Tears welled up in Jiyeon’s eyes as she walked into EXO’s dressing room.

It’s just like she said. I’m not good enough for him. He’s there in the limelight while I’m insignificantly small and hidden in the dark.

“Jiyeon ah, could you remove my make up for me?” Sehun asked. Jiyeon nodded and quickly calmed herself down.

No one must see me like this, she thought.

Sehun sat in front of the mirror and closed his eyes. Jiyeon began removing his make up for him.

Suddenly, he felt something wet drip onto his cheeks.

Must be the remover, he thought.

Not too long later, another drop of cold liquid fell onto his face. And another.

What the? Sehun opened his eyes.

He looked up and saw tears falling from Jiyeon’s face. He became flustered and stood up. Jiyeon gasped and backed away in surprise. 

“Jiyeon ah, are you alright? Are you sick?” Sehun asked, holding onto Jiyeon’s wrists.

Did something happen to her? She was obviously fine during the showcase, though.

“N-nothing, Oppa. Just close your eyes so I can quickly clean up your face,” Jiyeon muttered, looking away.

“Really okay?”

“Yes. Don’t worry about me, please,” Jiyeon pleaded.

Please don’t ask anymore, Sehun. I can’t suppress my emotions any much longer. If you probe further, they may just overflow.

Sehun sighed and sat down on the chair. He still felt very unsettled about Jiyeon’s unexpected tears and blamed himself for not being able to do anything about her sorrow. His brows remained creased even when he had his eyes closed.  

What’s making her cry again?

Baekhyun’s POV

“Okay Baekhyun, your makeup’s been removed. You can go now,” Coordinator Wang said. I smiled at her.

“Jiyeon ah, are you alright? Are you sick?” I heard Sehun say. I turned and looked at Sehun and Jiyeon.

She looked like she was crying. I watched as Sehun and Jiyeon exchanged a couple of words. Sehun seemed concerned.

Not long after, he sighed and sat back down on the chair. Jiyeon continued removing his makeup for him.

“Noona,” I called Coordinator Wang over.

“Yes Baekhyun ah? What can I do for you?” she smiled.

“Could you take over from Jiyeon over there? I need to talk to her about something,” I asked, trying to look at earnest as possible.

“Ah, sure. But what do you need –”

“Thanks Noona!” I cut her off and rushed over to Sehun and Jiyeon.

“Yah, Byun Baekhyun! I’m talking to you!” Coordinator Wang pouted and placed her hands on her hips.

Sorry Noona, but this is urgent! I swallowed my saliva and dashed toward Jiyeon.

“Jiyeon ah, come with me. Noona will help Sehun with his makeup,” I ordered, grabbing Jiyeon’s arm.

“Oppa?” Jiyeon looked at me inquisitively as I dragged her to a secluded corridor on the same floor.

“Let it out, I know you were crying. It’s no good bottling up all these feelings,” I sighed.

“I’m sorry,” Jiyeon buried her face in her hands and knelt down on the floor. She began to weep bitterly.

I was a bit taken aback then – her reaction was totally unexpected. It was too quick. I gulped and leaned against the wall, listening to her agonizing sobs.

“He...” She sobbed.

She seemed like she had something to tell me. I knelt next to her and patted her back lightly.

“He?” I asked.  

“I’m not good enough for him, Oppa. Not good enough,” she continued sobbing.

“Ah, don’t say that Jiyeon,” I handed her some tissue, at the same time rubbing her back to calm her down.

She shook her head and continued sobbing.

“Who said that to you? Sulli?”

“Mmmff,” she rubbed her face against the tissue.

It was obviously Sulli. She’d been clinging to Kai since forever, even during his trainee days. We thought she was just a friendly colleague, but soon it appeared to be something more. She’d snap at anyone who got in her way, be it trainees, and even other EXO members.

And no one in EXO truly welcomed her presence, especially Chanyeol and Sehun. Unfortunately, we could not do anything about it, either.

Except for a couple of snide remarks from Chanyeol, which Sulli seemed immune to.

I sighed. Why are you letting others step all over you, Jiyeon?

“Look, Jiyeon. If you aren’t good enough for Kai, then no one else is,” I patted her head.

“Oppa...” Jiyeon looked at me, still sniffing.

I laughed. She looked just like a puppy drenched in the rain.

“Aigoo, wipe that face of yours,” I shifted closer to her, got some tissue and cleaned up her face.

 “Thanks, Oppa,” Jiyeon mumbled, and fluttered her eyelids closed as I gently dabbed them dry.

I unconsciously gazed at her eyelashes. They were so long.

Argghhhh Byun Baekhyun! Wake up! This is so not the time to be looking at your dongsaeng like this!

I mentally smacked myself and stopped dabbing her face. I slumped next to her with my back against the wall.

“Ah, today’s such a tiring day,” I exhaled, and spread my legs onto the floor.

Jiyeon sat next to me, hugging her knees.

I caught a glimpse of her face, and I felt relieved to see that she was back to normal. No longer crying, that is.

“You’ve worked hard, Oppa.”

“Yeah, we sure did.”

“I think Oppa was one of the coolest, you sang really well! And your dancing was a piece of art, literally,” Jiyeon beamed.

“Really?” I raised one eyebrow and squinted at her to express my cynicism.

“Really! Baekhyun Oppa daebak!” she held up two thumbs up for me.

I laughed.

“Really? Not ‘Jongin Oppa daebak?’ for you?” I teased.

Jiyeon suddenly became silent. I slapped myself after realizing that what I’d said might have caused an old wound of hers to split open.

“Jiyeon ah... I-I’m sorry,” I stammered nervously, touching her shoulder.

“It’s alright, Baekhyun Oppa. I still think you performed the best tonight,” Jiyeon smiled at me, her eyes b with tears again.

Look at what you’ve done, Byun Baekhyun you pabo! You made her cry again!

“Aigoo, let’s stop those tears, shall we? I don’t know what to do when girls cry! Aish...” I messed up my hair and glanced at Jiyeon.

“Sorry, Oppa,” Jiyeon rubbed her eyes and gave me a wry smile.

“It’s alright. Come here, come to papa,” I pulled her in and leaned her head on my shoulder, patting her back at the same time. (AW BIG BROTHER BAEKHYUN!!!)

“One day, Jongin will find out what he’s missed out on all this while. And he’ll be the biggest idiot if he’s gonna miss out on you again,” I reassured her.

 “Thanks, Oppa,” she looked up at me and smiled.

“I hope you’ll find a nice girl for yourself someday, Oppa.”

What Jiyeon said took me aback, and I was silenced by her words. Being in a relationship was something I’d avoided all this while, ever since I’d become a trainee.

“Yeah, maybe. Someone who would wait for me, I guess.”

Someone that is willing to wait for me. Yeah, maybe that was what I needed.

Not anytime soon though, I thought to myself.

I wouldn’t want her to experience what Jiyeon is going through right now.

I want to protect her from getting hurt.

I suddenly felt a weird sensation at the back of my pants. It was buzzing, buzzing, buzzing...

“Oppa, what’s that noise?” Jiyeon looked at me queerly.

OMG! My phone! I yelped when I remembered I had been sitting on my phone the entire time. I quickly fished it out of my jean pocket and squinted at the display.

>>>Incoming call: Park Chanyeol<<<

Oh shucks, we’d been away this long? Chanyeol must be looking for me so that we could return to the dorm! He’s so gonna kill me!

I slid over the green ‘answer’ button and nervously held the phone to my ear, anticipating Chanyeol’s anguished screams of leaving him behind.

“Yeoboseyo?”

“Baekhyun ah, where are you? Are you okay?” Chanyeol’s tone was extremely worried, instead of his usual outburst of anger I expected.

“Neh, I’m with Jiyeon right now. Sorry for holding you guys up. Are you ready to leave?” I replied, feeling a little guilty for causing unnecessary worry.

I heard a sigh of relief on the other end.

“It’s great that you’re safe. We just heard news of a crazy sasaeng fan that got into the building, so we’d better leave ASAP. Could you meet Director Kang at the back exit? We’re all in the van with Manager Hyung already,” Chanyeol said.

Sa-sasaeng fan? I quivered at the thought.

“Jiyeon, Chanyeol called. We have to go back now,” I stood up and gave her a hand.

“Thanks for being with me, Oppa,” she grinned.

“Pabo,” I smiled and ruffled her hair.

We found Director Kang waiting for us at the back exit, as Chanyeol had told me. He was busy playing Scramble on his phone and did not notice us.

“Let’s go scare him,” I whispered to Jiyeon. Jiyeon giggled and gave me a thumb’s up.

We tiptoed behind him, and I rested my chin on his shoulder. I chuckled when I saw how engrossed he was in his game to not even realize my weight pressing against his shoulder blade.

He had 20 seconds left.

“Impeccable. Submarine.” I whispered against his ear, in a bid to creep him out.

He quickly scrambled the words I mentioned. I narrated a couple more words, hoping he’d realize.

“Phew,” he exhaled when the game was finally over.

“Good job,” I muttered, still resting on his shoulder. He turned around and saw my face exceptionally near his. His eyes enlarged.

“AAHHHH!!!! Yah, Byun Baekhyun!” He screamed and pushed me away. I nearly slammed into the wall.

“Why did you creep up on me?” He pointed at me and shouted, wiping the sweat off his forehead and adjusting his shirt.

“Ani, I didn’t! I was here a long time ago,” I smirked, folding my arms and cocking my head to one side.

Jiyeon chortled as she witnessed the entire scene.

“You too! Why didn’t you tell me you were here?” He glared at Jiyeon.

“Sorry, Jinsoo yah,” Jiyeon grinned impishly and tossed her hair lightly.

“Aish, I give up on you two. C’mon, I’ll take you home. The van has left already, so I’ll send Baekhyun to the dorm first,” Director Kang said, walking toward his car. He opened the front door for Jiyeon, completely ignoring me and letting me slide into the rear seat on my own.

Psh, what about me? Partial much? I my teeth and rolled my eyes.

The dorm was completely dark when I got back. I quietly snuck upstairs to my room, hoping not to wake anyone up.

Chanyeol appeared to be in dreamland already. He was sleeping in a queer position; his limbs sprawled all over the quilt. His shirt was flipped upward, exposing his abdomen slightly.

I smiled and bent over him, adjusting his shirt and placing the quilt over his chest, lest he catch a cold in the middle of the night.

He stirred in his sleep.

I froze. Did I just wake him up?

“Baekhyun ah, you’re back,” he smiled sleepily at me, his eyes barely open.

“Ah, yeah. I just got home. Sorry to wake you up,” I replied.

“It’s okay, I wasn’t really sleeping. Quickly pack your bags for tomorrow and sleep. Manager Hyung said we’d have a long day tomorrow. We’re heading to Incheon Airport first thing in the morning and the day won’t end till after the Beijing showcase,” he said.

“Arasso. Go back to sleep, Yeol.”

“Goodnight,” Chanyeol turned over and tucked his head over his quilt, his back facing me.

I changed out into my sleep clothes and tucked myself in.

“Night, Yeol.”

The ride home was strangely quiet.

And awkward.

“So...” Director Kang cleared his throat.

“Hmm?” Jiyeon turned to look at him.

“I assume you’ll be sending EXO off at the airport tomorrow morning?” Director Kang asked as he pulled up at porch outside her apartment.

“Yeah, I guess I would,” Jiyeon replied.

Though I don’t really want to see Jongin right now.

“I’ll pick you up at 9 tomorrow then.”

“Goodnight!” Jiyeon got off the car and waved as he drove off.

“We’ve checked in all our baggage and we’re free to roam about for the next half an hour or so before going in,” Manager Ma said, glancing at his watch.

EXO was rushed to Incheon Airport the moment they woke up, to avoid missing their flight to Beijing.

“Okay.” The members chorused.

“Ah, where are Jiyeon and Director Kang? They said they’d be here to send us off,” Luhan asked. There was a slight hint of disappointment in his doe eyes.

Sehun smiled to himself.

I want to see Jiyeon one more time before we head to China.

One more member, other than Sehun, felt the same way.

I kind of hope she’d send us off, but I don’t know how to face her, Kai thought.

“We have to go in soon. We’ve got five minutes left,” Kris said, seeing his phone.

“Jiyeon! Director Kang!” Luhan chirped and ran to Jiyeon.

Kai looked up and heaved a sigh of relief.

She’s here.

“Good morning! I see everyone’s ready to head to Beijing!” Director Kang clapped, smiling widely.

“Neh!”

“I like that enthusiasm!” he exclaimed.

“I gotta discuss something with your manager, you guys have a little farewell talk with Jiyeon,” he smiled, and jogged to Manager Ma.

“I thought you’d never come, Jiyeon!” Luhan beamed, throwing his arms around Jiyeon and squeezing her tight.

“I’ll miss you, Jiyeon.”

“Aww, you’ll only be away for a week, at most!” Jiyeon laughed, patting Luhan’s back.

Kris peeled Luhan off Jiyeon while he clamored and kicked.

“Take care, you guys. You’ll rock the Beijing stage,” Jiyeon smiled at the rest of EXO.

“You too, don’t miss us too much!” Suho laughed.

“Take care, my little dongsaeng.” Baekhyun ruffled Jiyeon’s hair.

“Thanks, Oppa.”

The other EXO members took their turns saying their goodbyes.

“You guys are acting like you’re leaving for good!” Jiyeon commented.

“We’ll miss you loads, instructor-nim,” D.O. said. His huge eyes were full of sincerity.

“I’ll miss you too, D.O. Oppa.” Jiyeon beamed at D.O., who gave her a hug.

“Dance like we practiced, okay?” Jiyeon smiled at the tall person approaching her.

“Araseo,” Chanyeol grinned, making an extremely derp face while saluting her.

“Stay happy, Jiyeon.”

Jiyeon looked up at Sehun.

“Thank you Oppa. I’ll see you in a week,” she beamed. Sehun gave her an eye-smile and wrapped his arms securely around her.

Sehun waved and joined the rest of EXO as they walked toward the departure gates. The last member walked toward Jiyeon.

“Bye.” Kai muttered and bowed slightly. The atmosphere between the both of them was becoming awkward.

“Ah, bye,” Jiyeon said, looking at the ground.

Kai turned to leave.

“You’ll be awesome, Jongin,” Jiyeon blurted out, at long last. Kai’s ears perked up when he heard her call him by his name. Without hesitating, he spun around and pulled her into his arms, lifting her off the ground.

“I-I can’t breathe,” Jiyeon gasped.

“Sorry. I needed to hear that,” he whispered into her ear.

Jiyeon felt her heartbeat increase exponentially, and flushed a deep crimson.

“I know,” she smiled.

He took one last breath of her scent and released her.

“Bye,” he said bashfully. He covered his reddened face with his hands and ran off.

Baekhyun was waiting for him outside the gate, smiling.

Kai’s so different around Jiyeon.

“Hyung.”

“The others have gone in. Have you finished what you wanted to say?” Baekhyun looked at him.

“Yeah I guess so,” Kai said. He mussed his hair and looked at his hyung sheepishly.

“Good. Let’s go.”

Kai looked back one more time.

I’ll miss you, Jiyeon. Wait for me.  

A/N I'm BACK after 12347948827 months! How is everyone doing? And thank you for all your kind comments, I was really touched reading them! :) And they cracked me up too!! :D 

Comment replies: 

@iamawesomeness HAHAHA evil music!!!! xD Now that was hilarious I had a good laugh hehe ;) 

@ParkSeungRin/lululemon_lover24 well yeah I guess Sehun and Jiyeon look quite sweet together, but oh wells, still haven't really come to a decision as to who she'd end up with xD I see this Se-yeon ship is quite strong eh. 

@FlirtingAsia Thank you :) About the ships, I've actually yet to decide, but it's true that it is predominantly a story about Kai. 

@thepwahlove YES idk I was writing him kinda based on Junsu, he's really so lovable :3 AND YES I UPDATED. 

@RyeoKevin_HyukRi haha hello there :) I'm so touched by this comment ;') I'll try to update quicker! 

BAEKYEON SHIP ANYONE ;) After I wrote this chapter I actually considered the Baekyeon ship xD omgggg. But I guess the end offsets all Baekyeon ship sentiments! But I guess we all have to agree Baekhyun would make a good boyfriend! :> To Chanyeol at least xD

Feel free to drop a comment or subscribe to this story to find out what happens next! ^^ And you could always add me or leave a message in my inbox, feedback is always appreciated! :D Love you guys xoxo