"I'm guessing you want to know what happened just now?" Luhan asks you after a while. "You deserve to know."

You smile and shake your head at him. "I'm not dying of curiosity, if that's what you mean."

"Then I'll wait until we get where we're going before explaining everything. Thank you so much, 寶. For getting my hat back, and getting us out safely from that crowd. I don't know what I would have done without you back there. I usually have someone with me when things like that happen, but alone, I just freeze," he admits, ashamed.

"You wouldn't have had any trouble, Bambi, that's what. I mean, I was the one who asked you to come today. I won't, anymore, if that's what you want," you assure him.

"No, it's not!" Luhan denies vehemently. "I had fun today, before that fiasco happened."

"Oh, come on, for the entire first hour you were so paranoid!"

"And, unfortunately, I was right!"

You acknowledge this. "Hey, maybe next time don't bring this hat. It's pretty distinctive, even from a distance."

He blushes. "I wanted to wear it today."

"It's 28 degrees out!"

The rest of the ride passes quickly as the two of you chat easily, almost as if you aren't fleeing from a crazed mob.

Soon, you arrive at your destination. You give the expressionless security guard a little wave and a smile as you follow Luhan into a familiar apartment building.

***

The EXO-M members are just waking up at 1 pm. They're exhausted, having just arrived from Beijing the day before. Well, perhaps not exhausted. 18 hours of sleep has more than rejuvenated them. Perhaps they're just too lazy to roll out of bed.

One of them has only just finished in the bathroom when he hears noises outside in the hallway. Padding quietly to the door, he opens it to investigate. It's just Luhan, about to input the code into the keypad. "Hey, Luhan, where'd you go so early?" He yawns.

"It's past lunchtime, hyung," Luhan informs him.

"So? It's still earl- AARGH!" He yells as you stand up after tying your shoe and pop up behind Luhan. In a knee-jerk reaction, he pulls his dongsaeng into the flat, behind him, and slams the door. You blink at it. "Goddamnit, Luhan!" You hear him yell. "This is getting out of hand!"

"Xiumin hyung, stop!" You can hear them struggling. "I'm going to tell her the code," Luhan warns him. Silence.

"You're not serious."

"Just let me explain!"

"Who knows what kind of weird she'll pull!?"

"It's getting kind of drafty out here," you call. It's not, but you don't want to be standing out here.

"Go away!"

"Hyung!! 寶, just a second!" Deep breath. "Xiumin hyung, I swear she's not one of them."

"She freaking followed you home!"

"Oh my god, hyung, no! I brought her!"

"She's witched you! OH MY GOD YOU'RE NOT REALLY LUHAN, ARE YOU?"

"What-" The door opens suddenly and you step aside as Luhan struggles with Xiumin, trying not to get shoved outside. "Stop, hyung-" The door starts closing and you observe it before quietly stepping inside, leaving the two outside.

Silence. You wave at the brown-haired, slack-jawed Korean standing in front of you in a t-shirt and shorts. Is he okay? He doesn't move.

", Luhan, look what you've done!"

"I swear, hyung, just listen to me, will you??"

"Quick! Before she-"

"AIEEEEEE!!!" The boy suddenly shrieks, hugging himself as he runs inside. A door slams.

You blink, bewildered.

There's silence outside. Then- "CHEN! CHEN, NO!" The door beeps open and Luhan runs into the flat. "Sorry," he wobbles his head at you quickly before sprinting inside. "Chen!" He bangs on a door. "Chen!"

You shrug and perch lightly on the back of one of their leather couches. The door opens slightly. Xiumin's eyes widen before he jerks his head back out, hitting his head on the doorframe as he does so. You wince. Ooh, that must hurt. You listen-a thud comes from outside. Uh oh. You hop off the couch and wander further into the flat. You walk into what appears to be the kitchen. Opening and shutting cupboards, you find a box of Ziploc bags. Taking one, you turn around to fill it with ice before wrapping it in a paper towel.

Opening the front door, you hand the package to Xiumin, who has crumpled by the wall, holding his head. He makes a feeble effort to scoot away, but you don't move. Silently, he accepts the offering. "Not coming in?" You ask politely. He convulses slightly at the sound of your voice, but doesn't reply. "Suit yourself." You close the door and turn to go back to the couch. The commotion is still going on inside. You sigh and look around.

"CHEN! Please, open the door?" You hear Luhan ask. His voice is as sweet as ever, but you can tell he's frustrated as the boy inside keeps screaming.

You look at the door as it beeps and opens. Xiumin finally walks in. He head-spasms at you and mutters a reluctant "kamsahamnida," avoiding eye contact, before collapsing on the couch opposite from you.

"What is going on here?" You hear a deep, tired voice say as a door opens inside. "Chen, if you're going to lock yourself in your room, do us a favor and stop screaming. And Tao, I'm already angry you woke me up, stop hiding behind me." Though strained with fatigue, the speaker's voice is stern. "Is Lay up yet?"

"I am now," a quiet voice says.

"Good. Now, can someone explain to me what's going on?" Just as Luhan begins to respond, you hear voices outside. You make your way behind a couch and hide out of view. Xiumin still has his eyes closed. You hear the door beep. Six boys pile in, chattering. "We're here!"

"Hey, Xiumin hyung, what happened?" A boy with large ears asks, seeing the ice pack. Xiumin just shakes his head, eyes closed.

Luhan dashes into the living room, wide-eyed. "Don't-" He stops in his tracks and looks around. Where'd she go? Disregarding the six boys' questioning looks, he goes to the kitchen, then opens the front door. .

"Goddamnit, Xiumin hyung," he mutters angrily. He marches over to Xiumin, who's still lying on the couch. "She left!"

Xiumin opens his eyes wearily and points. "She's sitting right there- Oh." He looks around. "Good. She's gone."

"What do you mean, good? Hyung, I told you-"

The six friends look fascinated. "Who's 'she'?"

Luhan turns. "Sehun, that girl-"

"Someone better explain to me what is going on," someone in a black t-shirt and basketball shorts says irritably, walking out. You narrow your eyes- he really is an incredibly tall, fit bastard.

The boy following on his footsteps (Tao, of course) has you furrowing your brow- he looks so impossibly exhausted. Behind them comes Chen, the screaming brown-haired boy, and a quiet-looking blond in a wifebeater who must be Lay.

You count them. There are so damned many of them. As Luhan begins to speak ("Kris-"), you take a deep breath, prepare yourself, and stand up.