This is it.

Today is the day.

April 1st 2012; EXO’s Beijing showcase.

Mom and I fly in 2 hours earlier than the boys to avoid the fan craze, but it seems as though their  popularity has sky-rocketed ever since the release of their teasers. When we arrived, there were already loads of fangirls (and boys) waiting with heavy-duty camera’s nestled awkwardly between them and the rest of the crowd, as well as loud, garish placards raised above their heads, hoping that it’d catch some form of recognition or attention.

“Look there’s another one with Tao’s name on it!” Mom excitedly whispers to me as we walk out of the waiting area. I hush her and hold on to the arm that’s pointing to the fan signs.

“Mom, let’s just go to the hotel and wait for them, okay?” I plead with her, pulling her along to the car park. Dad was waiting for us with his rental car, so that he could drive me to the hotel. He had arrived a week before for business and had extended his stay for the showcase

“Daddy!” I exclaim, recognizing the familiar figure in the distance. I hadn’t seen my Dad is over a year and it was good to see him again. I gave him a big hug and let him grumble over my lack of weight.

Dad wasn’t one for words, but my return seemed to have caused his naggy side to come out. He was whinging about me losing too much weight, and being too skinny. And then he started going on about my lack of a boyfriend and how I had to start a family as soon as possible.

“Stop that – she’s not even 22 years old yet!” Mom scolded Dad and hit his arm lightly. I smiled and shook my head. As much as I didn’t want to hear his nagging, it was cute seeing them so animated.

There is a silence as we drive out of the airport and into the city centre. I will be staying in the same hotel as the boys’, so Mom and Dad would be waiting with me until they arrive.

“H – How’s Wu Fan?” Dad asks me as Mom helps me check in. We’re waiting at the lobby, watching the receptionists do their work behind the counter. It seemed like an awkward question for me to answer, but I felt obligated to. Dad deserves to know as much as Mom does. Although I did feel that he was intentionally holding back for some reason.

I look to the ground. I am still distant with Wu Fan, although he had already apologized and confessed himself to me. I didn’t know how to react yet – and his debut is going to make things harder than it already is.

“He’s doing fine, as far as I can see.” I respond, watching Dad nod his head slowly. “You shouldn’t worry too much – he’s grown well.”

Dad is a man that doesn’t show his emotions much, so I am not expecting much of a reaction from him. True enough, he leaves me alone after the question and resumes into his quiet demeanour.

Once I check in, I don’t hesitate to wash up and relax. The flight had been quite uncomfortable as turbulence decided to pay a visit, so I wasn’t able to catch up on much rest. And I must’ve fallen into deep sleep because the next thing I know, all the boys are in the room greeting Mom and Dad. Tao manages to give them a quick greeting before jumping onto my bed.

“Jie, I missed you!” his cry is muffled when he tackles me into a bear hug. I frown at the dead weight on me and struggle to get out of his grasp. “I’m so happy today! My whole family is here!”

“So this is what I get? I haven’t seen my son in 2 years and he doesn’t even greet me properly! What have I done to deserve this?” Dad playfully mentions, crossing his arms across his chest. I giggle, watching Tao guiltily stand up to give Dad a big hug.

“Hey Zi Ying,” Yi Xing greets, giving me a big smile. His dimple sinks in deeply into his cheek and I resist the urge to poke it with a chopstick. “Had a good flight?”

I do an action that suggests my neutrality about it.

“Ah, I see.” Yi Xing nods understandably, causing me to chuckle. “No wonder you were sleeping. You’ve got a bump in your hair,” he says, not hesitating to reach for my head to flatten it down.

The action catches me off guard and I freeze. It’s not that I’m not used to people touching my hair – in fact, during high school plenty of girls and guys would touch my hair (because it doesn’t tangle at all), but this felt totally different. It was almost as if Yi Xing’s intention had an ulterior motive.

But who am I to say anything anyways? I can’t judge his actions without hearing his justification. After all, he might just be merely flattening out a person’s hair bump. Nothing more, nothing less.

I quickly regain my composure and thank him before the other guys come and greet me. Lu Han and Se Hun shyly ask if they could order room service, seeing as they had 2 hours of free time before dress rehearsal, hair and makeup.

“Sure! I’m pretty hungry too,” I say, picking up the menu and taking a seat on the armchair. “What do you guys want to eat?” I ask the room, waving the menu in the air.

Calls for spaghetti, pizza, 炒饭* and 小笼包**’s came rushing at me and I had to slowly take the orders down on a piece of paper.

“Anyone I’m missing who doesn’t have an order?” I ask the room without looking up. I count the amount of orders on the sheet and realise I’m missing one. I immediately know who it is and decide to extend an offer of hospitality. After all, he was in my hotel room.

“Wu Fan, you haven’t ordered yet,” I mention, causing him to look up at me with wide eyes. He’s still standing near the front door of the hotel room. He casts a nervous glance towards Mom and Dad before taking a few tentative steps forward.

“I-I’m not hungry, it’s okay.” He answers back quietly. The rest of the boys look between each other at Wu Fan’s sudden change of behaviour. To be honest, I’ve never seen Wu Fan look so intimidated before. Dad’s presence seems to be putting Wu Fan on a nervous edge.

“Hyung, are you sure?” Su Ho asks in Korean, to which of course, I understand. “You barely ate on the plane and the last meal you had was dinner last night.”

Wu Fan opens his mouth to answer but is intervened by my statement.

*炒饭 = Chao3 fan4 = fried rice

**小笼包 = Xiao2 Long3 Bao1 = Soup dumplings (effin' awesome, please go have some or else you have not lived life.)

So here's the first installment to the sequel of my previous story, 'Human'! Please go read that first before this one. It's not a long chaptered fic, it's only 10 chapters long and I'm planning on making this sequel short too. Long stories ain't ma thang, yknow waddum sayin'?

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