Xiumin rarely had reason to be upset with Luhan, so he even surprised himself when he took such a trivial matter to heart.

After the interview recording, the members of EXO-M made their way to their dressing room, bowing to each member of staff as they passed them. Xiumin never really understood why they had to bow in China. Back in Korea it was expected, but in China no one else bowed, just them. At first, it seemed that Xiumin would be most comfortable with this form of greeting, but in fact it was quite the contrary. He felt even more self conscious when people reacted in surprise or confusion at the excessively formal gesture, thinking that he did not fully comprehend the culture.

Xiumin greatly disliked being branded a “foreigner”, though it did make him realise how difficult it must have been for Luhan, Lay, Kris and Tao when they first moved to Korea.

Once they had made their debut as EXO-M and began promotions, Xiumin quickly realised his lack of Mandarin was a genuine problem, not only in interviews, but also simple day to day activities. It was not long until Xiumin had several anecdotes to tell, regarding the frequent situations where he had failed to comprehend what people around him were saying. When the members talked amongst themselves, they would usually converse in Korean and that was fine, but things were different when there were other people involved. Xiumin quickly came to recognise the Chinese for “Oh, he’s Korean”. It frustrated him each time he heard it, especially since he had no idea how to respond to the true statement. It may have seemed harmless, but he felt as though the phrase was used it to explain all of his shortcomings, a simple excuse for his ignorance.

Thus, he made it his goal to be able to master the Chinese language, which was definitely easier said than done.

In every interview and event, he was always sat in his spot between Chen and Luhan. Chen was struggling as much as Xiumin, if not worse, having the burden of main vocalist and even higher expectations because of it. Nevertheless, Chen continued to smile brightly each day, laughing at his own mistakes and enthusiastically learning from the other members.

Luhan was the one who took care of Xiumin the most, being patient and understanding him far quicker than any translator. He would whisper into his ear during interviews, spend his evenings teaching him even when the two of them were both exhausted. Sometimes Xiumin would wonder if Luhan ever got tired of having to constantly educate him, but when Xiumin mentioned it, Luhan’s response was always the same:

‘Don’t worry about it. Isn’t that what friends are for?’ he would say with a bright smile on his face.

Friends. The word bothered Xiumin a little. He certainly preferred it to fellow “member” or “colleague”, but there was something about it which just did not quite fit, as if something essential was missing but he could not quite place his finger on it. Perhaps only Xiumin felt that way, but to him “friends” was merely one step further than acquaintance, and what he and Luhan had was far more than that. Xiumin spent more time with Luhan than any of the other members, and his family in fact. They knew each other too well to be described as just “friends”. They understood each other perfectly. Well, at least that was what Xiumin had thought.

After the long schedule, EXO-M made their journey back to their dorms. Xiumin stared idly out of the window, watching the traffic turn into smudges of colour as the van drove quickly past them. The cars were primarily blue, silver and red, he noted, trying to distract him from any other thoughts which may creep into his mind. He sat next to Luhan with his earphones on but he wasn’t listening to anything, the faint numbing of homesickness ran through his body as he withdrew into himself.  By the first week or so in China, the longing to go back home had slowly died down, mostly due to Luhan’s reassurance. But Xiumin did not want to bother him this time, not after that interview.

Once “home”, everyone automatically became more relaxed. Kris stretched himself out on the sofa and Tao went to sit by his feet, grabbing his favourite snacks from the kitchen. Chen and Lay had both retreated into the bedrooms, and gentle melodies echoed through the dorm as Lay played his guitar.

Luhan and Xiumin sat down on the sofa next to Kris. Xiumin wanted to go back to my room but he watched television with the others, trying to take his mind off things and organise his thoughts.

However, his attempts were futile. Minutes passed and Luhan’s words from the interview still resonated in his mind.

When the adverts came on, Luhan leaned over Xiumin’s shoulder.

‘Minseok, what’s wrong?’ He asked quietly, out of earshot from Kris and Tao.

Xiumin grimaced inwardly. Of course he would notice. He always did.

‘N- nothing.’ He replied, doing his best to smile.

Luhan cocked his head to the side and frowned, obviously not convinced. Xiumin knew he would never be able to fool him. Luhan always knew when he was down because he was always the one to pull him back up.

The program came back on and Luhan did not utter another word, but Xiumin could still his eyes watching him carefully.

Xiumin did not understand the program, but he continued to watch the people on the screen who were talking animatedly. He assumed it was some sort of soap opera. Usually, when watching Chinese television, Xiumin would create imaginary dialogues in his head for his own amusement, or annoy Luhan after each line for a word-for-word translation, but today he just stared blankly at the screen, letting the flow of words pass over his head.

After a few minutes, Xiumin felt Luhan’s hand slide naturally into his, the gentle warmth of Luhan’s palm pressing softly, a feeling which always brought him great comfort.

 Luhan squeezed Xiumin’s hand and without a word, motioned for the two of them to leave the room by a small tugging motion.

Xiumin nodded, somewhat reluctantly, and followed Luhan out of the room. Tao and Kris were too absorbed in the television program to notice, with Tao’s arms wrapped around Kris’ leg and hugging it closely as both their eyes were focused on what was happening on the screen.

Luhan took Xiumin’s hand and pulled him along to his room. Once inside, he closed the door.

Under the dim glow of the light, Luhan stood in front of Xiumin.

‘What’s wrong?’ He asked again, a hint of worry in his voice as he looked at Xiumin’s expression intently.

Xiumin avoided his gaze, not trusting himself to look directly into his eyes and instead, staring at a patch of carpet.

‘Nothing.’ He replied once more, in a carelessly transparent tone.

Luhan stepped forward and placed his hands on his shoulders. The gentle pressure of his hands was strangely calming.

‘There is something, I know there is.’ He said soothingly. ‘You can tell me. We’re friends, right?’

Luhan smiled and it was enough for all the tension in Xiumin’s body to soften. The corners of Luhan’s mouth rose up, and the effect immediately caused a warm glow to radiate from Xiumin’s cheeks.

Luhan chuckled when he noticed Xiumin blushing, visible even under the dull lighting of the room. Placing a hand on Xiumin’s cheek he drew closer.

‘Ah Minseokie... Baozi is adorable.’ He said in an affectionate tone, eyes glued onto Xiumin’s face.

Xiumin withdrew slightly from his touch when his nickname was mentioned, and the action did not escape Luhan’s notice.

‘You don’t like being called Baozi?’ Luhan asked, his eyebrows creased together slightly in confusion.

Xiumin paused and bit his lip. No, that wasn’t it. The truth was, he liked being called Baozi but by Luhan and Luhan alone. He just didn’t want to say it.

It began a few weeks after they had first met and Xiumin remembered that day clearly. It was after dance practice that the two of them were left in room whilst the others had gone to take showers. Luhan called “Baozi” across the room and Xiumin had turned around in response, causing Luhan burst into laughter. Apparently Luhan had always called him Baozi inside his own head, but was too shy to say it directly. The small mistake had led to the beginning of their relationship.

‘No, it’s just that… you… you didn’t have to tell everyone.’ Xiumin muttered to the floor.

‘Tell everyone?’ Luhan repeated, still deeply perplexed.

Xiumin nodded, feeling more and more stupid by the second.

Luhan opened his mouth in silent comprehension. He seemed a little startled as he came to realise his mistake.

It was in an interview earlier that day that Luhan had mentioned Xiumin’s nickname for the first time, leading to incessant teasing from the host. No one knew of the nickname apart from Luhan and himself, not even the other members. Xiumin considered it a secret, just between the two of them, as Luhan would only call him by Baozi when they were alone together. But now everyone knew, and the name no longer seemed as special as before.

‘I…’ Luhan opened his mouth but no words came out, hesitant of what to say next. His eyes searched Xiumin’s face and Xiumin suddenly regretted making such a big deal out of it.

‘Sorry.’ Luhan said apologetically. ‘I didn’t think you would mind.’

Xiumin was stunned by the sincerity in Luhan’s voice, now feeling somewhat guilty. He should not have gotten upset. It was an easy mistake to make after all.

‘It’s okay.’ he said dumbly. Xiumin looked away embarrassed at his overreaction, his eyes scanning the pastel coloured walls instead.

Luhan did not leave the room, he stayed rooted on the spot and after a while, he spoke.

‘Minseokie…’ he said in almost a whisper.

The way Luhan mentioned his name, his whole body seemed to react. The way his name fell from Luhan’s lips was beautiful, an enchanting spell which only he could cast.

‘Mm?’ Xiumin responded turning back to meet Luhan’s gaze.

Luhan was closer to him than he ever remembered, and his eyes stared into his in a way he had never experienced before. They were so deep and captivating that he could barely breathe as he looked into them.

Luhan was too perfect to be true and it was not the first time for Xiumin to admit this. His heart beat quickened every time they were together and he would often fall asleep with thoughts of Luhan on his mind. Xiumin did not and could not understand why but at that moment he knew, he knew why friends was just not enough.

Slowly, as Luhan drew nearer, he lowered his eyes and his eyelashes delicately spreading across his flawlessly white skin, the vision of an angel. Xiumin knew to close his eyes too but something inside him wanted to stare at the image of Luhan forever.

He was so beautiful.

As their lips came together Xiumin felt Luhan’s delicate mouth press on his and he responded back with soft kisses, each one as tender and precious as the last. Although inexperienced, their bodies moved instinctively, each movement natural as Xiumin’s hands wrapping around Luhan’s neck and Luhan’s around Xiumin’s waist. Pulling each other closer, they exchanged emotions which words could not express. Neither of them knew that this would happen but it did, their pure attraction towards each other was far beyond their own understanding.

After a while, the two of them slowly pulled apart, their eyes still locked together, taking a moment to admire one another.

Xiumin was the first to speak.

‘I don’t mind if you call him Baozi in public.’ Xiumin said, blushing once more.

Surprised at the sudden change, Luhan raised his eyebrows.

‘Really? But I thought you didn’t like it.’

Xiumin bit his lip to hold back a smile. The truth was that he no longer needed anything to remind him of his closeness with Luhan, being by his side was enough, and being kissed by him was more than he could ever imagine.

‘I don’t mind it so much…now.’ Xiumin explained, embarrassed.

Luhan chuckled and wrapped his arms around Xiumin, hugging him tightly.

‘No matter what, you will always be my Baozi.’