Lay's Pov

 

Wait... what am I doing in this restaurant again?

I furrowed my brow, as I stood inside, tapping my chin, as if the answer would be there. 

Boy, was I stupid. 

The answer was obviously in my horn because I'm a healing unicorn, duh!

I proceeded to tap my head, and I expected a ding sound from a light bulb to pop out, but it didn't happen as planned, and I probably looked like the biggest idiot for five minutes. 

Sighing, I sat down in the comfy waiting chairs they had set for people waiting for tables, but I probably should've left, since I didn't even know what I was doing here. 

Well, I'm forgetful anyways, so I forgot that I didn't even know why I was here. 

I sat impatiently, and I kept figeting, until a kind waiter graciously offered me the relishing satisfaction of being able to be waited. 

In other words, I was getting a table. 

"Table for how many?" he asked with a warm smile. 

"Um... HOLD UP. Give me a second on that." I said quickly, putting out my index finger, so that the waiter wouldn't interrupt my process of thinking, and I finally just gave up and called Kris gege. 

"Ayo waddup, it's Kris." He greeted. 

"Kris gege, what do I do, I've been standing in a restaurant for ten minutes now, and the waiter asked me how many people will be in my table, but I don't remember why I'm even here, and ... why did I call you?" I spoke quickly into my phone. 

I could feel Kris facepalming himself. 

"Lay, the whole crew was going to the restaurant in like, ten minutes. You're too early." 

Okay, now I was the one facepalming myself this time. 

"Well that's okay, I can wait, but... how many people are gonna be on the table?" I asked again, urgently. "This is life or death Kris, life or death!" 

I could hear his laugh, and once he recovered, he replied, "13. Manager gege is going as well." 

I nodded, even though he could hear or see me, and answered, "You're a good man. Do good in these few minutes without me." 

Then, I turned to the waiter, who was waiting very patiently, with a very annoyed look on his face. 

"Are you ready, sir?" he asked. 

I nodded. 

"Table for 13, please," I said, remembering to add the polite words. 

The waiter gave a more relaxed smile and nodded. 

"Right away, sir."

Then, he led me to a large table with 14 seats. 

"This will do," I said, and the waiter nodded. 

"Are you going to order any drinks?" he asked.

"Just a water for now." I replied, sitting down. 

"Alright. Just so you're aware, I'll be waiting on other tables, so I'll send in one of our new waitresses to wait your table. Do you mind?" the waiter asked, while handing me a bunch of menus. 

"Not at all." I replied pleasantly, and when the guy left, I took a menu and stared it, as if it was something glorious, like donuts.

Donuts are always glorious.

Or maybe even cake.

Or, or-

"Here's your water, sir," A kind voice said, as a bony hand gently set my drink on the table.

"Thanks," I looked up at her with a smile, but froze when I saw her face.

She smiled and hummed in response. 

"Are you ready to order, or do you need more time?" she asked, taking out her notepad.

I just studied her face intensely, and she might've gotten uncomfortable because she just said, "I'll come back later then" and left in a heartbeat.

She looked so familiar and I know that I know her... But from where?

I spent a while thinking about it, and shortly, my bandmates had already arrived. 

"Hey Lay hyung," Kai grinned. "Heard you came early."

His voice was clearly mocking me, but right now, there's more important things at stake. 

"Oh, your friends arrived," the waitress came back, and I took this opportunity to sneak a glance at her name tag, which was pinned securely onto her waitress apron. 

Zhang Yu Ai. 

Zhang Yu Ai? That name sounded so familiar... but where?

"Drinks, anyone?" she asked, showing a relaxed smile.

"I'll have an order of coke!" Sehun excitedly said, and I looked at Kris, who was secretly judging whether or not to let the maknae have a soda.

In the end, it was probably all cool because he didn't say anything.

Then, I shook my head quietly, and thought harder.

Come on Zhang Yixing, you're forgetful, but you can't forget this!

Wait... Zhang... Zhang?

I kept on repeating that in my head, until the blurs became obvious.

I almost fell to the ground as I realized who she was.

"Dang, she's pretty cute. Who dares me to get her number?" Chen joked.

"No, you can't do that Chen, she's my childhood friend!" I suddenly burst out, but not in a loud way because I totally did not want to embarrass myself any further.

"Wait... what?" Xiumin looked at me like an idiot. "Then why didn't you two say something?"

"Because we were separated for years! Hey... wait... actually... Why didn't she say something?" I trailed off and paused, wondering.

"The real question is, why didn't you say something?" Kris said, not meeting my gaze.

"Well excuse me for having horribly bad memory," I snapped.

"Oh yeah, forgot to add that factor in," Kris replied.

I shot him a glare, and sighed.

"Hyung, say hi!" Kai said eagerly, and before I could reply, Yu Ai came back with the drinks.

After she passed them out to everybody, she got out her notepad again, and flashed a small smile, "What would you guys like to order?"

"Baozi!" Xiumin said immediately, and Yu Ai nodded, as she marked it down.

"Fried dumplings," Kris added.

"Cold sesame noodles?" Tao said shyly and quietly.

"Um, give me an order of cold sesame noodles too," I quickly added in.

"Alright," Yu Ai smiled, as she wrote it down.

Then, the other members told her their orders, and once she repeated them, and we all nodded to confirm our orders, she pleasantly smiled and walked off.

"Hyung, I swear, you need to make your move." Sehun said encouragingly.

"Y-yeah," I stuttered.

"Hyung, you aren't scared... Right?" Kai asked, and blinked innocently.

I groaned silently to myself, knowing that I'm his role model, and I just shook my head.

"Of course not, Kai. I'm not scared." I lied, gulping.

"Good luck gege," Tao grinned, and I found grinning.

"Thanks," I answered.

Shortly, Yu Ai came with our food, and I wanted to laugh because she was wobbly and looked so intense in what she was doing, but luckily, I kept my laugh in.

"Okay. So..." She started calling our food names, and we all passed them around, according to who has what.

"Enjoy your meal," she said, after a small pause, and bowed, before quickly walking away.

"Ah, this looks delicious," Kris said, smelling the hot aroma in the air, before digging into his fried dumplings.

"I never knew I tasted so good!" Xiumin said, as he practically gulped down his baozi.

Chen, who was sitting next to him, watched him as he ate - or swallowed whole - his buns, and sighed in despair, before digging into his noodles.

I stared absentmindedly for about another moment, and then dug into my sesame noodles.

 

It wasn't long before we all finished.

I was practically sweating because the moment where I had to talk to Yu Ai came closer and closer.

I closed my eyes as I remembered our last moments before I left for S.M.

We were 17, and this happened four years ago, but the memory has never left my head.

Every time I needed some encouragement from back home, I would always use this memory.

Sighing, I went back to that day again.

"Hey, Yu Ai! You gonna miss me?" I asked, my Changsunese accent still thick.

"Of course, you stupid head!" she replied back with an awkward smile.

I knew she wanted to frown, but she forced a smile.

"Hey, cheer up!" I grinned, and pinched her cheek playfully.

"W-wei, aiya, Xing, you're so troublesome," Yu Ai mumbled, and she practically ripped my hand off of her face.

"Well aren't you gentle," I teased.

Yu Ai pouted.

"Wh-whatever," she scoffed.

"Are you really going to treat your childhood friend like this right before he leaves?" I teased some more.

Yu Ai squirmed, and I could tell that she was unsure about how to answer this.

I just laughed, breaking the tension.

"It's okay, I know you'll support me, right?" I grinned.

"You know I will!" Yu Ai protested, and I laughed some more.

Once I settled down, she looked down at her feet, and I could instantly tell that she wanted to say something.

I waited for her to speak, but she didn't say anything, and I rolled my eyes at her timid personality.

"Did you want to tell me something?" I asked.

Yu Ai suddenly looked up and quickly shook her head.

"Um, I tell you when you come back to Changsun," she said shyly.

"You sure?" I raised an eyebrow, and she nodded firmly.

"Yeah. After you debut."

"Oh, okay then. Whatever you want." I smiled.

She faintly smiled back.

"I'm gonna miss you," I said, suddenly hugging her.

She paused for a second, and replied, "I'm gonna miss you too."

"Hey, hyung, are you here? Eath to hyung?" Kai asked, waving his hand wildly in front of my face, making me blink back into reality.

"Wait, what?"

"Are you going to talk to that girl or not?" Kai asked again.

"Oh, um, yeah, I will, you guys head out first," I said.

"You better not chicken out," Chen warned. "Or else I gave up on a pretty girl for nothing."  

"Yeah," I nodded, and stood up, watching the other members leave. 

"Anything wrong, sir?" Yu Ai asked, as she came up to me.

"Ah, nothing..." I trailed off, and gulped before starting to speak again. "Hey, are you from Changsun?"

"Y-yeah." She stuttered, not meeting my gaze. "Why are you asking?" 

"Because you remind me of a really close friend... Her name is Yu Ai, too." I said. 

"O-oh, well I moved out of there when I was little, so it can't be me." She mumbled.

"Really?" My face fell. 

"Yeah... I've lived in Beijing most of my life." She nodded.

"But you look exactly like her." I tried to protest, and she winced. 

"O-oh, what a coincidence." Yu Ai stuttered, and began picking up the dirty plates.

"You don't remember me?" I asked, downcasted. 

She paused, and then slowly turned to look at me.

"Sorry... I don't recall meeting you." She replied, and that crushed my heart. 

"Oh... Well, I hope we can be friends?" I suggested and she wearily smiled, not meeting my gaze. 

"Of course... Please come back anytime. I'd love to be your waitress again."

I nodded, and bowed. 

"Excuse me. I have to go back." I said, trying not to show my disappointment. 

"Oh, alright. Um, see you next time." She said softly, and I walked away. 

"How was it hyung? Did she remember you?!" Sehun asked excitedly. 

"Crap... I knew I shouldn't have let you have soda." Kris groaned. 

"...No. She's not the girl," I muttered. 

"Wait, what? What are you talking about, Lay?" Chen asked. "I gave her up for nothing?" 

"I don't know... I mean, she looks exactly like my childhood friend... And she sounds like her too... Maybe she forgot me?" I suggested. 

"That's impossible Lay, I mean, you guys have been childhood friends for a long, long time!" Luhan said, trying to reassure me.

I glumly nodded.

"But people forget," I added.

"If she forgot you, but you remembered, then that's just unfair." Tao pouted. "I demand for a miracle!" 

"Trust me, Tao, I think we all do," Kris pat my back reassuringly. 

I looked up at the giant and forced a smile. 

"Thanks guys. We should head back to the hotel now." 

They nodded, and we all got into the van that the manager was driving, and nobody exchanged words for the whole ride. 

 

Once we got to the hotel, I sluggishly walked to my room, and closed the door. 

Sighing, I flopped on the bed, and just laid there for a while.

I sighed once more, and got out to take a shower.

The least I can do is to be clean.

I brought a spare change of clothes inside, and even inside the shower, I was just absentminded. 

Dang it... I thought I was better than this.

Seeing as it was a waste of water and I was already clean, I just stopped my shower, and quickly got dressed, and walked out, the cold air welcoming me.

I was still drying my hair when I heard a knock on the door. 

"Who is it?" I called. 

"Us."

Judging from the voice, it was Suho. 

"Alright. I'm coming." I answered, and hobbled to the door, opening it slowly. 

"Hey, we're coming in," Luhan said, and they all came in in an orderly line. 

I just watched, amused, as eleven people waddled into my room.

Once they all went in and got comfortable, I locked the door, and joined them. 

"Hey, how are you doing?" Kris asked, concerned.

"I'm doing good," I answered.

"You sure?" Chanyeol asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Of course I am," I replied firmly.

"Really...? Cause you know... You don't look that great." Xiumin mumbled. 

"Um, I'm just hungry." I answered quickly, lying. 

"The sesame noodles weren't that filling? Weird, I was full halfway..." Tao said. 

"I have leftovers. You want?" Baekhyun asked. 

"They're yours, though," I answered.

"Well, they're yours if you want them," he shrugged. 

"But what if you get hungry too?" I asked. 

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. 

"Okay, let's make a scenario. Say I'm you, and you're me, and I'm hungry, and you have food. You'd give it to me right?" 

I nodded. 

"That's what I'm doing with you." Baekhyun said. 

"Baek..." I said, suddenly touched. 

"I can't take this anymore, just eat the dang leftovers from Baek," Chanyeol pouted. 

I laughed. 

"Okay." I smiled. 

"Alright, I'll get them. Yeol, wanna come?" Baekhyun asked, and Chanyeol perked up, nodding his head like a dog. 

They quickly got out of the room, and before I could open my mouth to speak, they suddenly came in with a white, styrofoam box, and chopsticks. 

"Here Lay!" they both said in unison. 

"Thanks," I said, taking the box.

"Oh my gosh, did you guys have sugar too?" Kris raised an eyebrow. 

"Nope, we just had three donuts each that's all." Chanyeol said nonchalantly. 

"Wait, what? When?" Kris asked, astounded. 

"Nothing." Chanyeol replied quickly, and Kris stared at them with narrowed eyes. 

"I'll talk to you guys later. No reward for you two." He teased, then turned to face me. "So how are you gonna win that girl?"

I shrugged.

"Maybe I should just quit." I mumbled.

Chen frowned.

"You shouldn't quit. Good things happen to those to wait," he winked, making me laugh weakly.

"Okay," I answered.

"If you're feeling better Lay, I think it's time for us to go to bed. I know tomorrow's a free day, but still," Kris said, as he checked his watch, causing the members to groan.

I laughed.

"Okay," Luhan sighed, grunting as he stood up.

The group slowly made their way out to their separate rooms, and I locked the door after he said goodbye to them.

I sighed loudly, even though no one could hear me, and trudged to the bathroom, quickly washing off my makeup. 

Then, I changed, and immediately fell into bed after turning off the lights. 

Instead of going to sleep however, I numbly laid there, thinking about what I should do. 

I know that it was Yu Ai there, but how do I make her say it? 

After what felt like forever, I just shook my head, and sighed once more, before forcing myself to sleep.

 

The next morning, I woke up earlier than the rest of the members. 

Drowsily, I groaned, and blinked, adjusting to the bright light that streamed through the window blinds. 

Getting out of bed, I stood rooted to the spot before yawning and getting on with life.

After brushing my teeth and changing, I peeked outside the door to see if anyone was awake. 

Silence and nothingness greeted me and I sighed, going back into my room. 

Since today was a free day, the members are probably sleeping in. 

I retrieved my phone, and sat at the edge of the bed, wondering what to do.

After what felt like forever, I just shook my head, grabbed the key, and headed out of my room.

"Ah, you're awake."

I turned my head and saw a sleepy Luhan, standing in front of his room, still in his pajamas.

Chuckling, I gave a small smile and answered, "Morning. You just woke up?"

Luhan nodded, and complained, "Sehun came thrashing in my room this morning because he got a nightmare, and I can't go back to sleep. What're you doing awake?"

I shrugged. "Nothing, really."

"Ah," Luhan replied, rubbing his eyes.

"So what's Sehun doing now?"

"He should be-"

"HYUUUUUUUUUNG~" A whiny voice called for Luhan, making him stop in his tracks, and widen his eyes.

A second later, Sehun opened the door, his hair messed up, and his eyes half-lidded.

He caught sight of Luhan and I together, and blinked.

"Oh, you guys are awake." Sehun commented.

"Sehun, you little twerp, you're so loud that you woke me up," An annoyed and sleepy Baekhyun hiss, as his head poked out of his room.

"Sorry hyung," Sehun hoarsely mumbled.

"Yah, is that you Sehun? Baekhyun, Lay, Luhan, what are you guys doing?" Chanyeol peeped outside his door, with only his head sticking out, making him look like a squirrel as he happily blinked at us.

I chuckled. 

"Ah, aniya, nothing," Luhan waved his hand nonchalantly.

"Oh. Arasseo then." Chanyeol smiled brightly, and if emotions spoke, he probably would've woken up everyone.

A moment later, Suho came out of his room, yawning widely.

He then blinked, and saw us all out.

"Oh, you're awake? I was going to wake up the members anyways." He said, a bit surprised.

"Ne," Sehun replied cheerily. 

"Well, good morning." Suho gave a small smile.

"Morning." We all answered.

After a moment of waking up reluctant members, and having to spray them with water or simply just force them out of bed, we all eventually just sat in Suho's room. 

"Do you guys have nothing better to do than sit in here?" Suho looked at us with a pout.

Kai gave a tired shrug. 

"Since we're all in here, I guess not." He teased. 

"Makes sense," Suho huffed. "You're all my troublesome wolves."

We basically spent the whole day laughing and playing games, and when it was about six, Sehun sighed. 

"I want some coffee!" he announced loudly. 

Baekhyun laughed. 

"We should compete on who gets the coffee then!"

After a game of rock-paper-scissors, I was deemed the loser and had to get the coffee.

"You guys are so lucky," I scowled as I stood up.

They all told me their orders, and I shook my head as I walked out the door. 

It wasn't long before I managed to spot a cafe.

Peeping my head in, I gazed inside; it was quiet, and mostly empty, except for the few people that were merely using their free wifi.

I slowly slithered in, and walked up to the register. 

"Annyeong," A small girl smiled, craning her neck to look up at me. "What would you like?"

I repeated the orders, and the girl feverishly jotted them down.

"Alright," she smiled, and said the orders again so that she didn't miss anything. "Your total will be $34.56."

I got out my wallet and paid, and sat down. 

Plip, plip, plip.

I blinked, and looked out the window, only to see nothing, but blurs and water.

Great. 

It was raining and I didn't even have an umbrella.

The small girl soon called out my order, and I went to retrieve it.

Should I go now? Or should I wait until the rain stops?

But then the dudes would get mad at me if the coffee gets cold.

I stood rooted to the spot, furrowing my brow, as I wondered what to do.

"You're shift's over? How quick."

I turned my head to see the small girl talking to--

"Yeah," Yu Ai smiled.

"It's raining though."

"Luckily, I checked the weather and brought an umbrella." She said cheerily.

"Hah, alright. Have a safe trip okay?"

"Okay," Yu Ai answered, and when she walked to the entrance, she noticed me, and jumped back in surprise.

"Oh..." I said awkwardly.

"Hello..." She replied back just as awkwardly.

"Um, how's your day?" I said, nervously shifting from one foot to another.

"Pretty good," she answered, not meeting my gaze, and just rubbing the nape of her neck. "You?" 

"I'm doing pretty good too." I weakly smiled. 

"Are you going to ... go?" she asked, looking at me curiously.

"Ah, I don't have an umbrella." I replied.

"Oh. You can borrow mine?" Yu Ai smiled warmly and I melted.

"But I can't hold it," I laughed. "I'm holding three cup holders."

Yu Ai blushed, both embarrassed and flustered, and started saying scrabbled sentences that I couldn't even understand.

I just laughed, and Yu Ai pouted.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop," I grinned, and she softly smiled as she opened the door and unveiled the umbrella.

"Are you coming?" she asked, and I nodded feverently, quickly getting under the umbrella. 

We walked in silence towards the hotel, and once we arrived, my geges attacked me. 

"Is the coffee safe?" they asked, rushing towards the cup holders. 

I looked at them, annoyed. 

"I was in the rain, and all you care about is the coffee?!" I muttered. 

"Well, you're not drenching wet." Chen said, sticking his tongue out. 

I sighed. 

"Fine." 

Once they took the cup holders, I noticed Yu Ai quietly retreating, and I leaped forward to gently grasp her arm. 

She looked at me in surprise, squeaking a little bit. 

I gently laughed, and smiled to her.

"Let me take you home," I suggested. 

"Ah, no, it's alright, I can go back alone." She answered, not meeting my gaze. 

"It's alright though, I can take you back," I insisted. 

After a moment of constant disagreeing, she finally shyly said, "O-okay, since you want to."

I happily smiled, and we walked out together. 

"Why are you like this?" she asked suddenly as we turned around a curb. 

"Like what?" 

"Like, you're so caught up with me because you think that I'm this girl you used to know," she replied quietly, making me stop in my tracks.

"Yixing?"

She turned and blinked questioningly at me. 

"You called me Yixing." 

"So?"

"I've never even told you my name." I answered, my lips curling into a grin. 

"Wh-what are you talking about? You're Zhang Yixing from Exo... Of course I know you name," she said, flustered. 

"Really?" I asked, stepping closer to her. 

"Y-yeah."

"Honestly?" 

"Y-yes."

"Zhang Yu Ai, don't lie to me."

"I-I'm not." 

With this, I grinned even wider. 

"Wh-what?" she asked, confused. 

"You don't know what I just said?" I asked back. 

"That I shouldn't lie to you?" She phrased this as a question and I laughed lightly.

"Not just that. You replied to me when I called you Zhang Yu Ai. You've never even told me your full name before." I answered. 

Her eyes widened, and she retreated back a couple of spaces. 

"Yu Ai... You're that Yu Ai from my childhood right?" I asked. 

She looked at me, afraid, and trembled, dropping her umbrella. 

I slowly stepped forward, but she just stood there silently, as if she was letting me come closer to her. 

"Yu Ai?" I pressed my hand against her cheek, and she burst out crying. 

"X-Xing," she stuttered, and in this moment, I knew that this was the girl that I have liked since forever.

"You have no idea how much I missed you," I laughed.

Yu Ai buried her face into my chest, and softly mumbled, "I missed you too, idiot."

We stood in the rain, with no words exchanged between us; it was only our hearts speaking.

Finally, after a long moment, Yu Ai looked up at me, and I looked down.

She brushed my wet hair away from my eyes and weakly smiled.

"It's nice seeing you after a long time." She breathed.

"You too." I answered.

After a moment of awkward silence, I said, "So... how about that promise?"

Yu Ai blushed madly, and squeaked a bunch of incoherent words.

"What?" I laughed softly, making her stare at the ground.

"Um... That promise... I was um..." she trailed off.

"What about the promise?" I teased.

"Um..." Yu Ai looked at me nervously.

"Hm?" I teased some more.

"I was going to say that I really really liked you!" she burst out, surprising me.

"Wh-wha?" I stuttered, processing what she just said.

"I like you." She mumbled again, making me smile like an idiot.

"Really?" I asked.

"I already said it twice, don't make me say it more." She replied.

"You like me?"

Yu Ai nodded poutingly, and I hugged her tightly and pulled her up into the air.

"H-hey, what are you doing?!" she asked, surprised at my actions. 

After I put her down, I just smiled widely. 

"I like you too." I declared. 

"What?" she stared at me, dumbfounded. 

"I. Like. You," I said slowly, teasing her some more. 

"Xing," she muttered under her breath as I , pouting. 

I laughed. 

"Sorry, sorry." I answered.

Then, Yu Ai smiled brightly, and hugged me.

"That was the promise." She said happily.

"Isn't it funny?" I asked.

"What is?"

"Well, another way to say Xing is star. We said good bye under the stars." I grinned, and Yu Ai looked at me, confused. "But we confessed our love, our 'Ai,' in the rain, 'Yu.'"

Yu Ai looked at me as she process this and once she got it, she slapped my arm.

"You're so stupid," she laughed.

"You make me stupid," I admitted, smiling softly.

"Hey, when did you get all cheesy," Yu Ai looked at me with playful disgust.

"Since I met you," I replied and kissed the tip of her nose.

She rolled her eyes.

"It's only because I love you," I pouted.

Yu Ai looked at me with more playful disgust, but finally broke out in a grin.

"I love you too." She answered.

"I remember you," I breathed softly. "Do you remember me?"

Yu Ai softly smiled as  she nodded. 

"I remember you."