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.
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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.
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"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!"
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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.
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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

Touch- ChenMin

Physical contact is important to human beings. It means comfort, security, and sense of belonging. For Kim Jongdae, physical contact was something he never paid attention to, but that did not mean it wasn't important to him. Anyone who followed him around would note his almost compulsive dependence upon his ability to keep in physical contact with his hyung, Kim Minseok, more often known as Xiumin.
It was something that initially rose out of a need for security. For Jongdae who'd never been away from home, being packed off to another country, with five other boys was very close to his worst nightmare. Not being able to speak the language just made the situation even better.... in being worse. So somewhere in between the schedules and walking in the airports through a sea of rabid fans, Jongdae started clinging onto his hyung.
To anyone, Minseok might seem the childish one, however, five minutes into any conversation with him, his caring, kind self emerged. It was this side that led Chen to seek his hyung when he was the least comfortable. Hooking his arm into the older male's, clinging onto his hands, glad for the contact, Chen took to the habit of walking through crowds almost stuck to Xiumin. Though, because of their heights it seemed that Xiumin was the one in need for protection, but everyone in Exo knew that it was just the other way around.
Walking through the crowd, in a foreign country, through a crowd of foreign people, chanting for in words, words he was not sure was meant to praise or hurt him. In that, to be at Xiumn's side, knowing that the older would not let go, made him feel at home. At times Chen wondered if that sentiment made him sound like a love stricken girl, but he really couldn't argue, he needed his Hyung and if it made him sound a little... well, gay, then you could shoot him for all he cared, because it was still the truth.
Somewhere down the line, Minseok, with his sensitivity, realised that he was needed by the younger. That, the younger needed him to be his security blanket. Somewhere down the line, he added Jongdae's Bodygaurd, to his mental list of roles. He ensured that the younger was beside him during interviews, at the airport, on the streets..... not that he needed to, Chen stuck to him like a baby koala.
Eventually, the need for security turned into a need for comfort, on both sides. It wasn't very surprising. The two Koreans were bound to drift together because of their common nationality in a foreign nation. It wasn't very hard either, what with all the clinging Chen did, all the time they spent studying Chinese, and all the time they spent on stage, with the translator behind them, and Chen and Xiumin, always Jongdae and Minseok hyung, to each other, became used to the fact that wherever one was the other would never be too far behind.
It wasn't very hard to notice that the two boys gravitated towards each other, airport or stage. It wasn't very hard to see that Jongdae repaid his hyung by taking care of the older when he himself was unable to. It wasn't very surprising to see him lead his hyung through the airports, while they were blocked by fans, or wrap his hying in a back hug, with a towel, when the older fell into a pool on a show, or crack the world's lamest joked that made his hyujng look like a happy baozi. On Minseok' part, he was grateful for his dongsaeng's care. Not that he wasn't a one hundred percent sure that the other members would not help him, that he knew they would, but he was more than happy to realise that Jongdae cared for him as much as he cared for Jongdae, blissfully unaware when the need for security and comfort, on Jongdae's part, had turned into a sort of compulsion. Jongdae himself did not realise this until he was no longer in possession of the liberty of contact.
It had been an epic argument. An argument that the four Chinese members of Exo-M watched from the sidelines. Tao, because he really had no idea of what was being said, Lay, because he kept spacing out, and Luhan and Kris because they had never seen sweet and kind Baozi look so infuriated. It probably wasn't all of Chen's doing. Sure, he had cracked some pretty bad and lame baozi jokes (so lame, that Luhan would later remark that the jokes couldn't even stand with the help of crutches).... Still it was mostly because Xuimin had been on too many shows and experienced (suffered, to his mind) several Baozi jokes and had really felt the need to retaliate. For something, that would have usually involved Jongdae cracking baozi jokes, Minseok puffing his cheeks with air in irritation, Jongdae pinching his puffed cheeks and hence restoring the normal order of things, it became a bad case of wrong-place-wrong-time with Jongdae cracking baozi jokes, Minseok snapping in anger and then everything spiralling downwards from there on. There had been raised voices (raised enough for Tao to wonder if their group mates in Seoul could her them). Neither had backed down, yelling and shouting every possible fault of the other, until Kris had snapped out of his initial shock and returned to his usual, Duizhang, self, ordering the two to their rooms, which they complied to... after yelling at each other's turned backs.
So, for lack of schedules, interviews or airport runs, Jongdae hadn't spoken to (save the occasional "pass the pepper" or "please move"), laughed with, or, and most importantly, hugged his hyung in two days. On the third, he was on his bed, curled into a ball in a corner, occasionally whining about the uselessness of the world.
"Chen-Chen?" Jongdae knew it was Luhan that poked his head through the door and sat at the end of the bed. "Chennie?" He peeked through his blanket and pillow cocoon (no! It was certainly not a baozi substitute) at the older, doe-eyed male. For a moment Luhan felt like he was looking at a kicked puppy. He patted Chen's head and said, "does your heart hurt Chennie?"
Chen bolted up in bed, flustered and irritated. "Wha-?! What?!? Gege! Seriously!" From the other bed in the room, Kris' heavy laugh filled the air, joined by Luhan's softer one.
"Baby don't cry tonight~!" Half-sang Luhan, and added a wink at the end. Kris was still chortling from his bed and then added, in his rapper's voice,
"My heart be breakin'."
Chen pounded on the bed, like a petulant child, "you guys are so mean! I'm telling Min-" and then he realised that he'd been caught out. Loud laughter exploded in the room and Luhan wiped fake tears from his eyes, while Kris said,
"You've spent the last two days looking like you've been dumped, bro."
"And you're acting like you're hung up over Minnie gege so don't argue with us. Go make up or whatever." Sighed Luhan. Chen opened his mouth twice, like a fish and then closed them both times without saying anything. Kris cleared his throat and Chen realised the Duizhang was standing over his bed with a look that made the members respect him and girls (and Tao) gush all over the place.
"Chen, whatever it is that you need to do, do it. I'm sick of seeing a kicked pup on the other side of the room."
"I can almost feel an aura of negativity from this room every time I pass by," added Luhan, with a solemn nod. Chen dived back into his cocoon (no, it was still not a baozi substitute) and shook his head violently.
Kris looked at Luhan, and in a moment of superb understanding, the leader and the little deer grabbed Chen's arms and legs respectively and hoisted him into the air between them. This was met by a loud yelp of sheer horror and and angry shout of, "what the hell are you doing?" from Chen as he attempted to kick and struggle, to no avail.
"What I should have done two days ago," remarked Kris, through gritted teeth as he attempted to drag Chen out his door and towards Luhan's shared room.
Xiumin had been pouring over his Chinese all morning, with Lay for company, only to be interrupted by a horrified yelp, followed by indistinguishable angry shouts.
"What is that...?" He asked Lay, who looked at him with equally confused eyes and replied,
"Maybe they're murdering someone...?"
"It sounds like Jongdae..." began Xiumin, though he didn't have to wonder for long.
The door to the room flew open and the strange posse of three entered, Chen slung, uncerimoniously, between Luhan and Kris as if on an invisible hammock, still kicking and screaming, which he stopped as soon as he saw Xiumin gaping, wide eyed, at him. Lay covered his mouth with a notebook.
"This, I believe, belongs to you, gege," said Kris, stepping to Xiumin, with Luhan, Chen still in the air between them, as Xiumin looked at them in utter confusion. Lay rose.
"I'm going to get coffee, do you want some gege?" Xiumin shook his head mutely as he looked at Chen, who tried, and failed miserably, to look dignified. Tao poked his head through the door, hoping to catch some of the action, but was pushed outside by Lay, on his way out.
"I think you broke him," said Luhan with a smile that made Chen shiver, "I'll leave the fixing to you." With that ominous note, the two boys dropped Chen onto the floor, at Xiumin's feet, where he curled up into a petulant ball, and walked out.
For a while Jongdae didn't know how to begin a conversation with his hyung. Yes Minseok would always be his hyung. Gege to the others but hyung only to him. It would be an understatement to say that he was shocked when Minseok's voice, next to his ears, asked, "Jongdae.... gaenchana?" He started violently out of his self made ball. Minseok had joined him on the floor.
He looked up in a way that made Minseok see him in the same way that Kris had earlier- a kicked pup. Jongdae looked somewhere between his hyung's feet and the floor and whispered, "Hyung.... I missed you..."
Minseok raised an eyebrow and asked,
"Exactly how did you? I live next door- literally!"
"I erm....." Jongdae did not know how to go on as the older looked at him in confusion. There was a beep that distracted their attentions. Minseok looked at his phone.
"It's from Luhan...?" Warning signals rang in Jongdae's head.
"Hyung!! Andwae!! Don't read it!" But Minseok had already begun to read.
"...ask Chennie if his heart still hurts..?" He looked at his dongsaeng in utter confusion. "Did you breakup with someone? Three days and you get a girl- and break up with her too!"
"What-? Hyung no! There is no girl. Just forget it!" Jongdae started walking towards the door.
"Jongdae-ah. Khajima..." Minseok sat on the bed with pursed lips. "Don't you think maybe we should talk about what happened?"
"What happened!?" Jongdae turned around, the pent-up rage and frustration bubbling up inside him, almost as if someone had turned on a switch. "You want to talk now?! Where were you two days ago?!"
"Are you kidding me!" Minseok threw his arms in the air. "Each time I tried to get near you, you'd say 'move out of my way please' or 'pass the salt'- even if we weren't at the table!- and you looked like you'd been sucker-punched, so I thought you had other things to deal with!" Jongdae's switch had suddenly been turned off. He hung his head.
"Mi-mianhae hyung...." He took a few hesitant steps closer. "Can I hug you?" Minseok raised an eyebrow but rose and put his arms around the younger, yet taller male. It was then that Jongdae started crying. Of cousre it wasn't all of Minseok's fault. Sure, he had hugged the younger after a good forty-eight hours but Jongdae was mostly homesick, tired and frustrated with his lack of Chinese skills. "I hate us not being friends.." Minseok kept quiet and patted his dongsaeng's back. "I feel so lost and alone here... at least you remind me of home.... oh lord! I sound like a freaking girl!" Minseok started laughing.
"No, you sound mostly like Tao."
"Oh holy Lord! I sound like Tao!? That's worse!" Jongdae was still sniffing, but his tears had reduced. But before he had so much as a chance to say another word, the door flew open.
"Hey! I heard that! Not cool bro!" Yelled Tao, but the effect was somewhat destroyed by his wide grin. Behind him, Luhan and Kris were smirking, obviously having been evesdropping, while Lay clutched two mugs, looking very sheepish.
"So no hearts be breakin' tonight and no babies be crying either?" Luhan winked at Chen, who narrowed his eyes and hissed,
"Hyung, get a car, we need to run over a deer." Xiumin laughed and flashed a grateful smile at the others before pushing Chen out of the door.
"Come on, let's get you some ice cream, before you get arrested for animal cruelty towards the deer."
"Animal cruel-?! That deer was cruel to me!" Minseok laughed as they stepped into the chill air of the night. "Besides, I'm not a kid, I want a cappuccino."
"Fine, but you sure do act like one." Jongdae puffed his cheeks out.
"You look like one."
"Your comebacks are getting worse Dae-ah." Jongdae flashed a grin that could only be termed as Jongdae-like to Minseok's mind.

Only when it comes to you hyung.

.
.
.
For anyone who's notice the way Xiumin and Chen/Minseok and Jongdae are stuck to each other wherever they go, even if the translator isn't present.
This is my take on the relationship between the two boys.. I mean men... :P

From My Dreams

I am blind, for I cannot see. I am mute, for I cannot speak. Through no fault of mine own am I this way, yet the world around me treats me as if it were so. Am I to understand that accident's are my fault? Am I to confess that I intended to lose my vision and voice to become a burden to others? Am I to believe that someone could ever wish to lose their voice, much less their sight? Am I to say that I revel in the eternal darkness that surrounds my every waking hour? Am I to also say that I revel in not being able to seek comfort through voicing my thoughts, thoughts which I have no way to communicate, thoughts which will remain in the deepest crevices of my mind, never to come to light? But do not pity, for I can still touch, taste, smell, hear, but most importantly dream.
I dream the same dream each night. It is only momentous, but those moments leave me with the warmth an comfort that I lack in my waking life. In my dreams, the colours are beautiful- the reds are vivid, the blues sparkle and the whites are the purest. The skies are clear and the wind blows softly across my face. My light summer frock floats lightly about and a man, in a cardigan and jeans, who's face I never remember, walks beside me. We just walk, for as long as the dream lasts, we walk. Each time, we hold hands, smile at each other, and then as the dream fades away, he says something but as I open my eyes to a black world, I never remember what it was. It does not negate the fact that I feel warmth bubbling from the pits of my stomach, that leaves a smile on my lips- of course wiped clean when I'm tipped out of bed onto the floor and orders are barked into the air, in a harsh woman's voice to start being useful to the household. I don't know whether it is shame or hurt that prevents me from calling the said woman my mother.
The dream stays with me trough the day, the bright colours in my minds eye, till I am ready to be enveloped by it again at night. Until, I'm woken one night to the melodious sound of a male voice, next door, that forces me out of my bed and onto the balcony to hear better. The journey is perilous. I grip the wall tight, lest I fall three stories down. But the labour is worth it. The voice is beautiful, with the right amount of husk in it that makes it manly and not just sweet. But footsteps in the hallway cut my momentary elation short. Yes, I am worse kept than a prisoner at my own home. I stumble into the room, my knee catches the corner of the bed. There's a sharp sting and I know I've scraped the skin, but there's nothing much I can do as I bury myself under the covers, falling asleep, cradled by the smooth voice, but not before I hear the last line, that for some reason, brings tears to my eyes-
"Wherever walk together will be paradise..."
That night, for the first time, the man in my dreams says the same thing.
So for the next few nights I sit up in my bed, occasionally peeking out the windows, waiting for the voice to sing me to sleep, not daring to venture out for the fear of being discovered by someone at home and then paying all hell for it. Each night it is the same sing that lulls me to sleep and each night it is the same words that fill my eyes to the brim. Then one night, the voice seems closer. Temptation and curiosity win me over as my legs make their way to the balcony. My hands fumble around the latch before I can slide the door open. There is a gust of fresh air, the unorchestrated symphony of crickets and cicadas, a trip, a fall and then two strong arms wrap around my waist and pulls me straight. The touch is unfamiliar. It's gentle, kind, almost the same feeling as from my dreams. For a moment I turn my face to what I hope would be this person's, till he uses a finger to gently turn my face, with a soft,
"I'm here." For a while I clench and unclench my fists and then, with hesitant fingers reach out to his face, which I miss for sure. Slender fingers wrap around my wrist and and gently pull it to meet a soft cheek. He's real. "You're the girl who was in the accident a few months ago.....?" I nod shakily, letting my hand slip over the slack of his jaw, his soft cheeks and then his lips, which part slightly under the touch. "I-I'm sorry... I saw you out here once and the leaning out every night ever since and then I just had to- not that I'm a creep, or any thing of that sort- I live next door and I stepped over into your bal- and I'll stop talking now..." I cover my mouth in a silent laughter. "Wh-why do you...?" He asks, and I'm standing close enough to feel his breath.
'Your voice,' I mouth silently and wonder if he has understood but it seems he has because he mumbles a soft 'thank you'.
There is a sound from inside the house in the silence of the night and I clutch wildly at the fabric of his shirt. His hands naturally wrap around my waist and pull me close. But panic has overtaken my mind as I struggle to break free from what might be the only ounce of kindness I have experienced in a long time, and scramble towards the door, banging my forehead, my only concern being that it might have awoken the entire house... an arm wraps around my waist and another around my shoulder and leads me to my bed. There's no trip, no fall, no bumps, no scratches, the blanket gently falls over me and a soft hand tenderly caresses my cheek. This is kindness I have not felt in a long time. This is a touch I have not felt before. The desire to keep it rises rapidly and I grab the wrist and look up with wide, unseeing eyes, into what I hope is the face of the person.
Stay.
The hesitation is almost instantaneous. With a jolt of horror, I pull my hand away, having realised that I have just asked an absolute stranger to- but human kindness is almost difficult to comprehend as gentle hands push me further into the bed and the bed sinks under the weight of a body that sits next to me.
As the night grows, he ends up reclining against the wall with me on his chest, an arm around my waist and the other intertwined with the fingers on my left hand, humming the words that still bring tears to my eyes-
"Wherever we walk together will be paradise..."
I am not a fool. I know there is no promise of a 'better tomorrow'. I know there is no promise of a better anything. There is just this moment, wrapped in an inexplicable feeling of warmth, safety and comfort, that comes from a stranger..... but I am content to live with it for now, until day breaks and I am tumbled headlong into my own waking hell.
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I saw a dream in which I was walking along a beautiful garden with a person who's face I don't remember, but I do remember feeling so happy to be there. That, coupled with the fact that I've suddenly begun to cry every time I hear the end of the first chorus of Exo-K's Angel, is what gave birth to this fic. So feel free to imagine your bias as the stranger in the story.
ElfinJoy

My Ballroom Is Bad- TaoiRis/XiuChen

Huang Zhitao buried his face into his knees, praying for the earth to swallow him where he sat. Around him, the other five Exo M members, sat joking, laughing loudly, hitting each other when the aforementioned jokes did not sit well... Luhan sat at the center of the couch, Kris to his left, Lay on the right. At Lay's feet, Tao sat, still hiding his face. Next to Tao, Xiumin sat while Chen rested his head on his hyung's lap, ignoring the other couch.
"Gwaencha Tao-yah?" Xiumin suddenly noticed the maknae's depression. All five pairs of eyes were now on him. Tao shook his head, while it was still between his knees and mumbled something.
"What did he say?" Asked Chen, turning his head upwards at Xiumin who shrugged and turned back to the maknae.
"Kill me," said Kris and four heads turned to him with a very confused look, but he wasn't paying them any attention. "Tao?" He called but received no response from Tao, though Xiumin noted that the maknae had visibly stiffened. "Tao?" Still no response. By now every other member was watching very carefully."Zhitao? Huang Zhitao!" Tao turned slowly to face the leader, with a disgruntled, petulant look. Luhan covered his smile with a cough, Lay put his attention back to the television, tough the corners of his mouth were tugging upwards, Xiumin and Chen looked at each other desperately trying not to break into laughter at Tao's childishness. Kris was unaware of everything but the panda. "Why do you want us to kill you?" Tao narrowed his eyes at Kris and pouted.
This was too much for Chen who broke out in giggles, while Xiumin slapped his hands on to the younger mouth with lightning fast reflexes, which caused Chen to feel like he was being suffocated, so he thrashed his arms and legs like a fish out of water, while still in resting on his hyung, which in turn caused Xiumin to yelp in pain, which caused Lay, who had zoned-out, to jump in his seat, which in turn, caused Luhan to burst out laughing, which caused Kris and Tao to finally register the world around them.
Lay shook his head and asked, ''If we're going to kill you, we need a reason, or we're going to jail."
"If we listen to the panda and kill him, we'll be in jail anyway," sighed Luhan. Kris sighed and looked back at the maknae.
"Myballroomissobad...." mumbled Tao, while the others looked at him with raised eyebrows, except Kris, who said,
"My ballroom is so bad...? Tao why the hell do you think your ballroom is bad-"
"More importantly, why the hell do you care- oww!! Hyung!!" Chen was smacked on the side of the head by Xiumin.
"Ilooklikeanidiot....." mumbled Tao once more and all eyes went on Kris.
"No, Tao, you do not look like an idiot." Said Kris, exasperated.
"And besides," began Chen once more, still resting on Xiumin's crossed legs, "I was dancing with you-owww!!! Hyung that freaking hurts!!" He yelled to Xiumin, who had smacked him on the side of the head again.
"Then stop talking!" Hissed Xiumin, undertone, which shut Chen, who did not want to face an angry Baozi.
"Ignore him Tao, you and the duijjang looked really cool dancing," said Luhan kindly. There was a sharp intake of breath on his left. Tao on the other hand, snorted, and said,
"Cool? A bunch of monkeys could have looked cooler ballroom dancing and a bunch of martial artists trying to kill each other could have looked more romantic..."
Luhan could almost feel an aura of negativity radiating from his left and Lay hastily added," Not at all, very very cool. Didn't you hear the screams?"
"But that's because they like...." began Chen, and then stopped taking a peak above at Xiumin's face, with a half-afraid look. Xiumin on the other hand, looked genuinely interested in what his dongsaeng had to say. "Aren't you going to whack my head?" Asked Chen incredulously.
"Do you want to be hit?" Asked Xiumin, cocking his head to one side. For a moment, Chen wanted to reach up and pinch his hyung's cheeks. But he just turned to face Tao and said, all the while his eyes darting between his Hyung and the maknae,
"I meant, they like the two of them together..... are you sure you won't just ninja attack me?" He demanded  from Xiumin who laughed and pushed him gently to a sitting position.
"Luhan, Lay, you guys, look at the time!" He said sharply. "You guys promised to help clean the rooms. I'm not doing it alone again." Luhan and Lay rose after a customary bit of grumbling. Chen, however, stayed sitting as Xiumin had left him, with a strange lost look on his face.
"Jongdae-ah," called Xiumin and Chen snapped out of his daydream, like he'd been hit again.
"Why are you calling me?!" He demanded incredulously, "I don't even live with you people."
"You owe me," said Xiumin.
"Owe you? What? When? Why? How? Where?" Demanded Chen, still refusing to move.
"Come and I'll tell you," hissed Xiumin, once again and Chen rose, half grudgingly and half willingly.
This left the leader and maknae in an awkward silence from the previous conversation. Finally Kris cleared his throat.
"Sorry, if I made you look like an idiot..." he said. Tao looked at him and shook his head.
"Forget it, I looked like an idiot without your help.... I couldn't waltz to save my life." Tao sighed.
"No you would use Wushu, only an actual idiot would use waltz.... why does it matter to you, anyway?" Kris joined Tao on the floor, seating himself next to the maknae.
"How do I call myself a "romantic" panda when I can't even freaking waltz!!"
"If it makes you feel any better, I can't either," offered Kris. Tao looked at him in disbelief.
"Are you kidding me?! How does it matter if you can, or can't?!" Kris was a little taken aback. "You're THE DUIZHANG!!! You show up singing and knowing nothing but ABCD, and they'll worship you for it!" Kris laughed and Tao looked a little insulted.
"Huang Zhitao, as your duijjang, don't underestimate yourself, if you do nothing but show up, that itself will cause people to worship you, got me?" Tao looked a little flattered at the words.
"You think so...?" Asked Tao, nervously. Kris rose and laughed.
"Now you're talking like an actual idiot." He pulled Tao to his feet and smirked at his dongsaeng. "And as for your original problem. Well just have to get better at waltz then, dui bu dui?"
For the first time in the evening, Tao laughed. "Dui, dui."
Outside the door, Luhan turned to Xiumin and said, " you are a genius!! Letting The Chen loose at the correct moment! And smooth move pulling him out." Xiumin grinned and replied,
"You weren't too bad yourself, bringing it up at the perfect opportunity."
"We make a great team," said Xiumin, as they exchanged a soft high-five. There was a small cough behind them. Chen stood with his arms crossed across his chest. Luhan raised an eyebrow for a second before declaring, "I am expecting a call..." to no one in particular and slipping out. Which caused Xiumin to roll his eyes, obviously having caught onto Luhan's drift.
Once he was out of earshot, Chen turned to Xiumin.
"You weren't too bad yourself," he mimicked, with appropriate faces, and then snorted."Be careful hyung, or you'll have an angry Korean maknae trampling you underfoot for fraternising with his deer, all puns intended." Xiumin laughed and Chen's eyes narrowed at him.
"The angry maknae is not the one I see doing the trampling, at this moment." He's said, paused for a while as heard the music in the living room and then turned toward his room, and spoke once more, "come on."
"I am not cleaning your room and I owe you absolutely NO favours." Excalimed Chen. Xiumin shook his head and replied,
"No, I owe you, come on, I'll get you bubble tea." Chen snorted and called out to the receeding back of his hyung,
"You can't buy me with that. I'm not Sehun! And I'm NOT moving until you tell me what's going on and why the devil do you owe me , now?!" But he followed the older male out of the house, this time, entirely willing.
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Hi guys, sorry if this is OOC, I just had to, I love them so much now :D
Xie xie for reading!
ElfinJoy

Imagine- D.O. and Kyuhyun

(1960s)

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You sit at the Regent Club lounge, waiting for your husband. You're the only single female there, mostly because your husband is the only husband who would leave a woman like this. But then, he's not your husband, is he? You're just the impostor, who looks just like his runaway American wife, brought in to save his public image from shame. You can almost understand why she ran, to begin with. He has eyes for nothing but his work. The senator lives in the limelight, and nothing of that which is his private life, is private. You of course should not mind. The man really isn't your husband. You're an actor, playing a part and very convincingly so.

"She's my bae~~~by."

Your eyes wander across the room, to the small stage across the room from the bar. The music is slow, sultry and drawn out, not uncommon for lounge-bars. There are two microphones. There are two men on them, dressed immaculately, in rented suits, no doubt, from head to toe, complete with felt hats, you can’t see their eyes, only the lower half of their face.

“Nuga beolin choco~late."

You’re walking in through my door…”

The word chocolate makes you gulp. Not so much as the word itself as the way it was said.  Husky, accented slightly, leaving you breathless for a moment, before you catch yourself. You’re the wife of a senator, it would not do you good to be caught drooling over a bar singer. His heavy breathing into the microphone has left you slightly heated around the collar of your dress. The song picks up in pace, the other singer joins in, but you can still hear the huskiness of the first one, against the others.

“Don’t be too la~~ate.”

He steps away from the microphone with a smirk (never mind what it does to your heart). The other singer takes over in another oriental language (Chinese you assume). This one’s voice has none of the hint of the huskiness. It’s clear, nothing very unusual. The first singer joins in again and then, to your massive disappointment, the song ends. The two singers take of their hats and bow. When they stand, you’re surprised at how young they are. The taller one, the one that sang in Chinese, looks very lean but the most surprising is the face of the shorter one, the one you've been staring at. Now that his doe shaped eyes are showing, and he’s not smirking, but smiling brightly, his face radiates innocence. You snap back to the counter, with a jerk. You ask, in a well-bred voice, that you've trained yourself to in all circumstances, the barman for another sherry and slip in a casual question while accepting the said sherry.

“Who were the men singing just a while ago?”

“They’re locals here,” said the bartender with extreme deference. The American wife of a half American senator must be treated so. You nod in acceptance, afraid to ask anymore. Since your husband came into the office, more and more of his native country have been residing in the States. You know what they all say about him, in hushed, reverent whispers, treating him akin to the Lord. The first half American to become a senator. You suppose you should be proud, but you wonder if his real wife ever was. Your thoughts are broken by a husky, voice, with the English just slightly accented with a touch of the orient,

“One Scotch-on-the-rocks please.” The bartender gives it to him, with not an inch of the politeness that he’d shown to you, but this man just flashes him a bright smile and hands him the money. Only then does he notice you. He nearly blinds you with his smile and bows deeply, as is the custom in the orient. “Such an honor to meet you Madam.” You will never get used to the way you’re treated like a queen (you’re an impostor with a crown) but you almost smile coyly at this man, catching yourself in the last moment, instead giving him a tight lipped smile and offering your hand.

“How do you do? It was a pleasure listening to your singing.” It’s very, polite, matter-of-factly, and you’re very proud of your self-control at this very moment.

“You heard us?” His hand flies back to his neck as he rubs it in embarrassment. You nod politely, only reminding yourself that an extremely girlish, vigorous nod would seem out of character (for a while you wish you weren't playing this damned one). “Aish! How embarrassing!” He says.

“Not at all, you were both good.” Actually, you’re thinking that his partner was good, he was better than brilliant. You’re outlook towards “chocolate” has been changed for life, thanks to him. He blushes like a schoolboy and looks at his feet momentarily before thanking you and he looks adorable doing it.

“If I may ask, where is the Senator?” You take a sip of your drink; your throat has dried up considerably, before answering.

“He will be here shortly,” you say while wishing the Senator didn't exist. He smiles at you (there goes your heart again) and says,

“I don’t suppose the Senator himself has time to come to such places, though having Your Ladyship makes up for it more than enough.” You nearly blush beet red at that. He shuffles his feet for a second before asking, “I wonder if it would be impertinent of me to join you.”

“Please do.” You can’t be rude, after all to your husband’s countrymen (but that’s merely the excuse). He sits down next to you and asks.

“It must be wonderful to travel so much.” The accent is very attractive to your ears. You lose yourself in it so much that your control breaks as you sigh and say,

“Are you kidding me?” Your eyes widen in shock as you realize what you've just uttered and look around swiftly, and frantically, to check no one’s heard your slip. He on the other hand laughs.

“Yes I suppose that is a rather silly question to ask.” You wonder if he’s actually understood the implications of your words. He doesn't show any signs so you relax your tensed body (of course just enough to still seem proud and upright). “I've never traveled anywhere but from home to America.”

“What is it like there?” You ask curiously. He furrows his eyebrows rather adorably and shakes his head.

“I don’t remember much of it… but it was very different from here,” there is a sort of faraway look in his eyes and you allow yourself you glance over his features carefully. His milky white skin, the round doe-like eyes, the dazzling smile, the gentle curve of his jawline, you become aware of his voice once more as he talks again, “I was six when I came here, but I remember enough of home to know there was a large garden, that was my favorite part of the house, my grandfather’s fruit trees at one end, his flowers at the other and green grass rolling in between. That I miss here, climbing the trees in summer to eat frits with my cousins, hearing the birds singing at dawn and dusk….  once, I remember, I fell out of a tree and mother-“He stops short of finishing and laughs, the enchantment of his words broken. “I am sorry, I must be boring you.”

“Not the least bit,” you say with abstract politeness. In actuality you could listen to his voice forever. Suddenly he rises from his seat and bows, but you realize his gaze his directed towards someone behind you.

“There you are,” says a smooth, well-bred voice. You can hardly stand to smile at the man who proposes to be your husband. “I hope my wife has not been troubling you Mr.….?” You realize you don’t know his name either.

“Do Kyungsoo,” he bows deeply once more, “it’s a pleasure to meet you Senator Cho.”

“Likewise,” says Cho Kyuhyun and shakes hands. You rise and say,

“It was nice speaking, Do Kyungsoo ssi,” He looks mildly surprised at your knowledge of Korean honorifics but bows deeply and shakes your proffered hand.

“The pleasure was all mine,” he says and you almost curse out loud when your posing husband leads you away.

As you take your coat (and Cho helps you into it, you are in public after all) your eyes wander back to the inside of the bar, where Do Kyungsoo and his fellow singer are lounging in the chairs. Your face heats up rapidly and you turn back to Cho Kyuhyun slightly breathless and walk with him out the door. He looks at you in mild surprise and you wonder if for the first time, the Senator has understood what you feel.

Too bad you’re stuck living this lie, you think you he leads you to the car. Too bad you can’t go back to your old one. Too bad you can’t go back to the club either. Too bad you can’t go back to Do Kyungsoo.

As you sit in the car, you sneak a glance as the man whose wife you claim to be. The honey coloured hair, the Asian eyes, the pink lips that curl into a smirk very easily, the sharp jawline, the pale skin…. Yes, Senator Cho Kyuhyun could very easily be called handsome, very handsome, and very understandably women stared at him as he passed them by, but too bad he couldn't care any less about his looks. Too bad he didn't care about much other than his work.

You're lying on a firm chest, someone is stroking your hair gently and humming the words of a familiar song. You gently open your eyes and lift yourself up, the other person does the same. Suddenly you're too close, your lips are too close. You're shocked-

So shocked that you snap out of your dreams. You know the man from your dreams....
You grudgingly walk down to for breakfast, find your husband seated there and curtly nod at each other. 
"Your face is red." He says, over his news paper. You already know that.
"It's my face," you retort. He shakes his head and returns to the paper. This is your usual form of exchange.
You hide yourself behind a newspaper too, and wait for a few moments before peering across the table. Cho Kyuhyun is handsome, very handsome. Too bad he's not more humane...
But mostly too bad he's not Do Kyungsoo...

Yes too bad.

Your "husband" the Senator....

Or your fleeting acquaintance the bar singer....?

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For... no one in particular,

I just had to get this one out of my system! Miya, don't you tease me about this!

And please forgive me Kyu~! You still are my ultimate bias!!!

This is the song DO and Chen were singing in the lounge-bar.