POV: Chen
Genre: Fluff
Warning: fluffy fluff. Like marshmallows. Prepare lots of them!!

A/N: Originally meant to be for my 12 Weeks of EXO post, but I figured posting this here is better :D
 

Chen is literally bouncing on the bus seat in excitement.

Finally, finally it is the start of my internship!!

Finally he can go behind the scenes of the amazing magazine he has been reading for the past 5 years of his life, XO magazine.

His favourite magazine that he carries everywhere with him- to school, to the gym, to his grandparent's house, to the supermarket. 

Working as an editor is Chen's dream. Not that he has always wanted to be like those typical office workers, buried to their chins with deadlines and having naggy bosses huff down their necks. 

But one day he picked up XO magazine. And he got hooked.

That is why he chose to study journalism in university, so that he can work at his dream company one day.

And to his utmost delight, the company had wrote back to him regarding his internship appeal, and they have accepted him!!

Chen doesn't care if the internship overlaps into his summer holiday.

He just wants to go there. It is his dream.

~~

Day One

"Good morning, you are Chen, right?"

Chen bobs his head vigorously, smiling broadly like a Cheshire cat.

"Well, good to have you here. My name is Kyungsoo and I am the head editor. Feel free to ask me anything you like, anytime during your internship. Before I forget, I would like you to get to know my secretary, Baekhyun, and the staff member you will be working under, Suho."

Baekhyun and Suho smile at him with equally large grins. Chen feels like he loves them already.

Kyungsoo, however, is more stoic-faced as he takes Chen to a table at the corner of a very large bustling office. 

"You will be here."

Chen nods at him, and flings down his bag on the small table, heart pounding in glee.

"Suho will take over."

Then Kyungsoo grabs Baekhyun and hauls him back into his personal office.

"Whoa, don't be so rough on him!!" Suho yells back, then he turns smilingly to Chen. "My apologies, Chen, things can get a little, hmm, heated between them sometimes."

Chen blinks. He thinks he gets the message, and returns a bright smile to the older man.

"Anyway, there is one last thing I want to show you."

Suho points to a large board in the middle of the busy room. It is covered with little envelopes, and there is a name written on each envelope.

"What's that?"

"It's a message board, Chen. We sometimes don't really have time to pass messages to each other, so we do it via that board. Check it everyday, Chen. We added one for you too."

"Oh...? But I'm just an intern!"

"Ah that's where you're wrong, Chen! You're not just an intern, throughout this one month here, you are part of our happy bustling family."

Suho throws an arm around Chen's shoulder and gives him a squeeze. Chen feels like he is glowing. Being part of XO magazine crew's happy family? OMO!! It's a dream come true!!

~~

Day Two

Chen is very very surprised to see a bunch of notes in his envelope. It makes him feel very integrated with all the hyungs and noonas in the office. 

Hello, welcome Chen!!

Hope you have an enjoyable internship!!

Good luck Chen! Kyungsoo goes easy with interns, so you're lucky!

And then there is one more small folded note, in blue scented paper.

Hello, Chen, how are you?

Chen is a little intrigued by the small blue paper, because it seems more sentimental than the others he has received.

And unlike the others, the blue note is anonymous.

Chen writes cute little replies with his post it pad, and slips them into the respective envelope names. 

But his reply for the blue scented paper is difficult to send out because he doesn't know who it is from.

He looks down at his reply.

Hello, I'm fine! How about you?

And then he looks up at the huge board of names.

Then he shrugs, and slots the paper into his own envelope, walking away.

~~

Day Three

Chen has got his first assignment!! 

It is about instant noodle brands. Chen is deliriously happy, and he grabs his folder to head over to the library to do some basic research. Before he leaves the office, though, he goes to check his envelope.

Surprise! A new pink scented paper was there.

I'm fine too. It's a warm day today, don't forget to stay hydrated, drink lots of water!

Chen is touched at this stranger's kind comment. He or she must be really kind, Chen thinks, and smiles to himself. He walks back to his table and picks up his water bottle, deciding to bring that along, to follow the scented paper person's advice.

As Chen steps into the lift and presses the close button, a huff and a shout is heard in the distance, and Chen quickly presses the open button to let the staff in.

It turns out to be a rather young looking boy with a neat overall appearance, silky pearl-grey hair with a tinge of pink, large doe eyes and small pouty mouth, like an angel. The boy blinks at Chen, seemingly shocked to see him in the lift.

"Hello." He murmurs, and quickly looks down shyly.

Chen thinks that the boy is extremely cute, with a overall shy demeanour and adorable babyish looks, but he does not say so. Instead, he smiles brightly and returns the greeting.

Chen spends a whole day in intensive research. Then he goes out and casually talks to some people about their favourite kind of instant noodles. Then he calls his parents and brother and asks them about instant noodles.

Chen feels like a detective somehow, and he is so excited to start writing the article!!
Just before he goes home, Chen decides to drop by the office to keep his paperwork there, in case he leaves any at home the next day. As just before he leaves the office, he drops in another note into his envelope.

Thank you for the advice! You're such a nice person. Care to introduce yourself to me? I would like to meet you.

~~

Day Five

Chen ploughs through the article, editing and submitting and waiting for approval from Kyungsoo. It takes him one full day and finally Kyungsoo accepts it! 

"Well done, Chen. I think this is beautifully written. You have corrected all the mistakes I pointed out so perfectly. Good effort!!"

Chen glows in happiness, as Suho pats his back with a wide grin. 

"Whoa, Chen got a praise from Kyungsoo!!" Suho announces loudly to the whole office, and everyone erupts into a lot of cheers and claps. Chen blushes and chews on his bottom lip, feeling embarrassed and shy.

Then he looks up and sees the cute angel boy (that is what Chen is going to call him for now) with the pearl-grey locks looking at him, with an extremely awed face. Chen goes towards him, but is interrupted by Baekhyun who appears out of nowhere and crushes him in a gigantic hug.

"Congratulations CHENCHEN!!" Chen feels like all the breath in him has been knocked out.

When he looks up and around for the cute angel boy, he is gone.

Later in the day, Chen is still basking in the glow of having his article accepted, when he realises that he has not checked his envelope since two days ago.

It was a green scented paper.

Hmm... I'm shy, I just like to watch you from afar. Is it okay if I don't tell you who I am?

Chen has a shiver run through his body. It feels like a mystery pen pal or something, and he is excited, but at the same time curious. 

He leaves another note in the envelope.

It's okay, but promise you will tell me one day?

~~

Day Six 

Chen goes to the washroom, and comes out to see the cute angel boy standing by the board, in deep thought.

"Hello!" Chen goes to stand beside him, with a little smile.

The boy turns to look at him, baby doe eyes widening and he stumbles backwards.

"Did I frighten you? I'm sorry!"

The boy smiles weakly and shakes his head. "It's okay, uh, I'll be going." He dives into the mess of people in the office.

Chen wonders if the boy has an immense fear of him or something. Is it his face? Chen tugs at his cheeks with a pout. Or his name? Chen... It sounds cute, Chen thinks. So what is it that is frightening the cute angel boy so much?

Chen shrugs, and peeps into his envelope.

An orange paper.

I will, I promise.
By the way, you look cute today.

Chen feels a burning sensation on his face, and realises that he is blushing. Omo! I'm blushing at a note? He quickly hides his growing smile and walks back to his seat.

~~

Day Nine

Chen has been very busy with his new assignment, with involves a two-day attachment to a non-profit organisation that promotes nature-loving. He goes to two motivational talks, two campaign drives and even a photoshoot.

At the photoshoot, Chen is delighted when the cameraman offers to take a picture of him with the beautiful natural backdrop, for keepsake. He allows himself to be touched up, and stands in front of the camera holding a sprig of flowers, as well as sitting on a tree branch.

The pictures come out really nice, and Chen was pleasantly surprised when the camera crew offers to print them out for him on the spot. He accepts them gratefully and wonders what should he do with them...

That evening, Chen drops by the office. Most of the staff has gone home, and Chen goes to greet Baekhyun who was preparing to leave.

"Check your envelope, Chen ah!!" It's the only one bursting with notes!!" He exclaims, and Chen feels his eyes widen. His envelope, that's right!!

He hurries over to it, and found five notes in it, all using the same type of rainbow-coloured scented paper. He lays them out and reads them all.

Chen!! Where are you, you didn't come in today!

Oh Chen, I found out about your attachment, sad to not be able to see you...

Chen, you haven't replied my previous message about me saying you're cute.

I'm serious, you're really cute.

I miss you.

Chen leans his chin on the table and stares at the slips of paper wistfully. If only I can meet you, my mysterious pen pal...

~~

Day Ten

Chen has got several smaller desk-bound assignments, so he has to come to the office everyday. 

As an apology, he slips the photo of him on a tree in his envelope, together with a note that says,

Hey I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you. I'm flattered that you think I'm cute :) here is a present to cheer you up!

Chen sits at his table and eyes the board constantly, looking at his picture peeking out from his envelope, but after five hours, no one has come to take it. Maybe the person is not in today?

Chen dozes off after a while, and suddenly he is nudged awake by Suho. "Yah, it's past 2PM, have you eaten lunch yet?" 

Chen shakes his head sleepily, and snaps his head towards the board. To his surprise, the picture and the note from his envelope is not sticking out anymore - the person has taken it!! Chen pouts a little when he realises that he has yet again missed the chance to discover who his secret pal is.

Suho is staring at something on the table. It is a packet of food wrapped in a plastic bag. "So someone brought food for you, huh?" He wriggles an eyebrow and walks away with a cheeky smirk. Chen unwraps the food and a little purple scented note falls out.

Thank you for the picture, I don't think I can sleep tonight ^^ here's lunch for you. Eat it, okay?

~~

Day Thirteen

Chen wakes up today with a bad flu. He can hardly breathe through his nose at all. Chen picks up his phone and dials the office number. Kyungsoo picks up.

"Chen? It's 9:30AM, where are you?"

"I'm sorry Kyungsoo sajangnim..." Chen whimpers, and Kyungsoo gasps. "You sound sick!!"

Chen nods and sighs, forgetting that Kyungsoo won't be able to see him nodding. But Kyungsoo demands him to stay put at home, and he says that he will get Suho to update him on what he has missed. 

Chen thanks him gratefully and hangs up, lying back down on the bed.

~~

Day Fifteen

Chen returns to the office all better and bubbling with energy. Baekhyun and Suho welcome him with open arms and overly affectionate pats and hugs. Chen grins like the sun and bounces back to work in full vigour.

"You're so happy, I think you're leaving a trail of sunshine everywhere you go," Suho comments, and hands him a bunch of folded notes. "Your envelope was too full that it exploded. You might want to read some of these."

Chen's eyes widen as Suho dumps the pile of notes on his desk, strolling away. Chen scans through them quickly.

Chen! Where are you?

Chen are you really sick!?

Get well soon, Chen! Hearts Hearts!!

I can't wait until you come back to the office!!

The notes are all one-liners and they are written in the same, frantic handwriting. Chen feels genuinely touched, and he picks up his pen to write a reply.

I'm fine :) thanks for being so concerned, I'm so touched. I want to thank you personally, can I meet you in person?

Chen goes to his newly replaced envelope and sticks the note in. He turns around and scans the crowd of staff in the office with a sigh, wondering who, who can the kind mysterious person be...

~~

Day Twenty

Suho approaches Chen with a smile. "Chen!! Can you do me a favour?" He asks politely.

There was a little cheeky glint in his eye, and Chen's curiosity is piqued. "Yes?" He asks.

Suho hands him a thick folder. "One of our staff is not feeling well today, but he wants to continue his work at home. Do you think you would be able to help me send this to his house?" Suho offers a bright sunny smile.

Chen takes the file and nods. "Sure!!" Being an intern, he expects many odd jobs, and it is nice to go out for a breather sometimes. "Who and where?"

Suho hands him a paper with an address. "His name is Luhan. He's our creative designer. I think you might have met him before." With a chuckle, Suho spins on his heel and walks off.

Chen decides not to dwell on Suho's queer behaviour, and he heads out of the office after dropping Kyungsoo a message that he is leaving for a while.


Chen reaches the apartment by noon, tired and flustered after having taken two wrong buses and walked one big round in his blurness. 

He knocks on the door, and waits for an answer. A short while later, the door opens.

Standing in front of him, wearing home shorts and a floral tee, with scruffy pearl-grey hair and a flushed face and sleepy wondering eyes, is the cute angel boy.

Chen gasps, his hand flying to cover his mouth. All along he was going to deliver the file to the cute angel boy?!

The cute angel boy, or Luhan, seems more taken aback by his appearance than himself. Luhan turns several shades redder and his mouth drops open in a gawk that gives Chen a full view of the insides of his throat.

Chen holds out the file. "I was t-told to deliver t-this to you!!" He squeaks. Luhan snatches it away, looking positively frightened, and manages an awkward smile. "Thanks..."

As Chen prepares to walk away, Luhan suddenly seems to remember about manners. "Umm, would you like to come in and sit down for a rest and a drink?" He offers shakily. Chen is about to turn down to the offer but remembers how ragingly thirsty he is. So, he accepts and enters the house behind Luhan.

Luhan's house smells like floral fragrances, a mixture of scents that somehow seem familiar to Chen's nose. The interior is meticulously decorated, and so very cosy that Chen feels at home immediately.

Luhan goes to make tea while Chen's eyes roam the house. He contemplates peering into Luhan's room when the latter bursts out of the kitchen with the tea. "Don't go in!!" He yelps, putting down the drink and hurrying over to Chen, pulling him to the couch. Chen looks at him questioningly, and he blushes cherry-pink, in a way that Chen finds endearing.

They sip tea and talk about XO magazine and work in general. Chen praises Luhan about his pretty designs, and Luhan praises Chen about his wonderful articles and the nice photoshoot pictures...

"How do you know about the photoshoot?" Chen asks Luhan suddenly.

Luhan nearly jumps out of the chair at his sudden outburst, and he feels a little foolish for yelling out so abruptly. Of course Luhan would know about the photoshoot, he wrote about it in his article...

Luhan bows his head and murmurs something about feeling unwell. Chen startles, and leaps up to hold Luhan's warm shoulders. "You should go back and rest." 

Luhan looks up and Chen realises how close they are, Luhan's nose tip inches away from his chin. Chen pulls away with a nervous cough and backs away a few steps. "I'll be leaving." He picks up his bag and heads out the front door to put on his shoes.

Why is my heart beating so fast?

~~

Day Twenty-three

"When is your last day, Chen?" Baekhyun sidles up to him with a smile.

Chen tilts his head at the calendar on his desk. "In exactly a weeks' time." He replied.

Baekhyun's face fell and he squishes his cheek against Chen's shoulder with a sad pout. "Awwh, that soon? I'm going to miss my little dongsaeng like crazy!!" He scrunches his face and makes a mock-crying expression which makes Chen giggle and smack him away playfully.

"I'll still come by during my school term and say hello," Chen promises, with a wink.

"We need to have a party!!" Baekhyun exclaims, and he suddenly takes off his shoes and socks and jumps onto Chen's desk. Chen shrieks in surprise as Baekhyun flailed his arms around madly. "Everyone! Guys! Chen is leaving next week! Let's hold a farewell party for Chen!!"

The staff members hoot at the prospect of a party, and Suho grabs onto Chen and begins to whine about how his dear hoobae is leaving. Kyungsoo stomps out and yanks Baekhyun off the table, hauling him back to the office probably to punish him for misbehaviour. 

As to what the punishment is... Chen doesn't really want to guess.


That evening, he finds a lone yellow scented note in a envelope.

You're leaving :(

~~

Day Twenty Five

Chen meets the cute angel boy, Luhan, in the canteen today. He plops down opposite Luhan and smiles broadly at him, ignoring the little sizzle of warmth that runs right into his bones when Luhan smiles back.

"Are you all better?" He asks, and Luhan nods shyly.

"Are you leaving?" Luhan asks him, eyes wide and slightly sad-looking. Chen dips his head and nods with a frown. "My internship is only for thirty days... And..."

"And?" Luhan echoes.

"Well..." Chen hesitates, and feels his cheeks heat up. "There is someone I am dying to meet. I'm not sure if its a boy or a girl, but he is a nice person who cares about me. I really want to meet him or her." Chen pouts and settles his chin on the table. Luhan watches him with a slightly overwhelmed expression.

"W-what did he or she d-do?" Luhan stammers.

"He or she wrote heartwarming letters to me while I am here. They truly never fail to make me smile." Chen grins a little at the memory, and chuckles. "If only I can meet up with that person somewhere pretty, like a fairy tale..."

Chen realises that he is babbling, and he blushes pink, standing up abruptly and grabbing his empty food tray. "I-I'll be going." He hurries away and mentally stabs himself for sounding like a sappy romantic freak in front of a guy that he might have a mini crush on.

~~

Day Twenty Eight

That evening, Kyungsoo agrees to let everyone off early. Baekhyun has ordered tickets to the nightclub, and has turned that evening into a mini-farewell party for Chen. Chen is really touched at Baekhyun's actions, and cannot help but throw him a huge bear hug in front of all the staff. They all laugh good-naturedly, and Suho goes into a jealous fit, demanding a hug too.

In the end, Chen has to hug everyone. It is his first time actually interacting personally with every staff member, and he secretly wonders which one of them could be his secret pen pal. When he hugs Luhan, Luhan smells like flowers and sweetness, and Chen feels slightly intoxicated by his alluring scent. The nagging familiarity comes back again, but before he has a chance to dwell on it, he has to hug the next staff member.


The party is a blast, and everyone gets one too many drinks and they all half-pass out in the nightclub. Chen finds himself on Kyungsoo's lap and Suho's nose is digging into his chest. It is all cosy and intimate, but Chen doesn't feel awkward or out of place.

He firmly makes up his (hazy, alcohol-swirled) mind to become a permanent member of this happy cosy warm family the moment he graduates from school.

His hand fingers a red scented note in his pocket. Before they left for the party, Chen peeped into his envelope and found the note there. Now, he unfolds it and presses it close to his face in the dim light, struggling to read the words with his blurred-out vision and woozy mind.

On your last day of work, meet me at Namsan Tower at 6PM.

~~

Day Thirty

When Chen knocks off today, he scans the office one last time and soaks in every single personalised desk, every smiling face, every envelope on the board... He plucks off his own envelope and stows it in his pocket with a wistful grin.

I'm going to miss all this.

The assignments, the deadlines, the attachments, the friends, the idle chatter, the notes... My mysterious pen pal.

Chen's pulse skyrockets as he thinks about the date they have later in the evening, around two hours from now. Chen has just enough time to head home and wash up and flag a taxi to Namsan tower.


He arrives at the tower a little too early, dressed in a crisp neat outfit, and wonders if he is overdressed. Oh well, my secret admirer sees me everyday in the office so he or she wouldn't mind what I wear, I should suppose...

Chen suddenly smells fresh flowers from behind him. His heartbeat spikes to a record high as he turns around to face the mystery pen pal, the secret writer behind those letters, the sweet caring coworker who harbours that adorable crush on him...

Chen's jaw plummets to the ground.

The flowers are pushed into his arms. They look so beautiful and radiant, and they smell so sweet and fragrant. But the person in front of him, with that crop of fluffy pearl-grey hair and those gorgeous sparkling eyes and shy curved lips and smooth, glowing complexion makes the flowers pale in comparison.


Chen cannot bring himself to do anything but stare.

"Are you surprised?"

Chen nods dumbly. 

"Are you happy?"

Chen nods again, feeling tears prick in his eyes.

A laugh escapes the person's throat and Chen drops the flowers, stepping into those warm comfortable familiar arms that make his heart fizzle and melt into goo.


"It's you." He breathes, unable to control his spazzing heartbeat. 

Luhan chuckles and tilts Chen's chin up to look at him. 

"I fell in love with you from day one. You looked so beautiful and perfect that I just couldn't help but think of you day and night."

Chen feels a pout coming, and he suppresses it, much to Luhan's amusement. 

"Why didn't you just come to me and tell me, then?"

Luhan leans his forehead against his. "I want to be special."

Chen snorts, and Luhan giggles. "I wanted to confirm your feelings for me before I dived in and confessed. I had to make sure you're willing to accept me for whoever I am, regardless of whether I'm a male or female, and you proved to me that even though you didn't know who it is, you are still willing to give the person a go."

"You have a really good heart. That makes me love you more."

Chen doesn't think he can blush any more harder but after hearing Luhan's words, Chen's cheeks are positively deep scarlet. He stutters and stumbles over his words, and Luhan spares him the need to talk by pressing his lips flush against Chen's own.

Luhan tastes like flowers, unsurprisingly. His breath was sweet and mildly lavender-scented, and when he into Chen's mouth, he mingles his scent with Chen's, and it was all too perfect and much too fluffy for Chen to handle.

"You.... smell like the notes..." Chen wheezes between dizzying kisses. 

Luhan nips on his bottom lip and smiles. "I do?"

Chen nods slowly. "What did you do to the photo I gave you?"

"Framed it and put it at my bedside table." He blushes.

Chen grins cheekily. "No wonder you wouldn't let me enter."

Luhan chuckles and hugs Chen close to him, nuzzling the nape of his neck. "Finally, I get to hug you like this. And you're leaving."

Chen pulls back and smacks his chest. "I'm still here!!" He retorts, and he leans over to whisper into Luhan's ear, "I'll come to the office whenever you want me to. And when I've graduated I promised I'll come back to work there..."

He kisses Luhan's ear, and the older man shivers slightly. "With you."

Chen feels the curve of Luhan's smile in his neck, and he, too, smiles in content.


Like that, Chen's 30 days of his internship comes to an end.


 

A/N: luchen fluff!!! :D ahahahah

Chen taking care of Luhan awwh