “It was absolutely justified though, at least in my opinion. Sehun shouldn’t have said that, it way beyond cruel.”

“Maybe Baekhyun will put some sense into that brat’s head!” said Kris thoughtfully.

“He will, no doubts about that; Baekhyun had Sehun wrapped around his little finger, even if he doesn’t notice it.”

“Midget knows what he is doing, even when he doesn’t.” joked Kris, earning a chuckle from the other, before turning a little more serious and asking “I really wish that we can find Junmyeon, so that things would be okay again, or at least, better than they are now.”

“It really complicated, what Junmyeon did must have dented him in a way that none of us can imagine.” retorted Minseok distractedly while playing with a napkin, folding it repeatedly.

“I know, imagine trying to live with yourself knowing that you almost killed someone!”

“What?” asked a voice behind them.

Both men turned around quickly, seeing Luhan’s horrified face behind them. They have been keeping things a secret from Luhan but now, in a complete twist of fate, the cat was out of the bag. The other was pale as a sheet of paper, hands trembling slightly.

“Are you trying to say that Junmyeon’s the one who hurt Baekhyun?”




 

A/N: Aaaaaaaand here it is! Another chapter. Well, some big cats have been pulled forcefully out of the bag in this chapter! Aaaand yes, Junmyeon is still alive and kicking and not going to do something stupid...YET! ^^
I hope you enjoy this chapter! Tell me if you do in a comments, or PM or anything, really! I promise to answer and I am really nice once you get to know me, honestly! ^^
Have a lovely, lovely day. 
Much love to you all <3