~~~Three Years Later...~~~

“Okay, Natalie Rose, I hope you’re ready.” Yifan smirked as he stared at the olive toned woman, who shared the same sofa as him, with taunting dark eyes. He waved the black and red camouflage Xbox controller around, pointing towards the direction of the large flat screen television in front of them. “Your defeat is inevitable.”

The woman known as Natalie turned to stare at him with a very unamused and unperturbed gleam in her hazel eyes. She held her own pink Hello Kitty controller against her very round stomach. “Whatever you say, Angry Bird man.” she said with an eye roll. “Just hurry up and pick your team so I can show you who the true NBA 2K champion is.” Yifan raised a thick eyebrow towards her but obliged to her command. He searched through the choices and selected the Portland Trailblazers as his final choice while she picked the Miami Heat. Afterwards, it was an all-out basketball battle.

For most of the game, Yifan and Natalie were pretty evenly matched. Yifan bust out the killer plays using his dream duo of Damian Lillard and Mo Williams, shooting three pointers and creating defensive plays but Natalie countered with her Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh duo. Even though Yifan swore Natalie had the better duo, he was pretty confident that he would win…that is until the fourth quarter happened. Out of nowhere, Natalie started shooting nothing but three pointers using Ray Allen for like half of the quarter and he couldn’t block any of them! Once he was finally able to block the shots, Natalie switched to LeBron James to show some of that “Ohio swag they were born with” as she put it so nicely. He was completely destroyed as he stared at the score, his mouth agape.

145-89.

He turned to look at Natalie only to find her staring back at him while trying to hide her smile and play it cool. Then she did the signature LeBron chest pound which made him toss his controller away from him.

“You cheated!” he accused.

“Oh, puh-lease! I didn’t have to since you so badly.” Natalie retorted. “Dude, you can’t handle none of this.”

"LeBron doesn't even play for the Heat anymore!"

"This is NBA 2K14, you dufus! He was still with them until the middle of the year." she said, brushing off another one of his goofy excuses.

“Well, you only won because you had the better team.”

“No you did not just say that! I clearly remember whooping your using the Cleveland Cavaliers against your San Antonio Spurs. You should feel greatly embarrassed because you greatly insulted one of the best teams in NBA history.” she retorted once again. “Fannie Fan, it doesn’t matter how many basketball teams you were the captain of. I’m the NBA 2K master so just accept it because it makes life easier.” Natalie patted his thigh sympathetically which made him roll his eyes.

“Whatever. Atleast I’m better at Call of Duty.” Yifan announced.

“That game is so stupid! I hate it.” Natalie pouted.

Yifan smirked. “That’s only because you at it.”

“Shut up.”

“Seriously, how do you kill your own team members?” Yifan continued to taunt as a black pillow hit him in the face.

“I said shut up!” Natalie exclaimed while laughing. “It only happened twice!” she defended.

“No, no, babe. It was way more than twice.” Yifan said with a shake of his head. “I’m always the team member you kill, remember?” he clarified. “At first I thought you did it on purpose but boy was I wrong.” Natalie couldn’t even defend her fail anymore so she just laughed. He loved hearing her laugh and seeing the crinkle of her features while she did so. The sight brought a smile to his face. He habitually leaned his elbow on the back of the couch and reached to play with a strand of her dark brown hair. Natalie turned her head to make eye contact with him, a smile still on her face.

“Why must you stare at me like that?” Natalie asked with a raised eyebrow as Yifan tucked her hair behind her ear. “It’s kind of embarrassing.”

“Hmm, how am I staring at you?”

“Like you have big anime hearts in your eyes.” she elaborated tracing said shape in the air with her fingers.

“Because you make my heart go doki-doki.” he answered before both of them snorted at the extremely embarrassing comment. One thing he could not shake off was his gift of causing second hand embarrassment which he didn’t mind. He didn’t have to continue to keep up a façade that was full of lies.

It’s been nearly three years since he filed a lawsuit to terminate his contract with SM Entertainment and he can honestly say he doesn’t regret a single thing. Sure, he missed the people he worked with at times because they were really amazing, but the company’s management, mistreatment, and unjust favoritism left a lot to be desired. He wanted to stay and be a trooper because he spent nearly seven years trying to get to where he was, but with his health getting worse and the constant worry about who would take care of his mother if something happened to him, Yifan decided to take action because he refused to continue being treated as a puppet or anything less than human. So once he filed, he expected all the hate and criticism from the fandom and was shown who truly supported him. He was the victim of name dropping in Chinese media when the lawsuit broke out so directors and creators could garner attention for their upcoming projects by claiming he was going to appear in them. It was disgusting but that was how show business worked and since he couldn’t say anything by request of his lawyer the public was free to blindingly or skeptically believe anything.

Yifan and his mother, Falin, were able to leave China and fly to some place that wouldn’t recognize him so he could just roam freely without the constant worry of being followed and ambushed. He wanted to go to Canada, either Vancouver or Toronto, but decided on Cincinnati since it was a very calm and slow paced compared to the big cities. When he got there he did not expect to meet Natalie, an old high school friend.

Natalie had moved from Cleveland, Ohio to Vancouver when she was around thirteen due to her mom getting a new job over there. It was around the same time he had returned from Guangzhou to finish school. They both lived in the same apartment building and approximately two doors away from each other. She really stood out being one of the few black people to live in a predominantly Asian community but she quickly gained friends since she was a volleyball athlete and science nerd. She helped him with his English a lot while he in turn taught her some Mandarin and Cantonese. They inevitably started to talk and became fast friends because of their common interest, such as sports, and struggles, such as being raised in a single parent household. He admittedly started to harbor feelings for her since she was really cool, sweet, and undeniably cute. When he passed the SM audition, Natalie was his biggest supporter and wanted him to go on and succeed despite the fact that she would miss him. During the first year of his trainee life in Korea, they called and texted each other nearly every other day. She even met Yixing a few times when he became a trainee but soon they gradually lost contact due to his trainee life becoming more hectic and demanding while she had to focus on graduating from Stanford. He hasn’t seen her in such a long time, face to face.

Yifan really started to believe fate was a culprit in this matter. He couldn’t think of any other reason as to why she was there at such a time. Natalie, after graduating from college, went into the field of acting. It was something that they both dreamt of doing since watching modern blockbusters and classic movies such as Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, and The Godfather trilogy and for wanting a better life for their families. Natalie started off as a minor character on the soap opera, General Hospital, before getting roles in independent films which garnered her critical acclaim and multiple film festival awards. She then gained massive recognition when a few of her latest big production films did extremely well in the box office. At the age of 22, she became one of Hollywood’s rising young actresses. So why was she in Cincinnati and not the glam and high pace of New York and Los Angeles? It just so happened to be that during the same week she had come to visit her great aunt and cousins with her mother. She was equally surprised to see Yifan there but the first thing she did was give him a hug, one he didn’t know he needed until then.

Despite the fact that the two had lost contact, she did keep up with his career as an Exo member and continued to support him in spirit and vice versa. He was obviously her bias by a long shot (even though Tao and Luhan crept up on him a few times) and was very worried about him once the whole lawsuit broke out. More than just being overwhelmed by all the hate he was receiving and the fact that people were editing him out of everything Exo related, she was worried about his well-being given the fact that he wasn’t anywhere to be found and his health concerns. Natalie was so relieved to see him and his mother in that Cincinnati diner. Yifan caught her up on what was going on and from then on she was there as one of his supporters. It was rough for the first few months after the lawsuit filed but once everything calmed down a bit he was able to just relax and breathe a little and with his close knit support system, Yifan was soon able to make his return to the public eye.

Yue Hua Entertainment offered to handle any upcoming activities while his case continued to be looked over in the Seoul District Court for the next year. He signed on to appear in a Chinese historical film which had garnered a lot of attention in Eastern Asian media and even some Western outlets. When it released, the movie was a hit in the box office not only because of his lawsuit publicity but also because of his acting prowess. Many critics said that he was very promising and is one to really keep a look out for during his future acting endeavors. Yifan gained a lot of modelling offers from labels and brands across the globe which was a cushioning safe haven that he knew he had no troubles doing and would secure his future income. He then acted in a romantic comedy television series which became instantly popular and showed his versatility as an actor. He loved that he was finally able to do what he really wanted to do after nearly eight years of waiting and making his mother proud as well as provide for her (even though she says she’s proud of him no matter what happens like any loving mother would say). He was about to sign on to do another acting project when his lawyer assured him that he was sure to win his case.

The following year, the Seoul District Court ruled in favor of Yifan but SM Entertainment assured they would immediately file an appeal. The court denied the appeal as soon as it was brought to their attention that SM Entertainment has not paid taxes to the South Korean government for about eight years. SM Entertainment gained a lot of negative attention but Yifan didn’t have much time trying to focus on such with his new film and thought they would lie their way out of the situation like they always did. Only when SM’s CEO Kim Young-min and his immediate workers were arrested and removed from their company positions and his phone was blasted by his former SM colleagues/friends, did Yifan really start to pay attention to the case. The group was charged with crimes of gaining money through illegal means, blackmailing, and numerous income discrepancies. The group was sentenced to do time in prison with no parole and SM Entertainment was all but doomed. Yifan was so worried about everyone who worked under the company because the stock investments were virtually nonexistent and no one wanted to be involved with the disgrace it had become. Every worker was on the verge of losing their jobs until some Euro-American based, worldwide management company decided to act like a fixer for the fallen company and build it back up to its once prominent status by more reasonable and legal means of action. Yifan was relieved that the people could continue to chase their dreams and make an honest living. For some reason people declared him a hero for starting the chain reaction of downward spirals before a great blessing but he quickly told people that he was far from a hero and to just enjoy the fresh start given to both paths.

With SM drama officially behind him, Yifan then had to deal with scandals and speculations in the Chinese media every time he embarked on a new acting project or modelling/endorsement campaigns. He was rumored to have been in a relationship with various starlets in China, though he did start a friendship with some actresses it was nothing more than just that, so he promptly denied numerous accusations before eyes were on Wu Yifan and Ms. Natalie Rose. It was an ongoing global speculation since the day Natalie and Yifan followed each other on social media within two minutes of each other and were spotted out together multiple times. It shouldn’t have been such a big deal but it quickly spiraled into one. Bit by bit, they started to piece together that the two must’ve known each other from a long time ago, given the fact that they both went to the same high school in Vancouver during the same time. This was the rumor he did not deny because he and Natalie did agree to experiment with dating to see where their chemistry took them. Since then Natalie was on the receiving end of hate and criticism because of her being ethnically a black person, her being a traitor to her own race, people believing that black women weren’t good enough for Asian men or non-black men, and the fact that Asians and black people should never mix. Yifan was hurt and appalled by the statements but Natalie handled herself like a boss. She bluntly stated that no one was better than anyone regardless of ethnicity, nationality, gender, etc., because everyone’s smelled the same at the end of the day so people should leave that regressive bull crap that stated otherwise back in the past where it belonged. She ended with the statement that she was raised on the notion that love had no color and she would not waste any more time on the matter because the ignorance was too intense and that she had a life to continue living. She never addressed the hater and trolls on the matter again but her fan following made sure to defend her everyday despite her telling them not to bother too much about it. Yifan publicly agreed with everything she posted. He found the fact that she had a thick skin when it came to the celebrity level attention endearing which only made him fall even harder for her and the worldwide public could see that.

Nearly a year after the world learned about the Yifan and Natalie relationship and seeing how strong it was, most weren’t surprised (though some still were) when he popped the question, asking her to be his wife. She obviously agreed and they had a small ceremony in the Caribbean with their close family and friends, even some of his former SM family came to show some love. The extravagant and expensive Kimye or royal family like wedding wasn’t their style and the two were content with the outcome. After their honeymoon in Spain, they finally began to settle into their new home. The two moved into a modern styled mansion in Los Angeles which was very exciting for them with it being the first home they’ve ever purchased. It was very spacious and sophisticated but once they decorated it, the place gained a welcoming, homey feel. It was also very convenient because he bought his mom a loft about twenty minutes away so he wouldn’t have to worry about her too much and a few months down the line she would become a very much needed presence. Yifan would never forget the day he found out Natalie was pregnant.

After promoting for about three weeks in China, he came home to a frantically pacing Natalie. He called out to her a few times but she was in her own realm of thoughts. It was her way of dealing with something troubling. It worried Yifan because he’s rarely seen her lose her composure. He had to physically stop her and pull her out of her thoughts to see what was wrong with her. He recalled being absolutely shocked when she said that she might be pregnant given the fact that she took five different tests which all ended up being positive and that her monthly was late. When they went to the doctor and were told she was about four weeks along in her pregnancy, Natalie cried because none of her clothes would fit in a few months and that she wouldn’t be able to see her feet. Yifan chuckled as he comforted his wife and the doctor told him to be prepared for plenty more hormonal outbursts. Eight months later, the hormones weren’t that bad but the food cravings were the main concern during the experience. But, his biggest dilemma was the lingering thought of whether he would be a good father or not. It bothered him a lot at first but as time went on he felt a little at ease knowing he would not be alone and had the best partner in crime there was.

“You are such a cornball, dude.” Natalie smiled while gently shoving his shoulder.

“Only for you, my darling.” Natalie made gagging noises at the statement. Yifan cooed as he pinched her cheek.

“Stop that!” she exclaimed pushing his hand away from her face but he went back to pinch again this time with both hands. Natalie swatted him away before getting a good grip on his hair, making him scream like a man-woman as he repeatedly patted her thigh like a tap out in a wrestling match. “You should really cut your hair because your split ends are getting bad, love.” Natalie informed with a nonchalant tone, examining the fine jet black locks while holding him down in his place.

“Okay, okay, I’ll cut it tomorrow! Just let me go, oh great one!” Yifan exclaimed while chuckling. He grew his hair out for his historical film and decided to keep it whenever he could. He liked growing his hair long because that’s how he wore it during his pre-debut days. He loved wearing his hair in little ponytails but Natalie did have a point about his split ends since he hasn’t been the best at taking care of it as of lately. He would miss his ponytails (sad face). She finally let him free while smirking teasingly towards him. He flipped his hair towards her in an arrogant fashion which made her laugh before she stopped abruptly. Yifan turned his head to see his wife grimacing slightly before taking slow breaths. “Are you okay?” he asked worriedly.

Natalie nodded towards him with a reassuring smile. “Yeah, I’m okay. I just wasn’t prepared for little guy to kick me that hard.” she said while absently rubbing her rounded stomach. Yifan chuckled as he placed his hand on her stomach just as another kick was felt.

“Aww little Snuffleupagus is so happy!” Yifan cooed as Natalie snorted.

“Why must you call our child that?”

“What? You don’t like? How about Barney then?”

“You will not address my son as that purple monstrosity!” she ordered and Yifan laughed. “In all seriousness, I think we should start thinking of a name for him. We’ve procrastinated long enough.” Natalie giggled lightly. They had less than four weeks left before their son was born and they didn’t come up with or really think too much about the name for the baby.

Yifan leaned his elbow against the back of the couch and supported his head. “Hmm, I like the name Nolan.”

“My dad’s name?” Natalie asked with a raised brow.

“Yeah, I think it’s very meaningful.” Both of them grew up in single mother households but for different reasons. Natalie’s father, Nolan Rose, was a U.S Marine sergeant who died in the line of duty when she was only 11. She told him that it was rough trying to accept the fact that he was gone but his kind memory lived on and her family found piece in the fact that he died in possibly the most honorable way. Though he never met the man, Yifan admired Sgt. Rose and wished he could say the same for his own father.

“That’s possibly the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. Thank you.” she said feeling very touched and Yifan smiled before kissing her temple before pulling her into his side to cuddle. “I’m sorry, this is nice and all, but I have to pee.”

“Way to kill the mood, Natti.” Yifan sighed. “Way to kill the mood.” he said once more enunciating every word. Natalie chortled before pecking him on the lips.

“I’m sorry but being pregnant pushes everything together and right now my bladder feels like it’s the size of a raisin.” Natalie said as she struggled to sit up from the couch. Yifan ended up having to help her up by gently supporting her lower back and clutched her upper arm. Once she stood up all of the fluids in her body seemed to rush downwards. “Oh my god, I have to take a piss!” she exclaimed waddling as fast as she could towards the bathroom.

“Why must you say it like a male trucker?” Yifan sighed. “Is “I have to go to the bathroom” not good enough for you? Really?” he called out to her. Natalie just groaned loudly and incoherently towards him while waving him off with her hand which made him shake his head with a chuckle.

The following day, Yifan went out to get the haircut that he promised Natalie and was pretty satisfied with it. He then had to drive back home to pick her up for the last prenatal checkup before the baby is born. He went to open the front doors of the mansion and looked around the area.

“Babe!” he called out but didn’t hear an immediate response. She could possibly still be sleeping since lately she’s been feeling really tired. Honestly, he hoped she wasn’t still asleep or they would be late for their appointment and possibly reschedule which would not cooperate with his plans. He trekked up the stairs to find out where his wife was. He checked their master bedroom to see if she was there but no luck. Atleast he knew she was awake. Yifan then heard a soft melody coming from down the hall, in the baby nursery precisely, and followed the sound. As he leaned against the door frame, he watched Natalie mess with the baby mobile hanging over the crib before stepping back a few steps to examine the entire room, a soft smile on her face. Yifan thought she looked adorable and absolutely gorgeous. Natalie pulled off the pregnant look so beautifully but then again he thought she looked stunning with pajamas, a head scarf, and drool dripping down the side of her face. Yeah, he was definitely in love with her but she was a naturally vibrant and beautiful woman, inside and out. He felt so lucky. He walked over to Natalie, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and kissing her cheek and shoulder lovingly before placing his chin on the latter. She smiled at his affection while rubbing his forearms.

“Do you think we put enough blue in this room?” Natalie asked with a slight laugh. Yifan snickered into her shoulder. The entire nursery was, from top to bottom, toys to walls, covered with a soft baby blue color, minus the white book shelf and matching crib. There were also little painted pictures of spaceships, bears, and sports equipment, which Natalie drew herself. “I think our next goal is to paint the air blue.”

Yifan chuckled. “Well, atleast everyone will know that he’s a boy.” he stated. “Are you ready to go? The appointment is in about an hour and we have quite the drive.”

“Yeah, I’m ready. Let’s get this show on the road.” Natalie answered.

Nearly three hours later, Natalie and Yifan were finished with their appointment. The doctor told them that the baby was in a perfectly healthy condition. Natalie was also told that when she gave birth in a few weeks the chances of a complication in the pregnancy were highly unlikely. To top it all off, it also happened to be a beautiful day even though it was the second week of November. She was super hyped and happy about pretty much everything at the moment.

“Come back home.” she sang as they walked down the street while dancing to the 2NE1 song. Yifan found it funny how she would do the body roll part but the pregnant stomach made it look awkward.

“YG style?” Yifan asked with a smile.

“All day every day.” she answered as they came up to their designation, a Mediterranean restaurant they frequent often in Beverly Hills. The host sat them down in a booth towards the back of the restaurant, in a private more intimate setting. Once they ordered their food, they eased into a simple conversation.

“Hey, have you received any updates on potential partnerships or shareholders?” Yifan asked. “I haven’t heard you say anything more about it.”

“Oh, I’m sorry! I forgot to tell you! Chanel said they would help with my designs for a special Natalie collection.” Natalie smiled. “They said it couldn’t be done right away since I have to be a Lancôme ambassador for a few months and take care of motherly duties but sometime next year, everything should start to kick off.” she added.

“That’s great! I’m so proud of you, babe.” Yifan grinned. Natalie went to Stanford as an International Business major but minored in Fine Art. She always loved drawing -clothing and scenery were her specialty- and wanted to design fashion. Yifan’s known this since their high school days and knew she would get a chance to showcase it one day. “I sense a full on clothing line in your future. You are so talented at drawing and designing even if I’m better at it.”

Natalie chuckled into her glass of lemonade. “Ah, the wannabe Picasso strikes again.” she said shaking her head. “You could probably sell your drawings of the rhino, four-legged duck, dragon wolf or unicorn thingy from your Exo days to designer brands like Givenchy or partner with Jeremy Scott, since you own the rights to them. Both seem to appreciate the bizarre and mind boggling.” she smirked and Yifan laughed. “Speaking of Exo, how are the rest of the guys doing? Did y’all get back on track yet? Like, seriously, it’s been three years. Exo-M doesn’t really count, though.”

Yifan chuckled. “They’re all doing fine.” When he filed for contract termination, the Exo motto “We are One” quickly turned into “We are only one if you stay in the same company and if you leave then you traitor” or something close to that. He admitted that his timing was crappy with the Lost Planet concert and all but what would have been a good time? If he waited when there were no activities, SM would’ve stalled or ignored him completely. Strategically, he took the correct measures. Plus, when you feel victimized and mistreated, timing isn't a factor. It came as no surprise to him that the Exo-K members didn’t say their own opinions on the matter. Baekhyun tried to be open and neutral but soon he stopped trying. They only read from the script that SM wrote up for them like little obedient puppets, fearful of actually speaking their minds. Xiumin and Jongdae felt hurt but more worried about him than anything. He confided in Yixing and Luhan about filing for the lawsuit and both were saddened but understanding. When it came to Tao, he handled the situation cowardly. He knew that if he told Tao about the lawsuit he would’ve backed out like all the other times when he confided in the younger so he opted not to tell him. Tao looked up to him in a way no one had ever done so and the thought of letting him down was too hard to handle. As Tao posted on SNS, he did betray his trust and despite being hurt by his words, Yifan was angrier at the fact that SM played up the whole traitor thing and took advantage of Tao’s vulnerability. But all he could do was blame himself for not having a little more faith in Tao. The Overdose era was a huge show for the whole of Exo but he was grateful for Natalie being by his side. She told him that he shouldn’t feel so bad for, to put it simply, wanting to quit a job because everyone does so, every second of every day and that business and friendships can’t coincide all the time. If the ot12 friendship was truly authentic, then forgiveness would come in due time because old wounds will heal with time (or wounds will Lay with Tao she said with humor).

Around the time when SM changed to a different management system, the Exo members started to communicate with him. Yixing and Luhan forgave and kept in touch with him during the whole lawsuit situation and were doing very well for themselves. Under the new management, Yixing was able to release his own solo music and even compose songs for Chinese artists. Luhan took his hand at acting and was really good at it (he was Yifan’s biggest competition). He was a pro at romantic comedies and was a trend with younger audiences. Tao finally talked to him again and pretty much called him all the time which is very surprising due to his increasingly busy schedule. The younger finally got his chance to star in action films and historical dramas which gained him a lot of critical acclaim due to him being so emotionally connected, thoroughly convincing and constantly advancing in his martial arts talents (he was also Yifan’s biggest competition). Jongdae was a cool dude who reconnected with him and received even more singing opportunities. He released his own mini album and OST, appeared in a few dramas and did a few projects with a few SM the Ballad members and fellow Exo members. Minseok was the trend in South Korea after all so he was constantly asked to be the face for Korean endorsements and called to do a few dramas as well. A few months ago, he decided to do his mandatory military services so Exo-M activities were halted and ultimately Exo11 activities as well. China-line were the main ones to talk to and hang out with Yifan, such as Tao visiting his home in LA often, Luhan working on projects with him and Yixing being able to be a part of his wedding.

The Exo-K members would occasionally keep in contact with him, some more than often but it’s to be expected since Exo-K activities didn’t stop. Kyungsoo and Joonmyeon continued to do their usual acting and singing projects, Baekhyun and Chanyeol continued to appear on variety shows and TV programs, the latter even contributing to SM albums as a composer. Sehun and Jongin started taking part in charity events, becoming more active in music show programs, doing different modelling jobs and choreographing for other artists. The ones who called the most were Chanyeol, Joonmyeon, and the maknae duo surprisingly. Kyungsoo and Baekhyun didn’t hold any animosity towards him but were generally busier with doing their own thing and didn’t necessarily yearn for his advice or guidance like the others. For almost all of the past year, Sehun and Jongin would call him from time to time just to see if he was doing well and showcasing the “dongsaeng-hyung” type of respect they gave him throughout all of the years they’ve known him. Chanyeol called when he needed to vent about his troubles and needed a few words of encouragement. Despite the fact that the younger tended to use him for his own popularity gain and the way he would keep up the “Happy Virus” image on camera, Yifan was able to see the meltdowns that Chanyeol went through and see the person behind the façade who was nowhere near perfect and happy all the time yet much more genuine. And lastly, Joonmyeon, his former co-leader, often called when he just needed a friend to talk to. They’ve always had their ups and downs and didn’t like each other all the time but when it came down to it, Yifan and Joonmyeon had each other’s backs and were there to lend an ear. He was still connected with his Exo brothers despite his decision and he was grateful for that.

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