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Three

Kadence woke again as the call for landing was announced and she stretched widely, turning off her iPod and tossing it back into her bag.  She looked up as she saw a face poke around the side of the chairs and grinned at Minseok.

“Are you ready for chaos?” he asked and she stared at him in confusion, her eyes darting towards Yoonhee in the hope for answers.  “The Korean fans will have let the Chinese know about our arrival, there’ll be a lot more waiting here.”

“Just stick with us and you’ll be fine, we have security,” Yoonhee said and she nodded, taking the girl’s hand as she held it out, the plane beginning to descend.  It took about half an hour more until they had touched down and disembarked and as they entered the terminal Kadence realised exactly what they meant.

What seemed like hundreds of fans were all waiting with cameras poised, the sound deafening as they made their way between sets of security guards.  All the members’ names were being called in a jumble of sound and Kadence also became acutely aware of the many whispers and pointing aimed at her.

“Why are they looking at me?” she asked Yoonhee quietly, the girl pursing her lips before answering.

“The fans know all the staff members by appearance, both here and in Korea.  They know you’re new.”  Kadence’s mouth formed an ‘o’ as she acknowledged the fact, astounded by the fact that a no name like her could gain attention.  It seemed surreal as they slowly made their way through the airport, two vans waiting for them in the pick-up zone.

Kadence helped the others load their belongings into the vans before falling into an empty seat.  The EXO-M boys were headed for their Beijing dorm while the rest of the staff members to a hotel close by it.  The redhead spent the short journey staring out the window as one of the largest cities in the world passed by her.

“Exactly how much do you expect me to step foot into the city alone?” she questioned as they pulled up at the hotel and Minah raised an eyebrow at her, nudging her out of the vehicle.

“There shouldn’t be too much, just coffees mostly, and any emergency gear.  Why?”

“Uh, I may or may not have a poor sense of direction,” Kadence admitted sheepishly and Minah and Yoonhee glanced at each other, letting out a snigger.

“We promise we won’t get you lost... unless we decide to have some hidden camera fun.”

“So if I get lost I know what to expect,” she smirked as she lugged her bag and a portion of Yoonhee’s closet towards the hotel doors.  Their residence for the next three weeks was blessedly close to both EXO-M’s dorm and the Chinese training building.

Kadence followed the other staff members to the front desk to check-in and received their keys, together all of them taking up almost a whole floor.  They were then given free reign by Minah who encouraged them all to get settled in their rooms before meeting in the lobby in an hour’s time.

The Westerner helped Yoonhee to her room before retreating into the seclusion of her own.  She knew that in reality she should be unpacking her suitcase and organising her belongings, but the double bed that lay in the middle of the room seemed to be beckoning.  Instead she dumped her bag by the bathroom door and crawled onto the mattress.  She knew by the way that her eyelids were already fluttering closed that she would have to set an alarm and blindly reached for her phone.

*  *  *

When Kadence had dragged herself down to the lobby she was worried that she wouldn’t be able to stay awake all day.  She envisioned herself sitting down on a chair in between helping out and falling into a comatose state.  She quickly learnt though that there was no chance of that happening.

It seemed that everyone needed more than one item fetched for them, or task managed and Kadence found she barely had time to breathe, let alone sleep.  She wondered if she had made the right decision by accepting the promotion, but it only took one glance at the EXO-M boys to put her in her place.  Those six boys constantly worked harder than she did and had for longer than her, not to mention had to put up with the world of fame.  She watched as they finally made their way on stage, the first interview ahead of them, and smiled as she saw how nervous they were.

Minseok and Jongdae were grinning broadly at the audience, whether to please their fans or from the nerves she wasn’t sure.  As the interview began Kadence saw Wu Fan’s leader qualities in full flight for the first time.  She had already noticed the way he always kept an eye out for the other boys and pulled them into line when they needed it.  Now though, he took the microphone and despite his obvious nervousness, easy to spot by his inability to sit still, answered every question that wasn’t aimed at a particular person.

About half way through the director called for a break and Kadence shifted to allow the stylists to slip by, noting how the noise of the crowd increased as they revelled in the presence of their new favourite idols.

“Kadence!”  The girl looked up at the sound of her name to find one of the stylists beckoning her with some difficulty due to her hands being full.  Tentatively she made her way towards them, looking on blankly as the lady babbled away in Mandarin, indicating with her head towards a box.

“She wants you to wipe the sweat from my face with that cloth,” Wu Fan translated and she thanked him as she reached for it.  Raising her arm it took her off guard when the leader wrapped a hand around her wrist, halting her.  “I also forgot to add you have to be careful not to wipe too much of the make-up off.”

Kadence nodded and he bent down so she could reach, dabbing his skin gently with the cloth.  She could only imagine what her friends back home would be saying if they could see her, more than likely exclaiming their jealousy over that fact that she was touching Kris from EXO-M’s face.  She couldn’t help but smile at the thought, caught out as she dabbed at his chin and Wu Fan opened his eyes.

“Is something amusing?  Or are you just enjoying the view?” he asked and she choked on her saliva at the forwardness of his question.  Shaking her head she let out a nervous laugh.

“The first, I was just thinking what all my friends would be saying right now.”

“Would they sound something like that?” he posed, pointing to the crowd and she nodded with a grin.  Stepping back she was motioned to place the cloth back into the box she had found it and with a bow she turned around and headed backstage where Yoonhee was waiting.