“I know you like that one a lot,”

Is it all right to be jubilant right now? She remembers one of my favourite dishes and she didn’t fail to mention it straight off her mind. That can mean two things:

1.      She’s been thinking about this a lot,

OR.

2.      She’s never forgotten me… At all.

I look down and smile. It’s been a whirlwind of emotions lately. I don’t know how to control all these passing feelings and it’s taking me off guard. I like to be in control of how I look and the way I present myself but lately I’ve been quite slack about it.

Whenever I see Tao, I feel happy because we’ve been patching things up quite well. He calls me 哥 now, which is always nice – seeing as I am 3 years older than he and what he used to call me since we were young kids.

And also because Zi Ying packs lunch for the whole group whenever Tao’s heads home – which means that I’m indirectly being taken care of by her. The whole thing just feels right.

The late breakfast/early lunch arrives and Mom and Dad excuse themselves to talk to Wu Fan quietly in the mezzanine floor. The boys look at each other again, but don’t think too much of it.

They found out about the connection between Tao Zi, Wu Fan and I, and have been quite supportive in our patching of the lost friendship. They would always organize rest days and invite me over to their dorm just so I can spend more time with Wu Fan and try to mend things back.

It was nice of them, but I wish they could understand that sometimes things like these take time. And it could be a long while too.

The last I cast a quick glance over to my parents and Wu Fan, I see Dad hugging him tightly, eyes clenched tight. It’s hard to see what’s happening behind a tall figure, but I’m guessing that it’s turning out well.

I smile. Maybe I could get back what I’ve been looking for so long – our proper, complete family.

“I’m guessing that the food’s either really, really good, or you’re just happy about something,” Yi Xing asks, stealing a spoonful of fried rice from my plate.

“Hmm, Noona, this is really good,” Se Hun comments and I watch in horror as all of them start eating my meal.

“Hey, eat your own food!” I protest, reaching an arm over and stabbing a piece of meat from Yi Xing’s with my fork. Before I know it, everyone is eating off each other’s plates. “What was the use of me ordering each one a dish when you’re all sharing? If I knew I would--,”

“Is this mine?” a deep voice breaks me out of my thoughts.

I look up and I see Wu Fan smiling at me. It’s not a big, teeth-baring smile, but a smile nonetheless. I nod and lift the cloche on his plate. A huge T-Bone steak glistens in the light and I am momentarily wishing I ordered it instead of this plain fried rice (that everyone seems to enjoy, but me).

“We can share, if you’d like,” Wu Fan passes a comment before grabbing a steak knife and a fork. He settles himself comfortably beside me, sitting on the floor with the plate on his lap. I awkwardly glance over to the rest of the boys, who are now busy eating and watching television.

Dad receives a call from the hotel he’s staying at and leaves with Mom to sort their room out. They have to stay in a different hotel, unfortunately, since the current one I am in was fully booked out before they could reserve a room.

“Jie, what time is your dinner with Lu Han and Yi Xing’s family?” Tao asks, lounging on the extra bed comfortably. Baek Hyun joins him and smiles sweetly at me.

“At 6PM, and then we’ll make our way to your showcase when it starts at 8,” I reply, lightly slapping Kai’s hand from grabbing more rice. He pouts and looks away childishly, to which I can’t help but give in.

“Thanks Noona!” he gleefully takes the rest of my lunch and I am left half-full.

“Here,” two voices simultaneously speak to me, and I see Yi Xing and Wu Fan holding out two different spoonfuls of their lunch in front of my face. Lu Han and Se Hun shift uncomfortably and the rest of the guys are awkwardly silent.

I smile widely and welcome the food on an empty plate, eating along with the rest of the boys. In a motion of being in food heaven, I reach over to Wu Fan and stab a huge chunk of meat before biting happily on it.

“Hey – what – that’s mine!” He looks with an expression like as if I stole his favourite toy. His eyes are slightly disappointed and his mouth is open in protest.

I try to apologize but I can’t, seeing as my mouth is full of food, so I end up scrunching my face and mumbling a ‘sorry’ to him.

Wu Fan ends up chuckling at me. The boys are looking at us as if we were the television drama instead. Even Chen – who’s got zero interest in dramas – is looking over with his eyebrows raised.

A knock on the door interrupts before an awkward silence hangs in the air. Su Ho gets up to answer it and comes face to face with their manager, Myung Hun. He looks bothered and annoyed; eyebrows furrowed together and fingers busy tapping on his phone screen.

“Kids, the venue isn’t ready yet, so you’ve got an extra hour of rest time – but I’m warning you; if you wish to rest for a while more, I’m expecting a top notch performance. No mistakes and absolutely no trace of nervousness. If I even see one of your glances casted on the ground, I will make sure you do the household chores for a month straight.” Myung Hun looks up at them to glare at them, possibly to instil some form of fear into the boys’. “If you don’t wish to rest though, there’s a gym room available for you to practice. It’s on level 25.”

When he leaves to settle everything else, the boys let out a breath they’ve been holding. Everyone is awkward and silent, most likely contemplating the choices they were given.

“We should practice for a while,” Wu Fan announces, neatly putting away his dirty plate and cutlery. The rest of the boys shuffle around before picking up where Wu Fan left off. One by one, they stack the dirty dishes on a tray and help me carry it out when they leave.

“I’ll see you tonight then,” Tao says before engulfing me in a big bear hug. “Wish me luck?”

I smile and tiptoe to ruffle his hair. “Good luck, buddy,” I mention, playfully punching his arm. “You’ll do well, I know.”

Tao leaves with Baek Hyun, who smiles widely at me before giving me a wave. Yi Xing comes up behind me and I wish him luck as well.

“Thanks, I think I’ll need it!” he tells me, smiling and scratching the back of his neck. “I’ll need every ounce I can get,”

“Oh c’mon, it can’t be that bad…?” I retort, frowning. “You can do this! Just put your heart and mind into it and all will turn out well!”

“No, you don’t understand,” he chuckles, shaking his head slightly. I frown deeper. “My whole family will be here…. Including—never mind.” He shakes his head, as if to get rid of something. For a moment I thought he was going to let me in on his MASSIVE secret, but I guess not. “I’ll see you tonight then!”

I wave and watch him run down the hallway to catch up with Su Ho, who patiently waits for all the members to gather at the lift landing.

“You will watch out for me… right?” a deep voice behind me asks. I jump slightly at his sudden arrival and swivel on my heel to find his face. He’s standing a few steps away from me, but the sudden closeness feels… stifling? I’m not too sure myself.

I try to find my voice, but at the moment my mind is pulling a blank. I nod in return and give him a smile.

Wu Fan smiles widely. “That’s good,” he replies, nodding his head. I’m suddenly feeling extremely awkward, so I look everywhere else except for his gaze.

“Zi Ying,” he mentions and I look up in response.

“Hmm?” I ask, eyes wide with wonder.

Wu Fan looks at me, as if searching my face for any sort of answer. I look back and blink a few times to correct my vision, but if I’m not wrong, why is his face is growing really close to mine?

…

All right~! Another update :) I'm currently typing up the last few chapters and IT'S SO HARRRRRRRRRRRRD. I don't want it to be like some cheesy ending but omfg it's heading that way -_-