chapter three:

in this small world.

“Get it up get it up yi jing zhun bei jiu xu jiu shi xian zai hold we de shou. Na xie bu tong de bu tong de ren yi zhi xiang fang she fa feng wo de kou. Zhi shi mu qian hai mei xi guen bu zai gei ni biao zhun de da an. Four dimension shuai xian zai zhe le deng dai. Welcome to the night!!”

“Wow…” Xiumin breathed, still drying the cup, “He really is a famous rapper…”

“Who?” Luhan asked, eyes looking up to see what Xiumin was watching, “Ah, isn’t it Tao?”

“You know him?!” Xiumin asked, putting the cup a little bit too hard.

“Aaaah…” Luhan flinched to hear the sound of the cup, “Be careful with those cups…and yes, of course I know him. Who doesn’t? He’s like all topic of conversation these days.”

“Wow, lucky me!” Xiumin cheered, raising his hands high while holding the cups.

“Xi-xiumin…” Luhan carefully pulled Xiumin’s hands down, “Please…it’s dangerous…”

“Oh, okay.” Xiumin realized he was still holding the cups and put them carefully, “Really, Luhan. I’m lucky! I got his sign!”

“What?!” Luhan widened his eyes, “When did you meet him?! Wheeeeen???”

“It was midnight, when I was about to close the shop. Suddenly this guy came and bought a cup of espresso. So, since I knew he was a celebrity, I asked him for signing the paper.”

“Aaaaaaah! Envy! I want it too!!!” Luhan pouted.

“Ayayaya~ no way! It’s mine~!” Xiumin laughed, “Oops. It’s about the time. I’ll be leaving, okay?”

“Okay…” Luhan nodded, still pouting enviously.

“Bye, Lulu~” Xiumin kissed Luhan’s cheek playfully.

“Yaaah!” Sehun growled, “Don’t kiss my boyfriend!!!”

Xiumin had run away before Sehun could throw the table he was cleaning to him.

“What is it?” Xiumin frowned when he was seeing a crowd in front of the announcement board.

“Well, I don’t know.” Kai, Xiumin’s friend answered.

“If I’m not wrong, there’s an announcement about novelist or something there.” D.O frowned, “But, I haven’t seen it though. How about checking it?”

“Let’s go.” Xiumin nodded, approaching the crowd.

“Oh, Suho!” Kai called the familiar boy and approached him.

“Hey, Guys!” Suho smiled brightly.

“What is it?” Xiumin pointed the board.

“Hmm, it’s our student council’s project.” Suho smiled proudly, “We’re going to invite a famous novelist and have a talk show.”

“Heeee.” D.O widened his eyes in glad, “I’ll definitely come! Who’s the novelist?”

“It’s Lay.” Suho answered.

“Wow!!!” D.O clapped his hands, “I’ll come, I’ll come! Oh, my God, how could you guys invite that famous novelist?! Really! I love his novels soooooooooooooo much!!!”

“Who…?” Xiumin asked to Kai.

“Lay?” Kai asked back, “Potato chips?”

“It’s Lays, Stupid!” D.O smacked Kai’s head, “Lay is a pen name of Zhang Yixing! He’s the famous novelist! The romance in his book is so sweet! I can feel the mixed feelings in his words!”

Kai and Xiumin gaped.

“Well, I don’t think you read many books like D.O, right?” Suho asked to two clueless boys in front of him.

“Romance?” Xiumin scrunched his nose, “I don’t like romance.”

“I like action and suspense and horror and thrill the most…” Kai grinned, “Boyish like.”

D.O pouted, “So, you’re telling me that I’m not a male…?”

“Eh?!” Kai widened his eyes, “No, it’s not what I…”

“Fine!” D.O snorted, walking away from Kai.

“D.O! Wait! It’s not what I mean!!!” Kai followed the shorter boy.

Suho and Xiumin could see Kai was pushed away by D.O. They were still arguing until they disappeared.

“Really…” Suho sighed, “Why don’t Kai confess already? The look on his eyes is so obvious.”

“And I don’t know why D.O is so clueless as well.” Xiumin sighed.

“Come on.” Suho pulled Xiumin’s bag, “We have to go into our class.”

“Suho! Stop dragging me by my bag!!!”

Tao sighed, slumping down on the couch. He looked at the award on his hand, Rookie Rapper.

“I like how it sounds.” Tao smiled, hugging the award tightly.

“Congrats!!!” Chen stormed into Tao’s changing room.

“I won~!”

“You have to treat me!” Chen laughed when he saw Tao’s aegyo, “A coffee must be nice!”

“Well, I know a good place.” Tao nodded, remembering the coffee shop with the funny barista, “Let’s go.”

“Welcome!”

Tao looked around but he didn’t find Xiumin there.

“Where’s Xiumin?” Tao asked through his mask.

The barista frowned suspiciously, “Xiumin? Why are you asking?”

“Ah…I’m sorry.” Tao apologized, pulling down his mask so his face could be seen, “I’m sort of his acquaintance.”

“Oh…OH!!!” The barista pointed Tao in shock, “You!!! You are that…!!!”

“Sssst!” Chen hurriedly covered the barista’s mouth, “Can you be quieter…” He saw the nametag, “Luhan?”

“I’m sorry, but please, be quiet.” Tao whispered, “I don’t want to hold a fansigning here…”

“Hmm-hmmm…” Luhan nodded and made a circle with his thumb and index finger.

“Thank you. Let go off him, Chen.” Tao said.

Luhan took a deep breath and smiled, “Xiumin has told me about you. You gave him your sign, right?”

Tao nodded, “So, where’s he?”

“Well, he’s in his campus of course.” Luhan looked at the clock, “He has a night shift tonight.”

“Hmm…” Tao nodded disappointedly, pulling his masker to cover his face again, “Well, we’ll order two cups of vanilla latte for now.”

“Be ready in a minute.” Luhan smiled and prepared the beverages.

“You really have to tell me about this Xiumin guy.” Chen whispered to Tao, sitting on the stool in front of the counter.

“Well, nothing I have to tell about, Chen. Like what I said, I’m sort of his acquaintance.”

“Yeah, if you won’t tell me, then I’ll scream your name here, so your fans can ask for sign from you.”

“You’re mean!” Tao gasped, “How could you?!”

“It’s just a story.” Chen rolled his eyes, “Why are you keeping secret from me??”

“Well…okay, I’ll tell you but not here.”

“Two cups of vanilla latte are ready.” Luhan served the cups on the counter, “Is there anything I can help you again?”

“Yes.” Tao nodded, taking a tissue and his pen. He wrote something on the tissue and folded it before giving it to Luhan, “Please give Xiumin this. Thank you.”

“Ah, okay.” Luhan nodded, eyeing the folded tissue, “Please come again.”

Tao smiled before leaving the counter.

“Hee, what did he write?” Luhan mumbled, unfolding the tissue.

Xiumin, I visited the coffee shop you’re working at but you weren’t there. Maybe I’ll come again to give back your marker.

-Tao

“It won’t be just the marker matter I think.” Luhan chuckled, “If it was just it, he could give it to me to turn it back.”

“Love at first sight, eh?” Chen laughed in the van while they were heading to Tao’s another shooting place, “I don’t know that thing still exists.”

“Shut up.” Tao muttered, “If I knew you would laugh me out, I would never tell you, Chen.”

“Don’t be so mean!” Chen laughed harder, “Oh, Tao, how I want to see your princess, I mean, prince!”

“Argh! Shut up!”

“Wait, wait. Can you drop me here?” Chen stopped the driver.

“Why?” Tao asked, looking through the window, “A university?”

“Suho’s studying here.” Chen answered shyly, “I want to meet him.”

“Hee…” Tao pouted, “I want to see that Suho, but I have to go quickly.”

“Naah there will be next time, Tao.” Chen said, pushing the door open, “See you, eh?”

“See you.” Tao smiled.

Then, Chen closed the van door with a soft hud.

Tao just didn’t realize the boy he had been looking for was outside the van with Suho.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

“Is that a right way to greet your boyfriend?” Chen pouted.

Suho chuckled and patted Chen’s head, “I’m sorry, ChenChen. I’m just surprised to see you here.”

“Oh, so this is Chen you’re always talking about?” The chubby boy beside Suho asked him.

“Hello.” Chen smiled to him, “You’re Suho’s friend?”

“Yep.” The boy nodded, “Okay, I better leave you two. I don’t want to be a third wheel. See you.”

“See you.” Suho smiled.

“So, what are we going to do now?”

“I’m hungry. Come on let’s get something to eat.”

Lay waited nervously in Kris’ living room. As a foreigner, Kris surely had a good apartment. It was wide and large.

“Okay, let’s go.” Kris appeared from his room, the camera had been hung around his neck.

“Kris…” Lay bit his lower lip, “Do you really have to go to my talk show?”

“Of course.” Kris shrugged.

“But, it’s a talk show…I mean…will it make a good angle for you?”

“I can’t miss a single chance. What? Are you troubled?” Kris frowned.

“No, it’s not what I mean. I’m just…” Lay’s face reddened, “nervous…”

Kris chuckled, “Don’t be. Let’s go now. Or you’ll be late.”

CLICK!

“Kris, please…” Lay whispered, eyeing the two girls who were giggling while looking at them, “Can you stop taking my pictures in the bus…?”

“Why?" Kris raised his eyebrows, and then he looked at the two girls with a smile, “Do you want me to take your picture too?”

“Can we?” One of them asked.

Kris just smiled and focused his camera before taking a picture, but as usual, his picture was so bad if it wasn’t Lay who became his model.

“Oh, we’re here.” Kris heard the announcement from the speaker that they were on the right bus stop, “Sorry, Girls, can’t show it to you.”

“Why did you delete the picture of them?” Lay asked, peeking Kris who had just deleted the photo.

“Because it was so bad.”

“You’re so mean!” Lay gasped, “You can’t say that about people!”

“No, Lay. I don’t mean the girls. I mean the picture.” Kris sighed, “I can never take a good picture of people.”

“My pictures? You took them nicely, right?”

“You’re different.” Kris smiled, “You have the angle I’ve been looking for. That’s why I resisted making you my model.”

“Ah…” Lay nodded, “Well, I don’t know what I have until you could say that. But, I guess it’s a compliment, right??”

Kris laughed to see Lay’s hopeful face, “You can call it whatever you want.”

“Welcome.” A short boy greeted them, “You must be Lay, right? And this is…?”

“I’m Kris.” Kris introduced yourself, “Well, let’s say I’m Lay’s personal photographer.”

Lay’s cheeks reddened, “You’re not.”

“I said, ‘let’s say’ I don’t mean I really am.” Kris chuckled.

Lay pouted and turned his attention to the confused boy in front of him, “Never mind him. So, you are?”

“Oh, I’m Suho, your liaison officer.” Suho smiled, “So, I guess we can move into the auditorium, because the talk show will be started in about ten minutes.”

“Okay.” Lay nodded, following his liaison officer.

Once he was sitting on the sofa on the stage, he was given a script about the talk show. He read it carefully.

Nice chance, Kris thought, focusing his lens to Lay. He saw the picture after that and smiled to himself, Good as usual, Lay.

“You took my picture again, didn’t you?” Lay asked, covering half of his face with the script.

Kris chuckled before taking a picture again, “Why?”

“Nothing.” Lay shook his head, “It’s just embarrassing…”

“Don’t feel it then.” Kris replied, still taking Lay’s pictures.

“Kris~!” Lay whined, “Don’t take it while I notice you! Can you take it while I don’t know??”

“Okay, okay.” Kris laughed to see Lay’s tomato face, “You don’t usually take selca, hmm?”

“No.” Lay shook his head, “I’m not a narcissistic.”

“So bad…” Kris sighed, “You have a beautiful face, you know?”

“Stop making me embarrassed!” Lay whined again, covering whole of his face with the script.

“Oh, God!” Kris laughed hard, “You’re so easy to tease, Lay. Okay, okay, I’ll stop it. I’ll sit on the front row and take your picture, okay?”

Lay nodded, still covering his face, making Kris laugh once again.

“Don’t pull my hand!”

“D.O, can you be gentler?”

“Come on, Guys!” D.O whined to his friends, “We’re late! Look, the talk show has been started.”

“The front row has three seats empty.” Kai focused his sight, “Let’s go there.”

Xiumin was about to sit when his leg hit the man who was taking picture beside him.

“Ah…” Xiumin yelped whisperingly, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” The guy lowered his camera and Xiumin realized he knew the face.

“Ah, you…” Xiumin pointed him.

“You’re…” The blonde man chuckled, “that clumsy barista, right?”

Xiumin blushed. A half part of him was happy because the blonde man remembered him, but another part was annoyed by the nickname.

“I’m not that clumsy, you know?” Xiumin huffed, slumping down on the seat beside the blonde man.

“You are.” He chuckled before taking picture of the novelist on the stage again.

And Xiumin realized the novelist was the man who had been broken up with a loud voice by his ex-girlfriend.

“Aish…” Xiumin muttered, “The world is so small, right? I’ve met that novelist guy too, in the coffee shop.”

“Well, maybe it’s because three of us live in Shanghai.” The photographer answered, “I haven’t introduced myself, right? I’m Kris.”

“Oh, and I’m-”

“Xiumin.” Kris cut him, “I have a good memory.”

Xiumin nodded, his heart was like about to blow in happiness, “So, Kris, what are you doing here?”

“Me? Oh, let’s say I’m working.” Kris chuckled.

“I see…”

“I’m sorry.” D.O interrupted, “But, would you mind lowering your volume? I really want to hear him.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.” Kris gave a slight nod before continued taking Lay’s pictures.

“You shouldn’t have been that mean!” Xiumin hissed to D.O. But, D.O just stuck his finger on his lips and got his attention back to the talk show.