I woke up feeling a little better.

“Hey, you’re awake. You might want to come down. They’re showing some interesting news on the television now,” Yoo Mi stood by the door, holding a mug in her hand. By ‘news’, I immediately knew what she meant. I slipped into the shoes Yoo Mi had laid out for me and quickly followed her downstairs.

“From last night, we have learnt the shocking news that the relationship between EXO’s Sehun and college graduate Miss Yoo In Hae has been a farce all along! This is big news to all fans and the general public. Who would have thought their relationship was just a contract? At the moment, SM Entertainment has not released any statements and neither have we heard from Miss Yoo In Hae. Regarding the record label, we look forward to seeing how they would deal with the situation-“

I quickly grabbed the remote and turned off the television. I could not continue listening. It was only eight in the morning and I was already so stressed out. I buried my face in my hands and sighed. For once, Yoo Mi was quiet. I guess she knew I was not in the mood to talk at the moment. “I guess I’ll leave you alone for awhile. Come down for breakfast anytime! I’ll be at my studio if you need me,” Yoo Mi smiled and left. I stood up soon after and went back to the bedroom.

I grabbed my phone and sat down, thinking of who to call first. Since the news was already out, both Jaehyo and my mother probably knew about it already. The contract was probably over too, so I had to get my things from the dormitory and move out. I decided to call my mother first.

The phone picked up after three rings.

“Chloe!” I could not believe I was hearing my mother’s horribly accented voice again.

“Mother…”

“I saw the news. I can’t believe you! I told you that idol boy was bad news and you still dated him! No you didn’t date him, you pretended to date him. What in the world made you agree to something as ridiculous as that? And now that you messed it up, the reporters are all coming after you! Chloe, you’re such a disappointment!” My mother yelled over the line.

As if I was not feeling bad enough, my mother just had to make things worse by repeating everything I had done to me. However, in a way, my mother was right. Everything I did was wrong. None of this would have happened if I did not agree to sign the contract. I was a liar, I made horrible decisions and worst of all, I disappointed my mother. I felt like a failure. My vision grew blur and a lump formed in my throat.

“I’m sorry…” I tried to fight back my tears, but it was clearly not working.

“Now you know what you did wrong! I want to hear what you are going to do now,” my mother barked on the phone. She was not making things any better.

The thought of staying here, seeing Sehun on the television, seeing people related to Sehun, being under the same sky as Sehun, the thought of Sehun himself, it made me sick.

“I-I-I want to move… I want to move back to A-America…” I choked.

“Are you serious?” My mother’s tone softened.

“Y-Yes. I want to leave…”

“I guess you have come to your senses. I think you might need some time to pack. I’ll help you book a flight to Chicago the day after tomorrow. That is sufficient time for you, yes?”

“Yeah…”

“Okay. I’ll pick you up at the airport. See you in two days.”

“See you.”

The door opened just as I hung up the phone. Yoo Mi walked over and sat beside me. “What’s with the waterworks?” She asked. I looked up, shocked. “H-How did you know?”

Yoo Mi laughed a little.”It’s obvious, cutie. You have tear stains on your face and you’ve got the hiccups.” She wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “I heard parts of your conversation. You’re moving to America?”

I nodded. “I want to get out of here…”

Yoo Mi pouted. She was obviously upset with my decision.

“I’ve made up my mind, I can’t stay here,” I insisted.

“If you say so…” Yoo Mi stood up. “I happen to know a certain someone who’s going to Chicago too,” she winked. My eyes widened. “You do?”

“Duh, you won’t be lonely!” She exclaimed.

“Who is it?” I asked.

“Hmm… It’s a secret! You’ll find out soon enough!”

Yoo Mi grabbed my hands and pulled me into a tight hug. “I’ll miss you though. I’ll have to go back to being Tiffany’s stylist,” she whined. I laughed. “I’ll call you often, okay?”

“Right… You’ll have to get your things first though. I’ll help!” She offered.

I shook my head. “I’ll be fine by myself.”

“At least let me give you a ride!” She pleaded. I sighed. I could never win a verbal battle against Yoo Mi.

Fifteen minutes later, I found myself inside the building of SM Entertainment. With the help of Yoo Mi, I managed to slip past the army of reporters loitering near the entrance.

“I’ll wait for you here. You go do your job,” Yoo Mi whispered. I nodded and rode the elevator to the last floor, the level where Mr Kim’s office resided.

“Come in.” I took a deep breath before entering the office. Mr Kim looked like he was expecting me. He did not look too happy. He gestured for me to take the seat across him.

“Uh… I am planning to move to America with my parents in two days.” I said quietly.

Mr Kim raised an eyebrow. “Right. Have you come to move out of the dormitory?”

I nodded. “The contract is over, right?”

It was Mr Kim’s turn to nod. He straightened his tie. “The terms and conditions of the contract no longer apply, but responding to the public will be your own responsibility. You are at your own liberty to either ignore or respond to them. You and our company no longer hold any form of connection.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Thank you for working with us for two months. You may leave now.”

I turned to leave. Mr Kim suddenly seemed so cold, but after what had happened, it was justifiable. I exited the building with Yoo Mi, trying my best not to let my feelings get the better of me.

We made our way to the dormitory. Thankfully there were not as many reporters due to the tight security after I got egged. I sighed. That day seemed like ages ago. Looking back, it was the day Sehun and I were able to be friends. I shook the thought out of my head. I had to stop thinking about Sehun. We were no longer related.

Packing up was not too difficult of a process. After all, I did not have too many things when I came to Korea. The thought of going back to America after nine years scared me. I wondered how much had changed since I left.

The last thing I packed was a frame. In it was a picture of me at the concert in China. I was surrounded by the EXO members, and Sehun was by my side. We were all smiling. We looked so happy. I looked so happy. Too bad it was just a facade. I sighed. I took one last look at the picture and shoved it into the bin.

“Are you done? It’s already dark out,” Yoo Mi came in to check on me.

“Yup, thank you so much for your help.”

Yoo Mi grinned. “No problem!”