Chanel's Fics

Step - EXO

STEP

Summary: What if you had a way to go back to the past? At a cost, of course. When Lu Han inadvertently stumbles upon just such a way, he initially vows to never return. But after a tragedy occurs, Lu Han might just change his mind. The catch? Each step back costs 15 years of his life.

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CHAPTER 0

The boy sat on the ground, wretched, his clothes in slight disarray, his head resting against the wall behind him. He laughed, unable to suppress it any longer.

Not far above his head was a small and delicate, yet long and thin telescope, its lens pointed towards a scene no photographer would ever let go; a towering stone wall, a lovely blue sky dotted with white clouds.

But the telescope wasn’t directed towards that, instead, it was focused on the tangle of mud and weeds in the cracks of the stone wall that no one would ever notice, and among those weeds were a dense array of nails hammered in to the wall.

A boy was standing by the wall, unrelenting in his efforts. The nails, remnants of his attempts, were scattered as he tried different places, different distances between each nail. The birds which soared through the sky called out to this frequent visitor they’d come to know, as if in tribute to his efforts.

The sun shone down on his youthful forehead as the wind slipped by his face, exposing the beauty of both nature and life. A drop of sweat trickled down his forehead. With a nail in hand, he took two weary steps back as he surveyed the stone wall, riddled with thousands of scars.

The boy sitting on the ground couldn’t stop himself, the back of his head pressed against the wall as he guffawed with laughter—perhaps there was a tinge of hoarseness in that sound, but who knows? After who knew how long, although there was probably no one who cared how long it was, he seemed to tire, and so, the sound of laughter stopped and the room gradually regained its former silence.

“Idiot.” He shut his eyes. “What’re you doing, still hammering nails?”

He laughed quietly, as a drop of something trickled down his face. The key in his hand followed that drop’s, as they both fell lightly to the ground.

[17.03.2013]

If, one day in March, you happened to have a day off and it was a lovely day with beautiful weather, perhaps you’d wonder what sort of wonderful things God had planned for you, such as meeting some long estranged lover from your past. All stories are painted with different scenes, and this old lover you’ve imagined, well, you would definitely not meet them at the stock market, and the prince and princess living happily ever after from the fairy tales would definitely not appear on that old boat by the sea. Lu Han whistled as he grabbed the mail, glancing at the bright and sunny sky. This was a great day for outdoor activities, he thought.

Holding the bundle of mail, Lu Han looked about as he strolled up to the second floor room, kicking the door shut on his way in. Looking up, he saw the two heads clustered in front of the computer, and tossed two of the letters onto one of the beds.

“I brought your mail.” Standing in the middle of the room, he carefully inspected this month’s cellphone bill.

“Master Lu is becoming more and more considerate by the day.” The one standing in front of the computer still hadn’t looked back, resting his left hand on the seated person’s shoulder, the corner of his lips quirked in a smile.

“You might as well move into our room.” Lu Han glanced at the two beside him, and continued to skim over his bills.

“Your room’s too small.” A rather distinct sound of dismissal floated over from that direction.