Pain

ALERT: I WOULD ABSOLUTELY ADORE IT IF ONE OF MY OH SO TALENTED READERS WOULD LIKE TO MAKE ME A STORY BANNER. If you have talents in this area, please let me know. I will literally love you forever.

Pain. It manifests itself in many ways. It may be steady or throbbing, severe or mild. It may be stabbing, aching, or pinching. It may last a short time or be present for a lifetime. But one thing it will not be, is pleasant. It will cause discomfort, distress and sometimes agony.

That is what Tao felt now, pure agony. Despite taking twice the recommended amount of painkillers, his waist was still on fire. And though adrenaline and excitement had gotten him through the first dance, the pain was now becoming unbearable. All he could do was move through the motions he was told to perform. Fan shouts your name. Smile. Song plays. Dance. Now flip, then speak, don’t forget the aegyo. And no matter what, don’t stop. Ever.

It was official. Exo was official. There was no more speculation, no more questioning who was going to debut. Contracts had been finalized and signed. Songs had been written and now teasers were to be filmed. Kris had floated through the whole process as if it had been a dream. It was all still surreal to him. He barely remembers signing his life to Exo. His thoughts are hazy as he tries to recall crying and hugging his fellow members when they were officially announced. Listening to the freshly written songs… his songs… their songs still feels like a dream.

But it wasn’t. None of it was it a dream. Everything was real. The cameramen prepping the performance area were real. The stylists perfecting the member’s faces were real. And most importantly, Exo is real.

Because of this, it didn’t matter that Kris didn’t film his teaser for another week; he was still there, in the studio, cheering on Kai, Luhan and… Tao. Tao, who was so damn distracting. Kris was just sitting on the couch, because Lay had decided it would be a good idea to sprawl across the rest of the sofa, completely fine with the fact that his legs were lying in his hyung’s lap,trying to watch Kai and Luhan’s dance, which they had to repeat over and over… and over, and trying to be supportive, when he heard the giggle; the baekhyun giggle. Followed closely on its heels was the Tao chuckle, a close relative of the aforementioned giggle. So, of course, his head snapped up. On his far right he saw Baekhyun whispering into Tao’s ear, causing another round of laughter, which both boys failed to muffle with their hands. Kris scoffed and looked away from the pair.

‘Children,’ he thought as he absentmindedly began tapping Lay’s leg. The dancer didn’t seem to appreciate it.

“If you’re going to bash on my legs, you could at least do it to the beat of the song,” Lay declared as he shook his foot to remove the offending hand.

“Huh?” Kris grunted, flashing a dazed look towards his friend.

“Never mind,” he replied as he removed his legs from the leader’s lap and sat up. “Look’s like Tao is finally up.”

Kris flashed his gaze back towards the set. The production crew had already started to remove the red tassles and green screen and replace them with new red lights. The cordi noonas had also begun their preparations to perfect Tao’s face. Kris caught himself scoffing at the thought.

‘What are you thinking Kris? Of course Tao doesn’t have a perfect face. His chin is too sharp and nose to long. And those eyes! Those eyes that are so… so deep…’

“Gah!” Baekhyun exclaimed as he plopped down between the two chinese men, throwing his arms around both their shoulders as he did so. “Isn’t Tao precious? I have no idea how they are going to pull off this whole ‘I’m an intense martial artist thing,’”

‘Precious?’ Kris thought. “Well, now that you mention it… I, uh, guess he is kind of, you know,” Kris cleared his throat. “Cute… uh, and stuff,” Kris finished in a mumble, making sure to look anywhere, but the magnae’s face.

“Oh my gosh!” Baekhyun exclaimed. “You guys got the same piercings! How could you not invite me? I would look so hot with these.” He whined as he seized Kris’s freshly pierced ear.

“Ah, ah, ah!” Kris wailed as Baekhyun pulled his ear for closer inspection.

“Because,” Kris said as he swatted away the younger male’s hand.

“Because…?”

“Just because,” He snapped. “Now be quiet. The filming has started.”

Baekhyun mimicked the leader silently, before getting up and moving over to where Chanyeol was sprawled. Without a word, he jumped atop the male, causing him cry out with his unusually deep voice. Though the Baekhyun giggle quickly followed, Kris didn’t turn his head. His gazed was fixated on the man dressed in black and darting about under red lighting.

It didn’t move for the whole filming, even though it took over an hour of flipping, rolling, and weapon handling. Kris was amazed at the boy before him. Every time he looked at the camera he felt Tao was looking directly at him with those deep, piercing eyes. Was this the same boy he had felt such a strong need to take care just a few months ago? That boy had been scared, timid, vulnerable. This man… this man was strong, confident, and durable. It didn’t matter that his sweat had begun to pour after the first 5 minutes, he had continued shooting well past the hour, never once complaining about the heat of the lights, the heavy clothing he was made to wear, or the tiring choreography he was told to perform.

He simply never stopped…

“Where is he!?!” He screeched, voice both angry and pained. Tao leaned against a wall, hands clenched to the point of drawing blood, as he tried to stay standing up. His breathing was slow and shaky as it fought to leave his overly tensed body. The strain of holding himself up caused him to sweat so profusely it had created a layer of grime all over his skin. As he fought against the pain that welled inside him, he could think of only one thing; one person. Kris. Kris needed to be here now. ‘No, not Baekhyun, not Xiumin, ing Kris,’ he thought as barely managed to shove the other members away. Kris was the only one who would make it go away. The only one who would prevent the tears that he so desperately wanted to shed. Only Kris could help him.

“Please,” Tao whimpered, as he felt his legs begin to give out. It was at that moment familiar arms caught him.

“Kris,” the pained boy said, his voice full of relief. Tao’s hand briefly went to the older male’s cheek before his eyes rolled back in his head and he lost consciousness. Everything was going to be ok now. Kris was there. Everything would be better if Kris was there.

*Cowers away in fear* I'm so sorry it took so long to update... please don't shoot me ok? To make it up to you, I have made it my goal to update again tomorrow. That makes me a kind alright person right?

Also on another note, holy crap you guys are freaking hilarious. Like so hilarious I actually have people commenting on how much they enjoy reading the comments because they are so funny. Thank you subscribers (OMG I REACHED 100!!!!) and commentors for being so wonderful i. I love your faces.

Rena: Thank you my dear... Now that my finals have kindly ed off I can now focus on the all the korean delishesness that is kpop... muahahahah

Shazam: Well shucks... I'm not sure you're going to like this chapter too much...

AsianDrama: I KNOW RIGHT?!?!?!?! Are my commenters not the freaking best people on this planet?

PurplePluto: YAYAY!! Thank you so much. I sometimes feel like my switches between flashbacks and such can be a little jarring, so thank you for your kind words. And as for Tao being naive? Bull. He's a dirty dirty boy.... well in my mind anyways. I guess in this story is maybe a little bit clueless, but this shall be resolved in a wondefully astic way... (Oh crap... I hope that didn't give things away, but hell, this is a fairly cliche story anyways I guess lol) HAHAHAHAAHA A Kpop strike? Yeah right. I can just imagine the dying fangirls now.

Kitten: Muahahaha O-PPA indeed my dear

Goopeculiar: I'm still just a little bit in awe the the tumblr/aff/internet/universe famous goopeculiar is both reading and enjoying my story. =D

WowFantasticBaby: Yes... this story is fairly fluff-a-licious, but I just needed a little bit of exo fluff ok???

2min_Shipper: *Hides under a table as water is thrown* I'm little scared I shall burst into flames from the holy water. The chapters to come shall be anything but heavenly *Wink wink* (Also, know that I almost fell off the bed from laughing when I read your comment)

JangDaeByul: WAHHHHHHHH!!!!!! THANK YOU FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER!!! That was actually my favorite part of the chapter as well. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. And your compliments! Dear god, I'm blushing so stop it, just stop... well actually, you may continue *Flashes precious face smile*

Sadistic: Oh he does.. don't worry. And Tao... eager... to please?

Silverphoenix/njaminnam/Haru: Oh my you guys so lovely, just so dang lovely I want to squish your beautiful faces with love.

Galdy: you just have to know how to take control of a chapter... if you know what I mean

Chigire: I believe you were looking for this gif:

and possibly this one as well:

RamenHair/Iwkey: Omg... is ramen hair a referece to Zelo? If so I love you... also thank you both very much. As I said fluff and cuteness are new to me, so I am glad you like it =D

jjingbang: AHHHHHHHHHHH THE TABLE FLIPPING!!! I know this disease well. I recommend a daily dose of korean men in order to stop this fangirl phenomenon to cause all tables of the world to be broken. OMG!!!! You gave me the creeper wink face!?!?! Excuse me why I go melt in my chanyeol feels.