"Dialogue that is bolded is in English"

"Dialogue that is underlined is in Chinese"

~

It was 4:30, three hours before he needed to be at EXO-M's dorm that Minki realised he had a problem.

“Dongho yah~” he called sweetly into the living room, “can you come here for a minute?~”

As soon as Dongho came within his reach, Minki grabbed him and dragged him into their shared room, closing the door firmly behind him and missing the look on his leader's face entirely.

“You have to help me sneak out,” the smaller boy told his best friend matter of factly.

“Wait, where are you sneaking to? You're not going to see that....”Dongho shot a paranoid glance at the door and dropped his voice so any eavesdroppers wouldn't be able to hear “..boyfriend of yours are you? Because what if someone sees? And what am I supposed to say to Jonghyun? He's been looking at me funny since yesterday and keeps asking me things about your “girlfriend”.”

“Jonghyun already knows I'm going,” Minki said, “he was there when Luhan hyung texted me using Tao hyung's phone so he knows I'm going. But I have to get dressed before I leave because I can't exactly do all I need to in a public bathroom stall or anything. Plus I don't really want to go into any more public bathrooms than I have to, even if girls' bathrooms are so much more hygienic than guys' ones. Anyway, the point is that I have to get dressed before leaving but I can't sneak out of here dressed as a girl without the others finding out unless you help me.”

Dongho groaned, running a hand through his short hair, “what do you want me to do?” he asked, already regretting his involvement in this whole mess.

“Us two and Jonghyunnie are the only ones home right now right?” Ren didn't wait for Dongho's response before continuing, talking over his friend's affirmation, “So you need to get him out of the dorm while I sneak out. Wait until I'm changed and then take him somewhere so I can sneak out.”

“How am I supposed to get him out?” Dongho wanted to know, “and what if Minhyunnie or Aaron or manager hyung come home?”

“I spoke to Minhyunnie before and he and Aaron hyung aren't going to be home until after dinner. Manager hyung got the day off so he won't be home until bedtime or maybe even tomorrow morning. As for getting Jonghyunnie out..... Tell him that I'm freaking out about my date and drag him to get ice cream for me or something. That way you can mollify him with that after he finds out that I sneaked out. I'll give you the money for it, as a thank you for doing this for me.”

Dongho looked at the smaller boy, concerned, “are you freaking out about your date?”

Minki smiled at him, “a little,” he admitted, “but I'll be fine, I promise.”

Dongho nodded slowly, “do you want some help getting ready then?” he asked after a long beat of silence.

-SceneBreak-

Jonghyun stepped away from the door frowning lightly. He had started eavesdropping shortly after the conversation between his two members had started, just long enough to find out that Minki was planning on sneaking out on his date and using Dongho as a distraction.

He didn't know why Minki felt he needed to sneak out. Maybe to make sure no one followed him?

He would get it out of Dongho when he took him out for ice cream. After all, finding out the secrets of one of s and keeping them safe was one thing, but free ice cream was something no sane person would pass up.

-SceneBreak-

Minki didn't need any help but he let Dongho help him choose an outfit and secure his hair out of his face anyway.

Dongho watched on in fascination as Minki applied BB Cream and blush and lip gloss and eye shadow and eye liner.

“How do you do that?” he asked in awe as Minki tried not to blink too much as he carefully drew the mascara wand over his lashes.

“Jia noona taught me,” he replied absently, blinking and turning his head to make sure the mascara was evenly applied on his right eye and hadn't clumped anywhere.

“Can I try?” Dongho asked eagerly, reaching for the wand.

“No you cannot,” Minki said sharply, holding the wand out of his friend's reach, “I don't have time to redo all my make up when you inevitably smear mascara all over my face. I'll let you play some other time when I don't have a date.”

Dongho pouted as he sat back but made no further moves to get the wand.

Minki watched him carefully out of the corner of his eye as he tried to apply mascara to his left eye but after almost poking himself in the eye he gave that up and just focussed on not messing up his make up himself.

Mascara done, he peered carefully at his face in the mirror, trying to remember if he had forgotten anything important and making sure it was all applied evenly.

Deciding everything was to his satisfaction, Minki pulled out one of the black wigs he used as “Jeonghwa”, a styled one that he had put aside for times when he needed to look extra good, and frowned at it, shifting a few strands until he was satisfied that its storage in the box under his bed with the rest of his “girl stuff” hadn't ruined it's shape. The boy carefully fitted it over his head and made Dongho help him fasten it in place with hair clips.

“You know,” Dongho commented from where he was pinning the base of this wig in place, “you really do look like a girl.”

“That's the whole point idiot,” Minki replied dryly as he fiddled with his new bangs, making sure they fell properly across his forehead. “Dammit,” he cursed suddenly, “I should have put on my necklace before the wig. Too late now, I'll just have to be careful.” Eyes narrowed in concentration he looped a fine silver chain around his neck, bringing the clasp around to the front so he could fasten it without fear of catching any strands of wig in it. Some pretty earrings in his ears, a bracelet on his wrist and he was done.

“What does that say?” Dongho asked, poking the pendant that hung outside of his friend's shirt.

“Zitao,” Minki replied, the Chinese characters, “that's Tao hyung's real name, he gave it to me when we started his farce.”

“Aww but that's so cute,” Dongho said, pitching his voice to an obnoxious squeak that made Minki punch his arm roughly.

“I'm just about ready to go. I just need to pack up this stuff and get my bag so you go get Jonghyun and get him out of the house.”

“Yes ma'am!” Dongho said in English, saluting the smaller boy, “just as soon as you give me money for ice cream that is,” he reminded with a grin.

Minki rolled his eyes but handed his friend 10000 won. “That should be enough don't you think?”

“That's plenty, thanks Jeonghwa ah~” Dongho grinned, snatching the money from his friend and disappearing out the door before his friend could retaliate.

“Idiot,” Minki said fondly to the empty room as he began to gather his things to stash back into the box under his bed.

-SceneBreak-

“I know what you're doing,” Jonghyun said as Dongho perused the ice cream section of the grocery store closest to their dorm.

“Uhh, getting ice cream for Minki?” Dongho said, confused, “he likes chocolate ripple right?”

“Choc-mint,” Jonghyun corrected automatically, “and that's not what I meant.”

“What are we talking about?” Dongho asked as he grabbed a carton of choc-mint ice cream.

“We're talking about how Minki is currently sneaking out of the dorm while we discuss ice cream choices,” Jonghyun explained, “and I want hazelnut and caramel.”

Dongho froze in place so Jonghyun sighed and leaned over him to grab his ice cream of choice.

“Come on, you may as well put the choc-mint back and get whatever you want since we both know Minki's not going to be there when we get back to complain.”

When Dongho still didn't move Jonghyun rolled his eyes and closed the fridge, “okay suit yourself,” he said, tugging Dongho towards the check out.

Dongho followed him silently, handing over first the ice cream and then Minki's 10000 won to the young woman behind the cash register, only speaking as they were almost halfway home, “how come you know Minki's favourite ice cream but not mine?”

-SceneBreak-

When the doorbell rang at 7:30, Tao was locked in the bathroom with Zhang Yixing.

“Xingxing,” Tao whined, “hasn't Lu mentally scarred Jeonghwa yah enough without having to meet the rest of them without me?”

Yixing blinked at him, his face blank, “Lu just told me to make sure you weren't there when he and Duizhang interrogated her to make sure she's not a stalker fan. I think Jongdae was going to join in too...”

“They're doing what?!” Tao screamed.

Yixing frowned at him, “we have to make sure she's not a stalker fan Taozi,” he explained slowly like Tao was stupid, “You should be grateful that Baekhyun convinced Chanyeol to convince Duizhang to convince Lu that K shouldn't join in too. He said that it would make you sad if everyone ganged up on her. Although really the reason they're not here is because they have a schedule.”

“Why am I only finding out about this now?” Tao demanded, “why didn't anyone tell me?”

“Because then you would try to stop them,” Yixing said as if it were obvious. Which it was of course. But that didn't stop Tao from being upset.

-SceneBreak-

“So you're really not a stalker fan?” Kris asked the young girl sitting in the good armchair in the lounge.

'Jeonghwa' laughed, “while I'd heard of EXO and had heard Mama a couple of times on the radio and such, I wasn't even a fan before I started dating Tao oppa,” she explained to the leader for the third time.

“Why did you start dating Taozi?” Lu Han asked, cutting across his leader's response.

“Because he's so cute,” Jeonghwa answered, smiling prettily.

Lu Han cackled, “he really is isn't he?”

“Not as cute as you,” Kris muttered angrily at him.

Han flapped a hand in his direction, “yes, yes, I'm adorable. We're discussing Taozi at the moment though Duizhang, do try to keep up. Or is the Korean too hard for you? Do I need to act as translator?”

“How does that work with you and Tao?” Jongdae asked Jeonghwa, leaning forward and ignoring Kris's protests, “his Korean is so bad, how do you understand him?”

“It's not that bad,” Jeonghwa demurred shyly, “but when it gets bad my best friend and I try to guess what he means. If it gets really bad I have a noona who speaks Chinese so I get her to translate.”

Jongdae laughed, loud and long, “oh I like you. When you get sick of Zitao you should date me.”

“Silly Chenchen,” Han admonished, “Jeonghwa obviously has a thing for Chinese guys. When you dump Taozi you can date me and we will take over the world,” he informed the girl.

“Thank you for the compliments but I'm not planning to dump Tao oppa unless he gets too popular and your company says we have to stop dating.” Jeonghwa fluttered her lashes for effect and Han patted her head.

“That's okay Meili, I'll convince you eventually~” he said, grinning brightly at her before turning his head to yell in the direction of the bathroom “Xingxing, you can let Taozi out of the bathroom now!”

“What did you just call me?” Jeonghwa asked, “what did he just call me?” she directed to Jongdae when it became obvious that Han wasn't listening to her.

“Meili,” the other Korean in the room answered helpfully.

“But what does it mean?”

“Meili,” said a different voice and Jeonghwa turned her head to see her boyfriend standing in the doorway with another member slightly behind him, “it means beautiful.”

“Oppa, hello~” Jeonghwa said brightly, “they let you out of the bathroom? I would have come to rescue you but I don't know where the bathroom is...”

Tao looked concernedly at his girlfriend, “are you okay? Xingxing said they were interrogating you?”

Jeonghwa laughed, covering politely with her hand, “Luhan oppa and Jongdae oppa just mostly wanted to know how we got together~”

Tao shot a glare at the two of them who smirked in return.

“I still don't know what you see in him,” Han said loudly, staring straight at Tao who flushed.

“I'm sorry Oppa but Tao oppa is just cuter than you,” Jeonghwa giggled.

From the doorway Yixing laughed at the insult to his friend, “I like this one, can we keep her?”

“Zhang Yixing, that's my girlfriend!” Tao protested.

Yixing blinked blankly at him, “so?”

No one except Jeonghwa noticed Kris leaving the room, his face set in a serious scowl which was the only expression she had seen on him in person.

-SceneBreak-

“So why did Minki feel the need to sneak out behind my back?”

Jonghyun and Dongho were at the Han river eating the ice cream they had bought.

“Uhh..” said Dongho, searching his brain for any excuse he could think of, just as he had been doing for the past half hour, “he, uhh...” Dongho made the mistake of glancing at his leader, whose fierce scowl made the words spill through his mouth without any conscious thought, “he had to dress up as a girl so that the fans wouldn't catch on and he didn't want you to laugh at him.”

Huh. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

“...He dressed up as a girl?” Jonghyun's face was conflicted as his mind conjured image after image of Minki in a skirt, “please tell me you took a picture.”

Dongho laughed and showed him his phone's new wall paper.

-SceneBreak-

Dinner at EXO-M's dorm went well. Minseok loved the tall girl and kept cooing at Tao how cute the couple was. Jongdae and Han kept flirting with Jeonghwa. Yixing kept flirting with Han and Kris. Tao alternated between yelling at s to back off and trying to take care of Jeonghwa. Even Kris was civil, keeping the glares and scowls to a minimum and mostly aimed at Yixing for stealing his food.

It wasn't until after Kris had volunteered to call a cab and wait for it outside with the girl (Tao being sent to his room to study Korean) that Jeonghwa realised why the leader had been so civil over dinner.

“You do realise that's my baby brother's heart your playing with right?” Kris asked with the scariest glare he could manage, “you better not break it.”

“But Oppa,” Jeonghwa simpered, “Tao oppa is older so shouldn't it be my heart we're worried about? I am just a high schooler. How am I supposed to be responsible for Tao oppa's heart too? I have too much homework!”

“You're not that cute. I don't care what games you want to play with me or Han or Jongdae or any of the others, but not with Zitao.”

“Why do you care so much?” Jeonghwa asked carefully, peering down the street to see if the cab was coming yet rather than looking at the man beside her, “it sounds like you like him. Is he really just a brother to you?”

Kris was saved the need to answer by the cabs arrival.

“Thank you for waiting with me Oppa, you can go back inside now~” Jeonghwa sang lightly, “take care of Tao oppa til I can come play with him again okay?~”

And then she was gone.

For which Kris was glad because he had no idea how he was supposed to answer her.

-tbc-

Suzette: Okay so I have no excuses for how long this chapter has taken me to write. You can thank my parents for dragging me off to a church camp with no internet for three days which is the reason you're all getting this update. 

The next chapter is almost finished too, I just have 2 or 3 more scenes to write and then I'm done. Again, thank boring church camps where I'm able to sit in a corner and write fanfics on my laptop rather than pay attention. So next chapter should be up by the end of the week.

Also there are going to be 5 chapters for this fic in total. Just warning you all now.