*MADDIE'S POV*

So far, my 2 weeks as a student in Seoul High had gone swiftly but smoothly.

And ta-da!

My seatmate and I are now friends *cue happy dance*

Remember the Jinki is a girl’s name accident? After that tutorial session, they started teaching me Language and Hangul by groups.

YES, by groups.

As in, Onew, Jonghyun, Minho, Key, Taemin, Minyoung and Hyemi are there just to teach me basic Korean.

I think my seatmate just gave up TT__TT

Shocking right?

Well not for me.

Just kidding.

So now we have a long weekend.

A 3-day weekend actually. (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)

But I still consider it long.

Moving on.

It’s Friday and I just came home from school.

YES THEY ARE THAT STRICT. HAVING TUTORIALS IN A HOLIDAY IS JUST….WRONG.

But who am I to object anyway?

It’s 6:00pm and I saw my family in the dining room.

I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE THINKING. MICHAEL DOESN’T HAVE TUTORIAL TODAY BECAUSE HE’S A GRADESCHOOL STUDENT. LIKE A LEECH RIGHT?

“Maddie, come here we’re discussing something!” Michael shouted.

I just threw my bag in the couch. YES IM THAT BAD .  And went with them.

“So what’s happening?” I asked.

“We’re going to a party tomorrow!” Michael said.

“Well not a party ‘party’ mister. It’s like…ah..a welcoming party.” My dad said.

“Or Induction party” My mom added.

“Yes. Yes. That one” Then they smiled at each other.

“Not again.” Michael whined.

“So what time?” I interrupted.

“Around 6 pm, honey. And the dress is already at your cabinet. And the shoes is just under it”

“Yes mom”

“And better prepare your small bag”

*time skip: AFTER DINNER*

So what to put in this small small small bag?

What do I mean small?

I meant small as the size of your pocket small bag.

So I’ll just put my wallet and my handkerchief.

Nothing much.

I got some fresh handkerchief from the drawer and put it inside. As I was about to get my wallet, I realized that I left my bag downstairs.

SO STUPID OF ME!

I went downstairs in top speed (also grabbing some junkfood on the way :))

And ta-da! I’m in my room again.

Okay lame. I’m sorry. No..mianhae /grins

I’m progressing in my Language lessons and guess what? I can now introduce myself in Korean! *clap clap clap

Not in the mood?

Fine.

Back to my wallet.

I sat next to my bag and opened –

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

I stood up and opened the door.

And guess what? It’s my goofy brother wearing his tux.

“I look great right?”

Then I shut the door in his face.

And I heard a loud “HEEEEEY!”

I felt like a hero walking away seconds before the bomb exploded.

I’M FEELING LIKE A BAD .

And then again, back to my wallet.

I ped my bag and ta-da (okay, how many times have I used this already? But it seems nice tho) my wallet.

My awesome blue wallet with the Batman keychain.

Wait, why do I suddenly feel so descriptive of my wallet?

I like blue that is why my wallet is blue.

Please stop?

Well, I’m sorry for your loss.

Maddie ain’t gonna stop cuz she’s a bad .

The Batman keychain…how did this belong to me?

Maybe I bought it. Or maybe it’s one of Michael’s toys. Or maybe I just found it in the middle of nowhere and got it. Anyways, I do not know how or what or when or who or whatsoever about the history of that Batman keychain.

Who cares anyways?

Then I heard a buzzing sound

“Maddie! Michael! Time to sleep! Lights off!”

--SATURDAY—

*time skip: 6:00 pm – Induction Party*

Today I’m wearing

…..a red dress.

It kinda itches. And it’s not blue. So in short, I hate it.

Just kidding.

And also I ditched the heels. I’m wearing flats instead. Please don’t tell my mom.

So we’re in the venue.

And it is so formal.

I feel like I’m out of the party.

I’m feeling so rushy.

So anyways, my dad introduced us to this strangely familiar man.

With a mustache.

And he’s about the same age as my dad maybe.

“Good evening Mr. Wu. I hope you still remember my wife, Grace. And my kids, Madisson and Michael.”

“Of course! How could I forget? Oh, Maddie you’ve grown so fast!” Mr. Wu said.

Woah. Maddie. So we’re in the nickname basis now?

Mr. Wu continued, “Oh, I brought my son with me. He’s with his friends. Over there”

He then pointed to a table with 3, 6, 9, - 12 guys. Then the blonde guy sitting in the middle noticed Mr. Wu. He stood up and he was walking straight at us.

And that guy seemed soooooooo familiar.

Now, he’s in front of us. And he is soooooooo tall.

Okay, enough of these exaggerations.

“Son, introduce yourself.” Mr. Wu told him.

“Good afternoon everyone. My name is –“ Then he met my eye.

“MADDIE?!”

Woah. He knows me too.

“Maddie, do you still remember me. The Batman keychain it’s –“

Then it hit me.

“KRIS?!”

*FLASHBACK*

I was 4 and he was 6.

My dad sometimes likes to bring me with him in his office in the US.

Well not technically inside his office. I always stay in the lobby with my Barbies.

Yes you heard that right. Barbies.

I used to love playing Barbies until he came along.

It was one sunny day inside the office. I mean outside the office.

So anyway, a small Kris Wu happened to pass by the lobby.

I was that girl who never noticed anyone except her Barbies.

He walked towards me “Hi!” he said.

I ignored him of course.

“What’s your name?”

I answered “Madisson” while my eyes are on my Barbies.

“Madisson? That’s a long name”

And this took my concentration out of my Barbies.

“But that’s my name” I told him

“We should make it shorter. Like Maddie!”

“Maddie?”

“Nickname for Madisson”

“Oooh…what’s your name?”

“Kris…but I don’t have a nickname yet”

“Kris sounds good.” I said. Weird, I know.

“But that’s my real name”

“What’s that?” Taking notice of the figure he’s holding.

“It’s Batman. He’s real name is Bruce Wayne. Batman is his nickname”

“Bruen?” I’m a late learner so don’t blame me.

“No. Bruce Wayne”

“Bruen? Is that right Bruen? Bruen?” I admit, I sounded like an alien.

“Ha! I know my nickname now” He said happily.

“What is it Kris?”

“Bruen Bruen”

“Ben Ben?” I repeated.

But I just misheard the name.

“Yes that! Ben Ben!”

But if I hadn’t misheard it, Kris would have a bad nickname…Bruen Bruen.

“That’s nice” I told him.

“Do you want to play?”

“Sure”

From then on, I abandoned my Barbies and played with Ben Ben’s toys.

I started loving Batman, Superman, and those kind of action figures.

Then I always beg my dad to bring me with him so I can play with Kris.

Then the last day came.

Kris’ father, Mr. Wu, came towards me and my father.

“Kris, would you like to say goodbye to your friend?”

“Bye Maddie! I’ll miss you”

“Maddie?” My father asked me.

“That’s my nickname” I told my father. “Why do you have to go, Ben Ben?”

“Ben Ben?” asked Mr. Wu. Then they locked eyes and smiled.

“We’re going back to Canada. We’re going to play again soon promise?” He said holding out his pinky.

“Promise” I said then I made the pinky promise.

“We have to go now, Kris. Thank you Mr. Lee. I’m going to see you some time soon.” Then they shook hands and Mr. Wu and Kris walked away.

I turned around too.

“Maddie, I think your Ben Ben has something for you” my dad said smiling.

I faced Ben Ben.

“Here’s the Batman keychain I told you about. Keep it. Let’s play again soon” He gave it to me and smiled.

“I’ll miss you very very very very much Ben Ben” Then I hugged him.

Mr. Wu came again to get his son and they bid farewell the last time

So that’s the story.

*END OF FLASHBACK*

 “Maddie!”

Then he hugged me.

It’s the opposite now.

And I’m not really expecting this.

He’s tall and big okay? And I’m like so short. I’m just until his shoulder. Wait. No. A little lower. Maybe an inch before his shoulder. Or maybe two.

How did I know?

He hugged me, okay?

Him hugging me just felt so….weird.

But then again I hugged him so tight when we were little.

Too much of this drama.

He let go.

And I’m surprised to see the little Ben Ben (as if I’m not small) grow up to be this big, handsome dude.

WAIT.

Did I just call him handsome?

OH MY GLOB WHAT HAS GOTTEN INTO ME >___<

“Uhm Maddie?”

Am I just staring at him?

“Y-yes?”

“Madisson, why don’t you just go with Kris. You need a lot of catching up to do” Mr. Wu told us.

“Ahh..s-sure” Ah, Maddie, why are you stuttering?

Kris led me to his table which is the noisiest of all tables.

“Hyung, tell me again how pretty she is!”

“Is she cute?”

“What happen to the keychain?”

“Does she still have it?”

“Hey Kris, tell me when can we meet Ma – Hello there”

I turned around to see who he was speaking to.

“Maddie, it’s you” he whispered in my ear.

Oh, right.

It’s me.

LIKE A VAMPIRE.

I shyly said “Hi” to them.

But I received eleven different responses.

1.    “Ayo Waddup?! Name’s Chanyeol. But you can call me Yeollie”

2.    “The name’s Tao. I can give you some Gucci if you want”

3.    “Kai here! Care to dance?”

4.    “Do you know bubble tea milk has calsehun? I mean calcium”

5.    “Are you a baozi? Cuz Xiumin loves baozis”

6.    “I’m Luhan. But you can call me dear, I meant deer”

7.    “I love your makeup. Baekhyun by the way”

8.    “Kyungsoo. Want to try my muffin?”

9.    “My name’s Ex-Suho, I mean Suho. Suho. Yeah. I’m Suho”

10. “Love Lays? Well my name is Lay”

11. “Chen to meet you. I mean, nice to meet you”

“Guys, please shut up” Kris told them and they shut up at once.

This kid is powerful.

“This is Madisson Lee. But you can call her Maddie” Then he smirked.

OH MY GLOB MADISSON LEE WHY ARE YOU NOTICING THESE THINGS?

“You mean, she’s…”

“Yes, Chen. She’s Maddie”

And they all fell silent.

Kris said “So” so loudly all of them jumped in surprise. “Let’s chat”

Kris gave me his seat next to Tao and Baekhyun. “Please sit. I’ll just get one for me”

And when he left, everybody was staring at me.

Ben Ben left me with his eleven friends in an awkward atmosphere.

What to do, Maddie? What to do?

First of all, when you do not wish to speak, just smile.

And so I smiled.

But then if you still feel awkward say hi again.

“Hi guys!”

“Hi –“

“So” And they were surprised again to see Kris back. He squeezed his seat between me and Baekhyun. Now it’s a total of 13 people in a table.

Wow. Just…wow.

“What are you doing here in South Korea, Maddie?”

“Hey bro you don’t –“ And Sehun was cut off by Ben Ben’s glare.

Okay, now I find him tall, big, handsome, powerful and now creepy. His glare gave me shudders.

“Are you cold?” he asked me.

NO IT’S YOUR STARE YOU IDIOT

But I just said, “No”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes”

“So why are you here?”

“Well, dad got the job as CEO of this company and he brought us along with him just like he brought me with him in his work in the US” I smiled at the thought of that.

And he smiled back too.

TALL, BIG, HANDSOME, POWERFUL, CREEPY, AND NOW CUTE.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?

Then someone coughed. Real loud.

And I noticed we’re staring at each other.

OH MY GLOB WHY?

Then I stared at my feet.

AM I BLUSHING? OMG AM I?

“Do you still have the keychain?” he asked me.

OH YES IT’S STILL HERE

I showed him my wallet with his keychain.

And he seemed so pleased.

He looked at his friends with a proud expression.

And his friends nod in response.

THERE’S SOMETHING FISHY GOING ON HERE

“And Maddie, why didn’t you tell me you have a brother?”

I looked up now and saw his friends staring at us.

WHY OH WHY

“He’s just a baby during those times. And we just played, we don’t talk much” I told him

And all his friends go “Oooohhhhh”

Cue Kris’ deadly stare.

And his friends go silent.

THE MAGIC OF KRIS WU

“Yeah.” He said. “Why not get to know each other well?”

“Right”

“And let’s start from the very beginning” He smiled again.

I JUST FELT A CHILL

“I’m Kris Wu. Real name is Wu Yi Fan. Nickname is…..Ben Ben”

And the members erupted in laughter.

“IT IS NOT FUNNY GUYS. SHE MADE IT, OKAY” He shouted at them.

Then he said silently, “I swear I’m going to kill these idiots”

“Uhm…B-Ben B-B-hahahahahahahaha” Kai exploded in laughter.

“Shut it. Only Maddie can call me that” Kris said.

“Call you what? Pffftt” Tao said while holding his laughter.

“That’s it. We’re out. Come on, Maddie” He stood up sharply and dragged me outside.

What was that about?

Looks like Ben Ben has a short temper.

“Uhmm…I’m sorry for my friends. They don’t usually act like that. I mean they act like that but that that..sighs..you know what I mean” He told me.

“Yeah. It’s okay. We all have those kind of friends” I replied.

“So how can we catch up?”

Now that set my mind blank.

“Uhmm..”

“I know. Phone please.”

Phone phone phone

“MY PHONE I FORGOT MY PHONE OH MY GLOB”

Did I just say that out loud?

Then he laughed.

OMG HE LAUGHED?

GREAT JOB MADDIE, YOU MADE A FOOL OF YOURSELF.

“You’re cute when you panic” he said while holding his giggle.

I THINK THERE’S AN EXPLOSION SOMEWHERE

“….Sorry?”

“Don’t be. I really missed you. I always talk about you with my friends. I remembered when you panicked because you thought you lost the cape but it’s just in your pocket. You’re really cute”

I THINK I JUST BLUSHED

HARD

Now I have nothing to say.

“I’ll just write down my number in a paper….Do you have a paper?”

I opened my wallet and took out something that looks like a paper.

He took it and smiled at it.

“What?”

“It’s Batman…You began to love Batman?”

“Yeah..because of you, Ben Ben”

AM I SMILING EAR TO EAR?

NO?

NO?

GOOD

“I’m going to write my number here okay?” He handed me his phone. “Now type your number so we can call and text each other”

So we gave each other our numbers.

Then we saw Mr. Wu.

“Kris? Maddie? Why are you two outside? Go in” He told us.

And of course, who are we to disobey?

*time skip: TIME TO GO HOME*

“Maddie sissy, you didn’t tell me you have a boyfriend” Michael said while elbowing me.

“I’m not going to tell you I have a boyfriend because I really don’t have one. Now let us go home” I told him while following our father.

“Maddie!”

I turned around and it was Kris.

Just like we’re children all over again.

“Yes Kris?”

“You can still call me Ben Ben if you want” he reassured me.

“But you’ve grown up already”

“But Ben Ben doesn’t outgrow me. It will never outgrow me. That’s my one and only nickname” He smiled again

DAMN THAT SMILE

“So, see you next time?”

“I guess so” I told him.

“Maybe next week? Lunch?”

“I have school”

OMG IS HE ASKING ME OUT OR WHAT

“How about dinner?”

“Sounds good”

WHAT HAS GOTTEN INTO ME

“Then dinner it is. I’ll just text or call you. Looking forward to catch up with you, Maddie. Goodnight”

IS MY HEART FLUTTERING?

“Goodnight Ben Ben”

OH YES IT IS

 

-----------------------------

TEASER FOR CHAPTER 8!

*MADDIE’S POV*

It’s Monday.

Again.

But you don’t have to hear all the classes and blah blah stuff that is practically boring as a goldfish.

But I guess you have to hear that I passed the Tennis Varsity Team right?

Right?

I guess no.

Fine then.

But I passed anyway.

So I have the Tennis Varsity Team and the school’s band.

Oooh, nice job Madisson.

But I haven’t went to the school’s band meeting yet.

That is tomorrow anyway.

Dismissal maybe?

So I have to skip Language and Hangul classes.

Yay!

Not sarcastic.

*time skip: TUESDAY*

So it’s a Tuesday now.

Wow, time flies so fast.

Just kidding.

I’m just too lazy during Mondays so I don’t usually talk about stuff.

And my favorite day is Tuesday.

And it is my favorite NOT because of Language and Hangul classes.

Anyways, Minyoung and Hyemi accompanied me to get my things in my far far away locker.

And this gasping and giggling and spazzing suddenly happened.

I’m too busy getting my books.

Until Minyoung said, “Oh my gosh”

Now this time, I turned around.

And now I know why.

This guy probably as tall as Ben Ben but I think a little shorter by an inch.

And he’s in front of me.

Okay, I’m not going to tell you he’s not worthy of those gasping and giggling and spazzing.

I just got through with the Ben Ben hangover.

WHY NOW?

WHY THIS?

AND WHO IS HE ANYWAY?

Then his two arms trapped me as he it touched my locker.

His faced inched closer.

And he said, “Good morning….

….Girlfriend”

And I just dropped my books.