"And one thing always remained as I moved on. I saved a little bit of love just in case you would ever return home."

― Robert M. Drake

Su Min refrained from answering and closed her eyes, patiently anticipating his soft lips to come in contact with hers. But as he went in for the kill, his phone began to ring, ruining the moment.

Chanyeol fell back on the bed and laid there beside her. With both eyes shut tight, he let out a grunt of frustration, making her laugh. He sluggishly sat up and answered his phone with a sulky expression while she crawled out of bed and ironed out her clothes, waiting for him to finish the call.

"Okay hyung, yeah, I understand," he sighed into the speaker before hanging up. Chanyeol forced himself off the mattress and stood in front of her with a huge frown on his face. "Sorry, but I have to go," he informed her, his tone riddled with disappointment.

"No, it’s fine. I’ve kept you long enough," Su Min replied and gave him a cheerful smile as they walked to the door.

Before reaching for the knob, Chanyeol turned around and took her into his arms for the nth time, resting his chin lightly on top of her head. "I can't believe you're finally here," he whispered happily.

Su Min wrapped her arms around his waist and broadened her smile. "Neither can I," she replied.

When she left six years ago, she thought she’d never return, or that it’d be a while longer before she did. But then she was given this reason to come back—one that was too difficult to ignore. If it wasn’t for Chanyeol, she would have never even considered accepting this job. It if wasn’t for Chanyeol, she would have never left the comfort of her daily life back in New York. If it wasn’t for Chanyeol, she would have never chosen to return to the bittersweet memories she had forced herself to forget.

After a few more seconds, Chanyeol finally released her and planted a light peck on her forehead, "I'll see you later."

Su Min responded with a nod and saw him off.

Interestingly, this very scene reminded her of a wife sending her husband off to work and she couldn't help but wonder: in the near future, will it actually be Chanyeol who would play this role like everyone expects…or?

As he made his way down the hall to the elevator, he turned around and continued to walk backwards. "Bye!" he shouted from the distance, waving his arm excessively over his head, "I can't wait to introduce you to my members! They'll definitely be surprised!"

Su Min waved back and smiled, trying to contemplate what exactly she was feeling. In all honesty, she was only half—or rather 8/9th—excited. Meeting the remaining seven members of EXO would be amazing, but reencountering that person from her past was not really something to be enthusiastic about.

She kept her eyes trained on Chanyeol’s diminishing figure and let his words echo in her head, "They'll definitely be surprised!"

"Yes Chanyeol, he will definitely be surprised," she whispered to herself as her best friend disappeared around the corner.

Once he was finally out of sight, Su Min went back inside, unpacked her bags, showered, and took a quick nap before heading to SM Entertainment for her unofficial first day of observing and assisting EXO with their upcoming programs, interviews, and concerts.

|| …………… ||

Later that night at around seven, just as rush hour was dying down, Su Min took a taxi to Cheongdam-dong, a roughly twenty minute drive from the condo.

She exited the cab and looked up to the sky with her hand blocking the setting sun.

In front of her stood SM Entertainment, the entertainment giant that produced some of the biggest and well-known soloists and K-pop groups around the country and the world. Gazing at this towering blue building, she could only imagine the hundreds of thousands who had auditioned here for a chance to make their dreams reality, including him.

She switched her gaze to the clear glass doors and took a deep breath to clear her mind. This was it—this was the point where her present and her past would finally cross.

As she entered the building, she was instantly greeted by multiple posters hanging from the high ceiling. She carefully observed them with such admiration, easily recognizing each artist after having diligently studied the agency and all of its debuted groups and individuals.

Fascinated, Su Min let her eyes wander from poster to poster, naming each featured singer quietly in her head. After she finished with the left, her attention shifted to the first poster hanging to her right. Her pair of dark brown lenses froze in an instant. As if being hypnotized by the nine faces staring down at her, she walked closer to them with careful steps.

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