Did Jun Hee left S Ori-K?

This morning, August 27, 2012, S Ori-K’s Kim Jun Hee was seen as if leaving S Ori-K’s dorm with all her things packed in a roller suitcase and a shoulder bag. Seeing people saw her leaving, she waved and bowed with a smile on her face without any words. She went to ride in her manager’s car and left.

While SM Entertainment had not yet left any word about the issue, fans are hoping that the singer’s just on vacation.

Zhu substitutes Jun Hee at Music Bank SKY Festival

Last August 27, 2012, S Ori-K’s Jun Hee was seen leaving their dorm building, also leaving the fans clueless. Still, SM Entertainment had not spoken anything yet about the said issue, but today, August 29, 2012, in Music Bank SKY Festival, Jun Hee was not present in S Ori-K’s performance, while Zhu substitutes her position.

Although fans are still worried due to Jun Hee’s absence, Zhu’s great vocal skills have gained attention, with her voice fitting perfectly for Jun Hee’s lines. Fans had commented, “S Ori is a genius group.”; “Zhu stood out in this performance, but I still wish for Jun Hee to be safe wherever she is and come back as soon as possible.”; “I love you Zhu. But I miss Jun Hee ‘cause I love her too.”

Zhu substitutes Jun Hee for the second time at KBS Quiz on Korea

After four days of curiosity Jun Hee had left on the fans with her sudden leave, she had once again haven’t showed up on S Ori-K’s current schedule a while ago on KBS' Quiz on Korea. On the other hand, SM Entertainment, who would not say anything about this matter, was still consistent of keeping their mouths closed by ignoring the news media.

Rumors have been circling around the fandom that Jun Hee left because of some health problems and probably, her comeback would be a bit uncertain.

Although the said rumor isn’t confirmed, let us all pray for Jun Hee’s safety and comeback with the group.

***

The beginning of September got a bit rough for the idols, as they start a new month ahead with different schedules…

“Okay, tomorrow we’ll be meeting the new trainee that will replace Jun Hee’s position…” Angela said to the other members, as they held a meeting at S Ori-K’s dorm. “I hope everyone will be nice to her even if… even if we’re missing Jun Hee a lot…”

Everyone got teary eyed. Silence surrounded the dorm that was once filled with color and joy. One member’s loss feels so incomplete for the young girl group.

“Why did she have to leave?” Na Rae asked.

“We have to accept it, girls. Her health is at risk if she stays with us,” Lin said trying to be strong for the younger girls.

“Lin’s right. Instead of being sad about it, let’s just pray for her health,” Sun suggested. “And we can always call her so she could visit us during our free time… Right, Jino?” Sun encouraged the leader who was just beside her.

Jino didn’t react, as if she didn’t hear what Sun said. She was just seated on the couch with her arms crossed, having her own deep thoughts. Jun Hee’s absence feels really new to her. Jun Hee was one of the persons she confides to when she have problems. Being young to become a leader, Jun Hee had helped her face some of her problems and concerns with the group. It was like she had become the father while Jun Hee was the mother of S Ori-K.

“Jino-ya? Are you alright?” Sun asked, grasping Jino’s shoulder lightly.

“Y-Yes, I am,” Jino nodded and showed off a fake smile.

“Jino, you can always tell Angela jie jie if there’s a problem, okay?” Angela assured and held her hand. “We’re a team and we’re both leaders. Talk to me when you need to let all your concerns out.”

“Ne, thanks jie jie…” Jino said, her eyes showing how sad she is.

“So, I guess that’s the end of our meeting…” Angela decided.

“Ya, let’s give some encouragement to our group, shall we?” The optimistic Sun acknowledged and placed her hand at the center of the circle they formed, her palms facing the ground.

The members finally smiled and placed their hands on top of Sun’s hand.

“For Kim Jun Hee, for the new trainee and for our group… Hana, dul, set!”

“S ORI, SARANGHAJA!!!” The girls cheered and they all felt relieved from all the stress.

 

The next day, S Ori went to the SM Entertainment’s conference room to meet the new trainee that will take Jun Hee’s spot.

“Everyone, this is Hong Jae Kyung, the new trainee to debut with you on your comeback,” Gyeongshik, S Ori’s manager said.

“Annyeonghaseyo,” Jae Kyung bowed and greeted her sunbaes.

“Annyeong!” The other 11 girls greeted cheerfully.

“Come, sit with us Jae Kyung,” Angela invited and Jae Kyung politely sat on the vacant chair.

“So how old are you?” Sun asked with a smile on her face.

“I’m 18 years old, and I’m turning 19 on March 17,” Jae Kyung replied.

“Oh, doesn’t that make her the second eldest in the group?” Jie said as she quickly calculated the age difference through their birthdates.

“Yes, I think I am based on the member profiles I saw on the internet…” Jae Kyung said in a soft voice.

“At last, I’m not the eldest in S Ori-K anymore!!!” Sun said throwing her hands up like she just received a blessing from above.

Jae Kyung and the other girls laughed. Fortunately, they are getting comfortable with each other.

“I’m curious with your voice, unni! Can you show us a bit of your singing skills?” Cho Hee asked.

“Sure, I’d love to! Oh, I can’t wait to sing with you ‘cause I really love your group,” Jae Kyung said and chuckled shyly.

“Woah, thank you,” The other eleven girls said.

“Anyways, I’ll sing ‘If I Had One Wish’ by Faith Evans,” Jae Kyung introduced and cleared . She then started to sing and everyone loved her voice.

“Wow, your voice is really powerful,” You complimented while everyone clapped.

“Thank you,” Jae Kyung replied.

“By the way S Ori-K, Jae Kyung’s going to move in your dorm by Monday, September 9th,” Gyungshik said. “I want you to prepare your dorm, especially you Na Rae, since Jae Kyung will be your roommate,”

“Yes, oppa!” The six girls replied.

***

Meanwhile, Lay, Luhan and Tao just came back from their short vacation in China last August 31. Usually, when they go to airports, fans would block their ways. But today was different – reporters were crowding the airport for one reason – Kim Jun Hee.

“How is Jun Hee, Lu Han-sshi?” One of the reporters asked, trying to get an answer to the mystery happening in SM Entertainment.

Exo’s manager blocked the reporter and Lu Han bowed to the reporter as a sign of apology since SM Entertainment did not allow them to answer whatever question the reporters asked him about Jun Hee.

Tao on the other hand bowed to some reporters who blocked his way, as a sign that whatever they ask him, he won’t be able to answer them.

Lay on the other hand got pissed off. Why won’t SM Entertainment just tell the fans about Jun Hee? They’ll know it on S Ori’s comeback that she’s leaving. Now they’re all stuck in the airport because of the curiosity of all the reporters with SM Entertainment’s stupid secret.

Finally, they were able to reach their van and still, the reporters are trying to block the van’s way to their dorm.

“I hate this,” Lay uttered, alarming the 2 idols and their manager.

“What is it, Lay?” Hyun Kyun, their manager asked.

“Why can’t SM Entertainment just announce that Jun Hee left because of her health problems?!” Lay asked agitatedly.

“People will bash the company, Lay. And Sooman sunbae doesn’t want that to happen,” Hyun Kyun explained.

“Hyung… That thing will come! I mean, S Ori’s going to come back and the fans will know about it!” Lay assumed. He got really irritated with SM Entertainment’s plans.

“Sooman sunbae told us that he’ll surprise the fans with the new member,” Hyun Kyun said.

Tao sighed. “Jun Hee’s still Jun Hee, they can’t replace that in people’s minds and hearts…”

Lu Han and Lay looked at the maknae, who got really emotional with Jun Hee’s withdrawal from the group.

 

Xiumin was lying down on his bed as he looked at the ceiling without any thoughts on his head. Eyes are focused on the ceiling yet his mind’s wandering. His body was resting but his heart feels pain. Jun Hee left. He didn’t make it. He thought everything he did was worth it. Yet nothing was left with him but regret. Regret that he did not answer her calls when she was still near him. Regret that he did not give time for her while he can still see her. Regret that he focused too much on the stupid proposal he gave to Lee Sooman to bring Jun Hee’s career back, yet nothing happened and everything was lost.

Now he could not see his Joyong Hee anymore. She would ignore his calls; probably she felt really bad when he did the same thing to her. They maybe are on the same country, yet they could not even feel each other’s presence anymore.

A tear fell on Xiumin’s eyes as the memories came back. The silent 13-year-old Jun Hee he met at 2008 SM’s Everysing Contest, who impressed him a lot after winning the competition with her strong vocals that made him give her the nickname ‘Joyong Hee’, the girl who only talked to her since her first weeks of being a trainee, the girl who makes him happy whenever she mentions ‘Baozi oppa’…

He got his phone and tried calling Jun Hee once more. Yet she’s still not answering, making him throw his hand phone from the frustration. He walked out of his room seeing the other members have a meeting.

“Minseok hyung, what’s the matter?” Lay asked. After the three of them came back to the dorm, Kris quickly gathered them for a meeting. Xiumin was locked up in his room so he didn’t bother to ask him to come out anymore, knowing that he’s still depressed with Jun Hee’s absence.

Xiumin just walked out of the dorm like he didn’t hear Lay say anything.

“I don’t care if he’s depressed; it’s just so immature that the eldest in this dorm acts like that.” Lay demanded.

“Yi Xing. Don’t be too affected with it, it’s been a week and he could not even talk to Jun Hee,” Lu Han said, explaining for Xiumin’s acts.

Lay let out a snicker. “He’s not her boyfriend,” Lay said, throwing his pen and his notebook on the center table.

“Ya, where are you going?” Kris asked.

“I’m going to look for that gege, he needs an advice from a younger man,” Lay said going out of their dorm.

“Aigoo, things are really getting worse since Jun Hee’s withdrawal…” Tao commented with a heavy sigh.

“Let’s get back to work,” Chen suggested, trying to avoid the topic.

The three looked at Chen sternly. They all knew that Chen’s undergoing the same depression as Xiumin’s. He just doesn’t let the others see it.

“Chen chen,” Kris called. “The hyungs and the maknae are here. Tell us what you feel,”

“I thought we are talking about our schedules for this month?” Chen asked coldly.

Kris bit his lip. “Chen… You’ve kept yourself busy nowadays and I think you’re stressed-“

“I don’t like talking about it hyung,” Chen said and stood up, about to leave the living room.

Kris turned Chen to face him and held his collar. Lu Han and Tao got alarmed, trying to pull Kris away from grasping Chen’s collar and doing anything worse. “Will you stop acting this way Jong Dae?!”

“Hyung. I’m not acting. I’m not feeling well. I’m… I don’t know… I just feel… miserable,” Chen said and looked on the ground.

Kris let go of his collar and sighed. “I’m sorry, Chen, I just felt really stressed. I don’t know what to do now that two of my members don’t act normal…” He put a hand on his forehead and went to his room.

Meanwhile, Lay was able to catch Xiumin before he step on the elevator. He turned Xiumin so he would face him and started the conversation.

“You .” Lay pushed Xiumin. He then pulled him back, holding his collar. “Couldn’t you at least get a hold of yourself?! Huh?!”

Xiumin shoved Lay’s tight grasp on his collar. “Let me go, I need to talk to someone,”

“You really gege!” Lay exclaimed. “How could you show this to us?! How could you show this to the younger members?! Gege! Wake up! Chen’s been there. He’s been busy on the meeting yet he’s suffering with Jun Hee’s absence! How could you-“

“You don’t know how much it to be without her,” Xiumin expressed calmly. “You don’t know how every single memory kills my whole senses. You don’t know how much I’m longing for her, Yi Xing. You have no idea. You know nothing,”

Lay couldn’t resist himself anymore and punched Xiumin and he almost fell. “SHUT UP!” Lay gripped Xiumin’s shoulders and shook him. “This is unprofessionalism! Gege, please wake up! The way you act affects the group! We all miss our family… My girlfriend even broke up with me to be in this company…” Lay’s tears fell down on his cheeks. “But aren’t we also enduring how much we long for the ones we love? We’re all the same gege. We’re all happy when the cameras turn on and when we receive encouragement from the fans… but deep inside we’re all in pain and we’re yearning for a significant person’s love… Gege, it’s painful to see someone like this. It brings back the pain of losing someone in exchange for your dream…”

Xiumin nodded and his eyebrows furrowed. “I’m sorry I think I’ve been really lost…”

Lay nodded and wiped his tears. “I’m glad you understood.”

“But I’m heading to Lee Sooman sunbae…” Xiumin said and pressed the button for the elevator.

“Huh? Why?” Lay asked.

“There’s something I passed and I think he was too busy to read it.” Xiumin said and went inside the elevator, leaving Lay dumbfounded.

***

“You haven’t checked it, do you?” Xiumin asked Lee Sooman, still trying to use formal language.

“Oh, Xiumin, you surprised me,” Lee Sooman said as he checked some files on his table.

Xiumin tapped his table strongly and gave Lee Sooman a look. “You heard what I’ve said!”

Sooman chuckled. “It was too late when you gave me the proposal… There was another girl to replace her… So I didn’t bother to check it anymore,”

“How could you?! How could you just let an amazing singer go like that?!” Xiumin asked.

“Believe me Xiumin, letting go your best friend was also hard for me…” Sooman said, focusing on the papers on his table.

“HOW COULD YOU LET HER GO IF IT WAS THAT HARD FOR YOU?!” Xiumin shouted from anger.

Sooman was taken aback from the way Xiumin reacted. “Xiumin, think about how the trainee will feel if I told her that she won’t debut anymore… Let’s give chance to others, okay?”

“Chance? THINK ABOUT HOW JUN HEE’S FEELING RIGHT NOW!” Xiumin once more shouted.

“Ya!” A bodyguard came inside Sooman’s office.

“Let’s talk about this tomorrow, Xiumin, okay?” Sooman said as he stood up from his chair and got his attaché case.

Xiumin couldn’t get a hold of himself and grabbed Sooman’s collar. “READ MY PROPOSAL… and I’ll stop coming here in your office,”

“Fine.” Sooman said with a straight face.

Xiumin let go of his boss’ collar, feeling really agitated.

The next day, Iseul was on her way to school, when someone blocked him from the dorm building’s exit – Chanyeol.

He was leaning on the side of the door with his arms crossed, looking directly on Iseul’s eyes. Iseul on the other hand bowed at him and tried not to look at him in the eye. She was about to push the door so she could exit when Chanyeol grabbed her arm and pushed her so she would face him.

“I believe you owe me something,” Chanyeol said, looking sternly at Iseul’s eyes, not letting go of his tight grasp on Iseul’s arm.

“W-What?” Iseul asked, a bit confused of what he was talking about.

Chanyeol chuckled and crossed his arms. “I’m giving you a chance to explain why you pushed me away last time?”

“I-I wasn’t pushing you away!” Iseul defended.

“You weren’t pushing me away but you don’t want me to come to your school and go near you?” Chanyeol questioned.

Iseul paused for a moment and tried to think about what to say. “F-Fine! I pushed you away because I hate you so much and I don’t want to see your face after school!” Iseul tried to walk out but Chanyeol quickly grabbed her arm once more.

Chanyeol looked at her sternly. “I’m serious,”

“Do you really think I’m not serious?” Iseul asked trying to shove Chanyeol’s hand. “Let go of me!”

“I heard everything you told Lay hyung, last time...” Chanyeol revealed and Iseul gasped. “I was there. I was about to go inside that room for a scheduled training when I suddenly heard your conversation with him,”

**FLASHBACK**

“Well gege... That isn’t the reason why I’m getting frustrated…” Iseul said timidly and looked on the ground. She played with her fingers once more, trying to get some focus from it.

“What is it then?” Lay asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Ch-Chanyeol gege… I kind of disrespected him…”

Lay laughed. “What’s new, Iseul?!” He asked and kept laughing.

“N-No, it was actually different with the way I treat him. You know that we always tease each other, right? Well, that was a normal thing for me and maybe for him too… But last Wednesday was different. Totally different that I regret what I have said…”

“Why?” Lay’s expression changed into a serious one. “What did you told him?”

“It’s my fault gege. I was too affected by my two Chanyeol gege-biased classmates that time, I think I have put my anger on them towards Chanyeol gege. When I saw Chanyeol gege that time, I was stressed out from all the school works that I have to catch up and from all the bullying of those two obsessive fans. I was not in the right mind, words just spilled out from my mouth…”

“Do you want me to tell Chanyeol about it?” Lay asked gentlemanly.

Iseul smiled weakly. “The fact that there are girls disliking me because of Chanyeol gege made me feel pissed that I had put my anger onto him. It’s okay, Lay gege. I think it would be best if Chanyeol gege and I won’t be seen together by some fans because they don’t like our pairing anyways,”

“Not because there were two obsessive Chanyeol fans, you’re going to give up your friendship with him, thinking their opinions are generally right,” Lay said and held Iseul’s shoulders. “Iseul, you’re not Geum Jan Di right? Show them that. Show them that you’re not weak and that you’re not afraid of them. Where was the confident girl I asked to dance all over and over again without knowing the first steps of the dance routine? Where was that girl who trusted herself that she could do it although she had been humiliated a lot?”

Iseul smiled and felt relieved with Lay’s words. “Thank you gege, it felt really nice to hear those words of encouragement,”

**END OF FLASHBACK**

Iseul’s mouth fell open. She got embarrassed, making her face turn pink.

Chanyeol held Iseul’s shoulders and leaned his head towards Iseul, putting a sly smile on his face. “Now what? Explain everything to Chanyeol oppa before you go to school,” Chanyeol said, his voice getting mushier.

Iseul’s eyebrows furrowed as she pouted. Chanyeol’s once again, teasing him and it feels like hell for her. She glared at Chanyeol’s eyes that were already inches from hers.

Surprising Chanyeol, she violently bumped her forehead on Chanyeol’s that really hurt Chanyeol’s head.

“I HATE YOU SO MUCH!” Iseul roared and ran as fast as she could.

“YA, I’LL SEE YOU AFTER YOUR CLASS! We’re not yet done,” Chanyeol said holding his forehead feeling if there’s any lump on it. “Aigoo, that really hurt,”

“Hyung, are you alright?” Kai suddenly asked, seeing Chanyeol hold his forehead.

“Yeah… Why are you here?”

“I’m heading to S Ori-K’s dorm. Jino and I have rap classes,” Kai said pointing upstairs.

Chanyeol’s mischievous and cheeky smile came back. “Rap classes huh?”

“Yeah,” Kai nodded with a smile on his face, trying to look natural as he knows what’s in Chanyeol’s head.

Chanyeol wrapped an arm around Kai. “D.O. and Na Rae have the same vocal training and I don’t see them go to SM Entertainment’s Building together… Isn’t this suspicious?”

Kai looked at Chanyeol for a second and shoved his arm off of him. “Why are you here anyways?”

“I… I… Nothing…” Chanyeol looked for an excuse.

Kai snickered and headed to S Ori-K’s dorm.

“Y-Ya! I was just looking for something!” Chanyeol tried to explain but Kai just waved his hand without looking at him, signaling that he doesn’t care about what Chanyeol was saying.

Kai knocked three times as he reached S Ori-K’s dorm. He expected Jino to open it since she was always the one opening the door, but instead, it was Cho Hee.

“Hey, where’s Jino?” Kai asked.

“I think she’s in her room, do you need to talk to her?” Cho Hee asked, with a sly smile like Chanyeol had a while ago.

“Aish! You guys are really cousins! How come the both of you keep on smiling like that when I look for Jino?”

“It’s just really good to see that the two of you are now close,” Cho Hee said while laughing from Kai’s reaction.

Kai let out a short chuckle. “We have a rap training Cho Hee, and I thought it would be better if we go together… to avoid her forgetting our rap training,”

“Ohhh…” Cho Hee nodded. “Come inside for a while, I’ll just call her,” Cho Hee said and let Kai in.

“Ya, leader!” Cho Hee called and knocked on her door. “Kai oppa’s here!”

Jino opened her door and peeped. “Why?”

“OHMYGOSH WHY ARE YOU STILL IN YOUR PAJAMAS JINO?!” Cho Hee panicked.

“Why?” Jino scratched her head.

“KAI OPPA I THINK IT’S GOOD THAT YOU CAME TODAY.” Cho Hee said, calling Kai’s attention.

“Why?” Kai asked and saw Jino still on her pajamas. “H-Hey, we have a rap training today!!!” Kai said and panicked as well.

“Oh right!!!” Jino quickly locked her bedroom door and changed her clothes.

“Wait, did she take a bath already?” Kai asked.

“Yeah, she even woke up really early today…” Cho Hee said and held her forehead from the leader’s forgetfulness. “Good thing you came here, oppa.”

“Oh, Cho Hee, where are Jino’s pets?”

“There,” Cho Hee pointed the corner where Jino’s little dog house is placed.

Kai then went to the puppies and played with them. After a few seconds, Jino came outside her room all dressed up for the rap training.

“Kai o-oppa?” Jino said, surprised that she suddenly stuttered again from the word ‘oppa’.

“Hey, shall we go now?” Kai asked and turned to Jino’s pets. “I have to go now, Jong In oppa still have work…” He patted the puppies’ heads and placed them back to their house.

“Make sure to lock it since Iseul dies whenever they come out,” Jino warned.

Jino and Kai reached the SM Entertainment building as soon as possible, yet silence filled the atmosphere during the whole ride.

As they walked, Kai suddenly pulled Jino’s arm and stopped her. Jino turned to face Kai and looked at him in the eyes with confusion on her face.

“W-Why?” Jino asked.

“Are you at mad at me because we failed Han Ji sunbae’s punishment?” Kai asked.

Jino shook her head and sincerely looked at Kai with her innocent brown eyes. “No, I’m not. What makes you think I am?”

“Nothing, you’re aura’s just a little bit…” Kai hesitated to tell Jino but told it anyways. “…unfriendly today…”

“R-Really?” Jino got shocked that made her eyes grew wide.

Kai suddenly noticed a girl walking to their side and Jino turned her head to the left where Kai looked.

“Oh, it’s Jae Kyung unni! Annyeong!” Jino smiled and waved her hands.

“Annyeong!” Jae Kyung cheerfully greeted and smiled at Kai. “Annyeonghaseyo sunbae,” As she bowed to Kai, she suddenly saw Kai’s hand that grasped Jino’s arm and looked suspiciously on them. Kai and Jino noticed what she had thought and Kai awkwardly let go of Jino’s hands.

“I… I believe you’re going this way unni…” Jino said pointing the right side of the hallway.

“Yes,” Jae Kyung chuckled. Jino and Kai gave way for her and she passed between them.

“Shall we go?” Kai asked.

Jino nodded and they both went to the training session.

***

SM Entertainment: Jun Hee will no longer comeback

For the past few weeks, Jun Hee had been mysteriously absent in all the live performances of S Ori-K while S Ori-M’s Zhu had tried to substitute her co-member.

This afternoon, one of SM Entertainments representatives had finally given the answer to this mystery stating, “Jun Hee will no longer comeback with S Ori. After the SM Town Live World Tour in Seoul last August 18, the company found out that Jun Hee had health problems, specifically having chest pains whenever she gets tired. Doctors have claimed this to be dangerous and suggested her to have a break from all the work out and stress. SM Entertainment had thoroughly discussed this health problem and decided for her to take a break from this industry…”

As for Jun Hee’s replacement, SM Entertainment have not yet given any clue or statement regarding a new member or a substitute.

***

“Where is Sooman sunbae?!” Xiumin asked as he dashed to Lee Sooman’s office without knocking on the door.

Meanwhile Lee Sooman’s secretary got alarmed and stood up. “It’s Xiumin, right?”

“Yes, where is he?” Xiumin asked once more, wanting to clarify things with Lee Sooman. Why did he officially announce that Jun Hee won’t come back? Hadn’t he had any second thoughts of bringing her back when he read Xiumin’s proposal? Or maybe he hasn’t read it at all.

“I’m sorry Xiumin but sunbae’s in a schedule as of now,” the secretary said, with an apologetic smile.

“What- Where?”

“He’s in Japan right now for a meeting with the CEO of Nayutawave Records for Girls’ Gene-“ the secretary wasn’t able to finish her sentence as Xiumin cut her off.

“Then who’s plan was it to say that Jun Hee’s not coming back?!” Xiumin asked.

“His,” The secretary replied, referring to Sooman.

“AISH! Damn it!” Xiumin said and walked out of the office.

Suddenly he saw Chen waiting outside the office. He looked at him for a second and tried to breathe deeply for him to calm down.

“Why are you here?” Xiumin asked the younger.

“I was about to ask the same question you asked the secretary when I overheard your conversation with her,” Chen said, looking on the ground.

Xiumin nodded and puckered his lips.

Chen suddenly cleared his throat. “Hyung?” Chen called Xiumin, raising his head to look at Xiumin. “I’ve been recollecting the things that we had undergone and…”

Xiumin put his hands inside his pockets and listened carefully to what Chen was going to say.

“Hyung, I admit I’ve been over thinking since you said that you kissed Jun Hee…” Chen let out a soft chuckle, feeling a bit embarrassed from confiding his feelings suddenly to Xiumin. He then pats Xiumin’s shoulder. “I’ve been disrespectful when you’re older because of my feelings for Jun Hee… I’ve been selfish, too selfish for me to despise you, forgetting about how much you have helped me through my career in Exo. And if it wasn’t for you, I won’t be able to meet Jun Hee… Hyung I’ve been a really bad dongsaeng and all I can say right now is sorry. I hope, with this apology, I can at least reduce the stress you’ve been feeling for the past few weeks.”

Xiumin smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Jongdae. You’ve finally opened up to hyung and I’m glad, no, I’m so happy that you’ve appreciate me now,”

Chen smiled and took a deep breath. “I’ll be fair now hyung.”

“What do you mean?” Xiumin asked as the atmosphere suddenly became serious.

“I am accepting this challenge. I am going to fight fairly from now on, as a man for Jun Hee.”

“But Chen Chen, my feelings for Jun Hee’s still the same… She’s just a friend,” Xiumin objected.

“No hyung, it really isn’t. I really don’t know why you don’t notice it. But you have feelings for her hyung. I don’t know if you’re denying it… But hyung, just accept what you feel,”

“I don’t know Chen. I want to be sure of how I feel first, before I completely say that I also love Jun Hee and that I accept your challenge,”

***

Dismissal time in Seoul Girls’ High School came.

Iseul for the first time had gone through the day without being bullied by Cherry, Mina and Jae Ah. They had somewhat stopped bullying her and got a bit quiet around her, which was very unusual for Iseul. As she was packing up her things the three girls suddenly approached her, holding their own copies of S Ori-K’s album.

“Iseul-ah,” Cherry called, her voice softer than the usual.

Iseul turned and was surprised with what she saw. “Y-Yes?”

“We’re really sorry for being rude to you,” Mina said with a pout.

“We promise you we won’t hurt you anymore and we’ll support your group from now on…” Jae Ah added, letting Iseul see the album she bought.

Iseul was still trying to process what was happening in front of her. The three girls who used to be rude to her suddenly approached her and sincerely asked for an apology. Iseul smiled, “Aigoo, I’m totally speechless…” She scratched her head and bit her lip. “Shall we hug?”

“Yes!” The three girls said and hugged Iseul.

“This really is a miracle…” Iseul uttered while the three girls laughed.

“Can you sign our copies, pleeeeease?” Mina pleaded.

“Sure,” Iseul said and got a pen so she could sign.

As she finished, the three girls left Iseul and squealed as they ran outside the classroom. Iseul on the other hand felt really good, and went out of her classroom.

“You’ve got to be my man, baby I want your love~” Davichi’s My Man suddenly rang on Iseul’s hand phone, signaling her that someone’s calling her.

She searched her phone inside her pocket and answered the call. “Hello?”

“Iseul-sshi,” a familiar voice called. It was their manager’s driver. “Gyeongshik hyung told me to pick you up today, since the fans might cause you trouble about Jun Hee’s withdrawal,”

“Ah, really? They already sent an announcement about it?” Iseul asked.

“Yes,” The driver said. “I’m already in front of the school’s gate,”

“Ah, okay, wait for me there oppa,” Iseul said and ran as fast as she could to reach the car.

Iseul quickly got inside the car. “Annyeong oppa,” she greeted brightly as she carefully closed the car’s door, but as she looked to her side, a tall man wearing a cap that hid his blonde curls changed her mood. “CHANYEOL OPPA?!”

[Play Teen Top's Never Go Back]

Chanyeol smiled and winked at Iseul. “Annyeong!” he greeted cheerfully with a large smile.

“OPPA WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?!” Iseul asked the driver. “DON’T YOU KNOW THIS IS KIDNAPPING?!”

Chanyeol chuckled. “Ya, I didn’t want others to see us and cause you trouble again so I just stayed inside the car,”

Iseul turned to Chanyeol with a glare. “What’s going on?!”

Chanyeol laughed at Iseul’s confused and bitter expression. “We’re going somewhere,”

“W-Where?” Iseul asked suspiciously.

“Hyung, you know what to do,” Chanyeol ordered.

“Ne,” the driver replied and drove off.

The driver stopped by at Happy Lemon somewhere in Seoul.

“Let’s go?” Chanyeol asked and smiled invitingly at Iseul.

Iseul pouted and puckered her lips, hesitating to accept Chanyeol’s invitation. “People will hate me again…”

Chanyeol patted her head. “No, Iseul. They’ll never hate you as long as you’re with Chanyeol oppa,” Chanyeol reassured.

“AIGOO HOW WILL I EVEN TRUST YOU IF YOU OFTEN MAKE ME HATE YOU TOO?!” Iseul pleaded.

“Hey, relax. Let’s just say this marks the start of our friendship? I’ll be your oppa, you’ll be my dongsaeng. Deal?” He then offered a hand to Iseul.

Iseul hesitated to reach for it but shook it anyways. They got out of the car and walked to Happy Lemon’s entrance.

“I don’t know what makes you different with Cho Hee unni. How come I call her chin-gu and we’re so close, while you’re the person I hate the most? You’re cousins but why do you seem so different… Maybe we can be friends too?” Iseul babbled.

As they reached the entrance door, Chanyeol held the door handle and gave his creeper smile to Iseul. “Let’s go?”

Iseul nodded excitedly and they both went inside the shop. Chanyeol pushed Iseul to the cashier in excitement too.

“What does my dongsaeng wants?” Chanyeol asked.

“The usual! Cocoa Rock Salt & Cheese with additional pearls!!!” Iseul said, almost squealing.

“Okay, miss, give us two of that and make it large,” Chanyeol said generously and paid quickly.

“Whose name shall we use?” The cashier asked.

Chanyeol looked at Iseul while Iseul gave him a why-are-you-looking-at-me-it’s-up-to-you face.

“Hmmm… Happy Piglet… Skinny Virus… They’re too long… Ah! ChanSeul! Use that name,” Chanyeol said to the cashier.

“Eeeshhh, what a lame name…” Iseul muttered.

“Ya, I’ve thought about that real hard!” Chanyeol defended while Iseul rolled her eyes.

“Sure sir, just wait for your name to be called,” the cashier said.

As they got their drinks, they looked for a seat near the window, since Iseul loves to be at that place, seeing the streets and cars pass by beside her.

“I heard this is your favorite drink,” Chanyeol said and looked at Iseul as she took her first sip of her favorite drink.

“Mmm!!! Yummy! Daebak! Really, I love this drink!” Iseul exclaimed. “Try it, it’s really the best drink I’ve ever tasted,”

Chanyeol laughed at the way Iseul asked him to drink. “You look like you’re advertising it. Anyways…” He finally took a sip of Iseul’s favorite drink and felt the same way Iseul felt. “Woah, it’s my first time drinking this. It really tastes good!”

Iseul brightened up, hearing Chanyeol liked it too. “See? It’s addicting. Especially the creamy thing on top of the milk tea… I remember back in the States, I used to buy this often and my mom would tell me to stop ‘cause I’m wasting my allowance for this and it makes me fat,”

Chanyeol chuckled and suddenly thought of Iseul’s family. “How are your parents by the way? Are you going to visit them in New York? I mean, Kris hyung wasn’t able to visit his parents because Canada’s too far…”

“Yeah, same goes for me. But my mom told me they’ll be visiting here if my stepdad earns a lot,” Iseul said and kept drinking her milk tea.

“Ohhh… To be honest, before you debuted, I read all of S Ori’s profiles and I saw there that you just went to New York because of your stepdad…”

Iseul nodded and swallowed the pearls and the drink in . “He’s a good guy.”

Chanyeol suddenly burst out laughing. “Aigoo Iseul… Thinking about your pre-debut makes me wonder why we’ve been like this...”

“Like what?” Iseul asked.

“Like enemies.”

“I don’t know either.”

**FLASHBACK**

“Annyeonghaseyo, Han Iseul imnida. I am 13 years old and I grew up in New York,” the new trainee, Iseul, greeted some of the old trainees in the rap classes as ordered by the rap coach.

Her other four classmates greeted her. “Iseul, please go to that vacant seat, beside that tall guy. Class, I’ll just go to the bathroom for a while, please take time to be friendly to the new trainee, alright?”

As Iseul looked for her seat, a leg made her trip and caused her to fall on her knees. Iseul was so embarrassed and glared at the leg’s owner.

The 17-year-old mischievous Park Chanyeol tried not to laugh, but he let out soft chuckles. “Sorry,” he said as he continued to chuckle.

The ill-tempered Iseul rolled her eyes and snickered. She then stood up and crossed her arms. “Wow, I tripped and my face almost hit the ground and all I can get is a sorry?”

The other three students howled by Iseul’s bravery to fight a sunbae. This made Chanyeol stand up, trying not to lose his pride over a girl. “So what do you want me to do? Kiss you?” Chanyeol smirked playfully and went near Iseul.

Iseul pushed Chanyeol but he was too strong. “I wasn’t saying that! What I meant was you should at least be a gentleman and help me stand up instead of just saying sorry and chuckling like a psychotic elephant!” Everyone was surprised by the guts of the new trainee. Even Iseul, herself, was surprised with what she said and covered her lips.

“E-Elephant? I am an elephant now?!” Chanyeol snickered.

“Y-Yes, you are with those big ears of yours!” Iseul teased.

“If I’m an elephant then you’re a pig with that big nose of yours!” Chanyeol teased back.

“Oh I admit that! I am Skinny Piglet Han Iseul, and no one can dare to tease me with that because I LOVE PIGS!” She tried to push Chanyeol but he was still too strong for her.

“Ya, what is happening right now?!” The rap coach asked and caught Chanyeol and Iseul’s attention.

“He/She started it!” Both said in unison and pointed to each other.

As a result, both of them got a punishment, to eat lunch together, and to have the same schedules in dance trainings and vocal trainings. They were punished to stick together for a week, which only strengthened their hate towards each other. Iseul hated Chanyeol so much and Chanyeol hated sticking with Iseul, as he cannot have time for his girlfriend, Kim Yejin.

After the punishment week, the rap coach had withdrawn the punishment without knowing that the two were still cats and dogs.

**END OF FLASHBACK**

Chanyeol realized that he finished half of this drink already, yet he wanted to talk to Iseul more so he stopped sipping from time to time.

“How’s school by the way?” He asked, starting another conversation.

“Aigoo! Remember the three girls I mentioned last time you came here? The one who bullied me?” Iseul asked, and stirred her drink with the straw.

“Mm?” Chanyeol asked and paid attention as he sipped a bit of his drink.

“Suddenly they became friendly! They even bought their own copies of S Ori-K’s album!” Iseul said in shock.

“Really? That’s great!” Chanyeol praised.

“They even asked me to sign their copies and I did!”

Chanyeol smiled at Iseul. “Maybe they already realized that they shouldn’t be bullying you because of the way you treat me. We’re normally like this so they must accept it!”

Iseul laughed. “I think we’re better when we’re enemies, oppa,”

“Ya! I’m trying to be nice right now!” Chanyeol said and crossed his arms.

“I think it would be boring if we won’t fight,” Iseul kept on laughing and made Chanyeol laugh too. “But oppa… Why did you suddenly treat me nicely today? I sort of disrespected you last time and I think I should be the one doing this as an apology…”

Chanyeol then rested his arms on the table and tapped it with his fingers. “Well… Last time, I went to your school because I wanted to celebrate with you since we did great last SM Town Concert. Treating you your favorite drink, Happy Lemon, was my idea that time, just like this one. But you got mad at me so it didn’t happen… And today, knowing why you got mad at me that time, I’m treating you nicely because I want to apologize to you for being bullied because of me,”

Iseul tried not to laugh but she did. It was the first she saw Chanyeol being so serious.

“What?! I’m serious,” Chanyeol said sincerely.

“I didn’t know you have this side,” Iseul said and kept laughing.

Chanyeol snickered. “I think I know the exact words for that…”

“Huh?” Iseul asked and stopped laughing.

“Come on, you don’t have to be shy,” Chanyeol said suspiciously.

“What?! I don’t get it oppa. Really,” Iseul said, puzzled.

“Aigoo, don’t act innocent! You know you want to say it!” Chanyeol said. He then drunk the left milk tea in his cup and realized he already finished it.

“What the heck do I want to say?!” Iseul asked getting irritated.

“That Chanyeol oppa have his romantic side and I like him!” Chanyeol bragged and gave her a smirk.

“What the?!” Iseul exclaimed and felt her cheeks burn. “HECK NO!!! WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?!” She then hit Chanyeol with her palm.

Chanyeol laughed at Iseul’s reaction. “But why are you blushing?”

“Because that’s damn awkward! What the heck! What makes you think that I like you?!”

“I’m romantic… I’m cool… I’m tall… and I’m handsome…. I can sing… I can rap real quick… I can… d-dance…” Chanyeol was suddenly cut off by Iseul.

“You can dance? YOU can dance?! You CAN dance?! You can DANCE?! YOU CAN DANCE?!” Iseul mocked.

“AAAHHHH WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?!” Chanyeol said and ruffled his curly hair in frustration. “I’m trying my best to dance, you know!”

“Fine. You can dance if you believe it,” Iseul said and nodded.

“You’re mocking me.” Chanyeol said with a blunt expression.

“I’m not! I’m already saying that you can dance,” Iseul said and took another sip of her drink.

“Stop saying I can dance cause I really can’t, okay?!” Chanyeol pleaded.

“…” Iseul blinked.

“…”

“But you just said you can,” Iseul said and Chanyeol threw his face on the table.

“Aish!” He once again ruffled his hair from frustration. He looked up and glared at Iseul. “Pig.”

Iseul glared. “Elephant.”

“Shortie,” Chanyeol teased.

“Weird long legs,” Iseul smirked.

“Nose.” Chanyeol teased again and Iseul covered her nose.

“How could you mention my nose job?!” Iseul murmured and pouted. “How dare you… Well yours was oversized that they even tried to make it smaller,” Iseul stuck her tongue out.

“At least it was already pointed before,” Chanyeol grinned.

Iseul gave him a blunt expression. “I hate you,”

“I hate you too,” Chanyeol replied.

Iseul went out of the shop and Chanyeol followed him, pulling her arm.

“This is much better than being friends,” Chanyeol commented and chuckled.

“I know right?!” Iseul said and they both did a high five before going inside the car.

 

Meanwhile at the SM Entertainment building, Jae Kyung had her first vocal training with Chen.

“Chen, this is Hong Jae Kyung, the incoming S Ori-K member who will take Jun Hee’s place,”

Chen stood up and bowed to Jae Kyung. “Annyeong,” He greeted.

“Annyeonghaseyo sunbaenim,” Jae Kyung greeted politely.

“Ah, call me oppa instead,” Chen said.

“Okay, oppa,” Jae Kyung said cheerfully and chuckled. “I’m really a big fan of yours Chen oppa, I hope we can be friends!”

Chen blushed from the comment. “Omo, thank you,”

“Oppa, could you give me some tips to improve my singing?” Jae Kyung asked naturally like they’ve known each other for a long time.

“Hmmm…” Chen thought for a while and had an idea. “May if I could hear you sing first? Just a chorus would do and then I’d give comments after you sing,”

Jae Kyung nodded and started to sing the same song she sang during her first meeting with S Ori.

“Wow, you have a great powerful vocals just like…” Chen paused for a while and his smile faded away.

“Just like who, oppa?” Jae Kyung asked.

“Ah, nevermind,” Chen said and smiled as he tried to focus on his work.

“Is it Jun Hee sunbae?” Jae Kyung asked with a smile on her face.

Chen nodded and added, “Well you have your own style. But yours is too powerful but the only thing you lack is the emotion…”

“Ahhh, arasseo, I’ll take note of that,” Jae Kyung said and wrote it on her notebook.

“And take note that you should really be working hard, because the girl you’ll be replacing… That girl’s voice… I really loved it,” Chen said and missed Jun Hee by the thought of her voice.

“Chen?” a voice suddenly called. It was Xiumin.

“Hyung, you’re here!” Chen greeted with a smile.

“I just passed by your trainer and told me she can’t teach you today for an emergency. Her mother was taken to the hospital and…” Xiumin was suddenly distracted with Jae Kyung who was smiling widely as she saw Xiumin for the first time.

“Oh, hyung, this is Hong Jae Kyung by the way, the new S Ori-K member who will be filling in Jun Hee’s position,”

Jae Kyung quickly stood up and bowed to Xiumin. “Annyeonghaseyo sunbae!” Jae Kyung quickly greeted.

Xiumin’s bright mood turned dark, reminiscing Jun Hee’s memories just by the sound of her name. What made it worse is the fact that there’s a confirmed trainee who would be replacing her right away. It made him feel bitter that he only nodded as a reply to Jae Kyung’s greeting.

“I’ll meet you back in the dorm, Chen,” Xiumin said and walked out of the room.

Jae Kyung’s smile faded away from the rejection she felt. “Oppa, why does he seem unfriendly? Is he really like that?”

Chen chuckled. “Of course not…”

But deep inside, Chen was bothered by Xiumin’s unusual cold expression towards someone.

On the other hand, Jino and Kai’s training session seemed to be a bit harder than before.

“Because you both failed the punishment I gave you, I am giving you a harder one. I want you to cover Gilme and Outsider’s-“

“GILME AND OUTSIDER?!” Jino and Kai exclaimed in shock. The two artists were known for fast rapping and they could already guess what the song is.

“Yes. Gilme and Outsider’s Love Is War. And I’m still giving you a week to train. If you have to stay together the whole time just to train, do it,” Han Ji said and left the both of them dumbfounded.

Jino was still trying to process everything in her mind. Gilme’s a good rapper and she felt like she’s not good enough for it. Cho Hee’s their speed rapper and she’s only good at rhythmic rapping.

Kai on the other hand buried his face on the table. He was so frustrated and he wanted to do his best on this mission, but he felt like it was too hard to try. “I think we should start today,”

“Yes, shall we start searching for the lyrics?” Jino asked.

“Yeah, let’s do that,” Kai said. He brought out his phone and searched the lyrics in the internet. Jino on the other hand did as well.

Kai chuckled. “I think we’re really dumbfounded by Han Ji-seonsaengnim’s mission…”

“Hmm? Why?” Jino asked as she used her thumb to scroll down the lyrics on her phone.

“We haven’t checked the music yet and we’re already looking at the lyrics,” Kai laughed.

“Oh, right,” Jino said and seemed to let out a forced chuckle.

“Are you alright?” Kai asked.

Jino nodded. “Y-Yeah,”

Kai kneeled in front of her and rested his chin on Jino’s table. “Ya, tell Kai oppa honestly if you’re mad at me,”

Jino shook her head. “I am not,”

“Really?” Kai asked.

“Yeah,” Jino nodded and searched the song in her phone. “Here it is,” she then played the song and paid attention to it.

Kai observed her serious face today and he felt really unused to it. He then went back to his seat and paid attention to the song too.

“This is really complicated…” Jino commented.

“I think we just have to memorize the lyrics and properly pronounce every word correctly,” Kai added.

Jino nodded. “Okay, I’ll study my parts today and study yours too,”

“Wait, let’s make a plan. Do you have any paper there?” Kai asked.

Jino brought out her duck-designed notebook and duck-designed pen, making Kai laugh.

“Aigoo, this y Ori,” Kai mumbled.

“W-What did you say?” Jino asked.

“y Ori. You’re the leader who keeps on saying your y and you love ducks so, I’ll call you y Ori from now on,” Kai said.

“Oh, I remember,” Jino nodded. “But that’s so awkward! If people hear you calling me like that, they’d think you’re a maniac,”

“Oh come on, all fans think I am,” Kai said in a boastful tone, making Jino’s eyes grew wide. “I-I mean, I’ve read some fan fictions about me and I was always a… maniac… I don’t know why…”

An awkward silence filled the atmosphere and Kai tried to break it by getting the notebook and pen. “Well… I-I was sort of planning to have a daily goal for the week… Like, today we should memorize the lyrics so that by tomorrow, we’ll only have to try the song together,”

“Okay,” Jino said while Kai took note of everything.

“Excuse me,” Han Ji suddenly came back. “I forgot to tell you one thing,”

Jino and Kai paid attention as Han Ji went back inside the room. “Being together as one. It’s the key to my mission,” She said with a smile and left the room.

“So do we stick to our plan?” Jino asked.

“Yeah, let’s memorize our lines first, okay?” Kai said. He then patted Jino’s head as he stood up. “And if you’re sort of worrying about something, don’t bother to call me, okay?”

Jino nodded. They both walked out of the room and was once again blocked by Jae Kyung.

“Oh, hi!” Jae Kyung greeted with a large smile on her face.

“Hi,” Jino greeted and so did Kai.

“I guess I’ll leave you girls here. Jino, I’ll meet you tomorrow at 7AM. Is it okay?” Kai asked with a thumb up.

“Yeah, sure,” Jino said and raised a thumb up.

Both girls watched as Kai left them.

“Jino, are you busy?” Jae Kyung asked.

“Well, I just need to memorize some lyrics before tomorrow comes,” Jino said, still with her blunt expression.

“Can we talk for a while? I’ll treat you milk tea!” Jae Kyung invited.

“O-Oh, really? What are we going to talk about?” Jino asked.

“Just come with me! It won’t take too long,” Jae Kyung said cheerfully and pulled Jino with her.

They both came in a nearby milk tea shop and Jae Kyung did as what she promised – treating Jino a milk tea.

“Thank you Jae Kyung unni,” Jino said as she got her milk tea and smiled to her.

“No problem, it’s for the leader anyways,” Jae Kyung said and sipped some of her milk tea. “Aigoo, I can’t wait to debut! I feel so excited,”

Jino chuckled. “I felt the same but when we were already waiting in the backstage for our performance, I really felt nervous and suddenly all the excitement was gone,”

Jae Kyung pouted and laughed. “Ya, don’t make me feel pessimistic about it!”

Jino chuckled. “Sorry, I was just saying how I felt! You should have talked to Sun. All of us were all nervous but Sun wasn’t. She was really excited to be on stage,”

Jae Kyung giggled. “Unni… I just want to ask something. I don’t know why, but I can’t stop worrying about how Xiumin sunbae had greeted me a while ago,”

Jino got alarmed. She was never used to Xiumin being the type of guy that will make you worry. “Why? What happened?”

“Chen oppa and I were on the middle of having our first vocal training session together when Xiumin oppa came in our room to tell us that it’s cancelled because of an emergency. Chen oppa introduced me to him and I greeted him cheerfully, yet he just snubbed me and walked out of the room! Unni, is he mad at me? Should I be worried right now or am I just overreacting?”

Jino knew the answer yet she wasn’t sure of it. Maybe it’s because she’s Jun Hee’s replacement that made him a bit bitter. “Well… Only Xiumin oppa can answer that question, unni… I think you have to clarify it with him,”

“Really? But what if he doesn’t talk to me?” Jae Kyung asked.

“As I’ve known Xiumin oppa, he’s not that kind of guy,” Jino reassured. “He’s very approachable,”

Jae Kyung pouted. “Unni, does he hate me because I’m Jun Hee sunbae’s replacement?”

“Huh?” Jino got alarmed and her eyes grew wide. Her mind was already panicking but she tried to keep herself calm. “N-No, no that couldn’t be a reason…  I-I mean that would be a bit too much,”

Jae Kyung scratched her head and thought for a second. “But what’s his relationship with Jun Hee like?”

“Hmm…” Jino thought for a second. “Well they are the best of friends…”

“And?” Jae Kyung asked waiting for something else.

Jino’s eyebrows furrowed. “That’s all,”

Jae Kyung nodded. “How about you and Kai sunbae? You seem to be close now…”

“E-Eh?” Jino asked.

“It’s a hot topic in SM Entertainment’s building. And even in the EXO Planet fandoms… That you two are very awkward with each other,” Jae Kyung elaborated.

“O-Oh… Yeah, I think we have gotten closer because of the rap training sessions we had after our promotions,” Jino nodded. “And speaking of the rap classes, I think I have to go home now, I still need to memorize the lyrics for the mission our teacher gave us. If you need something you can always call me,”

“Really? Can I get your number?” Jae Kyung asked excitedly.

Jino nodded and saved her number on Jae Kyung’s phone. “I’ll treat you next time, unni,”

Jae Kyung chuckled. “I’ll surely wait for it!”

 

The next day, Xiumin, Chen, Lay, Tao, Su Ho and Se Hun were on their way to SM Entertainment’s building, as well as Sun, Cho Hee, Na Rae, Angela, Lin and Jie. Suddenly they were blocked on their way as fans rallied outside the building, with placards that says: BRING BACK OUR JOYONG HEE JUN HEE; JUN HEE GET WELL SOON AND COME BACK WITH S ORI; WE WANT JUN HEE BACK; and other statements about Jun Hee’s withdrawal.

Everyone had a really hard time to park the van in front of the building, so the idols decided to go out instead, Xiumin, leading the way since he’s the eldest.

Suddenly Xiumin stopped from walking before they pass through the crowd who got star struck by seeing their idols nearly.

“I’m so sorry…” Xiumin tried to say it as loud as he could. The crowd suddenly became quiet and paid attention to Xiumin. “But the CEO’s not here,”

After the three seconds, the fans again roared. They got wilder, knowing how close Xiumin is to Jun Hee.

“Hana, dul, set,” A fan can be heard counting, asking the crowd to shout in unison. “XIUMIN OPPA, HOW ARE YOU?”

Xiumin tried to think of ways to get in the building, but the crowd really blocked his way so he had no choice but to answer. “I miss her.” Fans howled by the sudden answer of Xiumin and they got quiet once more, wanting Xiumin to say more. “We all miss her so much.” Xiumin said without a single smile forming on his lips and he continued to walk as the fans gave way to him feeling sorry for him. The other idols behind Xiumin were able to walk to the entrance of the building too.

The fans calmed down and being there was no use anymore since the CEO’s not around. To strengthen their opposition against SM Entertainment’s decision to withdraw Jun Hee, they left their placards on the floor hoping that the CEO will see it.

“Yeobo,” Se Hun whispered behind Cho Hee.

Cho Hee gasped and she looked at Se Hun with a blunt expression.

Se Hun chuckled. “So you’re already used to me calling you yeobo?” Se Hun teased.

“Shut up! I just looked at you ‘cause I felt your breath near my ears!” Cho Hee defended.

Se Hun rolled his eyes. He then held Cho Hee’s arm and pulled her. Sun, who was walking beside Cho Hee, glanced back at them and knew she should leave them. The other idols went to their own training venues and Se Hun and Cho Hee were left in a hallway.

“W-What do you want?” Cho Hee asked, blushing from the thought that Se Hun’s looking at her sternly and holding her arm tightly. She smelled the strong and manly perfume Se Hun’s using, which only added to the list of the reasons why she falls for this man.

“It’s been a while,” Se Hun started. “Let’s have some time together,”

“What the heck? Let go of me oppa! W-We’re classmates, we’ll have time together!” Cho Hee said and tried to pull her arm away from his grip. “Aigoo, how could you joke around at this time? You’ve seen how people’s reactions were, aren’t you even worried?”

Se Hun got a bit alarmed by what Cho Hee said. “I-I’m sorry…” He then bit his lip and looked at the hand that he was holding. “I didn’t know you’re having a bad day today,”

Cho Hee laughed making Se Hun puzzled. “Aigoo, I didn’t know you were this gullible, that even my lame acting skills convinced you!”

“Did you just… do that only to trick me?” Se Hun asked and crossed his arms. He then walked behind Cho Hee and hugged her in the back, making Cho Hee jump in shock.

“O-Oppa, someone might see us and they might get the wrong idea-“

Se Hun rested his chin on Cho Hee’s shoulder. Cho Hee felt the tip of his nose as he whispered, “Yeobo, I can see that your cheeks are turning redder,”

“Oppa could you please let go of-“

“Calm down… I know you were a bit stressed from the fans a while ago…” Se Hun said and chuckled.

“Oppa, please. Some staff might see-“

“I don’t care,” Se Hun chuckled and kept on playing.

“Y-YA! YOU TWO!” Some guy behind Se Hun’s back shouted making both of them panic.

“Stay, Cho Hee,” Se Hun pressed the button on the wall to open the elevator’s door and he pushed her inside the elevator, without letting go of Cho Hee.

He quickly closed the door so that no one can see them. Cho Hee then tried to put all her force so Se Hun would let go of her.

“What were you thinking oppa?!” Cho Hee asked, her heartbeats are still in panic. “The staff must have seen us!!!”

“You’re safe, don’t worry. He didn’t see you and he only saw my back so I guess it would be really hard to know who we are,”

As the door opened once more, Se Hun pulled Cho Hee out of the elevator.

“Aish what do you want?!”

“A kiss from you?” Se Hun played once more.

“Seriously?!” Cho Hee rolled her eyes and saw her wristwatch. She almost cursed, seeing the time that passed by. “Damn it oppa! We’ll be late for rap training!” Cho Hee said and ran as fast as she could.

Se Hun suddenly stopped her by pulling her wrist. “How about my kiss?”

“Kiss yourself!” Cho Hee said and tried to push Se Hun away but he was too strong.

“Let’s walk there together,” Se Hun said and slid his hand from her wrist to Cho Hee’s hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. “What makes you so cold to me, Cho Hee? I thought you like me?”

Cho Hee felt butterflies in her stomach and the rush of blood to her cheeks by Se Hun’s touch. “How could you be this cruel?!” Cho Hee muttered to herself.

“Quick, Cho Hee, we’ll be late,” Se Hun pulled Cho Hee and walked through the hallways of SM Entertainment fast, without letting go of her hand.

“Se Hun oppa, it’s this classroom,” Cho Hee said and stopped from walking.

“Really?” Se Hun smiled slyly still not letting go of Cho Hee’s hand. “My kiss?” He then let out a mischievous laugh.

“Shut up! I’m serious,” Cho Hee demanded.

“I’m serious too,” Se Hun said and Cho Hee pushed him. “Come on, before we enter the class,” Se Hun kept on laughing.

She then made a face, rolled her eyes and quickly went inside the room gaining attention from the trainees and her coach. The coach looked totally mad at her. She was definitely late.

“I’m sorry-“ Cho Hee was about to say something when Se Hun interrupted.

“Seonsaengnim, I’m really sorry about Cho Hee’s tardiness… I sort of had a stomach ache and she was the only one I could accompany me to the clinic,”

“Aigoo, it’s alright Se Hunnie. But how’s your stomach now?” The coach asked while Cho Hee’s eyes grew wide from shock. That coach was really strict, how could she react like that because of Se Hun?

“It’s fine now, Cho Hee’s really my angel today,” Se Hun said and winked at Cho Hee when the teacher wasn’t looking.

Cho Hee was so bothered with Se Hun’s weird approach today. “Se Hun does not seem like he’s at his right mind now… What the heck is he doing?” Cho Hee thought.

Meanwhile at Iseul’s school…

“Hi!” Iseul greeted as her three classmates, Cherry, Mina and Jae Ah, as they blocked her way to the classroom.

Cherry laughed and so did Mina and Jae Ah. “You know, let’s just greet her too,” Cherry said and crossed her arms.

Mina then pulled Iseul’s hair as they go to the school’s rooftop.

“Ouch, let go of my hair!” Iseul said as she felt some strands of her hair fall.

As they reached the rooftop, Mina pushed Iseul down as she let go of her hair, causing Iseul to fall on her .

“I-I thought we’re already okay?” Iseul asked.

“Gosh you really think we are okay?” Jae Ah teased and laughed mockingly.

Iseul stood up and tried to control her tears.

“We already got what we wanted,” Jae Ah continued with one eyebrow raised.

“What is it that you want?” Iseul asked. She was confused of what Jae Ah was talking about.

The three ladies in front of Iseul searched for their pockets while giggling.

“Finally, Park Chanyeol’s number!” They all showed their phones to Iseul as Jae Ah squealed.

“W-What?” Iseul asked, still puzzled.

**FLASHBACK**

It was Tuesday morning, right after the day Jun Hee left the dorm. As S Ori’s fans got bothered by the issue that Jun Hee left their dorm, the S Ori members feel worse.

To make sure no one bothers to ask what happened to Jun Hee, the manager cancelled all of S Ori’s schedules, and excused them for a one week leave in school.

Meanwhile, Chanyeol was bothered, ever since he had heard Lay and Iseul’s conversation. After days of feeling mad at her because she pushed him away, he felt like he was the one who should be really apologizing. Iseul was bullied in school because of him and he thinks he should do something just to lighten up the stress she gets in school.

He then went to Seoul Girls’ High School on their dismissal time wearing his hoodie, cap, sunglasses and mask to hide his identity. He waited patiently for the three girls he saw the last time he came inside the school when he fetched Iseul. He still remember the names but he felt like their faces were already vague in his memory.

Fortunately, a girl shouted Cherry’s name, audible enough to get Chanyeol’s attention. He looked at the girl and she looks really familiar. He walked carefully and tried not to scare the three girls.

“Excuse me?” Chanyeol greeted.

Cherry, Mina and Jae Ah looked at each other and felt a bit nervous. Chanyeol’s face was fully covered and he might be some maniac hitting on high school girls.

“I’m… Park Chanyeol, please don’t freak out when I take off this mask and sunglasses, please,” Chanyeol said. “I really need to talk to you,”

Cherry looked at the other girls, her eyes already telling how excited she is. She tried to keep calm as Chanyeol took off the things that covered his face.

“Oh my gosh. It’s really Park Chanyeol, girls am I dreaming?!” Cherry murmured.

“N-No you’re not!” Mina said and tried not to squeal.

“I need to put these again because some fans might see me,” Chanyeol said.

“Fine oppa, but why do you need to talk to us? And why us?” Cherry asked, almost squealing.

“I heard that you bully Iseul in school…” Chanyeol started, making the three girls gasp. “Well, she didn’t tell me. I just accidentally heard it when she confided it to a friend. And I want to make up for her. I know you’re bullying her because of me and the way she treats me… And to tell you honestly, Iseul’s disrespect towards me was just a normal thing for me… It’s something that we can’t change and we never seek to change. I mean, it’s just like we became closer because of those simple fights. So please don’t get the wrong idea… We’re really fine with teasing and bullying each other,”

The three girls just nodded, still in the daydream with Park Chanyeol’s presence in front of them.

“Thanks!” Chanyeol said excitedly. “And if you could say sorry to her, I’ll be really happy! I’ll give you my number, I promise,” Chanyeol said without any hesitation.

“Sure! We’ll buy our own copies of their album!” Cherry bargained.

“That’s great!” Chanyeol exclaimed. “Give me your numbers. If I heard from Iseul that you apologized to her, I’ll send you a voice call, okay?”

“SURE!” The three girls excitedly replied.

**END OF FLASHBACK**

“He really did that?” Iseul asked feeling really down as she heard how Chanyeol asked Cherry and the two other girls to apologize to her. “But I thought you were sincere…”

“HOW COULD WE BE SINCERE WITH THIS?!” Jae Ah shouted and showed her tab to Iseul, as an article made her feel a lot worse.

Iseul scratched her head and read the whole article:

Iseul and Chanyeol are dating?

Last September 3, 2012, Iseul and Chanyeol were spotted hanging out in a milk tea shop in Seoul. The two were seen laughing all day and enjoying their own drinks.

Fans got crazier as a paparazzi shot spread all over the internet, where Chanyeol grasped Iseul’s hand and seemed to be stopping her. Was the cat-and-dog treatment on camera’s just for show or are they really that close to tease each other and fight a lot?

SM Entertainment’s representative quickly reacted on this, saying that Chanyeol treated Iseul just to celebrate their performance last SM Town Concert.

Some fans commented, “I love the coupling!”; “The skinship’s too cruel!”; “But they often fight!”

***

Iseul’s eyebrows furrowed. She gave back Jae Ah’s tab and ran outside of the school. She didn’t want to study in that school anymore. She felt like she had to give up, but she always remembers what her mom tells her that no matter what happens, she shouldn’t give up school.

“Why did I have to go in this school…” Iseul said a tear already forming on her cheeks. She then sat down on one of the benches in front of their school and started crying. “Why do I have to be here? Why do I have to meet that man? Why do I have to forget?! Why can’t I forget?!” Iseul’s thoughts were already full and she didn’t know what really makes her cry. Her past, her problems, the stress, the bullies or Park Chanyeol – it all goes into her mind making her feel really dizzy. She then ran back to their dorm.

Scratch that, to Exo-K’s dorm.

Meanwhile at SM Entertainment Building…

“Na Rae, I’m really not good at dancing,” Jae Kyung said as they waited for the choreographer to come.

“Me too!” Na Rae said and pouted.

“Aigoo, I’ve been training for years but I could never reach Kai’s level,” Su Ho suddenly came in.

“Omo, Su Ho oppa, I’d like you to meet Hong Jae Kyung! She will be taking Jun Hee’s position from now on,” Na Rae introduced.

Jae Kyung then politely bowed. “Annyeonghaseyo Su Ho sunbae,”

“Aigoo, don’t call me sunbae anymore. Once you’re in Exo Planet, be comfortable to call us oppas or unnis,”

“Actually I’m the second eldest in S Ori,” Jae Kyung said.

Su Ho nodded. “Well, I just have one tip for all of the members of Exo Planet that I think I must share to you too... It’s all about love. The love of the fans that you will be getting when you debut won’t be compared for the love that you can give to them. They know us too well, and we, idols, barely know them. So my tip for you is to become humble all the time. The attention they give to us, the money and time they waste for our voices and faces, the love and loyalty they give to us – our talents, our performances is not enough to say that we are superior to them. Because they give greater efforts than the efforts we give. And also, superiority in the group leads to misleading cooperation, because in Exo Planet, we maybe are all stars but we are one, which means that we shine equally and we must ALL stand out.”

Jae Kyung nodded. “Yes, oppa! I really thank you for the meaningful tip you gave me,”

“Call it an initiation before you come into our world,” Su Ho chuckled.

“Oppa, I heard that Xiumin oppa and Jun Hee sunbae’s really close to each other,” Jae Kyung said and played with her fingers.

“Oh, yes they were really close that we keep on teasing them that they look like they are in a relationship!” Su Ho said, reminiscing the moments.

“Really?” Jae Kyung asked and looked down. “How was their friendship? Was it really strong or do they also fight often?”

“Well, they are so close just like siblings,” Na Rae replied.

“I think it’s more of like this: For Xiumin, Jun Hee’s like a little sister whom he should always take care of, whom he always makes sure if she’s happy, and whom he finds strength and motivation whenever he feels weak. For Jun Hee on the other hand, Xiumin’s like a big brother who gives her confidence when she thinks she’s about to fall and her strength when she’s weak,” Su Ho elaborated.

“Ohhh… How about Chen oppa? He seemed a bit so in to Jun hee sunbae’s voice,” Jae Kyung asked once again.

“Well Chen oppa and Jun Hee oppa were the past trainee buddies in their vocal training sessions… And Chen actually confessed his feelings for Jun Hee unni recently. Chen and Xiumin oppa actually fought recently because of Jun Hee unni,” Na Rae narrated.

“Really?! What happened?” Jae Kyung kept on digging deeper for information.

“Because-“ Na Rae was about to talk when Su Ho cut her off.

“Well that’s in the past,” Su Ho in, trying not to bring the issue back. “Let’s not talk about it anymore because it’s a long story, besides the coach just came in,” Su Ho said and looked up to their coach.

“Ohhh, annyeonghaseyo!” Na Rae and Jae Kyung greeted the coach.

***

Continuous knocks can be heard in Exo-K’s dorm. Everyone was taking a rest and the guys who were only up were Chanyeol and Kai. They were very busy playing video games until…

“PARK CHANYEOL OPEN THE DOOR!!!” A lady shouted and kept knocking on the door, audible enough for Chanyeol and Kai to hear it.

“Yeah! I got it!” Chanyeol said as Kai paused the game they were playing. Chanyeol on the other hand opened the door as fast as he could, only to see a crying Iseul.

“W-What happened? Ya! How could you not call me oppa?!” Chanyeol asked but Iseul kept on crying.

“How could you be so mean?!” Iseul muttered, having a hard time to breathe because of crying and from running up to Exo-K’s dorm. “HOW COULD YOU BE SO MEAN?!?!” Iseul said and pushed Chanyeol, making him tremble.

“Wha- Why?” Chanyeol asked. He had no idea why Iseul was so mad at him.

Iseul kept on crying. “Oppaaaaa!!!” Iseul stomped her feet, feeling so mad. She can’t even explain what’s going on to Chanyeol. She clenched her fist and took a deep breath before talking. “Isn’t me being bullied in school because of you enough?!”

“Iseul, if this is because of the article-“

“NO, IT’S NOT!” Iseul cut him off. “Don’t talk I don’t want to hear your voice!!!” Iseul was so angry and kept on crying that Chanyeol only looked at her. “ISN’T IT ENOUGH OPPA?! You made me look like a fool! You made me think that everything’s fine when it’s not!!! Cherry, Mina, Jae Ah… They’re all laughing at me because of you! You made me believe that everything’s for real when it’s just for show! Oppa, you don’t know how happy I was when they told me they already like me. I didn’t want their attention on me, I wanted to be friends with them!!! Oppa, I want that friendship real!!! I want them to feel that they really want me as a friend and not because they HAD to befriend me! How dare you oppa?! HOW COULD YOU PLAY WITH MY FEELINGS?! I HATE YOU SO MUCH OPPA I COULD DIE HATING YOU! YOU’RE THE WORST GUY I’VE EVER MET! I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT I HAVE TO MEET YOU IN MY LIFE!!! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!!!” Iseul kept crying and punched Chanyeol’s chest.

Chanyeol felt really down. He didn’t want Iseul to feel this way. He felt his heart sank seeing Iseul cry because of him. Instead of feeling all Iseul’s punches, he felt the pain from the repeated “I hate you’s” that came from Iseul’s mouth. He wanted to be a big brother that could make Iseul happy always. He wanted to be the best friend that Iseul can confide her problems to. But like what she said, he was the worst guy ever.

He then held Iseul’s wrist and hugged her. “I’m sorry,” is all he could say.

Iseul calmed down and kept crying. “Oppa, I really hate you… I hate you so much…”

Chanyeol pushed Iseul and held her shoulders. “Iseul, believe me I didn’t do that to make you feel bad. I tried to tell them to make it up to you because they’ve seen you wrongly,”

Iseul tried to wipe her tears away yet it kept on rolling down on her cheeks. “I hate you so much…” Iseul shoved Chanyeol’s hands away from her shoulders and walked away.

Kai went outside and patted Chanyeol’s shoulder. “What happened?”

“I just ruined a school girl’s life,” Chanyeol said with a straight face.

“It wasn’t your fault. I know you just wanted to help,” Kai advised.

“I know. But my help wasn’t the right thing. I guess I didn’t thought of the consequences. I should have been more careful,” Chanyeol nagged at himself. “I should have thought about it carefully…”

“Come on, she just said those words out of anger and embarrassment. She must have been bullied too much in school a while- Wait, it’s not yet dismissal time… Did she just cut classes?! She was still in her uniform!”

Chanyeol looked at Kai. He then looked at his watch on his phone and suddenly ran to the staircase.

“Ya, where are you going?” Kai asked but Chanyeol kept on running. “Aish, I was about to win in our game!”

***

Meanwhile, in Seoul Performing Arts High School…

“Is Kim Jun Hee-sshi still absent?” the homeroom teacher asked. “What happened to her? It’s been a week and she’s still absent?”

Jino got worried. It’s weird that Jun Hee won’t show up in class for how many days.

“Where is she?” Jino thought.

Dismissal time came. Jino was on her way outside the school’s gate when a car blocked her. The window at the back seat went down, and she found out it was Kai.

“Hey, Jino,” Kai greeted. “Shall we start practicing?”

Jino nodded her head. She then went inside the car and the car drove off.

“How was school?” Kai asked. “I missed the campus,”

“It’s still the same…” Jino said with her head down.

“Have you memorized the lyrics?” Kai asked.

“Yes, I think so…” Jino mumbled.

“Are you alright?”

“No…” Jino muttered and realized what she just replied. “I-I mean yes!”

“Are you sure?”

Jino nodded and gave Kai an assuring smile.

“By the way… Iseul went to our dorm a while ago and she was so mad at Chanyeol hyung…”

“What? But last night she was so happy with him! I thought Chanyeol oppa’s getting nicer to her?” Jino asked.

“I don’t know. But Chanyeol hyung told me she couldn’t see Iseul. Not in her school, not even in your dorm… And her phone’s turned off.”

Jino looked at Kai sternly.

“Well don’t be nervous, Chanyeol’s trying his best to look for Iseul,” Kai reassured.

“I think I know where she is…” Jino said and got her phone. “Tell oppa not to worry anymore.”

“Why? Where is she?” Kai asked.

“A place where she could understand the problem she’s been dealing with,” Jino said and looked outside. She then took a deep breath and exhaled heavily.

“Is there a problem?”

“Nothing,” Jino tried not to look unwell in front of Kai but her gloomy aura wouldn’t make him fail to notice her.

A few minutes after Jino fell asleep, her head rested on the head support and got a bit shaky, which bothered Kai. Would he put her head on his shoulder?

Kai suddenly felt something on his shoulder as he kept on thinking about Jino’s head. It was the same thing he’s thinking about – Jino’s head was already resting on his shoulder. Kai froze on his spot. He didn’t know what to do, but seeing Jino sleep comfortably on his shoulder made him feel better. At least he could help his partner relieve a little bit of her stress.

As they reached the SM Building…

“Kai-sshi, we’re here,” the driver said.

“Yeah but can we stay a little bit more longer?” Kai asked, seeing Jino in her deep sleep.

“But Kai-sshi, I still have to fetch Iseul-sshi,” the driver said.

“Oh, really? But I heard she’s not in school?” Kai said still checking if Jino’s still in sleep.

“W-What?! Hey, we should report this to the manager!” the driver panicked. “I’m sorry Kai-sshi, but it’s my job to fetch Iseul-sshi from school, because if not, I’m really dead!”

Kai was a bit disappointed but nodded. “It’s okay… Jino?” Kai said and tried to tap Jino’s cheeks. “Shin Min Young?” Kai tried to call her carefully. He was hoping she’d be in a good mood after her deep sleep.

Jino slowly opened her eyes as she heard her full name. It was the first time again, after months of being the well-known S Ori-K’s leader ‘Jino’, to be called by her real name. After a few seconds of being groggy, she finally realized that her head was resting on to something – Kai’s broad shoulder. She quickly got up that made her head bump on to Kai’s chin, causing them both to groan in pain.

“Ouch!” They both said in unison.

Jino rubbed her head while Kai rubbed his chin.

“D-Did I just sleep on your shoulder?” Jino asked, still seeing stars from how she bumped her head on Kai’s chin.

“Yeah, you did. And you were very comfortable sleeping on it,” Kai teased.

“R-Really?” Jino asked, still dazzled.

“Yeah, it seems like you really liked sleeping on my shoulder,” Kai added and continued giving her a smirk.

Jino tried to snob Kai’s smirk and looked at the place around her. She then realized that they’re already in SM Entertainment. “Thank you oppa,” Jino told the driver and patted his shoulder. She then got outside the car.

Kai on the other hand was surprised. “How could she ignore my jokes today?!”

“Kai-sshi, I’m really in a hurry…” The driver noted.

“Oh yeah, sorry hyung, I’ll be going now. Thanks for the ride anyways!” Kai said and hurriedly went outside the car. He then ran quickly to catch Jino. “Ya!”

Jino stopped and looked at him. “Hm?” Jino asked.

“Let’s…” Kai tried to catch his breath. “Let’s go up together,”

Jino nodded and they both went to their practice room together.

Thirty minutes had passed, yet something doesn’t seem right in Kai and Jino’s training.

“Jino… What’s happening?” Kai asked.

Jino held her forehead and was definitely frustrated from the things happening. She really memorized the lines, and was able to rap everything perfectly last night. But how come she couldn’t do it right tonight?

“Jino, I know you practiced this,” Kai stood up from his chair and knelt down in front of Jino’s desk. “And I know there’s something bothering you which is why you couldn’t concentrate on our practice right now,”

Jino looked at Kai’s eyes. “Nothing oppa. I guess I wasn’t able to practice this well last night,” Jino said and got the lyrics out of her bag.

Kai quickly stole it from Jino’s hands, which also stole Jino’s attention. “Jino. Tell me what’s bothering you. It’s been the second day you’ve been acting like this,”

“I told you oppa, it’s nothing,” Jino said firmly.

Kai nodded. “Fine. But let’s go,” Kai said and got Jino’s hand.

“What? Where? We’re not yet done!” Jino panicked but was pulled by Kai.

“We’ll just take a break,” Kai suddenly ran at the streets and pulled Jino. He wasn’t conscious of the people around him. He just wanted to run and let out all the stress he have been feeling. He wanted to let Jino feel the same.

“Ya!!! People are looking at us!!!” Jino panicked. She then hid her face with her hands and kept running.

Kai laughed loudly. “Isn’t it fun?!”

“No, it’s not!!! Gosh we might bump some people! Especially old ones!” Jino kept on panicking. She could not careless and she had an image to protect, since she is a leader of a well-known group. All of her deeds will reflect on the group since she’s the leader.

Kai laughed again. “It’s a big street Jino, no one would bump us!”

“And… And my legs are short I could not catch your pace! You’re too fast K-Kai oppa!” Jino tried to shout so Kai would hear her.

Kai suddenly stopped making her bump her head on his back.

“Ouch,” Jino said and held her forehead. “YA YOU ALWAYS BUMP ME!”

Kai patted Jino’s head. He suddenly carried her on his back and ran once more.

“Ya!!! This is soooo not right oppa! Put me down!!!” Jino kept on patting Kai’s shoulder.

“But you said you couldn’t match my pace…” Kai was already panting. “So I thought of carrying you on my back so we could run together,”

“Why do you want to run anyways?! You’re only tiring yourself!!!” Jino asked.

“Why don’t you just shut up for a while and stop worrying?!” Kai asked back.

Jino got silent. Kai was right. What if she just stopped worrying? Will everything be alright once more? Will she bring back everything back to its place again?

Kai then stopped in front of a convenience store without bringing Jino down. He looked to his side and talked to Jino, “I-I’m sorry, have I offended you?”

“No oppa,” Jino said and tried to hold back her tears.

Kai brought Jino down. He then faced Jino and held her wrist. “Let’s go inside!” He then pulled Jino inside the convenience store and bought two bottles of banana milks. They both sat on the chairs beside the window and looked at the nightlights shine on the streets of Seoul.

“Here,” Kai passed one banana milk to Jino. “Want me to open it?”

“T-Thanks but, it’s okay I can open it,” Jino insisted.

Kai nodded. He then took a sip of his banana milk and let out a breathy exhale as he got refreshed from the sweetness of the drink. “My favorite!”

Jino then took a sip too. “Yeah, me too,” Jino nodded, still looking at the cars that passed by in the streets.

Kai focused on the path where Jino was looking at. “I know… we started things awkwardly, but you can always trust me when you have problems,”

Jino looked at Kai, who again took a sip of his drink.

“Ah! So refreshing,” Kai exclaimed.

Jino let out a short chuckle after observing how childish Kai drinks. Kai then looked at her and smiled, without noticing there was some banana milk left on top of his mouth. Jino then got a tissue and gave it to Kai.

“Wipe your mouth,” Jino said, trying not to laugh at how Kai looked like.

Kai chuckled. “Do I looke like Santa Claus?”

Jino chuckled. “No, Santa Claus has whiter skin than yours,”

Kai rolled his eyes. “Thanks a lot,”

Jino then laughed. “What?! Just saying. At least you worked out well and wasn’t able to get his big tummy,”

“Yeah, right,” Kai nodded and chuckled. “Aigoo…”

Jino looked back at the streets from the window. “I’m sorry I’ve been a bit different…” Jino started.

Kai looked at Jino and listened carefully. “It’s okay,”

Jino took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. “It’s just that after Jun Hee unni left, everything seemed different too…” Jino put a hand on her cheek. “I don’t know what seemed to be different. It seems like losing a member is one thing, but losing a friend is a deeper story… I think I’m missing her so much and it doesn’t feel like home if she’s not around…” Jino sighed.

“Well, what are the things that you often do with Jun Hee?” Kai asked.

“We would often go to Myeongdong and buy some cute stuff together, and then we decorate the dorm or our rooms together; we would often go to the park because it’s a good place where we could talk and decide on things I couldn’t decide with the others when I’m at the dorm; we would often spazz about SHINee in one laptop; and we would often watch movies together in her laptop and eat some chips. It’s so simple, but we enjoy it, because we’re doing it together,” She then took a sip of her banana milk. “I don’t know if it was my fault for letting her go easily. If I only knew what’s going on, I should have done something to stop her from going,” Jino threw her head on the desk. “It’s all my fault, I wasn’t too observant. I’m the worst leader ever. And now, Iseul’s lost… I don’t know if I could still handle this problem…”

“Iseul’s still lost?” Kai asked and checked his watch. It has been nine hours since Iseul went to their dorm and ran away from Chanyeol.

“Yes, Chanyeol oppa kept on giving me messages that she’s nowhere to be found,” Jino said and took a look on her phone again. “I don’t know if I really know where she is, which makes me more nervous…”

“Is this the reason why you couldn’t concentrate a while ago?” Kai asked.

“Maybe…” Jino muttered and played with her fingers. “When you gave me a piggyback ride and when you told me to shut up and stop worrying, I suddenly asked myself if I could do that. And what if I really just shut up and stopped worrying? Will everything be okay? I don’t know if thinking like this would be very much like of a leader to say, but trying to think about it deeper, it seems like I’m already giving up my position…”

“Are you giving up?” Kai asked.

“I don’t know. But something’s already pulling me down, making me unstable to stand still for this position. Maybe I’m not worthy for this,”

“No, Jino. Someday you’ll understand why you’re in that position. These are just challenges. Don’t let something pull you down because you should be strong for your group,”

“That’s the problem oppa. I’m not strong enough,”

“Your strength Jino, is not what you need to become a good leader,” Kai said and Jino looked at him in the eye, paying attention to what he was saying. “You love S Ori, don’t you?”

Jino sighed and nodded.

“That’s being a sufficient leader, Jino. Your love for them is also your strength. Loving all eleven girls is hard. And handling them too is hard. Even a parent would give up having such big number of children!” Kai said, making Jino chuckle. “I really think you are a strong leader Jino…”

Jino looked down.

 “Come on, cheer up,” Kai said and patted Jino’s shoulder. “Shall we get some real duck to make you smile?”

Jino chuckled. “Shut up oppa,”

“Or maybe I should buy a bag of hand creams again?” Kai teased.

Jino gave him a look. “What the heck, that didn’t even cheer me up!”

Kai chuckled and so did Jino. “At least I tried… Speaking of those hand creams, how much have you used?”

“I think I’ve already finished four of them… Since some of the members ask for it too,” Jino shyly explained.

Kai nodded. “Shall we go back now?”

“Yeah, sure, thanks a lot Kai oppa,” Jino said and stood from her chair.

Kai on the other hand stood too. “That’s nothing, we are partners and we have to help each other out,”

Jino smiled. She didn’t expect herself to be so open to Kai, since they were really awkward from the start. But after all the things that happened, she just felt so grateful to be his partner.

***

Meanwhile, at S Ori-K’s dorm…

“I couldn’t see her Cho Hee! It’s almost 8!” Chanyeol panicked and her cousin doesn’t know what to do to keep him calm.

“Chanyeol oppa, relax!” Cho Hee said trying to convince her cousin to sit.

“How come I’m the only one panicking? Your group’s maknae is lost! How come you’re not worrying about it?!” Chanyeol asked.

“Gosh, you know what you’re overreacting!” Cho Hee complained.

“But Cho Hee… I told you she was so mad at me a while ago it really makes me feel worried…” Chanyeol finally sat on the couch while he shook his legs up and down from waiting.

“Oppa…” Cho Hee breathed heavily. “I believe that she’s fine. And I am really sure she’s fine,”

Chanyeol’s eyebrows furrowed. “Hey, I think I’m already getting this…” He then stood and went to every corner of S Ori-K’s dorm.

Cho Hee’s eyebrows furrowed too. “What are you doing oppa?”

“Am I being pranked?! Cho Hee come on tell me now! It’s not really funny,”  Chanyeol kept on asking.

“What the heck, you’re that desperate to see her?” Cho Hee teased but was partly serious.

“I’m here.” Iseul suddenly came inside the dorm. She was still in her uniform and went directly in her bedroom.

“What’s her problem?” Chanyeol muttered and was about to go and chase iseul but Cho Hee stopped him.

“Leave her alone for tonight, oppa,” Cho Hee suddenly became serious. “And what the heck is wrong with you? Why are you overly worried for Iseul?! Do you like my chin-gu? Tell me honestly, I’m your cousin!” Cho Hee squinted and pointed at Chanyeol.

Chanyeol pushed Cho Hee’s finger away. “My cousin…” He then held Cho Hee’s shoulders. “Your chin-gu went to our dorm. Cried at me. Telling me she hates me. And was really mad at me. YOU EXPECT ME NOT TO WORRY WHEN SHE SUDDENLY DISAPPEARED WITHOUT ME EVEN CLEARING THINGS OUT?!”

Cho Hee made a face. “I saw the article about you.” Cho Hee cheekily smiled.

“And what about it?” Chanyeol’s eyes furrowed.

“You’re dating aren’t you?” Cho Hee asked suspiciously. “And this is some kind of a love quarrel right?”

Chanyeol looked at Cho Hee like she was the weirdest human ever. Chanyeol wanted to laugh at how Cho Hee teased them stupidly, but he just couldn’t since it wasn’t making him laugh too. He then gave him a sarcastic smile instead. “I know you’ll believe me when I say we’re not since I’m your cousin. Thanks a lot,” Chanyeol said and was about to walk out of the door.

“Hey…”  a husky voice called. As Chanyeol turned, he saw Iseul  while Cho Hee cheekily smiled and left the both of them. “About the drama a while ago… I’m sorry,”

Chanyeol was dumbfounded. It took it five blinks before he could open his mouth and say something. “Could you tell me what just hap-“

“As expected, I am the immature Han Iseul who is sensitive of things so, I’m sorry… I should not have let you seen me crying like that. I guess it-“

“I’m the one who’s immature,” Chanyeol looked down and scratch the back of his head.

Iseul stopped and looked at Chanyeol’s eyes. Chanyeol on the other hand continued, “I had the lamest idea ever. I thought it would change everything. I mean, the bullying… But don’t worry, I’ll talk to them,”

“That’s none of your business, Chanyeol oppa,” Iseul quickly cut him off.

Chanyeol paused. “What? I started this, I should end it,”

“No, you don’t have to. You’ll just mess it if you do,” Iseul paused. She then continued five seconds after, “Goodnight,”

Chanyeol held Iseul’s wrist. “Hey, I’m trying to help!”

“Well thanks a lot for your thoughtfulness, but… I don’t need it. Especially if it was yours,”

“Look, I know I made it harder for you but please give me another chance to say sorry,” Chanyeol pleaded.

Iseul puckered her lips and forced a smile. “You don’t have to. I told you we’re better when we’re enemies…” Iseul shoved Chanyeol’s hand away from her wrist. “Goodnight,”

Chanyeol was left dumbfounded.

“YA!” Suddenly, a man’s voice shouted. “What are you doing here?” Kai asked. He was walking through the hallway with Jino.

“Jino, Iseul’s inside… I’m sorry I think I made you worry,”

“Yeah! You totally did, hyung! Shall we resume playing-“

“Sorry Jong In, not in the mood for playing games today,” Chanyeol said and patted his shoulder. “See you at the dorm,” He then walked to the staircase.

“Hey, I’ll go inside, I think you should come with him… Is he alright?” Jino said and pressed the passcode in their dorm.

“I-I don’t really know…” Kai scratched his head and puckered his lips. “I… uhhh…”

Jino turned and smiled. “Thanks for tonight oppa,”

“Yeah, that’s… that’s what partners are for… I mean, we should help each other right. And… consider me as your friend as well…” Kai said and crossed his arms.

“Hey, I’ve always considered you as my friend!” Jino hit Kai’s shoulder with her palm.

“Really huh? Then why do you feel awkward calling me oppa?” Kai asked.

“Well… I guess we weren’t close back then,” Jino chuckled and so did Kai. “You know what, you should go home now… I mean, you should take a rest,”

“Yeah, right, right… Uhm… So let’s call it a day huh?”

Jino nodded and smiled.

“Uhm…” Kai used his thumb to point to the hallway.

“Yeah,” Jino said and kept the smile on her face. Jino opened the door and was about to come inside the dorm when Kai stopped her.

“Jino!”

Jino turned back at Kai and waited for him to say something.

“G-Goodnight… A-Actually, it won’t be a day w-without saying it to a fri-“

“Goodnight Kai oppa,” Jino said and went inside the dorm.

“Yeah,” Kai nodded. “Aish, why are you so bothered Kim Jong In?!” Kai slapped his forehead and walked to their dorm.

Before the night ends, Angela and Jino have decided to post a letter to their fans on their weibo accounts. It was translated to Korean, Chinese and English to let all the international fans understand what they want to say.

“Hello everyone. We are All Star S Ori!

Please don’t be sad about what happened with our Joyong Hee Jun Hee. Everything will be alright. We surely miss Jun Hee unni already but let us just wish her all the best and give her all our support. Saranghaja!”

***
Kai woke up earlier than his alarm clock. He quickly got up from his bed and took a bath. A few minutes after, D.O. woke up and was surprised to see that Kai was already awake.

“Where could that man possibly go?” He got up from his bed and was surprised to see Kai inside the bathroom, brushing his teeth keenly.

“Ya!” Kai spat the toothpaste to the sink. “Don’t you know how to knock?”

“S-Sorry, I thought no one’s in the bathroom… Besides, why are you up so early?” D.O. asked.

“I’m brushing my teeth, go away,” Kai said and pushed D.O.

“Ya, I won’t cook your breakfast if you push me like that!” D.O. threatened.

Kai sighed. “Fine. I’m sorry hyung…” He then gargled to clean up the left toothpaste in his mouth. “Aigoo, don’t ruin my morning Kyung Soo hyung, hmm?” He then pinched D.O.’s cheeks and patted his shoulder as he walk towards the living room.

“What’s wrong with you today?” D.O. asked.

“Nothing…” He then sat on the couch and had a deep thought for a while. “Hyung!”

“Hmm?” D.O. asked as his mouth was already stuffed with toothpaste.

“What kind of movies does Jino like?” Kai asked.

Suddenly D.O. choked, making Kai run to the bathroom to check if his hyung was alright.

“S-Sorry, I was sort of surprised with your question… But… By any chance… Are you planning to have a movie date with Jino?” D.O. asked.

“N-No!” Kai scratched his head. “I-It’s not like that… It’s just that she’s been acting weird since Jun Hee left… I think she’s facing a mild depression,”

D.O. hit Kai’s head. “YA! Don’t overreact! That isn’t depression, babo (fool). It’s just that Jun Hee and Jino had been real good friends and-“

Kai cut D.O. off. “I know, I know, I know… But please tell me what movies does she like?”

“Romantic comedies?” D.O. said.

“Ahh, really?” Kai said and nodded. He then ran to his room.

“Aigoo… I’m really curious with his plans today…” D.O. thought.

Meanwhile, at the SM Entertainment building…

“You seem like you’re not in your right mind today…” Lay suddenly talked to Iseul while having their thirty minute water break.

“E-Eh?” Iseul asked. She did not hear what Lay said.

“If that’s because of Jun Hee…” Lay held Iseul’s shoulder, “…be strong for her. You had the same dream to mak S Ori successful right? So be strong for her. I know she’ll be happy seeing you grow in success,”

Iseul chuckled. “Do I really look bothered today?”

“Not only your aura says it, you seem to not catch up with the steps too. What’s the matter? All of the steps seem to be easy…” Lay wondered.

“Well… I guess there’s a lot of things in my mind right now…” Iseul said and let out a deep sigh.

“Let go of it. Whatever that is. You’re dancing right now, come on,” Lay said and shook Iseul’s shoulders like he was going to wake her body if he did that.

Iseul and Lay both chuckled. Lay then stood up and offered a hand to help Iseul get up. “Come, I’ll help you catch up,”

“Really?” Iseul asked and Lay nodded. “But… I’m afraid you’ll be that harsh Zhang Yi Xing seonsaengnim again…” Iseul joked and they both laughed.

“Come on, I promise I’d be friendly from now on,” Lay said and his right dimple appeared as he gave a heart-warming smile to Iseul.

“With that dimple, who would’ve thought you’d be strict sometimes too?” Iseul tried to play another joke on Lay as she got Lay’s hand and stood up.

“Aish. Stop it or I’ll bring that strict Zhang Yi Xing back!”

“But you promised!” Iseul stuck her tongue out. “I’m just kidding oppa, come on, teach me now.”

Lay chuckled. “What parts are you confused?”

“All of them.”

“SERIOUSLY?!”

***

 Tao was walking through the corridors of SM Entertainment as he have finally finished his two-hour one-on-one Korean lessons with Kris. Kris had a meeting with Su Ho, leaving Tao alone once again.

Alone. He didn’t know if he wanted this. But somehow he became used to it. He walked slowly and thought of his good memories with his family. He closed his eyes, as if imagining his family beside him. He can even imagine their house. Although it was not that big, it was enough for them to feel each other’s love and presence for each other.

Suddenly he bumped onto something that made him go back into reality. He opened his eyes and realized it wasn’t a ‘something’ but a ‘someone’ that he bumped into.

“Ya! Why are you walking down the hallway with your eyes closed? Are you sleepwalking or something?” Jie asked, looking at Tao horribly.

Tao remembered his last encounter with Jie in the practice room when she wiped his sweat for him. He also remembered his consecutive dreams about Jie that always makes him smile every morning. He felt his heart go wild, and beat fast. It was yearning for Jie and he did not know why. He did not know what to say. Jie was in front of him, talking to him and it was not a dream anymore…

”H-Hi… It’s been a while,” Tao said, making Jie burst into laughter. Tao was confused. What was wrong with his greeting? Was it that bad?

“Gosh, maybe you really are sleepwalking!” Jie continued laughing and snapped her fingers in front of Tao’s eyes. “Ya, gege! Wake up!”

“No, I know I’m awake.” Tao said, cluelessly.

“O-Okay, so why are you-“ Jie was cut off.

“D-Do you want to drink bubble tea? My treat!” Tao asked.

“Really?! Sure!!! Let’s go!” Jie quickly clung onto Tao’s arm and hopped outside SM Entertainment’s building.

Meanwhile, at the SM Entertainment cafeteria… Xiumin was drinking coffee by himself. He was still bothered about Jun Hee not answering his calls nor even replying to his text messages.

Suddenly, joined him and sat in front of him. It was a familiar face, probably a trainee that he often notices. She bowed at him and smiled.

“I’m sorry if I disturbed you on your thoughts… But I need to talk to you,” the girl said.

Xiumin’s eyebrows furrowed. “I-I’m sorry, your face is familiar but I don’t remember you that much… Can you introduce yourself again to me?” Xiumin said.

“Oh yeah, right! I forgot, I’m really sorry,” the girl gave Xiumin an apologetic smile and proceeded, “I’m Hong Jae Kyung, Jun Hee sunbae’s replacement,”

Xiumin felt like his blood rose to his head. The word replacement made him felt like he wanted to walk out of the cafeteria and leave the girl on the table. Jun Hee’s irreplaceable – that position’s for her only.

“I just want to ask you something…” Jae Kyung started. “What’s your relationship with Jun Hee sunbae?”

Xiumin thought that she won’t understand even if he explains. He then stood up and was ready to leave.

Jae Kyung stood and blocked Xiumin on his way. “If you’re acting cold because I replaced Jun Hee sunbae… I’m really sorry,” She then bowed 90 degrees to show how sorry she is.

Xiumin looked at Jae Kyung and paused for a moment. He sighed and replied, “It’s not that I’m mad at you… It’s just that… I don’t want anyone to replace Jun Hee...”

He was about to leave but Jae Kyung plea stopped him. “I’m not replacing her memory… I’m just keeping her presence alive in the group…” Jae Kyung’s tears suddenly fell. “I’m singing for her. I’m in the group because of her. It’s hard for me to always hear that I’m just here in the group as a replacement. I know I’m in the group because I have talents too… Couldn’t I show it too?”

Xiumin turned and walked towards Jae Kyung. He wiped her tears away…

And hugged her.

***

“Ya, it’s been a while since I saw you hang out with Lu Han gege?” Zhu asked, eating chips with the other members that were left in the dorm.

“Why? What’s the matter?” Mei asked and ate some chips too while watching a drama on the TV.

Zhu pushed Mei. “Yaaa! As if I don’t know! That man… whenever he looks at you, his eyes sparkle and his smile is inexplicably bright!”

“I don’t notice it,” Mei said and kept her eyes focused on the TV.

“Aish! Haven’t you felt dugeun dugeun when you’re with him?” Zhu asked.

“D-Dugeun dugeun?” Mei asked.

Suddenly, Zhu’s phone rang. “Omo, it’s Su Ho oppa!” Zhu said and jumped. She then answered her phone. “Su Ho oppa!!! Did you miss me? Why did you call me suddenly?” Zhu asked, her cheeks turning bright red.

“Omo, sorry Baek Ma Ri, I accidentally dialed your number. You shouldn’t have put your number on speed dial number 1,” Su Ho said on the other line.

“Ya, don’t play hard to get. You dialed me because you miss me and you’re just embarrassed to admit it, aren’t you?” Zhu asked.

“S-Sorry Zhu, I’ll talk to you later, I’m in a meeting with the managers. Bye!” Su Ho hung up and Zhu pouted.

“Aish. Such a player,” Zhu rolled her eyes and pouted.

“Was that Su Ho oppa?” Mei asked.

Zhu nodded. “Aish, I hate him! Why doesn’t he talk to me?”

Mei chuckled. “What was that call for?”

“He said he accidentally pressed my number since I put my number on speed dial number 1,”

Mei burst out laughing. “You’re crazy! Are you even his girlfriend?”

“No,” Zhu shook her head. “But I will be soon,” Zhu smiled cheekily.

“Aigoo, this girl has totally got mad because of obsession!!!” Mei held her forehead.

***

Meanwhile, at a nearby bubble tea shop…

“Aigoo, I wish we could be together at some training sessions,” Tao said as he sipped some of his drink.

“Ya, are you saying you’ve missed me?” Jie jeered.

Tao nodded innocently. “Is it bad to miss you?”

“No. It’s just weird since I always bully you,” Jie rested her back on the chair and crossed her arms. “Omo! By any chance… Are you falling for me?”

“Y-Ya, what are you saying?” Tao croaked. He felt really weak as he denied his feelings. “Babo!” He thought to himself.

“So you don’t like me?” Jie said and pouted. “It’s alright…” She then looked at her bubble tea with disappointed.

“Jie, I’m sorry… I mean, I like you! I was only-“ Tao was interrupted by Jie’s sudden burst of laughter.

“I was just kidding, you silly,” Jie patted Tao’s shoulder. “Come on don’t give me that I-don’t-get-it look, it makes me feel guilty,”

But Tao really didn’t get it. Why did she have to pretend? Is it her way of playing around?

Jie’s phone rang. Her eyes grew wide as she saw Angela’s message. “Oh, right! Oppa, I’m really sorry but I have to go back to the building right now,”

“Why?”

“Because… I-I’ll explain later, bye! Oh, and thanks for the treat!!!” Jie got her bubble tea and ran outside the shop.

“Aigoo, Huang Zi Tao. You’re a huge failure…” Tao slapped his forehead and sighed.

***

Kai went to S Ori-K’s dorm and knocked excitedly. Jino opened the door, since she was expecting Kai to go there for a practice.

“Ya, Jino, let’s postpone the practice today…” Kai said and gave an innocent smile.

“W-What?!” Jino asked.

“Kaja (let’s go)!” Kai grabbed Jino’s hand and led her somewhere.

***

[Play Everything Is Pretty]

At some mall in Seoul… Kai was walking behind Jino while holding her shoulders, pushing her to walk. Since it was still early, people are busy in school and office, giving them a chance to walk freely around the mall.

“Where are we? This is totally kidnapping!” Jino said hysterically.

“Sorry I can’t take you to Myeongdong… You know how fans go crazy when they see idols, especially idols together,” Kai said and continued walking behind Jino.

“And why are you supposed to take me to Myeongdong?!” Jino asked.

Kai then went in front of Jino, making Jino stop.  “Well…” He then held Jino’s shoulders. “Jun Hee’s maybe not here with you, but I’ll try to make  you feel her presence.”

Jino was sort of dumbfounded. “Why?”

Kai then flicked Jino’s forehead. “So you’d focus on our practice. You seem really down and stressed so…” Kai once more went behind her and held her shoulders to push her to walk again. “KAJA!”

“Psshhh… As if you can do that. Jun Hee unni’s different!” Jino challenged.

“I can do that! Shall we look for ducklings here?” Kai asked and looked around him.

“Eh?!” Jino asked.

Kai then pulled her to the department store while Jino lazily walked. He then looked at Jino and chuckled. “Are you bored?”

“Let’s just go back, we have to practice, Kai oppa,” Jino said as they both take the escalator going up.

Kai shook his head. “Today is rest day! Happy day!” Kai said, saying the last sentence in English.

“Aigoo, what’s this sudden excitement all about?” Jino muttered.

“Huh? Oh look! A duck plushie!” Kai pointed.

“I have tons of those at home…” Jino said.

“Maybe we should look for a big one?” Kai asked.

“I also have that…”

Kai paused and thought for a moment. “Do you like Krong?”

“What?!”

“Look, I know I have this weird impersonation of Krong… But somehow whenever I hear Krong’s voice and my impersonation… Why do I think it’s the same?” Kai asked and scratched his head.

“I’m really going to have to leave you here…” Jino said and walked away.

“Ya! Ya, I was just joking,” Kai chuckled and grabbed Jino’s arm. “Come on, do you want another bag of hand creams?”

“NO WAY!” Jino said in horror.

Kai laughed. “Okay, let’s go!”

“Where?” Jino asked.

“Let’s look for Krong,” Kai excitedly said. “Ah! There! Kaja!!!” Kai said and pulled Jino to run with him.

***

“Next stop, PARK!” Kai said and looked at the park with enthusiasm.

Jino looked all over the place. “What if there are sasaeng fans?”

“Don’t mind them, Kai oppa’s here!” Kai said. “Wow! Jino, shall we rent bikes?”

“Bikes?” Jino looked at a nearby store where there was a sign saying “BIKES FOR RENT”. “Sure!” Jino then nodded excitedly.

They went inside the shop and looked for some bikes, but to their surprise, only one mountain bike was left.

“Ahjumma, is this the only one for rent?” Kai asked the store keeper.

The ahjumma nodded. “It seems like today is my lucky day, a lot of people had been renting it this morning.”

“Ah, really?” Kai then thought for a while.

“It’s okay, let’s just take turns,” Jino said.

Kai nodded. “Right, let’s do that!” He then turned to the store keeper, “Ahjumma! We’ll rent this bike,”

The ahjumma smiled. “Aigoo, such a handsome man. I hope you’ll enjoy your day!”

“Yes, we will, because it’s a happy day!” He said ‘happy day’ in English again.

“Aish, I’m becoming irritated whenever you say that,” Jino said and crossed her arms.

“Kaja!” Kai and Jino went outside to try the bike. “You go first,”

“Arasseo.” Jino then rode on the bike, but surprising Kai and herself as well, she was having troubles on putting her feet on both pedals. When she was able to get both feet on the pedals, she was trembling and could not ride the bike on a straight line. After a while, she lost her balance and was about to fall of the bike, good thing she was able to put one of her feet on the ground to stop the bike.

“Ya! Are you alright?” Kai asked.

“Aigoo! It’s been a long time since I rode a bike… I think it was two years ago? Yeah, it was the first time I rode and learned how to ride a bike…”

“Ah, really?” Kai suddenly realized what Jino said. “Wait, you what?!” Kai then laughed.

“Why?” Jino asked.

“Nothing, it’s just weird that you don’t know how to ride a bike at that age…”

Jino then pushed Kai. “Go away.” She then sat on one of the benches at the park.

Kai kept on laughing. “I was just kidding! Aigoo, our S Ori-K leader’s such a kid. Oh, look!” Kai pointed at a kid riding a bike. “Wow, see that little girl! She can even ride it with only one hand! Daebak,”

“Shut up,” Jino said and rolled her eyes.

Kai scratched his head and chuckled. “Come, I’ll teach you how,”

“There’s no need to! It’s your turn now, go ride it by yourself,” Jino said and kept on pushing Kai away.

“Ya! Why are you pushing me? I gave you a Krong plushie!” Kai demanded.

“I did not ask for it,” Jino reminded.

“But still… I was good to you today!” Kai demanded once more.

“I did not ask for it too,”

“…”

“Let’s go home,”

“No way! It’s a happy day!” Kai then raised his arm and waved it.

“AIGOO SO IRITATING!” Jino said as she scratched her head agitatedly.

Kai then pulled her arm. “Come on, let’s just ride it together,”

“Where will I sit?” Jino asked lazily.

“Here,” Kai pointed the crossbar.

“Okay…” Jino sat down to where Kai was pointing and held tightly on handlebar. “Won’t I fall down?”

“Are you afraid?” Kai asked teasingly.

“N-No! Just being precautious!” Jino defended.

Kai then held the handles, making his arms look like it was wrapped around Jino. “That’s why my arms are here. If you fall, my arms will be the first to fall. Your back’s safe,” Kai said and smiled at Jino.

Jino looked at Kai’s smile. It was very warm. And of course, Kai would not have sasaeng fans if he was not that handsome. She then thought of forgetting all the stress first and go with Kai’s plan.

“Shall we go now?” Kai asked.

“Of course! But don’t go too fast, alright?” Jino worriedly said.

“Yup, I won’t,” Kai said in assurance.

Night came. Jino and Kai were still together trying to make the most out of their ‘happy day’. They both sat on a bench and rest from walking and fooling around with each other. Kai then brought out his laptop inside his backpack and turned it on.

“What’s that?” Jino asked.

“A laptop,” Kai said sarcastically.

“Don’t talk to me,” Jino said with a straight face.

“What?!” Kai chuckled and waited for the document to open.

“…”

“We are going to spazz together,” Kai said and clicked another document in his laptop.

“R-Really?” Jino asked, not sure if his plan was good.

Kai then played SHINee’s Replay. He then placed his laptop on the bench and stood up. “I know it’s really awkward to do it here but…” He suddenly danced the first verse of the song. He danced it until the chorus while Jino tried to hold her laughter. “Aigoo.” Kai then scratched his head and stopped dancing after the first chorus.

“WHAT THE HECK WHY DID IT LOOK SO FUNNY WHEN YOU’RE THE ONE DANCING IT?!” Jino burst out laughing.

“The genre doesn’t suit me right?” Kai asked and was also laughing to what he did.

“You looked really stupid doing that, don’t ever dance that again arasseo?” Jino teased.

“Yes!” He scratched his head and went back on his seat. “But I’m really a fan of SHINee hyungs… I always try to learn all their dances…”

Jino kept on laughing. “Aigoo, what was that for?”

“Nothing… You know what, let’s just watch a movie,” Kai got his backpack again and brought out a bag of chips.

He then clicked one of the movies he downloaded. “Here,”

“American Pie?” Jino asked.

Kai nodded.

As they began to watch, Kai paused the movie and chuckled awkwardly. “I-I think, I got the wrong movie…”

“Why?” Jino asked.

“I actually asked D.O. hyung about your favorite movies and he recommended me to look for romantic comedies… I tried to search for good romantic comedies in the internet and this one was the first to appear… But it seems like… a bit rated for you to watch,”

Jino laughed. “Come on, that’s just a movie! I don’t know but I think it’s cool, let’s just continue watching!”

“Y-You find this movie cool?” Kai asked. “Ya, ducklinghead, let me remind you that you’re still sixteen and you’re still underage for these mature comedies,”

Jino gave him a look. “You sound more mature than my dad. Come on, let’s watch it! Even my older brother would allow me to watch that!”

“You have an older brother?” Kai asked.

“Yes, why?” Jino asked. It was weird for her that Kai was so surprised about her having an older brother.

“Aigoo, then why is it so awkward for you to call me oppa?!”

“Well… I don’t know, because he’s my brother?” Jino said, as if asking herself too.

“Could that possibly be the ‘Min Hyuk oppa’ Iseul was pertaining to last time?” Kai asked.

“How did you know?!”

“Remember the first time I went to your dorm? I saw a bag of dog food and when you asked who brought it, Iseul said it was your Min Hyuk oppa,”

“Woah,” Jino looked at Kai in wonder. “You still remember that clearly? I didn’t know you had a sharp memory…”

“Well… Being smart is already natural for a y man like me,” Kai smiled boastfully and winked at Jino.

“Eeew, please don’t do that!” Jino pushed Kai’s face away and made Kai laugh.

“It’s true right?”

“NO! I’m the one who’s y here,” Jino said and stuck her tongue out. “So let’s watch,”

“Fine!” Kai said and played the movie.

***

As Kai and Jino walked to the dorm building…

“Have I done it well?” Kai asked.

“Huh?” Jino asked back, clueless about Kai’s question.

“Did you feel Jun Hee’s presence today?” Kai asked once more.

“No,” Jino replied straightforwardly and chuckled.

“CHINCHA?! Ya! I tried to do everything and you just-“

“But I feel really happy today.” Jino cut him off. “My heart feels relieved from all the stress. You’ve worked hard today, Kim Jong In-sshi.” She then patted Kai’s shoulder.

“But still…”

“I’ll give you a gift tomorrow for making this day a happy day,” Jino said ‘happy day’ in English too.

Kai chuckled.

Jino then patted Kai’s curly hair. “I’ll go now,” She waved the Krong plushie Kai gave her.

Kai smiled and nodded. “Goodnight,”

“Goodnight.” She then went inside her dorm.

The next day…

“Jino?” Kai knocked on S Ori-K’s door hurriedly.

Jino then opened the door and was surprised seeing Kai still in his pajamas. “Omo, ya, why are you still in your-“

“I really am sorry for last night…” Kai apologized.

“W-Why?” Jino asked. “Have you done something wrong?”

Kai handed a newspaper to Jino. With that, she already knew what happened – paparazzi shots from yesterday’s ‘Happy Day’.

Jino looked at the newspaper and saw the headline, full of their pictures together yesterday. “That’s alright, it’s part of being an idol… You don’t have to be sorry oppa,”

“But still, I was so stupid to think of that plan,”

“It was a ‘happy day’. So don’t be sorry,” Jino said and held Kai’s shoulder. “Ya! Didn’t you tell me everything will be alright when I’m with you? So let’s not be worried about this,”

“Are you sure?” Kai asked.

“Yeah. And I’m sure an SM representative will save us,” Jino chuckled.

“How about the antis?”

“Let’s not care about them, they know nothing about what happened,” Jino said calmly.

“You’re really a great leader. Daebak ducklinghead!” Kai patted Jino’s hair. “Go back to sleep,”

Jino nodded. She then closed the door and sighed. Although she told Kai that everything will be alright, she was a bit worried for the group. She may cause some troubles for the group since she was the leader. And since she was really grateful for Kai’s efforts last night, she could not confide her worries to Kai.

In times like this, she needed Jun Hee. But where had she been since she left the dorm?

***

It was time for Jae Kyung’s dance practice with Su Ho and Na Rae once more. Jae Kyung amazed the coach with her ability to catch up quickly, despite of being new in the advanced lessons for the idols.

During break time…

“Na Rae-ah, have you seen the rumor about Jino and Kai oppa? Is it real?”Jae Kyung asked.

Na Rae drank all the water inside her bottle and answered, “Yes… Part of it,”

Jae Kyung gasped. “So they’re dating? I knew it!”

“No, of course not! With their awkwardness, that’s so impossible!” Na Rae burst out laughing. “It’s just that it’s true that they went out last night… But you know friendly hang outs, even Cho Hee unni and Baekhyun oppa does that,”

“You know, malicious fans are always around,” Su Ho added. “Even when they see two boys going out together, they still think that it was a date between those idols...” He then sighed. “That’s why you can’t trust the news too much because they never know the real thing that’s going on,”

“Aigoo, that’s a relief,” Jae Kyung said and held her chest like she can already breathe properly.

“Why?” Na Rae and Su Ho said in unison.

“I mean, fans might feel bad about it right? Plus, the anti-fans of S Ori or Exo might increase… So I think it’s good that it wasn’t true,” Jae Kyung said and drank some water.

“That’s right but… Jae Kyung, when you debut as an idol, don’t think about the anti-fans too much alright? They know nothing about our personal lives so let’s not hate them,” Su Ho said and stood. “Arasseo, enough of the chitchat! It’s time to practice again! Coach’s here!”

“Ne!” The two girls followed Su Ho and got ready for the next set of steps.

***

Meanwhile, at S Ori-K’s dorm…

“Ya!” Baekhyun sat down comfortably at S Ori-K’s sofa. He was too bored in the dorm. Kai slept and there was no one else to talk since the others had their training.

“Aigoo, boy friend! Why don’t you just sleep too instead of bugging me off here?” Cho Hee asked as she sat beside Baekhyun and eat chips.

Baekhyun tried to get some of the chips but Cho Hee slapped his hand. “YA! Aigoo, is that because of Se Hun, HUH?! Now that he knows your feelings for him and he calls you yeobo, you feel like your boy friend’s bugging you whenever he visits you? What happened to friendship Cho Hee?” Baekhyun asked.

Cho Hee got a bit alarmed. She could not tell if Baekhyun was serious and mad or if he was only trying to play around. “Here,” She then gave the bag of chips to Baekhyun.

“No, I don’t like it anymore.” Baekhyun said and crossed his arms.

Cho Hee’s eyes grew wide. “Oopshie…”

“…”

“OH MY GOSH, I’M SO SORRY BOY FRIEND!” She then wrapped her arms around Baekhyun and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Really?”

Cho Hee nodded. “I was just playing around!”

“And?”

“A-And… Huh? Wait, what?” Cho Hee asked, confused.

“Aish! I was expecting you to tell me ‘I was just worried for you because I think your eye bags are getting bigger that’s why I wanted you to sleep!” …or something!” Baekhyun said hysterically.

Cho Hee pushed Baekhyun. “Come on, give me some chips. You’re such a loser boy friend,”

“Ya, Cho Hee… I’ve been thinking about this since this morning…” Baekhyun tried to keep his voice down,

“What is it?” Cho Hee asked and got some chips from Baekhyun.

“Recently, S Ori and Exo had been the interests of paparazzi… Shall we make a scene too? Shall we go out together and see what will the fans think of-“

Before Baekhyun could finish his sentence, Cho Hee quickly hit his head. “Babo! Can you imagine the population of our anti-fans? Especially on us, S Ori! There are more fan girls in Exo and I think almost all of those fans wants to kill us since we’ve gotten so close to you! Stop thinking about that, it’s not a good joke,”

“Aish, you’re boring…” Baekhyun gave the bag of chips back to Cho Hee and crossed his arms.

“But… maybe we could do that some other time? I mean, right now, the ChanSeul and the Awkward Coupling’s issues are still fresh… Let’s do that when the issues about them are already gone, alright?” Cho Hee dared.

“Sure!!!” Baekhyun was so excited that he accidentally pushed the bag of chips Cho Hee was holding.

“YA! CLEAN THOSE!” Cho Hee said and crossed her arms.

“Fine.” Baekhyun said with a straight face. His expression suddenly became bright and ensured, “But we will do that, okay?”

“Yeah, fine, fine,” Cho Hee said and chuckled at how Baekhyun’s eyes sparkled.

Back to the SM Entertainment building…

Jino was so exhausted. She came out of the practice room and walked to the hallways of the building when she remembered something…

**FLASHBACK**

“But I feel really happy today.” Jino cut him off. “My heart feels relieved from all the stress. You’ve worked hard today, Kim Jong In-sshi.” She then patted Kai’s shoulder.

“But still…”

“I’ll give you a gift tomorrow for making this day a happy day,” Jino said ‘happy day’ in English too.

**END OF FLASHBACK**

“The gift!!!” Jino said and gasped. She pressed the elevator button immediately and went inside.

“Oh, Jino!” Suddenly, it was Jae Kyung also on her way home.

“Jae Kyung unni!” Jino waved.

“Are you on your way home?” Jae Kyung asked.

“Actually, I’m still going to a nearby store. How about you?” Jino asked.

“I’m on my way home. But if you want, I can go with you,” Jae Kyung offered. “I mean, I have nothing to do at the house…”

“Sure!” Jino said excitedly.

They then got to the store, which was only a walking distance from the SM Entertainment building…

“Ya, I heard that you had a date with Kai oppa…” Jae Kyung teased.

Jino stopped walking. “A-Aigoo, that’s not it,” Jino chuckled awkwardly. “Well, we were just hanging out to release all the stress and sort of have fun since our rap training’s going a bit rough,”

“Oh really?” Jae Kyung sarcastically said.

“Really!” Jino said innocently and laughed. “You’re all so suspicious about my relationship about Kai oppa, aigoo… Even my brother called me just to know if it was real or not,” Jino said as she looked at some pillows displayed in the store.

Jae Kyung laughed. “Ya, what are you looking for?”

“Uhm… A neck pillow or something that would be nice to rest on… Ah! This one!” Jino got a duck pillow and was amazed by it.

“You like ducks so much, don’t you?” Jae Kyung asked and chuckled.

“Yes, I do!” Jino said and looked at the pillow in wonder. She then paid for the pillow and they both left the store. “Oh, by the way, thanks for coming with me here, unni.”

“That’s nothing, we’ll hang out a lot soon like this, alright?” Jae Kyung invited.

“Yes! Let’s do that! Aigoo, the others will love this. Especially Iseul, Jie and Jun…” Jino was about to say the word Jun Hee. She thought it would be too awkward to say that to Jae Kyung and she might hurt her feelings.

Jae Kyung smiled at her as if saying that it’s okay with her. She then held Jino’s shoulder. “I know what you’re going through not as a leader but as a friend… I’ve lost a couple of friends, but you’d keep in touch with her, right?”

Jino sighed. “That’s the problem unni… I tried to call her but her phone’s turned off,”

“Ah, really? Maybe she’s trying to space out… Probably because she’ll miss you?” Jae Kyung guessed.

“I hope she’s alright… Anyways, unni, I have to go now. I still have to wrap this up,” Jino said.

“Sure!” Jae Kyung said and Jino left. “Which reminds me… Isn’t it her birthday tomorrow?”

***

Meanwhile, Exo and S Ori had a meeting at their dorm…

“Aigoo, since the M units are going to Taiwan, we have planned to do this,” Angela brought out a paper bag with masks inside.

“Masks? What are you going to do with these?” Su Ho asked.

“I’m planning to make a video message,” Angela explained.

“Video message for who?” Jino asked, as she got inside the dorm. She then realize that the whole members of Exo and S Ori were there. “Oh, do we have a meeting today?”

“Ah… Actually the manager suddenly called us since S Ori-M and Exo-M are going to Taiwan tomorrow,” Kris butted in.

“And… this is like a bit of a hang out before we separate again!” Angela said and clapped her hands.

“Ah, really?” Jino asked. “What’s the video message all about?”

“AH!!! That’s all about us inviting the fans to watch us out at Taiwan!” Lin said and chuckled.

“Ohhh… Is it okay if I go to my room first?” Jino asked.

“YES!” Everyone, except Jino, said in unison.

Jino blinked rapidly feeling a bit awkward when all of them replied in unison. “Don’t they like me?” Jino thought. She then wrapped her gift for Kai.

A few minutes after…

“Kai oppa?” Jino called.

“Oh, they already left Jino,” Sun said.

“Ah, really? I’ll just go to their dorm for a while,” Jino said and went out of the dorm. “Aigoo, what is this? They didn’t even wait for me…” Jino pouted as she walked to Exo-K’s dorm.

As she reached Exo-K’s dorm, she knocked three times and waited for someone to open it.

“Oh, bestfriend!!!” D.O. hugged Jino like they did not see each other for years.

“Omo! Ya, Kyung Soo oppa!” Jino said, suffocated from D.O.’s tight hug.

He then let go of Jino and smiled. “Aigoo, it felt like I haven’t seen you for years,”

“You missed me that much?” Jino asked and chuckled.

D.O. nodded. “Can we hang out sometimes too? I promise we won’t make an issue!” D.O. raised an arm.

Jino laughed. “Okay, but when I’m with you, I prefer you cooking,”

“Oh! Right! Let’s do that!” D.O. nodded excitedly.

“By the way, can you call Kai oppa? I have to give him something,”

“Sure! YA KIM JONG IN!” D.O. ran inside the dorm. “JONG IN-AH!!!!”

Kai then came in front of the doorstep. “Ya, ducklinghead. Hyung said you were looking for me,”

Jino nodded. She then passed the gift to Kai with her two hands.

“So you were serious about the gift last night, huh?” Kai asked, looking at the gift with sparkling eyes.

“Yes, I am. Goodnight!” Jino then ran to the dorm. She was a bit embarrassed about the thought of giving a gift to a boy.

“YA!” Kai called, but it was too late. He then went inside the dorm and looked at the gift in amazement.

“Where’s Jino? And what is that?” D.O. asked.

“I don’t know, she walked away…” Kai said, still smiling at the present. He sat at the couch while his eyes were still focused on the gift.

“What’s that?” D.O. asked.

“I don’t know either! It’s Jino’s gift…” Kai said and giggled.

“What?! Ya, is there something going on between the two of you?” D.O. asked.

“Nothing!” Kai said. “SE HUN-AH!!! BAEKHYUN HYUNG!!! CHANYEOL HYUNG!!! SU HO HYUNG!!!”

D.O. hit Kai’s head. “Su Ho hyung’s not yet here,”

“Oh, right!” Kai chuckled.

“Ya, what’s the matter Jong In?” Chanyeol asked. He and Se Hun were battling with their online computer game and Baekhyun was just watching the both of them.

“Take a look at this!” Kai showed Jino’s present to the other members.

“If you called us because of that present, I might kill you,” Se Hun said coldly.

“Come on, this is a special one! It came from Jino!!!” Kai beamed.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun looked at each other cheekily. Chanyeol sat on Kai’s right and wrapped his left arm on Kai’s shoulder. Baekhyun on the other hand pushed D.O. away from the seat, making the latter fall so he could sit beside Kai too. He then wrapped his arm around Kai and looked at Chanyeol, signaling for them to start their plan.

“So, you’re saying that’s from Jino, huh?” Chanyeol started.

“And you called us because you’re excited to open it, huh?” Baekhyun teased.

Kai tried to shove his hyungs’ arms and tried to hide his excitement. “W-What? Tch, if you have been given a present, won’t you be excited too?”

“But the fans give us presents…” Chanyeol started again.

“And you often just open it without calling us…” Baekhyun added. He then tried to tickle Kai’s flank.

“Ya!” Kai pushed Baekhyun that made him fall too.

D.O. then laughed manically. “GREAT REVENGE!”

Baekhyun then pretended to hit him with his fist only to threaten him. “Shut up!”

D.O. on the other hand kept on chuckling.

“Come on,” Chanyeol then held Kai’s shoulders. “Relax, aren’t you in love tonight?”

“Shut up, or else I’ll call Han Iseul,” Kai threatened.

“Ya, as if I’d be afraid of that little pig,” Chanyeol boasted.

“Okay, let’s do that,” Kai then got his phone from his pocket and started to search for Iseul’s number.

“Fine, fine, I’ll stop,” Chanyeol grabbed Kai’s phone from his hand. “But why don’t you just open that present and show it to us,”

“I was about to do it but you keep on teasing me. Aren’t you used to this? We’re just friends!” Kai said.

“Ya, what’s happening here?” Su Ho just arrived from training. He then brought his bag down on the floor and sat on the single couch. “Are you having a meeting without the leader?”

“No, it’s just that Kai oppa received a gift,” D.O. narrated.

“What’s the big deal with the gift?” Su Ho asked, clueless of what just happened.

“It’s from…” Baekhyun smirked at Chanyeol signaling him to tease Kai.

“JINO!!!” Baekhyun and Chanyeol shouted at Kai’s ears which made Kai jerk.

“Aigoo, hyung, we’re just friends, I swear!” Kai explained.

“I know, I know,” Su Ho agreed. “Ya, you two, stop being so immature. Let him open the gift,” Su Ho said, referring to Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

“Arasseo…” Baekhyun and Chanyeol replied in unison, still giggling.

Kai unwrap the gift. It was still inside a box and it had a note on top of it.

“A LOVE LETTER!!!!!!!!” Baekhyun and Chanyeol surprisingly said in unison. They both chuckled and did high-five to each other.

“Ya, stop it!” Su Ho reprimanded. “Read it Kai,”

Kai the read the note aloud, that says: “Because you’ve worked hard, you might need a rest. Always make your everyday a happy day. Thank you!”

“Awwww, that’s sweet,” Baekhyun teased.

Kai then opened the box. It contained a duck-designed neck pillow. “Aigoo, hyungs!!! Isn’t it cute?” Kai said as his eyes sparkled with joy.

“Wow, that’s really Jino’s taste,” D.O. said in wonder. “Aish, why didn’t I receive such gift… Ain’t I the best friend here?” D.O. said and walked out of the living room.

“Well, what do you expect, it’s Jino,” Su Ho said. He then left and went to his room.

“Aigoo, maybe this is the start…” Chanyeol teased and left Kai.

“The start of the awkward coupling’s love story!” Baekhyun said and ran to where Chanyeol was going.

“Well… Se Hun-ah, isn’t it cute?” Kai giggled.

“…”

“Aigoo, so comfy,” Kai said as he tried to put it around his neck.

“Is that all?” Se Hun asked. He then went back to the PC room and continued gaming.

Kai then looked at the note. He put it inside the box and kept it in his room. He then brought the pillow on his bed. “Aigoo. You’re making it a happy day too, ducklinghead,” Kai said and patted the pillow.

***

Jino was running at a hallway, searching for an exit. She was all sweaty and was panting from running around the whole building. All the doors were locked, except for a dark room that has no door.

She went inside the dark room. A spotlight then almost blinded her. But as she moved closer, she saw Kai looking on the ground.

“Uhm… Kai oppa?” Jino asked. She was surprised that she doesn’t feel the awkwardness when she said oppa.

Kai did not answered and did not even bothered to look.

Jino chuckled. “If this is another happy day-“

“Stay away from me,” Kai said coldly.

“What?” Jino asked and was surprised by his sudden change of mood. The past night, he was like a close friend who would listen to her problems and make her day a ‘happy day’. Now he’s asking her to stay away?

“Run Jino… The door is still open,” Kai said.

Jino laughed. “But there are no doors here!”

Suddenly Jae Kyung came and she was walking towards Kai. She turned Kai so that his back was facing Jino. She then looked at Jino with one eyebrow raised.

Jino felt the hot tears fall on her eyes. She didn’t know why, it just fell from it. Her heart tightened and made her knees tremble.

As she fell on her knees, the ground was shaking, as if there was an earthquake.

“Jino-ya!!!” She looked to her side abruptly and saw D.O. running towards her. He held her hand and pulled her so that she could run.

“Let’s get out of this place!” D.O. said and tried to run.

“K-Kai oppa! Jae Kyung unni! Come on!” Jino called.

But Kai and Jae Kyung stayed like they did not hear her. Jae Kyung was looking at her darkly, while Kai was like a statue in her arms.

“KAI OPPA! JAE KYUNG UNNI! You’re going to die here! Stop hugging!!!” Jino called.

“Jino, we should leave them, the door’s almost closing!!!” D.O. said and kept pulling Jino.

“I SAID THERE ARE NO DOORS!!!” Jino shouted. She wanted to save Kai and Jae Kyung.

“Jino, look… Let go of them, and let’s run away,” D.O. said pointing to the door he was referring.

She then shrugged. There was a door. Suddenly.

She then saw Kai and Jae Kyung almost fall to the lower ground. But they were still hugging like they don’t feel anything.

“YA JAE KYUNG UNNI! KAI OPPA!!!” Jino called.

“Jino! Let’s go!!!” D.O. called. He pulled Jino, but suddenly, Jino could not move her feet.

“Jino!” D.O. called once again.

“JINO!” The shout of the whole S Ori-K members woke Jino from her sleep. She scratched her eyes – there’s no hallway; no locked rooms; and most especially, the strange dark room that almost killed the four of them did not exist. It was a nightmare.

Iseul and Cho Hee popped the party poppers while Jun Hee held her round birthday cake bought at Tous Les Jours. Na Rae on the other hand held the camera while Sun sat beside her and put the duck party hat on her head. They were also wearing duck party hats and they all cheerfully sang her a happy birthday in 3 languages: Korean, Chinese and English.

With the whole S Ori-K members beside her, laughing and singing together, Jino felt that it was really good to be alive and that she could not ask for more.

Wait. WHAT?! “JUN HEE UNNI?!” Jino’s eyes  grew wide.

Jun Hee nodded with a bright smile.

Jino slapped her face two times. “OH MY!!! JUN HEE UNNI!!!” She then hugged Jun Hee and got teary eyed. “Oh my gosh, you’re the best gift ever! I didn’t even know it was my birthday!!! Why didn’t you answer my calls?! Why was your phone turned off? Why aren’t you coming to class?!”

“Woah, woah, wait!” Jun Hee chuckled and let Jino calm down. “Before that, blow your candle sleeping beauty,”

“By the way, thank you so much for this S Ori-K. SARANGHAJA!” Jino then blowed her birthday candle.

“WHAT THE. You didn’t even make a birthday wish!” Iseul demanded.

“That’s alright, I couldn’t wish for anything else today!” Jino said excitedly.

“Now shall we talk about why Jun Hee wasn’t answering all your calls?” Sun asked.

“Hey, wait… Don’t tell me you all knew about this?” Jino asked.

The S Ori-K members looked at each other.

“Well, let’s just go and talk at the living room,” Jun Hee suggested and pulled Jino to the living room.

“Yeah, right,” Jino said and followed the other members.

***

Meanwhile, the S Ori-M and Exo-M members safely arrived to Taiwan. They quickly got to their hotel rooms and rested.

“Jiejie, how do I get to know if I have a chance with Su Ho oppa?” Zhu asked Angela, who was busy putting on some lotion on her body after taking a quick shower.

Angela laughed. “Why, of all people, are you asking me?”

“Nothing… You seem to know a lot and… you’re the eldest!” Zhu asserted.

“Okay… But sometimes being old doesn’t mean you know almost everything,” Angela corrected.

Zhu was dumfounded. “Then who will I ask then?”

“Well… I actually don’t know… I mean, I don’t know who should you ask and how would we know if you have a chance with Su Ho oppa,” Angela said apologetically. “We can’t really determine if someone have a chance… But if you really like him that much, you only have to wait until he likes you back,”

“Okay… Patience, Baek Ma Ri, patience.” Zhu told herself.

“But Zhu… You’re a girl. Remember that you can still look at some other guys around you. Su Ho’s not the only one out there,” Angela advised.

“But he’s really my ideal man! And I swear, I’ll make him fall for me,” Zhu chuckled.

Angela looked at Zhu in fear. Fear that she would just be hurt. Fear that she would expect a lot from Su Ho. Fear that an innocent girl would turn her love into hate just because of being broken for once.

***

“So what happened?” Jino asked, eating the birthday cake they had gave her.

“Well... After I left the dorm, the other members called me and told me not to keep in touch with you...” Jun Hee laughed and so did the other except for Jino.

“Aigoo, you’ll all be punished for this!” Jino threatened and raised her arm.

“ No, I was only kidding,” Jun Hee chuckled. “Actually, I kept my phone turned off because… because I was afraid I won’t be able to handle it if I hear your voices again…”

“Aww, Jun Hee unni…” Jino uttered apologetically.

“I also wasn’t able to go to class for the past few days because my mom and I checked hospitals that could help me in my condition… But now I’m alright. I already accept that I’m no longer going to perform with you,” Jun Hee said.

“I still want to perform with you, unni,” Iseul coaxed.

“Me too... I’ll miss performing duets with you,” Na Rae hugged Jun Hee.

“Gosh, I knew this would make me cry! I should have cut you guys off when you were about to hug, but I can’t help it too! I miss Jun Hee!” Cho Hee said and they had a group hug.

“Come on, I’m not dying, stop crying,” Jun Hee said without any expression.

“Oopshie,” Cho Hee and Iseul said in unison.

“That’s right, let’s cut this off. Shouldn’t we celebrate for my birthday?” Jino asked.

“Yeah! That’s right!” The other S Ori-K members cheered.

***

Su Ho was on his way to S Ori-K’s dorm to announce that the manager had planned a special birthday celebration for Jino’s birthday with the fans. He suddenly bumped into someone as he walked towards the dorm’s entrance.

“Oh, Jae Kyung, sorry,” Su Ho said.

“Oppa?” Jae Kyung called and looked into his eyes. A tear suddenly fell on her cheeks. She then hugged Su Ho and kept on crying. “I’m sorry oppa, I just need a hug right now…”

“W-Why?” Su Ho asked and patted Jae Kyung’s back. “What’s the matter, Jae Kyung?”

Jae Kyung pulled away. She then let out a deep sigh. “Thanks oppa… I think I’m feeling a lot better now…”

“Hey, Jae Kyung, tell me what’s wro-“ Su Ho tried to ask but Jae Kyung ran away. “Aigoo, what just happened?”

He then went straight ahead to S Ori-K’s dorm…

“Oh, Su Ho oppa! Good morning!” Jun Hee greeted.

“KIM JUN HEE!!!” Su Ho then hugged Jun Hee and they both jumped together. He then let go of her. “Are you back?”

“No, of course not! It’s just that it’s Jino’s birthday today and I wanted to surprise her… Gladly she was!” Jun Hee narrated.

Su Ho chuckled. He suddenly remembered Jae Kyung. Could it possibly be that she was crying because she thought Jun Hee came back at S Ori-K?

“Oh, oppa, why don’t you come in?” Jun Hee invited.

“Y-Yeah, thank you,” Su Ho came in and went to Jino. “Hey Jino! Happy Birthday!” He then hugged Jino.

“Thank you oppa,” Jino replied with a soft chuckle.

“Gyeonghik hyung told me to remind you about your special celebration with the fans later,” Su Ho noted.

“Oh really? I have one?” Jino asked.

“Of course, you do! Later at 6PM, at the same place where we celebrate Jun Hee’s birthday last time,” Su Ho continued.

“Alright!” Jino said and raised her thumbs up.

“Well, I should get going now,” Su Ho waved and walked out of their dorm.

“Strange…” Jino thought to herself.

“Why?” The others asked.

“Kyung Soo oppa usually calls me at exactly 12AM to greet me a happy birthday… But today, he didn’t…” Jino pouted.

Meanwhile in Taiwan…

“Ugh… Take a look at this,” Jie threw the newspaper on her bed.

“Why?” Lin asked. She then saw a picture of Tao and Jie in the bubble tea shop together. “Gosh, this is frustrating… They almost make an issue whenever we hang out together!”

“Girls, just understand them. It’s part of this world,” You coaxed.

“Fine. But next time I’ll bring two boys with me. Let’s see if they’ll still make an issue about it!” Lin glared.

“Hey, stop it! You know what, just recall the steps of your dance later,” You commanded. “And Jie… Don’t worry about that, the SM representatives know what to do,”

“Sometimes it’s just frustrating,” Jie mumbled.

You patted her shoulder. “We can’t do anything else about it. This is part of our lives now,”

Jie nodded. “I know.”

At the hotel’s rooftop, Angela and Kris had a private discussion together as leaders…

And maybe as a couple.

Kris kissed Angela’s lips and chuckled. “I missed you.”

“Gosh, you don’t have to do that, Kris!” Angela chuckled too. “I thought this was a leaders’ meeting?”

Kris snickered. “Well, too bad the leaders are a couple,” He then wrapped his arm around her waist.

“Come on Kris, we’ve been dealing with a lot of issues right now…” Angela got serious.

“No one would go up here… I rented it again… for one whole day,” He emphasized.

“You shouldn’t have-“

“I know you would say that, but babe, we rarely see each other…” Kris argued.

“It’s okay, I understand,” Angela nodded.

“How’s the new member?” Kris asked, looking at the view in front of them.

“Ah, Hong Jae Kyung? She’s really good in singing… And according to Jino, she’s really friendly,”

“Really?” Kris asked suspiciously.

“Why?”

“Huh? Nothing… I feel something weird about her… According to Su Ho, she had been digging a lot of information about each Exo member’s relationship with the members of S Ori… But on the other hand, he said she was good at dancing too,” Kris then turned his head to look at Angela.

Angela chuckled and looked at Kris. “Babe, of course she wants to know us better! It’s hard to be a newbie in a group which had already been together for long,”

“Well, if things do not work out with her, just report it to me quickly,” Kris reassured.

Angela laughed. “Who are you? Sooman-sunbae?”

Kris on the other hand laughed as well. He then let go of Angela. “Shut up,”

Angela kissed Kris’ cheek. “I missed you too.”

***

The awaited celebration came. S Ori-K was there, including Jun Hee. The fans were touched as Jun Hee, Jino and Na Rae sang When I Fall, recalling the time when Jun Hee was still there.

Since Jun Hee could not stay for long since her brother was already waiting for her outside the building, she gave her short message for Jino. Their song “One Love” was played as a background song, which made the atmosphere more emotional.

“Jino-ya, I know you’ve been stressed a lot these past few days… And I know that during those times, when I’m still in the dorm, you would often knock on my door and ask me to go shopping, or go to the park or watch a movie or spazz about our idols… Yeah, idols have their idols too,” Jun Hee chuckled and continued. “ And I know, that when you ask me to hang out like that, I know that you have a problem that you want to confide to me… Now I… I wanted to apologize for not being around the dorm for the past few days… I’m really sorry that Jun Hee unni had to quit because she’s weak…”

“No, don’t say that unni because you’re not,” Jino said, sobbing.

“I’m sorry that I won’t be around the dorm all the time anymore; that I won’t be one knock away from you all the time,” Jun Hee looked up, trying to stop her tears to fall as well.

The fans then roared, “ULJIMA (Don’t cry)! ULJIMA! ULJIMA!”

Jun Hee chuckled. “But I want you to remember that as long as I’m living, our friendship won’t end. And it’ll last until eternity, until heaven, because I know you were God’s gift to me. Happy Birthday, and I wish you all the success in life and the strength to carry on as a leader,” Jun Hee then hugged Jino as they both sobbed.

The other members were also sobbing. Cho Hee then had an idea, “YA! GROUP HUG!” The whole team then hugged each other.

Jun Hee then waved goodbye and bowed to the fans as she left the venue.

“So!” Iseul started, trying to make the atmosphere a little bit lively. “I think this birthday won’t be complete, without someone special greeting her,”

The fans then cheered and shouted every names that they are expecting to see on stage with Jino.

A sudden background music played. “Wow, who could that be?” Cho Hee pretended to know nothing, trying to make the fans more curious.

“Shall we call him now?” Sun asked as the fans quickly replied ‘yes’ to her question.

D.O. suddenly went on stage and sang the lines of the background music that played. “Do you remember when I said I’ll always be there? Ever since we were 10, baby,” He then passed a bouquet of flowers to Jino and hugged her.

“Aww, Kyung Soo oppa, thank you,” Jino said and bowed.

He then passed a lunchbox while singing. As Jino opened it, it was a sandwich – no it was half of the sandwich. There was bread that was topped with cheese, but the other bread to cover the cheese was missing. Jino looked at D.O. with curiosity as D.O. playfully showed the missing piece of bread on his hand.

Jino then realized that her Kyung Soo oppa was trying to let her reminisce how their friendship started…

**FLASHBACK**

A 7-year old Shin Min Young was waiting for her mom after she finished her piano lessons. No one was around the school anymore. She was diligently waiting for her mom at the waiting area as she got busy reading some of the notes she needed to study for the next piano lessons.

Suddenly, a boy sat beside her. But the boy was shy enough to sit too close to Jino, so he left a little space between them. It was the 9-year-old Do Kyung Soo, who was not really interested with piano but was only forced by his parents.

He then opened his bag and got his sandwich. The pupils of his eyes followed the direction where Jino was seated. “Annyeonghaseyo,” he greeted shyly.

Jino then bowed awkwardly.

“Do you want some?” He then offered his sandwich. “You know, I can share it to you,”

“No, my umma told me not to get food from strangers,” Min Young said coldly.

Kyung Soo then smiled. “I’m Do Kyung Soo. What’s your name?”

“I am Shin Min Young…” She then looked around, searching if her mom’s already there.

“I am 9 years old, and you are?”

“I am 7 years old…” Min Young lazily answered to Kyung Soo’s questions. She examined Kyung Soo and thought that he was a bit little for his age.

Kyung Soo then patted Min Young’s head. “From now on, I am your oppa. You can count on me always,”

Min Young looked at her for a moment, trying to process what just Kyung Soo said. “O-Okay……….”

“I like you hair,” Kyung Soo said plainly.

Min Young looked at her long brown hair and examined it. It was a bit wavy but what bothers her is that a boy likes her hair… Maybe he’s gay?

“You have a cute hairstyle too…” Min Young complimented his simple boys’ cut. “It suits boys…”

“You look totally pretty with your hair,” Kyung Soo kept complimenting, as his eyes sparkled like he was falling for Min Young.

“…”

“We are friends already, aren’t we?” Kyung Soo asked innocently.

“M-Maybe…”

Instead of dividing the bread into half, Kyung Soo got the top bread and gave the other bread with the cheese to Min Young. “Here,”

Min Young then took the bread with the cheese, her eyes wide thinking that the boy beside her is weird. “Don’t you like cheese?”

“I like it,” Kyung Soo said while munching the bread like it was the best bread he had ever eaten. He then smiled widely, making his eyes almost close.

“Then why did you gave me this part? This bread has more cheese,” Jino asked.

“From now on, I will be you best friend oppa!” He then chuckled as his eye smile showed again. “Because I am your best friend, I don’t want to give you only half of what I have, I want to give you something whole that is a part of what I have,”

Min Young chuckled too. “I am happy  to be your best friend, big eyed oppa,”

“I have big eyes…” Kyung Soo’s eyes grew wider like he was shocked with what Jino said. He looked at the view in front of him and thought for a moment.

“A-Are you mad?” Min Young pouted.

“No, I’m not. I’m just amazed you noticed it…” He then turned to Jino without changing his reaction.

“Am I the first one to notice?”

“Well, people often tell me I have big eyes… But when I look in the mirror, I see it’s normal…”

“…”

**END OF FLASHBACK**

While D.O. was singing the lines of the song, he could also remember his memories with Jino…

**FLASHBACK**

It was the recital day for the students in the music school Min Young and Kyung Soo were attending. Min Young was totally nervous. Her hands were already shaking as she waited backstage with Kyung Soo.

Kyung Soo on the other hands kept silent. She didn’t want Min Young to notice how nervous he was. Part of him was thinking to run away, but seeing how nervous Min Young was, he wanted to stay. He was not interested in piano anyways and gosh, he was so stubborn to go to the weekly sessions. But when he met Min Young, everything changed. He still didn’t love piano, but the way Min Young played it makes it seem like it is a precious thing in the world.

“Ya, oppa… It’s my turn now,” Min Young said.

Kyung Soo held Min Young’s wrists. “Your hands are still shaking,” He then held her cold hand and blew on her palms to make it feel a bit warm. “Don’t go there until these hands are shaking. Calm down,”

Min Young smiled. “I can do this, right?”

Kyung Soo nodded. “I’ll watch you here. Just remember that oppa’s just at the backstage and I could run to you if you need help,”

Min Young nodded. A staff then came and called Min Young. She then went on stage and sat in front of the white piano. She looked at the people in front of her. Her parents and older brother was there, smiling at her for assurance. She smiled back at them and closed her eyes. “I can do this,” she told herself and let out a sigh.

Her hands then gracefully set on the piano keys and started to play Yiruma’s Kiss The Rain.

Kyung Soo watched his best friend in awe. He admired how Jino’s hands fall gracefully on the piano keys. He admired how Jino’s hair was tied up. He admired Jino’s pretty face and how the white dress suits her. No, every dress suits her. He admired her brown eyes that looked innocent, despite of her awkward and cold aura. Kyung Soo knew at that time his heart was beating for Min Young. But he also knew that he was her best friend and that he was supposed to do what best friends do – to be there whenever Min Young needs her.

Min Young finished her piece successfully and looked at Kyung Soo, who was peeping at the backstage. She then smiled at him while Kyung Soo showed his eye smile and raised both his thumb up. Min Young then looked at her family and smiled at them. They then stood and clapped in pride.

It was then, Kyung Soo’s turn. He was trying to keep calm.

“Oppa, don’t worry, everything will be alright. When I got there, everything feels comfortable, just don’t panic,” Min Young advised.

“Oppa can do this too, right?” Kyung Soo asked.

Min Young nodded. “I’ll watch you too,”

Kyung Soo then got on stage. He then sat in front of the black piano nervously. He looked at his family and tried to smile like everything will be alright. He then looked at Min Young, who gave him a fist up and whispered “fighting”.

He then started to play Yiruma’s Love Me in the piano. He tried to close his eyes and keep calm, yet he kept on thinking about what if he goes wrong. What would his parents say? How would the audience react?

He then opened his eyes and stopped playing. He looked at the audience and forgot everything. He looked at his family and they were trying to encourage him by throwing their fists up and whispering “fighting” as well.

He then looked at the backstage, thinking about walking out of the stage. But then, Min Young was diligently watching him. He was smiling at him like everything will be alright.

“I… I’m sorry,” Kyung Soo said in the microphone. “I cannot play without seeing my inspiration,” He chuckled. Min Young, who was at the backstage, was surprised and clueless of what Kyung Soo was talking about.

“Is it okay if I look at the backstage? My inspiration’s there, she’s there,” Kyung Soo pointed at the backstage.

The audience tried to say yes by nodding.

Kyung Soo then smiled at Min Young and winked at her. Min Young on the other hand watched in shock as Kyung Soo started to play the piano while looking at her in the eyes.

She was his inspiration, he thought. That little girl whom he met at the music school’s waiting area became the most important girl he had met, after her mother.

He finished his piece and the audience gave him around of applause. He ran back to Min Young and hugged her. “You’re my inspiration. I love you best friend,” he whispered to her ear.

Little Min Young didn’t know what to say. Is it okay for her to whisper ‘I love you’ back to a boy?

Kyung Soo then ran to his parents and hugged them. He was happy that he was able to finish his piece, and he wouldn’t be able to make it without Min Young.

**END OF FLASHBACK**

After the song, D.O. hugged Jino once more. “Happy Birthday Jino, I love you best friend,” he whispered to her ear.

Jino hugged him back. “I love you too best friend,”

D.O.’s lips formed into a smile as he felt his heart beat fast. Jino then let go of the hug and the fans were going crazy, seeing their ‘ship’ sailing.

“Awww, how sweet! Did you know that these two have met since they were kids? They were even studying in the same school!” Iseul revealed.

“Yes, and she cried when I graduated in middle school, thinking that she won’t be able to see me again,” D.O. chuckled.

“Ya, that’s a secret!” Jino slapped D.O.’s shoulder.

They then started to reveal how D.O. and Jino became so close until the present.

As the party ended, they all went straightly back to the dorm. When they arrived at their dorm, it was all messy and dark.

“Omo! Was there a robber?” Jino asked worriedly, thinking that they had locked their dorm properly a while ago. At the living room, there was a big box. “No one, touch that box,”

“But leader, it seems like it’s a gift for you…” Cho Hee asserted.

“But what if it’s a bomb or something? Look around, our place seemed to be robbed by someone!” Jino panicked.

“Shall I open it?” Iseul asked.

“No, don’t do that,” Jino said. “It’s too dangerous. I’ll open it,” Jino said and went near the box. She then opened it with her trembling hands.

Suddenly a man stood making her squeal in shock and fall on her . “YA! WHO ARE YOU?!”

It was a man in a duck costume. As she tried to examine the man’s face, it was Kai. Suddenly he started to sing, “Gom semariga hanchibeisseo – appa gom, eomma gom, aegi gom (There are three bears in a house – father bear, mother bear, baby bear) ,”  He was dancing to the children’s song, 3 Bears Song, making Jino burst in laughter.

“Appa gomeun ttungttunghae, (Father bear is fatty)
Eomma gomeun nalsshinhae,(Mother bear is slim)
Aegi gomeun neomu giyeowo,(Baby bear is so cute)
Hijjuk hijjuk, jalhanda! (Shrug, shrug, you are doing well!)”

Kai then repeated the whole song and dance again while the others opened the lights. Su Ho then held a birthday cake as both Exo-K and S Ori-K sang and dance with Kai. Jae Kyung was also there singing with her sunbaes.

“Aigoo, this is too much!” Jino said and kept on laughing.

“Yeah! This really is!” Kai said  and crossed his arm. “Be thankful that it’s your birthday, today!”

Jino noticed Kai sweating and wiped his sweat away. “Ya, you’ve worked hard today,”

Kai looked at Jino’s eyes as she wiped his sweat away diligently. Jino then noticed this and felt really awkward. Why the heck did she do that in the first place?

“Omo, so this is why the issue between you are starting,” Baekhyun started.

“Shut up,” Kai and Jino uttered.

“Shall we sing happy birthday to Jino?” Jae Kyung butted in and wrapped an arm around Jino.

They all sang the happy birthday song in Korean and Jino blew the candle.

“And before the celebration starts, here’s a surprise for you,” Se Hun said monotonously and showed his laptop with Exo-M and S Ori-M in duck masks, singing Happy Birthday in Chinese. They all had an individual video messages for Jino.

“JINO-YA!” It was Jie. “I’m really sorry that I could not celebrate your birthday with you… But I know that right now you’re happy! Did they sang the 3 Bears Song for you? I guess they did! It was my idea! HAHAHAHA! When I go back there I’ll give you my own gift for you, alright? I love you always! Pyong~ (Kissing sound in Korean)”

“Awww… This is too cute,” Jino approved. “By the way, why was it Kai oppa? I mean why was he picked to sing this for me? Isn’t it too awkward for a guy like him to sing children’s songs?”

“I’m still cute although I’m y,” Kai said with pride.

Jino’s eyes narrowed at Kai’s vanity. Su Ho then butted in and chuckled. “We actually had a spin-the-bottle to know who’s going to do this,”

“Wow, you’re really lucky to wear the duck costume,” Jino patted Kai’s shoulder, who already changed his outfit into a casual one.

“Thanks,” Kai said.

Meanwhile, Baekhyun and Cho Hee kept on laughing together at the couch, making Se Hun suspicious about them.

“Are they just best friends?” Se Hun looked at them.

Suddenly a finger poked his side that made him jerk and almost spill his drink. It was Iseul with a smirk. “Se Hunnie oppa’s being jelly, huh?” She said ‘jelly’ in English.

“J-Jelly?” Se Hun asked.

“Yeah, it’s a pun in English with the word, ‘jealous’,” Iseul said the word ‘jealous’ in English again.

“Jea-lous? What?” Se Hun asked. He doesn’t understand what Iseul was trying to tell him.

Iseul rolled her eyes. “Come on, doesn’t Kris oppa teach you English?! Anyways that’s ‘jiltuhae’ (being jealous) in Korean,”

“Ohhh, jealous…” He said the word ‘jealous’ in English too.

“So… Are you jealous?” Iseul asked in English.

“I am… Se Hun,” Se Hun said in English and chuckled.

Iseul on the other hand burst out in laughter.

“Stop teasing Se Hun and come with me,” Chanyeol suddenly pulled Iseul at the kitchen.

“YA, let go of me!” Iseul pleaded.

Se Hun scratched his head dumbfoundedly. Jae Kyung then went to Se Hun and started, “You seem to be the most silent member in Exo,”

“No. I’m just not the type of guy who talks a lot, just like my hyungs,” Se Hun said and left Jae Kyung.

“What happened?” Chanyeol asked.

“AAAH!!!” Iseul put her index fingers inside her ears. “I DON’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!!!”

“Ya, Iseul!” Chanyeol tried to pull her hands away from her ears. “I won’t talk about it, okay?”

“Fine.” Iseul put her fingers out of her ears.

“Are you mad at me?” Chanyeol asked.

“No. So, can I walk out now?” Iseul asked, trying to avoid him.

“Why are you avoiding me?” Chanyeol asked.

“We’re friends, okay?” Iseul said and hugged Chanyeol. “See? I’m not avoiding you,”

“You’re not talking to me!”

“Do I talk to you often?” Iseul asked making Chanyeol silent. She has a point. They don’t talk to much. They just keep on teasing each other often. Iseul then walked out of the kitchen and went back to the living room.

“Aigoo, this is not okay,” Chanyeol mumbled but someone stopped his hand.

“Do you want me to help you?” The girl asked.

Chanyeol looked behind her. “Oh, Jae Kyung-ah…” 

 

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NOTE:

ORANGE FONT: CLICK IT FOR BG MUSIC