Lost and Found

1: Just A Dream

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, Minseokie-hyung! Happy Birthday to you!"

The celebrant made a silent wish and blew the flames out from the candles.

"Thank you so much, everyone," the birthday boy, named Minseok, expressed his gratitude. "You didn't have to."

"Luhan-hyung and Baekhyun-hyung planned everything!" one person confessed.

"Hey, Tao! I thought we agreed against tattling on each other!" the person named Baekhyun whined.

"In that case, Lay-hyung and I prepared the decorations," another person came clean.

"Kai, that is not snitching, you just want Xiumin-hyung to know you did something," Luhan shook his head at Jongin.

"Just relax, everyone. We deserve all the credit since Xiuminie-hyung is happy," Yixing, earlier mentioned by his nickname Lay, mediated before things could get more heated.

"I know everyone contributed to this surprise party. I really appreciate everything," Minseok, also known as Xiumin, settled. "Zitao, Jongin, can you set the table please?"

At the request, Tao and Kai moved promptly and swiftly. Just several minutes later, the six friends sat around the table, enjoying the prepared feast in celebration of Xiumin's birth.

"Is everyone free tomorrow?" Luhan inquired.

"It's Monday tomorrow, but we can all take a leave," Lay reasoned and the rest agreed.

"Why? Any plans?" Baekhyun faced Luhan.

"I was thinking we could do a movie marathon for the whole day," Luhan revealed his plans.

"That sounds good," Kai's face lit up.

"True. I can't remember the last time we were all in one place just relaxing and enjoying," Tao said.

"So, it's a go, then?" Luhan verified and was met with the nodding heads of the rest. "A movie marathon it is."

"Guys, it's getting late. We should rest now since we have plans for tomorrow," Xiumin told everyone as the eldest. "Again, thank you for making my birthday memorable."

"You're welcome, hyung. The six of us are a family, remember?" Luhan replied while the six of them moved to their individual rooms.

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"Who are you?" Xiumin asked as a person with a blurry face was crying while straddling him.

"We had to make sure that Exoplanet will be safe from now on," Xiumin heard his voice but it was not coming from him.

"How do I ever survive?" he heard the person crying.

But before Xiumin could answer, his sight went completely white before he woke up under his blankets.

"What was that dream about?" Xiumin whispered to himself.

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Luhan felt weak and yet he had no control of his body. He was being held by someone on their lap.

"We could have found another way," the person holding him told Luhan

"You know there is no better way. Take my word for it," Luhan's voice answered despite him not doing anything.

Luhan tried his best to move his body but failed, instead, a bright light overwhelmed his sight and he awakened from his rest.

"What an active imagination," Luhan dismissed his dream as a figment of his imagination.

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Lay was confused. Someone was crying while holding him tight.

"Who is this?"

But Lay was left more baffled when he heard his own voice saying, "Continue to live for our sake. Exoplanet still needs you, even without us."

"But how do I live without you? I want to know. How do I breathe without you if you ever go?" the other person replied in a sorrowful tone.

Lay really had the urge to comfort the sobbing person. However, the light blinded his eyes and he woke up from his deep sleep. Lay remained unmoving for the next couple of minutes, he was still feeling the sadness from his dream.

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Baekhyun felt no strength in his body. Meanwhile, another person was clutching him tight in his embrace as sounds of crying could be faintly heard.

"Why? Why do you have to do this?" the said person mumbled.

Baekhyun was taken aback when his voice replied, "It's for the greater good."

Baekhyun felt the person continue to cradle him as his sight was slowly being flooded by bright light, the next thing he knew was that he had woken up from his slumber.

"Why did that feel so real?" Baekhyun wrapped his arms around himself as if to comfort him from the sadness that filled him at the moment.

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Tao felt he was lying on the ground with another person cradling him. He can also feel tears falling on him, probably from the person holding him.

"Don't worry. We do not regret our decision," Tao's voice reassured the crying person.

After moments of silence, the person holding Tao said, "How do I... Oh, how do I live?"

Tao wanted to respond, but a flash of light brought him back to a state of wakefulness.

"Was that just a dream?" Tao sighed. "I should watch less drama series."

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Kai noticed a heavy weight on his chest. Someone was bawling his eyes out on top of him.

Kai was shocked, to say the least when his voice came out of nowhere, "If there is one thing we do regret, it's that we won't get to see you again."

To which the person on top of him replied, "But what about me? Or us?"

Kai really wanted to answer, to console the person crying. But before he could do so, his sight was slowly filled with white and then, he woke up.

"What could that be?" Kai was lost in his thoughts.

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The morning after Xiumin's birthday, everyone rose early. They wanted to maximize their one-day leave for the sake of their hang-out.

"Ugh... last night, I had the strangest dream," Baekhyun took in a mouthful of pancakes.

"So did I. I really need to tone down my binge-watching," Tao stirred his beverage.

"My dream was so emotional, I still felt it even after waking up," Kai told his friends.

"Mine as well," Lay shared the same sentiment with Kai.

"We did not watch anything last night, right? What could have triggered my dream?" Xiumin wondered.

"Well, one research suggests that dreams are the windows to our subconscious. Who knows, maybe what we all dreamt last night was a way to resolve some of our subtle issues, or maybe it's just something our subconscious only remembers, or maybe it's just a sneak peek of a possible future," Luhan shared. "Dreams are still a mystery up to this day."

Their discussion about their dreams was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell.

"It's still early. Who could that be?"