11: WITH THE WAVES

Baekhyun awakes to the sound of his door bursting, then someone pulls his blanket away, causing him to curl in his bed due to coldness.

            “Wake up, Baekhyun,” a voice says. He opens his eyes to see Minseok, still in his sleepwear. “Living room. Now,” the eldest says in an urgent tone.

            Baekhyun gets up, still sleepy. Minseok leaves the room when he sees him getting up. Even on a Sunday, they have to finish recording the Chinese version for their Winter album. Baekhyun turns on the screen of his phone to check the time—6:04 AM, it reads. Confused to why the eldest woke him up that early, he gets out of his room without changing out of his sleepwear.

            He goes to the living room as instructed by Minseok, only to be greeted by the other sleepy members, whom also have been woken up by the eldest. Baekhyun’s expression turns grim upon seeing the leader sitting on the sofa beside Chanyeol. He walks to the other side and sits beside Kyungsoo.

            Minseok arrives last in the living room, dragging Jongin with him, wearing a scared expression. He makes him sit on the floor with Sehun and Jongdae. The eldest drags a bean bag towards the television, in front of the members, and sits on it.

            “You know the drill, Baekhyun,” Minseok commands.

            Baekhyun fully awakens at that. “What? How is this my fault? Junmyeon hyung should be the one talking first,” he points to the leader.

            They have a rule that if someone in the group has an issue with someone from the group, they will conduct a mandatory meeting with the whole group to talk it out. In this case, Baekhyun and Junmyeon.

            “He didn’t influence Soohyun into doing the audition,” Minseok demystifies.

            “I did that because she’s not getting any support from any of you!”

            Kyungsoo creases his brows at Baekhyun, but he remains silent.

            “You don’t have any rights to decide for my sister,” Junmyeon roughly interposes.

            “And you have?” Baekhyun abruptly stands up to face the leader. Kyungsoo quickly holds his arm to stop him, afraid that he will suddenly jump on the leader—but Baekhyun remains his distance.

            Junmyeon is aloof and tired. He’s been worrying over Soohyun since last night. He’s hurt her again, he’s aware of that. “I know better,” he dryly tells Baekhyun.

            The other members stay quiet, derail from the situation of their group, but extremely worried over the maiden as well. Baekhyun never talks back to any of the hyungs—none of them does. But now that he is, they know he will never step back.

            “Better?” Baekhyun scoffs. “Oh, you mean, her, crying herself to sleep every night is better for you?” He shakes his head in disappointment to the leader.

            “That is not the point,” Minseok interferes.

            “That’s the whole point, hyung!”

            “You’re being utterly insensitive right now, Baekhyun!” Minseok tells him off. He stands up to face him better. “When you don’t know the whole story, you stay out of it. You’ve been told not to meddle, but you still did. And what did you do? You dragged Jongin along into your reckless decision and put Soohyun in a much more complicated situation!”

            Baekhyun squelch in his spot. “What do you mean ‘much more complicated situation’?”

            Minseok crosses his arms. “If she passes the audition, what do you think will happen to her?” he queerly asks.

            “Then, she’ll finally become a trainee?” Baekhyun sarcastically retorts.

            “That will never happen,” Junmyeon intermeddle, gaining a glare from the former. “She’s still under the supervision of our parents,” he discloses, eyes on the floor as if in deep thoughts.

            “So, even if she passes the audition,” Kyungsoo pipes up, “it will only be blocked like her first one?” he continues.

            Junmyeon weakly nods in response.

            Baekhyun knits his brows in confusion. “Even so,” he firmly opposes, “Junmyeon hyung could easily talk to their father about that!”

            “That’s the plan, isn’t?” Junmyeon says as his voice exalts at every utter of the words. “I told you to stay out of it, because I can handle my own family, Baekhyun! And yet, you carried on with your stupid plan, making everything harder for all of us!”

            “So, what?” Baekhyun densely retorts back. “You could still talk to your father even if she went to the audition. Stop making excuses, hyung!”

            Chanyeol facepalms at the ignorance of his best friend. “Stop being stupid for a moment, Baekhyun,” he grits out in a low voice.

            Baekhyun sharply turns to his best friend, only to notice the other members wearing anguish look on their faces. He’s the only remaining one who still doesn’t understand the situation.

            Minseok looks at the members with forewarning, then he shifts his eyes back at Baekhyun. “You used her card yesterday, right?”

            “Yes,” Baekhyun answers without hesitation, growing anxious of what the eldest has to say.

            “The card is not under Soohyun’s account. So, it notified the account holder when the transaction has been made.” Minseok stops to see his reaction. “The flaw, Baekhyun, in your plan, is you let her do the audition.”

            Jongin lowers his head guiltily beside Yixing.

            “The reason I woke up all of you this early is because we have a guest coming over,” Minseok announces, then he faces Baekhyun with a sneer. “Congratulations on triggering Chairman Kim. He had Soohyun followed yesterday.”

            Baekhun knits his brows at his hyung. As if on cue, the door opens upon the arrival of their said expected guest.

            The middle-aged chairman, Kim Yongha, is suited up, having his presence known with vast authority all over the place. Fiercer that he looks, yet his resemblance with the siblings is undeniable. He is a professor in a university, but founder and chairman of his own company as well.

            The EXO members stand up out of respect for the chairman. They all stand aside to give way to their guest. Chanyeol even has to drag Baekhyun with him, because the latter is still in shock to see their guest.

            “Where is she?” the chairman says in a deep, low voice. Then, he sits on the now-empty sofa with Junmyeon, while the members remain standing.

            “Dad—”

            The chairman holds his hand up to cut him off. “Stop hiding her, son.” Then he looks around the place as if looking for the maiden. “I already withdrew her application. She’s going home now.”

            Baekhyun lifts his head up at the chairman upon hearing that. He receives a swift nudge from Chanyeol, stopping him from talking or meddling with the situation.

            “Dad, why did you have her followed yesterday?” Junmyeon asks.

            Kim Yongha crosses his legs as he sits comfortably at the sofa. “I had her tracked, son, not followed,” he corrects him. “If she could go to the mall or to that audition, then she could show up at work, too.”

            “Dad, please,” Junmyeon appeals to his father, “she was never interested on running the company. Let’s stick to the original plan—I’ll take over the company. So, please, let her off. She’s done more than enough for you.”

            The chairman chuckles satirically. “Junmyeon, I did not send her to business school to become an idol. She can’t even stand on her own, and you’re saying I let her do what she wants? Don’t let her hopes up. Let her be useful for once,” he ruthlessly utters.

            Kyungsoo twitches his lip in annoyance and disgust. He clenches his fist as he stares at the chairman. He badly wants to in and tell the chairman whose fault it is that she’s grown to be dependent on the people around her.

            Junmyeon blankly fixates his eyes on his father whom he highly respects since his childhood. He remembers all the hurtful words that came out from his sister as she described herself—now, without a doubt, he knows whose words are those. He dreadfully thinks all the other words his father has told Soohyun while he was gone. And all those times she’s endured it alone.

            “You speak to her that way?” Junmyeon grimly breathes.

            The chairman savagely smiles as he pats his son on the back. “She has to hear—”

            He shoves his father’s hand and cuts him off mid-sentence. “No wonder she’s begging me not to send her home!”

            Shock at the vulgarity on his tone, the chairman falls into silence as he receives sharp, angry glares from Junmyeon.

            “Baekhyun?” they hear a soft voice calls from the foyer. Baekhyun lifts his head hastily upon hearing it. Before he can run to her, Soohyun enters the room. Her eyes are swollen, and she’s still in her yesterday’s outfit. She walks towards Baekhyun without ado when she sees him, but stops when she notices her father at the sofa.

            The gentle look on her face turns intensely angry and betrayed in a snap as she shifts her gaze to the man sitting beside her father. It is immensely evident in her eyes as she looks at her brother. Junmyeon