"Is everyone ready?" The manager called as he did a head count as he stood by the door. Murmurs of agreement replied and he smiled down at the group.

"Come on guys" he cheered as he opened the door leading the way to the van. You trailed behind everyone and locked the door securely. Xiumin was the last member of the line, he looked back, beaming at you brightly, his cheeks tinted with pink.

"Let’s goooo" he encouraged, his hand pointing to the direction of the van.

"Since I'm here today, I'll be the driver so we don't have to take two vehicles" the manager explained as he hopped into the driver’s seat.

"Shot gun!" Chen yelled as he raced towards the passenger’s seat.

"Hey not fair, you had it last time" Tao called chasing after him. Kris sighed out as he face-palmed himself as bickering continued.

"Thanks for holding the seat for me" Kris chimed as he slid between the two and took the seat instead.

"Whatever!! I want to sit next to Eun Mi anyways" Tao retorted when Chen stuck his tongue out at him. The seating arrangements took a while longer before the engine roared to life. In the back sat Luhan, Xiumin and Chen. Whilst in the middle sat Lay, Tao and yourself.

"Okay, so first off we have to make a pit stop at the SM building, the members need to get wardrobe, hair and make-up done before any schedules" the manager explained when he hit the main road. "You won't have to tell the driver anything since he'll already know. The important thing here is that time management needs to be efficient." With the mention of time you stuck your hand into your pocket grasping your old watch. You began placing it on your wrist and attempted to strap it into place. It took a couple of tries before you succeeded in fitting it snugly onto your wrist. You heard quiet giggles from your right and saw Lay laughing at you. You gave him a look before looking outside the window. The inner city scene came into view and the building whirled past grazing over your eyes before shooting off again. In no time, a familiar building came into view and unbuckling of seat belts echoed through the van.

"I can see a couple of fans but its okay just watch" the manager tutted before sliding out. Kris followed in pursuit and the back door on the right slid open in unison. Almost simultaneously, scream and shouts shot through the air piercing the nice peaceful atmosphere. Even Tao became serious as he placed on some sunglasses and jogged behind Lay.

Luhan had also slipped through the seats and out the door catching up to the other three. Xiumin was hot on his trails and Chen behind him as he hopped off the van, his legs bouncing him back up. You opened the door on your left side and slid out of the van too, you closed the door behind you as the manager slid close the other. The fans screams continued to ring in your ears as you found yourself waiting for the glass door to accept the pass code and open.

"Wait, isn't that the girl in the tabloids now? What the heck is she doing with them?" A few girls snickered to each other loudly. You clenched your fist onto your bag strap as your knuckles turned white. You clamped your mouth closed before you could lash out.

"Some nerve she has, showing up again" they continued. But before you could act, the door opened. Once it did exo-m wasted no time in filing in and after every last member was inside, the door shut and the noise was blocked. You followed after them as they made their way to the elevator. Kris punched in floor 12 and they were off. You thought back to the first day here and glanced over at Luhan, but it seemed he was on a different page as he chatted lightly with Lay. The door dinged open and you were welcomed with three doors each having its own label: makeup, hair and wardrobe. Exo-m paired off and each pair entered a separate room.

"We usually wait in the makeup" the manager whispered as he guided you into the room alongside Chen and Tao.

"Right on time" he smiled to himself as he began tapping away at his phone. He greeted the staff and took a seat on the black leather couch. You took a peek at your watch to see it was only 7:10am and the interview didn't start until 8:00am. You watched intently as the make-up artists layered on thin coatings of powder and cream. You looked over at the extensive collection of make-up that occupied the long tables. You had never been a make-up person yourself but seeing all the different palettes, brushes and utensils you felt giddy and smiled at yourself.

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So far Tao, Chen, Kris, Xiumin had gone through the make-up. Lastly filed in Lay and Luhan already finely dressed their hair coiffed into elegant hairstyles.

They were casual clothes but a hint of style and creativity was shown. It was clear that the stylists knew what they were doing. Lay smiled sweetly at you before taking a seat at the barber’s chair playing with his black bracelets on his left wrist. You looked down at your own peeling watch and ripped off the excess skin. You were too engrossed in making it look clean that you hadn't noticed the other members entering the room. Soon enough Luhan and Lay were finished and they joined the crowd and piled around the couch.

"Well, why don't you guys look extra fine today? Why can't I look this good too?" the manager joked as he got up from the couch, filing out of the room.

"Because we're just that amazing" Chen answered bouncing after him.

Luhan was last in line with you behind. He turned around and looked down at your wrist.

"Classy" he laughed glancing past your watch.

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Once on the van you found yourself regretting taking So Young's advice. It wasn't that the boys were hard or stressful. It was much rather the fans. They hated you, well maybe not hated, but close to. But you thought on the happier side, it would all be cleared up soon by the company so you could get on with your job. You sighed out and resumed looking out at the city scenery. The van slid into the car park at 7:40am. You took note of the manager’s excellent time management skills and felt anxious at how you would perform once he wasn't around. You pushed the itching thoughts to the back of your mind as the doors slid open again. 

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"Now, let’s welcome the group everyone's been waiting for, Exo-M!" the radio broadcaster shouted through the microphone, his enthusiasm was best fit for the job.  The interview continued on with the boys answering the question accordingly, they have been given scripts and they studied them well. You waited in the sound proof room with the other manager. You had stuffed your hands in your pockets not wanting anyone else to see your watch. Truth was, it did sting. You pride was slowing getting eaten through Luhan's snide remarks. When you were sure no one was looking you carefully slid out your right hand to glance at your watch. The time was 11am, you had been sitting immobile for 3 hours and were beginning to become sleepy. The broadcaster had been through many segments with exo - m and many fan calls were received. You tuned back into the interview and heard that he was wrapping up the show.

"And that concludes today's show featuring the hot new boy band Exo-M! Thank you for listening and we'll be back with our afternoon show at 1pm, tune in then to find who exactly was the famous Lee Hom Wang's secret inspiration, till then let's hear his classic hit: 依然爱你 (yi ran ai ni (Still in Love with You)). Thank you once again Exo-M" he concluded. Soon as he was done the song softly played in the background and the microphones were switched off. The group poured back into the soundproof room laughing along with the broadcaster.

"Thank you for coming onto our show, we'll be happy to have you back some time" he thanked shaking hands with each of them.

"No, thank you for having us, we'd love to come back in the future" Kris thanked back. They took a commemorative picture and the broadcaster shook hands with the manager and yourself.

"Hey, aren't you the lady in the newspapers now?" he questioned as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion once he saw your face.

"That's just an issue right now, all will be cleared up soon" the manager interjected as he took a stand beside you.

"Please don't assume till then, everything will be clarified" You spoke up. You had never wanted to look down upon or viewed as weak.  From a young age you had learnt not to ever  be the type of person that was dependent on someone else and that philosophy had been carried ever since.

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Eun Mi, why can't you do anything right? What is wrong with you? You are really so stupid. No wonder your mum-

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You shook the memory away. The day seemed undeniably worse as it progressed. Firstly, the snarky comments from Luhan, secondly, the negative attitude the fan’s had towards you, thirdly, bringing up of the scandal and lastly, the memories that you tried so hard to push back. You heaved out a sigh as the group made their way back into the van to head to their photo shoot.

"We're a tad early, hm, should we go get a snack?" the manager questioned himself. "Will we have time?" he absentmindedly spoke aloud as the van took a halt at the lights. Cheers of agreement shot through the van as the boys rubbed their tummies, their lips.

"Food, food, foooooood” Chen chanted as he repeatedly poked Xiumin in the shoulder. Xiumin gave him a glare as he pried Chen’s hand away from him.

"I think I got the message" chuckled the manager as he took the right turn into a street filled with street food. He stopped on the side and rummaged through his pockets.

"It's okay, you guys stay here, and I’ll be back soon" you called as you slid open the door next to you. You dug a hand into your bag and searched for your wallet. You came to a nearby rice cake shop as the lady behind that stand smiled warmly at you.

"How much is one serving of rice cake?" you asked beaming back at her.

"5 yuan honey" she replied stirring the steaming pot. You did a quick calculation in your head and counted up the money in your wallet to find you could only pay for seven servings.

"Seven servings please" you ordered, grasping all the money you had in your wallet. The lady gave you a strange look but began filling the various bowls.

"Take away or eat in?" She asked in the meanwhile.

"Takeaway please" you replied, chewing on the inside of your cheek.

"That'll be 35 yuan please" she asked as she handed you the bag of food. You paid and left the stand holding onto the plastic bag securely. Your wallet had been noticeably lighter as loose change was all that was left. You slid back into the van just as the manager turned the ignition on.

"Eat up" you encouraged as you distributed the bowls. The boys wasted no time in digging in and the smell of rice cake soon filled the van.

"Wow you're making me hungry" the manager whined as the traffic light blinked red. You handed him a bowl quickly and he looked at you, smiling.

"Thanks" he replied digging in also. You snuggled closer into your winter coat as the temperature from outside set in. Your tummy gave a low grumble and the scent of food wafted into your nostrils. You the heater and adjusted the fan to face you.

"I've never heard them so quiet in the car before" the manager laughed as he finished his food. You took the rubbish and stuffed it back into the plastic bag. He was silent for a while before he smiled at you again. You returned with a small smile of your own before glancing over too see that Tao, Xiumin and Chen were all beyond finished as they rubbed their dummies satisfyingly. You collected their bowls also and stacked them onto the managers. Kris slowly extended his arm around his seat as it held his now empty bowl.

"Thanks Eun Mi" he grinned. Lay's bowl appeared in front of your eyes as he leaned over a sleepy Tao. His bowl had a good third left and he continuously waved it in front of your face.

"Eat some" he encouraged as you took the bowl from him. He grinned once more as the defined dimple showed again.

"Thanks Lay" you spoke as you took a bite from the still warm rice cakes. The heat travelled down into your belly and warmed you up.  You savoured the taste and scrunched up your face in satisfaction smiling all the while.

"If you wanted to have some, why didn't you buy your own bowl?" Luhan questioned as the stuck his bowl next to your face. 

"It’s okay I'm not that hungry" Lay interjected. You took the bowl from Luhan and stacked it with the others inside the plastic bag. You quickly finished your own and sealed up the bag, staring back out the window.

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"We are One!" Shouted the members as they stood in front of the crew, bowing. The crew broke out in applause as they were whisked to wardrobe and makeup once again.

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The members waddled towards the shoot in crisp suits. The photographer explained the concept of the shoot for the day and began snapping away at his camera. The flashes cascaded across the room as you sat on the couch behind the monitor as the photos automatically popped up from the camera. The repeating sounds of flashes and camera clicks echoed through the large studio and softly lulled you as you closed your eyes. They stung once you closed them, and you were once more absorbed back into your own thoughts.

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Sorry for being incredibly slow and just all round lazy, but this is slightly longer so enjoy!