It felt strange to be heading back to the dorm so early instead of spending the rest of the day in the practice studios. The other girls wouldn't be back until pretty late, so I had the rest of the day to myself to quickly pack up my belongings. Starting with my closet, I picked out a couple of outfits for tomorrow and for the plane ride, and then started folding everything else carefully into my suitcase.

A sudden buzzing sound cut through the silence in the room, startling me enough to bump my head on the bunk bed. It was my phone, a notification flashing across the screen showing a received a text...from Chen.
 

Jongdae~<3: Rachel...are you really okay? 
 

I really didn't know what to say to him. Everything was my fault, and yet, he's still the one comforting me as if I deserved it. As if I hadn't just ruined his career.

Without replying, I continued folding my clothes neatly as the repetitive action was calming and kept me away from the negative thoughts that threatened to fill my mind at any second. It was a pretty nice evening outside; summer was in full bloom and the gentle breeze tickled my face through the open window. Despite the monsoon season, Seoul's weather could still be quite nice. I sighed, thinking back to the day everything had started...

My phone buzzed again, displaying another text from Chen.
 

Jongdae~<3: Rachel, don't do this, please. Talk to me.

Jongdae~<3: I don't want to lose you...
 

Before I even got a chance to think about replying, the apartment door creaked open, and the voices of the girls bounded through the hallway. Pulse speeding up, I quickly put my phone away, and continued folding my clothes mindlessly. As they came into the apartment, the girls' voices seemed to die down, as if they noticed that I was in the dorm as well, despite the fact that I couldn't really understand their Korean anyway.

"Yah, Choi Yoonmi." Minnie's voice floated in first, followed by her footsteps until she stood right outside the shared bedroom, leaning against the doorframe. Arms crossed in front of her and scowl on her face, she somehow still managed to look pretty. She then stomped in, shoving her phone in front of my face.

As my eyes adjusted to the screen, I could feel my heart skipping rapidly, immediately recognizing the photo on the article. It featured a different photo of Chen and me, but that wasn't what was so intimidating. Right beside that photo, was my photo, the one that the fan-girl had posted of me.

"It's you, isn't it." Minnie said flatly.

I froze.

It wasn't because of her accusation but rather that she had just spoken English to me, and there was hardly a trace of an accent.

"You need to just stop being here and ruining everyone's lives. Look what you did now? Putting Jongdae oppa's career on the line? Not to mention, all of EXO's, and also our own group's future career." She stepped closer, the flush on her cheeks apparent. "You've done nothing but be a burden to us ever since you came, and now you even take it a step farther and ruin everything that everyone's worked so hard for? Who do you think you are?" The lines of her scowl deepened, yet behind all of this anger radiating out, I could see something different in her eyes too. They were glistening, catching the dots of light streaming through the windows. It wasn't anger; it was sadness, fear. It was almost as if she was brought back to another world, reminded of something that was deeper and more personal than it seemed.

I stood there, unable to process everything that had just happened. She scoffed furiously then stomped out of the room, wiping away the tears that were spilling out.

Why would she be so sad about this issue? Could it be...that something similar has happened to her before? Had she also been hiding her perfect English this whole time, not wanting to interact with me at all?

Tears were welling up in my own eyes, and I quickly went back to folding my clothes. After clearing out my closet, I started gathering up my shoes and placing them neatly in plastic bags before they went into my suitcase. Hyojin and Jiwoo also stopped by the bedroom, but didn't say anything, and quietly left after getting what they needed from the room.

I collected my notebooks and accessories, putting them into my backpack. There really wasn't too much to pack up because I had tried to pack light on the way here. I'd be taking back with me everything that I'd brought here.

Except maybe my heart. 

Update update! 

Is anyone else NOT READY FOR EXO'S COMEBACK