[CONTENTID1] The Perfect Miss [/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]

Jongdae collapsed on the floor along with the other members of his group, EXO, as soon as he walked away, ending the dance practice.  His muscles ached as his lungs screamed for more air.  His hair stuck to his forehead as he rolled over, taking in the cold sensation from the floor.

Practices were always like that.  Really tough, but satisfying at the end.  He worked hard trying to perfect his dancing, even though some of those efforts were useless.  

As the other members rolled on the ground groaning, Jongdae crawled over and took large sips from his water.  He felt the cool liquid running down his throat, and he smiled into the bottle.  He sighed as he brought the bottle away from his lips when someone sat down next to him.  Jongdae jumped a little before realizing that it was only Baekhyun.

The other smiled at him.  “Hard, isn’t it?”

Jongdae scoffed.  “Well yeah!  You weren’t even trying!”

Baekhyun pouted and crossed his arms.  “Who says who wasn’t trying?”

“Nevermind,” Jongdae said, trying to stifle a laugh.  In truth, he knew Baekhyun was probably the most hard working person he had ever met.  He tried to be the best at everything he did.  Jongdae inwardly shrugged.  That’s probably why he found Baekhyun so attractive.

Before Baekhyun could say anything, Chanyeol and Kris came over.  “Hey, we’re gonna go out to get some BBQ.  Wanna join?”

Jongdae looked at Baekhyun before shaking his head with a smile.  “That’s okay.  I’m busy.”

He shot a suspicious look at Baekhyun, and the other gave him a small smile.  Jongdae hated that.  That smile could mean a number of different things.  He was unreadable, something that Jongdae can’t stand at all.  Busy with what?

“What about you, Chenchen?” Chanyeol chirped while throwing a hand over Jongdae’s shoulders.  “You wanna come with us?”

Jongdae opened his mouth to refuse, but his stomach answered first.  It growled loudly, and he frowned.  Shut up!  I’m gonna kill you later, tummy!

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Chanyeol said, grinning.  He linked his arm through Jongdae’s and was about to drag him out when Baekhyun put a hand on Chanyeol’s.  For a second, Jongdae could swear that the boy had an extremely dark aura about him.  It soon died away when Baekhyun shot a smile at Jongdae.

“Hey, Jongdae has to diet,” Baekhyun said.  “Especially with the Growl comeback coming up.  This kid has to lose some weight.”

Jongdae blinked.  Since when did he have to diet?  He wore the smallest sizes in the group.  Why would he need to go on a diet?  He actually needed to put on some weight to get the fans to stop worrying.

Kris smacked Baekhyun’s shoulder.  “Last time I checked, Jongdae was the shortest and smallest.”

“No, I’m not!” Jongdae protested.  “Kyungsoo’s the shortest!”

Kyungsoo, who was on the other side of the room, spat out his water all over poor Jongin and Sehun.  He turned and shot a glare at Jongdae.  “I’m what?”

“Nothing!” Jongdae squeaked, suddenly scared.  “,” he muttered inaudibly.  He, and anyone, knew better than to anger Do Kyungsoo the terminator.  Plus, he had a pretty strong punch in spite of his petite size.  Let’s say that you shouldn’t judge Kyungsoo by his cover, because he’s a pretty tough book.

Before Kyungsoo could slug him one, Jongdae held up his hands in defeat.  “I surrender!” he half-screamed.  

The rest of the members laughed at him, although Jongin and Sehun looked like they wanted to kill their dear hyung.  Kyungsoo looked away and sighed before going over and sitting on the couch in the corner.

“So BBQ?” Chanyeol asked quietly, which was a first.

“I’m in,” Jongdae said.  He turned to Baekhyun and nudged his shoulder a bit.  “Come on, Baek.  Don’t be such a party pooper.”

“I’m not the one who pooped the party in the first place,” Baekhyun said grumpily.  “Besides, there’s no party, and I’m tired.”

Jongdae pouted and clung onto Baekhyun’s arm.  “Come on.  It may be our last chance to go out before the comeback.”  He glanced at Baekhyun out of the corner of his eye.  “Please?”

Baekhyun sighed.  “Fine.”

Jongdae smiled victoriously, and the other members chuckled.  “Never knew you could be so charming, bro,” Kris laughed.  

In the end, the entire group hustled out of the practice room and out into the busy streets.  They went out the back way, careful to avoid sasaengs.  Even if that didn’t work, they still had their disguises.  It was all planned surprisingly well by the two maknaes.  

“Welcome,” a lady said with a warm smile as they walked into the restaurant.  “How many?”

“Eomma,” a young waitress whispered beside her.  “Don’t you know?  These boys are EXO.”

Jongdae smiled at the girl and put an index finger over his lips.  She nodded and looked away, smiling shyly.  The amused member chuckled a bit.

“If you know them so well, why don’t you seat them?” the lady said grumpily before walking away.

The girl nodded.  She grabbed a handful of menus before leading the group, avoiding their eye contact.  “This way, please.”

The group finally settled down at a long table in the back.  It was late, or actually early considering what time it was, so no one was inside the small restaurant.  It