When I got to the company building, I heard some fans cheering loudly at the front entrance, their screams audible even from the back of the building. What could that be for? I continued on my way through the back door, afraid of being late for my early morning Korean class.

It was a hot Saturday morning, the humidity making the temperatures reach even higher than back home. It was slighter quieter outside, at least without the sound of heavy traffic as commuters headed to work. Inside the company building, however, were various rumbles of voices, drifting over to where I was. Voices echoed along the corridors, gradually growing louder as I came to the lobby to wait for the elevators.

"Yah, Choi Yoonmi!" A voice suddenly called, making me jump. I turned around to see a familiar baby-faced guy with large doe eyes and an ugly smile, and I found my face immediately breaking into what was possibly an even uglier grin.

EXO-M was finally back.

"Luhan!" I ran towards him, tumbling into his embrace, where he held me tightly, not letting go. As we broke apart, he ruffled my hair and gave me a glance over. He was dressed casually, in a plain white v-neck and shorts today, of course with his usual red snapback completing his outfit, but still somehow managing to glow.

"Wow, I haven't seen you in such a long time! How've you been?"

"It's been difficult," I shrugged, "but much better now that you're back?" I said, smiling widely.

He beamed, pulling out a small but bulky plastic bag from his pile of stuff on the floor beside him, as his soft laughter put me at ease.

"Here, I got you some treats while on our tour. I know you love all these." He handed me the bag and I was surprised at its weight. I peeked inside and saw many small cartons of banana milk, along with seaweed, green tea Kit Kats, and various other snacks.

"Aw, you're the best! Thank you so much, Lu-ge!" I hugged him again, and this time it was me squishing him tightly.

"Anything for you, my dear," he chuckled, ruffling my hair. "Happy belated birthday!"

Just then, I noticed a familiar figure walking down the hallway. I could see his ed blazer hanging at his sides, his tie loosened. Chen was holding some sort of package in his hands as he glanced our way and paused slightly when our eyes met.

Something in them flashed, disappearing as quickly as it came, before he looked away. His expression was unreadable, but I couldn't help but notice how his lips were pressed in a thin line.

He continued to hurry through the hallway, never looking at me again.

Luhan and I pulled apart, and he followed my gaze to see Chen's retreating figure right before he disappeared around the corner.
 

Luhan's POV

It wasn't difficult to see the flash of disappointment on her face, caused by him every time. It wasn't hard to notice how she was feeling inside. I tried to be there for her, to fill in the gaps as best as I could...but I guess some things just weren't quite the same.

I just hoped that the same look of disappointment wouldn't be reflected on my face every time she turned away from me to watch him walk by.

I came back to the dorm early today, knowing that Jongdae would be here since he didn't have any schedules today. EXO-M was finally getting our much needed break after a long month of promotions in China, and while I certainly enjoyed it, it was so exhausting. The other guys had gone out, Yifan taking Zitao shopping, Minseok hitting the gym with Baekhyun, and Yixing hiding out in the recording studio. That only left Jongdae, and after today's earlier incident, I had a feeling that he would be back at the dorm. I slowly unlocked the door, my heart pounding loudly in my chest. 

Jongdae was busy making some ramen in the kitchen and looked up as I came in. The smell of ramen filled the room, making my mouth water and my stomach grumble.

"Hey hyung. You done early today too?" He stood by the stove, waiting for the noodles to finish cooking.

"Yeah," I sighed, setting all my stuff down, "finally get to relax for a while."

Jongdae shot me a relatable look. "Got to enjoy it while you can."

We fell into a comfortable silence, only hearing the sound of the boiling water and the fan above. I didn't want to break the silence, but I really wanted to ask him. I really needed to know.

"Jongdae-ya?" I said hesitantly, unsure of how he'd react to this.

For someone who was the mood-maker of our group and always so happy, it was quite uncomfortable seeing him otherwise. Despite having known each other for so long, sometimes I felt like I didn't know him at all. It was different from talking to Yifan and Yixing, and even Zitao, where it was so easy to communicate and relate to each other.

"Yeah, hyung?" He replied, glancing at me questioningly before turning off the stove and moving his pot of ramen.

"I have to ask you something..." I trailed off, not really knowing how to pose my question. How would you ask someone if they like a certain person, without letting them think that you like the said person yourself?

"Sure, go ahead." He shrugged, smiling casually the way he always did. He brought the pot over to the table, sitting himself down on a stool.

"I'm not quite sure how to ask this actually," I said awkwardly, going into the cupboards to find myself a pack of ramen as well.

"Hmm don't worry, you can ask anything." He shot me a mischievous look, causing me to bump my head against the cupboard which left a sharp pain travelling through my head. At that moment I felt like digging myself a hole. What have I gotten myself into? I sighed, mentally slapping myself. Jongdae then went back to eating his ramen. 

"Do you like her?" I suddenly blurted. I wanted to look away and hide my face that may or may not have been burning, but instead, I searched his face closely for a reaction. What did it matter anymore? He was bound to find out anyway. 

He seemed to freeze, the strand of ramen on his chopsticks falling back into the pot. He looked down, his face unreadable. 

"Who?" Jongdae glanced at me again, his eyes clear and filled with genuine confusion. He must've learned a trick or two about acting from his musical.

"I think you know who I'm talking about." As soon as I said that, I immediately regretted not mentioning her name. Wouldn't this only make me seem more suspicious?

"Oh, Minnie?" He chuckled, "well, she is a really close friend of mine. But if you're asking me if I like her that way, then my answer is no." He flashed his cheeky grin again.

I froze at his words and my jaw seemed to drop by itself as I stared at him with shock. Here, he was saying that he didn't like Minnie that way, while the rest of the world thought that they were happily dating. Their "some" relationship from a few years back might have ended for some time because of our debut, but now they were back to being so close that it seemed like nothing had ever happened.

What heightened my suspicions more though was the fact that he decided to mention Minnie when I was actually asking about someone else.

"What do you mean, you guys aren't to-- wait, y-you don't like her?" I repeated, stupefied. 

"No, not like that, hyung." He said slowly. "So, if you like her, then I'll happily support you guys." He said, smirking again, "she is pretty and talented after all."

"I-I..." Minnie? From all my years of training with her, I hadn't ever really noticed or considered her. "Ow!" The abrupt, burning sensation on my hand yanked me from my thoughts. I had entirely forgotten about my boiling pot of water on the stove.

Running my hand under cold water, I finally remembered what we were talking about before. "Wait, but I wasn't asking about her though." I said quietly, frowning at his diversion of topic.

He immediately looked away as he swallowed, seeming a little nervous now. 

"Then who are you talking about?" He fired back, finding the noodles in his pot very interesting now. He wasn't meeting my gaze.

It was clear he knew who I was talking about, but did he really need me to say it out loud?

"Rachel," I said softly. Jongdae froze at the sound of her name, almost confirming my suspicions immediately.

The air seemed to get heavy as the silence stretched endlessly between us. The atmosphere was tense, an awkwardness settling in that not even a pre-debut unfamiliarity and language barrier could induce.

Despite that, it almost seemed like suddenly, everything was clear as daybreak, ringing out loudly in the room with words unspoken.

Suddenly, a piercing beat cut broke through the stillness and startled the both of us. It was Chen's phone ringing, his ringtone being one of our older songs, "Growl". We both stared at it, unmoving, feeling relief flooding us in a sense, before he reacted first and shot me an apologetic look. He picked up the call a second later, not bothering to leave the room.

Somehow, I felt like my question was better left unanswered.

Maybe then I'd have the benefit of doubt.

"Hello?" He said as he answered. I sighed and left him to his call.

As I left the room, I walked by the garbage can and couldn't help but notice what was at the top of the pile. It was a bouquet of small blue flowers.

Maybe it'd be easier if you stop giving out such mixed signals. 

So a bunch of things are revealed here !!! 
PS: have y'all seen Luhan's Medals MV omg