Hyorin spent the next several days trying to get Nine high-profile, endlessly busy rock stars packed for tour. For the sake of her sanity, she tried her very best to stay as far away from Park Chanyeol as she could. Between the things he said to her and the way he looked at her, she knew it was going to be a challenge not to smack him across the face every time he opened his mouth. And she really didn’t want to lose her swanky, piece-of-cake tour gig. She planned to put in her time with the guys, but also to enjoy as much of the States as she could along the way. She still couldn’t believe she was even picked for the job. Last year at this time, she was an interning college student, trying to learn the in’s and out’s of the business, and look at her now – on tour with the biggest band in the world. It was a dream come true and she knew it.

“So, do you like your job so far?” Hyorin's boyfriend Kevin asked as she lay in bed with her cell phone perched on her ear.

It surprised her that he was even asking about it. The fact that she was going to be in the States, All the way from South Korea, but not with him was a sore subject between them. Kevin recently graduated college From UK and went back to the States for the summer. It was the plan all along for Hyorin to spend the summer with him in New York – they even rented an apartment together – but when she was offered the position with EXO, she couldn’t turn it down.

“Uh, yeah sure. I mean, the real job hasn’t really started, but I’ve been helping them get ready for tour and stuff and it’s been okay,” She told him.

“Hmm. Has that one said anything to you lately?” He asked sounding displeased. Hyorin knew which one he was referring to right away.

She made the mistake of venting to him about Chanyeol after their first meeting, which only made the distance between them worse. Kevin was worried about her, and Hyorin was worried that Kevin would find some sort of reason to turn everything right back around on her.

“Um, no. Not really,” Hyorin said, being vague on purpose. A flashback of Chanyeol's palm on her cheek stuck out in her mind like a bad dream – except it was a stark reality.

“I swear, that little creep better keep his hands off of you,” Kevin grumbled angrily into the phone.

“I mean, he’s not going to like, me or anything,” Hyorin said, furrowing her eyebrows, knowing she’d be better off closing her damn mouth, rather than giving Kevin these wild images to think about.

“He better not ing touch you,” Kevin snapped, causing Hyorin to cringe to herself. Yeah, she was an ace at putting her foot in .

Hyorin quickly looked around her small flat trying to think of something to say to change the subject.

“Just… just drop it,” she said when her brain came up short of ideas.

“I’m not going to drop it, Hyorin. I don’t like the idea of you going out on tour with this guy,” he said once again, for the millionth time.

“I am well aware where you stand on the subject, Kevin,” Hyorin snapped back at him.

“Yet you’re still going,” he hissed bitterly.

“Yes, I am. And you’re just going to have to get over that,” Hyorin told him, feeling a flood of annoyance that he was still trying to get her to ditch a once in a lifetime opportunity – an opportunity that would no doubt advance her career to heights she couldn’t even fathom. No, she was not going to quit any time soon.

“Get over it?” He scoffed, sounding quite angry over the phone.

“Just say it. Just ing say what you need to say, because I’m sick of the tension,” she snapped at him.

“You’re sick of the tension?” He said with a dark laugh.

“Yeah,” she said firmly.

“Well, I’m sick of you subjecting yourself to that little ’s bull. I’m sick of you going back there every day to put up with more. I think you secretly like it. Because he’s rich and famous and…” Kevin started.

“Are you kidding me!?” Hyorin yelled at him.

“No, I’m not kidding,” he shot at her.

“You think I like to be degraded like that!? You think I ask for it? That’s bull, Kevin. I can’t believe you!” she yelled at him.

“YOU KEEP GOING BACK!” He screamed.

“IT’S MY ING JOB!” Hyorin screamed back.

“It’s your job to be ually harassed!? I don’t ing think so, Hyorin!” He yelled.

“It’s not like that all the time, Kevin. I told you that. Everyone else it perfectly nice to me. It’s just him,” Hyorin told him once again, sounding like a broken record. It seemed like every time they talked, the subject of Park Chanyeol would come up.

“You must like it,” he said bitterly.

“How dare you even say something like that to me. What the , Kevin?” Hyorin said as the anger built up inside of her.

“It’s true!” He growled.

“Screw you, Kevin. Don’t call me until you can treat me with some respect,” Hyorin snapped.

“Kind of like Park Chanyeol—” Kevin began, but Hyorin took the opportunity to hang up the phone before she heard the end of his degrading sentence.

Kevin didn’t call back and she didn’t expect him to. She tossed and turned in bed that night thinking about Kevin – thinking about Chanyeol. Everything in her life was so upside down since she started her new job. She wondered if it would ever straighten out again.

In the morning as she was getting ready to go over to the massive house that the boys in Exo were sharing as they finished up recording their album and got ready for tour, her phone rang. After she raced across the room to get it, she saw Kevin's name light up the screen. She groaned inwardly as she took the phone call.

“Hyorin?” Kevin questioned.

“Yeah,” she said, sounding short on purpose. After all, he was the reason she barely slept the night before.

“Hyorin, I’m sorry,” Kevin said quietly. Hyorin stayed quiet, wondering if she even wanted to accept his apology.

“Hyorin?” He questioned a moment later.

“Hmm?” She hummed.

“Did you hear me?” He asked.

“Yes. But frankly, it doesn’t mean much…” she told him.

“It doesn’t mean much?” He snapped, sounding angry once again.

“Yeah, it doesn’t mean much when you don’t mean it,” Hyorin growled.

“What the , Hyorin?” Kevin scoffed.

“No. I’m over this, Kev. I’m over your disapproval. I’m over the fact that you can’t seem to trust me. You can’t see past the fact that there is a mildly good looking person that finds me attractive—” Hyorin began.

“So you do like him,” Kevin said, missing the point by a mile. Hyorin scoffed to herself.

“Goodbye, Kevin,” she said.

“Hyorin!” Kevin snapped just as she was about to pull the phone from her ear.

“What?” She asked.

“You’re breaking up with me?” He asked, sounding slightly emotional.

“It’s time,” she said quietly.

“Four years, Hyorin. FOUR YEARS! You’re throwing it all away!” Kevin started to yell, giving her the perfect opportunity to press ‘end’.

She took a deep breath and looked up at the clock.

“!” She gasped, realizing she was definitely going to be late. Wonderful.

As she sped through the streets, she wondered how much trouble she’d get in for being late. She hadn’t been late yet, so she didn’t really know what the consequences were and it scared her a little. She didn’t want to mess up.

Driving her tiny American car was a lot different than driving her Mother's old pickup truck back in Seoul. But luckily enough for her, she made it safely to the large mansion, ready to start her day. Only two days and counting until they loaded onto a plane to head To another state for tour.

Hyorin headed into the house, making her way to the kitchen, hoping she would make it in without anyone seeing her. But sure enough, as soon as she stepped foot into the kitchen, the refrigerator door closed and Park Chanyeol stood in front of her wearing only a tiny pair of boxer briefs.

“Christ!” Hyorin gasped at the sight of him

“Hello, love,” Chanyeol smirked at her, scratching his fingernails idly across his shoulder.

Hyorin's eyes dropped down to the noticeable bulge in his pants, before she quickly looked away. But apparently she wasn’t quick enough.

“Like what you see?” Chanyeol smirked.

“Right,” she scoffed, trying to act as if her face wasn’t blushing a bright crimson.

“He’s really friendly,” he said, grabbing onto his crotch.

“Oh, Jesus. Please stop,” Hyorin growled, setting her bag down on the counter.

“He can make you see Jesus if you want to take a ride,” Chanyeol said, still talking about his .

“Wow. Get over yourself. Nobody wants anything to do with your little friend. Especially me,” Hyorin scoffed, rolling her eyes at him.

“Are you sure about that?” Chanyeol smirked at her.

“Gross,” Hyorin said, trying to shake off the disgusting feelings he was giving her.

“You’re lucky I like you, otherwise I’d have to report the fact that you’re almost a half hour late,” Chanyeol said to her as he turned to make his way out of the kitchen.

She glared at the back of his head as he departed and hoped that karma would take over and make him trip going up the stairs or something.

 

The next two days were spent catching the shipping tour equipment and then taking them and the guys’ personal belongings to another part of states for Concerts. It was stressful, but necessary. She just hoped everything would make it in one piece, including herself.

When the time finally came to getting on the plane for New York, she was filled with a sense of relief and excitement. It was finally happening. Her adventure was beginning.

Hyorin spent the first hour of the flight in first class with an empty seat next to her. She had never flown anything but coach on nothing but full airplanes before, so the space and freedom of first class was a luxury she had never known.

She spent nearly half the flight sleeping in her cushy seat, only to arise with a seatmate next to her.

“Never thought you were going to wake up,” Chanyeol said, grinning at her from the seat next to hers.

“What are—what are you doing?” She asked, feeling a little disoriented.

“Baekhyun was drooling on my shoulder. I thought I might get a bit better company up here,” Chanyeol told her.

“You thought wrong,” Hyorin snapped at him.

“Did you wake up on the wrong side of your very expensive first class seat?” Chanyeol asked her.

Hyorin blushed rapidly. She felt bad for snapping his head off, especially since it was the guys’ idea to have her bumped up to first class with them, which really wasn’t necessary.

“Sorry,” Hyorin mumbled, looking out the window at the dark gray sky. It was sure to be night by the time they got to New York. But she couldn’t imagine anything better than seeing the lights of New York from far above.

“I made sure to put my say in when the bus schedules were being planned,” Chanyeol said, ignoring her apology.

“What does that mean?” Hyorin asked, furrowing her brow in question.

“You’re with me, sweetheart,” he smiled, before sending her a wink.

Hyorin groaned and rolled her eyes before looking out the window again.

“Don’t fight it. Or do. That might be fun,” Chanyeol said, patting the top of her thigh before he got up and moved back to his own seat.