Seconds later, I was being shaken awake.  My eyes popped open and I nearly fell over, my legs having gone numb from sleeping in such an awkward position. 

“Sorry Al, I didn’t mean to scare you.” 

Henry was seated cross-legged on the floor in front of me; the room had long since emptied.  Apparently I’d been asleep longer than I realized. 

I stretched and plunked both of my feet into his lap before responding.  “Hi.”  I said with a yawn.

He chuckled.  “Did you have a nice nap?”

“Um…” I scratched my head.  “Not really.  I didn’t intend to fall asleep here.  I just didn’t get a whole lot of it last night.”

“How was it?  Was Jin nice to you?”

“I don’t know why people keep asking me that… of course Jin was nice to me.  And it was long… and kind of boring.  I don’t know how they make that show look interesting.  They filmed them doing practically nothing for hours.”

“They film for days and then compile everything into hour and a half episodes, but I don’t think the ratings are as great as they’d hoped.”

“Hey, speaking of TV, have you ever heard of ‘Running Man’?  Tao and Sehun showed it to Kat and now she’s apparently obsessed.  And I have no idea what it is.”

“It’s a variety show.  They have a regular cast of seven people and then celebrity guests go on it all the time.  There’s nothing on TV back home to compare it to...  They play all sorts of games…  We’ll just have to watch it sometime, it’s pretty fun.”

“Mkay.”  I yawned again.  “So, you’ve been texting me and, apparently, everybody else all day.  I’m here now.  What’s up?”

He flashed me a smile so bright it went all the way past his eyes.  It was almost maniacal.  You would’ve thought someone had given the guy a new puppy with a side of world peace.

“Hen, that look is borderline frightening.”  I told him honestly.

“I get to film my music video!”

I didn’t quite understand why he was seemed so thrilled.  “Awesome!”  I said, half-heartedly.  “Wasn’t that sort of the plan all along?”

He rolled his eyes, sighing exasperatedly at me.  “Well, duh.  Yes, that’s the plan.  But more specifically, my plan for the music video is going to be filmed!”

“Your plan, like the suit and awesome violin plan?”

If possible, his face got brighter.  “That’s the one!” 

“Congratulations!  I knew they’d like your idea!  When is this happening?  Do I get to come watch?” 

His face fell a bit.  “Unfortunately, no.  I would really love it if you and Kat could come visit me on set, but we’re shooting in two days.  You’ll still be in China.” 

Hearing this deflated me a bit.  “Bummer.  I’m excited to see Exo perform but I would’ve liked getting to see you film your video.”

“I know, but you’ll probably get to see one here soon; if not mine, there’ll be others.  Taemin should be filming something, and Super Junior has a comeback, so they’ll have a video too.  That reminds me, I have to introduce you to my members soon.  And to Shinee.  Taemin is a really good friend of Kai’s.  I’m kind of surprised you haven’t run into him yet.”

“Is he skinny and almost too pretty?”

Henry chuckled.  “Don’t say that to his face, but yeah.”

“I think I saw him at that SM Town Concert meeting.  I’m pretty sure he was sitting with Kai.”

“Most likely.”

That reminded me…  “Henry.”

“Yeah?”  He was absentmindedly playing with the laces on my sneakers.

“The guys you were dancing with earlier, before I fell asleep…”

“I know them.  Yes?”  He replied, coyly. 

“They weren’t your Super Junior guys, were they?”

“Why do you ask?”  He grinned at me evilly. 

I smirked back at him.

Okay Hank, now you’re just messing with me.

“Because I didn’t want their first impression of me to be that random girl that fell asleep on the floor of the cloudy room.”  I said, with a whine.

“The cloudy room!”  He chuckled at my nickname for the practice room.  “I’m surprised nobody has thought of that yet…” He mumbled to himself.

“Hen…” I whined.

“Don’t worry, those were just the back up dancers.”  He told me, patting my feet.  “And they thought your snoring was adorable.”  He grinned, evilly at me.

I groaned, throwing my head back and squinching my eyes shut.

“But they’re actually some real cool dudes and crazy talented dancers.  This one kid, Kasper and this other kid, Won… they make me look good, but almost bad… because they’re so good!  Does that make any sense?”

I chuckled.  “Sort of, yeah.  I’m sorry I fell asleep.  It would have been fun to meet them.”

“No worries.  I know you had a long night.  By the way, what time do you guys fly out tomorrow?”

“I’m not sure exactly, I just heard it was in the afternoon.  Which means I should probably be packing.”

“Make sure you bring sunglasses.  And a hat.  I would recommend dressing real grubby for the airport.”

I gave him a puzzled look, waiting for him to continue.

He sighed.  “Just fair warning, the airport will be nuts.  It’ll be packed with fans.  They know those guys’ schedules better than they do, so they’ll be waiting.  Also, security is almost nil.  They send the guys in with all the staff acting as their security.  But if you look too pretty, like you could be a girlfriend, you’ll get eaten alive.”

I thought back to the time Henry had come to pick me up from the airport, dressed like a hooligan.  I blew out the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.  “That’s...  wow.  You paint a rather frightening picture there, Hen.”

He smiled weakly.  “Fans go to great lengths to see their ‘oppas’.”

“I just wish they could be fans from a safe distance.”

He chuckled, but his expression turned stoic.  “Please promise me one thing.”

I looked at him expectantly.  “Sure, what is it?”

“Whatever you do, please stay close to Jin.”

“Yeah, of course.  He’s been really great.  He’s helped me and Kat a lot.”  I told him honestly.

“I mean it.”  He said firmly.  “Stay close to him.  I trust Jin with my life.  He can protect you.  And Kat, please tell her that.” 

I simply nodded in response.  His eyes were so full of sincerity and concern.  It warmed my heart while simultaneously frightening me. 

He looked down at his hands that were fiddling with my shoelaces again.  One corner of his mouth inched upwards in a sad half-smile.  “Good.  Thank you.”  He said, barely above a whisper.

 Suddenly, my stomach grumbled, breaking the tension and causing me to giggle.  “I’m starving!  Are you done practicing?  Can we go get something to eat?”

Henry pushed my legs from his lap and sprung to his feet, offering a hand to help me from the floor.  “I am done and you’re buying me dinner.”

“Me?  You’re the one with the record deal!”

“But you’re older than me.  It’s customary for you to buy since you’re my sunbae.”

Leaving the next afternoon meant, (much to my chagrin,) getting everyone grouped and ready in the morning.  Kat and I met Jin in the lobby, along with the rest of Exo, shortly before eight.  I had hoped to catch up on a bit more sleep, but I had to remind myself that I was probably getting plenty in comparison to Exo. 

I looked around at the sleepy group of young men, gazing at them with what I could only describe as fondness.  I really liked them.  In the short time that Kat and I had been working for SM, we’d grown closer to them.  I was still getting to know the ones who’d been away on frequent schedules, yet, I felt fond of them as a whole.

I chuckled, watching Tao and Sehun squabble sleepily, their eyes barely slits.  Suho looked the most awake, (no shocker there,) while D.O appeared to be sleeping while standing.  That was when I noticed Lay; staring off into space as a small trail of blood trickled from his left nostril. 

I dug into my purse to retrieve a tissue.  I touched him gently on the arm and held it out to him.

“Oh!  Noona!  Wae?”  He looked questioningly at the tissue I was offering. 

I pointed towards his nose.  His reached up, his hand coming into contact with the blood, causing him to wince.  He gave me a weak smile before accepting the tissue and holding it to his nose. 

“.” 

I turned to see Jin behind me, looking, (what I deemed,) overly concerned.  I found it slightly comical hearing him curse in his proper British accent.

I shrugged.  “What?  It’s just a nosebleed.  He’ll be good in no time.”

He frowned.  “Yixing is a Hemophiliac.”

Jin and I rode with Lay to the airport, while Kat went with the others who’d split into two vans.  I’d managed to commandeer a roll of toilet paper; we’d been trying to stop the bleeding on the drive there.  We weren’t having any luck.

I’d done as I was told and dressed down for the occasion.  I wore an oversized tank top over black leggings, a hoodie tied around my waist.  I’d also worn an army-style cap and tied my hair back in a messy ponytail for good measure.  Kat was dressed similarly; even with that knowledge, I felt gross.  And knowing that I’d probably end up in the background of numerous paparazzi-style photographs looking like a bum had dampened my mood.

Seeing the color drain progressively from Lay’s face with the replacement of each tissue made me feel worse.  As we pulled to a stop, Jin handed Lay a surgical mask.  He shoved a fresh wad of toilet paper up his nostril and pulled the mask on carefully over his mouth and nose.

I gave him a smile.  I’m pretty sure he returned it, because his eyes got a bit smaller.

“Okay Allie, put your backpack on, grab Kat and stay close.  Watch out for Lay.  He’s probably a bit weak on account of blood loss.  Once we get through ticketing and security we’ll have an opportunity to reassess his… situation.” 

I nodded, taking it all in.  I put my backpack on, over top of my cross-body purse, my passport clutched in my hands.  Jin gave me a short nod and we exited the vehicle. 

The noise was deafening.  The screaming seemed to be coming from all directions.  My eyes swept the area as I tried to keep fear from clouding my features.  Fans were being held back and away from the loading area.  Exo and their staff were exiting the vehicles, luggage in hand.  I quickly found Kat.

“Whoa.  This is just…  Whoa.”  She assessed.

 “Yeah, I know.”   I let out a breath.  “Jin said stay close to him.  And help me keep track of Lay.  He’s looking pale and it worries me.”

“Luhan was telling me about his blood coagulation thing.  That could be pretty serious.”

I nodded.  “There was a student at my school with the same thing.  Kid had bruises up and down his legs constantly.  I thought he was being abused!  Turns out they just bruise super easy.”

Jin returned to us.  “They are going to clear a path for us to walk.  I want Kat to lead.  You’ll follow Tao and Sehun, they’ll be at the tail end of the members and staff.  Get their attention if you need help, they’ll watch out for you.  Lay will be directly behind you, then Allie and then myself.  Is that clear?”

“Clear.”  Kat and I responded in unison.

“Okay.  Let’s go.”

We followed the rest of Exo and the staff through the path.  It could hardly be called clear, much less a path.  There were girls on either side of us ing their telescoping lenses into our faces.  None of these girls had ever seen Kat or I, yet we were still being photographed.  Both of my hands clutched at my passport, held at my chest as I followed Lay through the mob. 

But then… everything happened so quickly. 

Lay turned to wave politely at a fan on his left just as another fan had her camera up and over the shoulders of the girl in front of her, the lens came into contact with his nose.  There was so much noise from the crowd, but I swear I heard him wince as I watched his body contract in pain. 

I put a hand on his shoulder to see if he was okay.  The second my hand came into contact with his shoulder, (I swear,) the clicking of cameras became more incessant; voices raised angrily all around us.  I removed my hand hastily. 

Lay took notice of all this and called to me over his shoulder.  “Gwaenchanha, noona!  I’m okay!”  

From behind me, Jin put both hands on my shoulders, steering me forward through the crowd.  “He’s fine.  Keep walking.”  While the situation freaked me out, Jin’s presence calmed me, somehow.

When we finally made it past security, blood was beginning to seep from underneath the black mask.  Lay lifted it gingerly, trying not to bump him nose.  I dug into my backpack and retrieved the roll of toilet paper and handed it to him. 

“Thank you noona.” 

I smiled weakly in response.  I turned to Jin.  “Will you take him to the bathroom to get cleaned up?”

He nodded wordlessly and led Lay gently by the arm towards the men’s room.

Kat nudged me.  “I think we might have other problems…” She said quietly. 

I followed the direction of her eyes.  Baekhyun was crouched on the floor, both hands over his face.  Chanyeol appeared to be consoling him. 

Kat and I went to investigate. 

“Baekhyun?”  I said, gently.

Chanyeol looked at me, sadness in his eyes.   “Baekhyun is sad.”

Luhan appeared beside Kat.  “The fans were shouting at him, telling him to break up with Taeyeon.  They were pretty nasty.” 

Kat knelt in front of Baekhyun and pulled his hands away from his face.  “Hey…” She said softly, holding his hands between hers.  His eyes remained closed, his cheeks wet.  “Please don’t cry, Baek!  You should be proud of yourself!”  Seeing his lack of reaction, she turned to Luhan and gave him a look.  “A little help here?”

He cleared his throat and began translating.

Baekhyun opened his eyes and responded with a sad voice to Kat.  “Wae noona?  Wae?”

She answered before Luhan could translate.  “Why should you be proud?  Because you got yourself a girl!  Not just any girl, you got yourself one of the highly coveted members of Girl’s Generation.  And she’s your noona!”

I chuckled as Luhan translated.  Kat rose and stood next to me while Baekhyun hastily swiped at a tear that had escaped.  A faint grin was beginning to form on his face. 

“Chincha?”  He looked at Kat, then to me.

I smiled, nodding my head.  “Yeah.  Really!”  I told him.

He laughed a small laugh.  Chanyeol hauled him up from his squatting position by his backpack; putting an arm around his neck and patting his head.  They were both grinning.  Baekhyun now seemed rather pleased with himself.

“Geesh, Kat.  You sure know how to re-inflate an ego.”