"That’s the beauty of argument, if you argue correctly, you’re never wrong."
— Christopher Buckley

It had been a little more than two months since Su Min came back to Korea and so far, everything was bittersweet—that is, 8/9 sweet, 1/9 bitter.

On the sweet note, her bond with the remaining seven members had reached a whole new level. Instead of having an outside observant to idol relationship, the relationship blossomed into a close friendship worth years to create. Whenever they had time to spare, the guys always try their best to help her adjust to her new life and the ever-increasing work load she was tasked to do. 

On the bitter end, Kai had been avoiding her as best as he could and treating her as if she was nonexistent. The coldness and hatred in his eyes were no longer present, but the feeling of animosity remained, hidden behind his empty gazes of unfamiliarity.

|| One Week before the Private Mini Concert ||

|| EXO's Dorm ||

Having participated in Happy Together the day before, all nine members were still caught up on the show's topic of old love.

As they got ready to head over to SM, many curiosities and matters about each other's past relationships became the talk of the room. Inquiries ranged from innocent ones such as "when was your first kiss?" or "who was your first love?" to R-rated comments along the lines of "of course by xx (age) I've already passed all three bases…and even hit home run".

While the seven guys swapped information back and forth, trying to outdo one another, Chanyeol innocently questioned a silent Kai about his own take on lost love. "What if the one that got away came back?" he asked casually as he put on his hoodie.

Taken by surprise, Kai froze on the spot, but quickly regained his composure seconds later. "Actually…she has," he whispered as he resumed buttoning up his shirt.

"What?" Chanyeol replied, unable to hear what his friend mumbled to himself. "Wait, what did you say?" he asked once more as he walked over to Kai, hoping the face of EXO would repeat his answer. However, Kai just gave him a half-smirk and fixed his own shirt collar.

"Nothing. Let's go," Kai responded and made his way out the door after the others.

"Ya! Kim Jongin!" Chanyeol yelled after him, following his trail, "I couldn’t hear you! Ya!"

Knowing Chanyeol wouldn't be too fond of his answer, Kai simply raised a hand in a "shoo-away" motion, dismissing the subject.

|| Conference Room ||

At around six in the morning, Su Min arrived at SM for a (hopefully) brief meeting with EXO and Woojin. Today's discussion was regarding the group's exclusive mini concert at a private high school to be held in a week's time. Still exhausted from last night's work, she rushed upstairs with an armful of research materials and a tumbler of coffee to keep her awake for the long day ahead.

With the long list of tasks she needed to complete and submit before noon, it would be best if everything went smoothly—but of course, her sixth sense told her that wasn’t going to be the case.

Su Min entered the room and found all nine members already seated comfortably. They were chugging down their breakfast, eight of them only pausing briefly to acknowledge her arrival with a wave.

Despite having a massive headache and lacking energy, she greeted them with a cheerful "good morning!" and a bright smile. After all, who was she to complain? Their schedule was just as hectic as Woojin's and hers, maybe even more.

She made her way towards the front, seating herself next to Chanyeol and awkwardly across Kai, whose smile quickly faded with the sight of her.

For the past two months, this had been his automatic reaction.

And since then, Su Min had gotten used to it—or rather, getting used to it.

After a few more minutes of waiting, Manager Woojin finally arrived and swiftly started the meeting. He sat down at the head of the long table and released a loud sigh, dropping a stack of paper on the polished wood.

Obviously, today wasn't his day either.

"ST4R just got cut," he informed everyone with a frustrated tone. ST4R was a recently debuted girl group that was supposed to open for EXO. "And your concert’s been extended for another hour and a half," he added in a lower voice, preparing for the objections to come.

"What?" Suho started, swallowing a mouthful of spinach omelet, "What do you mean extended? Up to now, we've only been practicing for the time specified in the contract."

"I mean we can cover for ST4R’s two numbers at most, but with our schedules packed, I don't think we'll be able to come up with and practice something to fill the additional time," Sehun commented as he looked to s.

"That's right. Besides everything's already finalized—the soundtrack, light show, stage costumes…" Baekhyun added immediately after him, "Aren't they asking for a little too much?"

"On top of that, we all have filming right after the concert," Chen complained.

Woojin let out another heavy sigh. "I know. I'm aware of that―all of that―but the favorite niece of the university's president came for a surprise visit, and she claims to be a big fan of EXO. The president already talked to SM higher ups to get it approved. Since there’s no way around it, we have no other choice but to make it work," he explained, sounding completely stressed out. "So please, stop with the objections and start thinking of ideas," he ordered, hoping for a plan that would require the least bit of effort.

|| …………… ||

"Anything come to mind?" Woojin asked as he raised his lowered head. The ten of them had been collectively thinking in silent for the past ten minutes while Su Min bit her tongue and anxiously observed. Researching all aspects of group formation, preservation, and fall out—including responses to unexpected changes—was what her job mainly called for. She was instructed to offer advice only when it was absolutely necessary.

In response to their manager’s question, EXO shook their heads with knitted brows. It was apparent they were still trying to get over the frustration brought by the sudden changes, and didn't bother to brainstorm as instructed.