CHAPTER 6 : Abducted

The normal human heart rate is 60 to 100 beats per minute. It felt like mine was beating at 200, either that was purely my imagination or I was about to have a heart attack in five seconds.

*flashback*

I ran as fast as I could. Out of the banquet. Out of the hotel. The tears didn’t stop falling despite the coldness outside. At the side of the hotel was an ocean. I sat by the shore and started crying my heart out. I lost track of time as I poured out all the pent-up worries I've kept. An hour or two passed and I was still shedding tears. I wanted to count how many times I cried when I came to Korea but I realized I was too exhausted to even do so.

It almost came off as funny how Luhan controlled all my moods. Just a while ago, I was in awe and admiration while watching him sing. Now here I am with red eyes and nose after he scolded me. It has been merely three days and I’ve felt like I’ve worked for him for three years. Maybe I should retire already. I laughed at the thought.

“Are you crying or laughing? Make up your mind already.” A voice from behind me said.

I turned to see who it was but a jacket was then thrown on my face. When I put it down, I saw the last person I wanted to see.

“Wear that.” Luhan said.

*end of flashback*

I was still aggravated by Luhan but the cold air that sent chills to my body forced me to put his jacket over my shoulder, hugging my back. I looked up at him who was now standing beside me. He actually looked for me. I couldn’t believe my eyes. At some point I even thought that the exhaustion had tricked me. I randomly poked his leg to see if he was real.  Caught off guard, he rapidly moved it to the other direction.

“What was that?” he complained.

I didn’t reply. I looked over by the ocean and wondered why it was too hard for Luhan to open up to somebody. Instead of sitting beside me, he chose to stand up because in that way he could still remain distant.

“Jenna explained what happened.” Luhan said.

I just nodded in reply. I was waiting for an apology that was not going to come. But in all honesty, if he were to apologize I don’t know who would feel more uncomfortable, him or me. But this was enough, for now. In the strangest way possible, Luhan comforted me.

“Let’s go.” he muttered indifferently.

I stood up, my legs still a bit wobbly from the cold. I took his jacket and gave it back to him.  

“You really think I would use that after you’ve used it?” he scowled.  

And… we’re back, I thought.

When we got to the hotel lobby, they were all there. Jenna went up to me and apologized, explaining how she mistook their next song since she was so busy with so many other things earlier. I told her there was no problem. The rest of EXO then went up to me and started patting my head.

“Min Ah, are you okay now?” Lay asked. I nodded and smiled.

“Don’t worry about it, the crowd loved ‘Don’t Go’.” Kris beamed at me.

Tao patted my back, “At least you played an EXO song, I mean imagine if you played another group’s single.” I laughed at Tao.

“Let’s go to a club!” Chen suddenly had an idea.

“Why? You can’t even dance.” Xiumin teased making everyone laugh.

“We could actually do that to lighten up today’s stress!” Lay was too enthusiastic.

“Right, says the main dancer.” I joked. Lay pretended to be hurt, and everyone chuckled.

“What do you think, Luhan?” Kris asked. Suddenly, the atmosphere had changed. Everyone waited for his answer. For a while, Luhan seemed to not want the idea. He stood up and headed to the door. But to everyone’s surprise, he called out, “What are you guys waiting for?” Everyone cheered in excitement. I, on the other hand, felt like something was about to go very wrong.

So the story goes, all of EXO and all of us assistants went to this place called “High Dive.” It was only 9 pm when we got there but the crowd was already all so frenzied. David Guetta’s She Wolf blasted on the speakers that hung just right above the dance floor. In front of it was a platform where the DJ was. There were flashy standing tables on each side of the dance floor, all already crowded. We immediately headed to the far end of the room and stayed at one of the VIP rooms.

The room was covered with glass walls so those inside can get a good look of the entire club. On the center was a long table encircled with comfy leather sofas. EXO took dibs on the seats closest to the door. I sat on the farther end, on my right was Luhan and on my left were Woo Jin and the other assistants.

The waitress (who was blushing) took their orders and Kris started choosing platters like there was a fiesta or something. He then went on to ask what we assistants wanted and Jones, Chen’s assistant, cried beer. Kris agreed to let everyone drink since it was some sort of celebration anyway.

“So, that would be 12 bottles of beer sir?” the waitress confirmed.

I butted in, “11 only. Luhan won’t drink.” Everyone suddenly examined me, like I said something mind-blowing. Luhan just looked at me with a blank face. Seriously, half the time, I have no idea what’s going on in his head.

“11 then.” Kris informed the waitress.

When our orders came in, everyone filled their own plates with food. Although I was famished, I settled to take the initiative and fix Luhan’s meal first. I saw a glint of surprise in his eyes when I took his plate. He was remarking my every move while I carefully took a portion of each dish, making sure to leave out any seafood. After doing so, I placed the plate in front of him, took out the Evian bottled water I had in me and handed it to him with a smile. Of course he didn’t smile back. In my dreams, right?

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When we were all done eating, Lay suddenly stood up, “This is totally my groove,” he said while moving his head back and forth to the song Titanium. “I’m going to the dance floor, who’s with me?”

Everyone was apparently longing to dance as well. They all brought the house down with their hurrays. In a matter of seconds, all of us were on the dance floor. We all formed a circle and clapped our hands to wait for the first volunteer who will dance on the center. Of course, Lay took the challenge. He danced his signature moves perfectly in tune with the rythym and beat of the song. He glided and moved like a prodigy gone wild. We all cheered in admiration. Who could possibly beat that?

Chen then moved to the center and pretended to be on a dance battle with Lay. Go Chen! It’s time to prove your dancing skills. He got down and did a head stand effortlessly, earning a scream from all of us.

The song then changed to Neyo’s Tonight. I noticed that all of us had a certain glow like we were really having the time of our lives. Even Luhan had a smile on his face. Of course, I was delighted as well. I’ve never enjoyed more than I had today; it really was the best way to distress.

But, I spoke too soon.

When the center of our circle became empty, our group was suddenly on the lookout for the next challenger. To my surprise, Tao pulled me to the center, clapped his hands and signaled me to start dancing. One problem: I at dancing. I tried to sway left to right, but god I probably looked like a frog waddling on land.

As always, things got worse. (What is it with me and sticky situations?) I don’t know what got into Kris’ head but he spontaneously pulled Luhan to the center, and pushed us closer to each other.

Define awkward. I stood like a lamppost staring at Luhan who was also motionless. I didn’t want to embarrass myself, especially not in front of him. I was so afraid that he might fire me for dancing like a chimpanzee. But when Xiumin shouted at Luhan, I was doomed.

“Ya Lead dancer! Mwo hae? Don’t embarrass us.” Xiumin teased.

When Xiumin said that, Luhan changed phenomenally from cold motionless jerk to a frigging dance machine. Just in time for the chorus, he danced like there was nobody else but him. My mouth formed a big O.

Cause we ain't even on earth tonight

We on a planet where the dudes got money and they're not afraid to spend it

(Hey!) Ayo ayo

And everything is alright

Ayo ayo

“We ain’t even on earth tonight.” You got that right. Luhan is a complete alien.

He tapped his foot in time with the movements of his body. He pulled his shirt and the place heated up like it was on fire. He shook his body from left to right, his steps all gracefully fitted to the pounding of the speakers. He ended with a pose where his head faced right and his pointer finger was placed on his lips like he was shushing somebody. As expected, all of us cheered in amazement.

The most awaited part was how I was going to beat what Luhan just did. All of them looked at me impatiently like I had some hidden dance talent inside. I gulped in nervousness and decided to hell with it. I put my feet farther apart and waited for the chorus. I was thinking how this could possibly be the worst humiliation ever when Luhan suddenly moved closer to me.

“Get me water?” Luhan loudly commanded.

I heard Tao say that he was being such a killjoy. All the other members even booed him for giving out orders in the middle of playtime. But, I felt the exact opposite. At that moment, I wanted to shower him with thank-yous. If I didn’t know any better, I would think that he was trying to save me from the embarrassment.

I nodded at Luhan and left the crowd. I headed to the VIP room. When I looked back at them, they were all already busy continuing the dance challenge. This time, it was Kris and Tao. I laughed at how from afar, they all looked like a bunch of teenagers.

I got inside the room and took my phone and an Evian from my bag. I quickly went out and closed the door behind me.  When I looked to my right, I noticed a tall man standing, looking at me. I couldn’t make much of his face because it was too dark, so I asked, “Who’s there?”

The tall man moved a step forward and I shivered. The light hit his face and I almost fainted. His hair covered a part of his right eye, but I could see that it was dark. His lips were pale. And his movements were slurred like he had too much to drink. I took a step back, frightened of what would happen next. I wanted to run but my body froze.

In an instant, the tall man had grabbed me. I fought back and retaliated but his strong hands clutched both of my arms. I tried to scream but his free hand muffled my cries and drowned it with the noise of the club. I started crying, looking around to see if someone was seeing what was happening. Before I could even plan my next struggle, the tall man had already hit me in the face.

Slowly my eyes started to close, and the last bit of consciousness I had in me disappeared. Before I fainted, the last thing I thought of was: him.

A/N : Thank you again to those who subscribed and to those who commented. :D I will try my best to update everyday.

I noticed that a lot of you are wondering if Luhan is jealous of Woo Jin. Watch out for the next chapter coz we might see a bit of what is actually going on in Luhan's head. :)

As always, your comment is love :D