Recap Chapter 18: Xiumin, left with no choice, brought Dara to the dorm. The guys were shocked and glad at the same time. Suho was worried but Xiumin was ready to face the consequences if ever a scandal will result from his action.

Dara realized that Xiumin’s a reliable friend; she told him about how CL might be dating soon. Later, she met the boys; the breakfast was a feast; Tao was adorable.

Chen had a brilliant idea for their break from work.

 

Xiumin hugs the pillow and a recollection of what Luhan said yesterday plays in his mind.


The deer found him changing the bedcover. Once done, he sat on the bed, hugged and sniffed his pillow. It was a habit of his whenever he's thinking of something. He was waiting for Dara noona's reply; not that he asked her a question or anything.


"Does it smell like... smoke?" Luhan's eyes narrowed at his frowning expression.

Why he asked such question, the owner of the pillow could only stare back in wonder.


"Because I saw how Dara noona hugged that so tight earlier..." Luhan was undecided whether to say that she sniffed it too the same way Xiumin usually did. Seeing how his friend froze, maybe he should tell him another time. Who knows what effects such information could cause?


Xiumin's pulse quickened again at the memory. The pillow does not smell anything except for the perfume he uses which is CK Euphoria.


He hugs it tighter, imagining he's hugging her. 

 

Bom arrives to find Dara in her pajamas at the living room, flipping through channels but can't seem to find what she wants to watch. She observes her friend's relentless use of the remote until she settles at a channel where an old drama was on. Through Dara's side profile, Boms notices how her cheeks turn slightly pink. Aigo, she's so focused on the main lead carrying the girl on his back, it seems like she's not aware of the arrival yet. 


Silently, she approaches and pokes Dara's side. "Omo!" She turns to Bom in surprise.


"Imagining you're the one being carried?" she teases. If only she knows it already happened.


"Ya! You didn't have to scare me like that." She stands, unaware that she's blushing.


"How have you been while I'm gone?" She asks while plopping down on the couch, awaiting an answer from Dara who is still standing with her hands on her hips.


"Fine," she says followed by a sigh.


Bom can tell there's something hidden behind that one word punctuated by a sigh.


"Wait here. I have something for you." Dara's already halfway out the living room before Bom can ask.


Shortly, she returns and hands over what looks like a poster. Bom takes it while wondering; it's her who should have brought something for Dara, who's probably been cooped up in the condominium for two days. When she opens the poster, hangs open in surprise. Dara points at Chen's signature and the hearts around it. How cute is that.

The corn-lover fangirls over it for a while and suddenly wonders how in the world did her friend got a hold of the signed poster. "How did you get this? You attended an autograph signing event!?" She blurts out in disbelief.


"No." She sits beside Bom, on the ready to explain herself.


Bom puts the poster on the table while she waits for the explanation.

 

---Three bottles of soju.


"Why in the world did you drink alone?" She reprimands like a mother while shaking her head.


"Aigo. You should know why," is the weak reply.

 

"Don't think too much about CL dating soon. I think you'll find the one for you sooner," Bom says.


"Ya! What's that look supposed to mean?"


Bom chooses not to answer. 


---The messed-up call, voicemail and Xiumin picking-up Dara.


"Poor Xiumin-ssi, he must have been burdened carrying you around." Bom can now understand the reason behind the blushing at the sight of the 'piggyback scene'. It can be due to embarrassment or something else she does not know about. She will get to the bottom of it.


"Burdened? Maybe. But he said it was not a burden. That's why I need to make up for it. And I was thinking of letting them have a one-week free stay at our inn."


"What?! When?!" Bom shrieks.


"Next week. After Chen's birthday celebration with his fans." He told her about the scheduled event that morning; they were actually exchanging text messages about the vacation reservation and details. She realizes she's been occupied by the vacation plans that she forgets to reply and ask Xiumin about his brave thing even though she asked him while they waited for a cab at the curb. It's better to be very persistent; maybe he'll finally be able to do it. She'll text him later.


"And I suppose you're going?" Bom looks at her face closely. 


"I will follow in one or two days," she says, looking at the television blankly.


---Sleeping in Xiumin's bed and waking up to find Luhan.


"So is it true that he's the neatest member?" 


"Yes seems like it and I’m very embarrassed." Dara's one liner needs no further elaboration; her cheeks flushed. The pillow incident is still fresh in her mind.


---The Come Back Home vocal performance. 


"How's Chanyeol and Tao's cover? Is it any good?"


"It was funny--- out of tune sometimes---" she laughs in between talking, "and the girly voice, oh my..." She's clutching her stomach her shoulders shaking too.


Bom is skeptical but she finds Dara's laughter contagious. She wails dramatically, "How could they ruin the song?" before joining in her laughter.


"What's even funnier is the fact that they showered together," Dara says and Bom can't help but agree. They laugh again.


"Tao is really cute, don't you think?" Dara says, wiping the corners of her eyes.


"Yes, he seems cute based on your stories."


---The breakfast aka the feast mostly prepared by D.O. 


"Seems like they prepared for you a lot," Bom comments when she heard the long list of food.


"I ate a lot. I think I had three servings." Her forehead creases in recollection. Aigo. What she can't forget is how Xiumin had been very attentive, always ready to put food on her plate whenever it gone empty. How very thoughtful of him.


---The signed posters.


"You didn't tell Chen I'm a big fan of his right?" Bom inquires even though she does not mind having him know about it.


"No. Can I? Because I already told them I'm one of their fans."


"I guess it's alright."


"And Tao again, oh my goodness, he's such a cute dongsaeng. He asked me about EXO-K and M, which do I prefer. I said I like EXO as a whole even though I prefer M more. Then he asked who's my bias," she trails off.


"And you didn't answer." Dara nods. "Good because it will be chaos if you did." Bom knows her bias. It used to be Kris but then he left. Now, Dara is torn between Xiumin and Luhan. "Have you figured out who you like between them?"


"I haven't. Maybe I don't really need to choose. They're equally talented and charismatic--- it's hard to pick one." She wrinkled her nose at the difficulty. She recalls how she never told Jisoo about her bias. She is not comfortable talking about it with her. But with Bom, she may fangirl all she wants. Apparently, her forming friendship with Xiumin-ssi and maybe the rest of EXO possibly have an effect on her bias.

 

At the living room after dinner, the members gathered for another chitchat/conference.


"I wonder who Dara noona's bias is," Tao says for who-knows-how-many times.


"Didn't she already say she had no bias?" Suho's patience is limitless it seems---he always reminds the panda whenever he asks that same question. It's been three days now.


"Didn't you notice her answer? I think she's not telling us who it is---" Tao insists. 


"Because you might cry your eyes out if it turned out it's not you," Chen retorts and Tao throws a pillow at him in response.


"I will ask her again next time," Tao declares.


Sehun and Kai exchanges looks that say: Tao's gone deep in fanboying.


Chen sees Xiumin busy with his phone and there is a smile on his face.


The hyung is actually reading Dara's late reply:


Hello Xiumin-ssi. Any news about my visit there? 
I mean did you get in trouble because of me? 
Were you reprimanded by your manager?
And were you able to do what you have to do?~ aka brave thing


Xiumin tells her the truth about what worries their manager--- what might happen if anyone saw them. Despite that, their manager also hopes she is treated well during her stay. He tells her about how he checks the internet once in a while for anything about the other night. She replies that it’s what she does too, check for any photo of them in the internet. And then they exchange ‘good nights.’

 

Chen's birthday will be celebrated in two ways: 200 chosen fans (19th) and a video-chat with twenty-one lucky fans (20th). This Dara tells Bom, teasing her that if she wants to attend, she will ask Chen to which her friend replies with a pout. They both know that is clearly impossible.
 

Dara sends a private message to Chen including Bom in the greeting as well. Chen replies with a ‘thank you noonas! ^___^’

 

Two days before the planned vacation, Chen (who just came back from two-day visit to his family to celebrate his birthday), being the one who came up with the brilliant idea, tells their manager about the plan. At first, manager-hyung is reluctant but after seeing the pleading looks of the members, who can resists such. He concedes causing the small office to shake with the loud cheer of the guys. He gives a condition that they must behave, clearly addressing Tao and Chanyeol, who luckily has no scheduled filming. He turns to Suho to get a confirmation that he'll call once in a while for updates. They agree as well that since it's a vacation, no press release is needed with regard their whereabouts---so they can enjoy it fully without interruptions. They earned the much-awaited rest day after all.


In the living room, the guys continue the planning. It's been agreed that a road trip is what they should resort to---that's a better way of having some privacy. They will hire a van and a driver. As much as possible, only a few stopovers to prevent being followed and their whereabouts will remain confidential. But realizing the time constraints, Suho offers he'll provide the van and driver. They will be dropped off at the inn and picked up on the seventh day.


On the other hand, Chen has everything taken care of. He tells them that according to Dara noona, they have a van which the guys can use if they want to head to the beach or elsewhere. Since some of them already had their driver's license, there's no need to hire a driver.

 

Their eyes widened at the sight of the vacation house aka small inn.


A middle-aged woman opened the gate when he rings the bell. They greet her politely and then they stare at the two-storey house in admiration while each carrying their own luggage that contains one weeks' worth of clothes. "Wow, I never thought the inn was this huge," Chen says while walking to the porch. The wall surrounding the inn is high; indeed, privacy is offered by such place. They followed the ahjumma while still looking around. They are certain she's not Dara noona's grandmother. Because according to Chen, her grandmother is also petite. Even so, the boys greeted her with politeness. She ushered the eleven boys to take a seat at the living room. Another ahjumma comes with a tray of lemonade and cinnamon rolls for afternoon snacks.


When an old lady comes towards them, they can clearly see the resemblance and what surprises them more is how she knows all of them by name. "You're probably wondering why I know your names." She says with a light laugh. "Let's just s