BGM: So Nyeo Si Dae - Romantic St.

After exchanging a few text messages the day before, you and Yixing agreed to meet at COEX Mall at 2 in the afternoon that Sunday after Valentine's Day. The forgetful Chinese boy has considerately checked out the viewing schedules online and you both decided that the 2:50 PM screening of Late Autumn was the most convenient for the two of you.

Because COEX Mall is located in nearby Samseong-dong, you didn't leave your house until it was a quarter to two. It was, after all, only a 10-minute bus ride away from your house. Failing to take into account the availability of buses and the flow of traffic when you estimated the travel time, you arrived almost twenty minutes late at your chosen meeting place.

"I'm so sorry," you immediately apologized as soon as you saw Yixing waiting near the cineplex ticketing booth. "I miscalculated my travel time and the traffic was-"

He giggled. "It's okay," he assured, gently patting your shoulder as you continued panting the fatigue caused by running. "Don't worry about it. I already bought the tickets and took the liberty of choosing our seats... if that's okay with you."

"Anywhere's fine, really," you replied. "What time did you get here, anyway?"

Yixing hesitated for a bit. It was obvious that he waited a long time, but he figured that revealing the actual time he arrived would only make you feel worse for being late. "Well, I... it's not that early..."

"You probably arrived at the same time I left home," you supposed.

"Well, compared to your house, our dormitory is farther from here, so it's only normal for me to leave quite early," he reasoned, scratching the back of his nape. "Luhan told me you live in Dogok-dong and that's significantly near compared to Sinsa-dong."

You shrugged. "You have a point, but, oh well. I'm sorry for making you wait too long. That was impolite of me."

"Ah, enough of this. Let's just go get some popcorn and M&M's, okay?" Yixing gleefully suggested, pointing to the direction of the snack bar. "It seems like you desperately need something to drink as well."

"Popcorn and M&M's! You remembered!" you smiled. "You have such a good memory, I don't know why they always call you the forgetful one!" you teased, making Yixing chuckle in embarrassment.

It was fortunate that the snack bar wasn't packed with customers when you arrived. Like the last time you watched a movie together, you and Yixing bought a giant box of popcorn, a pack of peanut M&M's, and two cups of rootbeer. You offered to pay for everything since he already paid for the movie tickets, but like the gentleman that he is, Yixing didn't accept your money.

"But you don't have a job yet-" you argued. "-and I do."

He took the money you placed on the counter and put them back on your palm. "I got this," he maintained. "I wouldn't insist on paying for you if I didn't have the extra money." You were about to argue again when Yixing handed a few won bills to the girl manning the cash register. It reminded you of that time when Joonmyun paid for your Melona ice cream. Since there was nothing else you could do about it, you just shrugged and sincerely thanked him for treating you again.

"You're too nice sometimes, do you know that?" you asked.

Bashfully, Yixing just shook his head in disagreement. "I don't think I'm too nice," he confessed, scratching his nape again. "Honestly, I think living in Korea has forced me to become more humble. Really. You guys take humility very seriously around here."

"Humility?!? What are you talking about?!? This is South Korea! The native country of Park Chanyeol and Seo Youngho!" you joked, accidentally spilling peanut M&M's on the floor when you recklessly opened the pack.

"OH NO!" you exclaimed, squatting down to pick up the fallen candy shells.

Bending down to help you, Yixing said, "Don't be sad. I'll just buy you a new one."

"No, no, no. It's my fault. I'll just go and buy some," you insisted, and in an attempt to prevent Yixing from purchasing another pack of peanut M&M's for you, you quickly got up and rushed to the snack bar. "I'll be really quick, I promise!"

Since you were already in the snack bar the moment he was able to process what you just said, Yixing just shook his head and let you be. "Ah, Jaemi! You're just as stubborn as Luhan!" he muttered under his breath, still chuckling.

While you were buying another pack of peanut M&M's, Yixing just stood where you left him and did a bit of people-watching after he threw the spoiled chocolate candies into a trash bin. As his gaze traveled to the area where the 'coming soon' posters are located, he saw three tall boys quickly turning around when they noticed him staring at their direction. Rubbing his eyes, Yixing went on to blink several times as he stared at the three boys who attempted to camouflage themselves by joining the huge crowd gathered at the center of the cineplex.

He scratched his nape and laughed. "Those pabos."

Back from your quick trip to the snack bar, you tapped Yixing's shoulder to avert his attention from whatever it is he found amusing at the moment. "Let's go," you said, handing him a small bag of Lay's chips. "I got you this one too. I just saw it while I was buying M&M's and remembered that I saw you eating the same kind of chips during our picnic at Hangang Park."

"Thanks. That's sweet of you," he beamed.

"Oh, is it okay if we stopped by the restrooms before we find our seats?" you wondered, as the two of you handed your tickets to the marshall by the entrance. "I need to wash my hands after I picked up all those M&M's I spilled on the floor."

He nodded. "Yeah, I should do that too."

The two of you were about to separate into the male and female restrooms, respectively, when Yixing suddenly grabbed your wrist and pulled you closer. "Oh and Jaemi-"

A bit worried, you asked, "Yeah?"

Just like a fugitive in an action movie who needs to be constantly aware of his surroundings, Yixing quickly scanned the place for any sign of... well, you really don't have any idea. He then linked his left arm with your right and leaned in closer. Covering his mouth with his free hand so no one can lip-read what he was about to say, he whispered softly to your ear:

"We're being followed."

"NO! I don't want to watch that movie!"

While queuing for tickets, Zitao voiced out his disagreement over his gēges' decision to follow you and Yixing inside the cinema. Careful not to offend the other moviegoers, he expressed his sentiments in Mandarin. "Why can't we play basketball or bike around the park instead?"

"Because we need to make sure Xiao Lu here doesn't do anything stupid," Kevin reasoned.

"I'm not going to do anything stupid!" Luhan insisted.

Zitao laughed and fixed the fedora on his head. "You coerced us into helping you spy on Xing-Xing and Jaemi while they watch a movie and you're telling us that you're not going to do anything stupid?"

"We're not going to spy on them!" Luhan vehemently denied.

Kevin folded his arms across his chest and cocked an eyebrow. "So, are you saying it's only a coincidence that we're going to watch the same movie right at the same time? And at the same cinema too?" he teased, covering his mouth as he chortled.

"Exactly!" Luhan deadpanned.

Perfectly knowing that there's no way he'll get out of this, Zitao just sighed and asked about the plot of the movie instead. "What's the movie about anyway? If we're going to sit through the entire thing for two hours, I really hope it's interesting enough."

"No idea," Kevin answered, slightly shaking his head. "Plot-wise, that is. The only information I gathered from Xing-Xing is that it's a love story about a Chinese immigrant and a Korean."

Zitao's eyes widened. "It's a love story?" When both Kevin and Luhan nodded in response to his question, the panda-eyed Chinese boy suddenly threw a fit. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?!? I like watching love stories! Hurry up! Hurry up! I don't want to miss the first few minutes of the film!"

"We don't have tickets yet," Luhan reminded, pointing to the two people who were ahead of them in the queue. "Just relax, will you? They still have to show trailers and stuff before the movie starts anyway."

"Is it going to be like Lust, Caution?" Zitao asked, referring to Tang Wei's breakout film.

Kevin raised and eyebrow and seemed extra scarier than he normally looked. "Do you really think Xing-Xing would invite Jaemi to watch a movie like Lust, Caution?!?" he asked back, folding his arms. "Movies like that are not appropriate for minors. Wait. You're a minor! How did you-"

"You were also minor when that movie came out in 2007," Luhan pointed out, stifling a laugh. "Oh wait! So was I!"

"Yeah, I was about to turn seventeen when it came out," Kevin admitted. After mentally calculating Zitao's age during that time, he blurted: "AND YOU WERE ONLY FOURTEEN!! How did you manage to sneak into the theaters?!?"

Zitao smiled mischievously. "I have my ways."

"I never had the chance to watch it in the cinema," Luhan confessed, carefully massaging his jaws. "I was seventeen then, too, but since I look like this, I'm always mistaken for a 12-year-old. Even now. I can't go anywhere without my IDs because nobody would believe that I'm already 20-years-old."

"You're lucky you look young," Kevin asserted, brushing his fringe up with his fingers. "I'm only a few months younger than you are, but most people think I'm already in my late twenties. Remember that time at the mall last year? When I was mistaken for some missing kid's father?"

"You do look old!" Zitao agreed, laughing.

Suddenly remembering the story of your first encounter with his friend, Luhan playfully retorted with "That's still better than being mistaken for a mugger, though," which made Kevin laugh so hard he forgot to cover his mouth.

The boys' discussion about your first meeting with Zitao was suddenly cut short when the lady at the ticket booth suddenly shouted "NEXT!". Upon learning that the attendant was female, Luhan and Zitao immediately pushed Kevin forward to let him do the honors of purchasing their ticket.

Although disappointed with what his friends were trying to do, Kevin reluctantly informed the ticket booth attendant the number of tickets he wanted to purchase just to get it over with. "Uhm, three for Late Autumn please."

As soon as the lady inside the ticketing booth heard Kevin's voice, she quickly looked up and had the shock of her life when she first laid her eyes upon a future Asian heartthrob. "Uh, what, I mean, yes, sir?"

With a confused look, Kevin turned to Luhan and asked, "Did I pronounce anything wrong?"

Patting his back, Zitao snickered, "I think she just needed a moment to process just how handsome you are, Gēge."

"You pronounced everything correctly," Luhan confirmed. Squeezing in front of Kevin, he finally took matters into his own hands and repeated (in fluent Korean) that they are, indeed, purchasing three tickets for the movie, Late Autumn.

When the time came for choosing seats, Luhan and Kevin argued a little, making Zitao more and more agitated and distressed about the time constraint. "Stop arguing! Just choose! Everywhere's fine as long as we can get in on time!"

"Why choose the corner when there are seats available right there in the middle?" Kevin argued, pointing to the three vacant seats in row M. "Let's just go with this. Knowing Xing-Xing, I'm sure he picked seats that are nearer to the screen anyway. They won't see us, I promise."

"Fine. Row M it is," Luhan succumbed, pulling out money from his own wallet.

This took Zitao by surprise. He knows that compared to them, Luhan is usually more loaded with cash, but it would take a lot of arguing and persuasion before he treats anyone to anything. So, seeing Luhan willingly taking out money from his own pocket is kind of new for him.

"You're paying?!? We should do this more often!"

"It's him, isn't it?"

They haven't started showing the trailers yet when you and Yixing entered the cinema. The lights were still on and the moviegoers were still checking out the miniscule labels to find their respective seats. As the two of you settled into yours, you quickly took a sip of rootbeer before opening your second pack of peanut M&M's.

"If you think we're being followed by a certain friend of mine who looks like a 12-year-old fan of Manchester United-" Yixing paused as he opened the small bag of chips you gave him before pouring its contents on the almost overflowing popcorn box. "-then your guess is right."

"And I thought he wasn't childish," you murmured, popping a red M&M into your mouth.

Yixing took a sip of rootbeer. "Oh, and he's not alone. He has enlisted the company of two Chinese giants today," he said, putting the drink back on the cupholder in the armrest of his seat. "Jiaheng and Zitao are with him today. I saw them checking out the posters outside."

"Did you know that they're going to follow us today?" you asked.

He shook his head. "They told me they were going to play basketball in the park today," he replied, getting a handful of popcorn. "But I'm not surprised they're here now. Jiaheng would never let Luhan go here by himself."

The lights in the cinema were finally dimmed and just as the first movie trailer was about to be shown, Yixing felt a bump at the back of his seat. When he turned around to ask the person behind him to keep his foot down, the bedimpled Chinese boy noticed his friends instead. The three boys, who instantly ducked to hide when Yixing turned around, were sitting several rows behind the two of you.

"They're here too," Yixing whispered, his eyes pretending to be glued onto the screen. "Don't look. Let them believe that we have no idea that they're here. It'll be more fun that way."

"How childish!" you murmured, stuffing your mouth with more popcorn. "What do we do then? What do people usually do when they find out they're being spied on?"

Yixing leaned closer and whispered: "In cases like this, most people try to drive the spy crazy by purposely making him jealous."

"That's a really bad idea," you figured.

Shrugging, Yixing just chuckled to himself and said, "Well, it is. Besides, what's the use of making Xiao Lu jealous when he was already jealous to begin with?"

"Jungle Fish 2?" you exclaimed instead as a new movie trailer was shown on the screen. "Didn't they air an 8-episode Jungle Fish 2 drama at the beginning of winter? Why would they release it in the theaters?"

"Maybe they edited it," Yixing supposed, unknowingly falling for your attempt to divert the conversation away from Luhan and towards the high school-themed movie. "Isn't that the girl from the group T-Ara?"

Nodding, you confirmed that the girl was, indeed, Park Jiyeon from the girl group T-Ara. "Lee Joon of MBLAQ is there too. Look!"

"I miss school," Yixing blurted out, scratching his nape. "It seems like I didn't get to spend enough time in my high school because I'm always off doing stuff. I certainly missed a lot of fun moments with my classmates and my friends."

"Because you joined Star Academy and stuff?" you asked.

He chuckled nervously and nodded. "Yeah."

"School may be fun and you might have missed a hilarious lunch story from the class clown or an interesting lecture from your math teacher, but you're on the road to something more special," you pointed out, bringing the straw of your drink closer to your lips. "Not a lot of people are given the chance to pursue their dreams. And from the looks of it, you're on the right track towards finally achieving it."

"Interesting math lecture?" Yixing repeated.

You poked his arm once and looked at him in disbelief. "I just said something that you can only read from a young adult novel and the only thing you were concerned about is that I used the word interesting to describe a math lecture?!?"

"Sorry, I just don't think the words 'interesting' and 'math' should be mentioned in the same sentence," he giggled, getting another handful of the popcorn+M&M's+Lay's combo. "What's interesting for me is music. Or movies."

"Is it okay to assume you're not good at sports, either?" you wondered.

Yixing shyly nodded. "I don't or anything," he emphasized, munching on some chips before he spoke again. "I guess I'm only decent; but if you put me up against Luhan in football or Jiaheng in basketball, then there's no way I'll come out victorious." 

"I'm not very athletic, either," you admitted. "I even at running."

"Yeah, I remember Jiaheng had to carry you on his back when we played tag that one time in Hangang Park," Yixing recalled, taking a quick sip of rootbeer. "He said you were light as a feather."

You lightly shook your head as you tried to finish the bits of popcorn inside your mouth. "That's only because he's too big and too tall compared to me," you insisted. "Besides, that didn't do us any good because 8g of Fat and Tao-Tao still caught us in the end."

"That's Jiaheng's fault," he laughed. "If you chose Luhan instead, I'm sure you won't get caught because he's the fastest one amongst us."

"I don't think he can give me a piggyback ride, though," you assumed, especially picking out another red-colored peanut M&M from the popcorn box. "He's too skinny. He won't be able to handle my weight."

Yixing just shook his head and chuckled. "You're underestimating Xiao Lu's strength," he accused. "He's pretty strong, you know. Have you seen his arms? Or his calves? It really hurts when he kicks us, you know. I pity all those footballs he plays with."

What he said gave you a shock. "He hurts you?!?"

"Jaemi, please don't misunderstand," Yixing immediately racked his brain to figure out the proper words to say. "Luhan isn't really violent. Well, he is sometimes, but that's only when he's goofing around. He doesn't hurt anyone on purpose. It's just boy stuff, you know. The thing is, Xiao Lu has this incurable habit of kicking people off his bed. Yeah. You can't even get near the thing. There were times when I unconsciously sit down on his bed, thinking that it's mine since my bed is positioned between his and Jiaheng's, and let me tell you: I got kicked every single time. If somebody actually succeeds in sitting or lying down on his bed, he'll just shake his head and change the sheets before he gets on it again."

"No wonder he gets along with Baozi so well," you can't help but chuckle as you imagined a scenario based on what Yixing just shared. "The two of them have mild OCD!"

Yixing's eyes suddenly widened and his lips puckered. You noticed he always does this whenever he remembers something important. "Oh! And he doesn't like it when people touch his head!"

"His head?! Why? Is he afraid they'll mess up his hair or something?" you wondered.

"Not really," Yixing assumed, taking another sip of rootbeer before talking about Luhan again. "I guess he just doesn't want other people touching his head in general. Not just his hair. But anywhere on his head. It's just like how I dislike it when people try to touch my neck."

Luhan doesn't like it when other people touch his head?!?

"That's going to be a really big problem once you guys debut, though," you mused, suddenly recalling the various hairstyles and hair colors every idol has to try for the duration of his career. "He's going to be every stylist unnie's worst nightmare!"

About seven rows behind you, Zitao was getting more and more irritated at the baby-faced Chinese boy beside him. Just like Yixing said, Luhan had a hard time keeping his mouth shut whenever he's watching a movie. Ever since the trailers of upcoming movies started rolling in, Luhan hasn't stopped commenting on everything he has noticed.

"Is Mimi even allowed to watch this?" he thought out loud. The current scene projected on the screen shows the character of Anna, played by Tang Wei, struggling with the simple act of ing Hyun Bin's shirt... and it certainly doesn't take a genius to figure out what's about to happen next. "She's seventeen, for Chrissakes! Sixteen, actually, if you don't count that extra year Koreans add to their age. She's sixteen years old! She's still a minor! She shouldn't be watching this."

"SSSSSHHHHH!!!" Zitao hissed. "I'm trying to watch a movie here."

Kevin leaned in to his fellow 90-liner. "I don't think they'll allow her in the cinema if the movie's not appropriate for minors," he whispered, his thick eyebrow slightly arching to emphasize his point.

"But there's too much exposure of Hyun Bin's abs and frankly, as a man, I'm going to barf any second now," Luhan slouched in his seat, reaching for a handful of popcorn.

"She's a fan of Dong Bang Shin Ki," Kevin reminded, taking a sip of his drink. "I'm sure she's used to seeing abs. Especially Yunho hyung's," he added.

Zitao, who seemed fully absorbed in the plot, also glared at his favorite gēge. "Shut up, you two! They're about to do it!"

Luhan was about to start another rant about how inappropriate it is for you to watch such intimacy onscreen when he noticed Yixing playfully covering your eyes. Your initial reaction, of course, was to try and put his hands away so you can watch the movie properly, but ultimately, you just gave up and let the bedimpled Chinese boy rest his palm on your eyes until that somewhat racy scene was over.

"It's Xing-Xing," Kevin whispered when he noticed Luhan watching the sweet moment a few rows ahead. "There's nothing to be jealous about."

"I know, but..." Luhan trailed off. Aside from the fact that it wasn't his story to tell, Luhan knew better than to share your secret crus