Halcyon

"nnnnn" - Chinese    ;   "nnnnn"- Korean

Renjun stared wide-eyed as the elevator gave a soft bell toll when it finally came to a complete stop, and the doors smoothly opened, revealing a bare hallway.

It was hard for him to believe anything in the SM building could look so unappealing, everything had been so bright and glamorous on all the other floors. But this floor looked very…bland.

Their tour guide, Taeyong, swiftly exited the lift and cutely gestured for them to follow.

“And this is the dance studio floor, where you will probably be spending most of your time- literally,” he said, a soft, charming smile making its way onto his face.

Renjun had only met Lee Taeyong 3 days ago, but he already liked him. The alpha was kind and attentive, always trying to find ways to help them out as they settled into their new life under SM entertainment. The older trainee had a sharp, handsome face with round dark eyes, always filled with warmth. His long black hair flopping to the side, almost covering one of his eyes. The older boy was an idol dream- the face of a prince, with the body of a dancer.

Renjun had been intimidated by him at first, but Taeyong had quickly won him over with his warm charms and disarming smiles. And after watching the kind alpha help all of them the past three days, he could see why the other trainees said they viewed the handsome alpha as an unofficial mom of sorts.

Next, the older, taller beta of the group stepped out after Taeyong and cheerfully waved for the group to follow as well giving them a blinding smile.

“Don’t worry, it’s not as bad as Taeyong makes it sound- you won't be here ALL the time. Taeyong-ah is just dramatic.”

This is Johnny, a giant that towered over Renjun- which wasn’t hard considering how small he was. But Johnny wasn’t just tall, he was shockingly tall- one of the tallest trainees Renjun had met.

But once again, just like he had with Taeyong, Renjun had quickly grown fond of Johnny. Even though it had just been a few days, he almost couldn’t believe he had been scared of him when they had first met. Johnny cracked jokes left and right, yet he was firm when he needed to be serious. Renjun found himself seeking out Johnny whenever the older boy was in the room, always being drawn in by the beta’s comforting, friendly presence.

Most of the trainees seemed to view Johnny, as the ‘dad’ of the group. It was strange; the beta being the dad, the alpha being the mom- but he could definitely see their roles suited them well. 

“Jo~hnny” Taeyong whined, “Don’t tell them that!” the alpha gave a childish huff and stomped his foot in indignation.

‘Cute’ Renjun couldn’t help but giggle at the alpha's pouting.

Slowly everyone moved out of the elevator to stand awkwardly in a squished blob in the small hallway. None of them willing to step past the two older trainees before them.

Taeyong swatted at Johnny's arm with a playful glare. "I am NOT dramatic, you are the dramatic one"

As if one queue, Johnny let out a dramatic gasp and clutched at his arm as if the alpha had clawed it off, “T.Y track, why?!” the beta whined back.

Taeyong glared, "Baby" he taunted.

And so, the two went back and forth rapidly in Korean, firing off mock-insults at each other.

Renjun sighed, turning around to look at the confused faces of his fellow-new-trainees. 

On his far left was a very tall boy (second only to Johnny) whose name was Yukhei- not yet old enough to present, but had such an alpha personality that Renjun wouldn’t be surprised if the older boy presented as such. He was loud and obnoxious, but kind of adorable, like a giant puppy.

Next to Yukhei was the tiny Chenle, looking even smaller standing so close to Yukhei. He was younger than Renjun and unpresented of course. Chenle always had a mischievous smile on his face, and always had a good quip ready to go- too bad none of the other SM trainees could understand him. Chenle was hilarious.

Next to the small boy was a taller, lithe boy with sharp eyes and an even sharper jawline, his name was Sicheng. He was older than Chenle and Renjun but had a quiet and cute demeanor. Sicheng was like Taeyong, in that he was always watching over them and taking care of them. So Sicheng had quickly become his ‘Chinese mom’ and Taeyong his ‘Korean mom’.

Lastly, a slightly smaller boy, with a round face and warm eyes with a smile to match, stood huddled closely to Sicheng. His name was Kun, he was also older than Renjun and had presented as an omega just this year, or so Kun had told them. He was quiet and calm, like Sicheng, and always offered cute smiles whenever Renjun said hello. But they had yet to really get to know one another.

They all, including Renjun, had joined SM in the past week and are all being given the grand tour together today- the only problem was none of them spoke Korean.

Renjun was the only one in the group of new trainees who spoke Korean, having grown up learning both Korean and Mandarin.

He didn’t mind translating, but he felt ridiculous having to translate some of Taeyong and Johnny’s corny jokes, especially since most of their hilarity was lost in translation.

Sighing in slight annoyance Renjun began giving the four confused boys the shortened translation of what was currently happening behind him. The four boys surrounding him listened diligently, eyes darting between Renjun and the bickering duo behind him.

“Taeyong-ge says this is where the dance studios are, and we will be spending a lot of time here. Then Johnny-ge called him dramatic, then Taeyong-ge became angry and then-“

“Renjun-ah!” Taeyong cut him off, all eyes now turning back to the duo down the hall, “Don’t translate this- just- let’s just go to the studio okay? And you-” Taeyong gave Johnny one last annoyed glare, “stop interrupting” he hissed playfully out before approaching Renjun and giving him a pat on the head.

“Thank you though Renjun-ah, I’m glad you’re here, you are doing a very good job.” Taeyong ended with a sweet smile and quickly turned and gestured for them to follow but Renjun stood frozen in place, in shock from the warm hand that had just pet his head.

‘Di-did he just pet me? He’s proud of me?’ Renjun felt happiness blossom in his chest as he played the moment over and over again. He didn’t know why but he loved the affectionate attention Taeyong gave him- his anxieties always seemed to fade away.

And to be fair, moving to another country, leaving your family behind, and starting a career brought along crushing anxiety. It followed him around like a cloud every day since he had stepped foot in South Korea. So the slight brief respite from such anxiety was like a drink of water in the desert.

Renjun shook the thought away as he came back to himself, realizing the group was leaving him behind! Breaking into a swift jog, he caught up to the group that was already turning around the corner into the hallway.

As he rounded the corner, he spotted 4 doors lining the long hallway, two on each side. At the end of the short passageway, a pair of glass doors revealed a bridge? Connecting to another building?

His curiosity was almost immediately quenched by Taeyong who loudly proclaimed, “THESE are the dance studios, and across the way” he pointed to the glass doors, “Is another building with more studios and practice rooms”.

Yukhei raised his hand, looked to Renjun and asked, “Who is that?” pointing to his left, to one of the four doors that lined the hall.  The door had a small window covering the top portion allowing them to see inside the studio.

Curiosity got the better of him, he moved to the door before he translated the question for their guides. He felt the others crowd around him as well- all of them watching a graceful figure move around the studio.

At first, he couldn’t see their face, the figure was turned away from them and he couldn’t see the reflection clearly.

But he was mesmerized as he watched the dancer move with such fluidity, probably more than he would ever have. As they watched, the dancer in the studio began transitioning to popping, throwing one arm out after another with precision, adding quick twists of his wrist, only to send a whole wave down his body before lastly flicking out his foot to finish.

‘Woah’ Renjun watched with rapt attention, his jaw-dropping ‘he’s amazing!’

He would be jealous if he wasn’t so impressed. Renjun sometimes felt a bit clumsy himself when attempting to dance. Singing was more his strong suit- it’s what had gotten him into SM after all, but dancing- it would be hard for him to reach this level.

A larger body leaned in closely, nearly making him jump as their hair tickled his cheek. Effectively breaking him from his reverie. 

“Oh! That’s Yixing- Hyung, wait, I mean Lay!” Johnny tripping over his words for a moment but sounding happy nonetheless.

“What?!” Renjun burst out, eyes going wide in amazement.

‘That’s Zhang Yixing?!’ his eyes hadn’t left the dancer, who was now stretching and taking a break it would seem. He could finally see his face and it was confirmed- THE Zhang Yixing was right there!

Renjun’s eyes followed his every move as he internally freaked out. ‘That’s Lay, Lay’s here! I’m going to meet Zhang Yixing!’

Back in China Exo was becoming huge- and everyone had heard about the Kris and Luhan situation. Renjun had been a fan before all of that though- he looked up to the Chinese members as role models. It wasn't easy to be Chinese in the k-pop industry, but it had been Renjun's dream for the past year- and Exo'd had four Chinese members! Sadly, it was now only two, but Renjun had always been impressed by Exo-M's performance- particularly Lay. His soft high-pitched tone was similar to Renjun's, but the Changsha-born idol was also an amazing dancer to boot. Renjun could only hope to become like him someday.

Johnny gave him a curious look as Renjun’s eyes glazed over a bit.

“You okay there Renjun-ah?” looking back and forth between Renjun and Yixing, a knowing look quickly crossed his face, “Wait, I know that face” the taller beta leaned forward and poked Renjun’s cheek as he .

“You’re a fan aren’t you!”

Renjun had been knocked out of his stupor by the offending hand still poking at his cheek and he swiftly pushed said hand away as he flushed a bright red in embarrassment.

“Hy~ung it’s not like that- I mean, I like him- but I’m not a crazy fan or anything! I promise! I just look up to him- I mean, I’ve seen him on TV-I love Exo- they're great, and-“

Loud laughter cut his rambling off and one of Johnny's large hands settled comfortingly on his shoulder.

Johnny held his other hand over his mouth, trying to stop the stray giggles as Renjun pouted at him. “Why are you laughing at me hyung?” 

Taeyong stepped up and pinched his cheek lovingly, “Because you're so cute.”

Renjun’s brain short-circuited for a moment at the touch but this time he didn’t completely freeze up like before. His annoyance overriding everything else.

“I’m not cute”, he mumbled angrily, scrubbing at the place he had been pinched before turning away from the giggling duo. Only now he was staring at four very confused trainees, all of them staring at him imploringly.

It took him a moment to realize why they were staring so intently at him- they were waiting for him to translate!

 ‘Oh, crap- I completely forgot.’

“Sorry guys!” he gushed apologetically, cheeks flaring up once more in embarrassment, “Oh- um, so, yeah – that’s Zhang Yixing in the studio! He’s in Exo- His stage name is Lay”.

They all looked surprised and looked back and forth between Renjun and the door.

“That’s all?" Kun asked after a second, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What?" Renjun tilted his head questioningly, looking slightly offended, 'Do they not know who Exo is? Do they not like Exo?'

Quickly realizing his mistake, Kun put up his hands in surrender as he continued "Sorry- I mean, it's totally cool that Lay is in there. But I'm confused, why did they laugh at you?”

Like the flip of a switch, Renjun went from offended to embarrassed. Shyly scratching at the back of his neck, Renjun ducked his head apologetically “Oh, hehe - sorry Kun-ge, it's okay." once again he felt his cheeks warm up- he would probably permanently turn red at this point. "Johnny gege and Taeyong gege were just making fun of me” he mumbled out.

This time Chenle spoke up, “Why? They weren’t being mean were they?”

Renjun quickly looked back up, raising his hands in a placating gesture, “No, no, no, no, no – it’s not like that! It wasn’t bad, they just think I’m-”, he winced before admitting, “They think I’m cute because I was ranting about liking Zhang Yixing gege.”

Chenle giggled a little while the others simply smiled in amusement. Yukhei ruffled his hair and stepped forward to wrap one of his arms around Renjun’s shoulders.

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, it's okay to have a crush Jun” Yukhei crooned at him playfully.

‘Oh God, I’m never gonna live this down’ Renjun mentally groaned as he playfully pushed the giant puppy away. He wanted to find a rock and hide under it ASAP.

“It’s not a crush okay! I just really admire him.” Renjun groaned out, looking only half as annoyed as he felt. Still a bit wound up from Taeyong and Johnny’s teasing just moments ago.

Sicheng sent him a sly smirk, calmly stating, “We believe you Renjun-ah”. But by the look in the boy's eye, Renjun was one hundred percent sure he DIDN’T believe him one bit.

‘Arrgghh- why me?...’ With a sigh, he turned away from their smirking faces and looked back towards the dance studio.

To his surprise, Zhang Yixing was now sitting against a mirror looking like he wished the ground would swallow him whole. The Exo member’s eyes looked pained and he was curling up- like he wanted to make himself as small as possible.

At first, Renjun was worried Yixing had overheard them, ‘Had he heard what they said, was he embarrassed, was he mad?’. Zhang Yixing would have easily been able to understand everything they said, Korean and Chinese.

But not once did the Exo member glance over to the group at the door- if anything he seemed completely oblivious to their antics. The older idol just stared across the room of the studio with that painfully glazed look plastered firmly in place.

Renjun could hear the others moving on to some other topic, the sound filling up the space around him once more, but Renjun was now solely on the lonely figure on the studio floor. Drawn in by the haunting look on the other's face.

‘He looks…’

'Sad' was probably too light a word to describe the look on Zhang Yixing’s…but 'devastated' was too strong. The older boy before him seemed more…‘Sorrowful? Hurt maybe?’

It was hard to pinpoint, but it was obvious he was in a bit of distress. Renjun suddenly had the urge to find out why. Wanted to wipe that sad look off his face- it was just too sad to look at.

“We should go say hello” he found himself saying as he moved to open the studio door. Quickly an arm blocked his way and pushed him back a step, away from the studio door.

'What?' Looking sharply to his left he found it was Taeyong that had jumped forward, blocking his entrance into the studio.

Looking at him warily the alpha asked, “Wait, Renjun-ah what are you doing?” 

“Going inside?” Renjun answered, confused why Taeyong was trying to stop him.

Taeyong gave him a strained smile, “Look, Lay-hyung is super nice, I worked with him recently and I can confirm he’s like a literal angel-” Taeyong tilted his head to the side apologetically. “But Lay-hyung gets very serious when he’s in the studio, he doesn’t like interruptions.”

The boy before him paused before lowering his voice a bit, “I heard he even kicked Baekhyun-hyung out once because he was just sitting instead of dancing” Taeyong looked at him pleadingly, “so, let’s just go finish the tour and leave him be, okay? Johnny and I have to go soon and you guys have to go to your lesson right? So, let’s just leave him be, yeah?”.

Renjun understood what Taeyong was trying to do, but it didn’t stop him from wanting to step inside the studio and make sure the clearly distressed Exo member was okay.

“Sorry hyung” Renjun lightly pushed past Taeyong, “I’ll be back in a moment? Just give me a minute.”

Renjun hurriedly slipped through the door, hearing a chorus of “Renjun, no!” before the door closed soundly behind him.

The studio was larger than it had looked from the outside- lit from above by a smattering of track lighting. Leaving some areas bright and others in shadow. Zhang Yixing happened to be sitting in a shaded area, still curled up against a wall of mirror. The noise from the door closing must have been loud as it rang out through the silent room because a second later the older boy was on his feet. He gave Renjun a confused glance before his eyes darted around as if to check for other intruders.

When Yixing's wide eyes landed back on him he could see Yixing release a sigh of relief, his shoulders dropping a bit as he moved to lean back onto the wall. Trying and failing to look relaxed. Renjun could easily see the lingering sorrow in the other’s eyes.

‘Well this is awkward, great first impression Renjun!’ he berated himself as the awkward silence stretched on a few seconds longer. Both silently staring at the other.

“Hello-“

“Hi-“

Both froze as they spoke for the first time, overlapping their greetings, and becoming silent once more. Renjun blushed, bowing apologetically before politely pointing both his hands towards his sunbae, signaling for the older boy to go ahead.

Yixing smiled softly, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck.

“Hello" Yixing's voice seemed slightly deeper than Renjun remembered it to be from the videos he had watched. "Sorry, uh- I don’t think I know you little one. I’m Lay from Exo. Are you a trainee?” from his tone, Renjun could tell he was doubtful. Renjun couldn’t blame him though, he knew he looked small and he was pretty young for a trainee- but he had met Jeno and Jisung so he knew SM had much younger trainees than him.

“Yes, gege, excuse me- I’m sorry for interrupting you” Renjun gave a quick bow of apology, “I’m Huang Renjun, I’m new to SM Entertainment”.

“You’re from China?", Yixing seemed startled for a moment before a large smile broke out on his face and he moved forward quickly to shake his hand and pat his back.

"Where in China are you from? When did you audition? Have you moved into the dormitory well? How long have you been in Korea?” Yixing began slowly leading him towards a padded bench he hadn’t noticed before, tucked around the side of the studio, out of sight of the door. Question after question came streaming out excitedly, a glimmer of happiness sparkling in the older beta’s eyes.

‘He looks so much better when he’s smiling’ Renjun thought as Yixing pushed him to sit down before sitting down next to him.

“Can you speak any other languages? Did you join for dancing? Is that why you are here in the studio?” Yixing’s questions seemed to be never-ending, chittering excitedly like a little kid. A complete turn around from his apparent mood just moments ago.

 Renjun didn’t think this often of his elders, but this gege was adorable! He stared at Yixing, eyes wide in amazement, ‘Isn’t he nine years older than me? How is he so adorable?’

Sure, Zhang Yixing was sweet and cute on TV but this was a whole other level of cute.

Renjun felt his heart drop though as he remembered why he had even dared to enter the studio in the first place. Who or what had made Yixing sad?

Yixing must have noticed the shift in his demeanor because the older Chinese idol suddenly stopped talking, a look of worry passing over his face.

“Are you okay? Am I overwhelming you? I'm sorry, um-  Ren...Renjun? Right?” Yixing looked almost bashful, but the worry was still prevalent. Renjun just stared at him, 'He said my name! He knows my name!- well, duh, I just told him it- But he said my name!!' 

Yixing leaned forward a bit, asking softly as if not to scare him, “Are you okay Renjunnie?”

Renjun’s heart gave a little leap at the sweet way he called his name once more, ‘This gege really is so sweet- who hurt you?!’

Giving Yixing a reassuring smile he nodded, embarrassed that he had just malfunctioned in front of his idol. But he was on a mission, a mission to find out why Yixing was sad.

“I was a-actually going to ask you that gege” Renjun gulped, looking down guiltily, “I was watching you from the window, you were dancing and looked so amazing! But then...you looked sad so I wanted to come in see if you were okay…” he trailed off as his confidence bled away quickly. The more he spoke the more he realized how weird it sounded.

He refused to look up, he didn’t want to see the disturbed look Yixing was probably wearing after Renjun confessing to watching him like a creepy stalker. Renjun nervously he picked at the stitching on the couch cushion as he berated himself for making such a horrible first impression.

‘I’m so stupid, now he’ll never want to see me again, he probably thinks I’m a creep. Why did I even come in here? He doesn't know me, why did I think I could help? I-''

Renjun jumped as a slim, warm hand moved to rest on top of his own smaller hand- stopping his nervous fiddling. As he jumped the other hand withdrew slightly before carefully coming to rest pinky-to-pinky next to his own smaller hand. Silence filled the air as Renjun refused to look up and Yixing remained silent.

‘What’s going on? What should I say? What does he think-‘

“Renjun…” he still refused to look up, “Renjun, please look at me- I’m not angry with you.” At the pleading tone, Renjun finally swallowed his anxiety and looked up.

It was one thing for Yixing to say he wasn't angry, but it was completely different to actually see; Yixing’s face held all the warmth in the world. His eyes looked sad, but they looked upon him fondly, his mouth bent in a small, sweet smile. 

“Renjun,” Yixing started solemnly, “thank you for being kind and coming to check on me.”

Renjun’s mouth opened and closed as he tried to find the right words in his flustered state. "I'm sorry, it was wrong of me to just walk in here and interrupt, I'm sorry I did th-"

"No" Yixing cut him off firmly, "Don't be sorry for being kind, that's an important quality to have- especially in this industry". Yixing must have found his own words funny in some way because his mouth twitched upwards a bit, "Not many are. Kind, I mean...so don't be sorry."

Renjun, slightly stunned, as Yixing spoke to him. His embarrassment slowly faded away but his worry still remained.

"Gege," Renjun paused feeling uncertain. Wondering if he should ask what he had been dying to ask from the moment he had entered the somber studio, " I don't want to overstep my bounds. But you seem....unhappy?" Renjun was careful to word his question as lightly as possible.

Yixing scoffed, making Renjun internally freak out, 'Did I say something wrong again- oh crap! Why am I so bad at this?'

"Renjun, you don't have to walk on eggshells. I'm...I don't look that fragile do I?" 

Renjun eye's widened, "No! Of course not gege!"

Yixing gave him a playful side-eye, "Then why are you being so careful hm? Why not just ask what you really want to ask hmm?"

This time Yixing turned fully towards him, in the process, his hand moved as well, away from Renjun's- immediately he missed the warm contact. 

"Okay," he started, bolstered by Yixing's words, "What's wrong then gege? Why did you look so glum earlier?"

"Better" Yixing encouraged, grinning at him with a small, bittersweet smile. “I…I have many struggles Renjun. Just like you and everyone else- but right now it feels like the whole world is on one side and I...well I'm on the other, alone.” Yixing’s eyes hardened a bit, his small smile becoming a hard line, “You've probably heard everything about what happened last year, yes?"

Renjun nodded, he knew Yixing must be referring to the lawsuits. Yixing nodded as well, his expression progressively growing darker as he continued.

"I feel like everything came crashing down suddenly- and I feel like...it's as if nothing can ever be the same." He paused, looking away from Renjun to look across the studio, "Change is scary Renjunnie. And in this business life is already overwhelming" Yixing looked pained as he said the next part, "Make sure you have a good pack to stand with you okay? Willing to support you. Okay?"

Yixing took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as his eyes slid shut. For a second they remained closed, Renjun waited- holding his own breath, waiting to hear more.

Mouth twitching into a small smirk Yixing opened his eyes, "Breathe Renjun".

As if following an order he began to gulp in air, not realizing he had probably been holding it for so long. Yixing's bittersweet smile was still in place when Renjun finally looked back up.

"That's why I'm sad, you know." Yixing looked calm, but there was a tension around his eyes that qued Renjun in to how serious Yixing was being right now. "A pack is important in our society for a reason. They're your comfort, your strength," Yixing gave another deep sigh, "your everything".

Renjun was confused, "But you do have one- Exo is a pack, right? I'm pretty sure I read about it being official recently..."

Yixing eyes suddenly turned dull and his lips almost disappeared as he pressed them into a hard line, "mmm" Yixing hummed in a noncommittal way.

'Did something happen because of Kris and Luhan? Was his pack making him sad?'

As if sensing his thoughts Yixing added, "I'm sad because of my own actions Renjun. But-" he paused looking warily at Renjun, "pack is important, never forget that...always take care of yours...you'll need them by your side."

Renjun mulled over his words, wondering what had happened to make Yixing feel he had to give his such advice. He knew all about what had happened last year, the lawsuits SM, the 'Wu clan' scandal. But he had heard nothing much really about Exo's pack, just that they had only gone public recently.

Analyzing the firm look that had taken over Yixing’s eyes he could tell Yixing would not tell him more details.

'What could help him cheer up? Dancing-maybe. Food- likely. Cuddle pile-too soon?' 

"How" again he paused, doubting if he should ask- but the moment he spoke Yixing's earnest eyes caught his own and he decided it was worth the leap, "How can I help you feel better? Can we go to eat together sometime or get some ice cream?" he saw Yixing's eyes light up and knew he had chosen correctly, everyone loved food. "Taeyong-ge said we are eating out together as a group tonight, I know that might be too sudden, but if should be fun! Have you met any of the other trainees? They'll all be there."

Yixing shook his head warily, "Only one or two, I haven't had much time to meet anyone outside of Exo really..." he trailed off looking slightly embarrassed.

Renjun gave him a big smile in return, "It's okay, you can get to know them tonight and eat some really good food! How does that sound Zhang Yixing gege?"

For a moment the older beta looked at him wide-eyed before breaking out into a light laugh- his laugh made Renjun smile, it sounded genuinely happy. That was good, that was progress.

'His smile really is amazing' he thought as he observed the chuckling idol.

Yixing gave one last breathy giggle before finally answering, “You know you can call me Xing-ge, right Renjun? Zhang Yixing gege?” he guffawed, "that's too formal".

Surprise washed over him quickly, “A-are you sure?"

Yixing nodded his head, his bright smile bringing out a dimple on his left cheek, “ Of course! I will be there for you from now on- I want to make sure you are taken care of, we Chinese have to stick together. I’ll make sure to be there for you if you ever need me. So” he paused dramatically, standing up, putting both hands on his hips, “You may now call me Xing-ge and I will call you Renjunnie!”

The beta looked so happy and sounded so delighted that Renjun decided formality be damned! If he wanted Renjun to call him Xing-ge he would. He personally didn’t care for ‘Renjunnie’, it was a bit too cutesy for him. But if it was Xing-ge saying it? Maybe he could get used to it.

“Xing-ge” he carefully formed the word, trying it out.

Yixing was nodding in approval.

“Excuse me sunbaenim,”  both Yiixng and Renjun were wrenched from their little world by a soft call from the door, looking over he spotted Taeyong bowing just inside the entrance. Taeyong quickly stood and locked eyes with Renjun.

“Renjun-ah, you need to go to your lesson with the others. I walked them down already, to give you some time-” Taeyong paused, eyes darting to Yixing before moving back to stare imploringly at Renjun, “But Johnny and I have to go to our meeting- you need to go now or you’ll be late.”

Renjun quickly stood and bowed to Taeyong and turned to bow towards Yixing as well.

Taeyong quickly continued, “The study room is down the hallway, across the bridge, take the staircase to the left and then-”

“I’ll take him.” A light voice cut Taeyong off.

Renjun looked at Yixing in surprise.

Taeyong’s voice stuttered “I-I wouldn’t want to trouble you Sunbaenim.”

“Yes” Renjun jumped in, “It’s okay, I’m sure I can find it on-”

Yixing held up a hand to stop him, "Don't worry, I can take you it's not a problem Renjunnie", walking across the room to grab a small black bag from the corner before grabbing Renjun’s shoulders and moving them both towards the door.

Taeyong gave Renjun a wide-eyed look of surprise as they were quickly herded through the door, "Renjunnie??" he whispered under his breath.

Renjun could only give him a little shrug of the shoulders with a small smile before being pulled down the hallway by Yixing.

"Oh, Taeyong-hyung!" he stopped, turning to look back at the still gobsmacked alpha, "Can Xing-ge come to our dinner tonight? 

Renjun had been worried about Yixing at the beginning of the dinner. The beta seemed to only stick close to the Chinese trainees, giving them his full attention as they walked to the restaurant and then also as they waited for the others to show up. Yixing only gave a short wave and quick greetings as the others filtered into the room. Yixing seemed to be enjoying himself, yet Renjun was worried he would not open up to the others.

But he quickly found out he shouldn't have worried one bit. 

The whole night Yixing had that beautiful smile on his face, dimples out. He was laughing with Donghyuck and Johnny whenever they told their jokes, Yixing would chuckle as he listened to Dongyoung and Yuta lightly banter back and forth. He even saw the Exo member move seats to excitedly discuss music production with Taeyong and Mark after Mark mentioned he had been writing a song earlier that day.

And from what Renjun could tell, the other trainees seemed to fall quickly into a sense of ease around the older idol. It was a relief to Renjun- he had hoped this would be good for Yixing and it looked as if it was a complete success!

That is, until it was time to leave.

The moment Johnny mentioned they should wrap up, Yixing's eyes lost a bit of their light and his smile became a bit more forced.

Renjun struggled to move around the room as Yixing stood and left. He almost snapped at Donghyuck to move his chair out of the way so he could run after him but Johnny stood up- motioning for him to wait- and quickly left the room as well.  Renjun vaguely remembered Taeyong mentioning Johnny and Exo were friendly since their trainee days, 'hmmm, hopefully Johnny would be able to take care of him, I hope he's not leaving' Renjun thought sadly.

When Johnny came back he briefly leaned down to whisper into Taeyong's ear before standing and yelling out "Movie night! Everyone bring your stuff to the 3rd floor!" before leaving once more. Their dorms were only a few blocks away, situated on 3 separate levels of the same building. The third-floor dorm was the biggest and had the 'nest' for those who had presented already.

If they were going to the third floor they would definitely be doing a cuddle pile then. 

The thought brought a smile to Renjun's face, he hadn't been in a cuddle pile with the other trainees since he had arrived, but he had heard a lot about them from Jeno and Jisung. They were supposedly the best cuddle piles around and would completely relieve any stress you had.

As they stood to leave, Renjun cornered Taeyong, "Hyung? Why are we having a cuddle pile?"

Taeyong smiled, "Johnny-hyung convinced Yixing-hyung to stay with us and have a cuddle pile tonight. They just left to go get snacks while we head back."

That was a surprise for sure, "What? Really? Are you serious?" his voice rising with excitement. Taeyong just continued to smile, nodding calmly before turning walk out the door.

"Wait, all night? Doesn't he need to go to his dorm?" at the question, Taeyong paused, his smile slipping slightly. "Renjun-ah, don't worry about it, I'm sure it's fine." 

'Well that doesn't sound positive...what the heck is happening with Exo's pack' it wasn't the first time he had wondered that today, and by the looks of things he would probably never know the answer.

Seeing his annoyed expression Taeyong sighed and added, "It's not my story to tell and to tell you the truth, no one knows the full story...except for maybe Exo. So, just leave it be for now Renjun-ah. Get settled first before you try to go around saving the world- you've only been here for 3 days sweetie." Taeyong was obviously playfully joking with him, but Renjun couldn't shake the feeling that Yixing actually might need someone to save him.

"...alright hyung" Renjun acquiesced as they walked out of the restaurant and into the cold Seoul air.

'If no one else will, I'll make sure to help you Xing-ge. I'll debut and have an amazing pack, just like you said, and together we'll protect you. I promise.'

A/N: Yixing protection squad activated! :) 

So, hi guys! I hope you liked this little side story- it is Renjun Centric because it revolves around his viewpoint of first meeting Yixing and (for chapter 2) Yixing's first breakdown with them. So, it's about how NCT and Yixing bonded. Chapter 2 will have more Yixing I promise. And I'm slowly but surely going to be writing out all the side stories and the 2-shot sequel to Belated Bloom. It will probably take me a year or two to publish EVERYTHING, especially because I'll be starting a new ing chapter fic and will be updating that along with the Belated Bloom Universe series.

Anywho, love you! I hope you are staying happy and healthy! Also, go stream Lit because it is fire!!!! I literally lost my mind while watching the MV- it was amazing! :D Anyone else obsessed with H2O and Soul?

Love, Block_Exo