We remained mostly quiet and gloomy untill Nina returned. She came in and sat back down again. “You okay, Nina?” Suho asked softly. She smiled and nodded, her red eyes evidence of her tears. We all remained rather quiet. She sighed,

“Really guys. Thank you, but I’m fine now. Let’s forget it for now.” We nodded. Suddenly Sehun leaned over quickly and hugged her again. He pulled away just as quickly.

“Saranghaeyo Noona.” He smiled as her sweetly before ducking his head down. She chuckled,

“Ne, nado saranghae. Ugh, stop it guys. I just now finally got myself all cleaned up again. Don’t make me cry again, please.” She smiled, but I could tell she was being serious.

“Arrasso, Noona!” Chen grinned and picked up his dishes, taking them into the kitchen. The others began following his lead and took their dishes in. She began to get up and do the same, but Chanyeol grabbed her plate,

“Aniyo Noona, you cooked. We’ve got this.” He smiled and went into the kitchen. I followed him and I knew that Nina wasn’t far behind me. Everybody was squished in, trying to drop off their dishes. Baekhyun and Kai were chosen to clean the dishes tonight. Kris checked the time and announced that is was tine for EXO M to go home.  We had schedules in the morning and manager ge would be mad if we weren’t back soon. Everyone from EXO K gathered around Nina and hugged her before we left. She smiled and laughed as they all attacked her with their hugs and kisses. I smiled, happy to know that we made her so happy. We were a big part of what was keeping her here, and what was keeping her happy. But then a thought occurred to me… should we be? Is that bad? Selfish? Does she need to go home? Does she need to…?

Nina POV

I laughed as they all attacked me with hugs. Sehun clung to me automatically. It was reflexive whenever I had to leave by now. Then came Chanyeol, with his adorable baby face, but tall height. He wrapped his arms around me, but then he picked me up and spun me around quickly. “Y-Yah! Chanyeol! S-Stop!” I yelled, laughing. He laughed too and put me back on the ground. He pulled away and grinned at me. Next was Suho. He gently placed his arms around me; his hug was just how I imagined a caring older brother’s hug should be. I smiled and he pulled away, giving me one of his amazing eye smiles. Baekhyun walked up and grabbed me, pulling me into a quick hug. I smiled, wrapping my arms around him. He rocked me side to side a couple of times then quickly let go. He was so sweet, but a little awkward when it came to really showing his feelings sometimes I had learned. But I understood what he was trying to say. I knew he, along with all of these awesome guys, cared for me a lot. So, in the end he always gets the correct feeling across.

D.O. approached me, a lot less shy than he was just this morning. I hugged him, “Thank you for cooking with me today. It was a nice reminder of home.” He pulled away and smiled,

“Ne. Anytime Noona.” I grinned, happy to be so much closer with him now.

Eventually Kai even sauntered up slyly. He hid his hands behind his back as he approached me. I eyed him suspiciously. Suddenly he reached out and placed his soapy hands on my face. I yelped in surprise. He had been washing dishes and decided that it would be fun to get soap on me. I narrowed my eyes at him and he just grinned. I laughed and pulled him to me, giving him a big hug. He was such a pain sometimes, but I loved him none-the-less. He laughed and returned the hug, careful to keep his wet hands off of my back. Baekhyun handed me a towel once we pulled away. I laughed and wiped my face. “Pabo!” I threw the towel in Kai’s face once I was through and I could feel him scowling under the towel. We all laughed at his misfortune and waved goodbye as we left.

Lay POV

We soon arrived back at our dorm. I was still very much preoccupied by what I had realized earlier. Are we holding her back from really being happy? It was really bothering me. I didn’t want us to be a burden to her, and I doubted that she would ever admit that we were.

Nina POV

Everyone seemed to be in a very huggy mood tonight because everyone, even Kris, came over and gave me a hug before going to bed. “I know I give you a hard time a lot, but I’m really glad you’re here.” He admitted. I smiled; he had even said it in English. That was something to celebrate.

“Thank you, Kris That means a lot to me.” He nodded, smiled and went to bed.

Last to say goodnight was Lay. He almost seemed reluctant. He seemed kinda out of it since before we left. He came over and hugged me quickly. “Is something wrong, Yi Xing?” I asked as he turned to walk away. He stopped and seemed to hesitate, but then he turned around and forced a smile on his face,

“No. I-I’m fine. Goodnight.” He left, going in to our shared room, leaving me to watch after him in silence,

“Goodnight,” I whispered, confusion already clouding my thoughts.

I decided to stay up and read for awhile. I sat on the couch reading. About an hour later I heard feet padding slowly down the hall.  I looked up, only to see Lay enter the kitchen silently. He came back out a moment later with a glass of water. He saw me looking at him and froze. My eyebrows knit together in wory, “You couldn’t sleep?” I asked. He gulped and shook his head. I patted the seat beside me. He hesitsted then came to sit beside me, a sense of determination coming into his eyes. “What’s wrong?” I asked, closing my book. He was silent for a moment, then,

“A-Are we a burden?” It was so quiet, I couldn’t even be sure that’s what he said, but before I could ask, he continued, “I mean, are we holding you back. If you want to go home, you should. Don’t let us stand in the way of your happiness.” He let it all out in a rush. We sat in silence for a moment as I tried figuring out what to say.

“So… That’s what was bothering you.” I looked over at him, but he avoided my gaze. I sighed, “Lay, you could never be a burden; none of you.  I love you guys. YOU make me happy.” I poked his shoulder for emphasis.

“…You could just be saying that…” he mumbled. I shook my head,

“No. I’m not. You guys are family. And, while I may miss home sometimes, this is what I want. This is what I worked toward. You wanted to be a performer. So, you left your home in China to come here. It was hard, you missed home, you had to leard a new language, make new friends, but you did it. Now you are standing here as a very popular member of EXO. You may miss home, but do you regret it? No. Because this is what you love. For me, it’s the same. I worked long and hard to learn what I did so that I could travel and meet new people. I wanted to be a translator and I knew that there would be times where I was far from home. But I don’t regret it, especially not now. You 12 guys have given me a home. Before I met you all I was coasting along, so close to giving up.I had a had time making friends and so, without friends with me, it was hard to enjoy and love what I did. Then, once I met someone, I often had to leave. It was sad. You 12 are the first to really accept me and give me a new home. Sure, it’s not America, but this,” I waved my arms around, “Is home. You guys are my family. I love you all and would never regret working with you. This is the best job I’ll ever have, and its the happiest I’ll ever be, You guys have all made my struggles worth while.” He stared at me, shocked by my speech. “Sorry, but you can’t get rid of me that easily.” I grinned at him, trying to lighten the mood. He didn’t respond and I became seious again. “Don’t worry about me Yi Xing. I’m fine. And- I’ll be sure to let you know when I’m not. I’m sorry for worrying you, but I‘m really happy here. Really.” He stared into my eyes, searching for any hint I was lying to him. When he found none, he turned away and sighed.

“You really feel that way?” he whispered. I nodded,

“Yes.” He turned back to me,

“I’m glad. I’m glad you’re happy here. Because we’re all really glad you’re here too.”