"If only. Those must be the two saddest words in the world."

— Mercedes Lackey

After what seemed like an endless wave of goodbyes and hugs, the eleven of them finally managed to escape Mrs. Park's hawk-like grasps.

One by one, they piled inside the van, with Woojin taking the front passenger seat and away from the rowdy idols. Chanyeol, Sehun, and Su Min occupied the second row while the rest of EXO partied in in the back.

As casually as he could, Kai tactfully sat himself by the window, just behind Chanyeol and Su Min to keep a closer eye on them. 

|| …………… ||

During the thirty-minute ride to the penthouse, the members quieted down, and talked amongst themselves about tonight's dinner and the upcoming Music Atlas, before eventually falling asleep in each other's arms.

Surrendering to the movement of the van, Chanyeol leaned his temple against Su Min's shoulder and naturally placed a hand on top of hers. Though he tried his best to keep his eyes open and watch the brightly lit road and towering buildings he hadn't seen for years, his tired self just wouldn't allow it. Soon, he too, passed out like the rest of them.

Unbeknownst to Su Min that Kai was still awake, she reached up and cupped Chanyeol's cheek with her free hand. She gazed down and quietly observed the soft features of his face, thinking back to the conversation they had during dinner about relationships and marriage.

Would this really be the face she'd be waking up next to every morning…in the future?

With the effects of their long flight kicking in, Su Min let the thought drift away to the back of her mind and settled her head against Chanyeol's, giving in to sleep herself.

Kai rested his head against the tinted glass and released a noiseless sigh. He stared at the two figures sitting in front of him, feeling slightly defeated. He had been watching nonstop as the physical and emotional distance between Chanyeol and Su Min progressively diminish since arriving in New York.

Far away from the watchful eye of the media, Chanyeol rarely restrained himself from showing excessive skinship while Su Min, on the other hand, no longer minded and had put most of her guard down. It was evident that between the two, every action was answered with a natural and welcomed reaction.

Recognizing this, a sense of envy started to boil within him. But rather than getting upset, Kai simply closed his eyes and let his anger transform itself into full-blown motivation.

|| …………… ||

The van stopped in front of a high-rise building with multiple valets standing guard, ready to open doors and welcome residents in.

They quickly woke up to Woojin's loud yawning as he stepped out of the car and slammed his door shut.

Too tired to care about how messy she must've looked, Su Min followed after him and waited beside EXO's manager for the rest of their party to emerge.

Despite the short distance they had to walk from the penthouse driveway to the elevators, the nine men tended to their physical appearances before daring to step out of the vehicle. Hair? Checked. Caps on? Checked. Hoodies over caps, face masks on, ironed clothes, fresh breaths…? All checked.

With their entire list crossed out, the nine members of EXO coolly and confidently stepped out one by one. But with no personal security attending to them, they were obviously cautious of loitering fans who might instantly charge at them.

Su Min and Woojin watched the spectacle in silence. She shook her head lightly and crossed her arms, letting out a quiet sigh. "Idols," she whispered to their manager, who replied with a tired smirk, knowing exactly what she meant.

With a set of keys in hand, she led them to the 49th floor like an experienced real estate agent showing a family of ten their new home for the next week.

Ding!

The elevators opened just some meters away from the white double doors leading to the penthouse. Now that they were actually there, Su Min became more and more anxious with every step, wondering if the room was actually prepared as well as her mother claimed it would be.

"Our luggage should already be inside," she stated as she unlocked the doors and revealed the fully decked-out, modern, and sparkling clean unit.

Similar to their reaction upon seeing Chanyeol's house, they gaped at how spacious the penthouse was.

"It's not a mansion, but I'll take it," Baekhyun commented as Su Min gave them a quick overview of the place.

Once the tour was over, she faced them for the final time before setting them loose. "There are five rooms in total and a sofa bed. I'm not sure how you want to divide yourselves up, so I'll leave that to up you. If you need anything, anything at all, just phone the front desk and they'll send it right away," she informed them, handing over a few spare keys to the place.

With that, the group of idols and their manager scattered to explore the remaining spaces.

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