Sandra stared at her wrist watch. The director had said the EXO boys were five minutes away, twenty minutes ago. The thought of them getting lost was clear in all of their minds 'Maybe you should go around town' they had said 'it'll be fun, you can even get coffee on the way back'.  Well Sandra will tell you; this was anything but fun. She was sweaty, hot and having 9, twenty-something year olds following her around like nine very tall lost puppies wasn't half as fun as the director had forced her to believe.

It seemed almost as if the world had turned against her for just this very hot Monday afternoon because when they finally reached the cafe where Sandra thought she'd get a nice cool cup of iced coffee, it turned out that unlike the rest of the world, this cafe didn't open on Mondays.

"Are you alright?" Park Chanyeol, one of the many EXO members asked, standing beside Sandra as she stared at the Closed sign in front of the cafe door that seemed to be mocking her.

EXO had flown over to her country to film their music video; getting hired to work for a kpop group as big as EXO was almost like a dream to Sandra; she had the language skills the director needed to be the translator and had enough knowledge on the group to not need formal name introductions; even though they had all introduced themselves anyways.

"I'm fine. Let's just go to the shooting site already. We only have a week to film this whole thing, and we are already late." She said softly, pulling up her glasses as they slipped down her nose before tying up her long brown locks into a messy pony tail.

The walk was long and the conversation strained after a few minutes; all of them too annoyed at the hot weather to bother with small talk; Instead the only conversation was "how long do we have left?" from the small crowd of guys and "are we there yet?" every time they passed by a building.

When they finally reached the shooting site Sandra felt as if she'd melt any second, she hardly had a moment to catch her breath before the director was asking her to translate his orders onto EXO "The director says you all need to go to the tents where we have our makeup artists, stylist and hair dressers. I'll take you there," she explained hastily, her hand motioning in the direction of the tents. They all seemed pretty pleased with their waiting room/dressing room when Sandra opened it up for them. "Sandra, explain the concept." the main stylist ordered.

Sandra spent the rest of the day following orders and doing errands for basically the whole crew; only getting half an hour to have dinner she decided on getting food in the canteen the crew had set up for the week.

Eating cold leftover cheese pizza with a Sprite was the best part of her day, and that was saying a lot. Taking a bite of the cheesy goodness Sandra hummed softly "Is it good?" she heard a deep voice from behind her ask, turning around she came face to face with Chanyeol, whom smiled widely and took a seat in front of her, "It's really good!" Sandra said softly, grinning before looking at him with raised brows -she could never raise just one like the cool people in all those movies she loved- “Why are you here?" she asked, taking a sip of her Sprite as Chanyeol smiled lazily at her, Chanyeol had been the friendliest one out of the 9 guys, she guessed, the rest hadn't really said much, or maybe he was just talkative.

"Yixing is filming his part and the rest are strolling so I decided I'd see what Sandra the great translator was up to" He explained, his smile never altering, maybe kpop idols really are robots made by the government Sandra thought, his never changing smile was starting to creep her out, how could someone just be that happy naturally?

Sandra spent the rest of her dinner break talking to Chanyeol, or rather listening to him ramble on and on about anything and everything, she didn't mind really, the company was nice but she still got lost once or twice when Chanyeol would use complex Korean words she hadn't heard before. It wasn't like he actually noticed though; he was too busy talking animatedly about the new anime he and Jongin had started watching that was just so, so, so good. Once she was done with her food they both headed back to where the filming was happening. Where Minseok was walking away from the camera only to trip on one of the cables in the ground and nearly falling on his face, Chanyeol snorted as Sandra's eyes widened slightly, the older simply walked it off while smiling sheepishly at the cameraman who had to reset the camera's position.

The brunette spent the rest of the night watching as they filmed, the bright artificial lights made them all look nearly perfect.

When the first day of filming finally ended it was twelve at night. The next day they'd need to get up extra early to go to their next location.  EXO's ride arrived quickly after the filming was done and Sandra wondered why they hadn't been driven there in the afternoon, she held back the question and bid them goodbye, beginning to walk toward her house.

Within the next few days Sandra got to know the boys much better, it turns out they weren't as quiet as she had hoped for, they were all loud and obnoxious; spending half of the time they weren't filming mocking Sandra's Korean and the other half simply pestering her with dumb nicknames and stupid puns not even they found funny. As much as she wanted to complain; she was getting paid for hanging out with a bunch of attractive guys, who could really be mad about that?

"Hey" Sandra heard from behind her, she was helping the crew out by carrying a few boxes into the van, being the third day of filming; they had to hurry up and pack so they could go to the third location; one of the stylists had pulled her aside and forced- I mean asked her to help pack the van while the guys got their makeup done. Sandra was glad to get away from the smell of hairspray and takeout food, so she quickly agreed and walked out of the tent before Chanyeol and his stupidly contagious smile asked her where she was going.

Chanyeol stood in front of her, grinning as he usually did before offering to help her with the boxes "They look heavy. Let me give you a hand" he insisted "Your outfit will get dirty. Go back inside" Sandra ordered softly, smiling at the freakishly tall boy while walking past him "Come on! Let me help" Chanyeol insisted, grabbing the box on top from the two boxes Sandra was carrying "Thanks" she murmured, it was a nice gesture and though she wouldn't admit it her arms felt like they were about to fall off from the weight of the two boxes.

Chanyeol ended up helping her finish loading the car, the small talk and jokes were nice and they finished before Chanyeol was called on set, without getting any stains on his clothes which was a plus "I'll totally pay you back for your help" Sandra stated while smiling at Chanyeol; whom grinned "How about you pay me back with dinner?" he asked softly "Your treat of course" he added, earning a soft laugh from Sandra as she nodded her head in agreement "Deal. I'll buy you dinner as thanks." she agreed, earning a huge smile from Chanyeol as the male nodded "Alright, tonight sound good?" he asked, Sandra nodded while smiling "Sure tonight when you are done filming we can go grab dinner." she agreed.

Is this a date? Sandra wondered as she walked side by side with Chanyeol, the filming had ended earlier than intended at 8 pm, which meant they weren't as hungry as they would have been if they had ended at midnight like the past few nights. Chanyeol had decided on them eating pasta, Sandra agreed, "Pasta is my favorite food" she stated while grinning, they both walked on a steady pace, both walking side by side for most of the way. "So have you ever traveled?" Chanyeol asked, making conversation as they made their way down the crowded streets, the pasta restaurant Sandra had recommended was a bit far from the filming site but Chanyeol didn't seem to mind. "Outside of here? No" Sandra said, her gaze focused on the road ahead of her. "Really?" He seemed almost shocked, the normality of traveling in his career made it hard for him to think of the fact some people had never traveled outside of their country, Sandra nodded her head gently "Really." she smiled "Maybe one day you can come visit me in Korea?" He suggested, soft laughter escaping his lips as Sandra gently nudged his side with her elbow "Only if you pay for the ticket" she joked gently, "What am I, made of money?" Chanyeol said in mock offence.

The rest of the evening went by smoothly, their conversations went from the difference in weather, to the type of music they liked, to their families to the meaning of fortnight. After dinner Chanyeol offered to walk Sandra home, but after they both thought about it they decided on Sandra walking him toward his hotel instead, 'Don't want a kpop idol lost in a strange city, now do we?' Sandra had insisted as she and Chanyeol walked in the direction of his hotel.

"We should do this some other time" Sandra said as they finally reached the front of the hotel Chanyeol was staying in "Maybe. When you come visit me in Korea" Chanyeol responded, his eyes focused on hers as she grinned up at him "Maybe." she repeated, if it had been an actual date, this would be the part where Chanyeol kissed her, Sandra figured, she hadn't gone on many dates but she guessed that's what usually happened after you walked someone home. "I'll see you tomorrow" Chanyeol said swiping his tongue over his dry lips before smiling brightly as Sandra nodded "See you" she said softly, turning around and beginning to walk toward her house.

The next few days were spent in the other filming site, the boys hardly had anytime to goof around, instead being busy acting and dancing while lip-syncing to the song. Sandra was hard at work as well, having no time to think what her date with Chanyeol meant when she was busy translating 9 boys whom sometimes talked all at once, her head hurt after every dumb argument she had to translate.

The week went by in a breeze and before she knew it EXO were wrapping up their last day filming, Sandra held back showing her disappointment, although they had all acted as annoyingly as her younger siblings she couldn't help feeling sadness and disappointment at the end, would she ever see them again? Was that the end of their story? She wondered, staring at the boys as they bowed and said their thanks to the crew, she translated quickly before smiling at the nine, still very tall boys whom she had grown fond of in the short week

"We'll miss you" Baekhyun said loudly before pulling Sandra into an awkward hug, hugging back Sandra laughed "You can always come back and visit me any time you guys want" she said, as if it was just one town away instead of an ocean "If you're ever in Korea. Text us and we'll buy you yummy food" Sehun said, she nodded, "I'll be sure to hold you to that" Sandra said while smiling at the boys, "I'll miss you guys" she stated, letting a few of them pet her hair.  Chanyeol smiled before hugging her gently when they had all finished saying their goodbyes to her "Text me when you get home safe" Sandra said, patting Chanyeol's back gently and pulling away "I will, and we'll keep in contact so don't worry." Chanyeol stated, his hands gently petting Sandra's hair while smiling.

Just like that Sandra's week with EXO ended, they still kept in contact, having a group chat in kakaotalk with all nine which kept her entertained, and Chanyeol kept his promise about texting her when he got home, he also called, very long phone calls filled with long rants in quick Korean that made Sandra's head hurt when she hung up.

Days turned into weeks and weeks into months, as Sandra's friendship with EXO grew so did her feelings for a certain big eared giant whose smile was not as bright through a computer screen as it was in real life. Sandra continued working her in all the odd jobs and part times she could find and started saving money, hoping one day she'd be able to visit Korea, it wasn't really about Chanyeol why she wanted to visit Korea, she wanted to learn more about the culture, visit all the places she had always dreamt about going to; being able to see the boy was a plus. Having someone she knew there made her feel much more comfortable with the thought of visiting a foreign country on her own.

After a few months of hard work Sandra could finally say she could go to Korea, she had found a cheap flight in one of those flight discount sites and had texted Chanyeol the date, which turned out to be the perfect time, no big events or awards were on that week and he promised to help her find a cheap hotel to crash in that had nice rooms; Sandra was set, the butterflies on her stomach never leaving her alone due to the thought of finally going on such a huge trip.

Before she even knew it, Sandra was in a direct flight to Korea, the thought of getting on a plane had been frightening at first but once she was in the air, a strange calm washed over her. She watched movies, read the book she had brought along with her and slept through most of the flight. The ten hours on the plane passed quickly to which Sandra was happy about.

When Sandra finally got out of the plane and went through the checkout it was 10 pm in Korea Standard Time, she was exhausted and couldn't wait to get to her hotel room, hailing a cab in front of the airport, she got in and told the driver the hotel directions.

The drive went by quickly as she stared out the window, watching the Seoul scenery pass by her, the skyscrapers whichs lights shone as bright as Christmas lights made her feel as if she was in a movie, everything was so different from her hometown it made her overwhelmed. Reaching the hotel made her even more breathless, the cheap hotel Chanyeol had helped her book was extremely nice for such a cheap price, she hadn't really expected much but everything so far seemed flawless.

The next day was spent wondering around Seoul, she had gotten a call from Chanyeol asking her to dinner, which she had gladly accepted, but the dinner plans were hours away which left her the time to investigate the city. Eating a quick lunch she headed for a few tourist attractions she had heard of when researching for her trip, buying souvenirs for her family on a few small shops she had ran into and a few gifts for some of her friends back at home.

The day went by quickly as she investigated and bought things and before she knew it was 6 pm, Sandra quickly made her way back to the hotel room to get ready for what she hoped was a sort of date, getting dressed and doing her makeup after taking a quick shower before heading down to the lobby to wait for Chanyeol. It turned out she didn't do much waiting, when she hoped out of the elevator she quickly spotted the tall boy, standing in the lobby, his head stuck out from the crowd around him, a bunch of tourists whom were doing the line for check in stood around him. "Hey" Chanyeol said making his way toward Sandra while smiling that bright smile of his, "Hey" Sandra replied, trying to sound cool and collected, like she hadn't been waiting months to finally see him once more. "Shall we go?" Chanyeol asked, his gaze trained on her as Sandra nodded and smiled brightly.

As they made their way through Seoul's busy streets the same question Chanyeol had wondered months before when they had gone to dinner was present in his mind once again 'Is this a date?' he didn't dare ask but he still hoped it was, and maybe some part of Sandra hoped it was too; Chanyeol wondered as he became brave and  gently grabbed a hold of her small hand, pink dusting his pale skin as he walked beside her "What do you want to eat?" he asked, his eyes focused on the road in front of them as they walked side by side "Pasta" Sandra suggested, to which Chanyeol agreed on.

As they walked into the pasta restaurant Chanyeol wondered if maybe this time the unofficial date would end in a kiss.

FIN