epilogue pt. 2

She raised her eyebrows at me. "Okay, go on."

“Kris Wu. Wait no, he’s known as Wu Yifan. But also used to be called Li Jiaheng? Or Kevin or something? I don’t even know, to be honest.”

“I don’t know what to do,” he said, his head in his hands. “I feel like I’m betraying them.”

I was silent, before answering him. “You know, oppa? Once you graduate, we can no longer really dream about things. A twelve membered boy band? I mean, all of you dreamed for that, and hoped for that… but how likely is it that one entertainment company will take you all, and debut you all together? It’s not like you can just debut without an entertainment company organizing everything, right? Once we leave school, off into the ‘real world,’ we have to face reality. And they all know this. They would understand if you did debut as an actor instead. That’s what your dream always was, right?”

He nodded, looking quite torn.

“And I’m sure you won’t be the only one… you may be the first, but you won’t be the only one…”

“What? You’re not auditioning?” asked Minseok, shocked.

Kris’ eyes darted back and forth, his nervousness obvious. “I’m probably not going to make it anyway, and also—”

“Well you’re definitely not going to make it if you don’t audition at all!” exclaimed Luhan, obviously quite upset with what his friend had just stated to them.

“Ge, it’s our dream to debut together,” whispered Tao.

“Let the man ing finish, guys,” I interrupted, holding my two arms out for emphasis.

He gave me a grateful look, before continuing. “To tell you the truth...” he swallowed, “I think I’m more fit to be an actor, not an idol.”

There was complete silence, a silence that obviously terrified him more than a bombarding of questions would. His fists were clenched up—not from anger, but from pure nervousness. I had never seen him like this before.

I quickly took one of his hands in my own, unclenching his clammy fist. He seemed to just realize that he had been clenching his fists, and quickly unclenched the other. I smiled up at him, patting him reassuringly on the back of his hand.

Finally, Jongdae spoke up. “Guys… I’m probably not going to end up debuting with you guys, either. Some of you are dancers, and I… I can’t dance anymore. Not what idols are expected to dance at this day and age, anyway.”

“Hey, guys?” I spoke up. “It’s us against the world. If we get set against each other, who’s gonna have our backs? Let’s support whatever decision anyone makes, as long as it’s not selling meth or something.”

“D*mn, too late,” said Baekhyun, a completely serious expression on his face, before he cracked into a grin.

“Wait, I know Baekhyun is officially kicked out now, but is it okay to buy meth from him? Or does that rule us out, too?” Chanyeol asked, hand raised in the air as if he was asking a teacher.

I rolled my eyes, grinning up at Kris. He smiled gratefully back.

“It’s really hard,” he whispered through the phone. “I don’t know why my stupid brain won’t memorize the lines, and I freeze whenever I have to say a line, even if I do know what it is. I hate dragging everyone on set down, and filming is just so long.”

“Kris, if there’s anyone who can make it through this, it’s you. If you give up now, there’s nowhere to go. You have to just keep on trying, until you get better. You know, Jackie Chan wasn’t always a good actor. It’s through experience, mistakes, and practice that he got better. You’re going to get better too, just believe in yourself. And hey, if worse comes to worst, you’ve got your supportive EXO family, your mother, and… me. If it really gets too much to bear, you can always start anew with something else.”

“Thanks, J.E. As expected, your advice is the best.”

“Hey, surprise, though? I think I’m seeing you soon.”

“And one of our main composers for the movie’s OSTs, J.E. She is new to the country and speaks very limited Mandarin, so please treat her well,” the translator whispered into my ear. Apparently that was what the director of the movie had said in Mandarin.

Kris’ face was a mix of surprise, delight, and disbelief. I smirked towards his direction.

The director said something else, in which the translator quickly translated as, “she’s here on set to learn more about the kind of feel we’re going for, for the different songs.”

I bowed to the staff and actors, introducing myself in awkward Mandarin.

As soon as the director left, Kris came to my side.

“What are you doing here?”

“Didn’t you hear what the director said? I’m here to assess what kind of feel the OSTs are supposed to have.” The indignant expression on his face made it hard for me to keep a straight face.

“But then you have to see me kiss someone!”

I rolled my eyes. “I do believe that’s your job, Kris.”

He stared at me with a puppy dog expression. I wasn’t exactly sure what that puppy dog expression was supposed to express, or what he was trying to tell me, but I did know that it was adorable.

“Oppa!” I whined, averting my eyes from his own.

“What, am I too cute for you?” he asked, finally holding out his arms.

I took a step into his arms; he easily folded them around me, causing murmurs from the staff and actors around us. “Are you sure this is allowed?” I whispered to him, still hugging him. “You are a top star and everything.”

“I don’t even care,” he whispered back.

I breathed him in, burying my face into his chest. “I missed you.”

“Missed you too, J.E.”

“And… Park Chanyeol.”

“Hey Joo Joo, have you watched any of this guy’s videos?” Chanyeol asked, holding his phone out to me with a giant smile on his face.

“Oh, the pharmacist dancer guy? Yeah, of course. His videos are legendary,” I said, laughing. “He’s an actual genius.”

“Hey, you know? I think I’m going to start a Youtube channel,” he said, a little hesitantly. It was obvious that he was unsure of what my reply would be, and whether it would be positive or not.

“Yeah? I think that would be cool… what kind of channel?”

“Um… I’m thinking of a mix between music and comedy? Like I could do things like this guy, kind of, but also release covers and my own music, and vlogs and stuff like that. What do you think?”

I smiled at him. “I think you could do it. You’re talented musically, and you’ve got an attractive personality and a good sense of humour. Plus, you’re good looking, so you’d get fans easier. I think it’s a good idea.”

He beamed at me, opening his arms.

I rolled my eyes, going into them as he squeezed me tightly, burying his face into my hair. “Thanks, Joo Joo,” he mumbled into my hair.

“Hey everyone, this is Yeol…”

“And Baek! Sorry we’ve been away for so long, but we were busy preparing a special cover for you guys.”

“For this cover, we have a special guest! She’s an old friend of ours, Kim Jooeun!”

I walked into the set, grinning at the camera as I bowed. This was really weird. Bowing and smiling at a camera…

“Hi guys, I’m Kim Jooeun—some of you might know me better as J.E.”

“Yeah, Joo Joo—sorry, Jooeun here, is a composer. The song we’re going to be covering today is a song that she wrote, a song that’s coming out today! We’re gonna post this video an hour after the album is released; No Matter How Many Lyte Years Away by LYTE! Please support our good friends Jongdae and Kyungsoo in LYTE by buying their album!” said Chanyeol, bringing out the album in front of him that hadn’t even gone to the market yet.

Chanyeol took out his guitar, while Baekhyun placed his hands onto the keyboard in front of him.

I nodded at them, a slight smile on my face as I counted us in, “1, 2, 3, 4…”

“I’m so ing done!” I raged, throwing myself onto the couch.

“What is it this time?” asked Chanyeol, coming out of the kitchen with two mugs in his hands.

“ing Dream Entertainment won’t take my songs because I’m a ing girl!” I everything but screamed, curling myself into a ball.

“Wait, what the ?”

“The guy I met was like, ‘Oh, the music industry isn’t a good place for girls to work. Y’all should go back to the kitchen,’ and I was like ‘ha you I’mma take my songs elsewhere and become famous and you’re gonna regret.’”

Chanyeol burst into a laugh, handing me my mug. “Only you, Joo Joo… only you… oh god, I love you so much.”

I buried my face into his couch, hiding my blush.

“You do exactly what you said… become famous and make him regret,” he said, a slight hardness in his tone, making me smile.

I lifted my head from the couch, sliding myself across the couch to where he was sitting. “I will,” I said softly, curling myself into his side.

“Park Chanyeol,” I said breathlessly to the receptionist.

“Room 309 on the third floor,” she replied.

Before she could say anything else, I rushed to the nearest staircase and dashed up the stairs. When I saw the room with the number 309 on it, I opened the door, to see the room already filled with people.

Chanyeol was sitting on the bed, his head bandaged and his arm in a cast.

“What happened to you?”

“I… uh… kind of…”

“He fell down the stairs!” said Junmyeon with a tone of disbelief.

I facepalmed. “You know how worried I was? Baekhyun told me that you got into a really serious accident!”

“Ah, that was me wondering how you’d react,” said Baekhyun a bit meekly.

“But hey, besides that… I’m hurt, will you give me a kiss like you did Jongdae?” asked Chanyeol, a smirk on his face.

I glared at him, folding my arms across my chest. But he looked so cute, a stupid smirk on his face with his head bandaged and arm in a sling that I couldn’t help but break into a laugh, shaking my head. “I’m supposed to be the clumsy one, babo.”

I walked over to the bed and sat on the side, brushing his bangs to the side, before leaning in and kissing him on the forehead.

“Get better soon, you actual idiot.”

“And… Huang Zitao.”

“Let the Siwon War begin!”

The Siwon War was basically a huge competition-the whole school being split into teams at the end of the year and then a huge paint ball capture the flag proceeding. It was quite competitive, and many people ended up with painful bruises afterwards.

I was on the purple team with Sehun, while Tao was on the green team, and Jongin was on the red team.

And at the moment, Jongin was pointing his ing red paint ball gun at me with a wicked grin on his face.

“Jongin I swear to god if you shoot me I will—”

He pulled the trigger, causing me to scream and duck, covering my head with my arms.

The impact didn’t come, and I blinked looking up to see Tao’s back towards me, his arms clutching his stomach.

“Tao you’re not on her team!! What are you doing?!”

“Run, Joo-liet, while you still can,” Tao dramatically whispered, before collapsing on the ground.

“I will never forget your sacrifice for me, Taomeo.”

“I’m not talented, Joo Joo. The only reason I was put onto the team was because I’m tall and decent looking with makeup on. I’m not the best dancer, singer, or rapper. I’m too dark skinned-the only thing that gets me fans is the fact that I do wushu.”

“No.” I shook my head at him.

“Yes, Joo—”

“No, you don’t ing understand. No, you, you are ing talented. You know how hard your debut song’s choreography was? It was pretty ing hard-your group got so many fans because of the hard choreography and how in-sync you were. And you know who learned it first, because they stayed long after they were supposed to? You, Tao. You are tall, that’s true, but you’re also ing hot with or without makeup. , then who the is supposed to be the best rapper on your team? Sehun? Jongin? No, it’s you. Sehun can’t hold a beat for some ing reason, and Jongin hasn’t got the amazing flow that you do. You’re not the best singer because your position isn’t singer? But you also have a d*mn amazing voice and your fans constantly write comments like that and scream when you sing because you’re talented. So don’t ing think that you only have fans only because of your wushu, because they love you for being you and for your talent, not just because you can flip a stick and it’s kind of cool or something.”

Tao stared at me, obviously speechless.

“You get it, now? Jesus, you’d think I’d have good taste in men or something.” I rolled my eyes, before freezing in my spot. “Wait, I didn’t just say that. IGNORE THAT!”

Tao’s astounded expression changed into a wide grin, as he stepped towards me to peck me on the forehead, wrapping his arms around my waist.

I whined, blushing, before burying my face into his chest to avoid his gaze. He tightened his arms around me.

#DESTINY1STWIN

#CongratsDESTINY

#YouveWorkedHardDESTINY

We’ve come far, boys.

I grinned at my Tweet, which got likes and retweets in a matter of seconds. I had about 900k followers on my twitter-most of which were DESTINY, Yeol&Baek, LYTE, BTS and Wu Yifan fans.

Thanks, Joo Joo.

#SupportJE

#DESTINY1STWIN

#ExoAreYouSeeingThis?

#HZT

Tao’s reply to my tweet also started getting many likes and retweets, before others started replying.

#Seen

#SupportJE

#SupportLYTE

#SupportDESTINY

#SupportWUYIFAN

#SupportUsToo

#YeolandBaek

(oh and #CongratsDESTINY)

And then…

#CongratsDESTINY

#LYTEisSupportingYou

#WeAreYourSunbaes

#Hahahhhaha

#DESTINY1STWIN

And of course…

#FanFanHere

#CongratsDESTINY

#DESTINY1STWIN

#YouveWorkedHardDESTINY

#IWILLBUYYOUFOODNEXTTIMEISEEYOU

I laughed seeing Kris’ last tag.

And the concluding tweet.

#WeLoveYouSoulmates

#ThankYou

#SupportEXO

#ThankYou

#WeLoveYouAll

#ALLOFDESTINY

#Hahahhagetit

#allofdestiny

#okaybye

“And then there’s Kim Jongdae…”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to dance like I did before,” Jongdae told me quietly.

I blinked away the tears in my eyes. Our knee braces were both off; mine had come off ages ago. But after Jongdae had gone back to the hospital for a checkup, they told him that if he danced like we were expected to in the entertainment industry, he might grow to have problems with walking and running.

“It’s not your fault, Jjoo, how many times do I have to tell you? Besides, I never really liked dancing in the first place.”

I tried smiling at him, I really did. But that just resulted in me crying… again. Jongdae was probably the person who’d seen me cry the most-of all the people I knew, not just Exo. “I’m sorry, oppa.”

He wiped my tears away with his thumbs, caressing my face gently as he did. “Jjoo, there’s nothing to be sorry for. Nothing.”

“We’re going to debut as a singing duo, Jooeun.” Jongdae’s face lit up with happiness, and I couldn’t help but hug him tightly.

“See? I told you. Everything works out in the end, there was nothing to worry about! I swear, Jjoo, you worried more than Kyungsoo and I did,” he teased, the back of my head.

I whined into his shoulder, feeling a million times lighter than I had a week ago. “I’m so glad…”

“Now, our contestants for first place is our rising duo, LYTE with Bleeding Heart, and the ever popular band DAY6 with No No No! A drumroll please… and the winners of this week’s M Countdown is LYTE!”

The screaming of the audience made me wince, but that didn’t stop the smile on my face. Just months after their debut, they were already winning their first prize. I could see tears in Jongdae’s eyes, and Kyungsoo’s smile that looked wider than I’d ever seen it. Jongdae put the mic to his mouth with a trembling hand.

“LYTE the FYRE of happiness, annyeonghaseyo, this is LYTE!” Kyungsoo and he spoke into the mic, before Jongdae took the mic back towards his own mouth. “I-I don’t even know how to explain how happy I feel to be standing here, with this trophy. Wait, I need to thank people.” His bleary confusion caused his fans to laugh. “Um um, thank you for our manager hyungs, co-di nunas, makeup artists, stylists, our company, and to all the fans! To all the people who’ve helped us get to this spot!” Kyungsoo nudged him, whispering something into his ear. Jongdae grinned.

“I almost forgot,” he said, his eyes trailing to where I was standing with a LYTE poster in my hands, “to EXO, to our past, to our wonderful dongsaengs, dongkaps, and hyungs who’ve always encouraged both Kyungsoo and I to get to this spot; Minseok hyung, Kris hyung, Luhan hyung, Jun-sorry, Suho hyung, Lay hyung, Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Tao, Kai, Sehun, and of course, our beloved J.E, thank you so much.” His smile looked like it could not get bigger.

Kyungsoo guided the mic to his mouth, before speaking. “We could have not got to this spot without any of you, especially our FYREs,” the crowd screamed at the mention of the fanbase name, “thank you so much. We will continue to be the hardworking LYTE we are today and will work even harder to show a better LYTE! Thank you for supporting us, we love you!”

“Hey, I’m going for a check up at the doctors this Friday, want to come?” asked Jongdae.

“Are you crazy? If the fans see us going to the hospital together, they’ll think I’m pregnant or something,” I said, shuddering as I imagined the photos and comments.

He laughed. “Well the hospital is like our second home, I just thought it’d be nice to go together again.”

I rolled my eyes. “Is this your idea of a romantic date? Because it’s not very romantic.”

I could hear the grin in his words. “Dang, you caught me. So… coffee date?”

“Sorry, my coffee dates are restricted to two people named Lu Han and Kim Minseok.”

“Hey!”

“Anyway, you got your G2 now, right? Let’s go for a drive? As long as you don’t kill me, that is.”

“Are you asking me out on a date, Kim Jooeun?”

“Or we could not…”

“No no no, I’ll take you for a drive, I promise!”

“That’s what I thought.”

“Geez, Jooeun! It’s three in the morning! Why are you still here? I checked just in case, but holy sh*t, I didn’t think you’d actually be here!” Jongdae yelled.

I blinked my bleary eyes, rubbing them as I took my headphones off. “I’m almost done this song, oppa, just let me finish it.”

“You can finish it tomorrow, you need sleep! When did you sleep yesterday? Did you even sleep?”

I didn’t reply, avoiding his eyes.

“You didn’t sleep? Another all-nighter? Jooeun, this isn’t healthy. Let’s get you home.” He took my hand, ready to pull me out of the work room.

“I’m going to lose my flow, oppa. I’ve been stuck for so long, and I just got it back last week. If I stop now, I’m never going to get it back,” I begged. “I’ve almost completed this guide, just let me finish it.”

He winced at the sound of my voice. “Your voice is so hoarse! Are you sick, too?”

I sneezed right on cue, and he shook his head. “Jjoo, I know how important your songs are to you, but I value your health over it. You recorded the guides by yourself, didn’t you… you’re actually a babo. Here, tell me what to do.”

He stepped into the recording room himself, putting the headphones on.

“You’ve debuted, oppa. You can’t just sing guides for songs that aren’t even for your company. If someone finds out, you’re going to get in a lot of trouble.”

“Well I’m not leaving until you leave, and this is the fastest way we can finish the song.”

I sighed, rubbing my eyes once again, staring at my empty cup of coffee. “Let’s go home, I can finish this later.”

His triumphant smile as he stepped out of the recording room made me smile a little. I stood up, almost collapsing in his arms as he led me out of the building and into a taxi. To home, even though I already felt at home in his arms.