Kim Hyeri's / Your POV

The following day, you went to school with EXO again since they surrounded you and made you ride to school with Baekhyun. Lunch was also spent with them and at least someone from the group would always accompany you wherever you went. You were slightly annoyed at first at the invasion of privacy but soon found it to be a nice feeling having someone to walk with but you would never admit it. They always talked about random silly things which you some times think were hilarious but you kept it to yourself.

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After school...

"You're not working today right since your manager told us that you only work there on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays?" Suho asked.

"Yeah." You replied.

"Great. We can all go home and relax." Xiumin grinned happily.

"You guys can go home. I have other things to do." You stated.

"What other things?" D.O questioned.

"That is none of your business." You answered before walking off, leaving EXO as quickly as possible before they could ask you any more questions. You also made sure that they weren't following by taking short-cuts through alleys.

30 minutes later and you arrived at the cafe where you work as a barista on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and some times even Sundays. You changed into your white long-sleeved shirt and black skirt and wrapped your apron around your waist before you started work. You genuinely enjoyed working as a barista even though there would be times when the customers might be rude.

What made it fun was making the different kinds of drinks and you can even experiment on new flavours when there were little to no customers around. Your co-workers were also easy to get along with.

That day as usual, you worked behind the counters with a small smile as you did your best to serve the customers. Your always stoic expression was gone, replaced by a relaxed smile as you greeted the customers. However, seeing as how you were injured, your manager made you in charge of the cash register instead of making the drinks or cleaning the tables. You happily obliged.

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EXO's POV

At home...

EXO was lounging around the house, either watching tv or eating. Most of them were bored to death as nothing interesting was playing on tv.

"I wonder what noona is doing right now. I bet whatever she's doing is better than sitting at home doing nothing. It's so boring." Sehun complained as he lay on his back on the floor, staring at the ceiling.

"Since all of us are bored, let's go out. We might find something fun to do." Chanyeol suggested.

"Sounds good." Kris agreed.

Soon, all of them were already out the house. Deciding that it was too troublesome to find parking spots for their bikes, they used the public transport instead. They randomly picked a bus and boarded, planning to stop at any place they found interesting. They ended up in an arcade, playing games and challenging each other like there's no tomorrow. When they were finally tired, they walked over to the nearby park and rested.

"That was fun!" Chanyeol exclaimed. Kris agreed and high-fived Chanyeol.

"Well, that's because you guys kept winning everything." Tao complained unhappily.

"Maybe you just ." Kai suggested.

"I don't." Tao retorted and sulked. EXO laughed at his childishness.

"Who's thirsty?" Kris asked.

"I want bubble tea!" Sehun exclaimed.

"No maknae. You've had too much bubble tea already." Suho rejected.

"Luhan hyung wants bubble tea too right?" Sehun looked at Luhan with his puppy dog eyes which the latter couldn't resist and nodded in agreement.

Suho sighed and shook his head. "We're not getting bubble tea and that's final. Maybe next time. Let's just go to a cafe nearby and chill." Most of them agreed and they headed off to find one. They ended up in a small cozy cafe.

As they entered, there was a tinkling of bells and a welcoming voice greeted them. "Welcome to Star Coffee."

However, both the owner of the voice and EXO were surprised by the presence of each other. They stared at each other before Lay decided to break the silence. "So this was the thing you had to do?"

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Kim Hyeri's / Your POV

You were busy restocking the cakes when you heard the tinkling of bells, signalling the arrival of new customers. "Welcome to Star Coffee." You greeted warmly without looking up but when you did, you were looking at some familiar boys.

"So this was the thing you had to do?" One of them or specifically, Lay, asked after a moment of silence.

"I guess so." You mumbled.

Your manager decided to walk in at this time to check up on you. "Hyeri-ah, your shift is almost ending soon. But you can go now. I'll take over your spot."

"Thanks." You quickly thanked her and went to the changing room.

*What were they doing here? Aish. Please tell me they left.* You prayed. After you finished changing, you peeked through the back door to see if the coast was clear before making your way out. But as soon as you walked out the alley into the main street, you were surrounded by EXO.

"Oh you are not going anywhere until you explain yourself." Suho warned as you tried to make your escape but to no avail.

"I have nothing to say." You said.

"Well we do. For two weeks, you're not allowed to work and is to stay at home." Lay announced.

"Mwoh?! What do you mean I can't work. I'll lose my jobs." You stared at them bewildered.

"Don't worry. We'll be the ones taking over for you. We already spoke with both your managers. So all you have to do is stay at home quietly until your hand heals. Understand?" Lay told you.

"No wa-" You were about to retaliate when you were abruptly cut off.

"You've got no choice. It's either that or... Or..." Chanyeol tried threatening you.

"Or what?" You raised your eyebrow questioningly.

"Or we tell the whole school that we're living with you." Kai continued.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me." Kai smirked in victory when he knew you weren't going to argue against that.

"Fine. You guys can do whatever you want to do." You walked off.

Sehun ran up to you and hooked his arm with yours. "Noona, don't be mad. We just don't want to see you get hurt." You softened at his words.

"Let's go to the carnival nearby. It'll help cheer you up." Sehun beamed at you as he dragged you to the carnival.

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Your eyes twinkled in delight when you saw all the game stalls and food stalls at the carnival. What others don't know about you was that you loved carnivals and amusement parks the most since they make you relax and forget all about your problems and chase away your sadness. Out of excitement, you dragged Sehun to a candy floss stall and bought two, giving the other one to Sehun before dragging him to another stall.

"Noona! Wait for me!" Sehun shouted above the noise when both of you were separated but you didn't hear him and continued to check out other stalls.

*So many stalls! Let's have fun and just go all out!* You cheered in your mind as you grinned happily, forgetting about everything else.

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EXO's POV

On the other hand, Sehun was lost until he felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun around and found all his hyungs behind him. "Hyungs!!" He happily greeted them, glad to have found someone he knew in the crowd.

"Where's Hyeri?" Chen asked for your whereabout.

"I don't know. I got separated from noona." Sehun pouted.

"We should find her. She should probably be not too far away from here." Suho suggested.

As they walked around, they finally spotted Hyeri buying a balloon and handing it over to a little boy who was crying. He stopped crying soon after and beamed back at her. She ruffled his hair with an affectionate smile on her face and pushed him towards his mother. She waved happily at the now smiling boy. EXO stared in awe at the smile etched on her face. It was bright and made her look different. They finally saw her without her usual hard expression on.

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Kim Hyeri's / Your POV

*Aigoo. Such a cute boy. Reminds me of MinWoo from the orphanage.* You thought to yourself as you went over to another stall to buy some cookies. *Yummy!* You smiled as you walked around.

"Enjoying yourself?" A familiar voice asked from behind you. You your heels and found yourself face to face with Luhan. You were still munching on the cookie and nodded your head slightly. You noticed that the rest of the boys were also with him.

*Ah, Totally forgot about them. No wonder I felt like I was forgetting something.* You thought as you continued to munch on cookies.

"Aigoo. So cuuute." Chanyeol cooed at you and pinched your cheeks. You smacked them away.

"Don't do that. Ever again." You threatened but it wasn't effective as you said it with your mouth full of delicious cookies. You narrowed your eyes at them when you saw them trying to hold in their laughter.

Ignoring them, you looked around you and spotted a ferris wheel. Your eyes lit up at the thought of going on it. The boys followed your line of vision. Sehun grabed your hand and pulled you to the ferris wheel. "Let's ride it!"

On the way there, an ice cream shop caught your attention. "Wait. To the ice cream shop." You pulled Sehun along.

"Annyeonghasaeyo. How may I help you?" The worker greeted you.

"Can I get a large cup of cookies and cream, please? What do you guys want?" You asked the boys who reluctantly ordered a small cup of their preferred flavour. Once all of you got your ice creams, you paid for everyone.

*Wonder why they were hesitant to order. They would usually be happy that I'm treating them.* You thought as you got in line for the ferris wheel.

Since only 4 people can fit in each cubicle, you ended up with Sehun, Chen and Tao. The others were split up with Kris, Suho and chanyeol in one, Kai, D.O and Lay in one and Luhan, Baekhyun and Xiumin in another. You stared out the window and admired the night view while eating your still unfinished ice cream. The stars shone brightly in the dark sky. Your eyes twinkled together with the stars as you get drawn in more and more. However, you were brought out of your reverie by the 3 boys in the same cubicle as you.

"Noona, you look really happy for once. You should really smile more." Sehun commented.

"Yeah. I second that. You won't look as scary any more." Tao bluntly stated.

"Psh.. I don't care what you think." You replied.

"But it's nice to see that you can smile and have fun like that." Chen added.

"So, what's up with the sticking to me thing?" You finally asked the question you've been holding in.

"Since you didn't fight back when you were bullied and didn't look like you would any time soon we figured it could be the least that we could do to protect you from them since you helped us. And you need to rest for your hand to heal so since we don't have any jobs right now, we figured we could help you out." Chen replied nonchalantly.

"Ahh... I see." You were at a lost for words at their thoughtfulness.

"You should be thankful to us. And get well soon." Tao said. You scoffed at him.

Throughout the ride, you got to know the 3 boys better. Sehun was childish but sweet. Tao was blunt yet playful. Chen was sweet and direct. *Maybe, they aren't so bad after all.*

When you got off the ride, you met up with the rest of the boys before deciding to head back home. "You guys didn't ride your bikes here?"

"Nope. Why? You want to ride mine again?" Kris smiled mischievously.

"No thanks. I prefer taking the bus." You took a seat at the back of the bus and got comfortable. The rest also took seats around you. Since it was late, not many people were on the bus and it was peaceful. You stared out the window throughout the whole ride home.