AUTHOR POV

Five Weeks Earlier

            Chaerin let out a yawn as she set her pencil down. She had been in the library for a good five hours, studying alone. Since Junghee and Hyunshik were in their own classes right now, she was alone for the whole day. She didn’t mind it, really. She had been unable to study the past couple of weeks since Hyunshik would never be quiet during their study sessions.

 She stretched her arms upwards and suppressed another yawn. Just as she brought down her arms, they hit a solid object. A yelp of pain was heard and Chaerin jumped in her seat. Her head swiveled to the side and a black fabric obstructed her sight. She focused outward and took in the person in front of her. He was crouching over in pain, holding onto his arm as though he had been shot.

“I’m sorry!”

 “Could you watch where you put your arms?”

As soon as she heard the tone of his voice, her mood turned sour. She stood from her seat and still she was towered by him. “Can you watch where you are walking? And that tone of yours is not very charming either.”  He scoffed and glared at her.

            “I am always charming.” He stood and liked the fact the he towered over her, not that it wasn’t the usual. He pretty much towered over everyone except for Kris. She scoffed again and turned away from him, letting out a puff of air. ­This guy seriously has a big head. “I don’t have a big head! How dare you say that about me!” Chaerin’s eyes widened as she turned to Chanyeol. Chanyeol’s eyes were blazing as he glared down at her. Just as she was about to hit him with an insult, Baekhyun showed up behind Chanyeol with a small smile.

            “Is this guy bothering you?” He questioned Chaerin as he nodded his head towards Chanyeol, his hand on the tallers’ shoulder. Chanyeol looked away and crossed his arms. “I could hear you two out in the hallway. And I even had my earphones in.” He tsked at Chanyeol and gave Chaerin a smile. “I don’t think we were formally introduced to one another. My name is Byun Baekhyun.” He gave her a small bow and an eyesmile that made her cheeks turn pink.

            “My name is Lee Chaerin.” She gave him a smile and a bow and then gave Chanyeol a glare. Why can’t you be as pleasing to the eye as him? Chanyeol found himself shaking with anger and he almost turned around to spit an insult in her face. Had it not been for Baekhyun there would have been a very serious altercation between the two.

            “It has been great to meet you, Chaerin-ssi. We have to be going now! Good luck on your exams!” With that, Baekhyun pulled Chanyeol away from Chaerin and out of the library. Chanyeol growled and shook Baekhyun off of him as he stormed off. Who did that girl think she was! Baekhyun trailed behind his friend with a grin on his face. Chanyeol his heel after a few minutes and glared down at the small brunette.

            “What, Baek!? Why are you following me around?” His voice sounded loud enough to be heard from across the courtyard. Baekhyun didn’t even flinch as he gave Chanyeol a sly smirk.

            “What was that back there?” Baekhyun was surprised at his friends’ actions, especially against a girl. Never before had Chanyeol spent more time than was necessary with a girl other than his sister and mother. Even when a girl had spilled something on him before, he had never reacted in such a way. It was strange to see him getting so worked up over a simple mistake. Even the time at the chicken restaurant, Baekhyun thought that his friend had really overreacted.

            “What do you mean what was that?! She hit me on purpose! And then she went ahead and insulted me! Aish!” He mussed his short hair in frustration and let out another growl. Baekhyun was amused at this sight and had to hold back his laughter. He covered his mouth with his hand and turned away so that Chanyeol wouldn’t see his smiling eyes.

            “All I heard was you yelling at her for no reason. But whatever, man. Suho hyung said that he wants to plan an end of semester trip for all of us. I think that Xiumin is going to bring a friend. You should bring Chaerin-ssi.” Baekhyun smiled slyly and gave Chanyeol two thumbs up. Chanyeol just gave him the look of death and started to storm off. “I’m serious, Yeol!”

***

            “What? You’re going on an end of semester trip? With who?” Chaerin looked at Junghee, who was reading a book and munching on some weird kind of chips in her polka dot beanbag chair. She nodded, not looking up from her book.

            “Do you remember those guys from the chicken restaurant? That giraffe looking one, and the hot one? I met another of them in one of my classes. He’s really sweet. Whenever I don’t eat breakfast he brings me food. He asked me to go with them. He said I could bring anyone else I wanted to so that it isn’t awkward. I was going to bring you and Hyunshik.”

            Chaerin thought about this for a moment, her math homework completely forgotten now. End of the semester trip? To where? Are all of them going to be there? “Are you sure you trust all of them?” Chaerin wasn’t the most trusting person out there, and especially not when males would outnumber her. You could blame it on her sister for watching all of those true crime shows on television.

            Junghee shrugged as she popped a chip in and chewed. “I trust him and the other three I met. They are really nice, funny, and smart. They helped me in my science class. I am sure that not all of them are as bad as giraffe.” She finally lifted her eyes to look at Chaerin whom was in deep thought. She wasn’t sure whether she should let Junghee do something so reckless, or whether she should let her and just accompany her.

            “Have you talked to Hyunshik about it?” Chaerin turned back to her work and waited for Junghee to respond. Junghee hesitated. She didn’t really want to ask her brother for permission. But he would most certainly deny her from going on the trip. She had been dying to go on a trip for as long as she could remember. However, her father and mother never wanted her to leave the house. It was always a struggle to get her to agree for the twins to even visit Chaerin.

            “No… But I was going to talk to him tomorrow. The end of the semester is a long way away, too.” She shrugged as Chaerin turned back to her, eyes piercing a hold into her face. “Besides, Xiumin said that there would be separate rooms for us and them. He said that he was fine doubling up with Chen and Lay was fine doubling up with Suho. And Hyunshik would have a room to himself, while we could share a room. It’s perfect isn’t it? Come on. You know you want to go. Come on, Chaerin-ah~” At this point, it was obvious that Junghee was desperate for Chaerin’s approval. Chaerin was so close to telling her that she didn’t want to go and that therefore Junghee would not go.

            “…Fine… But I won’t go unless they invite me themselves. I want to meet these other guys. I only know Kris, Baekhyun, and that jerk.” Chaerin turned back to her work and then flinched when Junghee squealed and ran to give Chaerin a suffocating embrace. “I… can’t breathe… Junghee…” Junghee released her apologizing cutely. Chaerin just rolled her eyes and finished the last math problem in her homework, not caring if it was correct or not.

***Present***

            Chaerin smiled and bowed to the housing administrator before walking out to meet Junghee and Xiumin. They were talking animatedly about the trip to the beach and munching on steamed buns. Chaerin smiled at them and thought that they looked like little kids. Junghee had introduced Chaerin to Xiumin, Lay, Chen, and Suho just a week ago since they had been busy in their own classes until then. Although Chaerin had been skeptical about them, she found herself really enjoying their company. She had even met some of the others thanks to Baekhyun. Kris had also introduced her to the youngest of the group not long ago. It seemed strange to her that the twelve guys had been friends since early childhood. How could they keep track of one another? There were simply too many of them.

            “Alright! Well, we should go and start packing everything up now. We have to be out of the dorms by next week. Call Hyunshik, will you Junghee?” She nodded and pulled out her phone to call her brother. Xiumin smiled at Junghee as she walked just a few feet away. Chaerin did not fail to notice this. “Xiumin-ssi… Do you like Junghee?”

            Xiumin almost choked on the steamed bun in his mouth as he turned to Chaerin. His cheeks became red with embarrassment and he turned away. Chaerin held back a giggle and just gave his arm a light punch. “Hey! There is nothing to be embarrassed about! I am her best friend. You shouldn’t be so shy! She is way too shy around guys herself.” Chaerin was just about to tell him to just ask her out on a date when Junghee came back, smiling widely.

            “Hyunshik said he will call appa to bring his truck tomorrow. We should be able to get everything out by Monday. I cannot believe that the first semester is already gone!” Junghee’s eyes widened and Chaerin just chuckled as Xiumin nodded vigorously at her. Chaerin thought that they would make the cutest couple she had ever seen.

            “What are you guys doing over here?” Chanyeol waved to them as he turned the corner just behind Chaerin. Chaerin had somehow become used to him popping in and out at random times that she didn’t jump as he put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with a smile and gasped at his new appearance. He had dyed his hair red and shaved the sides. He had his bangs covering his forehead now and Chaerin felt her heart speed up.

            “Chanyeol! I thought that you weren’t going to change your hair until we all went in! And I was going to dye my hair red!” Xiumin pouted and crossed his arms over his chest. Junghee found it to be the most adorable thing she had ever seen. Chaerin was still staring at Chanyeol, unable to look away. Junghee didn’t miss it either. Her eyes widened as realization hit her. Chaerin had feelings for Chanyeol, and from the look on his face, he had feelings for her too. Junghee bit her lip to suppress the excitement that she wanted so badly to express.

            Junghee cleared and grabbed a hold of Xiumin’s shirt to pull him towards her. “Xiumin oppa, let’s go get some more steamed buns. I am still hungry.”

Xiumin was about to protest but did not get the chance to as Junghee pulled him away in the opposite direction. Chanyeol had not even noticed that Chaerin had been staring at him the entire time. He looked down at her and was caught in her eyes.  For a while they stayed like that until Chaerin came to realize what it was that she was doing.

         Chanyeol cleared his throat, as he looked away, his cheeks turning a light pink. “So, Chaerin-ah… The guys and I are planning on going on an end of semester trip. Did you want to come with us?” Chaerin’s eyes widened for just a moment, but she immediately relaxed them as she opened to speak.

         “T-To where?” She mentally cursed herself for stuttering. How could she do that when he was right here in front of her?

         “The beach. We might go to Jeju. I think Xiumin already invited Junghee and she will be bringing her brother with her. “ Chaerin felt her heart jump at the mention of the beach. She had always loved going there when she was younger. “So how about it?”

         “Sure! Someone needs to watch Hyunshik anyway. He can’t swim.” Chaerin tried to make it seem as though the only reason she agreed to this was to keep watch over Hyunshik. Deep inside she wanted to go, but for more than that and more than visiting the beach again. She desperately wanted to spend some more time with Chanyeol and the other guys.

         Chanyeol grinned, missing the part about Hyunshik and only hearing that she would go with them. He jumped up and down and cheered, surprising Chaerin. She had rarely seen this side of him up until recently. She found it unreasonably cute. “Aja! Great! We leave next weekend. Pack anything you want, but if you need anything I can buy it for you.” He grinned and she gave him a shy thumbs up. Chanyeol could not contain his happiness. She had actually agreed to it! “Wanna go grab some lunch? My treat!” Chanyeol exclaimed excitedly and gave Chaerin his puppy eyes.

         Chaerin couldn’t resist his eyes and nodded with a smile. He instantly grabbed a hold of her hand and pulled her gently out of the building. As he pulled her along, he fished into his pocket and pulled out his phone, plugged in the password and called Alex. It took a single ring for Alex to answer. Without letting him speak Chanyeol told him to be in front of the University in five minutes. Alex replied with a simple affirmation before he hung up on Chanyeol.

         “Alright! My driver is on the way. What do you feel like eating?” Chanyeol slowed to a stop and turned around to look at Chaerin. She bit her lip and thought for a moment. Chanyeol took the time to take in her appearance completely. She was wearing the hoodie that he had let her borrow just about a week or so ago. Underneath she was wearing a pair of black leggings with zipper details. She was also sporting a pair of high-heeled adidas shoes. He grinned at her shoes. The red and black color matched the colors of his own Jordans. It also just so happened that he was wearing his similar jacket also. He almost chuckled at the fact that they were pretty much wearing couple clothes.

         “I feel like… pasta!” Chaerin grinned as began to water over her choice of meal. She had been craving pasta for a long time, but had settled for ramen instead, knowing full well that she was becoming low on funds. She didn’t want to take advantage of Chanyeol’s offer, but she couldn’t control . His eyes gleamed as he nodded. He pulled her once more and led her to the University’s gates.

         As they walked hand-in-hand, many of the students eyed them. It had been going around for the past few weeks about how both Chaerin and Junghee had suddenly been able to get so close to the untouchable twelve princes known as EXO. All of the girls were envious of the two and all of the guys were jealous of EXO. Though many people refused to admit it, the two girls were the most gorgeous that they had ever seen in a long time. But it was always EXO that was able to get a hold of the most gorgeous girls in the University. They had the looks, the smarts, and the money to get any girl they wanted. But they didn’t want anyone. Not until now.

         As they exited the gates, a black car came into view and Chanyeol immediately pulled her towards it. A tall guy looked over from where he was leaning against the car hood. “Master Chanyeol.” Alex moved to bow in front of Chanyeol but Chanyeol only laughed.

         “There is no need to be professional, Alex. My father isn’t here so you’re fine!” Chanyeol gave Alex a smile and pulled Chaerin forward from her hiding spot behind him. She was always shy to meet a new person, so as she was pulled forward she almost stumbled over her own feet. Chanyeol had not let go of Chaerin’s hand and she tried her best to shake his hand off. He wouldn’t budge and she just gave a small bow. “This is the girl I was telling you about. Lee Chaerin.”

         Alex smiled and gave her a bow in return. “It’s nice to finally meet you Chaerin-ssi. This guy never stops talking about you.” Chaerin and Chanyeol both looked away as their cheeks turned pink in unison. Alex chuckled at their cute reaction and stood straight. “Alright, then! Where am I taking you two?” Chanyeol looked down at Chaerin and he smiled.

         “My moms’ restaurant. Viva Polo.” 

****************************************************************************

I am back again! Sorry about this semi-hiatus. I swear these last few months have been a whirlwind. With my senior year coming to a close in just three days, I have been busy with prom, band banquet, my final band concert, and finalizing everything. And with my job on the wekkedns, I have almost no time to even shower and sleep. And guess what? I am sick yet again. So I dind't go into work today, having lost my voice. 

So instead of being an unproductive potato, I decided to add more to this chapter that I had originally planned! You guys deserved it! I hope you understand that the italics are Chaerin's thoughts and Chanyeol can hear them. It is playing into the "soulmate" aspect of the story. I hope I didn't confuse you! ^^'

I plan on updating again in about a week or two since I will be off from school but yeah... I have my graduation ceremony on the 9th and the weekend before that I am going to Corpus Christi (I live in Texas) for a vacay. And yeah... ^^ 

Anyway! Thank you to all of my new and old subbies! I love you guys to pieces! Please don't hesitate to leave feedback and please upvote if you feel that I am worthy! XD

Until next time my lovelies! ^^