A Bittersweet Smile

Attack

“Hyung, get out.”

I got caught in the past so much that I didn’t even realize that the cable car ride is already over.

“Mianhe, Se Hun~ah. So, where should we start?”

Se Hun looked at me worriedly, but he must’ve set it aside since he was here to give me tour.

I’ve never been here before. Actually, I was never interested in the Namsan Tower, not until Xiumin mentioned it on our first anniversary. He said he prepared a surprise for me, but it failed because Xiu Min collapsed all of the sudden and we had to bring him to the hospital. The doctor said that it was just an over fatigue case. After that incident, every time I mention the Namsan Tower, he would always avoid the topic. Although it didn’t really mattered before, but now it’s quite bothering me.

“Hyung, let’s pick the color of our locks.”

“Okay. I pick this.”

I showed him the blue lock that I’ve been eyeing on since we got at the top. He picked the red one, since he likes red.

We found a table where we could write our promises.

“Promise.”

With that final word, I finished writing on my lock.

“What did you write?”

“EXO. Together. Forever. Promise. How about you?”

“I won’t tell.”

With that, Se Hun stuck a tongue out and began his escape.

“Yah~~”

I followed him and saw him locked his lock at the highest place here.

“Yah. Why did you put it there? That’s too high.”

“So that you won’t be able to read it.”

What’s written on it anyway? Tsk.

I locked mine at a vacant space near the end of the railings.

“Let’s go back home.”

I followed Se Hun back to where we came from, leaving the promise of a united EXO forever.

--

“Baby don’t cry, tonight.~~”

“Hyung, someone’s phone is ringing. Please answer it, I’m still making dinner”

“Alright.”

“Yobeoseyo?”

“Lu-ge. . .”

The person from the other line seems like he’s out of breath. But, only Lay and Xiu Min calls me that nickname. It couldn’t be Xiu Min since his voice is a pitch higher than this.

“Lay? What’s wrong? Why are you panting?”

“Xiu Min hyung.”

Xiu Min?

“What happened?!”

--

“He was just too tired. He’s over working must’ve given him a lot of stress. And by suddenly taking a break, this must’ve caused a sudden depletion of his adrenaline rate.”

Lay said that that was what the doctor said. It seems like it’s more than that. I could tell if Lay is lying by observing his breathing patterns. And right now, he’s lying. I know it.

“Lay, can I talk to you for a while?”

I immediately grabbed his hand and dragged him to an empty private room.

“What REALLY happened to Xiu Min?”

“I told you, he was just tired. And what are you so concerned about? You yourself told me that you don’t care about him anymore.”

He walked away from me with hatred in his eyes. I wonder what Xiu Min means to Lay, that he would even give me that look.

When I got back after talking with Lay, our manager told us to go home already. He volunteered to look after Xiu Min himself.

“Hyung, you should rest, too. I’ll take care of Xiu Min hyung.”

“But, La-“

“It’s ok hyung. I’ve got the rest that I needed when we were still in Jeju.”

“Oh. Alright. I’ll bring his clothes here later. Make sure he eats a lot of fruits. I left some of his personal things on the bedside table. His medi-“

“I got it hyung. Now go and rest.”

“Okay.”

After Lay volunteered to look after Xiu Min, we got in our van and directly went to the dorms.

 --

“Is this too much for Xiu Min hyung?”

“What is too much Chen?”

“His activites, schedules, and promotions. For this month, he has been hospitalized three times already.”

Three times?

“The first was when he and Lay went to China to attend a show. The second was while we were all together practicing at the company, Xiu Min and Lay went out for a while to buy coffee. And the next thing, we found out that he’s already at the emergency room. Now, this.”

Kris said with worry written all over his face. He was with Lay every time he collapses. That means Lay knows something, but he wouldn’t tell it to the members.

“Lay hyung would always tell us that he’s gonna be fine. That he’s just tired or a little malnourished, that’s why we’ve insisted on letting him take a break. But Umin hyung would refuse. All we can do is cook him good food and help him with EXO’s activities.”

“Tao, when did this start?”

“When you were still here, remember? You even planned to go to Namsan Tower that time.”

“No. What I mean is when he started collapsing so frequently?”

“Mmmm. A year after you went missing, I think.”

A year? Then, it wouldn’t have anything to do with me.

“When did Lay start clinging to Xiu Min?”

“Mmm.. After Xiu Min hyung’s third confinement. Since then, they became inseperable.”

Third. Lay found out something about Xiu Min then, but he didn’t tell anyone. Why would Lay keep something so important from the members?

--