AN: Hello my fellow 'EXO-Loves'! I reccomend listening to EXO's Love, Love, Love the ballad version by Reynah on youtube. It's simply so beautiful and the inspritation for this chapter! K, enjoy!  

            Sehun awkwardly looked to his left where Su Hyun was sitting. Luhan had excused himself almost an hour ago after she had made her appearance. Though he knew it was partially his fault for being too impatient, he didn’t know that fate would bring that girl in a way closer to him. There was nothing wrong with it. It was just that for him, the presence of another woman alone with him made him feel uncomfortable.

            “Is there anything you would like me to do? I'm fine with anything."

Sehun brought his head up as if to think but only shook his head no. She nodded and went back to writing vigorously in her notes. A tiny knock on the door brought both their heads up and Su Hyun, eager to fulfill the duty of secretary, got up before Sehun could say anything and opened the door. She plastered on a smile at the sight of Luhan, the other gorgeous secretary. To her, he was perfect except for those dark bruises on his arm. She stepped aside and he entered, carrying two boba teas in his hands.

            “Su Hyun-ssi and Sehun-ssi...I bought you guys some boba…” He held out both hands, each carrying a different flavor. Su Hyun picked the Strawberry one, leaving the chocolate for Sehun. Though Sehun never tried boba tea and the mere thought of slurping vomit-looking mush made him nauseous, he still took it in his hands gratefully. The Chinese male flashed a small smile before making his way to the other end of the couch from Su Hyun. Sehun carefully watched as both of his secretaries began writing in their own things and he noticed how Luhan would every now and then sit up straight, and open his mouth as if he was singing or trying to test a note out. He decided that he should get to work, but getting to work was just surfing through the vast internet for some inspiration.

            “Sehun-ssi, I have to go down to help prepare for Chanyeol-ssi’s surprise party. So I’ll excuse myself from here. Luhan, please come as well.” She stood up and bowed before putting her notebook she had been writing in into her bag. The clack of her heels dimmed as she neared the door. Once she closed it behind her her presence vanished and Sehun felt he could breathe normally again. His sketchbook laid open, inviting him to taint the pure paper with ideas.

            “Um...Sehun-ssi...I’m going to make a phone call.” He stepped out quickly and Sehun watched his retreating back. Something about the ginger locks with just a tinge of red in it created some sort of image in his head. A new idea for a design, but with his hand wrapped, he couldn’t even hold a pencil properly. He decided to keep Luhan around whenever he could so that the image would stay in his mind until his cut healed and he could draw again. His eyes trailed to the boba tea sitting by his laptop, neglected. Curiosity brought the straw to his mouth before taking a small sip. It was a small sip but the flavour and taste exploded in his mouth. He never never knew that the diarrhea looking slush was going to taste so wonderful. He took another sip, this time much larger than the first and out of pure joy, he spun around in his chair, seeing glimpse of the tiny humans down below him.

            In all his glory, he didn’t notice Luhan open the door until a crack of lightning split through the sky, followed by a low far off thunder. His chair immediately spun back to his desk and almost blushing, looked away from the large saucer-like eyes of his secretary. “Sehun-ssi about-”

            “Remember what I said yesterday? Just call me Sehun, no need for formalities…” Luhan nodded though confused as to why he didn’t say the same to the other secretary. “Sorry for interrupting. But go on.”

            “Um about that party...would it be alright for me to go? I-I mean...I just have free time after work so...yeah.”

            The designer smiled. “Of course. You’re an employee and besides you should meet some of my friends. Since you’re new and originally from China, you would probably like some here in Korea to pass by the loneliness.” The doe-eyed male smiled and once again made his way to the couch where his notebook lay open. Sehun took the chance to indulge in more conversation. “What’re you doing anyways?”

             Luhan looked up and bashfully brought his hand back to scratch his neck in a nervous matter. Something Sehun noticed. “I...I write song lyrics. Just for the fun of it though,” he said averting his gaze outside, suddenly finding the lightning much more interesting than anything in the world.

            “Can I hear?”

            Luhan turned his head back to stare into the eyes of his boss. “Hear me what?”

            “Sing. Can you sing something you wrote for me?”

            Luhan chuckled lowly hoping anyone would come to his rescue. “Um...I’m not that good at singing really. I don’t want to waste your time.”

            “It’s okay. I have lots of time to spare.” Sehun was being pushy about it but once again, curiosity.

            Luhan nodded, noticing how the man was slightly lowering his voice at his stubbornness and took a deep breath. “This is something I’m currently writing...so excuse me if I get a note wrong…” The other nodded as a cue for him to start. His fingers began tapping at a pretty fast tempo, gradually slowing down. When he opened his mouth and began singing, Sehun was shocked. If people thought looks were what portrayed a person to be, then Luhan’s image was definitely wrong. To Sehun, he looked like those innocent little boys who who were extremely popular yet still had the most tone-death singing voices anyone could have.

    Reality doesn’t come. Why isn’t this a dream?

    Even I don’t believe it. Is it right that you’re a human?

        By then, Sehun was already absorbed into the beautiful silky voice passing through the vocal chords of the male sitting on the couch. He noticed how the poiz in his voice reflected on his posture. The slight arch in his back and the beautiful slender fingers that made their way up by his face every now and then out of passion captivated the designer. Thunder rumbled in the background in beat with each breath the beautiful singing human took. The vibrato of his voice dabbed every inch of his skin with goosebumps. It echoed against the walls and before he knew it, Sehun had leaned back with his eyes closed, enjoying the wonderful sounds that humans were able to make.

    Me who’s looking at you looking at me looking at you

You who’s looking at me, me who’s looking at you-

Suddenly, he stopped singing. Sehun’s eyes fluttered open, as if in protest to the end of the song. “Why’d you stop?” he asked, almost coming off whiny.

Luhan nervously chuckled and shook his head. “That’s where I left off. I still have the last part to think of…” Sehun took another sip from the boba tea, easing his drying throat. His voice reminded him of innocence. The beauty and warmth that exuded from the smaller male made Sehun want to keep this new friend near forever.

“You’re voice is beautiful. You shouldn’t be so bashful about it.”

Luhan let out a quiet thanks before averting his eyes back to his notebook to look busy. “You know Sehun...you’re the only person who I’ve ever sang for...in all my years of being alive...only you have heard. So hearing your opinion was...”

Kyungsoo stepped into the empty elevator. He was pissed and pretty much not in the mood to celebrate one of his great friends birthday. At first he was asked to help set up for Su Hyun instead because Chanyeol had decided to sacrifice her to the terrors of Oh Sehun’s complaining while Baekhyun stalled Chanyeol in the lounge room. Not only that, but the said organizer of his party didn’t get down to the party room until it was already four in the evening, sky filled with dark summer clouds ready to burst with rain. He annoyingly went back to his office when she came back and cleaned up his paint supplies he was using earlier that afternoon  to paint in colors for his new designs. Even that was starting to look like crap. After cleaning, he received another text from Baekhyun saying people were starting to gather and for him to hurry back. So he put his Sketchbook and supplies into his bag, slinging it around his shoulders, the black blazer he was wearing creasing just a bit. Before he could make it to the lobby, the elevator doors stopped on the twelfth floor. Jongin stood across from Kyungsoo. He smiled.

“You got Baekhyun’s text?”

“Yup...and to be honest, I’m not really looking forward to this party.”

As Jongin made his way in, he could tell from the bitterness in Kyungsoo’s voice that he wasn’t okay. “Is something wrong Hyung?”

Kyungsoo wanted more than anything to shout that he didn’t really- scratch that, he didn’t like a certain Su Hyun at all. He still felt bitter about being called a , but he didn’t want to look like a Sehun who complained about the stupidest things or a Baekhyun who fussed about nothing. So he shoved those words back down his throat before replying. “I’m just tired from working this week. My sleeping schedule is pretty messed up right now.”

Jongin chuckled, knowing full well that the elder was hiding something but he decided it wasn’t important. “Hyung, make sure you don’t stay too long then. We can’t have you becoming sick or hurting yourself.”

“I’ll leave when you leave.” Jongin was taken aback, unsure what Kyungsoo meant by that but once again, he pushed the thought away. The elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. They both walked past the last two receptionists who both greeted them. Jongin winked at the lady who was pulled into him and Baekhyun’s discussion of Kyungsoo and his feelings. She knowingly smiled, practically being giddy over his hand that had made it to Kyungsoo’s shoulder. Kyungsoo noticed this weird exchange between the two, and a feeling began pumping through his veins. His heart made weird leaps that hurt. That strange feeling he had noticed since many months ago with bits of bitterness and anger intermixed. What is this feeling?

They continued down the stairs, and into one of the large party rooms. Though it wasn’t necessarily for partying, it was where workers who had to stay overtime could go hangout or drink to pass the time. Overseas workers were the ones who usually frequented the “party” room. There were already a lot of people there. People they knew and others who they’ve never seen before. The first people that Jongin and Kyungsoo searched for was Sehun and Baekhyun. Walking through the crowd of people putting on party hats and worrying about the food, they found the both along with another stranger standing in a little circle with Baekhyun chattering his head off.

“Hey guys,” said Jongin approaching them, removing his hand from Kyungsoo’s shoulder. For a brief second, he dearly wanted that arm to snake back onto his being, for he left a sliver of coldness freeze him.

“Hey guys. Have you guys met Luhan?” said Baekhyun excitedly. They only shook their heads. Except for the fact that Kyungsoo was smirking to himself, knowing that Sehun was stalking him yesterday.

“Hello, I’m Luhan. I’m not Korean so if I mess up my words while speaking, I apologize beforehand.” He bowed and Kyungsoo knew he was going to like him. He was polite and his voice wasn’t loud and piercing like some people.

“I’m Kyungsoo. I’m another fashion designer alongside Sehun, which I’m sure you know,” he said, smirking at Sehun. He recognized the playful and evil glint in the large owl eyes and rolled his own.

“I’m Jongin and I’m the leader of the event planning team.” Before Luhan could say anything, Tao came running towards them.

“It’s good to see you guys! I’ve been so busy all day doing photoshoots that-” he stopped mid-sentence after noticing Luhan. He eyed him up and down and tilted his head to the side wondering if he was hallucinating. “You’re not one of those creepy Chinese guys after me...are you?”

Luhan let out a melodious giggle while Tao earned a smack on the head from both Sehun and Kyungsoo. “No, No, I’m Chinese but I’m not after you. I’m Luhan, from Beijing.”

He bowed and Tao let out an embarrassed chuckle. “I’m Tao originally from Qingdao. Sorry about being weird. I was just being careful.”

“So Luhan, what’re you doing here at the company?” asked Kyungsoo, once again throwing a sly smirk at Sehun.

“I’m Sehun’s secretary…”

Sehun nodded in confirmation and his four friends had their eyes ogling him in a weird way. Luhan squirmed under the uncomfortable looks and smiled to ease his awkwardness away.

“You have yet to meet Chanyeol. He’s the most cheerful and less awkward guy here,” said Sehun. The others started laughing, just imagining the said male giving Luhan the same look when he finds out about Luhan.

“Okay ladies and gents, I’m going to call Mr. Park down so get ready and people by the lights, be ready okay?” shouted Su Hyun. Sehun averted his eyes away from the speaker and Luhan noticed. He didn’t say anything but Kyungsoo wasn’t really feeling anything much better either. Everyone stayed quiet as she took out her phone and dialed in his number. She put it on speaker, letting the hushed room echo slightly with the ringing. What nobody noticed was the slight frown creeping onto Baekyhun’s face.

            “Wait!” Out of instinct, she immediately ended the call and all the workers turned toward Jongin who had spoken. “Let’s prank him!” Smug grins emerged onto everyone’s face and even Su Hyun couldn’t help but agree.

“How should we do it?” asked Su Hyun, specifically aiming it at Jongin.

“We can have Baekhyun do it since we are pretty close friends and he would feel much more distressed.” Everyone began to giggle in anticipation. Just the thought of hearing their cheerful boss distressed made them feel just a little bit daring. “Baekhyun will think of what to say,” said Jongin, shooting the said male a look. Baekhyun smiled and brought up his hands to his lips indicating for silence. He dialed the number and Luhan caught a glimpse of the screen.

Giant Yeollie <3 .

He thought it was a bit weird for childhood friends, much less, male childhood friends to have hearts after their names. Though it was a bit puzzling, he just pushed it off as a thing Korean guys did with their really great friends. It lead him eventually to wonder why Su Hyun was the first one to call.

“Hello? Baekkie?” The whole nation of workers in the room had to stifle their laughter, some hunching over their abdomens, clutching their mouths to keep their sounds silent.

“Ch-Chanyeol...this isn’t good…” Everyone froze at the sudden acting. The slender black-haired man’s voice sounded grave, as if facing impending danger but his face was opposite, a huge smirk on his face.

“W-What’s wrong?”

“Chanyeol...I’m...I don’t think I’m alright…”

“What happened?! Where are you?!” You could hear the fear in his deep voice and everyone almost felt sorry for him.

“I’m...in the basement…”

They heard shuffles and then the voice came back. “I’m coming! Are you going to be okay? Baekhyun?!”

“I...I’m sorry Chanyeol…”

He clicked the phone off and everyone burst into fits of laughter. Luhan barely knew him but he felt he had to clap at the wonderful acting. “Chanyeol’s probably scared to death. The only times Baekhyun calls him by his real name and not some pet name is when he’s serious,” said Sehun leaning a bit close to Luhan.

“Okay guys! Quiet down! Hide under the tables and people by the lights, turn them off! Get your confetti poppers ready!” shouted Su Hyun. Everyone scrambled under the tables and suddenly, everything became dark. The only light in the room were the ones coming from the window of the door. As everyone situated themselves under the tables, Luhan just stood there wondering where he should go. Before he could step away, a hand emerged from under a table and grabbed his own, pulling him into even darker darkness. As a result of that, he let out a little yelp.

“Sorry Luhan,” came Sehun’s voice. Luhan felt his body freeze upon realizing how close the designer’s body was to him. He felt like he was basically inside his arms in some sort of embrace and it was awkward. The confetti popper in his hand almost slipping because of his nervousness. Surprising thing was, he wasn’t the only one under that table with the same anxiety. A little aways from them was Kyungsoo and Jongin. The younger had his arms wrapped comfortably around Kyungsoo’s shoulders from behind as he laid his chin on his arm. Feeling the warm breath on his skin, it caused Kyungsoo to freeze up and want to just disappear into a hole, but deep down, he knew he liked how close they were.

What stopped them all in their feelings and thoughts were the loud steps outside. They heard the door open, crashing against the wall.

“Baekhyun! Where are you!?”

Baekhyun who was also under the tables let out a grin. “Chanyeol...I’m…”

“SURPRISE!!!!”

The lights flipped on and the room was flying with confetti. The giant’s eyes were as wide as saucers and he only stood there frozen. He gazed around the room from his coworkers to his friends. before he could even register what was happening, Su Hyun, one of his assistants walked over, wheeling a cake on a cart.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR PARK CHANYEOL~~! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!” They watched as he finally started coming out of shock and clapped his hands together, making a wish. Then, he opened his eyes and blew the candles. Everyone erupted in cheers and claps. He then wiped the sweat on his forehead, taking a huge sigh of relief.

“Oh, my, goodness! I nearly had a heart attack you sly dogs!” He comically clapped his hand over his chest and you could hear the cheerful laughter in everyone. He thanked everyone and soon enough, they were on their own. The celebration began and people busied themselves with eating and drinking. It lead Luhan to think that maybe the party was purposely for self-indulgence with the cover up of birthday party. Chanyeol approached them with a smile on his face. He automatically went to Baekhyun’s side and playfully punched his arm.

“Dude, I really thought something bad was happening to you!” said Chanyeol. The whole group laughed, even Luhan who was already getting used to being a part of the odd group. “Oh, who is this?”

“This is Luhan, Sehun’s secretary,” said Baekhyun. They bowed politely to each other before the giant became mystified at the weird looks he was receiving from Baekhyun, Tao, Jongin and Kyungsoo. Sehun rolled his eyes as he caught their looks. Luhan once again, started to feel a bit out of place.

“Well, let’s just enjoy ourselves! Welcome Luhan!” said Chanyeol. He let out an animalistic shout to pump up for the party and people who heard turned their heads chuckling at their boss. Baekhyun dragged him off by the arm, pointing out the food he had personally ordered while Jongin and Kyungsoo followed to get something to eat.

“Well guys, I’m going to go home. I’m really tired. By the way, *Ge-ge, don’t let him drink. He has to take care of a child.*” Sehun’s eyebrows came closer together in confusion because the model had spoken the last bit in Mandarin or some other language he didn’t understand. Luhan nodded and watched the tall gorgeous male walked away to the others.

“Well are you hungry?”

“Not really...just thirsty,” replied Luhan.

“Let’s go get something to drink then,” said Sehun leading the both to the table with the punch. Luhan felt really awkward being alone with Sehun because of the earlier event of being so close to him. They each grabbed a cup of punch, making sure to not grab any of the alcoholic beverages before moving to a sparse area away from many people. It was then that music began playing in the background to bring up the partying mood.

“So, did you attend any schools here?” asked Sehun. The man had pretty much been a mystery to him.

“Yeah, I was in SM University majoring in music production but a couple months before I could finish and graduate, I had to pull out and leave for China.” The painful memories of having to leave such a wondrous learning facility brought back the horrible emotions that associated with it. This, Sehun noticed and he wanted to slap himself for always asking the most innocent yet brutal questions.

“Sehun-ssi, Luhan! You guys are here!” Sehun turned around while Luhan peered behind him. Su Hyun stood there, holding a cup fuming with an alcoholic smell. At that moment, much to Sehun’s luck, his phone began to ring. He quickly pulled out his phone hidden within his pockets and answered.

“Junmyeon?”

“Hi Hun Hun!”

He gave the both an apologetic look before walking away. Su Hyun and Luhan awkwardly stood facing each other. “Well how’re you liking the company?” asked Su Hyun.

“It’s pretty nice so far. I like the environment. How long have you been working here?”

“Hmm...a little over five months. Tell me, how did you get the job of being the wonderful Oh Sehun’s secretary considering the fact that you weren’t even an employee in the company at all.”

Luhan couldn’t tell if she was being genuinely curious or if her question had another motive. Sure, she was pretty and with her heels almost the same height, but he couldn’t gather the fact that maybe her character was different from her gorgeous model-like features.

“Well, different people have different connections I guess. I’m not so sure myself why me but I don’t mind it. Today was pretty decent.”

She smiled a bit and twirled her drink in her hand in small circles. “Well, I guess I can understand that. Anyways, why don’t you have a few drinks instead of punch? It’s a nice way to cut loose especially since it’s the weekend.”

He only shook his head. “No, but thank you for the offer. I don’t drink…”

She shook her head and scoffed quietly. “Well, I’m going to speak with Sehun-ssi a bit so I hope you don’t mind.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine. It’s fine!” he said bringing both hands in front of him. He walked quickly to the table that the oddballs were sitting at. Surprisingly, he thought they would be loud and full of chattering but they were quietly speaking amongst themselves with a serious expression on their faces. Upon seeing him get near, the others motioned for him to quickly join.

“Did you see that? She had the audacity to call him. Like how did she even get your number Yeollie?” said Baekhyun looking up at the giant. He shrugged his shoulders, eating a spoonful of salad.

“Luhan we’re warning you, be careful around Su Hyun. I don’t trust her at all,” said Kyungsoo. He was curious but decided to just comply with the younger’s words.

“Come one you two, what if she’s not that bad? I mean she went through all the trouble of throwing this big party just for Chanyeol. She’s not that bad. Maybe she got the number from the contacts list,” said Jongin.

“Oh, so you’re siding with her now?” said Baekhyun, voice slightly rising.

“I’m not siding with her but I’m not going to go against her. She didn’t do anything wrong,” answered Jongin, this time with a more defending voice. Luhan took note of how their voices were getting louder and louder. Chanyeol had stopped eating and looked at them bickering.

“Do you even know what her intentions are?” asked Kyungsoo, butting in.

“Do you? You guys have nothing against her, just jealous feelings.”

Luhan felt the tension now because this time instead of a playful smirk, Kyungsoo’s heart-shaped lips were morphed into a frown and his eyebrows were crinkling downwards. His sweet owl eyes were dangerous and he didn’t like the look of him being negative. “Jealous feelings? Who am supposed to be jealous of?!”

“Woah, Kyung, calm down!” said Jongin, a look of irritation and disbelief intermixed.

“Me?! Me calm down?! Fine! I’ll go calm the down! I shouldn’t have come here anyways. Knowing that my friend doesn’t even take into consideration of what I feel!” The whole room became awkwardly silent and even Sehun who was quite a ways away hung up after seeing his friend storm out. Jongin muttered a few cuss words under his breath before following after Kyungsoo.

“What’s gotten into Kyungsoo lately? He’s been acting all pissy,” said Chanyeol. Baekhyun gave him a mortified look.

“What the heck? Have you even been paying attention to your friend at all you idiot giant! He’s been working overtime, taking over some other dumb lazy person’s project and his sleeping schedule is right now!” Baekhyun huffed and walked out as well, intent on catching Kyungsoo before he left. Luhan was now at the table, awkwardly. People went back to minding their own business and Sehun, followed by Su Hyun walked over to the table.

“What’s going on?” asked Sehun, obviously worried.

Luhan wasn’t sure if he was seeing correctly or not. But the smirk Su Hyun gave before turning away was all too chilling. She had been the cause of their friends dispute and her smirk showed a sign of success in part of the dispute. He couldn’t take the drilling eyes of both Chanyeol and Sehun, wondering what exactly just happened. He stood up and pat away imaginary dust that could’ve dirtied his pants.

“Well...I have some important manners to take care of at home. See yah.”

He dashed out of there before Sehun and Chanyeol could stop him. He almost ran straight into Jongin who was coming down the stairs looking somewhat very depressed. Upon seeing the elder, he became angered and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pushing him harshly against the wall. “What happened?! Tell me! Or are you too ing girly to?!”

Luhan was angered. In all his life, he hated being called girly. Bullies called him that because he was pretty and looked like a girl. He pushed away harshly at Jongin’s hands sending the other against the other wall. The younger was surprised at the strength. “I’m a ing man! I know we just met and I’m new here but that gives you no ing right at all to disrespect me here. Maybe if you took your ing time to uncover why Kyungsoo didn’t particularly favor the presence of that girl, then maybe he wouldn’t have ing stormed out and Baekhyun wouldn’t have been angry either!”

“Why are you do you even care? You don’t know us, we don’t know you. It’s not even your problem.” Luhan was taken aback, his curled fists loosening at the words.

“Luhan! Jongin!” He turned towards Sehun who walked out of the party room and up to them. Jongin was quiet and Chanyeol came out as well. Luhan only rolled his eyes.

“You’re right. I don’t belong here with you guys,” said Luhan before running up the stairs, completely missing the baffled looks on both Chanyeol and Sehun’s face. He didn’t care anymore. His day started out wonderful with getting to know Minseok and Mr. Thao, but once he got to work, that was when things got bad.

I haven’t seen that entrancing expression before

I look at you who’s stopped like a picture and at the end of that gaze

...

He made it outside, ignoring the receptionists greetings as new song lyrics and a melody rushed into his mind. It was raining hard and behind him he could hear Sehun’s voice. It was weird. Luhan could only wonder why the oh so famous Oh Sehun was chasing after him, basically a stranger. He could barely hear himself thinking as the thunder boomed loudly above him, a noise that had been smothered over with party music and partying. He didn’t care that the rain had drenched him to every dry inch on him. He didn’t care that Kyungsoo and Baekhyun were calling out to him, offering him a ride. He didn’t care that he had a big frown on his face. He just wanted to go back home. Home to the delicious smell of the kitchen, with it’s embracing warmth and the welcoming smile of Mr. Thao and Minseok. He wanted to go back home where his stars that made him feel hope and love were. At the company building, he felt choked and hated because yes, Jongin’s words hurt and cut like a knife.

            It cut through his fragile and lonely heart.

AN: Though it's not the best, please continue supproting me! I love reading comments....so please leave a review for me (If you want). XD Until next time my dear EXO-L, sayonara!