Ouch, ouch, ouch. That was all I could think of. I felt like my nose was broken along with my back. Every time I moved I heard crackling sounds.

Oh gosh, please don’t tell me I’ve broken something.

The sunlight blinded me, though I could see a tall figure of a skyscraper hover above me. No, wait. Not a skyscraper.

“Erika!” I heard someone shout my name.

I returned to reality and shut my eyes and blinked a couple of times to reduce the glare. Then when I reopened them I saw Sehun running down the stairs frantically and coming over to my side in a flash.

“A-Ah—” I tried to stand, but could only sit up.

“No, don’t,” Sehun said. “Stay there,” he told me, and I listened.

“Ow,” I whimpered as I bit my tongue. And then suddenly Sehun’s eyes widened. I didn’t understand why, until he used his hand to wipe my nose, and that’s when I saw the blood.

Great.

How many times had I injured myself during one trip?

Sehun looked to his left. “Hyung, help me out here,” he said, and finally I noticed a tall (too tall, perhaps?) guy standing there beside him looking dull as ever.

“What can I do?” he replied nonchalantly.

“A sorry would be a start,” I heard Sehun mumble as he continuously wiped off the blood on my nose, even when I kept telling him I was alright.

“Hey, she was the one standing behind the door,” said the guy.

“And how many times have I told you? It’s pull, not push.”

The guy shrugged. “It still works either way.”

Sehun turned to me with a concerned look. “You don’t think you have a concussion now, d-do you?” he stuttered, as if all the worries were being bottled up within his head.

I paused. Then I looked at him, dazed. “Who’re you again?”

Horror whipped up in his eyes, and I gave him twenty seconds until I burst out into laughter. He frowned, almost falling for it for a moment there.

He rolled his eyes. “Haha, very funny,” he said as he faked a laugh. “Hmph. You got some guts to play tricks, don’t you, Jung Soojin?”

“How do you know my name?” I was surprised. I’d never told anyone my actual Korean name other than Kyuhyun. He was the only non-family member that I told in my entire life.

Sehun smirked. “I know a lot of things that even you might not even know.”

I pulled my brows together. The boy was actual being witty for the first time.

He pulled me up and helped me to stand, and I caught a pair of eyes staring at us. Sehun looked at his awkward friend, then finally made an introduction.

“Uh, hyung, this is my friend. You might know her. Krystal and Jessica’s sister.”

I nodded politely. “I’m guessing you’re Luhan?”

“Kevin,” the guy answered. I blinked. I didn’t know there were more trainees up in SM Entertainment. And the accent that came out from his voice was pure English. “Well, I’m Kris now,” he added.

“American?” I asked as I pointed at him.

“Canadian.” He shrugged.

I beamed a smile. “Wow, it’s nice to meet you, then,” I said in complete English as I extended a hand out. “I’m Erika.”

I waited for a shake, but he just stood there. I wondered if he was the grumpy type. I met a lot back home (especially in high school.) But something was different—different in his eyes. It was as if he was…shocked somehow. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

It was a long pause. And then Sehun broke it by coming in-between.

“Hey, hey, no private conversations with the Korean standing over here,” he said, pointing at himself. I chuckled and pulled back. “So, where’re you heading?” he asked me.

I almost forgot about my master plan.

“O-Oh!” I said. “I’m just here to, uh…to find Krystal!” I had only realized the lie a second later.

“Well, she’s up on the third floor. Meeting with her manager, I think. Why don’t you wait in the lobby?” He flicked his fingers. “Or, no,” he said. He turned to Kris. “You know, us two were just about to head out and grab a drink. Why don’t you come along?”

“O-Oh, no, I—”

Slowly my plan was falling down the train, just like my previous shoe. I tried to decline as nicely as I could.

“If you’re tired,” he said, “then you guys just wait here. I’ll go buy the drinks.”

He obviously knew of my sore legs (and now my back.)

And before I could protest I was stuck with the quiet and unsmiling guy that raised the goosebumps out of me. W