CHAPTER ELEVEN: Seobaby’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony.

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For a special reason, a Sunday morning in SME was suddenly crowded with so many idols, running around and setting up a party on the rooftop. As not all of them could come at the same time, they took quite a bit to even remotely consider the decoration finished.

- Changmin oppa, the banner should be hung higher up, that is too low. – SooYoung was yelling and pointing her hands in frustration when Changmin seemed to not understand her instruction – What does being that tall for huh?

- Choi Soo Young, stop yelling. Oppa is not blind. – Changmin growled loudly.

- Changmin-ah, don’t be mad at Soo Young. – The nice Siwon tried to calm his brother. –Here, let me help you.

- Right, you better watch your behaviors. – YoonA screamed from the other side of the long table. – You are under our sanction. Don’t you know that?

- I’m glad my Joohyun is not as loud as you two. – Kyuhyun mumbled, which in turn got him death glares from both YoonA and SooYoung

- You too, Kyuhyun oppa!

- What does that silly and unjust sanction have to do with me saying the truth? If this wasn’t for Joohyun, I would have slept until noon instead of staying here and listening to your rambles. – Changmin murmured louder than usual.

Hyoyeon rolled her eyes impatiently:

- Can you all be quick? We don’t have the whole day to waste on your childish fight.

- First it was the sanction, and now you all are attacking me – Changmin groaned

- Us. – Kyuhyun pointed out his mistake.

- Attacking us. What did we even do to you?

- Stop acting innocence! All of us know well why we imposed the sanction on you both.

- If it wasn’t because of the sanction, Seohyun might never have to be in the situation she was that night.

Kyuhyun regretted everything he just said the second it slipped out of his mouth, as the mood inevitably dropped at his words. Soshi thought Changmin and he were the one behind Seohyun’s escape from the date the first time, or at least had something to do with it. Thus, they ordered for Kyuhyun and Changmin to be at the end of the second round if they made it, and not to join the overseeing team at any other date. However, that wans’t the reason why Soshi regretted their decision. What they all regretted that they didn’t allow any male members to supervise the date, worrying that the supervisers would intervene inappropriately as Yonghwa was once the number one enemy of SM men. All Soshi members were busy that they had no choice but left Seohyun with Yonghwa, because she had never been caught on any of her previous dates.

Yesung signed, but being the oldest one there, he felt that he should at least say something

- As human, we all make mistakes. Ddangkkoma does too, despite being alive that long.

- Hyung! – Eunhyuk was speechless at his attempt

- What? I’m telling you the truth.

Eunhyuk smiled thankfully to him, since it was clear that everyone laughed at the terrible joke Yesung told.

- Let’s all get to work or else we would never this done!

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Seohyun was taken by Key and Kris to the highest floor of the building, in which they brought her into a dressing room, and told her that they would be attending an important meeting

- Should-should I go change to something more formal then? – Seohyun looked at her casual white dress uncertainly.

- That’s why we bring you here. We got it all cover!

- Go inside and see it for yourself.

Key pushed her inside and winked, but being friends with him for long enough, she sensed something fishy in his smile. However, she didn’t have time to ask any more question because he already shut the door behind her.

- Seohyunie, we are ready whenever you’re ready.

Leeteuk smiled warmly at her and Yunho squeezed her hand lightly. They were standing in front of the door that led to the rooftop, and her oppa were letting her use the last few minutes to prepare herself. Seohyun heard nothing from the other side of the door, so she wasn’t sure what to expect. However, judging from the way Leeteuk and Yunho carried her, as well as the dress she was told to change to, it was highly likely to be a party. A party that she probably would be one of the main attention. And hopefully not the only one.

- Let’s go then, my princess. – Yunho turned the knob while looking at her the last time for confirmation.

- Everything will be alright, my angel. – Leeteuk assured her as he could feel her nervousness.

Seohyun tooked a deep breath and nodded. She immediately showed a demure smile. You know, just in case.

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- SA.RANG.HAE.YO.SEO.JOO.HYUN

Seohyun startled as everyone shouted out the words at the same time. The sun was shining brightly that it took her a few seconds to see clearly the scene in front of her.

- I’m… I…

She clearly did not know what to say as she still had no idea what was going on. The rooftop was decorated beautifully in white and pink, her favorite colors. Many people were presents: her friends, her oppa, few people from other companies, however, most of them were male, except for couples of her members.

- You are an adult now, Seohyunie. This is to celebrate your coming-of-age time.

Leeteuk took the honor to become the MC of the celebration

- It was two years ago, oppa?

- Aigoo, I wished the day would never come, but since you suddenly become interested in boys, we decided to do this.

Seohyun mumbled something about how her friends shouldn’t have made such a big deal out of it, but Leeteuk decided to ignore those and continued with his speech

- We are gathering here today to witness a special moment. Seo Joohyun, or SNSD Seohyun, our lovely sister, friend and idol, has grown over the years to become a beautiful lady. She has always been a kind, caring and hard-working person whom we all love dearly.

Leeteuk turned to her and chuckled before continuing

- From a girl who loves goguma over Song Seung Heon, you have come a long way to who you are right now, being interested in dating and love life. We wish you all the best in finding your significant other and we will ensure that he deserves you, our precious maknae. Congratulation, Joohyun-ah!

People suddenly started shouting out loud, being all eager and excited to finally have the chance to be with her.

- Seohyun! Congratulation!

- Seohyun I love you.

- …

Amid the noise, Yunho turned to her and whispered

- You have always been someone whose maturity is beyond your age, so Seohyun-ah, I wish you nothing but to remain a child at heart, because no matter what happen, you can always count on our love, even when the love you want is not the same.

- Oppa. – Seohyun started tearing up, but Yunho had quickly stopped her and turned to crowd, yelling with all his might

- Shut up, all of you. It’s time for the first dance.

Everyone became quiet as abruptly as when they all started to shout. All the guys began sweating as Seohyun slowly stepped up and looked around. Every time her gaze met with someone, she would give them a small smile, which made everyone swallowed hard. However, at the end, unable to decide who to pick, Seohyun turned back to Yunho and Leeteuk, asking for help.

- Seohyunie, would you give me the honor to have your first dance?

Her knight was a different man. Jungmo bowed to her while grinning, knowing that she would not say no.

- Of course, oppa.

A slow waltz started playing. All the male was mesmerizing by how breath-taking Seohyun looked under the golden sunlight. In a beautiful off-shoulders, midnight blue gown that hugged her curves perfectly, Seohyun was moving across the floor gracefully. The way the laces covered her glowing milky skin and the silk that was also dancing with her steps made her looked classy and sophisticated. However, at the same time, those strands of hair from the messy bun that was falling lazily on her collarbone, her cheek that was still burning from all the dancing with Luhan, and her eyes that were dreamily watery, made every man burn with desire.

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In a corner, Yuri and Minho were talking to each other. Well, it was more like Yuri was grumbling constantly and Minho kept focusing into his food, avoiding all her questions

- Yah, you should do something. Don’t you see how every man is looking at her?

- …

- Isn’t she your crush? Where has all your courage gone since the last time you confessed to her?

- I’m not even sure anymore. – Minho muttered so quietly that Yuri could only looked him suspiciously.

Yuri stepped closer to him and looked at him from below, trying to catch his gaze

- Do you hear me?!! I bet on you.

Minho suddenly blushed and turned away, avoiding looking directly at her.

- Hey, stay there, Choi Minho! I’m talking to you.

It shouldn’t be surprised that Yuri and Minho were not the only ones who had side conversation. Kris and Luhan were very much doing the same thing

- She is going to be mine. – Luhan mumbled to himself, but Kris caught that and snorted.

- You wish. Look around, VIXX N, Big Bang Seungri, 2PM Junsu, 2AM Jinwoon to name few of the strongest competitions outside of SM. Not to mention guys from Infinite, MBLAQ, or Beast.

- We are in the same company.

Kris rolled his eyes and reminded his teammate of reality

- Like you are the only fanboy in our company.

- Yah, are you jealous because you didn’t make it to the list?

- Nope.

- Liar.

- I know for sure that she is my ideal woman, and ideal only. I don’t want to date her, I rather watching her from afar and supporting her as much as I could. Basically like a fan.

Luhan was surprised, but he did believe what Kris said. Kris always knew what he wanted and how to get them, which was one of the few things Luhan envied. If Kris said that he thought of himself as Seohyun’s fan, he probably had zero romantic feeling for her. Or at least, it was not enough for him to pursue anything further.

- That’s me, but how about you, Luhan?

- What’s about me?

Luhan’s gaze was gluing to the figure in the middle of the floor, so he didn’t pay much attention to the sudden question from his leader. Kris signed at his teammate’s reaction. He was hesitant to ask the next question, but he caught the glances of someone nearby, which made him reach the decision quicker than he thought

- Are you sure about your feelings, Luhan?

- Of course, I like her very much.

Kris wanted to punch his thick-headed member and knocked some sense in there, but he didn’t want to cause a scene, so he left after repeating the question

- Luhan, are you sure that you like her in that way?

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HyunKi was leaning against the balcony and enjoying the view when SooYoung approached him. Before SooYoung could open , HyunKi already started

- If I were a superman, I would jump off this balcony right now.

- Why?

- To escape whatever the plan you have in your little mind.

- Oppa! – SooYoung pinched his arm, which made him hissed immediately

- Didn’t I say if I were a superman? I am not, so I can’t run away, you idiot! – HyunKi cried out loud. – Ouch, that really hurts, SooYoung!

- You better not. And that’s for calling me an idiot.

- Let go of my arm and I’ll do anything you say, please pretty SooYoung?

Satisfied with his answers, SooYoung gave him her sweet smile and nodded in approval

- See, isn’t it much better to just listen to me?

HyunKi rolled his eyes, regretting deeply that he couldn’t resist the temptation of seeing Seohyun again to agree to come to this party.

- Ask her to dance, now!

- Don’t you see the line? – He pointed to the center of the floor. Most of the men were surrounding the area, waiting to take turn to be close to their goddess. – I probably would have to use all my luck to have some private time with her. And by the way, I have a meeting to attend soon.

- I know, that’s why I am here to help you.

- Huh?

- Are you afraid of them?

- If I were such coward, I wouldn’t have had the ball to stay here. Don’t you see how they have been looking at me like they wanted to shove me off this balcony?

- Good.

And without letting HyunKi say anything else, Soo Young grabbed his hands and dragged him into the crowd, aggressively shoving anyone that was blocking her way aside.

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However, SooYoung wasn’t the only one who was so eager to force her way to Seohyun, her close friend, Yuri, was planning something very similar.

- Stop eating and get out there, Minho!

As Yuri snatched his dish from his hand, she also pushed him through the few people in front of them to get to the dance floor. However, as SooYoung finally reached the destination at the same time, Minho and HyunKi unfortunately bumped into each other. Minho immediately got into the mental state of a fight, while HyunKi was ignoring him and flashing a charming smile to the stuttering Seohyun

- Minho, HyunKi-opp- HyunKi-ssi, are you hurt?

- I am fine, Seororo. – Minho noticed how Seohyun almost called the outsider oppa, so he got into the competitive mode. – Don’t worry!

He gave her a wink that usually earned him the hearts of so many noona, but in turn only got him a surprising sound from Seohyun

- Minho, are you sure it didn’t hit your head?

- I’m glad that you worry about me, even if it was only out of courtesy. – HyunKi, on the other hand, still looked like that he wasn’t aware of the tension in the air.

Seohyun chuckled, which only made Minho more nervous:

- I would be worried if any of my guest got hurt, oppa.

- See? So as a nice hostess, if I said I were hurt, would you let me take your hand for the next song? – HyunKi winked.

Well, he couldn’t get SooYoung’s effort and boldness to waste anyway. And he had to admit that he deeply wanted to have a dance with this beautiful lady in front of him.

- Seohyunie, could you be so kind to dance with me for the next song? – Minho intervened, of course he would not let the outsider have a chance with her.

- HyunKi oppa, Minho… I…

SooYoung was only watching the scene with a sense of victory until she saw Seohyun was hesitant between the two guys. HyunKi obviously made a better impression of presenting himself, which exactly could be expected from a successful business man at his age, but Minho had always been one of Seohyun’s closest friends. Yuri sensed the same thing, and she decided to step in to assist Minho:

- Seohyun-ah, Minho is really busy and he had to cancel his schedule to be with you here.

And everyone knew that SooYoung would not just stand there uselessly

- Maknae, you know HyunKi oppa is not exactly free either, right?

Before HyunKi and Minho even had the chance to say something, the two girls had already started their fight:

- SooYoung-ah, Minho was in line first. Do you think no one saw what you did?

- It doesn’t matter. We got to the dance floor first.

- And said who? We have always been here, and where have you been? In a far corner?

- Don’t pretend that you didn’t cut in line.

- HyunKi oppa is older, shouldn’t he be nice to our dongsaeng?

- That’s exactly why Minho should be respectful to our oppa and let him go first.

- Choi.Soo.Young!

- I know my name, Yuri-ah. You have nothing else to say right? So it’s HyunKi oppa’s turn then.

Everyone was watching them with amusement, until they realized that the two pretended that none of other men existed.

- Hey both of you, we are not dead yet. – HyoYeon decided that her oppa would be at a disadvantage if she didn’t do anything. – Yunho oppa, say something.

- Right, Yunho oppa, Leeteuk oppa. Minho was here first, right? – Yuri turned to her poor oppa, hinting them with her glare.

Yunho gulped. Yuri tended to be light-hearted, but when she was serious, she could be scary as f***.

- Don’t threaten them, Yuri-ah. We all know that who was here first. And obviously, it wasn’t Minho.

- Umm, I think I was the first one in line at that moment. – Kris, receiving the pleading signal from Seohyun, decided to speak up.

- Shut up. – Yuri turned to him and yelled.

- No one would think you are mute if you don’t speak. – Soo Young added.

- Yes…Right…. – And he so gladly followed their words.

Taeyeon felt her head aching, but as the leader of Soshi, she couldn’t afford to let her members get into a fight in public. They could fight all they want later, at the dorm, when no one was watching, but definitely not at the moement, when even people outside of SME were present.

- Soo Young ah, Yuri-ah. – Taeyeon cleared to get their attention. – Shouldn’t you two let Seohyunie decide?

- Nice Joohyun, tell us who you would want to dance with. – SooYoung grabbed one of Seohyun’s arm and smiled so sweetly

- Seobaby, we both know it’s Minho, right? – Yuri did the same thing immediately, feeling discontented to be left behind.

Seohyun screamed quietly in her mind, wishing to run away from the awkward situation. She was looking around to see if she could find any other target, but her usual saviors were too far away. They both looked at her and smiled sadly, none showing the interest to come closer.

HyunKi had seen everything, and shaked his head lightly. He didn’t want to put Seohyunie in a difficult position any longer, so he stepped up, ready to give up when Seohyun suddenly spoke and turned to him at everyone’s surprise:

- HyunKi oppa, would you mind leading me to the next song?

- My pleasure, princess.

HyunKi smiled widely, didn’t bother to hide his happiness that he had won Seohyun’s hand.