I awoke the next morning, (actually, a few hours later,) to a knock on the window.

“This is a pattern that really needs to stop.”  I mumbled aloud.

I blinked my eyes a few times, adjusting to the early morning sunlight.  Jin was standing outside the car, his hands laden with what I assumed to be breakfast.

“Please tell me that’s coffee.”  I said, exiting the backseat.

“Good morning to you.  Americano okay?” 

I nodded, enthusiastically.  Jin handed me a cup.  I took a deep breath of the wonderful aroma before tasting it. 

“Heaven.”  I announced.

He handed me a plastic container filled with sushi-looking rolls.  I studied them carefully and eyed him skeptically.  “Breakfast?”

“Koreans don’t have specific ‘breakfast’ cuisine.  If it can be purchased in the morning, it is considered breakfast.  This is kimbab.  Korea’s version of sushi, minus the raw fish.” 

My phone buzzed.  I sat my coffee and kimbab on the roof of the car in order to dig my phone from my pocket.  I swiped the screen and saw a text from a number I didn’t recognize.

“GOOD MORNING!  THIS IS CHANYEOL!  I GIVE YOU BREAKFAST!  PLEASE BE HEALTHY!”

I looked at Jin after reading the text.  “Did you give Chanyeol my number?”

“No.  But he provided our breakfast.”

“So I’ve heard…” I mumbled. 

I typed a simple “Thank you!” in response to Chanyeol before stashing my phone back in my pocket.  I took out a roll of kimbab and eyed it.  I shrugged and popped it in my mouth. 

“Your thoughts?”

“On the kimbab?”  I asked around my mouthful of food.  He nodded, grinning at my piggishness.  “I think it’s pretty good!”

I chewed a bit more and swallowed before asking the question that had been nagging my subconscious.  “So, why exactly does Chanyeol need to have staff here?  It’s not like I’m his wardrobe mistress or the hair and make-up lady.  I’m not trying to be whiney, honest.  I understand that this is another part of my job, but we didn’t really do anything yesterday.  So, what’s the point?”

“For Chanyeol, we are here as moral support.  For SM, we are here to make sure he doesn’t say or do anything that would be detrimental to his reputation.”

“You mean SM’s reputation.”  I corrected.

In lieu of a response, he pressed his mouth into a hard line.

I raised both hands in surrender.  “Too far.  I get it.  You’re a loyal guy.  I appreciate that.”

My phone buzzed again, signaling another text.  This time it was Henry.

“Good morning Al!  Was last night terrible?  I hope they fed you, we don’t get fed very well on the job.  I hope you didn’t have to sleep in the car.  But you’re tough.  You can handle it, right?  I’m gonna be in the practice studio all day.  Come find me when you get in.  I want to see you before you leave.”

What’s the rush, Hen?  I just saw you yesterday.

“Morning Hen!  Last night was long, we did sleep in the car, but Jin had blankets.  It wasn’t awful.  I AM tough, don’t you forget it!  Chanyeol bought us breakfast this morning.  I have coffee, so life is good!  I will come find you later.  Practice hard!”

I finished my text and clicked my phone shut before stuffing it into my pocket.  I turned to Jin, who was finishing the last of his kimbab.

“What’s on the agenda for today?”

“Filming until one p.m. followed by dance practice and packing.”

“Packing?”

“Packing.  We depart for China tomorrow afternoon.”

“That came faster than I expected…”

I stuffed some kimbab in my mouth and trailed behind Jin towards the staff area.

Look morally supportive.  That’s your job.  Hell with that tutoring business.  Support!  Make sure Chanyeol doesn’t do anything to make himself look stupid.  Screw the company!  I want Chanyeol to be successful! 

At 1:30, filming was still going on, seemingly unceasing and my stomach was grumbling, loudly.  Especially after watching the cast enjoy their lunch together.

Jin eyed me with a grin, just as my stomach made more noises of protest. 

“I’m hungry, too.  We’ll stop on the way to the studio.  I know he hates what they made for lunch.”

I looked at jin, surprise evident on my face.  “What are you talking about?  He wolfed that stuff down like he was desperate!  He even had seconds!”

“Yeah, desperate to get it over with.”

“Okay- I can appreciate him being polite and just eating it.  But why have seconds?”  I asked, incredulously.

Jin shrugged.  “Because he’s a good kid.  He wanted Shin to feel proud of what he made rather than inconveniencing him to make something else.”

We got back to SM around 4:30.  All I wanted was a nap.  But my conscience wasn’t having it.  Chanyeol and the boys still had to practice, so I felt like I needed to be there and awake.  Though I wasn’t exactly sure why I’d begun to feel that way…

I opened the door to the office to find Kat, headphones on, engrossed in something on her laptop.  I knocked on the doorframe to get her attention. 

She pulled her headphones from one ear and looked up at me with a smile. 

“Hey!  She returns!  How was it?  Was Jin nice to you?  Oh!  Have you found Henry yet?  He’s stopped in here like four times already.”

I chuckled at her line of questioning and dropped myself into the chair behind my desk.

“Hi.”  I took a deep breath.  “Last night was… long.  Filming was surprisingly boring.  Jin was very nice.  We slept in the car.  He even had blankets, which made it a little less awkward.  And no, I haven’t found him yet.  I literally just walked in the door.  What about you?  How was ‘tutoring’?”  I said, making air quotes.

Kat giggled.  “So, so unproductive, but really fun.  It was a little difficult with no interpreter, so we sort of just watched Youtube videos.  They figured out how to hook the projector up to the laptop in the classroom and they took turns showing me subbed versions of shows they’ve been on.  It was super fun!  My favorite was this one called ‘Running Man’.  Sehun and Kai were just on it with Taemin.  Oh my word, it’s hysterical!  I can’t wait to make you watch it!  I’ve seriously been watching episodes all night!  I’m kind of obsessed.”

I chuckled at her enthusiasm.  “Did any tutoring happen?” 

She thought for a moment.  “Ah!  Actually, yes!  They were super interested in a lot of English music.  I was showing them some of my favorite music videos from the 90’s.”

“Please tell me that ‘Bye Bye Bye’ was included in that line up.”  I interrupted. 

Kat rolled her eyes.  “Of course it was.  So, I suggested they find a song to learn in English and then when we have Jin, we can talk about the meaning.”

“Kat.  That’s brilliant, especially for these guys; music being their life and all.”

“I know, right?”  She said with a grin.  “But, since we leave for China soon, I told them I’d give them until the airplane ride home to get their songs chosen and learned.”

“Can you believe we’re going to China tomorrow?”

Kat sighed.  “I really can’t.  But I’m just gonna roll with it.  I figure if I let myself get overwhelmed this early in the game then I’m done for.”

“You’re probably right.”  I agreed.  “Hey, I had a thought last night.”

“Yeah?  What sort of thought?”

“Well, these guys live pretty… abnormal lives.  I think it’s unfair and I kind of hate it.”

Kat grunted.  “Total agreement here.”

“But I get that this is life for them but I want desperately to figure out a way to give them some sense of normalcy.  I just haven’t worked out how.  Any ideas?”

Kat was quiet for a moment, lost in thought.  “Family dinner.”

“Huh?”

“What if we try once a week to have family dinner?  You and I can cook for them.  That way we can learn to cook some Korean food.  And we can give them chores like our parents did, like setting the table, or chopping onions what have you.  And each time we’ll discuss something together.”

I smiled.  “I like that idea.  I like that a lot.”

“And if we’re out of town… we’ll have a game night or something.  We’ll figure it out.” 

I heard Kat’s phone beep, signaling a new text.  She swiped open the screen and snorted before rolling her eyes.  She turned her phone towards me.  On the screen was a really close-up photo of what appeared to be Tao and Sehun’s faces. 

I chuckled.  “You guys are even texting now?”

She rolled her eyes and set her phone back on the desk.  “They’ve been texting be the worst selfies all day.” 

“So have you sent any back?”

She chuckled.  “Only a few.  They’ve got to work for it.”

Her phone beeped again.  She looked at the screen and groaned.

“What, more selfies?”

“Nope.  Hank requesting your presence.”

I scratched my head, puzzled.  “Why is he texting you?”

“He said something about not wanting to bother you on the job.  But apparently I’m perfectly fine to be bothered on the job…” She waved her hand dismissively.  “I don’t pretend to understand what goes on in that boy’s head.  Just go find him, please!  That way he’ll stop bothering me!”

I stood up from my chair, stretching my arms above my head with a yawn.  I nodded.  “Alright.  I’m going.”

I wandered down the hall, feeling sleep deprivation wash over me.  I looked into the first practice room.  Exo was dancing their hearts out, sweat pouring down their faces.  I turned from the room and walked towards the kitchen, determined to find them some refreshments. 

In the kitchen I found a box, I filled it with water bottles, enough for Exo and Henry.  I walked back towards the practice room, struggling under the weight.  I barely made it through the door without dropping it.  I plunked the box down on the floor next to the wall. 

The sound echoed in the room, much louder than I had anticipated.  The music stopped.  I kept my eyes on the box, unwilling to see eleven pairs of eyes, probably upset by my disruption.

I heard a snicker.  Then there was laughter.  Then they were all laughing.   I sighed, and turned.  I smiled sheepishly and pulled a bottle from the box.

“I brought water…”

Soon the box was emptied, save for Henry’s.  The boys laid out on the floor; bodies sweaty and chests heaving from the exercise.  I sat with them as they drank enthusiastically.  I smiled, feeling pleased.

It feels strange that bringing these guys water brings me this much joy.

“Noona! Thank you!”  Tao called from nearby.  He grabbed Sehun by the neck to bring their cheeks together before snapping a sweaty selfie.  I chuckled, knowing Kat would undoubtedly be the recipient. 

“How was filming?”  Luhan, who was to my right, startled me with his question.  I hadn’t been around him much and I wasn’t used to conversing with any of the boys in English.

“It was good!  Kind of… long.”  I tried for upbeat.

He smiled in a knowing way.  “It can be very boring if you are only watching.”

I smiled.  “Yeah… it was kind of boring.”  I nodded, somewhat reluctantly.  I didn’t want to appear ungrateful. 

“Don’t worry.  Tomorrow you will get to see us in concert.  That is fun.  Trust me.”

“I’m really looking forward to that.”  I told him, honestly.  Now that I had his attention, I decided to propose Kat’s and my idea.  “Luhan, I have a question for you.”  He nodded for me to continue.  “Do you think that the boys would be open to letting Kat and I cook dinner once a week?  So we could get to know you guys better.”

His eyes practically lit up.  “I think they would really like that!  I know I do.  I will talk to the guys about it, get them on board.”

Xiumin, who was seated next to Luhan, had been listening in on our conversation.  I could see that he was trying desperately to keep up, but his poor face looked extremely lost.

I chuckled.  “You may want to clue Xiumin in.  It looks like his brain is going to explode.”

Luhan quickly translated before turning back to me.

“But… one request?” He hesitated.  “Ask Suho.  He takes the leader thing really seriously.  Even if we all know about it, ask him like you’re asking him to okay it with the group.  It’ll make him feel important.  Even if we all think the leader thing is bull, it’s still important to him.  After everything that’s happened… we try to let him have that.”

I nodded in understanding. 

Luhan, you are a good guy. They don’t have to appease Suho, but they do… They should make you the leader of M…

My thoughts were interrupted by Kai, calling for me.

“Noona?”  I looked up at Kai, who had a wicked grin plastered on his face.  “Henry want to see you.” 

I sighed, hauling myself up from my spot on the floor.  “I got.  I’m going.”  I grabbed the last water and headed for the door. 

A chorus of “Bye noona!” and “Bye Allie!” followed me as waved, exiting the practice room.

I wandered down the hall towards the cloudy practice room.  I was really starting to feel sleepy.  I peered through the glass next to the door.  Henry was in the center of a group of dancers. 

Man, I hope these are just back up dancers and not s… I look terrible…

I sighed and pushed the door open.  I slipped quietly inside and sat next to the wall on the floor.  None of the men dancing had noticed my entrance.  I pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged them, resting my head on the wall behind me.  I felt my eyes fall close…