I couldn’t have been more at a loss for words than I was in that moment. 

“He was my friend!” Tao had just told me, tears streaming down his face.

I looked from Tao to Sehun, who was hastily swiping away at his own tears that had begun to fall. 

I scooted forward on the coffee table so my knees were touching Tao’s.  I put my hands on both sides of his face, lifting it to look into his eyes to address him.  He surprised me by surging forward, wrapping both arms around my midsection, burying his head into the crook of my neck. 

I paused for a moment, unsure of how to react.   Hesitantly, I began to his blonde hair.  I looked over at Sehun.  His head was lowered, tears now freely flowing.  I reached out with my free hand, and patted his knee.  He surprised me by clasping my hand between his two larger ones, never meeting my eyes. 

The three of us sat that way for a while, me trying to comfort Tao while Sehun held my hand between his.  I thought I’d come up with words to console Tao earlier, but his “attack hug” had pushed any of those thoughts from my mind.  I was, again, at a loss for words. 

The sound of the front door opening brought me out of my stupor.  I looked up to see Henry struggling to get himself through the door.  He was carrying what I assumed to be grocery bags, but there were certainly a few more than he could carry himself.  Sehun swiped at his eyes before jumping up to assist him.

“Hyung, naega dangsin-eul doul su issseubnida.”  Sehun lifted a few bags that were slipping to the floor and took them to the kitchen.

“Kam sa hae yo!”  Henry called as he followed.  “Hey Al!  How’s it…” 

He stopped in his tracks.  His eyes widening, finally noticed the sniffling Tao, still clutching at my waist.  I was surprised that he hadn’t let go at the sound of Henry’s voice.  He had loosened his grip a bit. 

I gave Henry a look that screamed “HELP ME!”  He shoved the rest of the groceries into Sehun’s hands and started towards the couch.  He unlatched Tao from my waist and pulled him to his feet.  He then drug him towards the bathroom, shoving him inside and closing the door behind him. 

“Uh, Hen?  Don’t you think that’s being a little insensitive?”  I asked, eyebrows raised.  “And how’d you get in here, anyway?”

He sighed, shaking his head.  “I have Kat’s key.” I opened my mouth to speak and he put a hand up to stop me.  “There is something you need to know about Tao.  He’s sensitive about everything.  Give him a minute or two, he’ll be fine when he comes out, just wait.”

“Henry, you didn’t see the kid when he got here.  He was a total wreck.  Some fans accused him of stealing…” I paused unsure of whether or not it was okay to speak freely.  I did so anyway.  “Kris’s shoes.  But that’s not what he’s sad about.  He misses him.  They both do.” 

As soon as Tao had calmed himself down and retreated from the bathroom, I was met with a chorus of “Bae go pa!  Bae go pa! Bae go pa!” from the three boys.

Henry had purchased ingredients to make Italian.  After about thirty or so minutes, we sat down to eat, Tao and Sehun included.  We all dug in.  I had slept through lunch and it wasn’t until I’d begun preparing the food that I realized how hungry I was.  But the amount of food I consumed paled in comparison to the three boys.  None of which had spoken since they’d began eating. 

“So… is the food okay?”  I asked hesitantly.

All three heads nodded, vigorously.  

Sehun mumbled something around a mouthful of food.  I couldn’t it make out, partially because it was Korean.  They only thing I did recognized was a name; Chanyeol.  He let out a small yelp when two hands reached out in unison to smack him, one from each boy on either side of him.   I looked to Henry for help.

He just grinned at me and took a swig of his water, washing down the enormous bite he’d just taken.  “You’re a pretty good cook Allie.  Thanks for making all this.”  

So, you’re not going to tell me what Sehun said…  Later…

“You’re welcome.  I was surprised at how much pasta you’d bought, but seeing how much you eat… geesh Hen.  How do you retain your girlish figure?”  I asked, in jest.

He frowned at my comment.  “Do you know how much dancing we do?”

“Noona!”  Tao had chosen this moment to make his return to speaking.  “Noona you watch us dance?”  

He turned to Henry and relayed something; it was only then that I realized they weren’t speaking Korean, it was Mandarin.  And it was then that I realized I was able to differentiate between the two.  I was surprised at myself.

Henry heaved a sigh.  “Tao wants to know if you’ll come watch their dance practice tomorrow.”

“Sure!”  I said, nodding to Tao.  I looked back to Henry, his expression sullen.  “What’s your deal?”

He sighed, this time over dramatically.  “I was going to see if you’d come watch my practice tomorrow…”

I rolled my eyes at him.  “Can’t I watch both?”

 His expression turned to delight, as if the thought hadn’t crossed his mind. “I didn’t think of that!  Sure you can!”

“Hen, you haven’t changed a bit.”

He smiled softened but then his expression turned serious.  “Do you know that you and Katty are the only ones that call me that?  If it weren’t for you two… I don’t think I’d have survived high school.”

His sudden confession surprised me.  “What do you mean?  You had lots of friends in high school.  You’ve always been so talented and popular.” 

His eyes didn’t meet mine.  Instead, he muttered something to Tao in Mandarin, who nudged Sehun. They immediately began clearing the table.

“Hey, you guys don’t have to the dishes, it’s…” They had retreated to the kitchen before I could finish.  

“Hen.”  I said, scolding.  “You didn’t have to make them do that.”

He stood, walking towards the couch; I followed.   I sat cross-legged, facing him, waiting for him to continue.

He took a deep breath.  “I was being serious, Al.  I’ve always been a really positive and up-beat kind of guy.  But freshman year, when I got you as a lab partner… I know I never told you, but that was at a really difficult time in my life.  You and Kat let me sit with you at lunch and hang out and stuff.  I just… haven’t gotten the chance to tell you thank you for that.  So… thank you.”

I grabbed one of his hands.  “Hen?  Thank you!  Do you know how bad I would’ve bombed chem had I not gotten the smarty-pants Asian kid as my lab partner?”

I thought that would at least get a chuckle from him.  Instead he took my hand and held it between his two, much like Sehun had done earlier.  His eyes remained on our clasped hands.  

“Hen?  How’re you doing?  With all this?  You being a celebrity, crazy fans and all?”  I was hesitant to go on, but I did.  “With… Kris leaving?”

I watched as his brow furrowed.  He sighed.  “I’m so lucky.  I’m so, so lucky, Al.  I know it.”  He paused.  “But sometimes… I wonder what my life would be like if I’d gone to college with you and Kat.”

I stared at my hand in his for a while.  “I’ve certainly thought about that before.  But Hen, I thought you were happy here?  I thought you liked this life.”  

“I do, I do.  Please don’t think I’m ungrateful.  I’m really not.”  His eyes showed that much.  He looked down at his hands that had started to trace patterns in the palm of my own.  “This job… it can be really lonely.”  He said the last part in a small voice.

I sighed.  “So, is that why you told SM that Kat and I would be ‘perfect’ for this job… whatever it is, exactly?”

He peeked up at me under his eyelashes, sheepishly.  “Would you be angry if I said yes?”

“No, I would not.”  I reached over with my free hand and punched him in the shoulder.  “But I would like to know what exactly I’m expected to be doing as a ‘tutor’.”

His grin widened.  “You know the term ‘noona’ means older sister, right?”

“Yeah?”

He just smiled.

“So, what?  Kat and I are supposed to be glorified babysitters?”  I asked, afraid of the answer.

Henry nodded.  “Pretty much.  And when they decide they want to learn more English, you help them with that, too.”

I groaned.  “Henry, what have you gotten me into?”

A voice from the front door startled me.  “Don’t you mean ‘what have you gotten us into’?”  

I turned to see Kat standing in the doorway, Jin carrying luggage in behind her.  Tao and Sehun had immerged from the kitchen and were bowing towards the newcomer they’d let in.  

My jaw dropped.  “Kat?  How are you here?  We skyped earlier today!  I’m so confused!”  I jumped up from the couch following Henry who was already crushing my best friend in a bear hug.  

“Hen, you’re killing me!”  He let her go and she laughed, patting his cheek.  “It’s good to see you, too, kid!”

I hugged her, relieved to see my friend so soon.  “Seriously, how did you get here so fast?  I don’t understand!”

She chuckled as I released her.  “Your boy Jin here sure has a way with words.  I was pretty much all packed and ready when you left, which you already know.  But when I showed up for work after dropping you at the airport, they told me my new employer had rung them; said I was needed A.S.A.P.  Jin got my ticket all figured out and here I am!”  

I was still giving her a confused look.  

“Oh, and I skyped you from the plane earlier today.  Technology is amazing, huh?”  I didn’t have the chance to comment before she pointed to the two dish-washers.  “And who might these gentleman be?”  She asked with brows raised.  

Henry answered before I could respond.  

“This, here, is Sehun.”  He explained, grabbing the maknae by his neck to give him a noogie.  He released him before reaching out for Tao’s neck to do the same.  “And this is Tao.  Both are members of Exo, who will be in your charge for the next six months.  This one is Chinese, but he’s pretty fluent in Korean so he’s good with language learning.  His English has definitely been improving.  Sehun’s Korean and his English is so-so.”  

As he released Tao, the younger spoke in hushed mandarin.  Kat and I looked expectantly towards Henry for a translation.  He looked slightly embarrassed.  Behind us, Jin chuckled.  

I turned, eyeing Jin.  “You speak mandarin!”  I said, pointing an accusatory finger at him.  

He put both hands in the air, a gesture of surrender.  “You’ve caught me, Miss Allie.” 

“What other languages do you speak?”  My attention now focused on him.  

“Wouldn’t you care to learn what Tao has just said about Miss Samuelson?”  

“Jin, you are really good at diverting the conversation away from yourself.  Don’t think I haven’t realized that!”  I shook my finger at him like a mother to her naughty child.  

“Wait, hey!  What did the panda-eyes kid say about me?”  Kat asked, looking between Jin and Henry for an explanation.  

Henry took this opportunity to shuffle the boys out.  He spoke quickly in Korean to the both of them and they bowed their way towards the door.  “I think it’s time for Sehun and Tao to go home.  They’ve overstayed their welcome.”

“Thank you noona!”  Tao said, bowing with a smile.  

Sehun bowed, following him out the door.  He paused and turned, looking me in the eyes.  “Thank you.”  His eyes looked towards Tao pointedly and then back at me.  “jeongmal gomapseumnida.”

I nodded, smiling; not knowing exactly how respond.  

Jin folded his hands behind his back, inching towards the door.  “It is time for me to retire this evening as well.  I will be back to pick you girls up tomorrow, let’s say, around noon?”   

“Thank GOD!”  Kat exclaimed.  “I didn’t get any sleep on the plane.  My body has no idea what time it is right now.”  I felt about the same as Kat.

“Well I guess that’s my cue.”  Henry smiled.  “Will you girls both come watch me tomorrow?  I have dance practice at 2:30.  You can go watch Exo dance right after that.”

I reached up and ruffled his hair, smiling at him.  “Sounds like a plan, Hen.”

He reached for my wrist and extracted my hand from his hair.  “You know you’re almost too short to do that, right?”

“Hey! No short jokes.  You grew too much.”

He stood on his tiptoes and peered down at me.  “I know, right?”  

Kat reached out with one hand and shoved him to the side, almost knocking him down.  

“Hey!”  He pulled a wounded face in her direction.  “What was that for?”  

“You haven’t always been the tallest one in this equation!”  

That being said, Kat had about four inches on me.  In high school, she’d been taller than both of us.  

“I can’t help it if I’m a late bloomer.”  He said with a pout.

“You’re right, and you also can’t help it that you ride the short bus.  Now, get out of my new house.  I haven’t even seen it yet and I have to pee!”  She ran off, most likely in search of a bathroom.

“Great seeing you too, Katty!”  He called after.  He turned to me, enveloping me in a hug. 

“Thank you.”  He whispered into my ear.  “You and Kat being here…” His voice broke.  

I moved to break the hug so I could see his face, but he held me tighter.

“You and Kat being here is going to change everything.  For me and for Exo.”

I tried once again to look at his face, but he held me tighter still.

“Henry, I don’t understand…”

“It just will.  I don’t know how exactly, but it will.”

I nodded into his shoulder, unsure of how else to respond.  

Finally, he broke away.  He looked into my eyes for a moment before reaching out with both of his hands to cup my cheeks.  I smiled gently at him.

Then, he did something I wasn’t expecting.  He leaned forward; eyes closed, and gently kissed my forehead.

His soft lips lingered for a moment before he pulled away with a heavy sigh.  

“Goodnight Allison.”  

He turned and left.