When Minseok first met Luhan, he had been terrified. Who wouldn't be? He had lived in Korea for his whole life and Korean had been the only language he had ever spoken. Yet, here he was, one of only 2 Korean members in EXO-M. He would now spent the majority of his time in China, promoting in mandarin, a language which he had no knowledge of and was expected to even perform in mandarin.

When he had first learnt about this, he had been upset. 

Why should he have to join EXO-M? He wasn't Chinese, he didn't know Mandarin! What the heck would he even do? The manager had come up with 'logical' explanations for this matter; there needed to be an equal distribution of members in EXO-K and EXO-M, they needed him in EXO-M. Yeah right. 

He hadn't even been assigned a specific role in the group yet. Everyone had been given a role. Jongin had become the lead dancer, Chanyeol the main rapper and even Sehun had been told that he was a dancer as well as a rapper. Minseok hadn't. He was a mixture of everything really, when he thought about it. He danced, he rapped, he even 'screamed'. What would he do in EXO-M? 

It was easy for Jongdae. The guy had an amazing voice that Minseok could only dream of. He would definitely serve his purpose in EXO-M. 

Days after finding out, he wallowed in self pity and insecurity. Before joining SM Entertainment, he had been a very confident and well, relaxed person. Now, between the harsh trainings and the strict diet he was on, he wondered whether he had made the right choice and for the first time in a long time, he doubted himself. 

~

When he met the EXO-M members, he had been comfortable. He was already quite close to Yixing, who he had often practiced dancing with and was comfortable around. Zitao he had been afraid of, the guy was so damn tall and did wushu, for 's sake. But after a few trips together as Minseok introduced him to Korea created a tight bond between them as Minseok discovered the shy, sweet and frankly girly boy that was Zitao. Wufan, he knew quite well. He had been a trainee for quite some time, and Minseok admired him immensely. Jongdae was a relatively new trainee and Minseok had been surprised, to say the least, when he found out that they would be debuting together. But, after listening to him sing, Minseok accepted it and both of them became close friends after learning that they would be in EXO-M together. 

Luhan, Minseok thought, was the only one he didn't know that much about. The rumour was that he had been scouted whilst shopping. Minseok could certainly see why. Luhan was very pretty, he would be a perfect idol and according to Yixing, who was a close friend of Luhan's, he was also great at singing. Minseok had been a bit surprised at how confident Luhan was when introducing himself in Korean. 

"You're not Korean right?" Minseok asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "No, but I came to Korea to study, so I learnt it here." Luhan replied, smiling widely. His smile was very sweet to look upon. Yup, he was definitely going to be a visual. "Ah." He replied, not really sure of what else to say. 

"Has anyone told you that you look like a baozi?" Luhan asked him suddenly. "Pardon? Baozi? What's that?" Minseok asked. Luhan snapped his fingers. "Oh, right, you don't know mandarin. Baozi is a steamed bun." Luhan explained. "I don't get it. How do I look like a steamed bun?" He asked, not sure whether he should be offended. "Your cheeks, they're so cute and chubby; just like a steamed bun." Luhan said puffing his cheeks up as an example. Definitely offensive. "As if I need a reminder about my weight, thanks a lot." He huffed before turning away. Stupid dickhead. 

"No- wait. I didn't mean it that way." Luhan said pulling his arm back, forcing Minseok to turn back to him. He quickly let go when he saw Minseok's raised eyebrows. "I didn't mean to offend you. And honestly your cheeks are adorable, really." He insisted after seeing Miseok's doubtful expression. 

He shouldn't have gotten so angry, Minseok realized. After all, this guy was going to be one of s, he shouldn't get angry at him so easily. "It's okay." He said patting Luhan's shoulder. Luhan shook his head. "Let me make it up to you; I'll treat you to coffee." He offered, smiling cheerfully. 

Dammit. How could he possibly know about Minseok's love for coffee? "Fine." He muttered before offering a small smile, a real one. Luhan smiled back at him before taking his arm and they were soon off to the shop. 

The coffee shop was simple and small, but the smell of coffee instantly made him feel comfortable. "What do you want?" Luhan asked him looking up at the menu. "Uhhh, americano?" He asked before nodding to himself, "Yup, americano." He confirmed looking at Luhan. "Huh, that was what I was going to order as well. I'll get the drinks, can you find a seat?" Luhan asked him taking out his wallet. Minseok nodded before turning around to find a seat. He sat down and drummed his fingers on the tables as he waited. 

Luhan didn't seem that bad. No one who likes to drink americanos could be that bad. He nodded to himself. Luhan came and sat down opposite Minseok, handing him the drink as well as a chocolate chip cookie. "Nah, I can't have that. I'm on a strict diet. It's bad enough that I'm drinking coffee already, to be honest." Minseok said, resting his head on his hand. Luhan's eyebrows scrunched up. "Just one cookie won't hurt." He said. Minseok shook his head. "I can't." He sighed. "Fine, half a cookie. Please?" Luhan insisted before putting his hands together as if he was in a prayer. Minseok laughed. "Alright, Alright, no need to go all religious on me." He said before seperating the cookie and taking a bite from his half. He looked expectantly at Luhan. "Happy?" Minseok asked him. Luhan leaned back triumphant. "Very." He replied. 

They sipped there drinks in silence. "So, how are you going to promote in China if you don't know how to speak Mandarin?" Luhan asked looking concerned. Minseok sighed. He put his head in hands. "I don't know. I'm supposed to start learning it with a tutor starting tomorrow but there is definitely not enough time for me to become fluent before the debut." He said, letting out his worries. "Hey, it's fine. I'll be there to help you. Don't worry too much about it, okay?" Luhan said petting his shoulder.

Minseok peeked up at him. "How will you help me?" He asked, genuinely curious. Luhan shrugged. "I'll correct your pronunciation, translate for you, teach you all the slang and bad words..." He trailed off laughing. Minseok joined him, he couldn't help it; Luhan had a contagious laugh. "Thanks. Seriously. It means a lot." Minseok said grinning widely at him. Luhan smiled back at him. "What are friends for?" Minseok stared at the pretty boy. His friend. 

"Luhan. You can call me Baozi, if you want. I don't really mind it."

~

The last few months before their debut were busy and a lot of things happened. Firstly, he was given a chinese name- Xiumin. He liked the sound of it but would often forget it. 

EXO was formed and Xiumin became friends with everyone and they were soon just like a family. They were given a dorm to stay in and soon, he knew everyone's personalities. He got used to 'Chen', Chanyeol and Baekhyun's pranks and general commotion, he adored the two maknaes, Sehun and (Zi)Tao (despite their brattiness) and respected Joonmyun and Wufan's- sorry, Suho and Kris's leadership and fairness, whenever there was a problem. He loved Kyungsoo- ugh, D.O.'s cooking and often praised the quiet boy on his cooking. He admired Jongin, that is Kai's dancing and found Lay's forgetfulness endearing and his dancing amazing.

But, there is no doubt that the person he became the closest to in these precious months was Luhan. They were both the eldest and as a result, were often stuck with each other. However, it wasn't something he disliked, being stuck with Luhan, honestly speaking. Being of the same age, he felt more comfortable around Luhan and was able to speak freely with him. Luhan was also kind to Xiumin and Unknowingly, they became best friends and he came to know Luhan's habits as well as his own. 

Luhan was always there when Xiumin felt tired and would give him a comforting hug. He always remembered to bring extra towels, knowing Xiumin got way too sweaty, way too easily. Even just a thumbs up from Luhan would help Xiumin feel motivated to keep on going. In return, Xiumin would hug Luhan when he was crying because he missed his family in China. It was Xiumin who, every night, would get him a glass of honey water, knowing that Luhan's voice would be croaky and tired after the strenous training. Every night after their training, they would both go to the same coffee shop and share a cup of coffee, whilst talking and laughing together.

The night they debuted was a magical night and everyone was in smiles by the end of it. After their first stage, Xiumin looked around backstage for Luhan. "Baozi." He heard. Xiumin turned around. Luhan was standing there smiling at him. Xiumin walked to him and they hugged, both ecstatic after the success of the evening. 

"We did it Minseok. We finally made it." Luhan whispered. 

~~~

Whaaa. This is my first story. It's probably not very good but uh, if you read it, thanks!

I'll try and update as often as possible.