“Excuse me? Excuse me!”

She opened her eyes groggily; that certainly wasn’t the alarm she was used to. Cracking her eyes open cautiously, she peered at the slender fingers that waved in front of her.

“Miss! You're awake!” he said with a relieved tone but a stern expression, identical to a grimace.

“I-i…where am I?” Seohyun asked, still half awake. Her brain was too tired and she felt a wave of nausea washing over her.

She couldn’t register where she was, or why she was there.

“Y-you don’t know where you are?” he asked in a hurried whisper, his eyes darkening. He looked nervous and confused, his hands wringing together.

“I just feel so tired…I’m sorry.” she rose herself from the hard floor, and bowed as low as her stiff body allowed her to go. Immediately, he put a hand on her forehead, a frown dancing between his brows.

“Are you sick?”

She shook her head obediently and he frowned again, looking at her curiously.

“You are, you’re burning up.”

The concentrated look on his face as he pushed himself up from beside her and walked to get her a wet towel showed that he completely forgot why he was beside her in the first place.

He finally returned, his face scarred with worry. His eyes scanned her flushed face and he dropped to his knees, quickly spreading the wet towel over her forehead.

“Aigoo, do you have the flu?” he asked.

“I-”

“Wait, how did you get here?” he suddenly interrupted, his frown deepening. If it was possible, her face probably turned redder.

“I-”

“You’re sleeping on the floor…and you couldn’t have fallen from one of the beds...and…only Kyuhyun sleeps on the floor.” she doesn’t know if the last statement was for her to hear or just him expressing a statement.

“I-”

“Do you know Kyuhyun personally? He’s a good kid.” He said, distracted again.

“Igotdrunklastnightandkyuhyunsshibroughtmeherepleasedontcallthepoliceicantrememberanything.”

“What?” the man tilted his head.

“igotdrunklastnightand-”

“Try slowing down,” he smiled and gestured for me to continue.

She blushed.

“I…got drunk last night, and Kyuhyun-sshi brought me here. Please don’t call the police because I can’t remember anything right now.”

He nodded, now comprehending, despite the fact that her voice got smaller and shakier as she continued.

“I don’t have a home to go to,” his eyes widened with shock and horror.

“Is that why Kyuhyun brought you home?” he asked after regaining consciousness of the mind and processing every piece of information she’d fed him.

“Yeah, he knows the condition of my family.” she spat the word ‘family’ out bitterly, avoiding his glances.

“Wait, I know you.” He suddenly blurted and her eyebrows rose.

“You do?” she found it surprising how he could recognize her among all the people in he, as an idol, knew.

“You’re a trainee, aren’t you? I’ve seen you around before debut…” he stated. she leaned backwards.

“So?” she replied stiffly, “are you gonna tell someone? Gonna ruin my non-existent career? Gonna kick me out?”

she averted my eyes from his, my voice hard like marble. Suddenly she felt a rush of embarrassment for her outburst and bowed her head a bit lower.

“No, why would I do that?” he asked softly, touching her hand with a gentle finger. “You did nothing wrong. Neither did Kyu, so why would I tell on you?”

She blinked.

Then she closed her eyes. The two of them relapsed into silence. When she opened her eyes, he was still sitting before me, an amused smile playing around his pastel rose lips.

“Uh, alright. Let’s start over,” she mumbled, eschewing his irises that were searching for nuggets of information.

“No problem! I’m Kim Ryeowook, former maknae of Super Junior.”

“I’m Seo Joo Hyun, nice to meet you.” she bowed shyly

“Ah! Joo Hyun…I’ve seen you around practice rooms.” He tested her name on his tongue and gave her a small smile.

“Yeah…I’m…around.” She replied uncertainly, returning a tight-lipped smile.

Ryeowook realized she was still quite shy and kept to herself, so he bowed a last time and stood up, stretching his patience and enduring his curiosity.

“Don’t worry, I won’t ask any more. I have schedules today, so I’ll be taking my leave now,” he gave her a last probing smile and his heels to exit the room.

She regretted not asking him about Kyuhyun’s whereabouts. Sitting quietly in the tiny room she couldn’t believe was shared by three grown men; she rocked herself back and forth, mumbling inaudible words.

The front door clicked shut behind her and the dorm grew silent. She could hear the little breaths of the vents, the low A minor humming of the fridge, the water being swallowed by drains in bathrooms and the kitchen.

Is this what happens in a dorm when I debut?Seohyun closed her eyes and inhaled all the small sounds.

Is this what will happenif I debut? A tear slipped from her eye and she felt pathetic for herself, for easily loosening her emotions. Roughly she dragged her eye across her face, letting the bitter tears fall randomly.

Stay golden, she repeated madly to herself, shaking her head.

Her eyes wandered; finally pausing at a small camouflage covered book by the pillow.

She picked it up gingerly, her thumb

Its pages were in perfect condition, as if not one finger has laid its tips on it. But as she carefully flipped the crisp white paper, it became evident that this book has been touched before-despite its deceiving first page.

On the perfect, non-wrinkled pages were cheap ballpoint-pen-calligraphy, page after page, were experiences, some dotted with tears that drained out the paper but left a stain, some were blotted out with white out, but only had she read some of the words had she realize what she’d stumbled upon.

Something that fangirls would do anything to get their hands upon, something idols would do anything to get fangirls’ hands off.

Cho Kyuhyun’s diary.

The apple tree is a disappointing place, honestly. While practicing the dance moves for the comeback, my feet scraped against the fresh soil after rainfall and uncovered depressing letters and chipped necklaces.

I wonder if anyone else knows about these things? Or am I  the only one that ever leaves the comfort of ‘good old Seoul’ to discover artifacts of someone elses’ relationship?

Seohyun gasped. She would’ve guessed that he knew of the things beneath the apple tree’s fond branches. But so far he hasn’t mentioned anything that was contained atop the tree.

Without hesitation she flipped further into the notebook’s contents, soaking in every piece of information of his life.

She was fascinated with him; she found him an amazing character full of mystery and his own opinions that nobody else would know except this inanimate notebook. She respected his thoughts on everything in general and could not stop reading; his diary was like a best-selling novel.

Had the dorm doors of Super Junior not been old and creaky, she wouldn’t have realized her whereabouts and closed his diary in time.

Kyuhyun stood before her, his dark eyes searching hers.

“Still here?” he asked, a small smirk hanging off his sweat- face.

“Nowhere to go,” she replied formally, her heart pounding against her chest. Did he see what she was doing?
”What were you doing?”

“Nothing, just uh, observing your room?” she questioned herself.

“No you weren’t,” Kyuhyun observed.

“I-”
”Don’t worry, my diary is pretty boring. That’s why I keep it out in the open, the hyungs wouldn’t want to read it even if I beg them to. No juicy secrets or anything.” He shrugged nonchalantly.

“The apple tree,” Seohyun blurted loudly. She saw Kyuhyun’s eyebrows rise suspiciously yet curiously.

“You know about it too?” he asked, not really surprised.

“Just as you, I’m a kid that sometimes gets tired of ‘good old Seoul’.” Seohyun quoted, smiling shyly.

They bathed in the silence for awhile before Kyuhyun rose again.

“So, uh, have you ever read the letters under the apple tree?”

Seohyun was taken aback. She had considered it but always pulled back because it was rude and invading privacies, even those privacies whose owners are already dead and buried.

“No, I haven’t.” she admitted.

Kyuhyun’s eyes widened.

“Well, there’s this curse thing I read in one of the letters. The entry proclaims that any two people that meet under the apple tree will continue on to have a horrible relationship, friend or love wise. It’s like a curse. And all the other letters and entries said so, too.”

“What do you expect me to do about it?”

“I was thinking,” Kyuhyun leaned a bit closer, the evilness he was known for standing out obviously. “Yes?” Seohyun asked, leaning backwards. She was intimidated by skinship.

“I was thinking, maybe we could change the secret curse of the apple tree. Make our relationship something not horrible. Okay?”

Seohyun’s heart soared at the words ‘our relationship’. Everything seemed real. “Okay,” she replied bravely.

“Promise?” Kyuhyun offered his pinkie cutely.

Seohyun didn’t even think. Her pinkie looped around his.

“Promise on the apple tree,” she smiled.

---

I am SO. SO. SO. SORRY. For not updating frequently. ;_; 

it's just that with all the tests that's been piling up, I couldn't find the time to actually write the mountains of ideas down. No words can express how sorry I am.

And this might be a crappy chapter because it's nighttime and I have school tomorrow and EXO is distracting.Thank you all for still reading.

But seriously, silent readers I will steal your biases if you don't comment. 

just kidding but please comment as i do enjoy feedback~

oh and is anyone here an EXOtic?

@kyutie13: thank you so so much! i didn't add so much interactions in here but what with their little promise, i finally have a start after five agonizing chapters<3 thanks for reading!