Xiumin's POV

Kris’ loud laugh resounded in my ears as he wrapped an arm around my neck, holding me close to him while dragging me inside the bar that we were heading to after a long day of work.
“Come on, let’s have some fun tonight,” he exclaimed and his loud voice cracked when it raised up to a particular volume. A wide smile was plastered on his face and he walked up to the counter with slow, swaying steps. He flashed a bright grin at the waitress who guided us to a free table. She didn’t seem to pay much attention to him though and didn’t return it. She was about to turn around and leave when her eyes met mine for a second. I tried to look away quickly, knowing that my face would reveal how I was truly feeling tonight, but there was something about her that made me want to keep looking at her. It was something about her azure blue eyes, which were showing that she had a deep understanding about what was happening around her. And while she gave me a warm smile, I realised that I found her... interesting. And I usually wasn’t interested in women. Not too much, that is.

I wasn’t as excited as Kris was, but the smile of the beautiful waitress uplifted my mood. And I was looking forward to an evening free from worries and far away from the other EXO members, too. Even though I really liked the others, it could get pretty tiring to be around them all the time and at times, they were ticking me off. Being with Kris was somehow less tiring, around him I always felt calm and relaxed. It was probably because of his carefree attitude that made you feel at ease. But of course things weren’t going as I had wanted them to, Kris had to bring him along.  I shook off Kris’ arm and slightly turned around, darting a glance at the person who was following us with slow steps. He didn’t even notice me, he was too busy staring at his feet while walking and chewing nervously on his lower lip. I didn’t dislike Tao, not at all, but spending an entire evening with him would be really tiring. Kris had gotten closer to him recently and whenever they were together, it seemed as if they started to forget the world around them. I was prepared to be the third wheel the whole evening and just the thought of it made me want to turn around and go home. I turned my head again to face Kris and noticed that he had already sat down. He was grinning and patting the place next to him and when I was about to smile at him and walk towards him, I noticed that his gaze was going into a completely different direction. He only had eyes for Tao. Great. With a small grunt of displeasure, I let myself fall down onto the wooden bank, choosing the place just opposite of Kris. A feeling of anger rumbled in my stomach and the heat that has risen up in my stomach slowly made its way up to my head, making me feel dizzy. I watched Tao shuffle closer to us, raising his head slowly to smile at Kris who was awaiting him with a rather goofy grin. I had tried not to be too obvious about being annoyed, but the grimace I was making now had caught Kris’ attention. When he turned his head to me, wrapping an arm around Tao’s waist at the same time, he flashed a smile at me.

“Hey Xiumin, don’t make that face. Have a drink, you’ll see that you’ll like it,” he urged, shoving a tiny glass into my direction. I hesitated before I reached out and wrapped my fingers around it, holding it firmly in my hand.

“Thanks,” I muttered under my breath, clearing my throat as I realised that my voice wasn’t more than a faint sound. When Kris’ eyes met mine for a split second, he gave me a firm nod and somehow I got the feeling that this evening wouldn’t be that bad after all. Kris was really sensitive to others feelings and I knew he cared a lot about everyone, so I was sure that he’d make sure I was enjoying myself tonight. I smiled through gritted teeth as he grabbed the green bottle of soju that the waitress had handed him at his arrival and poured a good amount of it into my glass. He then proceeded to pour some of it into his own glass before he turned towards Tao in a quick motion. He tilted his head slightly, his lips curved into an absent-minded smile while he looked Tao in the eye. I tried not to stare at them, but it was impossible for me to take my eyes off them, and so I had to watch how a tinge of redness crept up to Tao’s cheekbones as Kris stared at him lovingly. From the corner of my eyes, I could see that Kris’ hand was moving under the table. I took a first sip of my drink and tried to ignore the hand that was obviously on Tao’s thigh. Or somewhere else. I decided not to double-check where Kris’ hand was.

“Want something to drink, baby?” Kris asked in a soft and melodic voice that I had never heard before, leaning even closer against Tao while he waited for an answer. At this point it was obvious that Tao was feeling awkward, seeing as how he shifted his gaze to look at me every few seconds. He gave Kris a small nod and whispered something I couldn’t hear properly. Just a moment later, Kris had filled up Tao’s glass as well.

“I’m not a good drinker though,” Tao announced, breaking the silence and getting rid of the tension that hung in the air.

“That’s alright. I’m sure Kris will look after you,” I quipped, flashing a sly smile at our leader. He shifted his weight slightly and grimaced, his lips forming into an apologetic smile that only I could see. 

“Well then, cheers!” I said, raising my voice slightly along with my glass. The others copied my movement and raised their glasses, both taking a sip of their drinks just a moment later. I was too distracted to take a sip from my own drink since my eyes were glued to their faces. I didn’t want to miss out seeing their reactions to the bitter liquor. It was funny to see how Kris, who was used to drinking soju often, finished his drink in a few gulps while Tao took only a few sips, barely getting any of the clear substance in his mouth and crunching his nose while doing so. The colour of his cheeks was becoming an even brighter red and I watched him with amusement. I was lost in thoughts until Kris slammed down his empty glass onto the wooden table. He grinned as he saw my hand still raised in the air.

“Drink up!” he brought out, his loud exclamation followed by laughter. I was about to reply something but before I could even open my mouth properly, the glass was literally shoved into my face. The clear, sticky substance covered my face only seconds later. It had even been too late to close my eyes and I shrieked as the soju burned in my eyes. It felt as if my eyes were on fire. The pain was almost unbearable and I desperately tried squeezing my eyes shut while I brought up my hands, rubbing my eyes as hard as I could. It only made it worse. I was surrounded by darkness while I coughed and spluttered, freeing myself from the drink that had gotten stuck in my nostrils and my throat. “What are you doing, idiot!” I wailed, trying to sound as angry as possible while I directed my words at Kris. He was the one who had pushed my glass towards me, causing everything to spill over my face. I stomped up, opening my eyes only slightly as I made my way to the restroom. Since my vision was blurry, I couldn’t see where I was going and stumbled over my own feet, cursing under my breath as I fell forward. Damn it! Of course this had to happen today! I was mentally preparing myself for the pain I would feel when I would hit the ground, but that never happened. Thin, slender arms embraced me and while they couldn’t hold me, the body they belonged to stopped my fall.

“Are you alright?” a soft voice uttered and through my clouded eyes, I saw the face of the young waitress who had smiled at me as I had entered the bar. She could probably tell from my face that I wasn’t okay, because before I could even open my mouth, she had helped me to stand up. I felt her arms around my waist. “I’ll help you to the restroom,” she said and I only nodded, trying my best not to cry as the burning in my eyes got worse. We slowly made our way forward, too slow in my opinion, but it couldn’t be helped. When we finally reached the restroom, I pushed the door open with all my strength and dragged myself to the sink. Cold water met my hands only seconds later and I splashed it at my face. “Oh god, finally...,” I mumbled to myself as the pain started to vanish. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. I shivered at the feeling and quickly turned my head to see that the waitress was standing beside me. Now that I could see her more clearly, I noticed the little smile on her lips and her golden locks that gently framed her face.  She was stunning. Perfect, you could even say.

“To harm a beautiful face like yours really is a shame,” she said in a gentle voice and a small chuckle escaped .
I snorted inaudibly, not knowing whether to find her comment funny or simply misplaced. I didn’t know what to say and on top of that, I was feeling weird. A new kind of weird. A feeling that I had never experienced before. The pace of my heart was way too fast in her presence and while I had the wish to answer her and reply with something witty, all I could do was to stare at her with my mouth wide open. She seemed to find the situation I was in funny, seeing how she laughed as she handed me a towel. I grabbed it and quickly dried my face. When I handed it back, I caught myself staring at her once again.
“Are you… an angel?”
Whoops. There it was again. One of those moments when I had opened my mouth without thinking.
You idiot! How embarrassing! While I cursed at myself in my head, hating the fact that I always found a way to embarrass myself in front of people I barely knew, she laughed loudly. It was a high, melodious laugh that I liked more than I had thought I would.
“You’re weird,” she jested and laughed again. I couldn’t help but to laugh as well.
“So are you,” I bantered. My words were followed by a grin. The tension that had built up crumbled slowly. I straightened my back and shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans after finally having regained my confidence. “Thanks for helping me,” I said after a while of silence and nodded towards her. Her teeth shone brightly in the dim light as she flashed a smile at me.
“Nothing to thank me for. I’m Do Yeongmi by the way.” Her words were followed by a quick bow. I immediately bowed back and introduced myself as well. Even though I hadn’t worried about being noticed by fans all evening, I quickly realised that after saying my name she would probably know who I was. Anxiety started to rise up inside me as I watched her face closely. While I loved being a singer, I didn’t like constantly being the centre of attention. She either didn’t know me at all or was polite enough not to mention it. Instead, she complimented me on my name. It was a nice change.
“Shall we go back now?” She gestured into the direction of the door. I nodded, the fact that the others were probably waiting for me slowly slipping into my mind again. On top of that, the restroom wasn’t really the place to hold a decent conversation. Even though I’d have loved to talk more to her…

The sight that unveiled itself in front of my eyes as I walked out of the restroom was unbelievable. I didn’t dare to step any closer and so I stood there, staring at the bizarre scene happening only a few steps away from me. Tao who had been so shy in my presence had seemingly gotten closer to Kris while I had been away. His arm was firmly wrapped around the other’s waist and I saw him slid his hand under Kris’ shirt as he pulled him closer. Blood rushed through my body and I gulped as I noticed that his face was only inches away from Kris’. He could probably feel Kris’ hot breath on his skin… I gulped again, trying to get the thought out of my head. I didn’t get a proper look of Tao’s facial expression since Kris was leaning over him, blocking the view with his body. I could only see that Kris’ lips were moving close to Tao’s neck. The colour of Tao’s cheeks caught my attention. They were crimson red, making it even more obvious what Kris was whispering to him. If I stepped closer, what would I hear him say? I didn’t even want to imagine it. As I watched them for a while, feeling too embarrassed to walk up to them, things got more heated. They seemed to have forgotten that they were in a public place. Completely lost in their own world, they held each other close and exchanged tender kisses. I stood there awkwardly, shifting my gaze up and down every few seconds until something caught my eye. I immediately wished I hadn’t seen it, but it was too late. One of Kris’ hands was shoved into Tao’s jeans, moving under the table. That was enough! What did they think they were doing?! We had an image to lose! I stomped up and rushed over to the table, not bothering to stay quiet. Without giving it another thought, I clapped my hands together to make them snap out of their dream state. Both of them jumped with fright at the sound, turning to me only seconds later. I laughed as I saw the puzzled expressions on their flushed faces.
 “You guys look like those guys you always see in Japanese ,” I quipped, laughing loudly. I was highly amused, their expressions in this second were something I’d never be able to forget. Suddenly, I was the centre of the attention. Kris and Tao stared at me, their eyes widening and wandering over my face as they seemed to think about what I had just said. I abruptly stopped laughing. Their eyes on me made me uncomfortable and it didn’t took too long until blood rushed into my cheeks, changing my skin colour to a red tone. “Not that I watch , or anything…,” I said uncomfortably, shifting my weight from one leg to the other while my hand found its way into my hair. I ruffled my hair, messing up the hair style the makeup assistant had worked on so long this morning. Kris and Tao looked at each other and I could see a grin form on Kris’ lips before they burst into laughter. I sat down quietly, still feeling slightly embarrassed. “Yeah, me neither,” Kris said and nodded firmly. I nodded back, his serious tone made it believable that he was being honest. While it was silent for a moment and Kris was busy fixing his shirt, I reached out and filled my glass with soju. I had been waiting for this all evening. My body started to relax as the cool liquid ran down my throat and I filled up my glass once more. When I slammed my glass on the table again and leaned back against the hard, wooden bank, the tension that had built up during the day had vanished completely. Even though I had thought I wouldn’t be able to enjoy this evening, I was in quite a good mood now. As the alcohol slowly started to make my head feel numb, I looked around. As I spotted the look on Tao’s face, who was sitting in front of me, a grin started to form on my face. Tao’s face was of a bright, red colour and he was looking down at his feet while fiddling with his hands. I saw him open his mouth, once, then twice. As if he was about to say something. My grin widened and as if I could read his thoughts, I suddenly realised why he was so nervous. Anticipation rose up inside me as I thought of what I was about to say. I leaned forward to get his attention and when he looked up and my eyes met his, I asked cheekily: “Do you watch ?”
Tao opened his mouth again, he was obviously trying to find the right words to say. His eyes wandered around and it took a moment before he had locked them with Kris’. He nodded slowly. “Yes.” It was only a faint sound but I had heard it, and so had Kris. I watched his reaction closely, I didn’t know what to expect from him. He was our leader and it wouldn’t surprise me if he had something against Tao watching . Kris’ eyes widened in disbelief after hearing Tao’s confession. He sat up straight and cleared his throat. “You do?” He asked in a monotone voice, probably not expecting an answer. It didn’t sound much like a question in the first place. His voice seemed calm, but there was something about him that made me wonder whether he was at the verge of getting angry or not. It was his aura that was different. I had a bad feeling. I leaned back and watched the scene closely, making sure not to intervene.
“Darling, listen…,” Tao stammered in the sweetest voice I had ever heard from him, his left hand reaching out to touch Kris. Kris removed it with a quick movement and then looked down. I wanted to interpret it as him being angry, but that wasn’t quite it. Just what was he thinking in this moment? I was wondering if, after all, Tao knew him better than I did. Tao let go of him completely before moving a few inches away from him. You could tell from his expression that he was waiting for Kris to say something. Kris stared at Tao while his hand was fiddling with his hair.
“Am I that incompetent in bed?” Kris blurted out a second later, raising his voice. Anger echoed from it. I was sure everyone in the bar had heard it. I violently had to stop myself from bursting into laughter, I pressed my hands against my mouth but yet a sort of snorting sound came out of it. I hid my grin behind my hands. How could he say that, in front of everyone?! Tao’s face was of an unnatural red at this point and he was nervously looking around, wondering whether someone had heard it.

“We’re leaving,” Kris exclaimed loudly, standing up in a swift movement. He pulled the confused Tao up with him. I wanted to get up to, but Kris darted a glance at me. I sat down and looked up at him. “Not you.” He fumbled something out of his jeans pocket before he threw his wallet on the table. “Make sure to pay up,” he ordered me. I nodded my head quickly.
“And you!” He wrapped an arm around Tao’s waist, holding him firmly against him. I could see Tao’s Adam’s apple jump in his throat as he gulped hard. Kris leaned in until the tip of his nose touched Tao’s neck. I bit my lip, quickly turning away so I wouldn’t have to witness another intimate scene, but I still heard Kris’s whispered words: “You should come with me, I’ve got to show you something…” And with those last few words he stormed out of the bar, dragging Tao with him.