The week inches by and Baekhyun’s too tired and busy to do more than briefly notice Kai’s absence around the studio. Rehearsals start on Monday from early morning until late afternoon, and thanks to his self-inflicted work ethic, Baekhyun usually reappears after his evening meal to clock in more hours of individual practice. Sometimes Tao stays behind to keep him company, but mostly it's to convince the more motivated dancer to take breaks every half hour, to remind Baekhyun to drink more water, and to encourage him to leave at some point before the crack of dawn. Tao exaggerates of course, but his failed success rate speaks volumes for the growing number of nights when he drags an exhausted Baekhyun out of the studio at 9:58 pm, 10:14 pm, and once until almost 11:00 pm.

Friday mornings the dancers have off and most are typically forbidden from even entering the building until after lunchtime. It's for this reason that Baekhyun finds himself up at 9 being dragged by a bustlingly energetic Tao to meet several of the members for breakfast. The diner is just a few blocks from the studio, a haunt moreso of the local college students than of the dancers, but once a month a group of them gather to eat, if just to see each other in a less competitive and exhausting environment.

"Do you know who's coming?" Baekhyun asks, zipping up his hoodie and tying the drawstring tight around his neck. The morning is chilly, and given the chance on this rare morning off, he'd rather be sleeping in.

"Well you never know. Luhan and Minseok definitely, some of the girls... Hopefully not Suho, but you know he'll probably hear about it from someone and show up."

Baekhyun tries not to make a face.

"Oh, and I told Kris, so, he might meet us there too."

"You told Kris? That stalker? Why?"

"I don't know. He was texting me yesterday about how he didn't have anything to do this week, and I kind of felt bad. So I told him some friends were meeting for breakfast and... that he could come."

"I thought you were trying to get rid of that creeper."

"He's not a creep-- he's not a creeper, or a stalker, Baek." 

"Then why does he follow you around all the time and text you non-stop?"

Baekhyun may be blowing the situation a little out of proportion, but in his mind Tao does have a little problem dealing with the [mostly] unwanted attention of the neighborhood loner. It was Baekhyun's fault that Kris Wu met Tao in the first place. The neighborhood is a small place when you and another person happen to share to same midnight grocery patterns, and after a few random meet-ups in the bread aisle and one ill-advised invitation for the gangly grad student to hang out with him and his friend, Kris latched onto Tao the moment they shook hands. He's been bugging them ever since.

"I don't know," Tao shrugs. He really doesn't. Kris is awkward as heck, can't keep a conversation going without jumping off topic at least a dozen times and Tao's not sure if Kris likes likes him or if he's just so lonely and Tao's smile so dazzling friendly he can't help but follow the light. "He's not a bad guy though. You should give him a chance."

Baekhyun grunts. "Are you going to give him a chance, then?" 

"What're you inferring??" Tao looks scandalized, and then sulky. "It's not like I like the guy. He's just like a puppy dog. Cute, you know. But after a while you kind of wish they belonged to someone else... Hey, he bought me that hat I wanted once. So see he's not all bad." 

"You have a dozen hats, Tao. What's one less going to do to change your life?"

"It was designer, and I didn't want to spend the money on it. I mean, I would have but Kris was already there so..."

"Right." Baekhyun can only imagine it. Tao acts tough but he's a whiner when there's something he wants. Baekhyun thinks maybe he's gotten to the bottom of why Tao hasn't told Kris to take a hike yet.  "You're a hat , Tao."

"Oh shut it."

They're the first from their party to arrive at the diner and they quickly snag the largest booth in the back corner, unsure of how many might show up. The place is half full already with other early breakfasters, not college students since that crowd tends to snooze in late, but a few of the older locals and some solo diners who probably work at the surrounding schools judging by their attire. Baekhyun feels out of place, and when one of the assumed-professors passes a gaze over at the two he feels a twinge of guilt for dropping out of college like he did. His mind churns in fabricated anxiety. Maybe that professor knows?? He'd been a sociology major at his local junior college even though he didn't particularly like the field. It's why he gave it up in the span of a heartbeat. The lifespan and career of a dancer was short, of that he was well aware, and it definitely influenced his ultimate decision to leave, parents' concerns be damned. College would always be there, but his health and physique may well not be. If only that knowledge could assuage all of his doubts, all of the time. He rifles through the menu, head buried behind it to avoid anyone else's possibly probing eyes. Tao misses Baekhyun's entire inner monologue, so concerned is he with picking out his long-awaited super massive breakfast.

Minseok is the first to arrive, yawning sleepily as he piles in next to Baekhyun, and a few moments later a few of the younger girls on the company, Tanya and Elizabeth, join the group and sneak in next to Tao. Their giggles and early morning greetings are cut short, however, by the arrival of a super thin giant with shaggy black hair*, and at his souring look of confusion, Tao quickly pleads with the girls to scoot over so Kris can sit in between. 

"Hi," he says gruffly to the girls, skipping over any apologies he might owe for their having to move. Tao lazily facilitates the introductions, and Baekhyun rolls his eyes behind his menu. He turns his attention instead to his drowsy companion on the right.

"Hey, Minnie."

Minseok pulls up one of his half-closed eyelids to glare, but refuses to wake up enough to refute the nickname.

"Hey, yourself." He stifles another yawn, covering his mouth with one hand and the menu slips out of his other hand.  "Great..." A few bumps of the knees and head later, Minseok reemerges from under the table, triumphantly raising his menu high. "Today's going to be absolutely wonderful!" His face though betrays his thoroughly grumpy mood.

Baekhyun grins. "Aren't you usually a little more coordinated in the mornings? What's gotten you in this state? Stay up too late?"

"Yeah. Video games. That sort of thing."

"I see... Skyrim?" He laughs.

"Very funny. Nope. I just got Titanfall a few weeks ago, and I at it. So I stayed up all night. Guess what? I still at it."

Baekhyun gives what he hopes is a comforting pat to Minseok's wrist. "So where's Luhan this morning?"

Minseok shrugs. 

"Don't you guys room together?"

"No," he says, like there's nothing amiss.

It's a little too early to be blowing holes in Baekhyun's ship worldview, but he lets it go as the waitress comes to take their orders. She's just written down the last request for hash browns and orange juice and walked off when a few more of their company meander in, closely followed by Suho, fashionably late with a beanie over his head and smug look like he owns the world.

"Morning. Good morning. Well guys, I'm here now, so let's eat." 

Minseok doesn't even hesitate. "Welcome. Good for you. You can track down the waitress 'cause she's already taken our orders."

"What? Wow. Thanks for waiting," he scoffs in reply, arm in the air as he shouts across the diner. 

"Suho, what's-- that?" Tao points across the booth to a strand of light hair escaping from the side of Suho's beanie. 

"Oh this?" Suho grins widely and removes the hat. A shock of platinum blonde hair emerges. The rest of the table deadpans as Suho tosses his mussed but obviously styled, and definitely bleach-dyed, head. "Just decided it was time for an image change," he says proudly. 

It will also stand out brighter than anyone else's on stage too, Baekhyun thinks to himself. Show off.

The rest seem to be thinking the same thing.  Tao curls his upper lip in disgust while the others continue to stare, mouths open and silent. Even the girls seem to have taken a shock.  Kris looks on blankly, a little confused and opinion-less at this odd introduction to the now blonde dancer. 

"Maybe I should dye mine pink?" Minseok suggests cutely.

The silence comes to an end as the table erupts in a chorus of "nooos", laughter, and a few excited shouts of assent (Baekhyun's among them). It's with a heavy sigh of disgruntlement that Suho shoves his beanie back on, fishes a pair of sunglasses out of a pocket on the outside of his bag and cooly reclines in the booth, his eyes well protected from the single ray of sunlight filtering through the window way up at the front of the diner. 

The conversation of the group turns to other points of gossip in the company, Kris as clueless as ever and visibly attached to Tao's side until their food comes and the table rescinds into silence. Through muffled grunts and a few half-hearted attempts at conversation, minutes go by until Baekhyun suddenly receives an elbow to his increasingly full gut. Tao, mouth full and chewing furiously, jerks his head at a pair of boys taking a seat across from each other at a small table by the door. Baekhyun recognizes Kai and almost chokes on his food. It's been nearly a week since they last met and if Baekhyun's being honest with himself, he kind of assumed he'd hear from Kai before today, instead of running into each other on opposite ends of a breakfast diner.  How, he's not sure. They hadn't exactly exchanged phone numbers, but Kai's absence around the studio was beginning to wear on Baekhyun's mind. 

“Oh it's Kai." Minseok and a few of the others notice him too. 

"I don't think he's seen us," Tao says to the table.

"Do you think we should invite him over? Who's the guy he's with?" asks Minseok.

No one knows, and Suho finally removes his sunglasses to peer at the couple near the doorway. "I don't know his name but I've seen him around before. With Kai."

"You have?" 

"You've seen Kai recently?"

"Not at the studio. Just, around." He shrugs carelessly. 

Baekhyun takes in the boy sitting across from Kai. Much shorter with big round eyes, he's smartly dressed this morning and perky compared to Kai's more casual look and fatigue-set expression. Both are immersed in their menus and haven't noticed their line of interested gawkers. 

"Maybe it's a boyfriend?" Suho suggests, a smirk forming on his lips.

"Kai's gay?" whispers one of the girls.

"Maybe. Did you ever see him with a girlfriend before?"

"I never saw him with a boyfriend either," says Minseok, frowning.

Baekhyun forgets sometimes that while over half of the company members joined the professional division only recently, a small handful of the dancers have been with the studio for ages, Minseok and Suho, he thinks even Luhan, among them. Neither Tao nor Baekhyun knew much of the gossip from beforehand, except for what little bit got passed around. Kai's talents on a dance floor were one thing; his private life was lesser known. Baekhyun already wonders where the boy disappeared to for two years. Anything before that, and he doesn't know if he even wants to pry.

He returns his attention to his almost clean breakfast plate and hears Tao say, "Oh, he's seen us now."  Baekhyun feels Minseok shift beside him as the boy waves across the diner, but nobody comes over and the table slowly loses interest as they eat up the rest of their meals. Baekhyun only looks over once more between bites and finds Kai's eyes on his. He smiles shyly and dips his head once in acknowledgement, Kai returns the greeting similarly, and they both look away.

"That's all you're going to give him?" Tao hisses quietly in his ear.  

Baekhyun gulps.  "I'll say hello on our way out." Tao nods silently in approval and Baekhyun wishes he hadn't gushed so much about last weekend's 'tutoring session', as Tao seems to be getting certain ideas. 

True to his word, when the group is finished, their meals paid for, Baekhyun purposefully lingers behind. Minseok shouts a hello and goodbye to Kai on his way out the door and as the rest follow, Baekhyun gives Tao consent to go on without him. His breathing feels tight as he makes his way over to Kai and the unknown boy's table. 

I'll just say a quick hello, ask him how he's been and... politelybutnonchallantlyaskifhewantstodoanymoredancingwithme... or not.

He feels even more awkward, standing by their table, a full head taller than the two seated males. Fortunately it's Kai who speaks first. "Baekhyun. I hear it's strange to see you outside of the studio. Are you going anywhere now? Take a seat."

"Ohh, sure." He looks around for the nearest empty chair and places it down in the aisle facing their table. He doesn't know what to say or do next. "I-- haven't seen you around."

"Yeah, I've been a little busy. Hey this is Kyungsoo." The beady eyed boy shakes his hand and stares curiously between Kai and Baekhyun.

"Nice to meet you. Are, you a dancer too?"

"Vocal major," the smaller man supplies. "I can't really dance." He seems proud of that feat. 

"I see. I dance for his mom," Baekhyun says, indicating Kai. 

Kyungsoo laughs. "I figured as much. You guys are friends?"

Kai answers. "Not really. He's mom's new protege though so I've been doing some 'tutoring'" His eyes take on a mischievous glint, and Baekhyun feels an urge to kick at him. Not that he can though, because they're not apparently 'friends'. What the hell kind of development is this, he wonders. Baekhyun really wants to leave already, but before he can figure out which farewell phrase will reward him with the quickest exit, Kai turns to him directly. 

"Hey I'm going out with some friends later tonight. Probably just to see a movie. You want to come, or will you be practicing late again?" Baekhyun knows he'll probably be practicing late, but there's a slight indicator on Kai's face that says he really wants him to come. It's faint but there. "You can bring Tao if you want. You might know some of the other guys too. Kyungsoo will come, won't you? Also, do you know Sehun?" 

Baekhyun nods. "Not well, but I think I've seen him around. He teaches at the other facility, doesn't he?" 

"Yeah, when he's not in school." 

"Hmm. Yeah I guess I can come. I don't know about Tao."

"Great! We'll probably meet up at the theater over at 125th. Uhm, I don't know the time yet. Give me your number and I'll text you later with it?"

"Okay," Baekhyun agrees and slowly relays his phone number to Kai, a little more confident than he was just a minute ago. He checks his own phone for the time and realizes he should probably be heading out. With one more nod in Kyungsoo's direction, he excuses himself and reaches for the door.

Behind him he hears Kyungsoo giggle softly. "Smooth, Kai. Very smooth."

"Oh shut it."  

2,683 words

Another chapter done! 

This time with a hint of Taoris, a possible dent in the Xiuhan ship, mischievious Kyungsoo gets his own intro, and don't think I'm done with all those characters yet. They may not be first priority here, but I love them all the same. 

There will be more Suho being obnoxious and Minseok being fabulous (he's my bias, of course I'll write him as fabulous). I also couldn't help but pick at both of their new hairstyles pending the comeback (next week omg).

I realize that Kai is still a mystery here to most of you (meaning, everyone who's not me, mwahaha) but I promise that will change soon. The next chapter will feature another lengthy passage from Kai's perspective, and Sehun figures prominentally in the part of the plot that is unravelleing the mystery (and Minseok too...) Ooh, what could I mean?? 

See you next round, please comment if you like the story, my characters, or even if you don't. I'm not picky.

Thanks new subbies! 

Rosie <3

*Btw, in this draft I envision Kris as having icky predebut hair. He's not cool at all, yet, and I haven't even begun to have Tao figure out his style...