I felt crushed, something heavy on top of me and my arms and legs trapped. I could breath, just barely. It was early in the morning, I could tell by how tired I still was. I opened my eyes and saw the morning sun barely start to creep into the room. I looked down and widened my eyes to the spectacle before me. When I had gone to sleep, the boys were comfortably sleeping in their corner of the room. Now that corner was empty, not a single soul to occupy it's crevice. Instead, all of the 12 boys had migrated over to me and laid upon me as if I were a rug. Even the timid Tao was draped across my legs, openly. I tried to find the feeling in my arms and wiggle my fingers, but to no avail. My arms were trapped under two bodies. I looked to my right and saw Lay across my right arm, nuzzling into it almost. On my left was Xiumin, laying on my arm and holding my hand. I attempted to sit up and quickly fell back down. An unknown arm was laying across my neck. I looked at the time and realized it was time for me to start getting ready to leave in several hours. I slowly leaned onto Xiumin to pull my arm away from Lay. I got it out and got severe pins and needles, making tears sting my eyes. With my numb hand I picked up the hand from on my neck and moved it over my head. I heard someone moan from behind me and I awkwardly laid onto Lay to remove my hand from Xiumin. I finally got my hands free and sat up, a slight pain in my back. I turned and looked who was behind me. Kai had stolen my pillow and was laying as its replacement.

I was laying on Kai?!

A shiver ran through me and I shook my head. My stomach became a swarm of butterflies. I shook my head some more as I carefully removed my legs from the strong grip of Tao. I stood and searched all the bodies, making sure everyone was there. I froze when I didn't see a familiar round face. I checked everyone again and widened my eyes.

"He's not here... where is he?" I felt myself begin to panic.

I stopped myself and took in a deep breath, trying to calm down. I stepped around all the bodies and went to my closet, taking out my suitcase I had packed about a week ago. I looked into my closet for something to wear and I settled on a white t-shirt with a black and grey design scanning the middle. I grabbed some skinny jeans and pulled out my winter jacket.

I went into the small space of the closet and closed the doors behind me, getting changed in the cramp space.

I should've gone into the bathroom.

I growled to myself for being so dumb and I finished getting dressed. I opened the doors and was relieved when everyone was still sleeping. I grabbed my heavy suitcase and dragged it down the stairs, trying to make as little noise as possible. I went into the bathroom and performed all the necessities. I eventually combed my hair and stuck it under my wolf hat. I left the bathroom and felt my stomach growl indecently.

"Shut up." I growled back before taking my suitcase to the front door.

I turned and went to go in the kitchen when I froze. I jumped a little when I realized Kyungsoo was cooking in the kitchen, making something that smelled delicious. He looked up to me.

"Good morning." He smiled.

"Good morning... Have you been up for long?" I asked as I carefully slid past him and started my Mocha.

"Not too long, just about a half hour." He nodded and continued to stir what looked like eggs.

"Oh..." I awkwardly nodded and stood there in silence.

"I saw the guys..." He mumbled in a deep growl.

"I told them to stay away... idiots." I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.

He laughed and clapped his hands a little, "I got a nice picture." He pulled out his phone and shook it in acknowledgment.

He smirked to me and stuffed his phone back in his pocket, knowing I would want to see it.

I froze and looked up, I intertwined my fingers and smiled to him sweetly, "Kyungsoo dear, may I see that picture?"

He laughed and shook his head, going back to his breakfast. I sighed and backed off, going back to my Mocha.

"It's not bad, it's just... funny." He smiled to himself.

I watched him and tilted my head a little. I knew he was interesting and different, but somewhere inside of me I had fallen for the parts of him I didn't know. I smiled at him softly and watched him prepare the eggs and start some toast. His concentrated face made me wish I could watch him forever. How interested and hopefully he looked while he made the meal made me wonder what he was thinking. He smiled a little when he flipped the eggs and began to hum out of content. I silently chuckled and looked down at my Mocha in wonder. I pondered on how kind and thoughtful he could be in a world of little acceptance. I looked up at him again in determination.

I hope to become just like you D.O.

He turned and looked at me quickly, then turned back to the food. He did several quick glances my way before turning the stove off and grabbing two plates. He placed the food on the plates and went over to the table, setting them down. He hurried back in the kitchen and grabbed silverware. He set the table and came up to me, stealing my Mocha from me and taking it to the table. I watched him turn and shuffle his feet as he approached me. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me over to the table. He pulled out my chair and smiled to me, pointing to the seat. I bowed and sat down, watching him sit down. We began to eat in silence and I smiled to how delicious the eggs were.

"How did you make these?" I asked as we ate.

He looked to me in surprise, "Just how your normally make eggs... cook them."

I laughed and pointed at him, "You're funny, you know that?"

He smiled to me and watched me eat for a moment, "But do you like them?"

I swallowed and turned to him, "Of course, you made it."

His eyes widened and he smiled to himself. I finished eating and I drank all of my Mocha. I looked to the digital clock on the stove, hurrying to grab my things.

"I gotta go."

Kyungsoo looked so surprised that he jumped up before finishing his meal.

"No." He grabbed my wrist and stopped me from going to the door.

"No I really have to-" I complained as he pulled me to the stairs.

"No, we all are going with you." He mumbled as we opened my bedroom door.

It looked like a disaster had happened. The boys weren't stuck to my corner of the room anymore. Now they were sprawled all over, not leaving one corner uncovered. I began laughing to all the sleepy and squished faces. Tao had somehow completely flipped around, now facing the door. His one cheek that was against the floor, looked squished and pursed his lips. Kyungsoo ran inside and started pushing people, making them groan.

"Kyungsoo?" Baekhyun sat up in irritation.

"She's leaving." He yelled a little.

Baekhyun looked over to me in shock and stood in a hurry, getting people up around him. Several people were waking up slowly and I looked at them awkwardly.

I gotta go, I'm going to be late...

I slowly began backing out of the room. I turned and headed down the stairs, making a break for the door.

"RACHEL!" I heard Suho yell.

"Damn... so close..." I froze and turned, looking up at the stairs.

"You're are going to wait right there!" He angrily pointed to me from the top of the stairs.

I pouted and sat down in the middle of the floor. I sat in a pretzel and looked at my nails. I popped my pouting lip back and forth on my face. I felt like I had sat there for 5 minutes and I sighed, standing back up. I looked up the stairs and saw some of the guys trying to escape without being fully dressed. My phone went off and I saw that it was Moa.

I sighed and answered, "Hi Moa~!" I tried to sound as happy as possible.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" She yelled.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm leaving right now!" I apologized and hurried to the shoes, slipping on a pair.

"Don't worry... Just hurry." She sighed.

"Thank you! I'll be down in a minute!" I thanked her and opened my door, looking back to the stairs.

Moa hung up and I slid the phone in my pocket. I put my suitcase out in the hall and poked my head back in. Kai was hurrying down the stairs with the large group of males close on his heels. Kai looked up and saw me, making him hurry to the door.

"Let's go!" He yelled and everyone began yelling.

"Come on!" Kyungsoo was the first out the door and he grabbed my luggage, slowly directing me down the hall.

I looked back and saw everyone scrambling, "Maybe I should wait for-" I began, but was cut off.

"Just hurry! We'll be right behind you! Take the elevator!" Suho yelled as he helped the last few out the door.

"Alright..." I mumbled before starting to jog down the hall to the elevator.

I got to the hall and had to wait for it to come up. As I waited I began humming a song from a group called VIXX. The elevator finally arrived and I stood by the doors, waiting for them to open. I kept humming and when the doors opened I hurried inside, hitting the first floor. I kept humming and suddenly the door opened on the 3rd floor and I kept humming. I looked down and hummed to myself as several people shuffled in. The doors closed and it was all quiet except for my humming. I turned my head and looked at the people next to me and stopped humming immediately. VIXX was crowded in the elevator and smiling to themselves. Except Leo, who was just watching me with a straight face. I looked at the leader, N, and saw him smile and look to me in a hurry.

"Nice to meet you." He bowed and the group mirrored him.

I bowed back, "Nice to meet you as well."

They all watched me a moment. I felt my heart pounding and I looked down at my hands.

Wait... why are they here? They aren't part of SM.

I frowned and looked at the elevator door a moment, deep in thought.

"You know..." N stepped by me, "I was curious to why you're here?"

"I was about to ask the same..." I smiled awkwardly.

"Oh, we're here to pick up something." He smiled and then looked to me expectantly.

"Oh, I'm a trainee here." I smiled.

They looked surprised, "Wow... That's cool!" Ken popped his head over N's shoulder.

"Fighting!" N gave me two fists up.

"You are from America?" Ravi, the rapper of the group asked.

"Yes, I'm from Michigan." I smiled.

"Ahhh... we've never been there." Hyuk nodded sadly.

"I'm actually heading there now." I mumbled.

"Oh! You going to see family?" N got excited.

"Yes, I'm going to surprise them."

"You're going to surprise your mom?" Ken smiled.

"Yeah, I'm pretty excited." The elevator dinged after I said that, "It was nice talking with you, goodbye." I bowed to them and hurried out of the elevator.

I ran to the lobby and saw Moa's van that normally took me to lessons waiting in the front of the building. I looked around for EXO and saw no one. The receptionist at the desk looked at me happily.

"Eun Sang, has EXO been down here yet?" I asked her.

"No, I haven't seen them yet." She shook her head sadly.

I looked back to the van and saw Moa stick her head out the window, glaring at me.

I'm so dead...

"Come here with your stuff and get in the van!" She screamed in English, meaning she meant it.

At that I ran the other way and hid behind the receptions desk. I heard the sliding doors open and I signaled to Eun Sang to stay quiet.

"Excuse me, do you know where Rachel is at?" Moa asked angrily.

As she asked I heard the door to the stairs bang open and I looked up, seeing EXO running out with my bag. I stood up, revealing my hiding spot.

"Rachel!" Baekhyun yelled.

"There you are." Moa growled.

She grabbed my elbow and began dragging me out the door.

"But they have my luggage!" I yelled.

She stopped and turned me to face her, "Who has what?!"

Instead of explaining I lowered my head and pointed to them. Moa let go of me and turned to face them.

So dead...

I looked over at them and saw Baekhyun run up to us, not slowing down.

He's going to knock us over!

I tensed my muscles for an impact. Instead Baekhyun grabbed my hand and dragged me outside. He threw me into the van and climbed in, my bag in his hands. Another van pulled up and half of EXO got in mine and the other half got in the other one. Moa came running and she got into the driver's seat. She sighed and laughed a little before pulling out and hurrying to the airport. The airport wasn't too far away and the ride there was filled with silence. When we arrived everyone got out of the vans and walked me in. I noticed several people from the airport gasping and pulling out their phones, taking pictures of the idols.

"Finally here..." I mumbled sadly.

"Do you really have to go?" Kai asked.

"Unfortunately." I nodded.

"Why do you have to go?" Chanyeol looked at me sadly.

"Because it's my family, they need to see me." I sighed.

"And you need to see them." Chen nodded.

"I'm really going to miss you guys..." I looked down sadly.

I felt my stomach clench and my eyes sting with tears trying to force themselves out. I looked to Moa to see her giving me a signal to hurry up. While I had been talking to the boys she had gone up and paid for my flight and turned in my bag. She gave me my ticket and then hugged me quickly.

"You have to go, but be safe." She smiled and patted my head.

"I'll see you later Moa." I smiled and bowed to her.

She bowed back and quickly walked out. I turned back to the boys and saw all of them looking to me sadly.

"We're going to miss you..." Tao looked worried.

"Don't worry, I'll come back." I smiled and patted his shoulder.

I turned and looked at the security line.

"You have to go..." Kyungsoo was also looking to the security line.

"I'm sorry." I bowed and turned to leave then stopped.

I turned back around and saw all of their sad faces. I took in a deep breath and ran up to them, opening my arms.

Don't make me choose.

They all looked between each other. I sighed and looked to the first person on the left, Chen. I walked up to him and hugged him. At first he was taken aback, but not before long he tightly wrapped his arms around me. I pulled back and smiled to him, then hugged Luhan. I continued to hug everyone, and they all hugged me back, except for Kris and Tao who awkwardly patted my head and held their other arm around my shoulders. Kyungsoo was last and I looked at him seriously before cautiously hugging him. For a moment he didn't respond and as I tried to pull away he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly. I widened my eyes and then smiled in his shoulder. I pulled back and smiled sadly to everyone. I bowed and then quickly ran to security. I stood in line and watched the slow process of everyone going through the x-ray. I slowly took off my jewelry and set it in the unsanitary grey container. I sighed and went through, the alarm not going off. I put my things back on and headed to my gate. I sat there in silence and thought on what I was even doing out here in the first place. I thought about all the experiences I've already had. Suddenly the flight attendants spoke into the microphone, taking me out of my thoughts.

"Now boarding flight 2E, I repeat flight 2E is now boarding." I stood, my shoulder bag banging against my legs.

I turned in my ticket and looked at my now ripped portion. It said 1B which made me in the front portion of the plane. I looked at my ticket and checked it several times before the line to get on was practically gone. I went in and smiled to the pilot and looked at the numbers above the seats. I found 1B and I looked down to see a first class seat covered in red leather and a TV screen in front of it. I looked to a flight attendant standing right by me.

"Excuse me... is this my seat?" I showed her my ticket and pointed to the seat.

She looked over my ticket a moment, her eyes scanning it quickly.

"Yes ma'am." She smiled and slightly ushered me into the seat.

I sat down with a flump and my body instantly molded into the seat. I sighed and placed my shoulder bag in between my legs and pulled out my phone.

"I can't believe you bought me a first class ticket!" I texted Moa.

"Well you're almost an idol now, might as well fly like one." She answered back immediately.

"Please turn off all of your electronic devices." The flight attendant announced.

I quickly turned off my phone and didn't realize the young boy sitting next to me. I looked to him in surprise and saw how scared he was. We buckled up and I watched his shaky hands grip the arm rest tightly.

I leaned a little into his view, "Are you alright?" I asked.

He looked over to me and I realized he was American. He had bright blonde hair, blue eyes, and cute freckles dancing across his cheeks. He looked at me terrified and as if I was a monster.

"Do you speak English?" I asked.

He nodded firmly and didn't stop nodding his small bobble like head until I began laughing.

"Are you here with any family?" I smiled.

"Mommy is not coming. I'm going to see daddy in America." He smiled brightly.

"Are you excited to see your daddy?" I giggled to his excitement.

"Yes! Daddy is so much fun!" He laughed and swung his feet.

"That's good! But why are you out here?" I asked, still confused.

"Mommy is Korean and daddy is American. I can't speak Korean though." He shook his head sadly.

"That's alright." I smiled and brought my hand out for a shake, "My name is Rachel. I'm a Korean pop star in the making."

He lifted his small hand and grabbed four of my fingers, "My name is Cody, I'm 5." He smiled brightly and revealed a large gap in his teeth from a missing tooth.

"Well, if you need someone to talk to, or you need anything go ahead and ask me, alright?" I tried my best to seem friendly.

"Ok!" He smiled and looked around the plane.

In moments we were in the air and I turned my iPod back on, putting one ear bud in. It had been about a half hour when Cody's legs stopped bouncing. I looked at him and saw him starting to fall asleep. I quietly flagged down a flight attendant.

"Yes ma'am? Can I get something for you?" She smiled.

"Yes, do you have a blanket and two water bottles to spare?" I asked hopefully.

"Yes, just one moment." She bowed and returned into a private room.

In a minute she came back out with two bottles of water and two blankets.

"Thank you." I smiled and took the bottles from her, setting them in a designated spot.

I took the blankets from her and set one in my lap before wrapping Cody in the other one. I smiled and made sure he was warm.

"Can I get you anything else?" She asked happily.

"Not at the moment, thank you." I smiled and bowed.

She bowed back and left. I sighed and took the moment to look around the plane. Across from us were two teenagers who were both reading a book. The two of them looked like they could be famous, I didn't give it a second thought though. Behind me was an elderly couple and behind the teenagers were two business men. I sighed and scanned the area again, as I scanned over the teenagers I saw one of them staring at me. I froze and stared back. Without knowing what to do, I bowed and quickly faced forward in my seat. I pushed my back against my seat, trying to hide myself in the leather. I sat there a moment and listened to EXO play through my headphones. Once the song was over I gradually looked back toward them. I let out a large breath of air when I noticed him reading his book again. I sat comfortably in my seat and closed my eyes, attempting to fall asleep. "Miracles in December", EXO's new song lulled me to sleep.

I awoke with slight pain in my neck and I slowly lifted my head into a straight position. While I had been sleeping my head had flopped to the right and rested on my shoulder, making a kink in my neck. I rubbed my neck and tried to message out the kink, only making my muscle hurt a little more. I looked down and noticed a blanket tucked around me, it's warmth cocooning me. I smiled and looked over at Cody, assuming the kind boy had done it. But to my surprise he was still asleep in the position I had left him in last. The flight attendant walked out of the room and immediately looked at me.

"Oh ma'am, you're awake." She smiled and grabbed something out from behind the curtain.

I watched her bring me a small plate of rice and green beans with gravy covering them. I looked to her in surprise as she pulled my table out and placed the plate down.

"Ummm... I didn't ask for this..." I pointed to the delicious looking meal.

"The young men across the aisle ordered it for you." She bowed and walked off before I could ask anything else.

I looked down at the food and felt my stomach growl.

How long was I asleep?

I looked over at the teenagers and saw them both asleep. I looked out the window and only saw darkness, no lights or sunlight.

What time is it?

My ear bud was still in, playing more KPop. I took out my IPod and checked the time. It was currently 4am Korean time and I was surprised I had slept all the way until this time. I yawned again and looked at my ticket, seeing what time I was to arrive in America. My ticket read off 4pm and I just looked at it for a moment in disbelief. I put my ticket away and sighed. I looked over at Cody and saw him waking up, his small eyes fluttering open. He looked over at me and I smiled.

"Good morning Cody." I smiled.

"Hi..." He mumbled sleepily.

"It looks like we have about two hours left, do you want to have another quick nap or are you going to stay up?" I asked him kindly.

"I want to stay up and talk with you..." He yawned.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." He smiled and rubbed his eyes open.

I smiled and helped him unwrap his arms from the blanket. He giggled as I pretended to unwrap part of the blanket, but instead began tickling his sides. He grabbed my hands and giggled loudly. I laughed along with him and stopped tickling him a moment to let him breath. His cheeks were scarlet and he was still quietly laughing to himself. I smiled and ruffled his hair a little. He smiled brightly to me and I looked at the meal that had been placed in front of me.

"Would you like to share this with me?" I asked him as I slid it a little closer, munching on a bean.

"Yes please!" He smiled and took a bean.

I smiled and munched on the beans with him. I occasionally saw him looking at my headphone and staring at it for a moment. I shifted my one ear bud to my other ear and handed him the other one. He smiled happily and placed it in his ear. I had turned it to EXO's playlist and I saw him nodding his head along with the song.

"Do you know this group?" I asked.

"I like EXO, mommy listens to them too!" He smiled.

"Well guess what." I smiled.

"What?" He looked eager to hear my next words.

"I have a secret, but you can't tell anyone else, alright?"

"Ok!" He giggled and leaned in for me to whisper to him.

"EXO are my best friends." I whispered.

He pulled back in shock, "Really?!"

"Shh." I indicated happily.

"Could you get an autograph for my mommy and I?!" He asked enthusiastically.

"I would love to." I smiled.

I pulled out my pad and paper from my bag and wrote down my phone number and contact info on one half and I wrote down his on the other. I wrote down that I was an SM Trainee and my name. I gave Cody my half and I kept his.

"Mommy will be really happy!" He laughed.

"EXO will be glad to sign something for you, what would you like them to sign?" I asked.

"I want a picture of you with them and then you and they sign it!" He smiled.

"You want me in the picture?" I asked, confused.

"I know you training to be popular! I like you a lot miss Rachel!"

His words sent butterflies through me, "Thank you Cody! I like you very much as well." I smiled and pat his head.

As the two of us finished the rice and beans I looked over at the teenagers to see them awake and watching me. I smiled and waved to them.

"Thank you for the meal, it is very delicious." I bowed in my seat.

They looked between each other and smiled.

"We are glad you like it." The one closest to us nodded.

"We like how you are playing with that little boy." The one closest to the window smiled.

"He reminds me of my nieces, I couldn't help but want to help him." I smiled and looked down at him.

Cody was staring at me in confusion. "What are you guys talking about?" Cody asked me.

"We are talking about how nice you are." I smiled.

"But I don't know them..." Cody pouted and glared at the teenagers.

"Oh, don't make a mean face, they were saying how much they like me being nice to you." I explained.

"I don't like them, don't talk to them." He hit my arm.

I grabbed that spot and smirked, "Alright." I looked up the boys, "I'm sorry, apparently I'm not allowed to talk to you, he's jealous." I laughed and gave a curt wave before bowing and facing Cody.

"What did you say to them?" He asked innocently.

"That you were the only person I'm interested in talking to." I smiled and lied to keep him happy.

"Yay!" He jumped in his seat a little and it made me laugh.

"We are going to land in 45 minutes, please keep your surroundings clean." The flight attendant said over the intercom.

"What did she say?" Cody asked in worry.

"We will be landing in 45 minutes, so you need to keep your area clean now." I explained.

"My area already clean!" He smiled triumphantly.

"I know! You're a very good plane rider." I smiled.

"I sleep the entire time!" He smiled.

If he slept the entire time then I wonder who covered me...

I flagged down the flight attendant and she came over with a smile, "Yes ma'am?"

"Did you by any chance cover me in a blanket earlier?" I asked.

"No ma'am, I came out and you were like that." She had to think back on it for a moment.

I thought on it for a moment and smiled to her, "Thank you."

She nodded and left, looking back at me occasionally.

Cody poked my cheek, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just thinking." I smiled down at him.

"Momma always says that thinking helps you get smarter!" Cody smiled brightly.

"That's right! So you should keep thinking." I ruffled his hair.

"I will!"

He reminded me of myself when I was younger, so full of wonder. Nothing seems to get in his way, his imagination forever carving a path. The two of us continued to get to know each other and not before long the plane began its decent. We buckled back up and stopped talking, listening to the rumble of the plane's rough decent. Cody was holding my hand and squeezing it with every bump. After several minutes of that we were on the ground and I released a breath I hadn't known I was containing. I looked over at Cody to see him already staring at me.

"You okay?" I smiled nervously.

"Yes! I'm okay since Rachel was with me!" He gave me his toothless grin again.

I smiled kindly and helped him grab all of his things. We were the first to exit the plane, Cody's small hand grasping mine. We walked out and looked around.

"Is your dad going to be waiting for you?" I asked.

"I don't know." He sounded sad.

I looked down at him sadly, "Don't worry, we'll find him." I smiled and tightened my hand around his.

He smiled up at me, "Okay."

We continued walking and we went to baggage claim and I helped him find his suitcase. Once we both had our bags we headed out to where people would be waiting for newcomers. I had moved Cody to my shoulders and was giving him a piggy back ride, caring his luggage with mine. I immediately spotted Montana with her large green bedazzled sign with my name on it. I laughed and Cody bent over, looking into my face.

"What's funny?" He asked innocently.

"When you look up, look for a large green sign. The person holding it is my friend." I instructed him.

He looked up and gasped a little, "Wow... That's a lot of sparkles." He giggled.

I smiled and rushed over to Montana, Cody bouncing on my shoulders.

"RACHEL!" She almost burst into tears.

"I missed you so much!" I waved.

Montana paused in our reunion and looked to the boy on my shoulders.

"Rachel... Is there something you need to tell me?" She asked.

"What?" I looked up at Cody and smiled.

"What have you been doing out in Korea?!" She hissed.

"Wait..." I tried to bring my thoughts to her level, "Montana, do you think this is my kid?" I asked in complete shock.

"Kinda." She growled.

"This is Cody, he sat next to me on the plane and I'm trying to help him find his dad." I hissed back.

"Ohhh..." She looked off and then suddenly looked back with a smile, "Nice to meet you!" She smiled up to him.

I felt him hide behind me slightly as she smiled. I looked up at him and saw him look to me in worry.

"Don't worry, she's nice." I smiled to keep him calm.

"Cody?" A male tone came from behind us. The two of us turned to see a tall man with blue eyes and brown curly hair.

"Daddy!" Cody exclaimed and roughly attempted to get off my shoulders.

I smiled and bent down, helping him off. The minute his little feet landed on the ground he ran to the man and encased him in a hug. The man wrapped his long arms around the boy's body and squinted his eyes tight as he hugged him. The two of them stayed in a tight embrace for several moments. Montana and I watched them and then finally decided that we should probably go. I pulled out the piece of paper with Cody's information on it and approached them as they pulled back and smiled to each other.

"I'm sorry to intrude..." I mumbled.

Cody turned and jumped onto me, hugging me tightly, "Thank you so much Rachel!" He yelled.

I laughed and hugged him back. I looked up and saw his father looking at me curiously. I set Cody down and bowed to the father respectively.

"Hello sir, I have promised your son a present in the near future, is this information correct for me to eventually give it to him?" I asked, showing him the piece of paper.

He looked it over and then looked back up at me curiously, "This is all correct, but may I ask what this present is?"

"It is a signature of his favorite band EXO." I smiled thoughtfully.

"You know EXO?" He whispered.

"Yes sir." I nodded.

"Wait... You look familiar..." He looked at me intently for a moment.

"I am from SM Entertainment, could you have possibly heard of me from Cody? He seemed to know me before I met him." I nodded.

"Maybe... That sounds about right." He smiled and nodded.

"Thank you sir, we are going to be on our way, we have a long drive ahead of us." I bowed and patted Cody's head.

"Thank you for watching Cody." He nodded.

"Bye Rachel!" Cody waved rapidly to the point of his little arms looking like a birds wings.

"Goodbye!" I waved back and then headed out with Montana.

We got to the car and she started driving toward home.

"How was your flight?" She asked.

"It was good, I tried to sleep most of the way, but I didn't sleep that much." I sighed.

"That kid was cute, did he sit next to you?" Montana asked.

"Yeah, I took care of him, he didn't know any Korean so I had to translate for him." I explained.

"Nice! So then you had fun?" She smiled.

"Yeah." I gave her a happy peace sign.

"Oh god you're still the same." She laughed.

"Hey, that's a good thing. I could always give you the attitude I was taught to have in public." I smirked at her.

"Wait... They had to teach you how to act in public?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yeah."

"That is just cruel!" She hissed.

Her scrunched face made me laugh, "It's not THAT bad." I laughed.

"Oh really? Lay it on me."

"Yes ma'am." I nodded and faced forward in the seat, crossing my legs and placing my hands crossed in my lap.

I sat up straight and performed the same relaxed and dignified look that had been drilled into me for several weeks. Montana looked over at me.

"You look so relaxed!" She said in wonder.

"I am supposed to ma'am." I smiled.

"Okay, cut it out! It's starting to feel awkward!" She whined.

I completely relaxed and sat in my normal manner, my legs spread and my hands in my pockets.

"That better, dork?" I smirked.

"Never mind, I think the other way was better." She laughed.

I laughed with her and saw her look at me for a moment.

"What?" I mumbled.

"Are those new shoes?" She pointed to my feet.

"Huh?" I looked down at my feet and realized in my rush to leave I had slipped on Kyunsoo's shoes.

"From that reaction you seem upset... Are those not your shoes?!" She freaked out.

I can't tell her about the shoes because then she'll wonder why they were at my house...

"They were from my design team, I wasn't supposed to bring them home..." I lied.

"Oh... As long as you don't dirty them I don't think they'll mind." She shook it off.

"Yeah..." I giggled.

The two of us continued to converse and laugh about everything that was similar or different about each other. I had only been gone about two months and we already had so much to tell each other. The drive was slow from all the ice and snow that cascaded down. I leaned into the passenger window and looked up to the sky, watching the small glittering orbs float down.

"Does it not snow in Korea?" Montana asked me.

"It does, but I haven't had the time to look at it like this." I mumbled honestly.

"Well you'll sure see a sight when we get home then." Montana smiled.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You'll see." She smirked and continued the slow process home.

We listened to Kpop the whole way and when we got to our apartment she parked the car and looked at me when she turned it off.

"Did you meet any of the bands we just listened to?" She asked suspiciously.

"Yeah." I nodded and exited the car, grabbing my bags.

"Wait... like who?" She pressed as I stood in the parking lot and looked up to the sky.

The clouds were a white fluff reminding me of cotton. Large snowflakes came down and made the world seem soft. The look of all the snow made me feel at peace.

I wish the boys could see this...

I thought about them even when looking at snow. I shook my head and looked at Montana.

I need to stop thinking about them, they aren't the only things in this world.

I shook my head again and followed a smirking Montana to our apartment. She opened the door and I could immediately see a huddle of sleeping fur sitting on our couch. I smiled happily and set my things down.

"Kyung? Kai?" I mumbled as I approached the stirring pair.

The two of them directed their soft eyes my way and I immediately saw their spirits perk up. They jumped onto my shoulders, making me off balance. I pulled them against me and buried my face in their soft fur. I heard a familiar camera click and I lifted my head, looking to Montana. She had somehow taken my phone and just took a photo. I saw her texting something and I looked at her with a slight glare.

"What are you doing with that picture?"

"Oh just sending it to someone." She smirked.

I ran over to my phone and looked over her shoulder. I saw a group message. She had sent it to all of EXO and Jungkook. I grabbed my phone and hid it in Kai's fur.

"You are so dead." I hissed.

"Oh !" She yelped and ran into her room, locking the door behind her. I ran after her and banged my fist on the door.

"Why would you send that to them!" I asked hysterically.

"Because I thought they would like it!" Her muffled tone was clearly scared.

I sighed and looked at the picture again. It was clear I was happy and at peace while holding the small cats. I rested my head against her wooden door and looked at the picture for several moments. I put my phone in my pocket and lightly knocked on her door.

"Yes?" She asked sweetly.

"I'm sorry, can we just head home now?" I mumbled.

Her door swung open, "Gosh! Took you long enough!" She giggled and playfully hit my arm.

I laughed and helped her take the cats out to the car, gathering all their things. As we closed the door and headed up to lock the apartment I suddenly got a barrage of texts. My ringtone went off for at least a minute and Montana and I just looked at each other in suspense. I pulled my phone out and looked at the lock screen to see 25 unread texts.

"Well open them!" Montana mumbled in excitement.

I sighed and unlocked my phone, looking at them one at a time. The first on the list was Luhan.

"Are those your cats?" Was his first message, "Wait... Who took the picture?!"

I translated to Montana and she laughed, "He sounds jealous."

"Probably is." I giggled and opened the next messages from Sehun.

"Is that Kyung and Kai, the ones you told me about?" I smiled to the memory, "Luhan is freaking out, did Montana take the picture?"

I translated again and Montana gasped, "He's knows my name?"

"Yeah, a picture of you and I is on my desk."

She placed a hand to her chest, "Oh my god, an idol knows my name!"

Her reaction made me laugh.

The rest of the texts were from each member telling me to have fun and that they hope to meet my feline friends soon. I looked at Kyungsoo's and smiled thoughtfully.

"I hope to meet them! What would you like to eat when you get back? Also, what is your favorite thing to eat when you get sick? Just in case. :)"

"Oooohhhh! I like this one." Montana pointed to Kyungsoo's text.

"Yeah..." I mumbled exasperatedly.

"You like him don't you?" She asked.

"No!" I yelled in Korean without thinking.

Montana began laughing. "Obvious sign number one, you speak in a different language." She laughed.

After saying that she locked the door and pranced back to the car. I sighed and replied to Kyungsoo first.

"Yeah, those are my cats. Kai tells me that your spaghetti is to die for... so I'd like to try that when I return. When I'm sick? I think the best thing for someone sick is chicken noodle soup, what do you think?" I sent to him and hurried to the car.

I got in and Montana began the short drive to my house. I decided to text my mom, hoping she would be there.

"Hey momma, just wondering what you're doing? Miss you!" I texted to not seem suspicious.

"Hey sweetheart! Your dad and I are sitting at home watching a game, just made him some snicky snacks. I miss you so much honey! XOXO" She sent back.

I smiled and decided to reply to everyone else. I kept my head in my phone and hummed along with the music Montana played as we pulled into my driveway. Montana parked the car and unlocked the doors.

"Okay, so you should stand behind the stone pillar on your front stairs and I'll ring the doorbell saying I need her to see something. Something like that, then you're going to step out and BAM! Happy reunion." At the word 'BAM' she clapped her hands loudly and made me jump.

"Alright..." I mumbled and we got out of the car.

I stood behind the pillar like she asked, my heart racing. My stomach churned and butterflies flew in my throat.

Will she be happy of angry I came back without telling her?

"You ready?" Montana whispered.

"Yeah." I mumbled back.

I heard the familiar squeak of the front door open and I felt like I was about to run.

"Montana? How nice to see you sweetie! How are you?" My mother's sweet tone rang through the chilling air.

"I'm good, how are you?" Montana giggled.

"I'm good, what brings you here?" My mother asked sweetly.

"I have something to show you..." I could hear the smirk in her voice.

I hesitated and then looked down at my feet as I turned. It took me a moment, but when I looked up I saw my mother covering as tears weld up in her eyes.

"Hi momma." I smiled and waved kindly.

Even though she wasn't wearing the shoes for it, she ran out into the snow and enveloped me in a tight hug. She began fiercely kissing my face, cheeks, and head as if I had come back from war. She held me again for a while and then pulled back, looking at me. She got a somewhat angry glare in her eyes and she smacked the back of my head.

I pulled away and held my head as it stung, "Ow!"

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?!" She yelled and then hugged me again.

"I wanted to surprise you momma." I mumbled and smiled into her hair.

I took in her scent and smiled to the familiar smell. What relieved me the most was that she hadn't changed. I felt as though I had changed so much through the time I had been gone. I'm just happy somebody hadn't. She pulled back and grabbed my hand, running up to Montana, grabbing hers and running us inside. She closed the door and then grabbed us again, running us into the living room where my dad sat. My dog lay at his feet, sleeping soundly. My Dad looked at us and jumped up, waking Fawnie. He hurried around her and the driftwood table, coming up to me and hugging me tightly.

"How are you?" He asked as he squeezed all the air out of me.

"Good." I said in a strained voice.

He released me and Fawnie came running over. I instinctively backed away from the carpet and sat on the floor, spreading my legs wide. She began crying loudly and curled into the space of my spread legs. I cuddled into her soft fur and I stood running to get paper towel. Every time she said hi to me she had a habit of peeing, so I hurried to get paper towel. I took the next 10 minutes cleaning up her mess. Mom and Dad helped me bring in Kyung and Kai and my bags. After that my parents, Montana, and I sat in the living room and chatted until late in the evening. We ate a little bit of my mom's best Chili. After that my parents went to bed regretfully. Montana and I stayed up and played some Halo. I was still the best sniper in the room. The two of us had fun playing video games and chatting. I taught her some dance moves and taught her a singing trick I learned from my teacher. After I looked and saw that it was 2 in the morning I assumed Montana was tired. It would normally be 4pm right now, so I wasn't tired in any way.

"Let's go to bed." I fake yawned.

"Good idea." She yawned.

I walked up to my old room with her and helped her settle in. Because of us being separated so long we decided to sleep in sleep bags on my floor. Kyung and Kai meowed loudly when I walked in. Earlier when I set my bags down and closed Kyung and Kai inside I didn't get the chance to look around. My mother had left the same since I moved out. Every EXO, B.A.P, Teen Top, and BTS posters still on the walls. All my small statues from my childhood still proudly standing on the white wooden shelves. My sketchbooks I had left behind were still in a line on my shelf. Montana immediately laid down and fell asleep. I went to the light switch and turned it off, turning on my desk lamp. I pulled out my phone and texted Sehun, knowing he would be up.

"Hey." Is what I sent to him nonchalantly, hoping I didn't bother him.

I pulled out all of my sketchbooks and grabbed my writing books as well. I opened my writing books and read through two poems before my phone went off. I checked on Montana to make sure it hadn't woken her. When I knew she was still sleeping I opened the text and smiled thoughtfully.

"Hey, how is home? Everything going well? Do you have time to video chat? Everyone is relaxed for a while." He answered.

I hurried over to my laptop bag and put it on my desk. I plugged it in to charge and I plugged in my headset. I turned my laptop on and texted Sehun quickly.

"I have time, laptop is turning on. You sure you guys have time to talk with me?" I asked.

I logged in and knew that I would have to wait another 5 minutes for it to boot up completely. In the meantime I started flipping through my sketchbooks. I grabbed a familiar black sketchbook with faded blue stars etched into it. It was from my high school years. I opened it and flipped through all my comedic chibi's. I suddenly got to a set of pages that were held with care. I gasped a little when I found them and immediately began flipping through them. They were my Kpop pages. Each page had a drawing of band members on them. The drawings were very close to the pictures. My shading could use some work but when I remembered how it took me several hours or days to create each drawing I smiled. My computer finally booted up and opened Skype on it's own. My phone went off again and I immediately ceased my reminiscing and checked my phone.

"We see you're online, we will send a call in a minute!" He sent.

I set my phone down and kept looking through the EXO section of my sketchbook. I stopped at Sehun's drawing and saw how intricate I made it, his eyes popping as they were in ink, the rest in pencil. I used color only in his hair. The picture was from their Wolf era when Sehun's hair was rainbow. It reminded me of my own. I lightly reached up and touched my hair, thinking of the group I missed. Suddenly my headset was ringing from Skype. I turned my attention to the screen and hit 'answer'. My camera light and I hit the "Show" button which enabled the boys to see me. I looked down at my T-Shirt to make sure I wasn't esque. I put down the book and pulled my knees up to my chest, looking into the camera. I had the feeling that the moment I saw them I would feel immediately at home. Within moments my screen lit up brightly and the 12 of them were squished to look into the camera.

"Hi!" They waved.

"Hey guys!" I waved back.

I looked at the time in the corner and saw that it had been two hours since we were downstairs. The look of happiness on their faces made me sigh in relief. I hadn't realized how much I already missed them until I was looking at their faces. The moment I saw Kyungsoo's face I remembered his shoes.

"How is everything out there?" Luhan asked.

"Everything's good, my mom was happy and my friend is happy I think." I smiled.

"That's good!" Xiumin gave me two thumbs up.

"Why are you in a dark room?" Lay asked.

"Oh, I'm in my old room and Montana is sleeping on the floor, so I'm trying to let her sleep." I smiled.

Plus, I don't want you seeing my EXO posters.

"Will we get to see a picture of Montana?" Tao asked.

I nodded and grabbed an old picture of the two of us off my desk. I faced it to the camera and it slowly came into focus.

"This is the two of us our senior year at High School." I smiled.

"She's very pretty." Chen smiled.

I nodded and set the picture back. I heard her stirring and I looked back to her. Kyung and Kai came running and jumped on my lap. I smiled and pet them as Montana sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Are those your cats?" Kai asked.

"Yeah, hold on just a moment, I think Montana is getting up." I mumbled and removed one of the headset pads away.

"Rachel?" She yawned.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" I asked.

"No, I woke because I have to pee." She mumbled.

I giggled a little, "You might want to cover your face, unless you want EXO seeing you." I smirked.

"What?" I heard her alert tone perk to its peak.

"I'm Skyping with EXO, do you want to say hi?" I asked.

"I would love to... but I probably don't look good..." She sighed sadly.

"Here, I'm going to tell them you're going to say hi, but you won't show your face. That okay?" I explained to her.

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Okay, give me a sec with them." I turned back to the boys.

"Everything okay?" Kyungsoo asked.

"Yeah, my friend Montana is awake and she wants to say hi, but she won't show her face. Okay?"

"That's fine, can she speak Korean?" Suho asked.

"No, so I was hoping Kris would translate and talk with her." I pleaded with them.

Kris nodded and smiled, "No problem."

"Great! Okay, I'm going to turn off my camera so she can see you." I gave them a thumbs up and turned off the camera.

"Can I come out now?" Montana asked.

"Yeah, the camera is off." I nodded as she came into the light.

"Okay..." She looked at the group of 12 in shock.

"Don't look so shocked, but here, now that the camera is off I'm going to get dressed behind you, say hi." I pulled the headset off and handed it to her.

"They can hear me now?" She asked as she adjusted the mic in front of .

"Yeah." I mumbled as I went into the background.

"Oh... H-Hello." Montana stuttered.

I pulled my shirt off and exposed just my bra when Montana turned to me.

"They want me to unplug the headset so you can help translate." She told me.

"Go ahead," I nodded and watched her unplug it, "Just don't click the camera button."

"Okay, it's unplugged now." Montana mumbled.

"We can hear you." Kris smiled.

"Rachel can hear now too." She informed them.

"Did I hear you right? Are you getting dressed?" Baekhyun asked.

I laughed and told Montana what he said.

"Yes she is." Montana mumbled.

"What are you wearing? You at least have a shirt on so you can turn the camera back on?" Chanyeol asked.

I translated to Montana as I slipped a pair of pajama pants up.

"No, she's not wearing a shirt, she's in pants and a bra, but that's it." Montana told them.

"Hey, you don't need to tell them that!" I hissed.

"But they're idols! I'd feel like they would hate me if I didn't answer them honestly." She explained.

"My god." I sighed.

I grabbed a blue laced tank top and told her to hit the camera button as I turned around. I slipped the tank top over my head and pulled it down. I turned to look at the camera and saw them all staring with the mouths slightly open.

"I kinda did it a little early, huh?" Montana asked nervously.

"A little!" I growled.

"I'm sorry." She looked down.

"It's okay," I patted her shoulder as I approached the camera, "Do not say a word to what you just saw." I growled.

They all nodded with their mouths still agape.

"What was that scar on your back?" Chanyeol asked with a sad look.

Everyone hit him on the arm and growled a little.

"What did she just say?!" Suho growled a little.

I looked down at my hands and felt a little pang of embarrassment strike through me. The scar from when I was younger and got injured at a friend's birthday party. A matching scar was on my stomach, but I was glad they had only seen the one. I took several moments to myself before looking back up.

"Please don't... talk about it until I'm ready." I bowed to the camera.

"Rachel? What's wrong? Your eyes are watering..." Montana mumbled.

I wiped my eyes, "I'm okay..." I looked back to the boys, "I'm going to bed now, I'll text you tomorrow when I'm up."

I quickly waved and hit the 'end' button. I let out a shaky breath and felt my stomach churn painfully. I grabbed my tank top in a fist and looked around as if I was looking for something.

"Rachel? What's wrong?" Montana grabbed my shoulders and shook me.

"I don't know... I feel weird Montana..." I began crying.

She pulled me into a hug and cradled my head to her shoulder, "I think it wasn't a good idea to see them."

"I don't know... Once I saw their faces I wished I was there, I feel so alone now." I shook.

"I guess the fact that they saw your scar was a shock to you then." She pet my head, trying to calm me down.

"I didn't want them to see the ugly sides of me." I cried.

"Don't worry, I bet they love you just the same."

"Chanyeol looked so scared!"

"He wasn't scared, he was worried." She whispered.

"Worried?" I looked up at her with glossy eyes.

Why am I even crying?

"From the way they looked at you I think they love you, so that guy you were talking about wasn't scared of you, he was worried about you." She explained.

I looked down in wonder, thinking about her words, "He was worried..."

"Now might you tell me why you're crying?" She asked a little angrily.

"I honestly don't know..." I mumbled and looked at her with a stiff lip.

She pushed me away and looked at me with a glare. Montana grabbed a magazine that had been sitting out and she rolled it up. I started to back away when she started hitting my head with it.

"Pull your together!" She hissed.

"Ow!" I growled and took the magazine from her, hitting her back.

"Hey!" She growled and started tickling me.

The two of us began tickling each other until we fell over in exhaustion.

"Thanks, I really needed that... I don't even understand why I was crying..." I laughed.

"I just think you're a little too exhausted, remember last time you got too tired? You cried like a baby because your room was too warm and when we opened the window you cried because it was too cold." She sniggered.

"Yeah I remember..." I yawned.

"Yeah, let's go to bed, you're just too tired." She patted my head.

"I know..." I chuckled and collapsed into my pillow.