I was waiting around set one day. EXO M all spoke Korean pretty well so I had rarely been needed while in Korea. I expected to have to work harder once we were all back in China. But I was just standing there when a man approached me, “Excuse me,” he said. I looked up in surprise. That had been neither Chinese nor Korean. This man speaks English!?!?! XD I smiled brightly,

“Yes?” He sighed,

“Ahh, you do speak English. Good.” He sighed in relief and placed a hand over his heart. I laughed.

“Yeah, you surprised me.” He nodded.

“So, what are you doing here in Korea?” He asked.

“Oh, I’m here as a translator.” I said.

“Ahh,” he nodded, “So, your Korean must be really good.” He commented.

“Yeah, and my Chinese. The guys I translate for are all Chinese and Korean. It can get pretty… confusing sometimes… and loud…” he laughed and nodded. “What about you?” I asked. He reached into the bag hanging off his shoulder and pulled out a camera.

“I’m a photographer.” He said.

“Oh, so your take pictures of the guys I translate for everyday?” I gestured over to the crazy group of guys. Some were being serious, while others ran around like crazy untill they were needed. I giggled as I watched Sehun run and hide behind Suho as Tao chased him. Chanyeol was constantly poking Kai and I could tell the latter was getting agrivated, but was holding his tongue. The man’s eyes widened.

“Them? That’s who you translate for?” I nodded. “Oh, wow. You MUST be good then. I’m impressed.” I shook my head no with a small smile. “Ah, but no. I’m afraid I’m not quite at that level yet. My teachers take their pictures. I mostly observe at this point. Plus it’s kinda hard for me to take pictures of them, since we can’t communicate very well.” I grinned,

“That’s were I come in!” He nodded and smiled. “So, where are you from?” I asked him. I soon learned that we came from the same region of America. He told me about what had been going on in the news lately in America. I had been trying to keep up as much as possible by grabbing a glance at American news sites when I could, but when I’m with these guys 24/7, they make it pretty difficult for me. Plus, whenever I watch or read stuff, they all gather around and make a big fuss out of it. I have to translate everything for them, or they sit in awe of the English being spoken. Sometimes they try imitating them, and then I’m so busy laughing I can’t hear what’s being said. -.-

We talked for a long time. Eventually Lay wandered over. “Meimei,” He said as he tugged on my sleeve. I turned to him,

“Hmm?”

“Who is he?” he asked me, pointing to Paul. I had quickly learned that was his name.

“His name is Paul. He’s American like me. He’s learning to be a photographer.”

“Do you know him?” he asked confused.

“I just met him a few minutes ago. We’ve been talking.” Lay pouted.

“Isn’t that bad to be talking to strange men? Don’t you want to come over here? Kris and I are done.” I laughed,

“It’s okay. I’ll come over in a minute.” I turned back to Paul. Lay remained there.

“Nina.” He said.

“Yes, Yi Xing?” He just stared at Paul. I sighed. “Yi Xing. I live with 6 guys. Four speak Chinese, 2 speak Korean. Then, during the day, you can add 6 more Korean guys to the mix. I never speak English. Ever. I need a break. Give me a minute and I’ll come over. Okay?” I didn’t mean to sound annoyed, but I was kinda. Here was my one chance at speaking English in ages. Maybe I wouldn’t be so deprived if Kris would just talk in English more. But no. He made me work for it. Annoying duizhang. -.- So, I needed to speak English for awhile or else I think I might go crazy, and then I’d be of no use to any of them. Lay walked away slowly. He looked so sad and dejected. I sighed. Here comes the guilt. I watched as he rejoined Kris. He stood there for a moment, and then he did something that just about broke my heart. He leaned over and placed his head on Kris’ shoulder out of tiredness. I looked back over at Paul. “Look, I’m sorry. I really have to go. There’s a degected unicorn I have to go talk to.” He looked at me strangly for a moment.

“Oh, okay… Well, maybe I’ll see you again at another photoshoot. I think I’m scheduled for a few more with EXO.” He sent me a charming smile and I blinked.

“Uhh, yeah… Maybe…” I sent him a tightlipped smile. I didn’t like the way he looked at me… Was he trying to flirt? Dude, don’t flirt. Please. I thought I had just met a sane English speaking person, but you have to go and flirt… Ugh. That’s awkward… I glanced back over at Lay. Because no matter how much you flirt, my heart already belongs to another. I smiled back at him. “Okay, well… Bye! Nice talking to you!” I gave him a small wave and quickly ran towards Kris and the broken unicorn.

I joined Kris and Lay and poked Lay on the back, “Yo. Why so sad?” I asked. Lay stiffened and lifted his head from Kris’ shoulder. His eyes widened when he saw me. “Why are you so surprised? I said I’d be here in a sec….” I mumbled. He smiled slightly, a look of sadness still in his eyes. I turned to Kris, “What’s wrong with him?” I asked bluntly, obviously getting nowhere with Yi Xing myself. Kris chuckled.

“I believe it had something to do with that guy and the way he was flirting with you. Then when you sent Yi Xing away, well… that of course didn’t help any either.”

“Y-YAH!” Lay smacked Kris’ arm hard, his face turning beet red. He turned to me and waved his arms. “A-Aniyo. That’s not it. I-I was just… I was just worried. Yes, that’s it. I didn’t think it was safe for you to be talking to a stranger. He seems…” he looked over my shoulder and eyed Paul with a look of distain on his face, “…weird.” He turned back to me.

“Hardly. Plus I needed English. And SOMEONE,” I sent Kris a pointed look, “won’t speak English with me lately.”

“If Kris speaks to you in English, will you refrain from spending so much time with random English speaking men?” I stared at him. What the heck? It’s not like Seoul was crowded with weird westerners all intent on kidnapping me. I looked at him like he was crazy, but he didn’t withdraw. I rolled my eyes,

“Fine. But if someone talks to me, I’m going to talk to them too. At least to say hello. I can’t be impolite.” Lay nodded, satisfied. He turned to Kris,

“You better start talking to her in English.” He gave him a death glare and Kris stepped back a step.

“Woah. Chill. I will, I will… Gosh…” He put his hands up in defense. Lay nodded,

“good.” Kris and I made eye contact,

“He’s crazy (in English),” Kris said to me, pointing at Lay. I laughed and nodded.

“Yes. He is.” Lay looked between us in confusion. He stomped his foot in annoyance.

“I forgot how annoying this is! Aish!” He stomped away and grumpily joined Luhan and Chen. Kris and I laughed and high fived.