The Pitch || EXO

Chapter 6

It is finally their day off as it's a Saturday. The boys decide to spend their day outside with each other, in the early spring sun. Just behind the warehouse, are vast fields of gold and green, where if there weren't any hills in front of them, it would seem like the sky was touching the ground. Sehun lets out a happy giggle, clapping his hands together in excitement while running straight into the field. Yixing smiles, shaking his head at his silly younger friend. He grabs Junmyeon's hand and practically drags him while running, leaving the smaller behind to stumble slightly before speeding to catch up. However, despite the bright sun beating down on them, the whistles of the small birds that flutter past and the overall happy atmosphere, Chanyeol can sense something off with the person next to him. He takes a hold of Baekhyun's hand and pulls him to one side, away from the others.
"Is everything alright and,' He tilts his head to the side. 'Don't lie to me, Baek." Baekhyun sighs softly in defeat before looking around.
"If I tell you something, will you promise not to tell anyone else?" He asks uncertainly, playing with the hem of his shirt.
"Well, that depends on what it is." Chanyeol replies simply, eyes now flashing concern at the smaller. Baekhyun bites his cheek softly in apprehension.
"Y'know how there is this whole scare that the 'plague' thing is going around?"
"Yeah." Chanyeol nods, eyes narrowed and ears intently listening.
"Well, I-I um . . .er-" He struggles for a way to explain, biting his lower lip and furrowing his eyebrows.
"Do you have it, Baek?" Chanyeol asks with sympathy oozing from his voice.
"Me? No. One of our . . . Um, ok." He didn't expect telling one of his best friends something like this would be so difficult.
"Take your time, there's no rush." Chanyeol pats his shoulder, a small, gentle smile placed on his face. Baekhyun looks around nervously before speaking.
"I think that Kyungsoo might be sick. With the plague. I'm worried, but also don't want to get it. Like, I want to help him, but at the same time something tells me to stay away. What do you think, Chan?" He asks, exhaling loudly in relief after he finishes saying his piece.
"Well, we don't know for sure if he is sick, but we'll keep an eye on it, ok?" Baekhyun nods in agreement.
"Thanks, Chanyeol." He smiles.
"No problem, now let's go and enjoy our day off." Chanyeol returns the smile before giving Baekhyun a hug.

After a few hours of playing games and running through the fields, they all sit down to eat the lunch that a few of the members prepared by putting all of their rations together. Jongin and Minseok are having a whale of a time, shoving each other around and laughing when the other falls onto their side, while Sehun begins to bug Junmyeon, asking for more food to which Junmyeon did initially respond, however now he just ignores. Jongdae too begins to follow Sehun's example, whining at Junmyeon playfully to get more food before bringing his head into a headlock and ruffling his hair. While Junmyeon is screeching and Sehun and Jongdae are laughing like a pair of hyenas, Yixing is in his own world, daydreaming about being on stage, hearing the roar of their fans while simultaneously singing 'Growl'. He smiles unconsciously at the memory and begins to do the dance with his arms, mimicking the choreography. The others burst out laughing when he comes back to reality, a sheepish blush spreads on his cheeks. (Lol, see what I did there ;) They all slump down onto the ground, laying on their backs while reveling in the early afternoon sun. An ear piercing, bark-like cough has them all shaken, only to see their smallest friend hunched over, seemingly having trouble breathing. The others instantly crowd round to help hike, while Baekhyun and Chanyeol look at each other with deep concern. They have a feeling that Kyungsoo hasn't just got the flu. He has the disease. After a few long minutes of heaving and throat aching coughs, they die down and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. Kyungsoo wipes away the salty tears that had accumulated due to coughing so hard. He breathes in deeply before flopping down tiredly onto the soft blanket below him.
"Are you alright, Kyung?" Junmyeon asks, a worried expression displayed on his face - furrowed eyebrows, lips pressed into a straight line and the soft hand that he places over the younger's forehead. Kyungsoo just nods.
"I don't think so, you don't look okay, Soo." Jongin interjects, rubbing his hands nervously together. Chanyeol shuffles to be beside Baekhyun.
"You're right, Baek. But we have to be careful too. It sounds selfish, but we have to stay away - we can't get the disease, not when we're working so hard trying to regulate society." Chanyeol whispers into the smaller's ear, while cupping his hand across his own mouth so that nobody can lip read or figure out what he is saying. Baekhyun nods in agreement before looking over at his younger friend who still lays on his back, chest slightly heaving. He feels guilty, but they're going to have to tell the rest of the group - although he has a slight feeling that they already know.

By the time that they return from their supposed-to-be stress-free afternoon, the sun is setting and the warm and bright sky begins to get dark and cold. Almost all of them had recovered from the events that occurred earlier however, whenever Kyungsoo coughs or sniffs, Chanyeol and Baekhyun look at each other knowingly with a scared expression. Soon enough, some posters made from leftover paper and pencils (since there isn't electricity - excluding Jongdae) include a short list of symptoms to look out for just in case anyone has the disease. Kyungsoo begins to grow increasingly worried while reading the information and finds out that he has a few of the symptoms :-
-Painful, chesty cough
-Joint/muscle pain
-Blood in the mouth or throat while coughing
-Migraines/sensitivity to light
-Fatigue
He hasn't experienced many of the symptoms, only the first and last, so he is hopeful that it is just an extreme cold or a case of the flu. However, this is where he gets doubtful. If it were the cold or the flu, both of which are contagious, why hasn't he heard many other people coughing? He chews on his thumbnail, a habit of his when he gets stressed. His vision is slightly blurred by the onset of tears but he quickly blinks them away. He begins to think to himself, panicked. Is he a health threat to the rest of his friends? If anybody finds out, will he have to go to the quarantine unit? Do they treat the 'infected' nicely? He sure hopes they do, just in case. He removes his hand away from his mouth and instead bites his lower lip, while grumbling quietly, although regrets it when Jongdae turns round.

"Are you okay? Like, really?" He asks. Kyungsoo smiles softly, while nodding.
"Yeah, I've felt better though." This makes the pair of them laugh slightly. All of a sudden, the president of the EJPG steps through the double doors, a wide beaming smile on his face grabbing everybody's attention.
"It is my pleasure to now announce before you . . . That the gated community is finally open! Please make your way over to the three tables in the reception to sign up for your house and housemates." President Kim Jung-Il clasps his hands together in joy and everyone notices the excited and happy glint in his eyes.
"Of course, I'd like to thank everybody for working to finish the gated community and cannot thank you enough for your hard work. So, everybody is allowed an extra day off while you settle into your new homes." He smiles even wider (if that's possible) and walks away happily, heels of shoes clicking against the concrete floor while the people in the dining hall cheer and the sound of cups clashing in joy is heard. The boys look at each other elated and sigh - for the first time in a few months, things are looking up. And they are all happy in this new world. Junmyeon, Jongdae and Yixing all sign up for two of the largest neighbouring houses which both have four bedrooms. Then the boys all return back to their rooms and prepare what they are to pack while Minseok asks permission from one of the guards to drive to their old house to pick up the rest of their things - to which he asks the president who is more than happy to comply, even throwing in the offer of a loading van instead of having to make multiple trips. After heading back to his room, he tells the others with a smile on his face. They are all looking froward to their two more days off before working again. One by one, they each fall asleep and smiles can be seen on each of their faces.

Thank you so much for reading guys and I have an idea of where I'd like this to go. So, I have an important question for you guys out there - would you like to see multiple books of this series because the plans that I have for this are quite large so I'm thinking about writing approximately 40-50 chapters in this book before writing a sequel. Anyways, please tell me if thats something you'd like to see in the future, I'd greatly appreciate your feedback. Anywho, hope that y'all have a wonderful day/sleep and I'll update later tonight. Love you all, my peanut butter cookies ❤️🍪

Word Count - 1644