Sixteen

Kadence wasn’t sure what she was going to say to Wu Fan; she was continually going over possible conversations in her head, but whenever she settled on one it seemed all wrong.  It didn’t seem like she would get a chance to approach him either, as the SM building grew hectic.  As it grew closer to SMTown LA the boys were thrown back into a busy schedule, and Kadence herself was run off her feet.

That wasn’t where it stopped though.  Several times she had tried to take an opportunity to speak with him, only to have him shrug her off or be called somewhere else.  It didn’t take long for her to realise that karma was kicking her in the backside and he was now avoiding her.  It didn’t stop her trying though; he had to give in sooner or later.

“Kadence, EXO-M’s manager wants you to transfer some things from practice room three to the van in parking bay seventy-six,” a voice announced over her headset and she let out a heavy sigh.  Sending them confirmation she bowed to a passer-by and headed in the direction of the room.  She felt like she hadn’t slept for days and that her arms were about to fall off from all the lifting and carrying she had been doing for the past few hours.  She had to it up though, and when she arrived at the door she took a deep breath.

Stepping inside she excused herself, faltering as she spied the pile of equipment that needed moving.  She forced a smile at the manager, who was in the middle of directing the boys to private practice and he turned to her.  “I know it’s a lot, take your time and as many trips as you need.”

Kadence nodded and moved towards the pile, her eyes on Wu Fan as she approached it.  The second he caught her gaze he was spinning back to face his brothers and she rolled her eyes.  Plucking a large amount from the pile she heaved it up, taking a moment to test her balance and the weight.  As much as she would have loved to take ten trips to complete the task, she simply didn’t have time.

Unable to peer around the pile she moved towards the door without another glance at the boy who was now doing his best to ignore her.  She hoped that no one would come speeding along the corridor, as she had no vision of the space in front of her, working her path mostly through memory and her peripheral vision.  What she didn’t count on though was added objects littering the hall, also waiting to be moved and she couldn’t help but let out a curse as her foot connected with something and everything in her arms went flying.

“Omo noona, are you okay?” a voice called and she turned to find Chanyeol running down the hallway towards her.  She felt a light blush form in embarrassment as she looked at the mess she had created.  Scratching the back of her head she shrugged, letting out an awkward chuckle.

“I’m okay, though I can’t say much for my pride.  And I hope all this stuff is too,” she replied, bending down at the same time as he did to collect everything.  “Thank you.”

“It’s no problem, here let me help you with that.  Where is it going?” he asked as he began to form a neat tower of objects and she attempted to oppose him, the boy simply shaking his head.  “You’ll only drop it again.  Kris, get your over here and help us!”

She didn’t even bother to turn around, not wanting to meet the scowl that would be on the leader’s face as he approached.  Instead she answered Chanyeol’s question, who began nodding vigorously in acknowledgement.

“I’ll go ahead, you two meet me down there,” he said, picking up his stack and Kadence stuttered something unintelligible as she pulled her own towards her.  She stood up just as Wu Fan reached the mess and Chanyeol started striding down the hallway.  She had half a mind to run after him, though knew that this was the moment she had been waiting for.

“So we should talk,” she started as she waited for the blonde to pick up what was left.  He grunted as he did so, and she wondered if that was the only answer she would get.

“What about?”

“Oh I don’t know Kris, maybe the fact that you pounced on me the other day and now it’s hanging over us both?” she snapped, not meaning to lose her temper and squeezed her eyes shut.  “Sorry... I just, we need to clear the air.”

“You’re right,” he agreed, finally looking at her as they began walking.  His gaze was intense as usual and Kadence found herself swallowing thickly as she tried to think of all the words she had run over in her head.

“I get that it was probably a moment of weakness, and now that it’s done with you can return to Gayun, but I just need to hear it from you,” she said, and he gazed straight ahead as they slowly approached the elevator.  She was beginning to wonder whether he would actually reply, when he began speaking.

“Yes, it was a moment of weakness, but it’s not as simple as that.  I care a lot about Gayun, and I owe her a lot.  She’s been amazing to me and I like to think that up until the other day I was the same for her,” he started, pausing to run his tongue over his lips.  “But I can’t deny that you affect me greatly too.  In fact I’m thankful for these boxes, otherwise I might have you against the wall again.”

Kadence flooded with colour once more at the admission, and she suddenly disliked the idea that as soon as the doors they were standing in front of opened, they would be in a very enclosed space.  Shaking her head she tried to rid herself of the thoughts and focus on the matter at hand.  “But you gave her your word when you got together.”

“Exactly, I mean we’re hardly under the obligation of marriage.  Though I don’t think it’s something to go ahead and set fire to,” he said, looking almost pained as the elevator doors closed on them.  “I hope you understand.”

“This is what got you in this place in the first place, Wu Fan.  Caring too much about others’ wellbeing and feelings,” Kadence pointed out, a chime in her voice as she tried to keep the mood from turning bleak.  He rolled his eyes, mumbling something under his breath about that name.  She bit down on her lip, readjusting the objects in her arms and when she returned her attention she found him staring at her.  He had just taken a step towards her when the lift chimed and the doors slid open.

“Come on guys, I thought you’d never catch up,” Chanyeol greeted them heartily and the redhead cleared as she stepped out.  She had never been so thankful to see that mop of curly hair.

____________________________________________

Hey guys, bear with me please (even though I'm not even sure anyone reads this anymore lol).  I am smack bang in the middle of preparing to move interstate in six days >.<  I also have to admit that my muse for this is dwindling, though I'm determined to finish it.  I'll hopefully get there, it might just take a while.  To those who have stood by me, thank you and I hope you're still enjoying this.