Chapter 15
And then you were beside me.
Monday came fast for all of them, but doesn't it for everyone? Weekends are like that; one would think that they will last as long as two deadly long school days, but they don't. They seem to be only as long as one hour of physics class. Never enough time to sleep. Never enough to time do all the things that needed to be done.
Furthermore, the weeks right before finals seem to be more hectic than others. Professors are forcing to squeeze in tons of lessons and topics because they already included them in the final exams. There are more pages of research papers and essays that need to be written; and there are more hours that will not be spent on sleeping. The only breather that students can have is lunch period. But even then, the students are too drowsy and air-headed to be thankful for it.
"Guys, we're going on a top secret mission later." Sehun said during Monday's lunch period.
"Mission?" Chen confirmed, as he took another bite of his sandwich.
"Yes. This is something I can only do with my most trusted friends... This mission involves secrecy, silence, disguise, and skill..." Sehun explained in a very soft voice.
"No, Sehun. We won't help you buy Justin Bieber's new album." Baekhyun said firmly, earning a punch on the arm.
"I'm not talking about that! And I already have the album, thank you very much." Sehun rolled his eyes.
"Then what are we doing?" Chen asked.
"Just trust me."
"We do trust you! It's just that we don't trust your plan and that we are doubting you..." Chanyeol said.
"Huh?" the youngest tried to understand what Chanyeol said but ended up shaking his head in confusion. "So, who's in?!"
"ME! I don't want to do my homework yet!" Chen said as he raised his hand.
"Are we gonna be like spies?" Chanyeol asked.
"Yup!" Sehun answered.
"Then I'm in! I have my spy clothes in the dorm. Lemme just change into them later..."
"Okay. Baekhyun-hyung? Tao-hyung?"
"I guess I'm in. Someone needs to be able to fight when you guys end up being surrounded by a gang..." Tao said.
"Right! Hyung?" Sehun turned to ask Baekhyun.
"No way are you guys going to leave me alone in the dorm!" the older said, finalizing the plan.
Right after their last class, the five of them found themselves outside school grounds. All of them were just wearing their white undershirts since their shirts have the school's logo. Oh, all except for Chanyeol. He was wearing a long-sleeve black shirt and a black beanie.
"Are we stalkers now?" Baekhyun asked.
They were outside school grounds and, apparently, they were following one member of their club.
"Sehun, seriously?" Tao asked.
"Shhhh..." Sehun told the others to keep it down. "We are not stalking. I just want to know where Luhan-hyung goes to in a hurry all the time."
"Seriously?! Top mission?!" Baekhyun almost shouted.
"Why can't you just ask him?" Chen asked.
"It's obvious that he wants it to be kept a secret." the youngest rolled his eyes. "And scrunch down, will you hyung?"
Luhan was walking on the opposite side of the road, while the five of them were a couple meters away. Sehun was walking in a squat-like position. He was even hiding behind the street posts and the people who were walking in front and beside them. It was quite obvious that he was stalking. Other people were giving him weird looks, but as far as Sehun was concerned, he believed he was "blending in" quite well.
It would've been less awkward for Sehun if the people with him were acting like him too. But Chen, Baekhyun, and Tao were walking normally; they were even chatting loudly.
Chanyeol was the only one cooperating with Sehun. He was also scrunching down and hiding behind the street posts and walls.
"This is fun!" Chanyeol once said as he kept making his "ninja faces", which are basically him looking surprised and weird. Apparently, he didn't want his outfit to go to waste so might as well spy-up.
"Scrunch down, will you hyung?" Sehun asked once again as he tugged Chen down.
"I will not participate in such childish acts." Chen replied in a classy tone.
"You know, it doesn't matter if he does or not. He doesn't really need to scrunch down, he's small." Chanyeol teased, causing the others to laugh loudly.
"Dwarfzilla~" Tao and Baekhyun added while laughing.
"I dare you to say that again." Chen told Chanyeol as he glared heavily at the taller one.
Chanyeol walked towards him in scrunched down position and said: "See, same height" he pointed out, causing the others to burst out laughing.
"Yah!!" Chen said as he kicked Chanyeol's legs.
"AHH!!!" Chanyeol shouted. It really did hurt; but rather than just a loud "ouch", Chanyeol let out what seemed to be more like a groan or a dinosaur being reincarnated.
It was loud enough for people five meters away to hear. And that wasn't just an exaggeration; it WAS clearly heard even by Luhan.
"GUYS! Guys! He's turning his head this way!" Sehun said, alarming the others.
All of them went into a scrunched down position immediately. Tao and Chanyeol were even on all fours to be able to completely hide themselves. Lucky for them, the sidewalk they were on now had bushes on the side so they have something to hide behind of.
"I'm going to kill you guys if he finds us..." Sehun said in gritted teeth.
"It wasn't my fault, blame Chen!" Chanyeol defended.
"It isn't my fault that you have a monstrous voice!" Chen said.
"I'm going to step on you later."
"Is he still looking?" Tao asked
"I'm not sure, but the people on this side of the road are... and they are looking very disturbed." Baekhyun pointed out. It was true. The five of them were awkwardly scrunched down on the sidewalk amid the walking people; two of them were even on all fours. The people didn't just give weird looks; they were keeping their distance from the five students.
"I don't care. For as long as hyung doesn't see us." the youngest said.
"Hmmm?" Chanyeol said.
"What?" Chen asked.
"Even when I'm like this and you're scrunching down, I'm still taller than you..." Chanyeol teased, earning a bombard of punches from Chen.
"I'm going to make sure this time that dinosaurs remain extinct!"
As the two were fighting (well, more like awkwardly slapping each other's hands), Baekhyun was trying to smile at the passers-by and Tao was looking at how his clothes are now very dirty.
"I don't think he's looking back anymore..." Sehun said as he peeked out from the bushes. And as soon as Sehun finished his sentence, Chanyeol got up immediately and ran away from Chen.
However, he only ended up hiding behind a bus waiting shed a couple of meters away, looking very very shocked.
"Get down" he mouthed and motioned the others to stay in their positions. Apparently, Luhan glanced back a second after Chanyeol stood up. But he wasn't able to catch Chanyeol, luckily, since Luhan looked at his back and not at the opposite side of the road.
Sehun raised his hand in a fist. "I'm going to kill you!" he mouthed as he walked towards Chanyeol in a scrunched down position.
"Ugh. Some top secret mission this is..." Baekhyun rolled his eyes.
"So..." Tao said to the other two who were left behind.
"My legs are growing numb..." Chen said.
"Wanna have a race in this position?" Tao suggested.
"What?!" Chen said.
"OKAY!" Baekhyun agreed. "Up to the next corner. Ready? In 3... 2... 1..."
"Are you guys serious?!" Chen asked.
"GO!" Tao and Baekhyun chorused as they began to move. Chen followed soon after.
Ten minutes after, they found themselves seating on a bench near the center fountain of the city.
All of them were sweating. Chen was fanning himself using the yellow fan he always has with him; Baekhyun was wiping his sweat with a handkerchief; Tao was trying to get all the dust of his uniform pants; Chanyeol was fixing his beanie; and Sehun was giving the four his "angry look".
"WE LOST HIM!" Sehun shouted.
"Obviously." Tao said.
"You guys are useless accomplices!!"
"You were the one who was running so fast!" Baekhyun pointed out.
"It's because Chanyeol-hyung almost cost me my life back there! And you guys were the ones running everywhere!"
"What were we supposed to do, stay motionless on the ground?" Chen asked.
"Ughhhh. How am I supposed to know where he goes now?" the youngest said as he sat on the ground.
"Try again tomorrow, but we will no longer go with you. This is tiring!" Baekhyun said.
"All this running around made me hungry... Tao, get something to eat..." Chen asked.
"Why me?!" Tao asked.
"Cause you lost the race earlier."
"That race wasn't fair! You guys looked like you had practice!"
"What? And where do you think we would practice running around like ducks?" Baekhyun asked.
"You should've known that you didn't stand a chance against those two, Tao." Chanyeol interrupted.
"What? Why??"
"You have long legs; Baekhyun and Chen don't. They aren't that very far from the ground to begin with so you have the disadvantage since you had to fold your legs." Chanyeol teased. "I think running like ducks and simply running aren't very different experiences for them..."
"SAY THAT ONE MORE TIME, CHANYEOL!" Baekhyun dared loudly as he stood up and walked towards the other. Chen, on the other hand, was already straggling Chanyeol.
"You guys are so loud..." Sehun said as he stood up. "I'm going to buy something to drink."
"Buy something for us too, Sehun-ah." Tao said as he was the only one that heard Sehun. The other two were busy killing Chanyeol; Chanyeol was too busy trying to breathe.
"What? Why should I?" Sehun asked.
"Cause you owe us."
"I do not. We didn't even get to know where Luhan-hyung goes."
"You made us crawl on the ground and run around."
"Ugh. Fine." the youngest said as turned around and started walking towards the convenience store nearby.
Sehun may often be called cold, but he does care for others. Thus, he found himself at the counter of the store with a basket full of drinks and snacks. He bought orange juice for him, two sodas for Chen and Baekhyun, a big bottle of water for Tao, and an energy drink for Chanyeol (his addiction to this drink would probably explain why he is so hyper all the time). Sehun even bought four bags of chips.
"This should stop them from complaining." he thought to himself. Although he wasn't able to succeed in the mission, he admits that he had fun. Running around the city and laughing loudly are just what he needed to refresh his spirit and mind. Amid all the school requirements and exams, a few minutes of free time did miracles for him.
"This is quite a lot of food for someone so thin..." the man behind the counter and store owner, Dongwoon, said while scanning the items.
"Huh? Oh. Those aren't just for me. They're for my friends as well." Sehun replied with a smile.
"Oh. I see." Dongwoon replied and continued with bagging the items silently.
"Thank you." Sehun said as he received the bagged items and bowed goodbye.
"Thank you, come again." Dongwoon said. And Sehun made his way out the store, but ended up stopping suddenly.
"Luhan! Get those boxes inside already!!" Dongwoon shouted.
"Luhan?" Sehun's mind repeated.
"I already did!!!" a voice sounding like Luhan replied to the store owner.
"There are still some at the back! Carry them in as well! And clean afterwards, okay?" Dongwoon shouted again.
"I got it, boss!!!" Luhan replied.
As the conversation was going, Sehun was standing frozen at the spot. He doesn't know whether to turn around and confirm if it really was Luhan. But as soon as he heard the familiar voice, Sehun ended up rushing out the store and running towards his friends.
"Why are you running?" Tao asked as soon as Sehun was beside them. Sehun wasn't actually running, he was speed walking, but he ended up catching his breath nonetheless.
"Here." Sehun said as he handed over the bag of food.
"Thanks!!!" Chanyeol received the bag. "WOW!!! A LOT OF FOOD!!!"
The four were very surprised and pleased with the amount of food bought for them. Sehun, on the other hand, was still thinking about what happened in the store.
"No doubt that was Luhan-hyung. So he's working there? Part-time? Why is he being secretive of it though? Is working in a store embarrassing? No. I tried working in one before university. Doesn't he want people to find out?" Sehun's mind was trying its best to figure out things.
"Sehun-ah. Why am I the only one that gets water?" Tao asked.
"Huh? Oh. Ah. Sorry. I thought that's what you would want." Sehun answered absent-mindedly.
"I want orange juice too." Tao said as he stood up.
"Where're you going, hyung?" the youngest said as soon as he saw the other begin to move.
"Don't worry. I'll go get the juice myself. You already bought a lot of food for us..."
"What?! No. Here. Just have mine. I'll drink the water."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Here."
"Sure?"
"Yup. And do you guys want to eat at the park near the school?" Sehun asked as he stood up and gathered the bags of chips that are yet to be opened.
"What? We can eat here!" Chanyeol protested.
"No. The food will taste better if we eat at the park. So let's go." Sehun walked away from the fountain. And since he was carrying the food, the others had no choice but to follow.
"If he doesn't want others to know, then I wouldn't want to be the cause for others to find out..." Sehun thought to himself while he was walking.
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A/N: Whew. Finally able to upload this. Hope you guys enjoy! :)
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