Finding The El Dorado

Chapter 1: Happy NEW Year

Chanyeol POV

Almost an entire year has passed since I've seen some of my best friends. They're always so busy that I never even get the chance to talk to them over the phone. The other members of EXO have been planning this New Year's party for their return for months now. We decided to rent out a penthouse towards the center of town where the best fireworks are always displayed. I'm extremely worried they won't be back before midnight and all of the party planning will have been for nothing. I'm already excited to get back to performing, recording songs, and maybe even starting a new tour soon. But I'm mostly looking forward to seeing them again after so long.

I look down at my watch that reads 7:49 PM. The guests will be arriving soon. We decided to keep the party from being too crowded and only invited the members of EXO, some other singing groups we're close with, and some additional friends. The food and drinks are all prepared and the decorations are incredible. The entire outside of the giant room is glass, revealing the bright lights of the city and the twinkling stars in the night sky. The floor made of classy, white tiles, reflecting the multiple colored lights placed around the room. Half of the venue is brightly lit for anybody wanting to eat and chat with others. But the other half is dark with no ceiling lights. The only light source on this half of the room is the illuminated purple, teal, blue, and pink lights around the walls and twinkling down from the ceiling. Some music is already playing with the bass booming.

As the night goes on, people have begun to crowd the room, the music has gotten a bit louder, and the night sky has become seemingly lighter as more of the city's lights have started to turn on the later it gets. I'm trying my best to have fun, but every few minutes I find myself checking my phone for word from the 3 members that have been gone. Kyungsoo promised to text as soon as they landed. But I had still received nothing from any of them.

The analog clock on the wall now reads 11:32 PM. My worrying grows by the minute as it gets closer and closer to midnight. But at that exact moment, the music gets quieter and the double doors swing open, revealing Baekhyun, Luhan, and Kyungsoo, dressed perfectly for the occasion making a huge entrance. The people start to cheer loudly as the music is turned up louder even than it was before just to add more flare to their arrival. They look around, flash their smiles, and wave occasionally. I can't keep from grinning as I walk over to them to say hi. I give Kyungsoo a hug and tease about his height, as always. Next Luhan, and finally, I see Baekhyun. When I see his cheerful smile and hear his laugh that I haven't heard in almost an entire year, my heart skips a beat for some strange reason. Standing there in front of him, I can physically feel my heart yearning to hug him and be close to him. It's almost how I feel towards all the members when I've missed them, but much stronger. I can't explain why or how, but I pull him in for a huge hug, wrapping my long arms around him and feelings his smaller ones wrap around me.

"It took you guys long enough." I tease. "Why didn't you text me?" I say turning to Kyungsoo.

"Where's the fun in that?" he says sarcastically looking toward Baekhyun.

"It wouldn't have been a huge surprise entrance if everyone knew about it." He reasons looking around at all the guests who have now continued dancing and talking. Luhan and Kyungsoo walk off to chat with some of their other friends. I stand there staring at Baekhyun, feeling every ounce of sadness I've been experiencing while he was gone hit me all at once. He waves to a few people while I think about how much I've really missed him. I missed all three of them of course. But for some reason, I missed him the most. Maybe it was because we shared a room and I didn't have anyone to greet me when I woke up. Nobody for me to ask, "Did you sleep well?" Just an empty bed.

Or maybe it's because I might have feelings that...

"So what did I miss?" Baek breaks my thoughts and jerks me back to reality with his question.