She made a quick visit to their room, where her bag lay beside the door. She looked at the big brown door to the study and placed her had against it. It felt cold--or was it her own? Her heart felt like it would stop beating any second. She bit the joint of her index finger, a habit she developed ever since who knows when.

Then she realized it--she was smiling. Oh heck. She needed to stop. Stop smiling, idiot, she told herself. You'll get busted. She then composed herself and turned the doorknob. 

 

 

"What is happening to you? You have greatly disappointed me, Yuan. What am I going to do with you?"

If she wasn't in her father's presence, she would have yelled from excitement. She knew exactly what he'd say next. 

"Pack your bags. You're leaving for.."

Everything else didn't matter. It was perhaps the greatest thing she ever heard in about two decades. Finally, freedom. She bit her lip so hard to keep herself from smiling, that it might be bleeding, but who cares. Although it took so much, she knew this plan would work out. Goodbye, scripted, nonspontaneouis life. Goodbye, big, empty house. Goodbye, pretentious friends. Goobye, men in black. 

Hello, Chin--

 

 

 

 

"..Korea."

She suddenly remembered the buffaloes. She imagined a single one aiming straight towards her, its head hitting her chest. Magnify that feeling by a million, then that is probably the best description of what she felt right now.  

"What?" she croaked.

Yuan loved her old man, truly. He was probably the jolliest person she ever knew. But when it came to his children, ah, the iron fist.  

"Isn't China the next option to find me a university?" she managed to say, but she knew her voice almost faltered. 

It was not that Korea had incompetent schools. In fact, she knew they have really good universities there. But Korea just seemed so..foreign. She's never even been there. 

"You're not going to school, Yuan," her father said disappointingly. "You'll work. Know how hard life is, and maybe hopefully, you'll fix your attitude."

She searched her brain. Surely she's made a plan for this end. She's worked it all out--counter attacks to whatever surprise her father might throw at her. There is no dead end. But at the moment, she was utterly clueless. She's worked out the probabilities of being sent to a new school in China versus working in Korea. And guess what--it's a million to none. Working, maybe. But Korea?

The feeling of excitement was replaced by fear, but only to a certain degree. But nevertheless, she shrugged the new dilemma off. It would have to wait. Right now, her first priority is to leave. She didn't want to pretend that she's sad at the thought of being sent off, nor finally show her excitement. So she said nothing. A sigh is probably safe, so she did it. All's well that ends well.   

 

 

 

"Miss Lim?"

Yuan tore her eyes from the window and looked at the man standing beside her. He gave a small bow and she did the same. The man was wearing a formal attire, just like everyone in the private plane, except for her.

"We have encountered a slight problem," MiB One (which she decided to call him) said. He then paused, as if waiting for her response. She tilted her head, and willed for him to go on. Since she was a kid, it seemed as if nothing ever went spontaneously. She felt like everything needed a go signal. 

But that was before. With this new found freedom (or so she thought), she'll finally know Life Outside. She decided to carry on with the signals. They'll only last until the airport. 

"We would have to land in Incheon International."

She nodded and shifted to look out again. But she noticed the guy was still standing beside her. What, did he need a leave signal? She sighed inwardly. She looked at him once more. 

"It's a public airport," he said. What, is he allergic to public places? Then she realized, it wasn't him. It was her.

"It's alright," she can't help but say in an almost annoyed voice. What did these guys think she is, a rich kid who got disgusted by anything public? 

"And it's crowded."

Does it matter? Don't airports ever get crowded? She sighed in frustration. And maybe resignation. "It's really fine. Please. Relax." Chill out, dude. The man seemed hesitant, but then finally he bowed and left, but not before adding, "And Miss Lee is coming to fetch you."

That sort of lifted her mood. 

 

 

Whoa. MiB One's right. The place is crowded. In a sense that it's teeming with probably hundreds of the female species. But it wasn't any of Yuan's business. MiB One didn't even bother to supply her with an explanation to the screaming of the girls. She proceeded to the arrival area, and it seemed as if the screams were getting louder. It wasn't only surprising, but to some extent annoying. 

There was line of passengers ahead, and she was second to last, in front of an old lady. 

"Look at these teenagers," the lady said. She didn't understand what the older said, but knew she was talking about the teenagers, the way that she gazed at them with a frown. "Spending all their time following their idols instead of being in school."

Yuan nodded, not because she understood and agreed, but only out of politeness. She then faced front, before the old lady had anything to ask. Two more people, and she'll finally be able to leave the noise behind. This noise, which seemed to get louder everytime. She sighed and realized she should have plugged her earphones. Too late though. And she also wondered if it would have made a difference. 

She stepped toward the lady at the arrivals, who seemed to look worriedly behind Yuan. She remembered the old woman, and faced her. She found the older touching her forehead. Yuan then made a step backward and nodded politely to the old woman. 

"Are you sure?" the older asked, trying to make her voice louder above all the screaming. 

Yuan nodded quickly, the older was probably asking if it was alright to overtake her in the line. She then stepped towards the old woman's back, which made her last--or did it?

Three guys took the end of the line. She was surprised; it seemed as if the three didn't even notice her. They kept their heads low, and covered much of their faces. She glanced past them--and saw the enormous crowd of girls. It hit her--they must be the cause of it. 

She saw MiB One begin to walk towards her. He'll probably try to 'negotiate' with the three newcomers, and lecture them about what falling in line meant. That would probably be embarassing for the three, but annoying for her. Time to act. She shook her head at him, and walked to the end of the line. 

When will she get rid if these men?

 

 

Kyou knew enough not to laugh out loud. She settled for a smile at the sight of them. Yuan and two of the men in black (term coined by the twins) came out of the terminal, and she raised her arm to get their attention. 

"Goodmorning, Miss Lee," the two guys bowed. Kyou bowed herself, and caught the annoyed expression carved on the other girl's face as the latter gazed at the two guys. 

"Hey, Yuan." Yuan lifted her eyes from them and towards the older. Immediately, she felt better. She then gave the older a smile. Kyou sensed the younger wanted the guys to leave already. "Well, I guess I have to take Yuan now. Have a safe trip back," she bowed at them. 

"Yes, indeed. There shall be people waiting for Miss Lim at LGC, so please do not burden yourself."

"Miss Lim shall be formally introduced to the company this afternoon. Her living arrangements have already been made." 

 Kyou now laughed at the irritated expression made by Yuan, who did not even bother to hide it. Murderous to some extent, she would say. 

"Yes, thank you, we'll be leaving now," Kyou said and opened the trunk to let the men in black put Yuan's things in. The younger female then walked towards the door of the passenger seat and let herself in. After Kyou herself sat, Yuan muttered, "Finally."

Kyou let out another laugh and shook her head, then revved the engine to life. The two men watched as the vehicle moved forward. One of them produced a phone from his pocket. 

"Miss Lim and Miss Lee have left the airport," Yuan said in a mocking tone. Kyou grinned at this, she knew how every Lim child hated the men in black. Yubi  got used to them eventually, but the twins never seemed to stand them. 

Yuan can't help but feel embarrassed. Kyou knew why she was sent here. Ah, can't they just have gotten somebody else? Yubi just had to ask Kyou. Sigh. The Lims met Kyou back when the latter started to work for LGC. Even Kyou was entrusted the twins' lives, whenever she gave them a lift or went with them somewhere. 

"How was the trip?"

"Tiring." 

Indeed it was. The flight itself exhausted Yuan, but what made it more tiring was the constant pestering of the men in black. Making sure she was comfortable, offering this and that. 

"And.." Yuan can't find the right word. "Fun, I guess."

"Fun?"

"Yeah. There was this huge crowd of girls screaming and taking pictures. Some old men were also taking pictures. I found out they were screaming for some guys. They must be popular around here."

Kyou smiled. She knew the twins live in total order. It must be Yuan's first time to experience such chaos, she laughed to herself. 

"These guys.." she continued. "They overtook me in the line. I ended up last."

Then she paused for a long time and thought. It was the first time something like that happened. She waited so long to wait. Back then, everything was given as soon as possible. Time is very important. She wasn't mad, though. In fact, she thought it was exhilarating. She gave way, and no men in black was involved. The first glimpse of freedom. She smiled. Kyou knew it was genuine. 

"Kyou?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you drop me off a block from LGC?"

"Yeah, sure."

That morning, Yubi told Kyou that Yuan was coming to Korea, and told her the details. Kyou was willing to lend a hand, but there was a slight problem. The day before, Kyou had her vehicle checked. So she ended up having to borrow a vehicle from SM. And there she was, driving an eight-seater to fetch a single person. 

"You'll head to LGC yourself?"

Yuan thought. "Can you pick me up?"

"Of course."

Kyou's phone beeped. It was an incoming call from the staff who lent her the vehicle.

"Yoboseyo?..Used by who? You mean..?" Kyou paused, after saying some words that made no sense to Yuan. "I see," the older laughed then. "Hey, it's alright. Goodness. Thanks for lending me the vehicle anyway. Alright, thanks."

The older then faced her, shifting back to Mandarin. "We're going back, is that fine?"

"You sound like an MiB," Yuan sighed. "It's fine."

"Sorry," Kyou smiled. "I'll keep that in mind."

They parked again, and Kyou immediately got out. "You probably don't want to hear the fangirls. I'll be back soon, and Yuan?" she said before closing the door. "Welcome to Korea." 

"Fan..what?" Yuan asked, but Kyou had already gone. 

 

 

Miss Lim shall be formally introduced to the company this afternoon. Her living arrangements have already been made.

Introduced? What did these guys think? Lim alone speaks for itself. And living arrangements? She smiled and shook her head dismissively at the thought. She had other plans. 

She plugged her earphones in, and no sooner had she closed them that something on the side mirror caught her eyes. Kyou, talking to some guy. She looked like she was apologizing, and the guy was waving his hands in front of him, as if in disagreement.

Her phone then beeped. A message from Xi. How's Korea? 

Yuan saw underneath the simple message. Xi was probably dying of envy. 

Free, she smirked and pressed send, just as Kyou opened the door. "Hey," she said and scratched the side of her neck. "I believe I forgot to mention why we came back."

Seven men appeared by the door, including the one Kyou was talking to a while ago. Oh look. So are the three guys who overtook her in the line. 

 

 

 

"But hyung, that was very rude," Luhan said, a frown carved on his face. He fidgeted with the straps of his backpack, if not with the deer keychain hanging on it. "Wasn't it, Lay? Kris? Someone agree with me!"

"Luhan," Manager hyung said. It was probably the nth time he will have to explain why the act of 'rudeness' was done. The six of them had to split up to be able to leave the place faster. The fans,yet again, have gone wild. In the rush, they immediately fell in another line. The overtaking was't done on purpose. 

Luhan sighed. There wasn't any winning this argument. As much as they would want to apologize, they were not able to see what the person looked. They were not even sure if it was a she or a he. 

"But hyung, what if he or she was a fan?"

"Then all the more reason to have hurried. And don't you think he or she would have been screaming his or her head off?"

Luhan paused. Well.. 

He felt someone's hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Kris' it'll-be-okay face. Ah, of course. The leader Kris. 

"Look, there has been a slight misunderstanding," Manager hyung continued. "The van has been lent to Miss Lee, but fortunately, she was also on her way here. She'd probably insist on dropping firm politeness, but don't forget she's an important person, and well, try to behave, alright?"

 

It was quiet all the way to Seoul. Exo M was told to ride in the van, and the managers and the staff would wait for another vehicle to get them back. 

"Kris? What is wrong with Luhan?"

Kris sat upright from behind the driver's seat. Since he was the leader, everybody referred to him with things that regarded Exo M. Their noona spoke to them in Chinese, and he couldn't be more glad. There was somebody else with them, and he didn't want things spreading around, even if the girl's a trainee. She looked Korean, so she probably wouldn't understand whatever conversation they might have.  

"Manager hyung..Well, you see.." Kris couldn't even get the words out. 

"Did he hit anybody?"

"Uh, no, no! Well, Luhan," Kris glanced at the older at the back. "Luhan felt upset about something that happened at the airport."

Kyou glanced at them from the rearview mirror. 

"Well, we had to split up earlier, and we kind of..overtook some person over the line. The person ended up being last. Well, we know it was rude, but Manager hyung told us to hurry up. Luhan wanted to go back and apologize. We all wanted to."

Kris saw their noona grin amusedly, but only for a split second. It turned into a smile of assurance. "I'm sure the person would understand. You might have even done her a favor."

Kris looked back again at Luhan, and felt Tao, who was sitting beside him, tug his shirt. He glanced at him, and also saw Yixing nodding. He then leaned back and breathed deeply.

 

 

 

They were probably five minutes away from SM, Kris saw that Luhan relaxed a little. He looked outside and noticed they were slowing down. After a few seconds, the vehicle stopped completely. Everybody sat up straight, some of them stretched but nobody said anything. There was a motion at the front of the vehicle, and they saw the other girl get out of the front passenger seat and held the door slightly open.

"I'm going first," the girl said in Chinese. They panicked--she understood everything!? They exchanged looks but remained quiet.

"I'll see you in an hour?" Kyou noona asked, a grin now on her face. The girl nodded and bowed. As the vehicle moved forward, they watched as she made her way on the sidewalk, avoiding looking at the leaving vehicle. Kris noted that their noona dropped the girl blocks away from SM, which was now in sight. She parked at the side of the building. The side entrance was, they thought, the safest way in. 

"You know, it's funny, Yuan told me three guys overtook her in the line this morning," Kyou said and smiled meaningfully, as they parted ways inside the building. "Well, I'll see you. Goodluck."

"Is that supposed to be good news?" Kris asked after their noona left. "Chen, you probably infected her with the whole troll thing. Maybe you should stop practicing with Kyuhyun hyung? You might infect them both."

Luhan snapped his fingers. "That's good news, isn't it, Xiumin?"

Xiumin laughed. "What, you're gonna look for the girl, what's her name?"

"Yuan," Yixing supplied. 

"Who's Yuan?" A wild Suho appeared, and asked. "Hello, how's China?"

"The same," Yixing said. 

"Hyung, who were you looking for?" Sehun asked and stood beside Luhan. 

"Kris, oh my--did you see my--oh there it is!"

Kris handed Tao his Gucci, the older's eyebrow raised a little. Tao laughed, "Oops, I forgot. Sorry!"

"Even Lay has infected Tao."

"Hyung, who's--"

"Did you bring something for us?"

"Hey, where's Manager hyung--"

"Where's Baek and Chanyteol and Kai and Kyungsoo?"

Kris groaned, to which Suho laughed. Oh well. Welcome back to Korea.