My close friend

Nothing Really

"Oh, you youngsters are too complicated for me to understand. I am going to lie down for a bit and then I'll prepare dinner. Honey, what should I make tonight ?" said mom as she got up with her phone in hand, heading towards her bedroom 

"I don't know. Ask the kids", simply replied dad, grabbing his hat and, following mom out of the kitchen, he went outside. Maybe this scene would seem familiar to most of you, where the mother would never know what to cook and when asking the father about his opinion on the menu, he would always opt for the children's choice who, in turn, would have not yet decided about what they would like to have at dinner. This vicious cycle was indeed a never-ending one here, at my place!

"I don't know either!", I shouted as mom got away but she did not answer back, as usual.

Hence, we were left alone in the kitchen. But I figured that the kitchen was not a very appropriate and comfortable place to have a face-to-face talk with Chanyeol, especially when I sensed that the matter was quite sensible. So, I got up and told him to follow me to my room, thing which he obediently did. Thus, we were soon upstairs in my room. He got in and gently sat on the bed, instead of doing his usual jump and landing on his back. I closed the door and looked at him frankly in the eyes.

"So... come on. Spill everything out. I want to know what is wrong", I hastily let out. He simply looked at me and plainly smiled.

"Nothing really, hon. No need to worry", he said as he was fake smiling. His face had gone all serious in a split-second; his smile had disappeared. It was as if he had never smiled!
No need to mention that I was scared by that serious and concerned look on his face.

"Chan, what happened ? Tell me. I use my trump card now; I demand that you tell me everything that is bothering you", I firmly said. Being a man of his words, he had no other choice than to tell me now. Oh, maybe that was why he made up that whole challenge thing...! Yes! That would make sense!

"Hey, is that why you made this challenge thing ? So that eventually, I would ask you that question and you would be over with my wish ?" I asked. 
If yes, then consider me really impressed! To think that everything had gone according to his plan, from the beginning to the end, was somehow unimaginable...!

"Well... yes. I am sorry I know that I used you to get you to listen to me. Actually, I know you would have listened even if I didn't do all this set-up", he said, sad and fatigued.

"You got that right, buddy."
Wow, my man was a freaking master-mind! I loved that! But, why was he that sad and worried anyway ? And yes, even without this little challenge, I would have been all ears.

"Ah... I don't know what took me to do this. I... I-"

"A hug ? Oh come here", I said as I pulled him in for a tight, warm and comfy hug.
He laid his head on my chest while his hands were wrapped around my waist.

"Come on, tell me what's wrong", I said as I patted his head.

"Well, there are quite some things. Firstly, there's Toben who hurt his little paws while running down the stairs-"

"Oh my God! How!? He stumbled on something ?" I worriedly asked. Oh, not Toben! Not my poor little baby!

"As I was saying, he was running down the stairs and I think that in haste, he missed some steps. Oh, it's nothing serious, don't worry. He did not bleed or anything. It's just that he has some slight difficulty in walking normally, but the vet said that he should be fine in a couple of days", he reassured me. His tone was lighter than before, implying that that was not bothering him as much; he had something more troublesome to be worried about for the moment.