"Part of me aches at the thought of her being so close yet so untouchable."
— Nicholas Sparks
 

For a moment or two, Su Min was met with those eyes she fell for so long ago. But unlike before, seeing them in person, those very same eyes were now so distant and so foreign.

Time sure did work magic. She thought.

It didn't take long till she was forced to break from his startled gaze. She couldn’t, for another second, take the sight of him.

When the song finally died down, the other eight members were on the verge of collapsing—each one panting after the other, completely exhausted from the long day's practice.

Of course, after Kai, Chanyeol was the one to notice her next. He greeted Su Min in secret and hurriedly exited the room after being summoned by their lyricists.

Though she had diverted her attention away from him, Kai remained mute and frozen. He kept his eyes locked on her reflection while the song they just finished played in his head like a broken record.

Yes Jongin, I’m finally back. Su Min thought to herself as if to confirm what must’ve been going through his mind.

Feeling uneasy, she looked to the remaining seven members still unaware of her presence.

Just as Suho, D.O., Lay, Sehun, Baekhyun, Chen, and Xiumin readied to flop themselves down on the floor, Woojin cleared his throat loudly.

The tired idols grunted in unison and were quick to express their discontent of having their short break already interrupted. "Ah hyung!" Chen whined as he sat down on the cold linoleum. With creased brows, he glanced up to face their manager, "What now?"

"Can't you at least just let us breathe for a second?" Xiumin added as he fanned himself with his hand.

Woojin made a face and stared at both men, baring his teeth. "Aish…" he breathed out, but immediately converted the word into a fake cough after remembering who was standing right behind him. Embarrassed by his boys' comments, he looked over his shoulders and bowed his head in apology, "Sorry Su Min. I was asked not to tell the rest of them you were coming, so they weren't able to better prepare themselves."

"No, no, it's fine. I really don't mind," Su Min assured him, waving her hands.

Except for Kai's, whose unmoving eyes never strayed away from her reflection, her response promptly caught the remaining members' attention.

After hearing what she was later told was "a sweet angelic voice", the seven scrambled to their feet, quickly transforming themselves into well-behaved gentlemen. They quickly formed a line with hands clasped neatly in front of them like soldiers awaiting command.

"One, two, three," Suho started, instructing the rest of s to follow. "Annyeonghaseyo, EXO-imnida," they greeted together and bowed in sync.

Going down the line, they began their individual introductions with a formal bow:

"Hi, I'm Kim Junmyeon or Suho, leader of EXO," Suho stated coolly with a timid smile.

Next down the line was Sehun, who introduced himself rather shyly, "Hello. Oh Sehun or just Sehun."

"I'm Kim Minseok or Xiumin," Xiumin greeted after him with a half-smile.

"Hi, Kim Jongdae or Chen," Chen followed, flashing a soft smirk.

Lay rose from his bow with a cheerful peace sign, "Zhang Yixing or Lay."

After him was D.O. who nicely welcomed her to their studio, "Hello, I’m Do Kyungsoo or D.O. It's very nice to meet you."

The second to last was Baekhyun, who, instead of bowing, extended his arm into a handshake. "Hi, Byun Baekhyun or just Baekhyun," he greeted, adding a playful wink, "but you can call me oppa."

Haha. I could see why Chanyeol warned me about him. Su Min thought.

She stepped forward and shook Baekhyun’s hand without responding to his bold suggestion—mainly because most of her focus was directed towards the person next to him.

Before she faced the final member in line, Su Min took a silent breath and cleared the anxiety coursing through her veins. She slowly turned her body towards the familiar stranger, meeting him eye to eye.

The two of them stood motionlessly without breaking from each other’s gaze.

As if time stopped, the moment of stillness engulfed them entirely. Being this close after years of being so far apart reawakened the pain that had been buried and forced to be forgotten.

Unable to look at him for another second, Su Min finally broke from his intense gaze and stared at the floor. With a racing heart, she waited nervously for his introduction—will he choose to reveal their past or pretend that the two of them were complete strangers meeting for the first time?

"Kai," he finally spoke with a stony voice, concluding the heart-rending silence.<