(Chanyeol + DO = O__O)

Baekhyun 

“What?!” Eun Ae shouted as she scanned through the notice one last time. “This is crazy! I could’ve sworn that auditions closed later than this.” she muttered to herself and glared at the building.

 “Hey, we can ask the judges to let you audition,” I piped up, trying to be helpful. Eun Ae merely glanced at me and raised an eyebrow. “Yunho hyung might have been judging today, so we can go ask him.”

 “Yeah, let’s do that.” Jongdae also nodded and gestured towards the door. We cautiously opened the door, not knowing whether or not we were allowed to enter. Poking our heads inside, we were met with a familiar face.

 “Yah, children,” Yunho grinned widely and jogged up to us with a water bottle in his hand. He ruffled my hair and looked at us curiously. “Shouldn’t you two be at practice? Why are you in here?”

 “You see, hyung,” I began to explain our difficult situation. “Seeing that you guys are only just leaving, can’t you take one more auditioner? She’s pretty much homeless and her voice is all she’s got, so give her a chance.” Why was I sticking up for that klutz anyways?

 “Homeless?” Yunho gasped and peeked out the door to see Eun Ae pounding on the notice with her fists. He nodded slowly and went back to discuss with the other two judges.

Jongdae stuck his head out the doorway and loudly whispered to Eun Ae, “Just letting you know, U-Know Yunho just saw you beating the life out of that poor poster.” Eun Ae immediately stepped back from the piece of paper and glared at Jongdae, who smiled mischievously.

“If you guys weren’t celebrities, I would’ve shut those mouths for good.” she threatened lightly and sat down on the ground.

“Ooh, scary.” I teased. She didn’t look up from her hands. At this time, Yunho was running up to us.

“The judges said, ‘She’d better be good,’ then sat back down,” Yunho patted Jongdae’s shoulder and looked over at Eun Ae. “Hey, girl, good luck!” he smiled and gave her a thumbs up sign, then went back to the judging table.

Eun Ae, a bit dazed, stood up and lugged her bags through the doorway and into the room. There was a stage at the front with absolutely no microphones, wires, or any sign of technology. She walked up the stairs at the side and stood in the center, nervously waiting for a cue.

“Hello,” Our singing coach was on the left, intently focusing on her. “Can you tell us about yourself?”

“My name is Park Eun Ae,” she smiled brightly. “I am currently 18 years old and attend Daewon Foreign Language High School. I am fluent in not only Korean, but also Chinese, English, and Japanese. I play multiple instruments and sports, including piano, violin, flute, guitar, tennis, soccer, and taekwondo. I am also currently in the top three of my class right now--”

“Eun Ae-ah, I’m sorry to interrupt,” One of the judges, a dancing instructor, spoke up. “If you are so well-rounded in all areas and even attend one of the best schools in Korea, then why did you choose to audition?”

Eun Ae pursed her lips and glanced over at me briefly. I opened my mouth, but shut it again. How was I supposed to help her answer that question?

“I think you should just let her sing,” Jongdae told the judges confidently. “Maybe your question will be answered through her performance.”

“Alright, alright, sing for us.” Yunho gestured for the girl to continue.

Eun Ae bowed once and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she opened and began to sing.

“Even small pains that make me teary,” Her warm, thick voice, accompanied by the touching melody of the song sent chills down my back. “My heart cries out to you.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jongdae also shut his eyes and soak in the melody, swaying.

“When I pass by you, you are the whole world. I dream for only you. I hold my breath in front of you.” Eun Ae sadly glanced over at me, her eyes glistening with tears.

“Just like you and I aren’t meant to be,
Just like it’s merely a moment passing by,
You pass by me so easily,
Even if I can’t go up,
and take just a step.
You make me walk around,
You make me cry.
Like an idiot, like a child,
Just laugh it off.
The closer I get,
More scared I get.
But this love cannot be stopped.” Her last soulful note rang through the room, and I let out a breath. A breath of amazement? Relief? Sorrow? I didn’t know, but it was enough to make me want to cry out loud.

“Thank you,” Our vocal instructor, Jinsoo hyung, nodded his head. “That is enough. Since it is getting late, we will dismiss you now and in a while we will report the results to you.”

“N-ne.” Eun Ae bowed awkwardly and waited until the three judges filed out of the room.

Jongdae and I hurriedly rushed onto the stage and wrapped her into a giant hug. “Dude, you were absolutely amazing. Why do you have to be so good at everything?” I squeezed her tightly.

“I--guys--” she choked. “I can’t breathe--” She brutally pushed us away and dusted off her clothes.

“Eun Ae, you have no idea how I feel right now,” Jongdae roughly wiped his eyes with his hands and bowed deeply. “Well, I guess you can tell. I felt your every emotion through your singing. It was a fascinating moment.”

Red spots arose on her pale cheeks and I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. It seemed as if whatever Jongdae said was what she valued the most.

“Ah, well,” she sheepishly rubbed her neck. “Singing was what I could practice in my spare time. So...I guess I...um...”

Jongdae interrupted her with another tight hug, clearly excited. He’s usually pretty calm and not all that touchy, especially around girls. Eun Ae’s face was expressionless when he pulled away. “Although they didn’t let you know on the spot whether or not you made it, come over anyways. Tao lives separately from the rest of the members and has a spare bed in his room that you can use for a night.” he proudly patted her shoulder and took her wrist, leading her down the stairs. I followed quietly.

“Ah, but--wait, TAO?!” Eun Ae shrieked, trying to shake Jongdae off. “I don't want to stay with him! He's dangerous! He knows martial arts!”

We both stared at her. How did she know?

“Oh,” she stuttered. “I--I saw his teaser in the subway the other day. He looks kind of scary...with those deep eyes...”

Jongdae and I both snorted loudly and continued to drag her along. “Eun Ae, Tao is the sweetest, most harmless little human being you will ever meet. Maybe you guys can bond by telling ghost stories.” I joked, knowing that Tao cries over almost anything involving ghosts.

When we reached outside, I grabbed her suitcase and Jongdae slung her backpack over his back. Eun Ae seemed to still be limping, so we wanted to lessen the burden she had to carry.

“Wait, but what about your practice?” she asked anxiously, tugging on her bags. “I can just wait outside while your practice. Really, it’s no big deal. I can just work on homework--”

“Chill, dude,” I rolled my eyes and shoved her aside. “We’ll just call the instructors saying that we ate something bad earlier today and have stomachaches. It’s not like it’s the end of the world.”

“But you guys have your debut coming up and--and--” she whined, pulling on her suitcase. Furious, I turned around and grabbed her shoulders.

“Shut up, will you?! Is this your dream or not? We’re trying to help you become a trainee, despite us just getting to know you. Yet, you’re talking about ‘doing homework’ and making this supposed dream only an option. Work for it, or pay for it.” I dropped my arms and stomped forward, dragging the suitcase along the rugged pavement.

Behind me, I could hear Jongdae kindly reassuring Eun Ae, who was stubbornly refusing to be comforted. “I’m still not used to this. If I hesitated for even a moment earlier, then I wouldn’t be here, talking to EXO members. I wouldn’t be trying to achieve this dream I’m not yet that familiar with. Don’t worry about me, worry about yourself. Worry that you won’t do your best; worry that your Chinese might not be good enough. I’m nothing right now.” The rest of the walk to our dorm building was silent.

When we reached the Tao’s dorm and barged into his room, we discovered all of Jongdae’s stuff scattered on the bed and on the floor. Jongdae quietly reminded himself to kill Tao under his breath and began to pick up some sensitive things, stuffing them under the bed.

Eun Ae was a little shocked at the situation in the room, but she still walked over and sat on the bed next to Jongdae. Confused, she asked, “Um. What are you doing?”

Jongdae, clearly embarrassed, shook his head and muttered, “I--I forgot that Tao and Kris sleepover in the other room every once in awhile. I guess today is one of those days. They usually kick me down here and Yi Xing moves in with Luhan and Minseok for a while.” He smiled apologetically and shoved the last pair of underwear under the bed.

Eun Ae giggled and hauled her suitcase on top of her bed, ping it. Suddenly, she gasped and flipped it over. Staring at it, her eyes grew incredibly large.

“What is it?” I asked, leaning against the wall.

She smiled at me and answered, “Nothing.”

“Doesn’t seem like nothing.” I walked over and yanked the bag from her.

“No, really,” she grabbed the end of the bag and began to pull hard. “It’s just a bunch of my underwear and stuff, nothing to see.”

“Oh, well--” My hands slipped and let go of the bag. Shocked, I watched as she fell backwards and flung the case over her head, which landed on the bed, scattering her things all over the place.

EXO.

EXO t-shirts, EXO calendars, EXO pictures, EXO folders, EXO utensils...

All of her stuff were EXO.

“Oh, wow,” she laughed nervously and began to stuff them back into her bag. “Would you look at that!”

“...I thought you didn’t even know who we were.” said Jongdae, slowly bending over to help pick up her things.

“Yeah,” I folded my arms and stared at her. “What is this?”

Eun Ae gave an awkward smile and replied, “Um. Yeah. Meet your number one fan.” 

*dun dun dun dun* THANKS FOR SUBSCRIBING AND READING <3

@Renzei27 - Yes, our Chennie needs more love! ^.^

@Lila8171997 & Yogurt - Warrghh, thanks so much~