Step: Chapter 0
Step: Chapter 0
chi-eng translated, 5062 words, luhan centric, all members involved, various pairings
"With each step, 15 years of your lives will deplete"
The slightly tousled boy sits on the ground, ungroomed and leaning his head against the wall; giving in to the temptations of laughter. Not far above from his head sits a small and narrow telescope which on the other side depicts sceneries a photographer would otherwise not let loose: towering walls, the beautiful skies and the clouds. Yet, the lens do not seem to be focusing onto those. Instead, it focuses on dirt, weeds and a dense array of nails.
Beside the stone walls, as birds in the sky show their respect with the occasional chirp, stands a boy with his unwavering efforts, switching and constantly experimenting between the different footholds and intervals between the nails. The sun shines on the teen’s forehead along the breeze gently sweeping across his face as he indulgently reflects on the beauty of nature and life. A drop of sweat slides its way down his forehead and he grips the nail in his hand. He steps back, and looks at the porous rock wall with exhaustion. The young man seated on the floor retracts his head against the wall with laughter, a hint of hoarseness tingling in his voice, who knew?
Time unknowingly passes by, and yet no one bothers anyway. The weariness kicks in and he brings his laughter to a halt, his surroundings dwindling into peace and tranquility.
“Idiot,” he shuts his eyes, “Why are you still hammering these nails.”
Smiling gently, a drop of unknown liquid slides pass his face; and the key in his hand also follows the drop of liquid and falls gently to the ground.
[17.03.2013]
When you happen to encounter a beautiful weather on a resting day in March, you might expect God to arrange special novelties such as a wonderful adventure or even an encounter with a former lover. Every story requires a subplot; your fantasies about a place for reunion with your former lover will never be during a stock exchange; as will fairytales will never appear on board the ship of an old man at sea. Luhan whistles as he opens the mailbox, taking the opportunity to glance at the vibrance of the Sun and its air, this weather is perfect for outdoor sports, he thinks.
Embracing a stack of letters, Luhan strides upstairs into the dorm, kicking his way through the door. He lifts his head to see the back view of the two gathered in front of the computer. He flings two letters onto one of the beds.
“I’ve brought your letters up.” He stands in the middle of the dorm, scrutinizing the expenditure records of his mobile phone this month.
“Lord Lu is becoming more pleasant and considerate.”
The person standing to look at the computer doesn’t turn his head, his left hand rests on the shoulders of the person sitting down, accompanied by a smile.
“Have you applied to move into our dorm?” Luhan glances at the two and continues browsing through his bills.
“Your dorm is too small.” Comes a voice of disdain from the direction before.
“The living room is huge,” Says the person who is seated, smiling, “Should we move in together?” At the side, Luhan shakes his head helplessly in silence, he is used to this.
Getting up, Kris plunges over onto Luhan’s bed and pries open his letter. Luhan sends a kick at him, “You better get down.” Kris maintains his calm composure, eyes still fixated on the letter, “Your bed contains lots of microorganisms, not to mention: I’m simply just another.”
Luhan leaps up, sending kicks and punches towards Kris, Yixing too conveniently lies on Luhan’s bed, a look of challenge against his tolerance written on his face.
Luhan retreats helplessly in defeat and seats himself on Kris’ bed, he keeps his shoes on with vengeance while the two on the opposite side stare at him. After some time, he finally gives in to his low tolerance level and removes his shoes; the opposite end bursts into laughter.
“If your conscience gets to you later, you can help by washing the linens.” Kris’ sways the laundry card in his hand. Unable to bear it any longer, Luhan stomps towards the desk and starts surfing the net.
Kris clutches two letters, the first looks like scheduled bills from the bank, he sweeps a glance at the subtotal on the end and tosses it to the bed. The second looks like a pamphlet advertisement, Kris squints and stammers in Korean word by word: “Mountain scalers club, your ultimate healthy lifestyle choice.” He holds the pamphlet and gazes at Yixing.
“How does he know you’re health conscious?” Yixing speaks, mouth curled.
“No idea, perhaps I’m too handsome.” Kris stands near the window as he pounds with one hand and fixes his collar with the other.
“Then it shouldn’t be sent to you, but to me instead.” Luhan snatches the pamphlet with the beautiful scenery imprinted on it, “He probably derived his judgement from your other attributes.” Luhan reads the introduction in silence.
Kris glances at Yixing, “he probably requires a day or two to return to his calmness and clarity.”
“Might not seem so.” Yixing expresses his negativity towards the situation, “two days might be the result of one person lying for less than a minute, it’s two people now and we haven’t got up.”
“So aren’t you getting up?” Kris speaks, holding back his laughter.
“Aren’t I helping you up already?” Yixing smiles.
Tao’s slender long leg kicks the door open, “A day of rest does not come by so easily, the weather is perfect today, but instead you guys gathered here …...” As he speaks, he strolls into Kris and Luhan’s dorm, observing as the two people resting on the bed as Luhan surfs the net peacefully before finally blurting a hardened discretion of the word, “chaos.”
Luhan nods his head in agreement yet shakes again in condemnation.
“Kinky, will you be joining us?” Kris’s lazy voice floats over, accompanied by the pretentious pure smile of Yixing’s.
“Please do it on your own bed.” Luhan stares at the computer screen.
“Leader, I am bored,” Tao shakes his head in disapproval at the immaturity of the bunch, speaking as he drags Kris.
“Why?” Kris adjusts his shirt, “Please, my shirt is really expensive.”
“Cheh, it’s just a shirt, getting edited out during broadcast and here you are faking a look of lavishness in front of me.” Tao says in feigned ignorance, “go shopping with me.”
Kris turns and kicks Yixing before reaching out to brush Luhan, “together?”
“Forget it, this may just end up a turmoil,” Yixing stands up, “it wouldn’t be a problem if it’s just the two of you, but with the popularity of us combined you certainly will not return.”
Kris makes a sarcastic noise; still seeking Luhan’s answer,still. The boy waves the pamphlet in his hands and blinks, “wishing you both no regrets upon a spring dream.”
Tao shakes his head helplessly, “You are hopeless, why isn’t there a normal being amongst the Chinese in our group!”
“I hope you find your ideal target in the Korean group;” Luhan holds the mouse and scrolls down rapidly, “however, please make some psychological preparation beforehand, there isn’t a normal person there either.”
“How can you put it that way, Sehun is pretty normal.” Yixing taps Luhan and laughs while he turns and squints his eyes.
Luhan pinches his face and diverts his attention back to the computer, “no one is as normal as you; you are the most normal.”
“Let’s go.” Kris finally finishes fiddling with his hair in front of the mirror, he grabs a few necklaces and hangs them up before grabbing his bag and nudging Tao.
“You guys really aren’t coming?” Kris turns and looks at the two.
Luhan answers with a wave while Yixing glances at Kris, “I’m going to play the guitar.”
Kris lifts his eyebrows, “play it for me when I get home.”
“There is an idiom* which describes this scene perfectly.” Luhan continues to look at the computer screen, flashing a concealed smile across his face.
*(t/n) 对牛弹琴: to play the flute to a cow; offering a treat to unappreciative audience
There was a two second pause before Kris reaches out to get his revenge on Luhan while Tao drags him out the door with desperation, “Will this ever end?”
“I’ll deal with you when I get back!” Kris laughs and points at Luhan.
“If you actually did deal with something for a moment and not simply talk about it, we would have something new to experience.” Tao drags him through the door and shuts it with a bang.
“An anonymous person gave me this camera as a gift a few days ago.” Luhan holds onto his Purple Samsung camera with love, the computer screen now shows sceneries and directions to the Northern Han Mountains from the website that was previously stated on the pamphlet. Beside the delicate maps on the stone wall imprints a cursive statement: Photographer’s Paradise.
Luhan’s eyes glint with mischief as he looks at Yixing. The latter, however, expresses his amusement and slowly turns towards the direction of his own dorm.
Too late, Luhan follows, “Yixing, you look more charming these days.” Luhan smiles, creases forming on his face,
“Your consciousness has been improving rapidly. I, too, think you are becoming more glamorous,” Yixing lowers his head to adjust the chords, “When should we finish that thing.”
Luhan maintains the smile on his face, “This isn’t a good idea. Thousands of teenage girls are waiting for me, I can’t bear to.”
“It’s not a problem, Kris has already sacrificed himself to protect you for the benefit of the public, you should consider doing it for me.” Yixing says with ignorance.
Luhan breathes heavily into his ears while Yixing retreats instantly into a corner, “I’m just afraid you won’t be able to take it. Go on a hike with me!” Luhan gawks.
“I can’t, I’m afraid you’ll throw up on me from your fear of heights.” Yixing shakes his head helplessly.
“I’m not going to the cliffs, I’m just going to try out my new camera.” Luhan pleads.
“Give me a break,” Yixing begs in response, “this rest day was hard to come by......”
“Can you even be considered a brother?!” Luhan nudges him.
Yixing continues to be engrossed at playing the guitar with destitution, “are you over exaggerating again....”
“Hurry up and start packing,” Luhan reveals a joyful smile and kicks Yixing, “What about Jongdae? Should we leave the door open for him?”
“He sprained his foot and is over at Junmyeon’s for medication, he probably brought his keys.”
The phone placed on the table beeps a few times and flashes a black screen. “Help me charge it.” Yixing continues playing the guitar.
Shaking his head, “You keep ordering me around.” Luhan retrieves and plugs the charger in, examining the white Lenovo which held a slight resemblance to his iPhone, “Your life is too good; fans actually sent you the model you liked.” He recalls the one shopping spree with a few friends that early spring when Yixing had his eyes glued greedily on the counter and subsequently receiving the new phone a week later.
“Receiving this gift has made me jumpy. If the company discovers, I’ll be scolded badly,” Yixing shakes his head, “if I were to send it home there would be no inscription, and returning it isn’t an option either.”
As the phone screen lights up, Luhan attempts the number 1007 but gets prompted with an error.
“Your power-on code isn’t your birthdate?” Luhan turns to ask.
Yixing stands and retrieves the phone from Luhan, “Birthdates would be an easy way to access by, for example, someone like yourself.” He glances at Luhan, “I’m using the original password which no one would know.”
Luhan raises an eyebrow, “Cheh~ so many people use their birthdates. Chanyeol, Sehun and myself .. anyway, who would want to look into your mobile phone, there aren’t any pornography.”
“There are a few …. Taken when you were sleeping.” Yixing responds calmly, eyes still fixed on his phone.
“What did you say?!” Luhan’s eyes widens and attempts to snatch the phone from Yixing.
“With the elegant sleeping position,” Yixing flips his back, “I’ll sell them when you’re famous in the future.”
Luhan stretches out his finger and points to Yixing, “I’m too threatened by you. The next time we’re in a hotel I’ll take photos of you every second.”
“It won’t be the same,” Yixing shakes his head, “You will be more famous than me in the future; I’ll attain a better price.”
Luhan is left speechless, “What are you talking about!?”
“Alright, alright,” Yixing pushes Luhan, “are you still hiking with me?”
“This is one hell of a horrid place....” Yixing coordinates his hands and feet and scales the slopes which totally do not appear to be roads, “this is definitely not a developed tourist attraction...” He glances at the map displayed on the pamphlet in his hands, even if he had made it up, there would be no way down. “How much more ahead!” he shouts at Luhan who has made it far ahead.
“Almost, I can see the peak!” Luhan climbs rapidly ahead, “it’s only fun if it hasn’t been developed, hurry up!” He turns and waves.
“My shoes are brand new.” Yixing looks at his mud stained shoes, disheartened.
Luhan who arrives at the peak keeps his mouth agape with amazement. In front of the huge rock wall lies a spectacular backdrop of immensely grown trees, “Hurry up you fool!” Luhan almost reaches out for Yixing, “It’s too beautiful~~” He whips out his camera and starts taking photos incessantly.
It brought a tinge of refreshing feelings, escaping the crowds and all other noises while in front of those eyes simply lie three colors; blue, green and white. Luhan rests on a boulder, his hands laid out in front of him, straightened and flat. Yixing sits just beside him, fiddling with bags of snacks, fishing them out from his bag.
“I realised you’re really suited to be a street vendor.” Luhan giggles as he looks at Yixing, only to be given a fierce expression in return.
“Laugh all you want;” Yixing says as he lowers his head, “building your happiness on my humiliation.”
“Your humiliation isn’t enough to feed my happiness; however, if you were to remit your salary to me, it’d be blissful.” Luhan crosses his arms and looks at the street vendor in front of him.
“Your level of joy doesn’t seem too high;” Yixing tears apart a bag of tidbits, “if you were to convert that amount of money into Chinese currency, maybe that would create a little excitement.”
“Hey~~ I’m contented,” says Luhan as he stands up and pats Yixing’s hair before strolling towards the stone wall, “I’m learning from you; wearing this fake rosary for these many years like treasure, what plain values in life.”
Yixing continues his ignorance, “so what if it’s fake,” he tugs at the rosary on his wrist, “I wore this when I was injured and it healed well and quick, also, there’s the awards we received upon debut....”
Luhan strolls over to look at the beads, “if it is that amazing, lend them to me for a few days, I placed a bet on the football game next week.”
Yixing freezes for a moment and removes the rosary, “don’t lose it.”
“Please don’t tell me you believe in the Buddha.” Luhan laughs and puts it on.
Yixing shuts his eyes, “do I look like one?”
Luhan half-sits and scrutinizes the other, “a little.”
“A Buddhist devotee would dance non-stop daily?” Yixing’s shoulders droop.
“You become a sculpture off-stage.” Luhan says with laughter.
“Since I’m already moving non-stop on stage,why does it have to continue off-stage?...” Yixing gazes at Luhan, “your exoticness is really uncommon.”
“Cheh~~” Luhan taps Yixing again, his eyes focused on the ground beneath the rock wall, “hey idiot, what do you think this red arrow is for?”
It is about 30 metres away where a red arrow directs towards a stone wall. Yixing stands up and walks over, only to be greeted with a hammer and nails resting on the floor in silence.
Luhan squats down and picks them up to examine. His sight shifts in the direction of the red arrow; the stone wall, “perhaps this is used to scale the wall?”
“A 90 degree wall with no scaling points?” Yixing squints his eyes and uses his wrist to block the sunlight.
“That’s why a nail is needed!” Luhan sits on the ground in sudden realisation. He looks at the nail in his hand, “however this nail looks slightly smaller than usual.” He speaks as he searches for a gap, using his fingers to peel off the mud.
“What are you doing?” Yixing squats down and watches Luhan, speechless. “Don’t tell me you’re intending to rock climb.”
“I’m trying to see how outdoor rock climbers hammer these nails into the wall.” Luhan lifts his eyebrows with curiosity.
Yixing lowers his head to look at the red arrow and then back at Luhan who has started hammering nails up the stone wall. “People like you who have a great amount of passion in new objects should become scientists, what brought you here instead was dancing and singing.....” Not having finished his sentence, he feels Luhan’s weight on his shoulder and turns around, looking strangely at the person just beside him.
It’s as though he’s asleep.
His evenly lined nose bridge and slightly agape mouth, Yixing looks foolishly at Luhan who is now caught speechless; with his vibrancy and energy bursting in one moment and then falling into deep sleep the next, leaving it hard for people to comprehend.
[1 minute ago]
“A 90 degree wall with no scaling points?” Yixing squints his and uses his wrist to block the sunlight.
“That’s why a nail is needed!” Luhan sits on the ground in sudden realisation, he looks at the nail in his hand, “however this nail looks slightly small.” He speaks as he searches for a gap, using his fingers to peel off the mud.
“What are you doing?” Yixing squats down and watches Luhan, speechless. “Don’t tell me you’re intending to rock climb.”
“I’m trying to see how outdoor rock climbers nail these nails into the wall.” Luhan lifts his eyebrows with curiosity.
Yixing lowers his head to look at the red arrow and then back at Luhan who has started hammering nails up the stone wall, “people like you who have great passion in new objects should become scientists, what brought you here dancing and singing.....” Not having finished his sentence, he feels Luhan’s weight on his shoulder and turns behind, looking weirdly at the person just beside him.
It’s as though he’s asleep.
His evenly lined nose bridge and slightly agape mouth, Yixing looks foolishly at Luhan who is now caught speechless, with the vibrance and energy bursting in one moment then falling into deep sleep the next, leaving it hard for people to comprehend.
All of a sudden, booming loud album music starts filling his ears, the surrounding is dark and in a distance comes the messy light boards and chatter, a mike is hung beside his mouth, on the left stands Yixing, Kris on the right, while he himself is situated at the center of the stage, the title song roars and his line plays.
Luhan freezes and turns his head, the roaring of the title song does not stop.
“Luhan!” screams Tao from his left, “dance!” Looking towards the side, Jongdae and Minseok have their eyes enlarged and staring, Kris seems to sense something and turns, glancing at Luhan who has his back faced against the audience, frozen, before turning back to continue his choreography and exchanging eye contact with Yixing who was equally shocked previously.
Luhan’s line passes soon enough, K group joins in from the sides, Jongin stands at the peak of the pyramid, Yixing and Sehun intersect speedily to the sides while Luhan mixes into the group with shock before being dragged from his clothes and positioned behind Sehun by Kris, “Wake up!” Kris projects his voice and hollers in chinese.
The clear rhythmic beats sounded upon a brief silence, the glimmer of light among the darkness of the stage focuses on Jongin, Yixing and Sehun, the beats play and through the silence of everyone, they begin to dance.
Luhan pants while witnessing everything unfold before his eyes, through the familiar beat comes an instinct rising within him, he knows the next eight beat belongs to him, the entire episode is wrong, however …
His rhythm begins, Kris looks nervously at him, he joins in the choreography perfectly.
The all too familiar dance moves, the stage positions, he doesn’t know where he is, he doesn’t know the time, he doesn’t know what is happening, but the rhythm begins and his mission is to dance.
He needs to complete the performance, this is inertia.
The tune ends, the lighting dims, everyone pants heavily in the darkness but it’s different this time, no one is high fiving another like before, Jongin’s forehead glistens in sweat. Still panting, he approaches Luhan, “What happened?” Chanyeol pulls him from behind, only to be thrown off, “Do you even know the importance of this performance?!”
“We’ll talk off stage!” Junmyeon growls loudly from behind and pushes Jongin down, everyone’s facial expression is horrible, Sehun glances at Luhan, Baekhyun removes gold dust from his hair, speechless. People shuffle past, Luhan’s face pales while he stands rooted to the spot, Kris has his arms on his waist while he looks to the ground and Yixing grabs Luhan’s shoulders, taking him off stage.
“You’ve all worked hard..” The backstage staff waiting to greet them does not sense the solemnity filling the air, in the makeup room and holding area, seniors of the company shuffle back and forth, the teasing noise of the host is heard, the next performance is due soon.
The manager holds his phone and bows massively into air, “Yes, yes. I understand too…... A situation like this has never happened before… I will, I will.....” He speaks as he looks at the members enter continuously, “I will question him, I definitely will... I’m sorry, I’m so sorry....” Luhan pales, his head is pounding, he tries hard to recall in clarification of his doubts but the manager hangs up the phone and struts towards him.
“What just happened!” The manager approaches Luhan and gives his head a push. Luhan staggers two steps backwards, “are you here to ruin the event?!” The manager hollers, all the other idols in the holding room turn to witness. Luhan hangs his head in silence, in the midst of his pounding headache, he actually finds the holding room somewhat familiar.
“This is a live broadcast, do you understand the meaning of a live broadcast! Gayo Daejun isn’t simply an event for our company’s idols, it takes 10 years to win a reputation and a day to destroy! If the newcomer’s award is ours this time, do you want the public thinking we don’t live up to the name and treating it as a joke?” The manager continues screaming at Luhan, but he slowly lifts his pale face up.
“Gayo Daejun?” He turns to look at everyone else, “newcomer’s award? Didn’t we already receive it.....”
The room fell silent.
The manager gawks at him before sending a heavy slap towards him.
Feeling a faint hum in the left ear, Luhan’s head turns to one side and he looks at the ground.
This is indeed a familiar holding room, that was indeed one familiar stage, it was as though he had experienced it again, but not in the same manner.
Kris pulls the beaten Luhan behind him, “If we clinch the award, I’ll explain and apologize during the acceptance speech.”
“Explain?! What explanation?” The manager shoots Kris an unimaginable glance.
Kris pauses for a moment and replies, “say he experienced mental fatigue and had hallucinations.”
“Are you implying that the company abuses artistes?” The manager questions.
“Then.....” Kris says, “say his mic dropped.”
“Dropping of mic happens very often, does anyone ever lose his soul like him?”
Kris looks at the manager, “Then let’s just do with an apology.”
The manager returns Kris and Luhan a look before gesturing to the staff and makeup artists, “You can proceed with the touch ups first then go get seated at your respective seats off stage. If you win the award later, both of you leaders need to organise it well, your attitudes must be sincere enough, you have to shut everyone’s mouths.” Junmyeon and Kris nod and bow, he then looks at Luhan, “As for you, we’ll deal with this later!”
Having seen the chat ended, the makeup artists touch up the appearance of all twelve and unlike the usual chatter, everyone remains abnormally quiet this time. Jongin uses his side vision to observe Baekhyun who now has his eyeliner reapplied. Luhan tips his head backwards, the thick foundation concealing the fresh finger marks lining his face.
Entering the dim lit venue, they silently creep to their seats but to avail of attempting to escape fan’s eagle eyes, hoarding an array of screams. Junymeon passes a message from one end to the other, instructing everyone to bow in apology for a full ten seconds if they do win the award.
“I’ve once read a newspaper article saying that people who overwork tend to forget things,” Tao looks at Luhan who is seated between Chanyeol and Baekhyun, then whispers to Kris, “it’s something called amnesia.”
Kris diverts his attention in the same direction, the fans break out into a commotion as they watch Yixing request to switch seats with Baekhyun to sit with Luhan.
“Lu~Han~It’s~No~Big~Deal~We~Love~You~!!!” Shouts the fans who seem to have derived at this tagline after a mini discussion, Luhan who is stuck in his silence and depression turns his head, stands and bows to them.
“Ah~~~” a sea of cries and howls come echoing from behind.
“It’s possible,” Kris says, “he has been consuming sleeping pills for days, perhaps his energy is drained.”
“Ah?” Tao looks at Kris in utter disbelief, “he actually experiences insomnia? Doesn’t seem like it.”
Tao freezes for two seconds before he turns to Kris, “the last time we were at the hotel when I had fallen asleep first, didn’t you say you had insomnia too?
“Just enjoy the performance.” Kris says and flashes a mechanical smile towards the stage, applauding a performance he had not paid attention to.
Although sufficient mental preparation had been made, Yixing still tears up emotionally at the announcement of the newcomer’s award. The entire group rises to give each other hugs, Junymeon’s eyes turn red as he looks at Kris who is equally thankful, “You’ve worked hard.” The both of them hugged and pat each other’s shoulders as fans at the side film the entire scene, making it one of the most heartwarming photos over the internet during the receiving of EXO’s newcomers award this time.
Another widespread photo is one the entire group bowing for 10 seconds after Luhan bowed in apology alone on stage, with captions of the photo making it even more sensational, “A mistake of one, the bowing of twelve.”
On the ride back, Luhan’s headache seemed to elevate, he grabs Yixing’s hand and asks, “what is the date today?”
Yixing looks at him, “29th.”
“2012, 29th December?” Luhan frowns and whispers?
Yixing nods silently.
Gazing out the window at the snow and sceneries that rapidly past by, Luhan says, “have you gone hiking with me recently, and have I hammered nails into a stone wall?”
Yixing looks at him and pulls him against his shoulders, “Hurry up, close your eyes and go to sleep; you’re too tired.”
Lying on Yixing’s shoulders, Luhan shuts his eyes, searching for a reasonable explanation.
Being too exhausted, he enters a trance on stage and has portrayed himself 3 months into the future;
Sleepwalking, sleepwalking on stage;
Confusing dreams with reality, the illusions and effects of downing sleeping pills; he now has mental problems, he needs a doctor.
“Yixing, how is our schedule tomorrow.” He asks.
“Magazine shoot in the afternoon, reality show at night.” Yixing replies.
“So can you accompany me to the doctor’s tomorrow afternoon.” Luhan speaks with all the fatique.
Yixing turns to look at Luhan, he seems, to have fallen asleep.
[1 minute ago]
“Hurry up, close your eyes and go to sleep, you’re too tired.”
Lying on Yixing’s shoulders, Luhan shuts his eyes, searching for a reasonable explanation.
Being too exhausted, he enters a trance on stage and has portrayed himself 3 months into the future;
Sleepwalking, sleepwalking on stage;
Confusing dreams with reality, the illusions and effects of downing sleeping pills; he now has mental problems, he needs a doctor.
“Yixing, how is our schedule tomorrow.” He asks.
“Magazine shoot in the afternoon, reality show at night.” Yixing replies.
“So can you accompany me to the doctor’s tomorrow afternoon.” Luhan speaks with all the fatique.
“Alright? Okay?” He frowns and opens his eyes, the dazzling sunlight from outside results in him involuntarily using his hand to cover his eyes.
His body seems to have lost its balance instantly, his arms and legs suspend in mid air before heavy falling onto a smooth white plane.
When he finally opens his eyes, Yixing isn’t there, their car isn’t in front, a red arrow is drawn on the ground, and at the end of the arrow is a door.
Luhan stumbles to his feet and wanders around, this white plane appears to be a spacious walkway, behind him is a vast expanse of bright light, he stumbles along in the direction of the arrow and as he approaches, he notices another door in a near distant, however, no arrow is pointed towards it.
With his brain in a blank, Luhan positions himself in front of the door and hesitates before he knocking on it.
Sounds of a key unlocking is heard and after two seconds, the door opens. A man with a smile makes a “please” gesture, “You are finally here.” He says.
Original fic
Translated by heecups, proofread by wayve ♡
Do not repost without permission!
chi-eng translated, 5062 words, luhan centric, all members involved, various pairings
"With each step, 15 years of your lives will deplete"
The slightly tousled boy sits on the ground, ungroomed and leaning his head against the wall; giving in to the temptations of laughter. Not far above from his head sits a small and narrow telescope which on the other side depicts sceneries a photographer would otherwise not let loose: towering walls, the beautiful skies and the clouds. Yet, the lens do not seem to be focusing onto those. Instead, it focuses on dirt, weeds and a dense array of nails.
Beside the stone walls, as birds in the sky show their respect with the occasional chirp, stands a boy with his unwavering efforts, switching and constantly experimenting between the different footholds and intervals between the nails. The sun shines on the teen’s forehead along the breeze gently sweeping across his face as he indulgently reflects on the beauty of nature and life. A drop of sweat slides its way down his forehead and he grips the nail in his hand. He steps back, and looks at the porous rock wall with exhaustion. The young man seated on the floor retracts his head against the wall with laughter, a hint of hoarseness tingling in his voice, who knew?
Time unknowingly passes by, and yet no one bothers anyway. The weariness kicks in and he brings his laughter to a halt, his surroundings dwindling into peace and tranquility.
“Idiot,” he shuts his eyes, “Why are you still hammering these nails.”
Smiling gently, a drop of unknown liquid slides pass his face; and the key in his hand also follows the drop of liquid and falls gently to the ground.
[17.03.2013]
When you happen to encounter a beautiful weather on a resting day in March, you might expect God to arrange special novelties such as a wonderful adventure or even an encounter with a former lover. Every story requires a subplot; your fantasies about a place for reunion with your former lover will never be during a stock exchange; as will fairytales will never appear on board the ship of an old man at sea. Luhan whistles as he opens the mailbox, taking the opportunity to glance at the vibrance of the Sun and its air, this weather is perfect for outdoor sports, he thinks.
Embracing a stack of letters, Luhan strides upstairs into the dorm, kicking his way through the door. He lifts his head to see the back view of the two gathered in front of the computer. He flings two letters onto one of the beds.
“I’ve brought your letters up.” He stands in the middle of the dorm, scrutinizing the expenditure records of his mobile phone this month.
“Lord Lu is becoming more pleasant and considerate.”
The person standing to look at the computer doesn’t turn his head, his left hand rests on the shoulders of the person sitting down, accompanied by a smile.
“Have you applied to move into our dorm?” Luhan glances at the two and continues browsing through his bills.
“Your dorm is too small.” Comes a voice of disdain from the direction before.
“The living room is huge,” Says the person who is seated, smiling, “Should we move in together?” At the side, Luhan shakes his head helplessly in silence, he is used to this.
Getting up, Kris plunges over onto Luhan’s bed and pries open his letter. Luhan sends a kick at him, “You better get down.” Kris maintains his calm composure, eyes still fixated on the letter, “Your bed contains lots of microorganisms, not to mention: I’m simply just another.”
Luhan leaps up, sending kicks and punches towards Kris, Yixing too conveniently lies on Luhan’s bed, a look of challenge against his tolerance written on his face.
Luhan retreats helplessly in defeat and seats himself on Kris’ bed, he keeps his shoes on with vengeance while the two on the opposite side stare at him. After some time, he finally gives in to his low tolerance level and removes his shoes; the opposite end bursts into laughter.
“If your conscience gets to you later, you can help by washing the linens.” Kris’ sways the laundry card in his hand. Unable to bear it any longer, Luhan stomps towards the desk and starts surfing the net.
Kris clutches two letters, the first looks like scheduled bills from the bank, he sweeps a glance at the subtotal on the end and tosses it to the bed. The second looks like a pamphlet advertisement, Kris squints and stammers in Korean word by word: “Mountain scalers club, your ultimate healthy lifestyle choice.” He holds the pamphlet and gazes at Yixing.
“How does he know you’re health conscious?” Yixing speaks, mouth curled.
“No idea, perhaps I’m too handsome.” Kris stands near the window as he pounds with one hand and fixes his collar with the other.
“Then it shouldn’t be sent to you, but to me instead.” Luhan snatches the pamphlet with the beautiful scenery imprinted on it, “He probably derived his judgement from your other attributes.” Luhan reads the introduction in silence.
Kris glances at Yixing, “he probably requires a day or two to return to his calmness and clarity.”
“Might not seem so.” Yixing expresses his negativity towards the situation, “two days might be the result of one person lying for less than a minute, it’s two people now and we haven’t got up.”
“So aren’t you getting up?” Kris speaks, holding back his laughter.
“Aren’t I helping you up already?” Yixing smiles.
Tao’s slender long leg kicks the door open, “A day of rest does not come by so easily, the weather is perfect today, but instead you guys gathered here …...” As he speaks, he strolls into Kris and Luhan’s dorm, observing as the two people resting on the bed as Luhan surfs the net peacefully before finally blurting a hardened discretion of the word, “chaos.”
Luhan nods his head in agreement yet shakes again in condemnation.
“Kinky, will you be joining us?” Kris’s lazy voice floats over, accompanied by the pretentious pure smile of Yixing’s.
“Please do it on your own bed.” Luhan stares at the computer screen.
“Leader, I am bored,” Tao shakes his head in disapproval at the immaturity of the bunch, speaking as he drags Kris.
“Why?” Kris adjusts his shirt, “Please, my shirt is really expensive.”
“Cheh, it’s just a shirt, getting edited out during broadcast and here you are faking a look of lavishness in front of me.” Tao says in feigned ignorance, “go shopping with me.”
Kris turns and kicks Yixing before reaching out to brush Luhan, “together?”
“Forget it, this may just end up a turmoil,” Yixing stands up, “it wouldn’t be a problem if it’s just the two of you, but with the popularity of us combined you certainly will not return.”
Kris makes a sarcastic noise; still seeking Luhan’s answer,still. The boy waves the pamphlet in his hands and blinks, “wishing you both no regrets upon a spring dream.”
Tao shakes his head helplessly, “You are hopeless, why isn’t there a normal being amongst the Chinese in our group!”
“I hope you find your ideal target in the Korean group;” Luhan holds the mouse and scrolls down rapidly, “however, please make some psychological preparation beforehand, there isn’t a normal person there either.”
“How can you put it that way, Sehun is pretty normal.” Yixing taps Luhan and laughs while he turns and squints his eyes.
Luhan pinches his face and diverts his attention back to the computer, “no one is as normal as you; you are the most normal.”
“Let’s go.” Kris finally finishes fiddling with his hair in front of the mirror, he grabs a few necklaces and hangs them up before grabbing his bag and nudging Tao.
“You guys really aren’t coming?” Kris turns and looks at the two.
Luhan answers with a wave while Yixing glances at Kris, “I’m going to play the guitar.”
Kris lifts his eyebrows, “play it for me when I get home.”
“There is an idiom* which describes this scene perfectly.” Luhan continues to look at the computer screen, flashing a concealed smile across his face.
*(t/n) 对牛弹琴: to play the flute to a cow; offering a treat to unappreciative audience
There was a two second pause before Kris reaches out to get his revenge on Luhan while Tao drags him out the door with desperation, “Will this ever end?”
“I’ll deal with you when I get back!” Kris laughs and points at Luhan.
“If you actually did deal with something for a moment and not simply talk about it, we would have something new to experience.” Tao drags him through the door and shuts it with a bang.
“An anonymous person gave me this camera as a gift a few days ago.” Luhan holds onto his Purple Samsung camera with love, the computer screen now shows sceneries and directions to the Northern Han Mountains from the website that was previously stated on the pamphlet. Beside the delicate maps on the stone wall imprints a cursive statement: Photographer’s Paradise.
Luhan’s eyes glint with mischief as he looks at Yixing. The latter, however, expresses his amusement and slowly turns towards the direction of his own dorm.
Too late, Luhan follows, “Yixing, you look more charming these days.” Luhan smiles, creases forming on his face,
“Your consciousness has been improving rapidly. I, too, think you are becoming more glamorous,” Yixing lowers his head to adjust the chords, “When should we finish that thing.”
Luhan maintains the smile on his face, “This isn’t a good idea. Thousands of teenage girls are waiting for me, I can’t bear to.”
“It’s not a problem, Kris has already sacrificed himself to protect you for the benefit of the public, you should consider doing it for me.” Yixing says with ignorance.
Luhan breathes heavily into his ears while Yixing retreats instantly into a corner, “I’m just afraid you won’t be able to take it. Go on a hike with me!” Luhan gawks.
“I can’t, I’m afraid you’ll throw up on me from your fear of heights.” Yixing shakes his head helplessly.
“I’m not going to the cliffs, I’m just going to try out my new camera.” Luhan pleads.
“Give me a break,” Yixing begs in response, “this rest day was hard to come by......”
“Can you even be considered a brother?!” Luhan nudges him.
Yixing continues to be engrossed at playing the guitar with destitution, “are you over exaggerating again....”
“Hurry up and start packing,” Luhan reveals a joyful smile and kicks Yixing, “What about Jongdae? Should we leave the door open for him?”
“He sprained his foot and is over at Junmyeon’s for medication, he probably brought his keys.”
The phone placed on the table beeps a few times and flashes a black screen. “Help me charge it.” Yixing continues playing the guitar.
Shaking his head, “You keep ordering me around.” Luhan retrieves and plugs the charger in, examining the white Lenovo which held a slight resemblance to his iPhone, “Your life is too good; fans actually sent you the model you liked.” He recalls the one shopping spree with a few friends that early spring when Yixing had his eyes glued greedily on the counter and subsequently receiving the new phone a week later.
“Receiving this gift has made me jumpy. If the company discovers, I’ll be scolded badly,” Yixing shakes his head, “if I were to send it home there would be no inscription, and returning it isn’t an option either.”
As the phone screen lights up, Luhan attempts the number 1007 but gets prompted with an error.
“Your power-on code isn’t your birthdate?” Luhan turns to ask.
Yixing stands and retrieves the phone from Luhan, “Birthdates would be an easy way to access by, for example, someone like yourself.” He glances at Luhan, “I’m using the original password which no one would know.”
Luhan raises an eyebrow, “Cheh~ so many people use their birthdates. Chanyeol, Sehun and myself .. anyway, who would want to look into your mobile phone, there aren’t any pornography.”
“There are a few …. Taken when you were sleeping.” Yixing responds calmly, eyes still fixed on his phone.
“What did you say?!” Luhan’s eyes widens and attempts to snatch the phone from Yixing.
“With the elegant sleeping position,” Yixing flips his back, “I’ll sell them when you’re famous in the future.”
Luhan stretches out his finger and points to Yixing, “I’m too threatened by you. The next time we’re in a hotel I’ll take photos of you every second.”
“It won’t be the same,” Yixing shakes his head, “You will be more famous than me in the future; I’ll attain a better price.”
Luhan is left speechless, “What are you talking about!?”
“Alright, alright,” Yixing pushes Luhan, “are you still hiking with me?”
“This is one hell of a horrid place....” Yixing coordinates his hands and feet and scales the slopes which totally do not appear to be roads, “this is definitely not a developed tourist attraction...” He glances at the map displayed on the pamphlet in his hands, even if he had made it up, there would be no way down. “How much more ahead!” he shouts at Luhan who has made it far ahead.
“Almost, I can see the peak!” Luhan climbs rapidly ahead, “it’s only fun if it hasn’t been developed, hurry up!” He turns and waves.
“My shoes are brand new.” Yixing looks at his mud stained shoes, disheartened.
Luhan who arrives at the peak keeps his mouth agape with amazement. In front of the huge rock wall lies a spectacular backdrop of immensely grown trees, “Hurry up you fool!” Luhan almost reaches out for Yixing, “It’s too beautiful~~” He whips out his camera and starts taking photos incessantly.
It brought a tinge of refreshing feelings, escaping the crowds and all other noises while in front of those eyes simply lie three colors; blue, green and white. Luhan rests on a boulder, his hands laid out in front of him, straightened and flat. Yixing sits just beside him, fiddling with bags of snacks, fishing them out from his bag.
“I realised you’re really suited to be a street vendor.” Luhan giggles as he looks at Yixing, only to be given a fierce expression in return.
“Laugh all you want;” Yixing says as he lowers his head, “building your happiness on my humiliation.”
“Your humiliation isn’t enough to feed my happiness; however, if you were to remit your salary to me, it’d be blissful.” Luhan crosses his arms and looks at the street vendor in front of him.
“Your level of joy doesn’t seem too high;” Yixing tears apart a bag of tidbits, “if you were to convert that amount of money into Chinese currency, maybe that would create a little excitement.”
“Hey~~ I’m contented,” says Luhan as he stands up and pats Yixing’s hair before strolling towards the stone wall, “I’m learning from you; wearing this fake rosary for these many years like treasure, what plain values in life.”
Yixing continues his ignorance, “so what if it’s fake,” he tugs at the rosary on his wrist, “I wore this when I was injured and it healed well and quick, also, there’s the awards we received upon debut....”
Luhan strolls over to look at the beads, “if it is that amazing, lend them to me for a few days, I placed a bet on the football game next week.”
Yixing freezes for a moment and removes the rosary, “don’t lose it.”
“Please don’t tell me you believe in the Buddha.” Luhan laughs and puts it on.
Yixing shuts his eyes, “do I look like one?”
Luhan half-sits and scrutinizes the other, “a little.”
“A Buddhist devotee would dance non-stop daily?” Yixing’s shoulders droop.
“You become a sculpture off-stage.” Luhan says with laughter.
“Since I’m already moving non-stop on stage,why does it have to continue off-stage?...” Yixing gazes at Luhan, “your exoticness is really uncommon.”
“Cheh~~” Luhan taps Yixing again, his eyes focused on the ground beneath the rock wall, “hey idiot, what do you think this red arrow is for?”
It is about 30 metres away where a red arrow directs towards a stone wall. Yixing stands up and walks over, only to be greeted with a hammer and nails resting on the floor in silence.
Luhan squats down and picks them up to examine. His sight shifts in the direction of the red arrow; the stone wall, “perhaps this is used to scale the wall?”
“A 90 degree wall with no scaling points?” Yixing squints his eyes and uses his wrist to block the sunlight.
“That’s why a nail is needed!” Luhan sits on the ground in sudden realisation. He looks at the nail in his hand, “however this nail looks slightly smaller than usual.” He speaks as he searches for a gap, using his fingers to peel off the mud.
“What are you doing?” Yixing squats down and watches Luhan, speechless. “Don’t tell me you’re intending to rock climb.”
“I’m trying to see how outdoor rock climbers hammer these nails into the wall.” Luhan lifts his eyebrows with curiosity.
Yixing lowers his head to look at the red arrow and then back at Luhan who has started hammering nails up the stone wall. “People like you who have a great amount of passion in new objects should become scientists, what brought you here instead was dancing and singing.....” Not having finished his sentence, he feels Luhan’s weight on his shoulder and turns around, looking strangely at the person just beside him.
It’s as though he’s asleep.
His evenly lined nose bridge and slightly agape mouth, Yixing looks foolishly at Luhan who is now caught speechless; with his vibrancy and energy bursting in one moment and then falling into deep sleep the next, leaving it hard for people to comprehend.
[1 minute ago]
“A 90 degree wall with no scaling points?” Yixing squints his and uses his wrist to block the sunlight.
“That’s why a nail is needed!” Luhan sits on the ground in sudden realisation, he looks at the nail in his hand, “however this nail looks slightly small.” He speaks as he searches for a gap, using his fingers to peel off the mud.
“What are you doing?” Yixing squats down and watches Luhan, speechless. “Don’t tell me you’re intending to rock climb.”
“I’m trying to see how outdoor rock climbers nail these nails into the wall.” Luhan lifts his eyebrows with curiosity.
Yixing lowers his head to look at the red arrow and then back at Luhan who has started hammering nails up the stone wall, “people like you who have great passion in new objects should become scientists, what brought you here dancing and singing.....” Not having finished his sentence, he feels Luhan’s weight on his shoulder and turns behind, looking weirdly at the person just beside him.
It’s as though he’s asleep.
His evenly lined nose bridge and slightly agape mouth, Yixing looks foolishly at Luhan who is now caught speechless, with the vibrance and energy bursting in one moment then falling into deep sleep the next, leaving it hard for people to comprehend.
All of a sudden, booming loud album music starts filling his ears, the surrounding is dark and in a distance comes the messy light boards and chatter, a mike is hung beside his mouth, on the left stands Yixing, Kris on the right, while he himself is situated at the center of the stage, the title song roars and his line plays.
Luhan freezes and turns his head, the roaring of the title song does not stop.
“Luhan!” screams Tao from his left, “dance!” Looking towards the side, Jongdae and Minseok have their eyes enlarged and staring, Kris seems to sense something and turns, glancing at Luhan who has his back faced against the audience, frozen, before turning back to continue his choreography and exchanging eye contact with Yixing who was equally shocked previously.
Luhan’s line passes soon enough, K group joins in from the sides, Jongin stands at the peak of the pyramid, Yixing and Sehun intersect speedily to the sides while Luhan mixes into the group with shock before being dragged from his clothes and positioned behind Sehun by Kris, “Wake up!” Kris projects his voice and hollers in chinese.
The clear rhythmic beats sounded upon a brief silence, the glimmer of light among the darkness of the stage focuses on Jongin, Yixing and Sehun, the beats play and through the silence of everyone, they begin to dance.
Luhan pants while witnessing everything unfold before his eyes, through the familiar beat comes an instinct rising within him, he knows the next eight beat belongs to him, the entire episode is wrong, however …
His rhythm begins, Kris looks nervously at him, he joins in the choreography perfectly.
The all too familiar dance moves, the stage positions, he doesn’t know where he is, he doesn’t know the time, he doesn’t know what is happening, but the rhythm begins and his mission is to dance.
He needs to complete the performance, this is inertia.
The tune ends, the lighting dims, everyone pants heavily in the darkness but it’s different this time, no one is high fiving another like before, Jongin’s forehead glistens in sweat. Still panting, he approaches Luhan, “What happened?” Chanyeol pulls him from behind, only to be thrown off, “Do you even know the importance of this performance?!”
“We’ll talk off stage!” Junmyeon growls loudly from behind and pushes Jongin down, everyone’s facial expression is horrible, Sehun glances at Luhan, Baekhyun removes gold dust from his hair, speechless. People shuffle past, Luhan’s face pales while he stands rooted to the spot, Kris has his arms on his waist while he looks to the ground and Yixing grabs Luhan’s shoulders, taking him off stage.
“You’ve all worked hard..” The backstage staff waiting to greet them does not sense the solemnity filling the air, in the makeup room and holding area, seniors of the company shuffle back and forth, the teasing noise of the host is heard, the next performance is due soon.
The manager holds his phone and bows massively into air, “Yes, yes. I understand too…... A situation like this has never happened before… I will, I will.....” He speaks as he looks at the members enter continuously, “I will question him, I definitely will... I’m sorry, I’m so sorry....” Luhan pales, his head is pounding, he tries hard to recall in clarification of his doubts but the manager hangs up the phone and struts towards him.
“What just happened!” The manager approaches Luhan and gives his head a push. Luhan staggers two steps backwards, “are you here to ruin the event?!” The manager hollers, all the other idols in the holding room turn to witness. Luhan hangs his head in silence, in the midst of his pounding headache, he actually finds the holding room somewhat familiar.
“This is a live broadcast, do you understand the meaning of a live broadcast! Gayo Daejun isn’t simply an event for our company’s idols, it takes 10 years to win a reputation and a day to destroy! If the newcomer’s award is ours this time, do you want the public thinking we don’t live up to the name and treating it as a joke?” The manager continues screaming at Luhan, but he slowly lifts his pale face up.
“Gayo Daejun?” He turns to look at everyone else, “newcomer’s award? Didn’t we already receive it.....”
The room fell silent.
The manager gawks at him before sending a heavy slap towards him.
Feeling a faint hum in the left ear, Luhan’s head turns to one side and he looks at the ground.
This is indeed a familiar holding room, that was indeed one familiar stage, it was as though he had experienced it again, but not in the same manner.
Kris pulls the beaten Luhan behind him, “If we clinch the award, I’ll explain and apologize during the acceptance speech.”
“Explain?! What explanation?” The manager shoots Kris an unimaginable glance.
Kris pauses for a moment and replies, “say he experienced mental fatigue and had hallucinations.”
“Are you implying that the company abuses artistes?” The manager questions.
“Then.....” Kris says, “say his mic dropped.”
“Dropping of mic happens very often, does anyone ever lose his soul like him?”
Kris looks at the manager, “Then let’s just do with an apology.”
The manager returns Kris and Luhan a look before gesturing to the staff and makeup artists, “You can proceed with the touch ups first then go get seated at your respective seats off stage. If you win the award later, both of you leaders need to organise it well, your attitudes must be sincere enough, you have to shut everyone’s mouths.” Junmyeon and Kris nod and bow, he then looks at Luhan, “As for you, we’ll deal with this later!”
Having seen the chat ended, the makeup artists touch up the appearance of all twelve and unlike the usual chatter, everyone remains abnormally quiet this time. Jongin uses his side vision to observe Baekhyun who now has his eyeliner reapplied. Luhan tips his head backwards, the thick foundation concealing the fresh finger marks lining his face.
Entering the dim lit venue, they silently creep to their seats but to avail of attempting to escape fan’s eagle eyes, hoarding an array of screams. Junymeon passes a message from one end to the other, instructing everyone to bow in apology for a full ten seconds if they do win the award.
“I’ve once read a newspaper article saying that people who overwork tend to forget things,” Tao looks at Luhan who is seated between Chanyeol and Baekhyun, then whispers to Kris, “it’s something called amnesia.”
Kris diverts his attention in the same direction, the fans break out into a commotion as they watch Yixing request to switch seats with Baekhyun to sit with Luhan.
“Lu~Han~It’s~No~Big~Deal~We~Love~You~!!!” Shouts the fans who seem to have derived at this tagline after a mini discussion, Luhan who is stuck in his silence and depression turns his head, stands and bows to them.
“Ah~~~” a sea of cries and howls come echoing from behind.
“It’s possible,” Kris says, “he has been consuming sleeping pills for days, perhaps his energy is drained.”
“Ah?” Tao looks at Kris in utter disbelief, “he actually experiences insomnia? Doesn’t seem like it.”
Tao freezes for two seconds before he turns to Kris, “the last time we were at the hotel when I had fallen asleep first, didn’t you say you had insomnia too?
“Just enjoy the performance.” Kris says and flashes a mechanical smile towards the stage, applauding a performance he had not paid attention to.
Although sufficient mental preparation had been made, Yixing still tears up emotionally at the announcement of the newcomer’s award. The entire group rises to give each other hugs, Junymeon’s eyes turn red as he looks at Kris who is equally thankful, “You’ve worked hard.” The both of them hugged and pat each other’s shoulders as fans at the side film the entire scene, making it one of the most heartwarming photos over the internet during the receiving of EXO’s newcomers award this time.
Another widespread photo is one the entire group bowing for 10 seconds after Luhan bowed in apology alone on stage, with captions of the photo making it even more sensational, “A mistake of one, the bowing of twelve.”
On the ride back, Luhan’s headache seemed to elevate, he grabs Yixing’s hand and asks, “what is the date today?”
Yixing looks at him, “29th.”
“2012, 29th December?” Luhan frowns and whispers?
Yixing nods silently.
Gazing out the window at the snow and sceneries that rapidly past by, Luhan says, “have you gone hiking with me recently, and have I hammered nails into a stone wall?”
Yixing looks at him and pulls him against his shoulders, “Hurry up, close your eyes and go to sleep; you’re too tired.”
Lying on Yixing’s shoulders, Luhan shuts his eyes, searching for a reasonable explanation.
Being too exhausted, he enters a trance on stage and has portrayed himself 3 months into the future;
Sleepwalking, sleepwalking on stage;
Confusing dreams with reality, the illusions and effects of downing sleeping pills; he now has mental problems, he needs a doctor.
“Yixing, how is our schedule tomorrow.” He asks.
“Magazine shoot in the afternoon, reality show at night.” Yixing replies.
“So can you accompany me to the doctor’s tomorrow afternoon.” Luhan speaks with all the fatique.
Yixing turns to look at Luhan, he seems, to have fallen asleep.
[1 minute ago]
“Hurry up, close your eyes and go to sleep, you’re too tired.”
Lying on Yixing’s shoulders, Luhan shuts his eyes, searching for a reasonable explanation.
Being too exhausted, he enters a trance on stage and has portrayed himself 3 months into the future;
Sleepwalking, sleepwalking on stage;
Confusing dreams with reality, the illusions and effects of downing sleeping pills; he now has mental problems, he needs a doctor.
“Yixing, how is our schedule tomorrow.” He asks.
“Magazine shoot in the afternoon, reality show at night.” Yixing replies.
“So can you accompany me to the doctor’s tomorrow afternoon.” Luhan speaks with all the fatique.
“Alright? Okay?” He frowns and opens his eyes, the dazzling sunlight from outside results in him involuntarily using his hand to cover his eyes.
His body seems to have lost its balance instantly, his arms and legs suspend in mid air before heavy falling onto a smooth white plane.
When he finally opens his eyes, Yixing isn’t there, their car isn’t in front, a red arrow is drawn on the ground, and at the end of the arrow is a door.
Luhan stumbles to his feet and wanders around, this white plane appears to be a spacious walkway, behind him is a vast expanse of bright light, he stumbles along in the direction of the arrow and as he approaches, he notices another door in a near distant, however, no arrow is pointed towards it.
With his brain in a blank, Luhan positions himself in front of the door and hesitates before he knocking on it.
Sounds of a key unlocking is heard and after two seconds, the door opens. A man with a smile makes a “please” gesture, “You are finally here.” He says.
Original fic
Translated by heecups, proofread by wayve ♡
Do not repost without permission!