A Series of (God-Awfully Unfortunate) Events: Chapter 2

Pairings: OT12, KaiSoo(?) (more later)
Rating: PG 13 (to be safe)
Summary:   In which, Sehun is the new Assistant professor of Language; Jongin mysteriously landed a job in the cafeteria; Kris' English major students are failing; Yixing is the calm Chinese teacher who helps the music club undercover; Kyungsoo is the sweet and oblivious, yet regularly mobbed by fans, Language professor; Luhan is the seemingly sweet Mathematics professor plotting to steal the new Assistant Professor; Jongdae is the snarky Economics professor, with a deadly inner troll; Minseok is the new Electronic Engineering professor whom no one pays any attention to; Tao is the History of Arts professor who (not so) secretly works as a part-time Gucci model; Chanyeol is the grinning Biology teacher; Baekhyun is a diva of a Chemistry teacher; Joonmyeon is the Director of  Affairs, who has no control whatsoever and the Dean of the college is a man so evil that the devil drinks wine with him (by devil we mean Cho Kyuhyun).
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Crouching Gull, Hidden Panda...
[Or: what starts as "Gull I can't explain what I feel" and ends at "You're a model??!"]
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The staff room is dark when Sehun enters, only lit by four candles on a desk against one side. The others sit around minding their own businesses, occasionally  looking at each other with raised eyebrows. Sehun moves to turn on a light.
"STAHP GULL!!!" Sehun recoils. On one end of the room, Jongdae sits on a desk, with his legs crossed, his eyes closed, hands aloft by his sides and a towel wrapped around his head like a turban.
"Wha-" Begins Sehun.
"Sssshhh, I'm getting feeeeeeeels."
"What the..?!"
"FeeeEEEeeeEEEeeEEEels."
Kyungsoo throws Jongdae a scathing look in the dark as the "ee"s subside. Luhan flourishes his arm towards his right.
"Welcome to Jongdae time, bro." Sehun raises his brows.
"Wha-?" He gets cut off once more.
"Hush gull! I can't explain what I feeeeel."
"Who's asked you to?" Hisses Baekhyun from the couch. Chanyeol looks oddly fascinated. Jongin however stares unblinkingly at Kyungsoo from his chair.
"My Feeeeeels!!" Exclaims Jongdae again.
"What the hell are you feeling?!" Snaps Minseok.
"I'm feeeeeeeling something......."
"What is Jongdae doing?" Whispers Sehun to Luhan and Yixing.
"GULL!!" Sehun jumps when he realises Jongae has some how crept up behind him. "I'm not the awesome Kim Jongdae, right now, I'm The Chensing Masheen." He finishes with a flourished bow, which causes the turban to tumble off of his head and he saves it, except now an edge of the towel covers his right eye.
"Don't ask the question. Don't ask the question. Don't ask the question," mutters Yixing beside him.
"Wha..? Anyway, what is "The Chensing Masheen?"
"Aaaand he asked the question," groans Luhan. Yixing facepalms. Jongdae grins like a cat with cream and and rubs his paws together.
"I'm so glad you asked my ignorant friend," he purrs, "The Chensing Masheen will answer all your most burning questions!"
"What questions?"
"Aaaaand he asked again!" Luhan throws Sehun a dirty look to which he receives a blank stare. Jongdae circles the furniture like a vulture and does his best Dracula stance behind Kris.
"'Vell my leetteel friend," Kris cringes at the sound. "I can tell you everytheeeng! Everytheeeeeng. Vat do you vant to know."
"Ummm... are you identity confused?" Pipes up Jongin. "Cuz the Dracula voice is weird...."
"GULL!!" Kris flinches as Jongdae Jumps on top of the couch. "You are ze confused one!"
"Huh...?"
"Jongdae stop jumping on the couch." Mutters Kris.
"Uh-uh-un gull~ You know this is Jongdae time." Kris rubs his temples.
"Just get off the couch."
"Just get off the couch what~?"
"Please?" Sighs Kris. Jongdae takes one leg off of the couch.
"How about nah gull~" He says in a singsong voice and jumps harder for extra effect. Kris' eyes snap open.
"How about yes." There's something strangely commanding in his voice that makes Jongdae stop for a brief second, which gives Kris enough time to grab the shorter around the mid riff and hoist him up.
"Hey- Dude- What the hell??!!"
"Tao!" Yells Kris, but apparently Tao doesn't need to be told as he grabs Jongdae's thrashing legs and the two hold him between then swinging in the air.
"Gull this is not funny!! You lost a bet to me!! I shall have my Jongdae time!!"
"No you don'- oof!" Groans Kris as Jongdae's bony elbow hits him in the chest. "I've had enough of you calling people aquatic birds and prancing around like Dracula!"
"I will have my revenge I tell you! I will return and haunt you to your graves! Revenge!! Reven-" Thud.
"Oops, that was totally unintentional," grins Tao, as he maneuvers Jongdae past the door correctly. Jongdae glowers darkly.
"Let's go dump this body Tao..." Mutters Kris as Jongdae gives him a horrified look.
The bell rings and the other professors start filing out to their classes. Jongin grudgingly returns to his post at the cateen throwing longing glances back at Kyungsoo as he does, only to bash into Yixing's bookshelf and rush out from under Kyungsoo's very confused gaze.
 Kyungsoo taps Sehun on the shoulder."You don't have to come with me for this class, I'll call for you later, okay?" Sehun nods.
"Umm... hyung?" He eyes Kyungsoo carefully, judging the only sane person in a staff room full of insane people. he thinks it's afe to question him and expect a normal answer.
"Hmm?"
"What was that all about?" Kyungsoo laughs.
"Well, around last sem, he won a bet against us and ever since he gets "Jongdae Time" once a month to piss the life out of us. It usually ends that way too." He sighs. "Well, I'll be off... and uh.. not to be rude... but is your friend okay in the head...? I mean he is the guy responsible for our food."
"He used to be.... almost normal..." Says Sehun, pretty much unsure of Jongin's mental heath himself. Kyungsoo smiles knowingly and picks up his books.
Sehun starts working on reading some student essays and wonders what language he's reading for the most part (it's supposed to be Korean) until someone clears his throat nest to him.
"Yeah...?" He looks uneasily up at Tao. For the three weeks that he's been here, Tao is the person he's spoken the least too, and it probably had something to do with the fact that the other gave off a dangerous emo aura and stuck to Kris like glue for the most part, so he doesn't quite process it when Tao asks him a favour- specially a favour like this.
"You want me to what?!"
"Umm.... go shopping with me....? The mall is fifteen minutes away!" Sehun thinks he looks like an a wolf trying to make puppy eyes, and oddly succeeding.
"So creepy...," mutters Sehun.
"What?"
"I said, what happened to Kris hyung?"
"He's busy... doing Canadian stuff," shrugs Tao.
"Wha- what about Kyungsoo hyung? He could go with you after class."
"He's busy doing Korean stuff...?
"How about Luhan hyung? Or Yixing hyung?" Sehun takes a last shot.
"Oh them... they're busy doing... stuff..." Says Tao ominously.
"Stuff...?"
"It's best nobody knows what those two are up to." He shudders. Sehun wonders, at the back of his mind, if its Jongin that's affecting the sanity level of this place or is the place affecting Jongin? He sighs in resignation.
"Yeah okay, I'll go." Tao's eyes turn into crescents as he gives Sehun an awkward hug (well it's awkward for Sehun) and he runs out calling,
"See you downstairs in five!"


"HOLY SHIT!!! That's you!! And that!! And that one too!!"
"Wh-wha- hehe.. you must be seeing things...."
"No I'm positive it's you!" Sehun flaps the magazine at Tao's face, while the latter takes a step backwards.
"That's just some, very good-looking guy, who happens to look like me," insists Tao. Sehun raises his eyebrows and points to the two posters on either sides of the display window of the store.
"What about those?"
"Same, ridiculously good-looking guy."
"I don't believe it! You're a Gucci model??!"
"Shhhhh!!" Tao covers Sehun's mouth with a hand. "It's supposed to be a secret!!"
"Pfft, everyone knows," says a soft voice behind Sehun, causing him to jump into Tao.
"Tsk, tsk, kids these days. Mind the PDA," says another voice. Sehun detaches himself from Tao and looks to see Yixing and Luhan.
"You practically wanted us to know," says Luhan. "You left all those magazines when they came out and dragged us to the mall all the time."
"You've been played kid," grins Yixing. Sehun raises an eyebrow at Tao who blushes.
"I-it's not like that! I really do have stuff to buy," he says, ducking behind a shirt rack.
"Sure~ Come on XingXing, our job here is done~"
"Don't call me that."
Sehun watches the two of them leave and looks at Tao.
"How did they get here...? I thought they had class...."
"Noooobody will ever know..." Tao's voice wafts over from the shirt section.
"Talk about your crouching dragon, hidden panda," sighs Sehun. Tao peeps out from behind a section of fluorescent shirts and grins at him.
"You can pick anything you like, you know? One for free. I'll put it on my tab."
"You can do that?" Tao nods. Sehun returns him a grin of his own. "You're a good man, my friend."
"So we're cool?"
"Oh we are colder than cool," says Sehun before attacking a sunglasses stand with gusto.
"Err... okay then..."
"Is there a price limit?"
"Yes.."
"We're a little less cool now."

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This is a picture of the staff room and Suho's office.
I hope to get better at humor as I write so please bear with me and I'm happy to receive suggestions.
Xie xie,
ElfinJoy
P.S- in the summary, if you click on the highlighted names, you will get images of the members as I imagine them to be in the story! Also if you click the highlighted words when Sehun talks about Tao being a model, you'll see the pictures (I think you'll want to, after all who doesn't want a hot Taozi!) 
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Cut Scene 2: Kim Jongdae and his Tape again.

"So wanna go get gelato later XingXing...?"
"I told you not to call me that, Luhan."
"Why?? It sounds cute!"
"No, it sounds silly."
"What? Dude! I've given you the most amazing name on planet earth and you slander it like that!! For shame Zhang Yixing! For-"
"SUUURRRRRPRIISE!!!"
"AAAAARRGH!!"
"HEY! Get off of me Luhan!" Click. 
"Oh my pure blackmail gold."
"What the hell Jongdae just give it back!!"
"What the hell Lu, get off of me!!"
"Ooo you two are so precious."
"Get off of my lap you oaf!!
"Who are you calling an oaf!!?? I'm as light as a fawn! And give that back Jongdae!!"
"Nope my pretties, I'm so milking this one! Mwahahahhah!!"
"I think my thighs are dead."
"Shut up XingXing! Get back here Kim Jongdae!!"
"Catch me if you can~ Mwahahahhah!!"
"No Xing- Put that diction-"
"Stop right there!!"
"Nope~ Mwahaha-" THUNK!
"Uhh.... we might have to dispose off of his body XingXing." THUNK!
"Huh... looks like I have to dispose two now..."
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The Blessed: Chapter 2.

                                           Συναντήσεις (Synantí̱seis)
                                                                       Meetings~ 


(6:05 pm KST; Seoul, South Korea)
Kyungsoo watches the boy ahead him carefully. Jongin presses his nose into the glass of a petshop and on the other side, a golden retriever pup does the same, wagging its tail, sticking out its tongue, and greeting Jongin with a doggy "hello" through the window pane.
Jongin grins and contemplates going inside, but an impatient snort reminds him of his current situation.
Kyungsoo walks behind him once more, eyeing the exposed skin of Jongin's neck, hoping that Jongin will chose a sparsely populated lane, where he could quickly obliterate Jongin's existence, before the kid figured out who he was. Though, it seems Jongin at least has the presence of mind to walk through the busiest of Seoul's streets, while in the company of a secretly homicidal stranger. Kyungsoo has to acknowledge that sense, while crackling his knuckles in impatient anticipation and planning.
Jongin looks behind and smiles widely at Kyungsoo for some obscure reason, while the latter feels a tiny stab of remorse in his inhuman heart. Oh well, at least he mentally thanked the kid.
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(6:07 pm KST; Incheon International Airport, 48 km from Seoul, South Korea)
"I'm sorry, can't you drive faster?!"
"I don't think he speaks Chinese Lu..."
"Its an emergency! Please drive faster!"
"I'm sorry sir, the traffic is too thick."
"Calm down Luhan."
"I have a really bad feeling about this Xing!!"
"We can't do much about it.."
"We can't lose him too."
"We won't, I'm calling Tao."
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(6:09 pm KST; Seoul, South Korea)
"Where is your house? Its not safe for you to be walking around now that your powers have awakened." Kyungsoo of course does not mention he is Jongin's biggest threat currently. Jongin stops and sighs.
"I'm sorry... I was walking around a bit... this Blessed One thing is a lot to swallow... is it okay if I go home at all?" Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow. "I mean, in all of the movies, the hero goes home, amd some monster kills his family..." Kyungsoo rolls his eyes.
"You're hardly close to a Hero." Jongin colours.
"Not like that but..."
"But you're right, we should figure out a place for you to lie low." And for me to get rid of you.
Jongin nods, missing the dark look in Kyungsoo's eyes.
He walls off of the main streets and takes a by lane, barely peopled and slightly dark. He takes a right from lamp post, turning to Kyungsoo as he does, "there is this place all the wrong kids from school used to go to, everyone knew of it. That's the only place I can think of right now..." Kyungsoo nods in agreement. Jongin turns right. Kyungsoo flexes his neck, before reaching his hands out to grab the back of Jongin's neck. There is the sickening crack of bone as Jongin, barely aware of what has passed, slumps forward onto the hard sidewalk.
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(Suspended time; Seoul, South Korea)
"I can sense him..."
"Tao should stop very soon."
"What if we're too late?"
"Well— look everything's moving again Lu..."
"Let's hurry"
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(6:09 pm KST; Seoul, South Korea)
Jongin takes a right from lamp post, turning to Kyungsoo as he does, "there is this place all the wrong kids from school used to go to, everyone knew of it. That's the only place I can think of right now..." Kyungsoo nods in agreement. Jongin turns right. Kyungsoo flexes his neck and hears a loud thump and a few curses. He looks past Jongin to see two Chinese boys, the shorter of the two, having bumped into Jongin, was now apologetic, while the taller one eyed Jongin suspiciously.
"Are you Kim Jongin?"
To Kyungsoo, the taller one had the pretty face of the kind that Zeus, if he looked down from Olympus might snatch up in his talons.
"I suddenly became a lot more famous," said Jongin nervously.
"Are you Kim Jongin?!" The taller snapped. Jongin took a step back and nodded.
Kyungsoo surveyed his options, chances were that these boys were more of the Blessed, in which case his plans were moot.
"That's great, I'm Luhan and this is Yixing." The shorter one smiled languidly. "Do you have a passport?"
"I-I think so... why?"
"We have a safe house, in Beijing."
"Beijing..." Jongin turns to Kyungsoo, whom the two Chinese notice for the first time.
"Who is this?" Asks Luhan, narrowing his eyes. Kyungsoo smiles nonchalantly.
"Kyungsoo, and you won't need a passport."
"Why?" Asks Yixing.
"Because he's a teleporter"
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(5:15 pm, CST; EXO Studios, Beijing, China)
"What are you doing?" Wonders Yifan as he reclines on the lounge chair in the living room. Tao bites his nails while pacing up and down in front of the bay window overlooking the main street.
"What does it look like," he murmurs. Yifan sinks deeper into the couch and exhales deeply.
"Give them time, they're in another country. Its not like they can telep— WHAT THE—??!!" A small, slender and pale man appears on the couch next to him. Over the stranger's shoulders he sees Luhan on the floor and Yixing underneath him.
"Oh he finally got it right!" Exclaims Luhan, his right hand over his eyes,  not rising yet. A tan boy lifts himself out from behind the couch. Yifan shrieks and shrinks back into his side of the seat. Tao has a horrified expression to rival his.
"We-we made it?" The tan boy asks hesitantly. The one on the couch looks around with piqued interest.
"Yeah," mumbles Yixing weakly, and Luhan jumps off, only then registering his presence. "Welcome to HQ."
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A/N- The reference to Zeus was this story.

The Blessed: Chapter 1.

 “Boy and girls, please be very careful of the artifacts. If you look to your right, you’ll see the Greek section and to your left, is the Egyptian section, now this way please…”
“Psst~ Jonginnie~ Psst~”
“What?!”
“I’ll bet you can’t run over to that vase and touch it and come back.”
“I’ll bet the same, goody-two shoes!”
“Don’t you guys have better bets to make?”
“Aww, scared much?”
“Hey, Jong! Too full of chicken?”
“Of all the lame jokes to make… fine, I’ll go and touch the stupid vase, it’s an urn actually.”
“Ooo~ an ‘u~rn’, very fancy~”
“Bunch of silly… stupid… people… there! I touched it, hap- oh shit!!”

‘Darkness… darkness… doomed to eternal darkness… then why is there that-? Why is there a crack in the shroud of Tartarus…? Are those… human voices?’

“The idiot dropped it!!”
“Oi!! Hurry!! Put it back!!”
“Run!! Here comes the guide!!”
“Holy hell! Seongsaengnim!!”
“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU”RE DOING?!?”

‘Is Tartarus opening again…? No, that cannot be, no one else seems to have seen the light... who’s voices are those?’

“Ahh… Seongsaengnim… I was… I wanted a good look at this art work, looks like it’s from the Corinthian era… hehe…”
“You should have asked then. Now get back in line Kim Jongin!”
“Yes sir!”

‘Kim Jongin…? Is he the one who freed me?’

  Απαρχές (Aparchés)
             Beginnings~

(3:25 pm KST; Seoul, South Korea) 

Jongin grins as he walks out of the school grounds for the last time, the trip to the museum from the previous summer, still fresh in his mind for some reason. It was a good thing he was known for being an academically interested student. He’d been let off by the teacher on the excuse of ‘wanting to get a better look at Greco-Roman art’ and only he had noticed the hairline crack on the side of the black urn… a fact he was more than happy to keep to himself.
He turns homeward, only to have a short stranger cut off his path.
“Excuse me, are you Kim Jongin?” Jongin looks at the stranger in wonder. The stranger is almost a head shorter, all baby-faced, wide-eyed, soft cheeks and milky skin. Jongin is a little shocked (maybe more than just a ‘little’ awed) and the stranger waves his hands in front of his face. Pretty fingers too…? Jongin snaps back to reality and the stranger slowly asks again,
“Are. You. Kim. Jong. In?” Enunciating every word clearly as if Jongin is either hard of hearing or stupid or both. Maybe Jongin is because he mutely nods. The stranger smiles brightly. I think I need shades…
“Great. I’m Kyungsoo, and I’ve been waiting for you for over a year.”
“…say what?!” Jongin pivots on his heels. Crazy stalker! Crazy stalker alert!! He starts walking as fast as he possibly can in his graduation robes and sends up a prayer that the crazy stalker won’t follow him. One block down the road, and Jongin looks back to find no trace of the guy. He breathes a relieved sigh and decides to walk home the long way.
“Hello again.”
“AAARGH!!” Jongin jumps a foot into the air at the soft voice next to him. Not again… “Look buddy, I don’t know who you think I am, but I certainly don’t swing that way. So you’re pretty and all, but sorry. Nope. See ya’!”  There’s a firm hand on his shoulders and the next thing Jongin knows is that he’s being pulled backwards. “Yah!! Yah! Let go! Let me- HELP!! HELP ME!!! I’m BEING KIDNAPPED!!” His screams were met by odd stares from passersby, who wondered at his mental health. At almost a head shorter, Kyungsoo certainly looks like the kidnapped one, except, muses Jongin, they obviously can’t feel the rock solid grip.
Jongin feels a strange sense of panic that renders him unable to fight this smaller, lithe stranger who should ideally have blown away with the wind, or so thinks Jongin as he mentally panics, while physically screeching like a banshee, till Kyungsoo has had enough and he claps his hand over the other’s mouth. Jongin’s screams turn to muffled gasps, as he begins to feel oddly discomforted at the touch. Kyungsoo’s hand smells of the warm summer earth, and fresh grass, Jongin's senses begin to cloud over as he feels slightly dizzy. The aroma of the earth is suffocating now, as he squeeses his eyes shut, his body having long succumbed to being dragged around. The dizzyness is numbing. Kyungsoo stops, sensing something wrong. Jongin grinds his teeth to stop the pain. His vision turns black. He feels a strong rush of air. The ground gives way from beneath his feet as he lands face forward into soft grass.
Jongin opens his eyes to find himself in a park, that should have been about a hundred meters away. Kyungsoo blocks his sunlight as he stands over him, with his head cocked to one side as if studying a specimen in a laboratory. Jongin bolts up and shakes an accusing finger at him.
"YOU! WHO THE- WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU??!! HOW THE FREAKING HELL DID YOU DO THIS??!!"
"Me...?" Kyungsoo whispers quietly. "No, I did none of this..."
"Then how...?" Jongin's words die away as Kyungsoo looks very meaningfully at him.
"Welcome to the family fledgling, you are one of the Blessed."
"Wha....?"
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.
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(2:45 pm CST; Beijing, China)

"Oi! Luhan... Luhan!!"
"Ye... Huh- wha- what...?"
"You passed out again... "
"Xing..."
"Yes...?"
"Tickets.... Seoul. I've.. found the last one."
"Wait- what? Luhan?! Come back- dammit!"
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.
.

(3:45 pm KST; Seoul, South Korea)

"I'm a what...?"
"A Blessed One."
"So what am I, like a holy Harry Potter? You're kinda tiny for a Hagrid though..."
"What is a 'Harry Potter'... and however big a Hagrid is, I assure you, I'm a thousand times bigger."
"What are you.... how the hell do you not know what Harry Potter is??!! Any way, what is this "Blessed One"?
"There are twelve of them-"
"Then how is it a 'One'-"
"SILENCE!" Kyungsoo slams his fist into the trunk of a nearby tree, leaving a wide crater on the surface and his hand miraculously unscathed. Jongin pales.
"Umm... nevermind... so Blessed One...?"
"There are twelve children, each blessed by a God or Beast, to protect the earth in their absence."
 "From what? Like psychopaths... serial killers.... the government... aliens from outer space..?"
"What gibberish is that...?"
"Wha... what are you... are you like me?"
"It isn't important."
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.
.

(3:00 pm, CST; Beijing, China)

"His name is Jongin, and- damn! Why is this taking so long??!!"
"We're bound by traffic laws, Luhan."
"To hell with laws, just drive faster Yifan!"
"Don't yell at him Lu..."
"You guys don't get it! We can't afford to lose another one..."
"We won't, okay? Have some faith."
"Faith has forsaken us, Xing, what's the use?"
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.
.

(4:00 pm, KST; Seoul South Korea)

"There are others like me? Whatever 'me' is..."
"Yes, and you... are important." Kyungsoo walks forward a few steps, contemplating on the next course of action. Ideally, Jongin should be disposed off of. Being one of the Blessed, he is an immediate threat, even if the boy isn't aware of Kyungsoo's nature...yet. Then again, a teleporter, and an inexperienced one at that, isn't much of a threat alone. Kyungsoo looks over his shoulders and sees the slumped form of the tan boy on the bench. Dusk is approaching. Soon the sun will abandon this face of the earth. Darkness is something Kyungsoo is used to, not in this form, but it is still a welcome shroud. He looks over to Jongin once more. One quick snap of the neck and everything would be over, wouldn't it...?
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.

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A/N: This series was inspired by Greek Mythology.

[Chapter 2]

A Series of (God-Awfully Unfortunate) Events: Chapter 1

Pairings: OT12, KaiSoo(?) (more later)
Rating: PG 13 (to be safe)
Summary:   In which, Sehun is the new Assistant  professor of Language; Jongin mysteriously landed a job in the cafeteria; Kris' English major students are failing; Yixing is the calm Chinese teacher who helps the music club undercover; Kyungsoo is the sweet and oblivious, yet regularly mobbed by fans, Language professor; Luhan is the seemingly sweet Mathematics professor plotting to steal the new Assistant Professor; Jongdae is the snarky Economics professor, with a deadly inner troll; Minseok is the new Electronic Engineering professor whom no one pays any attention to; Tao is the History of Arts professor who (not so) secretly works as a part-time Gucci model; Chanyeol is the grinning Biology teacher; Baekhyun is a diva of a Chemistry teacher; Joonmyeon is the Director of  Affairs, who has no control whatsoever and the Dean of the college is a man so evil that the devil drinks wine with him (by devil we mean Cho Kyuhyun).
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This Could Be the Start of Something New...
[Or: what starts at "why the hell did I come here?!" and ends at "you are my mortal enemy— FOR LIFE!!!"]
•
•
•
Oh Sehun is your average Joe, except he's Korean, so maybe he's an average "Kim", but he's obviously an "Oh", not a "Kim" so... anyway, the point is, if he was an American. he'd be an average Joe. An average guy, with an average family, from an average town, with an average job, until his parents forced him to go to Seoul for work.... but he's still an average guy- wondering what he's done to end up in this loony bin.
It hasn't been five minutes since he's entered the campus and two minutes of those five have been wasted by a human traffic jam, caused by the onlookers of a fight between two people, one of whom looked like a very tall Psychotic Clown, with a weird blonde mushroom growing out of his head and the other was a very tiny (or did he just look tiny because of the giant mushroom guy, wonders Sehun) guy, who looked like he was the spokesperson for Eyeliner rights, both of whom were hurling insults at each other...

"You Sone of a bicarbonate!"
"You're the Sone! The Sone of a Brachybacterium!"
"Why you freaking nitrate of ammonia-"

Sehun hadn't waited there for much longer before making dash in the opposite direction and yet by some sad twist of fate, here those two are sitting opposite him in the staff lounge, no longer fighting but with each other but now Ginormous-Psycho-Mushroom dude has his arm draped over Eyeliner-Poster-boy, who's reading over sheets of paper while trying worm his way out of the taller one's grip. On Sehun's right there's a person who looks like a little kid, well if truth be told, like a cherubic  little girl, and this Little Girl-Guy has his foot across the couch on the lap of a very calm looking Chinese man, who actually looks more dazed and lost than calm. Then next to the Mushroom-Eyeliner duo is a man with the cheek bones of a Greek God, except he'd tripped Sehun on his way to the couch and flashed him a very disarming grin so Sehun decides that he's officially Mr. Cheekbones-of-Hades, there's also a Chinese guy with panda eyes who looks way too fashionable for a professor (also he has a strange emo aura), a guy with really squishy looking cheeks and a really tall imposing guy, who has not said a word, or lifted his eyes off his book (Premeditated Murder Made Easy) so Sehun's giving him a wide berth. Somewhere in the middle of this zoo, his old friend Jongin walks in. Jongin has landed the head position in the cafeteria and Sehun wonders exactly what horrors the students are in for.
But before he has a chance to wonder exactly how may hospitals will be full by the end of the day, the Director of Affairs, who's name Sehun knows is Joonmyeon, walks in with a smile that says "look-at-me-lowly-beings-I'm-an-angel" but he really looks like somebody's grandpa trying to be cool.
"Sehun ssi, glad you'll be joining us, you too Jongin ssi."
"Seriously?!" Squishy-Cheeks looks at at the Director with incredulous eyes. "You're giving cafeteria boy a welcome too?!" Then he looks over at Jongin apologetically. "No offense bro." Jongin shrugs.
"Anyhoo," the Joonmyeon carries on, "let me introduce you. That's Luhan, he lectures math." Little-Girl guy gives him a real angelic smile, that leaves Sehun mildly disturbed. "That's Chanyeol, Chem." Psychotic-Mushroom gives him a psychotic grin. "That's Baekhyun, Bio." The Eyeliner-poster-boy looks up in disdain.
"Hey kids, and it's Bio-logy."
"Yeah, okay, that's Jongdae, he's for Eco." Mr. Cheekbones-of-Hades grins at them.
"What's up shortstuff?" Jongin and Sehun raise eyebrows, because Jongdae looks atleast a head shorter than both of them.
"That's Tao, History of Art and Kris, English." Panda-Eyes and Potential-Murderer give him curt nods. "This is Minseok, Electronics." Squishy-Cheeks pouts and then smiles kindly (is that pity in his eyes?) at the two. "And this is Yixing, Chinese." There is no response as the dazed Yixing stares at the opposite wall with his eyes half-shut, and his ears plugged with purple earphones. "Yixing? Yixing? Yixi-"
BAM!
The door flies open and Yixing jumps up with a "I swear I was paying attention!", while Luhan's legs drops to the floor and he utters a yelp of protest. The person at the door looks like a sorry mess.
"I'm... sorry... I'm... late...." he manages to spout among the panting and gasping. Sehun notices his shirt looks terribly crumpled and his hair is more than askew, while his large eyes are watering and his cheeks are red. Sehun thinks this pint sized man looks like a soft toy, and he's about to say that to Jongin, when he realises that his friend is staring unabashedly at the new comer, with eyes wide enough to match his.
"Ayo! Wassup D.O.!" Luhan calls out chreerily, two decibels too loud and everyone visibly winces.
"Mobbed again Soo?" Minseok asks with a pat on "Soo's" back. He nods woefully.
"I don't even... they need some... so many people!!!!" Baekhyun rises from Chanyeol's grasp and gives his seat to "Soo" who gets engulfed into a bear-hug by the large Biology professor.
"Yeol-can't-breathe-let-go-" Chanyeol lets go with a hurried apology. He hears something snap, actually snap next to him, and he realises that Jongin has broken a pencil in two with his fingers while looking at Chanyeol like he was going to end up on the afternoon's lunch menu soon.
"How do they even find you?" Sehun almost fell out of his seat in shock at the deep baritone of Kris. "Soo" shook his head in utter defeat.
"I swear, someday I will find out." Sehun has the intense urge to hug this tiny man. He notices Jongin's knuckles have turned white.
"This is Kyungsoo," says Joonmyeon. "Sehun ssi, you'll be his assistant lecturer."
There's a suddenly loud crash and Sehun realises that Jongin has fallen out of his seat, and is now looking at Sehun with a face halfway between "I'm-in-terrible-pain" and "I-will-end-your-life"... why the second, Sehun does not know.
"You teach Languge?" Jongin asks Kyungsoo politely (too polite, thinks Sehun), while trying to act as if nothing had happened. Kyungsoo looks at him with the same curiosity that one might use to look at a monkey in a zoo.
"Yes, I do.."
"He totally D-O-e-s!" Quips a grinning Luhan. Kyungsoo rolls his eyes.
"Isn't it a bit too early to make fun of my last name?"
"Of course not Do-nut my man!"
"Argh!" Says Kyungsoo, ruffling his own hair in defeat. Suddenly Sehun feels himself being hauled upwards by two pairs of strong hands, and he lets out a very high pitched yelp.
"I'm borrowing him for a bit," says Jongin between gritted teeth and proceeds to drag him out of the door, ignoring the raised eyebrows and Jongdae's call of "play nice kids!" and slam him against the wall at the nearest corner.
"You're the Assistant prof.?" He demands.
"Ye-ah..." Sehun is very unsure of where this is headed.
"No~!" Wails Jongin and slumps to the floor. "You... but I... I mean this.... I- I don't want to work in the cafe!!"
"Why'd you even get a job there? You're-"
"Don't talk to me Oh Sehun!"
"What? You dragged me out here-"
"Zip! Do not talk!"
"Wha-?"
"Oh Sehun you're officially my mortal enemy- FOR LIFE!"
"Morta-"
"For LIIIIIIIIIIIIFE!!!" Says Jongin before stomping off. A second later Sehun hears a crash and a groan.
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" He peeks around the corner to see Jongin sprawled on the floor with a very concerned Kyungsoo hovering over him.
"Ooooh, you've D-O-n-e it now," whistles Luhan.
"Not now for god's sake! Are you okay?" Jongin groans and opens his eyes. Sehun notes his friend's interesting red colour over his tan skin.
"I'm hot!" Says Jongin springing up, and Kyungsoo takes a hasty step backwards, while Sehun mentally facepalms. "I- I mean I'm cool! Not- not that cool, but cool as in 'hey I'm okay'... oh wait that rhymed and umm.. I uhh-" He catches a sight of Sehun's impassive face around the corner. "For LIIIIIIIFE!!" And he bolts towards the stairs, leaving a very amused Luhan and Yixing and a very confused Kyungsoo in his wake. In fact, Sehun can almost hear Kyungsoo's internal comment on Jongin's sanity, or the lack of it.
So a loony bin, that just became loonier thanks to Kim Jongin, contemplates Sehun as he walks through the corridors. Students start pouring in, some looking at him in vague interest, others hurriedly rushing past.
He sees Chanyeol and Baekhyun animatedly discussing something, Lunhan, Yixing and Jongdae with their heads conspiratorially together, Joonmeyon walking through the corridors, smiling perkily at the students who  could not care less, Kris walking off with his nose still in the book ( Sehun is going to give him a very wide berth)  and Tao occasionally pauses to check his reflection in the mirror.
Yes, right now if someone could read Oh Sehun's mind, they'd hear him ask exactly what sin he's committed to end up here.
____________________________________________________________


This is the first chapter in the series, the following ones are going to focus on a few members at a time, rarely all 12.
I hope to get better at humor as I write so please bear with me and I'm happy to receive suggestions.
Xie xie,
ElfinJoy
P.S- in the summary, if you click on the highlighted names, you will get images of the members as I imagine them to be in the story!
___________________________________________________________

Cut Scene 1: Kim Jongdae and his Tape.

"Not fair... even Lunch-Boy gets a welcome and I got nothing when I came last month. Just 'Hey Minseok, this is your schedule, have fun.' Who the hell has fun in Trical?! People just stare-"
"SUUURPRIISE!!!"
"OH MY- oh very funny Jongdae... what's that?"
"This is a tape recorder and why yes, I did record my voice and then digitally layer it eleven times so it sounds like bunch of people and ta~da~!"
"Where the hell... do you even get the time...?"
"Wouldn't you like to know my little Minseokkie, ehehehehehee."
"I'm not your little Minseo-."
"Ehehehehehehee."
"The whole evil-hand-rubbing thing isn't working, so sto-."
"Ehehehehehehee."
"And nor is the high-pitched-maniacal laugh, just sto-"
"Ehehe-" THUNK!
"OH MY GOD! Did you just knock Jongdae out with that text book?!"
"Lu..han... I uhh-"
"HEY GUYS! WE NEED TO HOST A PARTY IN HONOUR OF MINSEOK! LIKE NOW!!"
___________________________________________________________

The Wu Chronicles: Discord

"Chen, Mei, do you know where-" Meixiang stopped short of finishing her sentence, taking a moment to take in the cherry blossom tree in all its summer glory. Beneath it, Chen lazed, his eyes closed, with his frame rested upon the sturdy trunk. Meilin was swinging gently, a book between two hands as she read, occasionally pausing to turn pages. Meixiang smiled at them. "Have you two seen Yifan," she asked softly, almost afraid to break the spell in Meilin's grove (as they had all come to call it). Almost simultaneously, both shook their head, Chen without opening his eyes and Meilin without lifting hers from the book. Meixiang sighed.
"What are you two doing?" She asked, hoping do distract herself for a few moments.
"Nothing," answered Chen with a yawn. Meilin kicked a tuft of grass and he sneezed.
"You're the one doing nothing," she said with a flick of her hair. Chen shrugged, too lazy to argue.
"Well," said Meixiang, "if you see him, tell him he can't run forever." Meilin looked at her with a sad smile.
"Jie jie, none us of ever see Yifan ge anymore...."
"Not outside of official reasons, that is," added Chen, his eyes trained on Meilin, catching the edge in her voice Meixiang had failed to. Meixiang offered them half a smile before walking away from the grove. She paused again and looked back.
Chen was still reclining against the tree but Meilin had slipped onto the grass, using the swing as a makeshift back-support. Their knees were arched and their toes almost, but just not, touching, seeking comfort in the closeness. Meixiang turned away, suddenly feeling like she was looking at something she shouldn't.
                                                    ---------------------------------
In the War Council room, the Emperor Wu sat, mulling over documents, with deep knit brows. He was alone in the lamp lit room, deep shadows dancing across his face made his frown look deeper than it was.
Meixiang had walked by the room twice before without entering.This time she did. She would forever be amazed at the power and magnetic attraction that radiated from him, then and forever, perhaps, but she knew it wasn't the time to admire him at his work.
"Shengshang," she called, loud enough to make him flinch at the use of the overly polite term.
"Yes?" He asked, although he already knew why she was there. Meixiang walked up to the table, her hands crossed across her chest, a deep frown crossing her forehead.
"Need I remind you what it is?" This time the Emperor did flinch.
"I'd rather you didn't," he murmured darkly. Meixang sighed.
"Yifan..." Her voice spilled over with pleading. Yifan had never been able to resist that, he still tried.
"I can't do this, Xiang," he said softly. If the Emperor could ever beg, this would be it. Meixiang looked at him with a blank face, trying to mask her own feelings in it.
"Do you think I can?" Yifan felt like he had been stabbed through the chest. He rose and wrapped his arms around her frame.
"I have a wife... why would I need another one..." He sighed, more to himself than another. "I'm... sorry.."
"It was decided for you, you don't have a choice," said Meixiang, though her voice was muffled against Yifan's chest.
"I have been trying to look for one..." Meixiang blinked and looked past his arms and her eyes took in the vast amount of paperwork lying upon it. She raised an eyebrow.
"Have you been trying to find a loophole in the treaty?"
"Trying... and failing."
"Well, you can't hope to find one in a pact that says- the eldest son of the Emperor shall marry the daughter of Lord Li, as he upon her coming of age." Yifan sighed at her words.
"It doesn't matter to me, she can come here, but I shall refuse to acknowledge her."
"Yifan-"
"I've made my mind Xiang, nothing can change it." He released her from his hold and went back to his seat. Meixiang allowed a myriad of expressions that had waged war in her mind to flit across her face and wondered if Yifan felt the same or if it was just her emotions reflected in his eyes. She tore her gaze away and left.
                                                 -------------------------------
"What's your sister like Chen?"
"I don't know Mei, I haven't seen her in years."
"Oh well, she'll be nice."
"I wouldn't..be so sure...... there's a reason she was sent away to my uncle, instead coming of here."
"Oh..."
"I'm hungry, I'll go, poke around the kitchens."
"Uh! You are such a pig- hey! Wait for me!"
                                               -------------------------------
It wasn't long before Qiuyue, daughter of Lord Li and sister to Prince Chen, became the Emperor's second wife- or at least she was so in name, for Yifan never bothered her a second glance. For her part, it seemed the Princess was hell bent upon making herself an enemy out of everyone, starting from the maids to the Emperor. Whether it was because she was offended at the ignorance or some other thing, she spared no one. Her onslaughts started from her entry into the palace, where she referred to Meixiang as an "old woman" to which Meixiang had had reminded her that they were only two years apart, so it would make Qiuyue an "old and wrinkled woman too". Of course, everyone wondered why Chen and Meilin started coughing violently while hiding their faces. After that, Qiuyue, realising that Meilin was a force to be reckoned with, gave up on her and moved on to easier targets. The first unintended victim was her own brother Chen.
Though brother and sister had been separated for years, Chen had taken no time in warming up to his sister once again, but yet, they still did know each other as well as siblings should. It happened, when, for the first time in a long time, everyone of Meilin's "important" people sat together to eat. Yifan sat at the head of the table, Meixiang on his right, Qiuyue on his left. Meilin sat next to Meixiang, while Yanlin and Suho sat on the new queen's side. Everyone was digging in well, at one point Yifan even paused to compliment the cook, when Chen came rushing in, apologizing for being late, as he took a seat next to Meilin. "I'm famished!"
He said, helping hinsef to twice the normal amount of each dish as if he had not eaten in years. Meilin looked sideways and rolled her eyes at him. Chen took a vegetable mix, wrapped in kuei leaves an bit into it. Almost instantly as she heard a crunch of the leaves, she heard a strangled gasp from Chen. She whipped her head towards him. Chen still had his cheeks puffed with food, while his eyes were brimming with tears and his nose turned red, as his face contorted into a pained grimace. One whiff of the leaf wrapping in his hand and Meilin hurriedly called out to the servants,
"Milk! We need milk now!!" Then she turned to Meixiang and added, "he's eaten a pepper." Meixiang's eyes widened. It was common knowledge that Chen had no tolerance for peppers whatsoever and they had long since asked the cooks to stop using them if they ate together. This mistake was strange, very strange. There was chaos at the table almost instantly as Meixiang ran to the kitchens to admonish the poor cook (who stared wide eyed at the Empress, having no knowledge whatsoever of the presence of the peppers in the food), while Yanlin rushed to the speed the milk delivery and Meilin, Yifan and Suho tried to comfort Chen as he tried to look dignified and refrain from crying because of the burn in his mouth- and miserably failed. Perhaps if they had not been so occupied with him, they would have noticed the flicker of shame and regret in Qiuyue's eyes before she rose from the table and walked out with her nose in the air.
For the next few weeks strange things happened in quick succession that, one day, caused Yanlin to declare, "I think this castle is haunted," as she slipped her arm  through the crook of Suho's elbow. Suho smiled at the familiar touch.
"Why would you say that?" They were walking through the inner courtyard on the way to the library. Yanlin's eyes sparkled as she replied,
"Why would I not! It started with the peppers, then the sugar and salt got switched in the kitchens, after that the oils wen't missing from the lamps and we spent an entire evening wandering around in the dark and- oh! Let's not forget the horses that got mysteriously lose from the stables.... not to mention that is only what I remember at this moment." Suho looked at his wife with a small smile playing on his lips.
"And how much are you hoping for it to be an actual ghost?" He teased. Yanlin looked to the floor in embarrassment.
"Maybe just a little," she admitted shyly. Suho's smile turned into a laugh. Yanlin raised her head to look at him. The bright summer sun made his hair and face glow with an, almost, ethereal aura, as his eyes crinkled into crescents and his warm laughter made Yanlin's cheeks warm. Suho turned to find his wife looking up at him with wide eyes and parted lips, echoing the girl he had met and fallen in love with all those years ago. "You—" There was a deafening crash and Suho stopped mid-sentence. For a moment both stared at each other with wide eyes before exclaiming at the same time- "The library!" And making a swift run for it. It did not take Suho more than a heartbeat to locate the source of the crash. He stared in horror at the mammoth of a bookcase that had toppled over, scattering scrolls and books everywhere. Among that literary mess, Qiuyue stood, looking absolutely unhurt, and staring at the broken case in disdain.
"Are you hurt, Your Majesty?" Asked Suho, his eyes trailing the strewn books. Qiuyue looked at him with a faint note of contempt.
"I am fine. It's a fortune I wasn't killed. You have such flimsy bookcases." Suho's eyes surveyed the torn scrolls with pity.
 "That should not have happened..." he wondered aloud. "They've always been sturdy."
"Really?" Said Qiuyue, "all I did was stumble against one and it toppled over..."
"How could that-" began Yanlin but she was cut off with a wave of Qiuyue's hand.
"Why don't you ask your Emperor, who thinks he can buy everything, to get another one." Suho opened his mouth but someone else beat him to it.
"You broke my table." Yanlin turned to find Meilin behind her, her eyes locked on the wrecked bookcase. For the first time, both Suho and Yanlin noticed a table, which had caught the bookcase's fall, the weight of the latter object having broken a leg and cracked a chunk of the polished wood. Images of three children sitting at the table danced before their eyes and a wave of sadness overcame them. Yanlin raised an arm to touch Meilin's shoulder, but Meilin stepped away to avoid her comfort.
 "You... broke it." She said, her voice dangerously low and her face devoid of any emotion at all. Qiuyue shrugged her shoulders.
"Get another one."
Meilin looked at her and then turned away, muttering a soft, "I wish my brother never got you," before walking out. Suho and Yanlin stared after her as Meilin walked out briskly, before reaching the courtyard and breaking into a run. Eyes blinded by loose hair and tears, she crashed into a firm chest.
"Mei?" Chen blinked in surprise at the figure against his chest. She looked up at him with a tear streaked face, for a second Chen was taken aback before she pushed him, roughly, out of her way and stormed away, leaving him confused. He looked in the direction of the library, hoping someone might tell him something, and knowing it would be useless to talk to Meilin when she was enraged.
The carnage met his eyes when he stepped into the library. He saw Suho and Yanlin looking everywhere but at him. He saw the wreckage of the table and knew Meilin's heart would have shattered into thousands of fragments at the sight of it. Finally, he saw his sister, starting at the same wreck with unabashed contempt. It did not take him long to come to a conclusion. There really had been a reason his sister was sent away. As she looked up to meet his eyes, Chen wondered what hell they had brought upon themselves.
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To Suho oppa, 
Saengil Chukahamnida! (^_^)/ 
This is my birthday gift to you. 

 Thanks to the real Qiuyue jie, for the roots of idea of this story and for finding me a leafy vegetable (kuei) for me to get Chen to bite into. Xie xie, wo ai ni jie!! ^^ 
Also thanks to the real Meixiang Jie and Yanlin, who review my story. 

Read and review please~
ElfinJoy.

Masquerades

Silence.

Silence greets Jongin as he walks the dark, narrow, suffocating corridor towards the last room in the villa. Not a soul responds to his fervent calls. There is no electricity. There is a gale blowing outside. Yet, it pales in comparison to that in Jongin’s mind. He reaches the door at last. His hand hovers unsteadily over the doorknob. Images of what lay in the four previous rooms assault his mind. His throat feels like he’s swallowed sand. His heart is thumping, hard, in his chest, the dull, hollow sound ringing in his ears like a warning. He turns the knob. The click echoes through the empty corridors. Why did they agree to take this vacation?

Strange silhouettes and shapes stand out in the semi darkness. He can gauge the outline of two figures on the couch- one sitting, the other having fallen on the former’s lap. Visions return to Jongin’s mind.

Freshly raised out of a deep, almost drugged slumber, he had not seen anyone around in the darkness, nor had anyone responded to his calls. Kris and Tao’s room was the nearest and the door was unlocked. Two figures lay, sprawled, upon the bed. Jongin had leaned against the door frame, prepared to pass a witty comment. Then lightening flashed- thousands of volts of electric charge lighting the sky and the room-killing the words in Jongin’s throat. Tao had had his head on the elder’s shoulder, his hand clutching onto the fabric of the Kris’ shirt and Kris had one arm under Tao’s head and the other dangling off of the side of the bed… and then there was the blood. Blood that had flown from the two deep, fatal wounds- one in Tao’s abdomen and the other in Kris’s chest- and bathed the sheets red. Jongin had been too stunned to cry. He had wondered if they died trying to protect each other. But that did not matter. What mattered was that they were dead. Dead. Tao and Kris were dead.

Jongin steps further into the room. His shaky breathing the only sound in the air, barring the dull monotony of the rain on hard ground. He knows what waits for him inside.

Joonmyeon and Yixing’s room had seemed empty, the door to the bathroom left slightly ajar. Joonmyeon lay on the floor, limbs askew, eyes wide open- and lifeless- a far cry from the warm angelic looks that everyone was used to… but Jongin had wondered if “everyone” was alive to begin with. Then there was the blood, which ran small rivulets on the bathroom floor, flowing from a gash in Joonmyeon’s throat- flowing everywhere. The desperate urge to throw up had risen within Jongin as he backed out of the bathroom, only to trip and falter. Yixing, bleeding from a wound on the head, had been slumped against the wall. The wall itself had horizontal stains from the Chinese boy’s blood. Jongin had known Yixing had put up a fight. He was the type to put up a fight to the death. But the point was just that- death. Dead. Joonmyeon and Yixing, the angels, were dead.

 Jongin doesn’t need lightning to tell him that it’s Minseok who is sitting on the couch with his head thrown back, while Jongdae lies with his head on the elder’s lap. He doesn’t need lightning to tell them that they’re dead. They must be. Dead. Jongdae and Minseok were dead too.

He needs to breathe. A lump is blocking his throat. Tears are welling up in his eyes. He needs comfort. He needs support. He needs someone. So he raises his head and screams into the still air.

“Kyungsoo-hyung!”

The smell of alcohol had assaulted his nostrils as he entered Luhan and Sehun’s room. Luhan had been laying on the bed, dressed in a bathrobe, his hair still uncombed and askew. He looked like an angel, except for the lifeless eyes and the robe dyed red from blood- that reached the tips of his blond hair. A bottle of beer had rolled out of his hands and shattered on the floor. Among its tiny fragments, Sehun was sprawled out, the tiny crystalline shards dotting and piercing his pale skin. Jongin had not known where to turn. He stared at the two. His chest had begun to ache. Dead. How could Luhan and Sehun be dead?

Jongin’s cry dies out in the darkness. There is no response. The oppressive silence returns once more. He fears the worst. There is no way Kyungsoo could have survived this. Not his innocent and defenseless hyung. Tears are falling, thick and fast, down his dusky skin. He raises his head to shriek again.

“Kyungsoo hyung!”

Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s room had been locked. Jongin had not thought twice before breaking the door and entering. The wood had given in after a few tries. Then, he had stopped in horror. Every visible surface had been splattered with blood- the walls, the carpeting, and the furniture. In the center of the room, Chanyeol had been curled up, with Baekhyun against his chest, arms and legs a tangled mess and every inch of their skin covered in deep gashes, shirts torn to ribbons, hair matted with blood. Anger had bubbled within Jongin. They had ben butchered. Butchered and then left to bleed to their deaths. Dead…. How could the very signs of vitality, Chanyeol and Baekhyun be dead?

“Jongin-ah.”

There is a soft voice behind. Jongin’s heart leaps to his mouth he knows that voice all too well. His body acts of its own accord as he pivots around and engulfs the shorter male in a bone-crushing hug. First he laughs in relief, which then turn to choked sobs, which evolve into ear piercing shrieks of anguish. For all his mature looks, Jongin is still a nineteen year old boy. Kyungsoo is oddly calm as he rocks Jongin back and forth on the balls of his feet. He lets the younger cry himself to exhaustion till the only sounds coming are quiet sniffles, muffled by his face in Kyungsoo’s hair. Jongin feels selfishly glad he isn’t alone. He inhales deeply to calm his shaking nerves. The smell of spices and kimchi, that is forever a part of Kyungsoo, calms his rattled nerves. He memorises the feel of the small elfin body between his hands. The smile on his face.They are the only ones left. Then- a flash of lighning, a glint of steel, a quick scuffle, a decisive stab, a hot flash of pain and a whiplash of thunder that drowns Jongin’s scream. There’s another flash. Kyungsoo has just enough time to note the meat cleaver sticking out from Jongin’s back, before the dancer’s dead weight causes his knees to buckle and he toples backwards, under Jongin’s weight, and crashes into the side table behind. There is darkness for both boys. One, unconscious, the other dead. Yes… dead… he may know it, he may not, but Jongin too is dead.

………………………

“Something doesn’t feel right…” says Cho Kyuhyun, staring at the bright screen of his laptop, the lights casting odd shadows under his eyes. “Something does not feel right.” He says again. Sungmin stares at him in the dimly lit dorm room. He knows what the maknae is talking about. A few months and a thousand articles later, no one has reached the end of the bloodbath that has been dubbed the “Jeju Island Getaway Mystery”- that had left eleven boys massacred and one unconscious. “How did Kyungsoo survive?”

“Are you saying he should have died too? They found him unconscious under Jongin… the killer must have thought he was dead too…” Sungmin sighed.

“All this while and the only explanation is ‘anits’ or ‘sasaengs’? I don’t get is… there must be something that no one is looking at.”

“There isn’t anything in there… all that there is, are the boys’ fingerprints… and that is normal!”

“There was that one report that said the fingerprints on the cleaver that killed them was weird…”

“Kyuhyun-ah! That was a rumor… let things be… anti-fans are a good bet.”

“Even if it was them... how do people do such things…?” he shivers. Sungmin places a calming hand on his shoulder.

“No one ever knows what lies beyond a person’s face… even the sweetest smiles hold the darkest secrets…” Sungmin’s words cast an image into Kyuhyun’s mind- a pair of large, round eyes and a sweet heart-shaped smile. Could it be…..? He shakes his head and looks at the half-empty bottle. No, the wine must be getting to his head.

I am very aware of what I implied at the end.... and I take no pleasure in doing that....
Oppa, jjincha, jeongmal, jeongmal, nomu mianhamida. Saranghamida (^.^)
I finally discovered my Exo muse.... oh boy...

The Wu Chronicles: Memories

............................
"Let this meeting be called to order." Several men, of several ages, sat around a large table, at the head of which sat a middle aged man, but he radiated wisdom, and importance.
For several hours they had discussed matters of grave importance to the nation. The meeting commenced one more post lunch. For a while things moved smoothly, about as smoothly as they could with the hot-headed General of the Imperial Army and the Minister of Finance at logger heads with each other. Still, to the mind of the Emperor, the wise man at the head of the table, as long as swords were not drawn, the gathering was a success.
"Emperor of China!"
The meeting was suddenly disrupted by a booming voice that seemed to be eminating from no where in particular.
For a while the men looked to the doors and around the room. Then came the voice once more.
"Emperor of China!"
The Emperor furrowed his eyebrows, "show yourself!" He demanded.
"I cannot." The voice boomed once more. "You would not be able to bear the sight of me."
A hushed silence descended upon the gathering.
"Wh-who are you?" Demanded the General, who looked slightly pale.
"I am your ancestor oh Emperor!" Boomed the disembodied voice.
"What you desire?" Asked the Emperor.
"For you to allow your son, the prince.... and oh, okay fine!!! His friend too, a chance to mount the royal horses." The men frowned. A mighty odd request to come from an ancient soul...
"And why is that, O' Old One?" Asked the Emperor skeptically.
"That is because..... I foresee greatness if you allow him to do so." Eyebrows were raised all around.
"Exactly how will that do anything?" Asked Lord Li, King of the Eastern provinces, a soft looking man, who was really firm as a rock.
"Do not question me!" The Voice said loudly. "I have plans- ouch! Hey! Your knee is in my side! What- ouch! You're hurting me-! What-! I am not fat!"
All the men around the table looked at each other, confused at whether the Voice was still talking to them, or not. But they didn't have long to wonder for long. There was a loud yelp, followed by another, and then two, small, figures tumbled onto the table, from a small loft above.
The reaction from the gathering was instant panic. The Minister of Finance latched onto the General in fright, while the other men hastily shifted backwards. Only Lord Li and the Emperor stayed as they were, with raised eyebrows, as the figures on the table groaned and sat up dusting themselves.
"Yifan, Chen, explain yourselves." Said the Emperor, highly displeased. The two young boys grinned disarmingly at the men.
"Sorry, Father," said Prince Yifan, to the Emperor, though not looking very sorry at all.
"What were you boys doing up there?" Asked Lord Li and then added, "Minister In, please detach yourself from General Li." The lanky minister sprung off of the shorter, but more built, General, both looking extremely embarrassed. The boys further grinned. Prince Chen, who was Lord Li's son smiled triumphantly and said,
"You see, we found this old vase," and Yifan proudly displayed the long ceramic vase, who's base had broken off, leaving it much like a hollow tube.
"And I realised that it made our voice louder and deeper," said Yifan, preening like a proud peacock.
"And I realised we could make you give us permission to ride the horses," grinned Chen.
"So, we came up with a plan to hide in the loft, when you were out to lunch-"
"But we didn't realize the space was so small..."
"And you know what happens after that." Finished Chen triumphantly. The Emperor sat rubbing his temples, while the King nearly slapped his own face out of frustration. 
"You boys mean to say you pulled this elaborate stunt just so you could ride a pair of horses?" Asked the emperor with disbelieving eyes. The two boys grinned and nodded. This time the King did slap his forehead in despair. But he was interrupted from going any further by a deep throated laugh from the shadows. The Minister of Finance edged closer to the General, who raised an eyebrow but did not protest.
"When did you arrive, Commander Cao?" Asked the King warily, looking into one of the darker corners of the room. A tall, slender male emerged, clad completely in black, which contrasted sharply with his pale whit skin. Commander Cao, leader of the spies, was a man highly respected in his good moods and mortally feared in his bad ones.
"I was always here your highnesses," he smiled congenially and then turned to the Emperor, "if I may, your Highness, I would like to take these boys under my wing. They have the makings of good strategists and spies. We could use some fresh minds." The Emperor waved his hands,
"Take them away then, just keep them out of trouble." Commander Cao nodded brightly.
"Of course, your highness. They remind me of myself, to be honest. Come on boys, let's get going."
"I almost dread the day my son turns into you," muttered King Li darkly, but the Commander heard it. He turned around, grinned cheekily at the King, which was nothing out of the usual, and said,
"I'm sure you'll love him even more for that," before adding a 'your majesty' at the end and leaving with the young boys.
…............

A little girl, no older than eight, wandered along the Imperial Library. She could barely read even a fifth of the books that were in it. She wandered along till she came upon a little corner, almost hidden by the bookshelves, though brightly sunlit by two large windows. Then she frowned. Her frequented spot was taken by another, a young boy, to be precise, who was pouring over a large set of scrolls. He could possible not have been much older than her. She frowned at his bent shoulders for a while before he raised his head. Then panic set in the little girl's mind, torn between reclaiming her spot and rushing away from it. She did not do well with strangers. The boy obviously knew who she was because he instantly hastened out of his seat and bowed deeply.

“Your majesty,” he said to the little girl, because she was after all the emperor’s daughter and he was only a minister’s son. The princess shrunk back in fear and the boy looked at her in confusion.

“You-you won’t do anything…. mean?” She asked shakily. He looked at her in utter confusion.

“I-I don’t understand….” He said.

“You won’t put silkworms in my hair, or a frog in my bed, or leaves in my dress… or….” Her voice trailed away, excessively self-conscious and nervous. If the boy was confused before, he was absolutely taken aback now.

“I- of course not!” He said indignantly. The little princess relaxed her tensed shoulders. “Why on earth would I?”

“My brother and Chen do it… some… times…”

“Oh…” For a few moments there was awkward shuffling of feet on both sides.

The princess peaked at the scrolls on the table and asked, “Can you read all of that?”

“Mostly…” Replied the boy uncertainly. She looked at him with new-found wonder and respect.

“Would you… teach me?” She asked hesitantly. The boy nodded. This he could do. “I’m Meilin, please can you not call me princess....” said the princess with a shy smile.

“Alright, I'm Suho.”He smiled at her warmly.

For a long time the princess sat with her new companion, learning new characters from old scrolls, until a laugh and a babble of words distracted Suho. He looked out of the window with wide eyes. Outside, among the cherry blossoms, a petite girl, not older than the princess, chased after a cat, calling out to it, all the while, her eyes crinkling in laughter. The princess followed his gaze.

“Who is that?” Suho said, his voice barely above an awed whisper.

“That? Oh! She’s Yanlin, my friend,” said the princess proudly. “She’s really nice, you know… not like…”

“Oh.” Suho’s eyes never left the window. For all she was worth, Meilin was not a fool and she looked back and forth between the boy and her friend outside before calling out.

“Yanlin! Yanlin! Over here!” The petite girl stopped in her tracks and looked around wildly. Suho nearly fell out of his chair in shock. “Over here by the window!”  Yanlin, at last, located her friend sitting by the window in the library.
"Mei Mei!" She squealed happily and ran over to the window. Suho looked like he was about to faint.

Yanlin stopped at the window and pouted. Suho, at his very young age, nearly had a heart attack. Meilin laughed and held out her hand to the other girl. Yanlin grabbed it and tried to climb in, but Meilin was really not strong enough. Suho hastened out of his seat and held out his hand, which Yanlin took rather shyly and between the three of them, Yanlin managed to climb in through the window. 

"Thank you," she muttered softly. Meilin looked in wonder, never having seen her friend behave like this.

"It- it's nothing." said Suho hurriedly. He bowed to her, several degrees lower than he had bowed before, noted by Meilin, and said, "Suho, son of Minister Jin."

"Yan-Yanlin, daughter of Vizier Kang." She had clearly fallen prey to his angelic smile. Meilin looked back and forth between her new friend and her old one, both equally flushed and nervous, and giggled softly. Things were about to get very interesting.

..................

"This is General Li's daughter, she is going to stay with you for now," said the Empress, smiling kindly between her on daughter and the young girl, not much older, who's shoulders she gently patted. Then she turned away to attend to other chores since the empress was never really idle. Left alone, the two girls eyed each other with open curiosity.

"Do I have to call you 'your highness'," asked the older one, still gauging the other.

"I'd rather you didn't," said the princess with a grimace. Eleven years old, and she knew how easily it alienated people. The older girl blinked in surprise.

"Really? Then... what do I call you?"

"Meilin. What's your name?"

"Meixiang and oh! We have 'mei' in common!" Meilin smiled shyly at the older.

"I know you're older, so I'll just call you Xiang jie, is that alright..?" Meixiang nodded happily. For hours to follow, the two girls talked and laughed as if they'd known each other for years, and Meixiang learnt that behind her shy facade, Meilin was a bright bundle of energy waiting to be released. She realised this even more when Meilin dragged her to the gardens declaring that the older just had to see her swing.

"It's my favourite place in the palace, even more than the library!" Said Meilin, bouncing along the garden path. It was a small area cordoned off by cherry trees. There was a swing hanging from one of them.  Meilin displayed this proudly. Soft breezes danced around the trees. Leaves fell to the green ground.  It was truly a beautiful place- a befitting place for an elfin creature like Meilin.  

“Hello Mei-Mei, how did you like your little gift.” Meilin pivoted sharply. Then an angry scowl overtook her features. A think boy stepped out from behind the trees.

“Chen.” She said, almost spitting out the name.

“Why yes, that is what I’m called, it’s a wonder you can keep it in that small head of yours.” Meilin’s scowl turned darker. Meixiang looked confused.

“What gift?”

“The lovely amphibian we left in her bed this morning.” Meixiang noted the other boy for the first time. His features were chiseled and handsome, he looked very regal, almost like a dragon but he couldn’t have been much older than he. His eyes were glinting with mischief.

“That was not very nice…,”Whispered Meilin, looking very close to tears at the memory.

“You will forever be a crybaby,” laughed Chen and the other one laughed too. His laugh made Meixiang strangely attracted to him. But then she realized that Chen was leaving. He walked past them with his tounge sticking out at Meilin. A foot shot out. Chen fell flat on his face. The other boy burst out in laughter.

“Oh shut it Yifan!” Scowled Chen.

“Next time pick on someone your own size please.” Said Meixiang with mock politeness and led Meilin away by the elbow. Yifan’s deep laugh filled the summer air…. which changed into high pitched shrieks next morning when he found a frog on his torso upon opening his eyes. No, then, it had been Meilin and Meixiang, hidden outside his door, giggling into the sleeves of their dress, at their masterpiece.

...............................

It was a rainy afternoon. The flurry of water kept the three girls inside (by then, Yanlin had been included too). Meixiang giggled.
"Fourteen and you're married!! Yanlin!! Fourteen and married!!" Yanlin ducked her head in embarrassment.
"I suppose loads of people get married at this age..." she mumbled shyly.
"Meilin is fourteen and she isn't!" Meixiang giggled a little more. Meilin looked over her book and raised an eyebrow.
"Why would I be married?" She asked.
"Stop losing yourself in that book, silly!" Said Meixiang, a little too loud for a library. Meilin furrowed her eyebrows.
"It's a book. I'm supposed to." she said, matter-of-factly. Then she smiled at Yanlin."Ignore Xiang jie, I'm sure loads of people get married at fourteen," she said kindly. Yanlin returned the smile gratefully but Meixiang wan't finished.
"You're a wife! A wife!" She paused for a while and asked, "what's that like?" Yanlin's eyes widened for a moment before finding their way to the back of the library, where a familiar figure sat, burried deep in books and scrolls. her gaze softened and her eyes glazed over.
"It's nice...." she offered, for the want of anything better. Meilin looked at her friend out of the corner of her eyes and then followed her gaze to where scholarly Suho sat, oblivious to the world, pouring over his materials like there would be no tomorrow. But Meilin saw just that, Yanlin saw more. She saw the small furrow of his brows as he concentrated on the matter before him, she saw the hair flutter against his cheek because of the blowing wind, she saw the focused eyes and pursed lips, but most of all she saw Suho, just Suho, for who he was, for all of who he was. Yanlin's eyes glazed over for a second time. Meilin smiled into the pages of her book. Meixiang waved her hand infront of the dazed Yanlin, who started out of her reverie and dropped a book off of the table. The sudden sound disturbed the quiest of the library. Suho looked up with a jerk and blinked wildly as he tried to locate the source of the noise.
Yanlin hurriedly swept the book of of the floor and placed it on the table. Her eyes met Suho's as she raised her head. He bit his lower lip, in an obvious attempt to hide the laughter that was bubbling inside. She bowed her head rapidly a few times before mouthing a shy apology.
'I don't mind.' He mouthed. And then smiled widely at her.
 For a moment Yanlin forgot to breathe. For a moment the other two ceased to exist. For a moment it seemed she could stare at that smile forever with wide eyes. A warm flush spread over her pale face, which did not go unnoticed by Meixiang.
"Good heavens! Look at her face! Meilin look at her face! She's red! Our Yanlin is in love!" Said Meixiang in an attempted whisper,that should have been enough to carry to the back of the hall, that caused Yanlin to wave wildly in a a failed attempt to subdue the elder girl. Meiling smiled at her friends. She glanced over at the back of the library and caught Suho's eye before he bent down to read again. Had Yanlin not been so embarassed, she too, thought Meilin, would have noticed the quiet laugh and the distinct redness of Suho's face as he looked at Yanlin flapping her arms about to stop Meixiang from speaking any further. So love it was.

..............................

It was a clear autumn day. Meilin sat on the lower branches of the sakura tree, while Meixang and Yanlin sat at it's roots, under it's nearly bare branches. Yanlin's clear laugh rang out in the secluded garden. "This is what happens when you tease someone so much!" Peals of laughter followed and Meixiang pouted angrily.
 "I'm three years older!" Yanlin laughed. 
"You were laughing at me three months ago... so now, what's it like to be a wife?" She asked, her voice overflowing with frivolous teasing. 
"It's an arrangement. I had no choice!" 
"It isn't as if you mind the arrangement much, do you?" Yanlin asked with a light wink. Meixiang opened her mouth to ramble on about exactly how much she minded- only to stop. There was a rustle of foliage, as someone pushed past the trees and bushes that kept the area secluded from the rest of the garden. Meilin stopped reading and looked curiously at the intruder. Then the tall, broad chested figure came into view and she broke into a wide smile.
 "Yifan ge!" She called out with a lazy wave of her hand. He looked up in surprise and broke into a smile. Meixiang's eyes widened. 
"Climbing trees again?" He asked. Meilin let out a short laugh and stuck out her tongue childish-ly. Yifan laughed at his sister, looking so much in her element among the near-bare branches. She went back to her book with another disarming smile and a nod of the head. Yifan laughed again at the elfin frame in the branches, devouring every word on the page, with cheeks slightly puffed in concentration. Meixiang stared at the frame of the Crown Prince with the same fascination that she had on the first day. To her he radiated some sort of warmth that made her feel safe and protected in his presence. Though she was close to his sister, not as much to him yet, she could hardly stop the warmth that spread through her as she looked at him- her husband now. He turned and caught her stare. Mortified, she bowed and ducked her head downwards, refusing to take her eyes off her lap. Yanlin did better, greeting him, then asking after his health and small matters. Meixiang trained her eyes on the grass and tried to calm her eratic breathing. Suddenly the grass disappeared and was replaced by two legs and something thrust under her nose. Meixiang lifted her head in surprise. Yifan crouched on his haunches before her, holding a bunch of orchids, tied together neatly with a strip of cloth. She blinked at them in surprise and lifted her head to meet his face. His face was softened into a smile that Meilin, years later, would call his Xiang-jie-smile, as he held out the orchids before her face. There was something so hesitant in his look that she instantly took the flowers with both her hands, turning slightly pink from the contact. 
"Th-thank you," she mumbled, " these are my favourite..." her voice became a whisper, while her fingers played with the delicate petals. Yanlin smiled at them from a distance. Meilin looked down from her perch with equal interest. 
"Mother said you would like them," said the Crown Prince slowly, almost as if he was thinking over each syllable before he uttered them. 
"Well, thank her.... they're- they're lovely." Her face broke into a shy smile. 
"I'll remember to thank her..." His smile mirrored her. 
"Do you find something strange in that?" Meilin did not have to look to know it was Chen that sat one branch below hers, the crook of his elbow almost brushing against her knees. She grinned at the two figures beneath the tree, lost in their own world.
 "Yes, I do, the fact that my mother has been away for days." 
"He's such an obvious liar." There was laughter in Chen's voice. 
"I think it's a nice thing to do for someone." Meilin hear a twig snap and a sprig of leaves was pushed before her face. 
"Here." 
"Thank- why are you giving me leaves...?" 
"Well my mother told me, goats like leaves." 
 "So what does that-? Wait!" Realization set in and Chen's grin almost reached his ears. Meilin glared at him and slapped his shoulders with her book. "Why you insufferable-" Chen lept out of the branches. Meilin followed, disturbing Yifan and Meixiang in the process, who laughed at the two childish figures and then caught each other's eyes, only to break off and smile shyly. Yanlin wandered off to the library. Meilin chased after Chen, yelling for murder and more when she heard the sound of laughter. She stopped and turned to her little grove. Through the trees she saw Meixiang laughing, at something her brother had said. She smiled at the image. "Wait!" She called out to Chen, who'd raced ahead of her. "Stop!" He paused and turned. She held up her hands in a truce and smiled at him, before sitting on the grass. "Promise me something?" She called out. 
"What?" He asked, coming closer. 
"That we'll be friends even if you get married off to some random lady." Chen came to stand in front of her, before grinning widely at her face. 
"That's an easy one." He sat down next to her. "I'll be the very best. You're stuck with me till we have grey hair and wrinkled skin." Meilin stuck her tongue out at him. 
"If you say it like that, I might have to reconsider." Chen lay back on the ground with his hands behind his heads. 
"Sorry too late to do that." For a while they sat in a pleasant silence before Chen said, "you know.. if you were a goat, you'd be the prettiest." Meilin blinked at him before bursting out into a fit of giggles. The corners of his mouth tugged upwards. 
"Have you ever seen a pretty goat?" She asked incredulously. He closed his eyes and said, "I see you, don't I?" Meilin shook her head at that half compliment and allowed herself to fall back upon the soft grass. The soft autumn breezes danced through her hair and the warm glow of the sun spread through her entire being. She peeked sideways at the peaceful features of Chen and smiled to herself, before closing her eyes and allowing nature to lull her to peace. 
………………

"Meilin?"
"Yifan gege!"
"What are you doing here alone Mei?" Meilin swung back and forth gently. The spring air meant the cherry blossoms were in full bloom and Meilin looked almost unreal amongst them. Yifan smiled at his sister. Meilin at eighteen was slowly becoming a lady, though part of her charm he supposed was her wildness.
"I'm.... thinking...." She smiled at his face. Yifan sat under the shade of the tree.
"Oh? About what?"
"Umm... about how time flies...." Her eyes became glassy and Yifan let her continue. "It seemed only yesterday I met Yanlin and Suho ge and Xiang jie.... and now they're married... I mean Suho ge and Yanlin and you and Xiang jie.... and it seems like yesterday when I think of all those tricks you and Chen played on me and how I hated you back then... except..." Her voice trailed off as she stared at her feet.
"Except?" Encouraged her brother.
"Except now I wish you would do that again..." Her eyes sparkled and Yifan wasn't too sure of whether it was all the sun's doing or some of her own tears.
"We're not children anymore..." 
"I know... and I'm happy and proud... except I wish we never had to grow up..." Yifan stayed pensive for a while, unsure of what to tell her. There were no words of comfort or suggestions he could offer to such an irrational want.
"Did it hurt?" Piped up her small voice a while later. He furrowed his eyebrows together and asked in confusion,
"Did what hurt?"
"When I said 'I'm thinking', you were supposed to say 'did it hurt'," she said, a small cloud of nostalgia raining torrents over her. Her brother smiled at the old joke.
"So did it hurt?" He asked. Meilin laughed.
"When you become emperor, what will you do?" She asked him suddenly. His eyes widened a beat before he looked down at the ground seriously considering the question. All his life he'd been told what to do when he ascended the throne. no one had bothered asking him what he, Yifan, wanted to do.
"I... don't know.." He looked at her face, searching for disappointment only to find her smile aimed at him.
"Don't worry gege, I'm sure you'll be the best." It was said with such conviction, that Yifan was almost inclined to believe it. 
................................

(Two years later)

Fanfare and horns played on all around and a soft nudge to Meilin's side brought her back to the present, a long way from memories heard and experienced .
"Can you try to act awake at least," whispered Chen with a smirk. She glared at him, her eyes narrowing dangerously behind the ceremonial fan.
"Look it's them!" Whispered Yanlin excitedly. Chen and Meilin followed her gaze where the ceremonial procession walked- her brother leading it. "Xiang jie looks so nervous! Her hands are trembling...." She added. The procession stopped a short distance away from them.
"I'd say they were trembling from excitement," mumbled Chen wisely. "If I was becoming the Empress, mine would too."
"Are you saying you'd marry my brother? That's the only way, you know..." Said Meilin, taking her turn to smirk, lifting her fan slightly away from to allow Chen to glimpse it. His lips twitched in laughter despite not wanting to. Meilin's eyes trailed over to her brother ans sister-in-law, dressed in ceremonial robes, listening to the speeches by various vassal kings who pledged their loyalty to him. Though, she reckoned, the ones most loyal to him, never had the need to make speeches.
"He's going to be a prat, you know," said Chen conspiratorially.
"Be careful, we might have you executed for treason," said Suho, unable to keep the smile out of his voice, as he kept a protective arm around his wife, who smiled up at his face.
"Oh well, he'll be a royal prat, happy?" Meilin swatted the back of Chen's hand with her's.
"I will execute you here and now, if you don't keep quiet," she hissed, but Chen noticed her eyes, nervously flicking between her brother and Meixiang. He remembered a promise made made on a distant summer and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, before attempting to remove it, but Meilin held on, and Chen realised her hands were cold and nervously shaking too. He offered her a comforting smile and the pressure against his hand grew.
"He'll be fine," whispered Chen so no one but Meilin could hear. She nodded in jerks.
"I know he will be," the same conviction was back in her voice coloured by uncertain fears an her brother met her eyes. She gave him what she hoped was an encouraging smile and he blinks slowly in acceptance, he really could do no more. She saw the fear and uncertainty in his eyes as he bowed before their father, who placed the crown upon his head. She saw the hesitation as he rose to face the crowd of people, his subjects. But beyond all of that, she saw her brother and that made her heart swell with pride as her father rose to the words,
"All hail the Emperor."
She felt the sting of tears in her eyes, the choking lump in her throat, and the comfort of Chen's hand against her's as the crowd responded with and up-roaring,
"Long live the Emperor."
..................................................................................................................................................................

Thanks to Qiuyue jie, in who's words- she sowed the seeds while I nurtured the plant. It was her idea to make Kris ge an emperor!
Also to the real life Meixiang jie and Yanlin who listened to my stories patiently.
And last, but never the least, kris ge, although he doesn't know it, I do respect him a lot.

{For those who did not pick up the Suju members in the first memory,
-Minister In is Eunhyuk/ his chinese name In He
-General Li is Lee Donghae
-King Li is Lee Sungmin
-Commander Cao is Cho Kyuhyun/ his Chinese name is Cao Kui Xian
-I imagine the emperor to be Han Geng for the most part...}

Read well and leave your reviews~
ElfinJoy