LuHans P.O.V

Grabbing his bag he jogged out of the Studio, avoiding any conversation with Miss Hae and made his way to the administration. He and Sehun were to meet there after his class and then they would head back to the studio to meet up with Kai, Kris, Tao and BaekHyun.

He was worried. Yesterdays positivity had worn off and he was plagued by thoughts of failure. They would never be ready in time. Kai was at the studio trying to figure out some moves with Lay earlier, but ‘History’ so far remained un choreographed. 

But his thoughts kept returning to Sophie. The look on her face when she was put in the beginners group, all because she wasn’t the teachers idea of an ‘Ideal body type’. LuHan scoffed at her ignorance, man that teacher was pig headed. She was completely mortified infront of her entire class. It was just plain cruel.

He stood against the door frame of the office, duffel in hand trying to clear his head. He didn’t know why it bugged him so much. I mean it was cruel and insulting. But he wouldn’t have reacted that way if it was one of the other students.

But then again she has that affect on people, BaekHyun already loved her and that James boy risked his class ranking for her. She was just one of those people. Plus Kris said she reminded him of Canada. The leader had a soft spot for the girl.

Footsteps down the concrete path alerted LuHan to his friends presence. “Hey hyung.” Sehuns voiced piped, as he dragged his feet along the ground, slouching like always. His brown hair falling in front of his eyes but a playful grin on his face.

“Hey Sehun, you ready to go meet up with the guys?”

“Yeah, as ready as I’ll ever be.” The younger replied adjusting his large sport bag over his shoulder. LuHan didn’t know why he carried around such a big bag, he had one class? How much crap could he really need?

The two walked in silence with nothing but the sound of the wind and Sehuns humming in the background  until they reached LuHans car. The two got in the vehicle, finding comfort in its familiar smell and the old seats. No matter how uncomfortable it got LuHan would refuse to sell it. It was his baby, and he loved it.

Just as LuHan had found serenity in his driving Sehuns voiced sounded, “How was dance class?” the younger enquired subtlety.

LuHans mind raced at the memories of Sophie dancing, she looked so, natural. The way her limbs moved expressively, how she bared her heart and soul when she danced, like she enjoyed nothing more.

He then remembered how that enjoyment and pleasure was dismembered and burned in front of her very eyes.

LuHan composed himself an answered with a simple, “It was alright.”

Control yourself. She is just a girl. You hardly know her.

The younger chuckled, never decieved by his Hyungs terrible lying. “Riggghht!” he drawled “What happened?”

He saw the look on the olders face and poised himself, face sympathetic. Sehun always knew when something was making the elder sad or angry. He just couldn’t be fooled.

“The teacher was a bit out of line, but it’s okay.” He turned to his friend and ruffled his hair. His hand got slapped away as Sehun protected his well styled hair.

“Concentrate on the road would ya’?” He shot at his hyung causing a smile to spread across the older boys face.

~*~

They pulled into SM Studios car park and got out of the vehicle. LuHan locked it and patted the bonnet, making a silent farewell to his baby. He then draped an arm around his dongsaengs shoulders and made their way to the studio. Before they entered Sehun sent him a reassuring smile and opened the doors.

They were greeted by a now familiar sight; 4 of the boys huddled in the middle of the room in deep discussion. Kris, the eldest was laying on his side, all 6 ft 2 of him stretched out on the wooden floor. BaekHyun was next to him, curled up with his arms wrapped around his legs with a wide grin encompassing his face.

Next was Kai, sitting crosslegged deep in conversation with Kris, probably about the showcase. Or food. You never knew with Kai. Tao was last, his black and blue hair standing out from the browns and tans around him. He noticed the boys first as he was facing the door. He quickly jumped to his feet and jogged to them, holding both LuHan and Sehun in bear hugs before letting them go.

Tao was the second youngest, next to Sehun and he was a charming guy. Always smiling. It was fricken infectious. “Hey guys,” he charmed at them, causing them to smile back. Like he said,

Fricken infectious.

Tao led them over to join the other 3 boys. Sehun ran over to Baekhyun and poked him playfully. “Guess who we saw today?”

The boy shook his head and his eyebrows scrunched, not sure who the Maknae was referring to.

“Your new friend! Her name is Sophie!”

BaekHyuns entire face lit up and pointed to the corner where Sophie had slept earlier that day. “Her?”

“Yeah!” Sehun nodded just as enthusiastic, “She goes to my school. Hell,” he gestured at LuHan, “Hyung is even assisting her dance class.” He finished nonchalantly. But LuHan noticed the sparkle of mischief in his eyes, the little mutt had this all planned.

A look of utter shock crossed BaekHyuns face and LuHan laughed. Sehun was evil, he knew BaekHyun would react like this because BaekHyun had the worst luck in the world. It was a toss up between BaekHyun and himself, who would assist the dance class. And LuHan won.

“No! Not my baby!” BaekHyun shrieked, “How come you get to dance with her?” he pointed an accusing finger at LuHan and the older boy couldn’t help but double over from laughter. The others boys stopped their conversation to observe the situation. BaekHyun held a hand to his heart, attempting to calm himself down. It wasn’t working.

“BaekHyun –gasp- you met her –gasp- three times! How is she –gasp- your baby?” He managed to fit in between suffocating.

“Because she is just so cute!” he squealed freaking out. BaekHyun always had an obsession with cute people and Sophie apparently made that list. His eyes got the aegyo sparkle as he clapped his hands excitedly, and LuHan almost sighed from the cuteness radiating from his dongsaengs.

“It’s Just a class! I’m just there to help with chory, I’m not actually teaching them.”      

“Doesn’t matter, I only lost by one vote.”

“Yeah and that vote makes me go to school, the one place I never wanted to go back to.” LuHan shook his head, he hated school. He couldn’t have been happier when his time in hell was over. Even dropping Sehun off everyday was painful, now he actually had to be there!

“But you get paid.” BaekHyun shot back.

“Not enough considering how much it .” He chuckled half-heartedly.

“Guys, guys.” Kris interrupted. “Lets not forget why LuHan is working there in the first place.”

The guys all moaned in unison, remembering the talk with the manager a few weeks earlier. The company had lost faith in Exo and were no longer paying for the Studio. The walls that surrounded them, the dorm they lived in, the roof over their heads could all be torn away at any moment.

The atmosphere in the room immediately transformed from happy and light hearted to dreary and depressing. ing Kris and his ability to ruin ANY situation known to man, woman or animal kind.

Kris, LuHan, SuHo and Lay had all gotten jobs to help pay for things. But it was slowly slipping away. In a couple of weeks they would be on trains home, their dream, a miniscule spot disappearing on the horizon.

“That reminds me.” Kris rolled over a got slowly to his feet, his body shuddered as a look of pain shattered his indifferent expression. He slowly walked over to the edge of the room and picked up his bag. As he leant over the back of his shirt lifted up and the boy saw a big patch of Purple on his Hip. LuHans breath quickened. “I got to get to work.”

“Hyung what did you do?”  he demanding leaping to his feet and running to his friend. He lifted his shirt to reveal the blue and black bruise. The boys behind him exclaimed at the sight of the injury. It looked quite serious, like he had been punched multiple times in the same spot.

Kris smacked his hand away, “It’s nothing leave it alone.” His eyes shooting lightning at the younger boy and he flinched but refused to back down. If Kris was hurt it was from his work, he was working as a waiter/bouncer at a local pub. And now apparently one of the customers fought back.

Kris wasn’t a very big guy, I mean tall sure, but he wasn’t very muscly. His expressions could kill you where you stood and that was effective when working at a pub with a rowdy clientele. But it wasn’t always effective, it depended on how drunk the men were.

“LuHan move,” He glared once more at the the younger and LuHan could’ve swore he felt actual pain shoot through his body from the sneer. “Now.”

“No, you are not going to work like that.” He fought back. “You can hardly walk, and with that attitude you will get in another fight and end up even worse.” He tugged his friends bag of his lean shoulder and dumped it on the ground, leading him back to the floor.

LuHan pulled out his phone and threw it at the Leader, “Call your boss, tell him you can’t come in tonight.”

“LuHan I have to g-“

“Now.” He sent back a glare of his own and he swore he saw the older boy flinch slightly. His mind went back to the teacher at school, her expression when he got pissed off at her. It looked like she had just seen a ghost.

She deserved it though.

She was totally out of line.

No, get it out of your mind.

Now is not the time.

The door swung open behind the boys and a tired looking D.O walked in carrying boxes of take-away. “Thought you guys might be hungry.” He mumbled, about to fall over.

“Umma!” BaekHyun yelled worriedly. He and Sehun ran over to the mother figure and hugged him, not letting him fall. Kai slowly followed them and sneakily grabbed the food while mumbling a quick thankyou. He jogged back throwing each guy their boxed food.

“Wheres Appa?” BaekHyun asked when they were all seated looking back at the door expectantly, as if the boy would just waltz in at that precise moment.

“SuHos still at work.” D.O replied slowly eating his food. SuHo was of course the father figure, being the leader of Exo-K, plus he helped look after the younger guys.

The others faces fell as they remembered where K’s Leader was. He was packing shelves and boxes at the nearby Supermarket from 5 am until 7pm. The boy looked like a walking corpse lately and he ate everything in his path.

“It’s four o’clock now. He will be there for a few more hours at least.” LuHan replied solemly, picking at his food. Appetite gone.

“Does anybody have ANY ideas about how we are going to fix this?” D.O asked quietly after a few minutes of silence. The question hung in the air for a moment before LuHan felt his mouth move.

“Short of a miracle?” He asked putting the noodle box down, and pushing it away. Giving in to frustration. “No.”

He got to his feet and walked out of the studio. He just needed fresh air. The weight of that conversation crushing down on his shoulders, he couldn’t bare to give up. But he had no idea how to keep going. He walked out of the building and continued down the road until he reached a small park.

He sat down on one of the nearby benches and put his head in his hands.

This was impossible.

Kai was lucky yesterday. He figured out some chory, but the fact still remained they had a performance in just under two months and they hadn’t even begun to practise.

He was just about to stand when he felt heat radiate from his shoulder.

“You okay LuHan-Oppa?” a voice asked from above him. He lifted his head and stared into the familiar green eyes of Sophie. How the hell did this keep happening, was he stuck in a soap opera? She was in her dance clothes and a jumper, but she looked a bit flustered like she had just ran a long way, and she was taking small sips from a large coffee mug.

“Yeah, Im fine Sophie.” He replied sitting back, looking up at the leaves above him. They were gorgeous this time of year. All oranges and reds. He felt her sit down next to him on the bench and he only just realise how cold it was. She radiated and he couldn’t help but move closer. He looked sheepishly at her.

“It’s okay, it is actually really cold. You want some?” She held out the mug, offering him the drink.

He obliged and took a few small sips of the scolding coffee before handing it back to her.

“Now, are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” she asked again. He looked at her questioningly, “What I’m not an idiot, I can tell when somebody has got something on their mind.”

He let out a slow breath and rubbed his eyes. He didn’t want to trouble her with their problems, he didn’t want to make her day any worse. He had heard about the bullies she had pissed off, Sehun told him in the car. Apparently the entire school knew. He turned to her and met her eyes, seeing nothing but compassion in them. Not fear for the bullies, or sadness about her dance class. Just worry.

For him?

He exhaled again before giving in to her understanding expression. “My group and I are hitting a bit of a roadblock.” He chuckled nervously, “Well multiple roadblocks actually um.” He scratched at the back of his head. A habit he had developed when he was uncomfortable or nervous.

“We have our showcase in 2 months and we don’t have a choreographer.” Yeah because that’s the only problem, “Okay we don’t have anything.” He admitted scrunching up his hands before rubbing his brow.

He looked back at the dancer, she nodded for him to continue while sipping her coffee, her dark brown hair blowing in the breeze.

“Some of us have had to get jobs to pay for our dorms and Studio because SM have stopped paying for it. We can’t figure out anything for the showcase and our manager isn’t helping.” He sighed squeezing his hands. “We just, don’t know how to fix this. And we don’t want to loose our only chance at making it.”

Sophie was quite, staring out at the road adjacent to the park. Eyes far, far away. “Sounds like you guys need a night off.” She said nodding critically. “I’ll tell you what. Bring a few of the guys to the restaurant tonight and dinner is on me. And then tomorrow,” she paused taking a long draw of her coffee. “I’ll help you with the choreography.”

LuHan felt his mouth drop open as Sophie took a shot for the bin a few metres away. She would help them. Just like that? “You would really do that?”

“I owe you, you saved my case with Miss Hae earlier. But I need to ask for something in return.” She replied as she threw the coffee cup in the rubbish bin, getting it in first try before turning back and beaming proudly.

“Sure, what do you need?” He asked, pretty willing to give her anything if it meant a way out from the predicament they had caught themselves in.

“I need a place to stay. I went apartment hunting this afternoon but its all too expensive for my basic salary. If you let me stay in the dorm with you guys ill pitch in and pay whatever you guys are paying.” She chuckled , “But there is no way I am sleeping in that studio again!” She stood from the seat emphasizing her point.

LuHan almost jumped for joy, this was amazing!

“You can go talk to the guys or whatever, I don’t need an answer right away. When you guys come for dinner tonight, you can tell me the answer then.” She tugged her jacket around her tightly, emphasizing her curves. LuHan never noticed before, how her hourglass shape was practically flawless.

It must just be the excitement of finally getting a solution, but Sophie looked very attractive with the wind blowing her hair and her eyes glistening. She gestured for him to walk with her and they headed towards the road.

“You have no idea how thankful I am.” He said shaking his head in disbelief. “I thought for sure we were goners.” Worry shot through him, what if she didn’t actually want to help? What if she felt she had to after hearing what happened? “ Are you okay with this? Really?” LuHan didn’t want her to feel oblige to do anything she didn’t want to.

They reached the edge of the park and Sophie turned to him. “It’s fine really. I have no problem with it.” Her lips tilted up at the sides and she waved her hand nonchalantly. “It’s no big deal.”

“It is for us, so once again,” He pulled her into a tight hug surprising himself more than her. “Thankyou.” He felt her warm body relax into him and hug him back, arms encircling his neck. After a few seconds they both let go and Sophie bit her lip.

“I have to go to work now actually, so I will s-see you guys later.” She said quietly before setting off down the road. She glanced back and waved as she walked away, LuHan smiled at her and waved back before turning and running into the SM building, sprinting up the steps and bursting into the studio.

The guys were still on the ground conversing, except they all looked more depressed and worried than before. If that was even possible.

They all turned to look at the intruder, relaxing once the realised it was LuHan. Kris spoke up first, “LuHan we are going to have to call the manager, tell him we can’t-“

“I got us a choreographer.”

BaekHyun piped up, “Please tell me it’s-

“Sophie.” He finished and the boys cheered.  

A/N And finnally i get to the point in the story where things ACTUALLY START HAPPENING!! YAY!!!

Sorry that this chapter isn't very goo, wrote it at like 3 in the morning <3

xoxo Shan, comment plz because your all amazing :D

xo