.

.

.

Chapter 03: Unknowingly meeting EXO

.

.

.

.

.

.

It was early morning, six o’clock to be exact. The warm glow of the sun peaked over the mountains as it began it’s ascend towards the clear, cloudless cerulean sky, where the moon and the stars reigned for the night. By this time, most normal people would be snuggling into the inviting heat their duvets provided, sheltering them from the harsh bitterness of the weather.

*Of all the days that she-devil could have picked to meet up, it had to be when I had an late morning shift* Min Jin clutched her coat closer to her form, as she reluctantly trudged towards the chosen destination that Jieun had suggested—more like demanded.

Min Jin however, did not have the privilege to get a break from her tiring, hectic schedule. Despite having looked forward to spending her morning wrapped up in the comfort of her bed sheets on the one day she had a late start to work at S.M, she had been unceremoniously called upon by no one other than the she-devil of her former job.

The brunette, her mind still remaining in its sleep-deprived state, didn’t register the lamppost that was directly in front of her until her forehead severely collided with the icy metal. She bit back the urge to scream, as the pain struck through her head forcing her to halt in her stride.

*Aish, I should have been looking where I was going* She chided herself, lightly poking her injury in an attempt to inspect the damage—only to wince even at the slightest touch.

This time round, she briskly walked through the empty, silent streets. The only sounds that surrounded the girl were the occasional car driving past, a few joggers with mildly loud music, and canine owners whose dogs seemed to relish in the notion of barking at anything they see in sight.

The bespectacled girl snuggled her neck into her woolly scarf as she observed the city come to life with idle interest, making sure to keep an eye out for any incoming obstacles in her path. The artificial luminosity from the streetlights began to flicker off, as the natural sunlight starts to stream down from the sky. While the breeze flew around, picking up stray leaves and rubbish in its wake and depositing it all around the lane.

The early bird risers, most of them consisted of men dressed in business attire rushed off with their briefcases in one hand with either a phone or a cup of coffee accompanied in the other. Street market vendors were setting up their stalls in preparation for the busy day ahead; various different types of shops’ ‘CLOSED’ signs were being overturned to allure potential customers inside.

*This woman better not be late for making me wake up this early* Min Jin ruffled up her scruffy bed-hair, not having the energy that morning to make herself look presentable—she was only meeting Jieun, after all.

Once she reached the corner café, she was greeted by the sight of a kind-faced elderly woman who had been removing the upside-down chairs off the tables and back into their original positions.

“Good morning. I will be right with you in just moment, my dear.” The grey-haired woman bowed her head formally as she moved to return back to her work. Min Jin frowned slightly as she loosened her scarf around her neck as she strode to the other side of the room that was untouched, judging by the unturned woodened chairs.

“You don’t have to help me, just because I’m old you know.” The lady shot an incredulous look in the brunette’s direction.

“I’m not implying that you are not capable of doing all this work by yourself, I just thought you might appreciate some help.” Without halting in her actions, she spoke softly. For a few seconds, the lady stared at the young male in bafflement before shaking her head in disbelief as the pair continued their work in silence.

The brunette stifled a yawn as she slid into one of the chairs that were positioned in one of the far corners of the room, after finishing her task at hand. She peeked through half-lidded eyes at her watch only to inwardly groan in irritation. *She’s the one who demanded that I shouldn’t be late. Yet she is already ten minutes late.*

She folded her arms into a makeshift pillow onto the table as she leaned her head downward and closed her eyes, just for a moment to satisfy the need to gain back a few minutes of her lost sleep.

*I wonder if Victoria-ssi will bring in her yummy cakes again today. Hm, I should probably give her something back for going through all the trouble of making them* Min Jin mused to herself.

The blonde woman had never failed to surprise her with assorted confections each day since she started working at S.M, who after some coaxing finally stopped hiding behind her inconspicuous coloured wig and was starting to show signs of new-found self-esteem.

Suho didn’t seem to break his promise either, whenever he has spare time in his schedule—which was already scarce due to the many dancing and singing lessons he had to attend. The heavy, dark bags under his eyes were starting to become more prominent as his usually perky smiles were sometimes feigned or forced.

*Aish that guy, I’ve been telling him to take it easy every now and then*

“I see you’re working hard, Min Jin.” The woman in question heard the sound of the chair strapping against the floor, causing her to jolt up in shock. Startled brown irises clashed with unimpressed obsidian, as she abruptly stood up—shaking the table in her sudden movement as she bowed lowly.

“I’m sorry Jieun-ssi, I shouldn’t have been sleeping—“

“Be quiet for a moment, will you?” The black haired woman sighed as she casted her steel eyes around the café warily. “And sit down, you’re causing a scene and embarrassing not only yourself but me also.”

The brunette complied with the order as she adjusted her glasses. *The she-devil hasn’t changed one bit* She fidgeted as the air around the pair became cold and uncomfortable while Jieun waited patiently for the elderly woman to pass by their table.

“I’d like to order one regular coffee with no sugar to go, please.” She glanced at the woman, who simply nodded in response before turning her attention towards the chestnut-haired girl expectantly.

“…Ah, can I have a medium hot chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles please.” The bespectacled girl managed a small sleepy smile, moving one hand to rub her half-lidded eyes cutely. The elderly woman’s face softened slightly as she bowed while informing the pair that their order would be with them shortly.

“You know you look more of a girl when you do that, Min Jin.” Jieun arched a slender black eyebrow as she folded her arms over her chest.*I could hardly give a damn about what you think right now she-devil*

“Joesonghabnida, Jieun-ssi.” She murmured nevertheless.

The woman in question merely scoffed in response, her glossy ebony hair was immaculately styled into a tight bun. The brunette silently speculated how she got her hair looking so perfect—at six in the morning. *God, I miss my old hair—I spent years growing it, only to have it all chopped off.* The inner girl inside of her cried out in frustration.

Min Jin was never particularly considered a ‘girly girl’ as such by anyone who knew her personally—and that number was strictly limited. To any onlooker, she was a typical average teenager, she went to school, had a part-time job, (for the most part, anyway) socially awkward. The only main difference that separated her from any other girls her age was her lack of interest in the opposite .*I swear, if you’re not ually active by the age of seventeen—you’re instantly dubbed as a nun or a prude*

Jieun cleared , therefore knocking the girl out of her short-lived reverie. “How are you feeling, Min Jin?”

The unexpected question caused suspicion to stir within the girl’s stomach. *Is she really concerned about my well-being? Or is she more interested in whether I’m on the verge of giving up on this troublesome job*

“Aigo, where to start—I find that I become more quickly exhausted these days from being treated like everybody’s pack mule, I feel like I’m beginning to lose my mind with all the crap the dragon lad—I mean supervisor puts me through and—“ The brunette moved to continue on with her rambling, when she was silenced by the woman lifting her hand up, signalling for her to stop.

“No, I am not inquiring about your physical or mental state.” She rolled her eyes, almost in disbelief before they softened slightly.  “How are you feeling about the job that Kim Hyun-Soo offered you?”

Min Jin paused momentarily in her actions, her honey-brown orbs blinked owlishly as she quietly deliberated in her mind. *...Even though I’ve already agreed to it, I didn’t take into account of the cobweb of lies that I would be tangled in. I’ve already met a handful of people at S.M who are kind, honest people…how am I supposed to befriend them without feeling guilty of betraying their trust?*

The black haired woman observed the mix of emotions that ran freely on the younger woman’s face and inwardly sighed, Min Jin could be easily read like an open book—she couldn’t quite mask her true emotions which seemed to be sprawled all over the place.

“Min Jin,” She called out coolly, watching carefully as the girl in question’s eyes instantly flickered towards hers. “I am only going to say this once, so keep your ears open otherwise you will not be able to understand what I am trying to tell you, arraso?” Once she received a nod of affirmation, she continued.

“Here’s some advice, Min Jin. It is essential that you do not get too close to these boys or anyone else at S.M. By all means, you must befriend them for the sole purpose of your task, but you will soon find out how complicated the situation will become if you emotionally involve yourself with them.”

The brunette, not sure on how else to response, simply nodded hesitantly. Doubt etched on her face as she her lips nervously, inwardly coaxing herself to speak up. “I’m not sure whether or not I feel that doing this is right…I mean we’re going to ultimately wreak these people’s lives, right?”

Jieun’s expression became stoic, her eyes narrowed into slits causing her to look like a snake that was about to rip out its prey’s throat. “I can see that you’ve been sheltered from the harsh world that is reality, Min Jin. Don’t be so naïve about these things, how can you be so sure that these EXO boys are as innocent as they look?”

The bespectacled girl’s eyes lowered to her lap, her self-esteem instantly shattering from the cold words of the steel-eyed woman sitting before her. *Aish, this woman really knows how to make a girl feel like *

Releasing a sigh, the ebony-haired woman pinched the bridge of her nose. “Do not take it the wrong way, Min Jin. You were fortunate enough to have been shielded away from the malevolence that exists in this world. I’m just saying that you shouldn’t look at things through rose-tinted glasses, you will only get hurt in the end believe me.”

Min Jin slowly lifted her gaze upwards until it reached the scowl that was plastered on the woman’s face. *Am I hallucinating this? Is the she-devil being sympathetic?!* She furrowed her eyebrows together in confusion.

Jieun chuckled bitterly, as if she could read the brunette’s mind. “As hard as it may seem to you, I’m not entirely cold-hearted.” She tilted her head to the side with a small smile, causing the girl’s eyes to widen at the sudden notion.  

“Mianhae for the wait, here are your orders.” The elderly woman intervened, carefully placing the wooden tray onto the table. With a swift customary smile and a bow, she wandered away to tend to other customers.

Min Jin didn’t hesitant to grab the steaming cup of hot chocolate that was generously topped with cream and chocolate sprinkles, her eyes trailing towards the small plate of confections that the lady had kindly provided in unveiled glee. *Aigo, more delicious cakes to enjoy~*

The black haired woman shook her head at the girl’s child-like antics, as she moved to stand up while picking up the warm polystyrene coffee cup. The brunette stopped mid-chew as she glanced curiously in Jieun’s direction.

“I’ll be leaving first, Min Jin.” She smoothed down her cream coat serenely. “Take care of yourself, arraso.” Without even a second glance, she spun on her heel and departed the silent café.     

*Looks like the she-devil isn’t really all that bad* The girl in question’s face lit up with a small smile as she took a long, soothing sip of her warm beverage, while observing the quiet streets through the window thoughtfully.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Promptly after taking a long, relaxing shower, having breakfast and changing into her chosen outfit for the day—Min Jin strolled into the S.M building feeling fully energized and ready to take on the challenges of the new day, a completely foreign emotion that she hadn’t yet grown accustomed to during her stay here.

She flashed a small smile of acknowledgement towards the security staff that manually guarded the doors, earning her a nod of greeting in return. The chestnut haired woman easily weaved through the crowd of faceless people on her way towards the stairs, a trait she had acquired through mere practice—that and she was getting sick and tired of being pushed around by people, literally.

Adjusting the strap of her bag as she walked, her gaze wandered through the ever-busy lobby until it momentarily stopped at the main desk where the secretaries were being bombarded with clusters of people crowding around.

“Ah, Min Kyung!” The brunette’s neck snapped to the side, as she noticed one of the pretty-faced secretaries gesturing for her to come closer. The ‘male’ in question approached the woman hesitantly, carefully manoeuvring around the swarms of people.

“I’m sorry to bother you Min Kyung, but I was wondering if you help me out here—you see, the assistant of this trainee group was supposed to pick up their fan mail this morning, but for some reason she hasn’t shown up today for work.” She explained with a tired expression, as she rubbed her forehead in an attempt to push away an impending headache.

“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, could you possibly drop it off at the dance studio on the fifth floor? I’ve tried to ask other people but they’ve been too busy, so I can understand if you don’t—“

Min Jin lifted up her free hand with a soft smile, causing the woman to flush at the unexpected look. “Of course, I see you’ve already got plenty to do on your plate. I’ll take the fan mail off your hands.” *Carrying a few letters and gifts couldn’t hurt right?*

The woman’s face brightened up in elation. “Just a warning though, the bag is quite heavy! This new group has garnered quite a lot of fans over the last few months.” She picked up a plain large-sized brown bag which was bulky and filled to the brim with handmade candies, countless letters with confessions of their undying love, teddy bears with large hearts stitched on them and plenty other brightly coloured assorted gifts.

The bespectacled girl stared agape at it for a moment. *This is all for that idol-wannabe group?!* Quickly composing herself, she directed a nod towards the smiling secretary before moving to pick up the bag.

“Thank you for this, Min Kyung.” With another smile, the woman turned her attention towards the ever-growing crowd that gathered all around the desk.

*Aish, these people must have god-like appearances if they can attract this many fan girls to give them gifts.* Was her immediate thought as she walked towards the stairs, after seeing the intimidating queue to use the elevator.      

After the gruelling struggle up the various flights of stairs, Min Jin let out a sigh of relief the moment her shoes touched the fifth floor. She shifted the weight of the bag in her arms as she wandered around the hallways, passing by various rooms which were mostly void of people as confusion etched on her face. *Where is everyone? Is it already lunch?*

She twisted her arm to check her watch, her eyebrows furrowed together in thought. *It’s only half past ten, there’s still a few hours until lunch…*

Until finally after searching the entire floor, she spotted a lone figure standing in the centre of the dance studio motionless.*Great, now all I have to do is dump this stuff off and I can go—*

Music filtered into the room as the silhouette of the person started to move to the beat, their fluid movements complimented the slow rhythm of the melody. Every turn, twist, hair flick and hip would have utterly mesmerized any other bystander who happened to be watching this unknown person.          

Min Jin, on the other hand was starting to get impatient as the heavy weight of the bag was starting to numb the feeling in her hands. As evidently talented as this person is with dancing, she could hardly give a damn at this moment in time—after having carried the stupid bag all through five floors, roughly spending—wasting— half an hour of her life being the good person that she is.*I should really learn how to say ‘no’ to people, it would make my life so much easier*

“Yah, are you just going to stand there and ogle at me or what?” The brunette blinked owlishly in confusion. Amidst her thoughts, she hadn’t realised that the—now identified—male had paused the music, but didn’t bother glancing in her direction. Just by looking at him, anyone could tell that he completely oozed with charisma as he nonchalantly took a long swig of his water bottle—highly resembling an Abercrombie model, even in his baggy sweats.

“A-Ah Mianhae, I didn’t mean to intrude. I’m just here to drop off your fan mail.” Min Jin quickly rushed out, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks in embarrassment. He merely cocked an eyebrow at her, tilting his head to the side slightly as he openly scrutinized her from top to bottom.

Suddenly, his plump lips curved into a mischievous smirk. The notion instantly caused a shiver of dread to run down her spine as she quietly gulped; there was a predator glint present in his dark eyes as he slowly began to move towards her.

“W-What are you doing?” She tried to shout out, but it came out more of a hysterical squeak—regrettably a high-pitched sound that most, if not any guys could never possibly make. Honey brown eyes widened in shock as she quickly albeit carefully settled the bag down on the floor and bowed before moving to turn around and make her escape.

“Where do you think you’re going, hm?” Before the girl could comprehend what was going on, she felt her arm being pulled tightly—causing her to lose her balance as she stumbled into a warm, firm chest and momentarily forgot how to breathe.

*Whatever you do Min Jin, do not look up*

Fully conscious of the proximity between them, she swallowed carefully as she quickly attempted to compose herself despite feeling his hot breath fanning her exposed neck. A faint blush crept its way onto her face at the prospect of being inches away from this extremely handsome male. Then, thoughts of the cocky, full-of-himself attitude sprung into her mind as she mustered up all her strength in her petite body to push him as far away from her being as it allowed.

“I told you, I only came here to drop off the gifts. Now that I’ve done that, I’ll be on my way.” Carefully keeping a blank poker-face on, she nodded stiffly towards the startled male as she moved once more to exit the room.

She made three successful footsteps before he called out to her coolly. “Wait, do you really think you can leave the bag like that?”

*Aish, this guy is really starting to annoy me* Letting out a tired sigh, she glanced over her shoulder to see him with an expectant look etched on his face. “…Don’t you want to sort it out? It’s your fan mail, after all.”

He narrowed his eyes causing them to form into slits as he scoffed in disbelief. “I don’t know if your intelligence is slightly lower than average, but I’m sure that you’re well aware of your position in this company, correct?”

Just by hearing his snobbish, arrogant voice made every bone in her body want to punch his pretty little face. Outwardly, she managed a curt nod in response, but yet trusting herself to compose a sensible response.

Obviously not noticing the dark aura that radiated from her body, he digressed. “Your job is to assist other people, no matter what their orders are. You show respect to those who are have a higher authority over you. Let me to be one to remind you, kid—you’re nothing here. I, on the other hand am considered far more highly than you, so therefore you will do as I say and sort the bag out.”

Min Jin’s eyes widened in shock, unadulterated anger threatened to bubble over her restraining, rational side as she listened to the male rant and rave at her, as if he was the best thing invented since sliced bread. *Who does this guy think he is? Just because he’s a soon-to-be idol he thinks he can boss around anybody he likes?!*

She clenched her fists firmly, feeling her nails starting to dig into her skin as she tried to calm herself down. *Remember Min Jin, no matter how good it would feel to punch the living daylights out of this guy, it would only cause trouble for you in the long run*

Taking a deep breath to calm her frizzled nerves, she shot a cool glance at the male as she walked over to the bag of assorted items with an air of feigned calmness. “As you wish.” *You royal pain in the backside* She inwardly added in with a small scowl.     

An uncomfortable silence eluded into the air, as Min Jin separated the gifts into piles according to their names. Each mountain of gifts seemed to be of equal height with the exception of some being slightly larger than others, it appeared that some guy called ‘Kris’ owned the biggest pile of fan mail.

*Aish, more time wasted doing trivial things because some indolent prick couldn’t be bothered to look at the effort made by his fans* She scowled in annoyance, as she slowly untangled herself from the Indian-style position she had been sitting in for the past ten minutes—she had completely underestimated the level of dedication from the fan-girls was her immediate thought as she carefully arranged the gifts into twelve, towering stacks.      

“There, I’ve sorted all of the gifts. I’ll be leaving now.” Min Jin stiffly spoke then broke into a brisk walk towards the door, not intending on being stopped by the full-of-himself jackass this time.

“Yah, where are you going? You haven’t given me my gifts yet.” Without even turning around, she could practically hear the smirk curling on his face. The bespectacled girl felt the raw feeling of anger penetrate into every pore of her body as she pursed her lips in displeasure. *Do not give him the satisfaction of reacting. Just give him his fan mail and you can leave*    

With that thought in mind, she slowly turned around with a blank expression aimed at the—surprise, surprise—smirking male. Disinterested cinnamon orbs darted over to the various pile of presents. “I’m afraid that I’m not sure what your name is, so I wouldn’t know which pile is specifically for you.”

Min Jin ruffled up her hair as the pair was once again engulfed in an uncomfortable silence. *Why isn’t he responding? Did I really ask such a complicated question?* She mused, bemused at the awkward stillness of the dance studio.

“…You’re saying that you don’t know who I am?” There was evident bafflement in his tone, which caused the reluctant girl to turn towards him to see an are-you-serious look etched on his handsome features.

“No, like I said just a few seconds ago I don’t. Now could you just tell me your name so I can give you your fan mail—“

Suddenly, he stalked towards her at an alarming pace. She took a step back in precaution; confusion washed over her as the male harshly gripped her wrists causing her to wince slightly at his strength.

“You’re kidding, right?” He narrowed his eyes in distrust, his lips pressed into a thin line. “There’s no way you haven’t heard of me, everybody who works here at S.M knows who I am. Unless of course,” The male tilted his head to the side with a mysterious glint in his eyes. “You’re just trying to catch my attention, huh?”

*Aish, what the hell is wrong with this guy?* Min Jin nearly snorted in amusement. “And pray tell why would I want to do that?” She shot the male an incredulous look as she tried to pry her arms away, only for her attempts to be fruitless.

He smirked as he leaned dangerously close to her face. “You obviously want me, don’t you?” He breathed out seductively, the proximity between them would have caused any other normal girl to either faint, squeal in happiness or blush madly at the prospect of being literally centimetres away from a devilishly-handsome male.

Min Jin inwardly rolled her eyes at the smug-faced male standing in front of her; arrogance was practically rolling of his body in waves. *All I did was ask for his name and he makes an assumption that I like him?*

“Has my striking good-looks rendered you speechless?” He chuckled, causing the stray strands of her hair to vibrate slightly. The brown haired girl instantly scowled, unable to suppress the annoyance that stirred in the pit of her stomach.

“No, it hasn’t.” She retorted coolly, her eyes narrowed slightly. “You shouldn’t think that you’re better than anyone else just because you’re a soon-to-be idol. Now, if you would excuse me I have to get back to work.” Quickly wrenching her arms of out his loosened grasp, she spun on her heel to depart from the room—and far, far away from that full-of-himself male before she could no longer resist the impulse to punch him square in the face.

*If I want to keep my job here, I cannot just succumb to my anger at whim, unless I want to be sued for wreaking his pretty little face*    

“Y-Yah! You can’t speak to me like that, kid. Now stop playing around and give me my presents.” After overcoming the initial shock of being told what to do by a trainee assistant, the male pulled himself together as he easily caught up to the chestnut-haired ‘boy’.

“You’ve got hands right? Go get them yourself.” She replied shortly, her temper becoming more fermented by the second. *Aigo, I need to get out of here before my I lose all of my sanity*

Abruptly, she felt pressure on her shoulder as she was whirled around—causing her to stumble into no-one other than the infuriating male, who seemed to take great pleasure in her embarrassment as she tried to wiggle out of his constricting hold.

“Ah, if you just wanted to be in my arms, all you had to do was ask you know?” Min Jin heard him murmur into her ear, her senses were assaulted by the distinctive scent that can only be distinguished as the natural manly musk along with the stale smell of sweat lingering in the air.

“—Mianhae for the wait, but we’re back with snacks Kai!” The door suddenly burst open, snapping the brunette out of her trance as she quickly pushed herself away from the male to avoid any misinterpretation from their –slightly— compromising position. She quietly took a deep breath as she tried to forget the tingling feeling from being too close to the arrogant chestnut-haired male.

“Omo, who is this Kai? You haven’t been hiding any secrets from us right?” One voice called out teasingly, causing the male in question to scowl in response.

The mere assumption was enough for the girl’s face to redden in embarrassment. *Great, now they all probably think I’m gay or something* Honey brown eyes quickly darted over to the twelve individual piles of gifts lying in the right-sided corner of the room. *Now, all I have to do is give this ‘Kai’ his fan mail and I can be on my way…and away from all this unnecessary awkwardness*

“Don’t go making assumptions, you pabo. This guy was just bringing us our fan mail. I guess our assistant didn’t show up to work today…again.” Kai stated, taking a chug out of his water bottle in an attempt to calm down his nerves. Outwardly, he maintained his calm composure to his fellow group members but inwardly he just couldn’t understand why his heart was beating at an irregular pace.

“Here you go, Kai-ssi.” He was brought back to the sound of the brown haired ‘boy’s’ voice. He marvelled at how soft it was before he quickly shook his head to rid himself of those uncomfortable thoughts. “I hope that you will take the time to look over each gift, I can tell that your fans have put lots of effort into making these for you.”

Once that was done, Min Jin turned around to face the other recent new-comers and promptly executed a ninety degrees bow, which caused all the members to stare at her with mixed emotions etched on their faces. “I apologise for interrupting your schedule, please continue to work hard.” Quickly thinking on her feet, she managed to squeak out a timid “…Fighting!” After an awkward fist pump with a tight-lipped smile, she made an immediate bee-line for the door.  

“Y-Yah, wait a minute Min Kyung-hyung!” The girl in question’s face twisted in confusion. *Aish, why does that voice sound so familiar?* She felt a hand on her shoulder as she was carefully turned around to face the pouting face of no-one other than Sehun.

“You only just got here, what’s the rush for?” He tilted his head to the side, causing him to resemble a bemused puppy. Min Jin simply shook her head as she pried his arm away from her form as she took a step back with a weary expression. “I have to get back to work, Sehun-ssi. I’ll just see you another time.”

“But I haven’t seen you in ages. You promised me that we would have lunch together!” He whined childishly, pulling again on her arm with the infamous puppy-dog look. The bespectacled girl sighed as she ruffled up her hair, unable to suppress a wince as her fingers grazing over the faint red-tinted swelling on her forehead.

Sehun’s eyes widened at the sight as he quickly laid both hands on her cheeks and leaned forward to inspect the girl’s forehead with unveiled concern. “Why is your forehead so swollen, Min Kyung-hyung?!”

The girl simply scowled as she effortlessly pushed away his hands. “It’s not a big deal, I wasn’t watching where I was going this morning and I just walked into a lamppost. It will soon heal in time.”

But it seemed that her answer didn’t quite diminish the evident worry that was etched on the male’s face. *Honestly, this guy…*

“Sehunnie, who’s this hm?” Suddenly, a baby-faced boy popped into view as he was practically clinging off Sehun’s arm. He scrutinized her for a moment, from head to toe until he turned his head to glance at the male standing next to him. “He’s not as good-looking as I am, Sehunnie. Come play with me~”

For a moment, Min Jin actually thought this guy was joking and nearly chortled as a result. But judging by the dead-serious look on his youthful face, she suppressed every urge to burst out laughing. *I never knew S.M allowed its idols to date, let alone letting these guys to date each other…maybe they are dating in secret?* She mused to herself quietly.

Sehun quickly shook his friend’s arm off as he turned towards Min Jin again. “Min Kyung-hyung, do you want me to get you an ice-pack?” His dark eyes darted upwards to her forehead then back down to her eyes. Oblivious to the crestfallen look that was etched on the doll-like face of his companion, who started to shoot death-glares in Min Jin’s direction in unconcealed jealously. 

“Aish, I’m fine Sehun-ssi. It’s not like I’m dying or anything, right?” She let out a small snigger, her eyes becoming crescents for a moment—causing the male in question to catch his breath at the unexpected…cute scene standing in front of him. He pondered on why he felt the sudden urge to hug him.

“Anyway, your pile of fan mail is over there.” She pointed over to the other side of the room, where some of the members were taking residence, looks of happiness was spread over their faces as they rummaged through their own individual mounds of assorted presents. “I should really get going though before my co-workers think I’ve gone missing or something.”

The dark-haired male hastily shook his head in disapproval. “Ani, you’re not going anywhere until you promise to eat lunch with me today.”

“Mianhae, I can’t today. I’ve already promised someone else that I would sit with them.” Instantly, the thought of Victoria popped into her mind. It was true that she had already made plans with the perky blonde woman and Min Jin didn’t want to leave the poor girl by herself. For the past few days, she had been unable to spend her lunch hour in the main cafeteria due to the overflowing amount of work she had to complete from the dragon-lady, who completely refused to give her a break.

Surprisingly enough though, Min Jin’s supervisor had recently taken a sick break—the reasons remain unknown for the time being, but if it meant she gained her lunch break back then she was all up for her she-devil of a supervisor to be ill. *Maybe some time off will ease her stress so that she won’t take it out on me all the time*

“You could invite them to sit at our table, Min Kyung-ah.” Suho called with his typical trademark smile that lit up his face. “There’s always room at our table, if you would like to join us of course.”

The brunette was about to politely decline when another form bounced in front of her, this time however, this guy practically towered over her petite body. “Yeah, it would be nice to get to know you better. From what we’ve heard from Sehun and Suho-hyung, you sound like a pretty cool dude.” His deep voice filtered through her eardrums as a grin stretched on his baby face.

Instantly, she felt a blush cross the bridge of her nose as she ducked her head to hide her discomfort of how the situation panned out. “A-Ah, I really should get going—“ 

“Leave the guy alone, if he doesn’t want to eat with us then it’s his choice. We have to get ready before our dance instructor arrives.” Abruptly, a smooth voice cut in—thereby saving Min Jin from an extremely awkward position. Collectively, some of the members voiced out their objections until they were all silenced with a simple glare by her saviour.

“I guess I’ll be leaving first…” Min Jin bowed her head to avoid any stares as she quickly skidded out of the room as fast as her legs would allow. It was only once she exited the room successfully, she finally released a breath she didn’t even realise she was holding. She held both palms to her burning cheeks in a poor attempt to cool it down.

*Aish, why am I acting like this?*

The bespectacled girl tousled her curly tresses in befuddlement before making her way towards the elevator. *Just forget about it, it’s not like I’ll see any of them anyway around here…I’m sure that they will all forget about me* She couldn’t understand the subconscious tinge of disappointment that stirred within her, but instantly pushed it to the back of her mind as the metal doors swished open, signalling that the elevator has arrived at her floor.

*Hm, I wonder where these so-called ‘famous’ EXO members are hiding* She silently pondered in curiosity but eventually shrugged it off. It was just a matter of time before the oblivious girl would be ceremoniously thrown into the real lion’s den that is Mr President’s office, aka Lee Soo-Man. 

.

.

.

♫ A U T H O R' S C O R N E R ♫                                                                                                                        

...Hey guys? It's been a while, haha. I've just gone back to school this week, so I'm been bombarded with lots of work, meaning that I've got less time on my hands to write these chapters out for you *sad face*

The good news is that I've only got three more weeks of school!

...The bad news is that I'm in a Summer University program for four weeks for a nursing course (16th July-10th August) It's not very likely I'll be bringing my laptop with me, but I'm planning that whenever I've got any free time I'll try to get some ideas down.

And I'll be home for the weekends, so I'll be able to write up any ideas that I've managed to conjure up. 

BUT FEAR NOT, MY LOVELY READERS~

For the next few chapters *at least*, I've briefly mapped out what's supposed to happen in the next couple of chapters, so I shouldn't have any problems with writer's block *fingers crossed*

ASDFGHJKL. Baekhyun you're so frickin adorable, seriously .___.

Anyways, till next time everyone~ Hope you all have a lovely weekend!! :D