Letters On Our Skin || BangChan

50

Minutes.
That's all that is separating us from the villa.
Minutes and the long, winding road leading down to the beach on the southeast side of the island.
The boys are growing more and more excited with every second and I can barely keep a relaxed face.
"We passed a few hotels up the road, are you sure ours wasn't one of them?"
Seungmin looks out the window, his face slightly worried.
I finish the ice tea Chan and Changbin got me and nod.
Maybe it's time to reveal a bit of my surprise, they're going to see it in a few minutes anyway.
"Oh, haven't I told you?" I say with as much nonchalance as possible. "We're not staying at a hotel."

I can feel all eyes dip to me, but I just purse my lips and concentrate on the bag of M&Ms between Felix and me. He swats away at my hand, his eyes huge.
"What do you mean?"
Jisung pushes his sunglasses into his hair and bends over Minho, asking, "What's going on?"
I giggle, letting the tension grow until I can see on their faces that they're about to explode.
"We're not staying in a hotel," I repeat, "I thought it would be nicer if we all just stay in a holiday villa by the beach. I mean we're not on vacation everyday, right?"
Changbin is the first one to erupt in screaming. He grabs Felix's seat and starts jumping up and down. Hyunjin has both his hands on his cheeks, staring around with huge eyes and open mouth. Jeongin, Jisung, and Minho cheer and clap, laughing with each other.
I can hear Chan's surprised laugh, but it's Seungmin who asks the next question, "So we're not here for work?"
I shake my head and grin.
"You guys deserve a vacation," I add and can feel the heat crawl into my cheeks, "I wanted you guys to have a few days away from all the stress back in Seoul."
"You organized this?" The surprise in Chan's voice switches a light on in me and I nod, earning an impressed 'woah' from everyone.
Chan's hand slips between seats until his fingers tangle with mine.
In that moment, the bus driver calls to us from the front.
"Five minutes until arrival!"

The bus rolls slowly up the driveway of the villa.
The house is a lot bigger than it looked on the pictures. I made sure that it has enough rooms for each sibling of Felix and Chan to have their own room if they wanted to. Two boys each and each pair of parents will share a room, I also have my own room.
The white, clean interior and dark blue roof are bright in the sunlight. A few plants decorate the tiled, grey walkway and front yard.
It looks like something I would expect in the Hollywood Hills, and I am honestly impressed with myself for exactly ten seconds.
Then the bus stops, and the managers stand.
Suddenly everything goes very fast.
Everyone rushes off the bus.
The boys stand and look at the house, as the bus driver unloads the luggage.
I start my camera, because I know what's going to happen.
I went over this part thousands of times in my head, imagining the looks on their faces. Imagining the way they'd react, wondering if they're going to laugh or cry. If they'd be too stunned to say anything at all.

My heart beats too fast for my own good. I am so anxious for the front door to open that I am shaking all over.
And then it does. And everything slows until I am barely breathing or moving at all.
Chan has his back turned to the house, and Changbin lightly taps him.
For a second, there's complete silence.
The front door is completely open now, two women rushing out, followed by two grown men, three girls and a young boy.

"Mom?" It's Felix who says the first thing. His voice breaks as he falls into his mother's arms.
Chan's brother, Lucas, is the first to reach Chan. The boy jumps into his brother's arms, wrapping his long arms around Chan's shoulders. Chan stands almost completely unmoving, but then his arms wrap around his brother's figure and he falls to his knees.
I can hear him cry, a muffled sound, and his shaking voice when he says, "Lucas?"
Immediately, the two boys are surrounded by their families, and finally the noise and air seem to return to the picture.
Someone touches my shoulder and when I turn, I see it's one of the managers, giving me a thumb up. I smile, relief washing over me like a wave.
Felix is still holding his mom, but he looks at his father, who is gently holding his son's shoulder. Both his sisters, Olivia and Rachel, are driving over his hair and back.
Chan, who has gotten up from the ground, is now embracing his mother, hugging her tightly. His brother is still hanging onto Chan's arm while Hannah wraps both her arms around Chan's middle from the side. Chan's father is ruffling Chan's hair and smiles widely.
Everyone is crying.
Even the other boys, though I can see Minho try to hide it by turning towards the bus as he's wiping his cheeks.
I understand it. My eyes are burning with unshed tears and I sniffle as I turn off the camera again. This should be enough material of this precious moments.
The air is thick with tearful laughter and heavy sobs. Hyunjin is crying into Jisung's shoulder and Changbin is lifting his shirt to wipe his cheeks with it.
I can hear Felix talk quietly to his family, and I assume they're explaining to him what they're doing here.
Chan's mom turns to me, after she let go of her son, and takes both of my hands between her own.
"Ollie," she says and pulls me into a quick but warm hug, "Thank you for giving me my son. You don't know how much this means to us."
A sudden hurricane of emotions wafts through me and I bite my cheek to stop myself from sobbing into this woman's soft shirt.
"It's a pleasure," I say, "I'm so glad it worked out! And I'm so honored to meet you, finally!"
She laughs and puts a hand to my cheek, before letting go of me.

"You did all of this?"
Chan's face is streaked with tears, his eyes and nose red. The sight of him burns into my brain like a hot iron. He looks so completely undone that I know I won't be able to ever forget him in this moment.
A wet laugh escapes me, as I awkwardly shrug and nod.
Within seconds, Chan is in front of me and his arms are around my middle.
His body is shaking violently as he is holding onto me.
My arms lift to his shoulders and I lightly tangle my fingers in his messy hair.
"Thank you," is all he says, over and over and over again, "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."
I hide my face in the crook of his neck as I finally do release a few tears, leaving wet spots on his shirt.
Chan puts both hands on the sides of my face and stares at me for a second, so many things in his eyes that I have trouble speaking.
Then he touches his forehead against mine for a moment, before hugging me again.
He only lets go when Felix wraps his arms around me from behind and I turn to face Felix.
"You're the best," Felix whispers in my ear and presses his lips against my cheek. "I don't even know what to say, Ollie. Thank you, you have no idea. I love you."
I rub his back and whisper back to him, "I love you too, Lix. You deserve to be with your family."

When Felix lets go off me, the two fathers clap their hands and usher everyone inside the house. Lucas even carries my suitcase, and I can't help but giggle. He is a lot taller than I had expected, almost surpassing Chan, definitely surpassing me.
I watch as the boys greet Chan and Felix' families, talking and laughing with them. Something has lifted off my chest when that front door has opened, and I feel so light I could fly.
I start rolling the camera again as we step inside the beautiful house.