Final chapter before the hiatus! :) Enjoy guys~ It's really really long, almost twice as long as the others. (Took up 11 pages on my word doc!)

“Mic test, 1, 2, 3. Testing, mic test...”

“PA. Up Kris’s and Chanyeol’s mics please.”

“Mic test, testing...”

“Okay, sounds good. Shall we begin?”

Jiyeon leaned back in her seat as she watched EXO’s final rehearsal before their debut showcase the next day. The stage director was running to and fro doing sound checks. Once they were done, he gave the PA the cue to play the audio.

“Let’s see what you’ve got, EXO!” Lee Soo Man clapped. He was sitting beside Jiyeon, which made her pretty self-conscious.

Careless, careless

Shoot anonymous, anonymous

Heartless, mindless

No one who care about me

Irheobeorin chae

Oemyeonhaneun geot gata

Chameul subakke eobseo

Nuneul gamjiman~

Jiyeon gulped as D.O. unleashed his powerful scream. Then came the dancing. She smiled in satisfaction as she watched EXO dance. It had been over two months since she’d known the EXO boys and they had progressed far since. 17 hours of practice a day for the guys for the past two months was seriously no joke.

She glanced at Chanyeol and smiled when he performed the moves right, with the correct expressions.

He’s no longer as stiff as he used to be, she smiled to herself as she remembered how robotic he was when they first conquered MAMA. Chanyeol was getting his lefts and rights all wrong back then.

Her eyes met with Sehun’s and Sehun flashed a half-smile at her while dancing. She giggled and covered with her hand.

Sehun’s so awkward and funny, she thought.

“That’s it, Sehun! Nice stage presence! Remember to do that to your fans tomorrow! Fanservice goes a long way!” Lee Soo Man shouted, giving Sehun a thumb’s up. Jiyeon burst out laughing, bending over her stomach.

“What’s so funny, Miss Song?” Lee Soo Man asked. Even Manager Ma turned to face her.

“Nothing, it’s nothing. Please carry on, Mr. Lee,” Jiyeon gestured Lee Soo Man back to EXO dancing.

“This Lay, he’s really good,” Manager Ma remarked. Jiyeon directed her attention to Lay, who was completely absorbed into the song.

Lay seems as if he’d been born to perform, Jiyeon thought, agreeing with Manager Ma. Soon, her eyes inadvertently shifted to the person beside Lay.

“Yeah, he’s trained really hard, hasn’t he? He can sing well too,” Jinsoo (a.k.a. Director Kang) sat beside Manager Ma and commented. Somehow, Jiyeon’s eyes were transfixed on just that one person next to Lay.

Kai.

To Jiyeon, he always seemed to outshine everyone else in EXO. His sleek moves were near perfection. He was flawless; she found no fault with him.

I ignored him so much during practice but he still manages so well, Jiyeon’s heart became crippled with guilt.

“Sorry, Jiyeon. Could you demonstrate that move again? I couldn’t quite get the feel,” Kai asked.

Jiyeon repeated the part again. She stopped and glanced at Kai, biting her lip.

“Kai. You’re the lead dancer. Just make the dance your own. You can’t possibly mimic every single move of mine,” Jiyeon placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head at him, nearly rolling her eyes. Despite her cold exterior, Jiyeon’s heart wrenched with pain and guilt.   

“Arrasso, please continue,” Kai backed away, sensing her annoyance.

“What’s up with you two? You guys competing who’s better at dancing?” Chanyeol joked, earning glares from both Kai and Jiyeon. Baekhyun lightly slapped Chanyeol’s arm.

“Sorry, sorry. Let’s continue okay? My bad,” Chanyeol muttered, scratching his head.

Ever since Kai’s party, she decided to have minimal contact with Kai. It had become apparent to some of the other EXO members, who concluded the two simply could not get along. She would ignore him as much as possible during dance practices. He hardly asked her for help, and if he did, she would give him a curt response. Which was completely different from her warmth and love showered upon the other five EXO-K members.

I bet he thinks I hate him now, Jiyeon sighed as she gazed at Kai dancing alongside Lay, feeling ashamed of her unprofessionalism.

But truth is, it’s very much the opposite.

Kai’s POV

Throughout the rehearsal, I kept feeling someone’s intense stare at me. When I caught a glimpse of the audience, I accidentally made eye contact with Jiyeon. 

So that was where the stares were coming from.

I felt a heavy burden on my chest. I bet Jiyeon hates me to the core right now, given the nasty things I’d said to her on my birthday. But it wasn’t as if I had a choice over my actions.

Tomorrow’s our first ever performance – our debut showcase as EXO. Ever since my birthday, I did not have the chance to interact properly with Jiyeon. She was obviously trying to avoid me at all cost as if I was the epidemic itself.

Even though Baekhyun knew about us, I couldn’t help but envy his close relationship with her. And Sehun. For some unknown reason Jiyeon and Sehun are strangely chummy with each other. Sehun always smiles at her at the strangest times and she’d respond to him.

Honestly, I’m terribly jealous of Oh Sehun. I’d give anything to be him for one day to get close to Jiyeon.

What if... she ends up falling for him?

I mentally slapped myself. Now’s definitely not the time to be worrying about such trivial issues, Kim Jongin. Focus. Your debut showcase is tomorrow.

“And we’re done for the day! Thank you everyone, you’ve worked hard!” The stage director announced. The sound of applause snapped me out of my monologue. Gah, how long was I at it for?

“You alright, Kai?” Suho patted my shoulder. I turned to look at him. His kind eyes always seemed so genuine and concerned.

“I’m okay, hyung,” I smiled at Suho.

“Good. For a moment I thought you were spacing out.” Suho smiled at me and left to discuss something with Director Kang while I headed to the shower rooms with the other EXO members.

Back at the dorm, Manager Ma bought us dukbokki as an encouragement for tomorrow’s activities.

“Today has been a long and exhausting day, and tomorrow will be even longer. I want everyone turned in by 10 PM tonight to ensure you are well rested for tomorrow.  Suho, Kris, you are the leaders. Could you help me make sure everyone’s in bed before 10?” Manager Ma looked at Suho and Kris as he was about to leave the dorms.

“Neh, Manager Hyung,” both of them nodded.

“Thank you. Your big day is here, EXO. Tomorrow’s the day the public will see you for the first time ever! Give it your all and leave no regrets! Aja fighting!” Manager Ma punched his fists in the air and gave us his usual cheeky smile.

“Fighting!” all of us shouted after him. He chuckled and waved us goodnight.

“Tonight shall be Baekyeol’s turn at the dishes,” Suho stated, clapping his hands together.

“Ehh? Noooo....” Baekhyun whined. I laughed as Chanyeol slung his arm lazily over Baekhyun and hauled him to the kitchen sink to do the dishes.

“Everyone else, I want you in bed within the next half an hour. Suho and I will go around to check on you. Xiumin and Chen, no more dramas for you tonight. And Tao, no more martial art shows!” Kris said sternly. He searched all our eyes for acknowledgement and turned to stride toward his room.

“I can’t believe this, Duizhang’s so unreasonable!” Tao slumped on the couch, pouting. He had to miss the last episode of Journey to the West. (A/N It’s a really old story about the Monkey King and his adventures!)

“Record the episode, Tao,” Luhan smiled soothingly at him. Tao grinned at him, elated with Luhan’s suggestion. His eyes were literally thin crescents. The deer and the panda were seriously too adorable to behold.

I rolled onto my back and propped my head up with my arms.

“Goodnight, Kai.” D.O. mumbled.

“Goodnight.” I turned to look at D.O., who was nearly fast asleep, all curled up into a cocoon with his quilt. I lay on my side and started counting sheep.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6... 58, 59, 60....

I felt my eyelids become heavier.

87, 88, 89, 90, 91.......

“Wake up Kai!” I felt a heavy weight land on my chest. The sun was glaring and penetrating through the blinds in the room. I pried open my eyes and squinted at the culprint’s tufts of brown hair.

It was Luhan.

“You’re awake, Kai,” Luhan looked at me, doe-eyed. I nodded and yawned, and motioned him to get off me. Luhan scrambled off me and skipped to the door where Sehun was.

“I did it, Sehun ah! Now pay up! You lost the bet!” Luhan stuck his hand out at Sehun’s face.

“Tch,” Sehun reluctantly handed a 10 000 won note to Luhan, who pranced away in happiness. I mussed my bed hair and looked at Sehun, confused.

What is with the bet?

“I told you he’d wake up. It’s already 2pm in the afternoon!” D.O. stretched lazily as he entered the room.

2PM?! I leapt out of bed.

“It’s so late already? Why didn’t anyone wake me up?!” I roared. We had to be at the Olympic Stadium in less than two hours!

“Suho hyung tried, but you nearly kicked him in the +beep+! No one else dared to try, until Sehun decided to place a bet with Luhan hyung,” D.O. murmured, busy uploading photos of doughnuts on Instagram.

“R-really?” I blinked, feeling bad for Suho. What on earth was I dreaming?

“Is Suho hyung okay?”

“He’s fine, just freaked out I think. Your kick was even more powerful than Tao’s. Thankfully you missed,” Sehun laughed.

“Oh, okay,” I stumbled out of the room toward the bathroom to wash up. My keen ears picked up Sehun’s conversation with D.O.

“Why was Luhan hyung so adamant in winning the bet?” D.O. asked.

“I won him previously when we placed bets over Jiyeon so he demanded a rematch,” I heard Sehun chuckle. I stopped in my tracks. Jiyeon? What bet?

“Huh? What has Jiyeon got to do with this?” D.O. seemed equally confused as I.

“You see, Luhan hyung got her number at Kai’s party. I dared him to ask her out on a date, and we each bet 10 000 won each on the success of his attempt. Obviously he failed, Jiyeon’s not the type,” Sehun laughed.

Date?! Tch. Luhan that bastard. I’ll get him – wait. Jiyeon didn’t agree to his date! I felt a rush of happiness when I realized she’d rejected him.

I whistled gleefully as I headed to the bathroom.

“Someone’s in a good mood today,” Baekhyun commented as I strode past his room.

“That’s rare, Kai and good mood.” Chanyeol poked his head out of the door, making the ultimate derp face I’d ever seen. I glared at him and he quickly retracted back into his room.

The rest of the afternoon was a hectic rush for EXO. Once they arrived at the Olympic Stadium, all they did was rehearse and prepare for their debut showcase.

Even Jiyeon and Director Kang were kept busy with last minute fine-tuning and other administrative hiccups. Jiyeon was soon summoned to the dressing room to help out with EXO’s costume and make-up.

“Jiyeon-ssi, could you hand me the brushes please?” one of the makeup artists asked.

“Jiyeon-ssi, could you find Kai’s blue blazer? It’s somewhere in the rack at the corner,” another costume coordinator shouted across the room.

“Okay! Sorry, one at a time!” Jiyeon was in a state of absolute frenzy. Everyone was in a state of panic as stress levels piled up exponentially because they were hard-pressed for time.

“Ah, sorry!” Jiyeon felt someone’s hand on hers as she reached out for the supposed blue blazer she was asked to search for. The hand belonged to Kai. Time stood still as both of them looked at each other. Jiyeon could feel her hand burning from Kai’s touch.

“It’s okay, I got it. I’m wearing it afterall,” Kai gave her a small smile before whisking the blazer away.

Jiyeon nodded awkwardly and ran off to her next assignment. She shuddered as she remembered the warmth transferred from his hand to hers.

When will I ever stop feeling this way?

Kai’s heart could not stop racing as he slipped on the blazer. He looked down at his palm.

If only I could hold her hand like I used to, he sighed.

“Jiyeon, the press wishes to have some backstage photos of the EXO members. Could you photograph them for me?” Jinsoo handed Jiyeon a camera.

“Sure,” Jiyeon smiled and fiddled with the bulky camera. She looked around to see who was ready to be photographed. Sehun and Luhan were the first to have their makeup finished, and they were adjusting the mics on their faces.

“Sehun, Luhan oppa! Look here! 1, 2, 3 kimchi!”

“Chen oppa! Look here please and smile!” Jiyeon ran over to Chen. Chen smiled at the camera, failing to notice he had been photobombed by Tao, who was waggling his tongue out behind him. Jiyeon laughed at Tao’s childishness.

After photographing the other members, Jiyeon braced herself as she approached the last member.

“Um, Kai. I need to take a photo of you! Give me a charismatic smile please!” Jiyeon announced nervously, biting her lip. Kai turned and looked at her, and gave a closed smile. Even though he was smiling for the camera, Jiyeon noticed Kai’s eyes seemed sad.

What’s wrong with him? Jiyeon wondered.

“EXO, standby!” a backstage crew called for EXO to prepare to go on stage. Kai gulped as he looked at the huge crowd screaming their lungs out for EXO. There were a few thousand fans present.

"Good evening everyone! You've been very patient all this while. Now for what you've been waiting for, presenting to you, the newest rookie boyband, EXO!" Leeteuk, the emcee, announced. 

“Anneyong haseyo! We are ONE! We are EXO!” The twelve boys shouted and bowed to the audience.

Jiyeon could hear the loud shrill screams of the fans from where she was standing backstage. Jinsoo was beside her.

“Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?” he nudged her.

“Yeah, the screams are deafening,” she laughed.

The first song on the list was History, followed by What is Love. Jiyeon and Jinsoo were leaning against the wall and talking about her work experience at SM so far.

“I really enjoy my work now, Jinsoo. The EXO boys are a fun bunch,” Jiyeon smiled, recalling all the funny moments with EXO during and outside practice.

“Yeah they are. Even Manager Ma thinks so, and he loves them like his own children. So, who’s your favorite member from EXO-K?” Jinsoo grinned.

“Um.... about that, I can’t quite decide,” Jiyeon frowned. She obviously knew whom she liked – loved the most. But she could never tell.

“I heard from Manager Ma you’re quite close to Baekhyun. Oh, and that you’re chummy with Sehun. So, Baekhyun or Sehun?” Jinsoo eyed Jiyeon cheekily.

“Fine, fine. Sehun’s really kind!” Jiyeon threw her hands up in defeat. Deep inside, her heart was screaming Kai, but she knew she couldn’t mention his name, at all cost. Jinsoo chortled at her reaction, amused.

“Seems as if someone has a developing crush on the maknae.”

“No! Not in that way, Jinsoo ah!” Jiyeon formed an ‘X’ with her arms, shaking her head vigorously.

“Okay, okay. You’re so shy! Sehun’s a good catch though. Oh, how is Kai? He’s rather aloof and unresponsive, I observed. Has he been giving you problems?”

“Uh, Kai? He’s... fine, I guess. He’s a really talented dancer, I must say,” Jiyeon stammered, trying to sound as unaffected and generic as possible.

Their conversation was soon interrupted as EXO finished the first half of their showcase. The air soon became humid with perspiration as EXO returned backstage to take a break.

“Jiyeon ah! Did you hear us!” Baekhyun ran to hug Jiyeon. Jiyeon grimaced as she felt his damp clothes against her arm.

“Yeah, I did oppa! You guys were daebak! But you’re kinda sweaty now, you know...” Jiyeon gave Baekhyun a thumbs up, at the same time taking a step back from him. Baekhyun frowned.

Luhan walked over and cleared his throat.  

“Did I hear daebak? If we’re daebak, will you go out with me?” Luhan stepped in front of Baekhyun. His eyes were twinkling with anticipation.

Baekhyun felt an intense dark aura coming from behind, and gulped as he turned around to see where it was coming from.

Kai. No surprise.

“Sorry Luhan oppa. Same answer as always, no.” Jiyeon raised her hands and shook her head.

“Why?” Luhan clutched his chest, feeling hurt and disdained. Even though he wasn’t serious about dating anyone, he had never been out rightly rejected before. Twice in a row from one person was too big a blow for him.

“I don’t know, I just... gave up on such things already,” Jiyeon glanced at Kai and immediately returned her gaze to Luhan.

“You – you aren’t gay, are you?” Luhan’s eyes were literally popping out of their sockets.

“No! Oppa, not that way!” Jiyeon gawked.

Kai felt a pang in his chest.

Gave up? What does she mean by giving up?

Kai clenched his fists and strode past Jiyeon and Luhan, acting as if he was unaware of their existence. Jiyeon’s gaze unconsciously followed him. She yearned to tell him how perfect and exceptional his performance was.

But then, he seemed galaxies away from where she was.

“Wipe down, drink up, touch up your makeup and change your costumes! Be ready in your dressing room for mic check in twenty! We’ll be beginning segment two with Kai and Lay’s item!” Manager Ma ordered. The EXO members, backstage crew and make up artists scrambled to their respective stations to make out as much as possible from the twenty minutes they had.

Jiyeon was carrying a box of mineral water for the staff. Correction – she was struggling. A pair of strong arms suddenly took over the box from her. Jiyeon looked up at the vaguely familiar person who towered over her.

“Taemin ssi?” she looked up at the person wearing a mask. The veins in his arms were protruding from the heavy weight.

“Ah, hi there Jiyeon. I’ll help you with these, I was going to look for Kai in the dressing room anyways,” Taemin smiled.

“Oh, thanks Taemin ssi,” Jiyeon blushed when she heard Taemin mention Kai.

“Sure thing. Drop the honorifics, Jiyeon! Oppa it is for you,” Taemin grinned. Jiyeon smiled sheepishly at him, feeling slightly embarrassed. She was blushing furiously before Lee Taemin because of his best friend.

“Kai! Kim Jongin! Look who’s here to see you!” Taemin chirped. He looked around for his best friend, but Kai was nowhere to be seen.

Jiyeon’s POV

“Jiyeon ah! Kai’s missing! We can’t get him on his cell either!” Baekhyun exclaimed. He looked pale and unnerved.

“I checked everywhere – even the female toilets! Jongin’s disappeared!” Taemin gasped, flailing his arms in a state of panic. The second segment was in a matter of minutes.

“What!” A few of us chorused together. How on earth did Taemin get into the female toilets?

“I’ve spoken to the crew, Kris and Chanyeol will go ahead first after intermission ends. EXO members please remain in the dressing room! The rest of us, we split up and search for Kai!” Jinsoo instructed.

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol handed Baekhyun his microphone and they ran through some last minute sound checks. Baekhyun was protesting as Chanyeol dragged him away.

Then it hit me.

It’s the same as four years back.

It was our first ever dance competition. In the same way, Jongin had vanished just before we were up, when The Swaggerz was performing.

“Later Error, you’re up next! Enigma, standby.” The crew came to notify us. Hanseul realized Jongin had gone missing.

“Where’s Jongin?”

“He was with Woojin just now, I think.” Hyunjoon twitched as I applied eyeliner on him.

“Ssh, don’t talk or move! Or I’ll poke your eye! Where’s Jongin?” I asked. I was irritated that the eyeliner had smudged.

“He told me he needed the bathroom about half an hour ago. He hasn’t been back since,” Woojin frowned, scratching his head.

Hanseul cursed out loud. We all jumped. It was the first time seeing Hanseul so distressed and angry.

“We have to find him. Split up and search! I’ll stay here to keep track of the competition!” Chunseok commanded, making hand gestures. 

I’d found him eventually, in the janitor’s closet. My heart stopped when I saw him, huddled in a corner. He looked so vulnerable and small.

“Jongin...” I knelt down beside him. He was crying. I pulled him into my arms and cradled him like a small child.

“I can’t do it, the solo. I’m not good enough,” he whimpered. My shirt was getting soaked and stained by his tears, but it didn’t matter.

“You can. You’re the only one who can pull it off right. I know that. All the guys tried it and looked like clumsy ducks, remember?” I laughed.

There was no response. I felt his arms surrounding my waist as he buried his head in my shoulder. I patted his shoulder, at a loss for words.

“Let’s go and own this, alright?” I smiled at him and stood up.

“Yeah, let’s do this.” Jongin took my hand and stood up.

I wiped the perspiration off my forehead and neck as I scoured every room in sight. I didn’t expect Jongin’s stage fright to act up right now, at this crucial time. I thought he had gotten over it.

Jongin, where are you?

I spotted something blue and glimmering below the grand piano in the storage room as I walked past it. I bent down to look if he was crouched underneath.

Jongin was curled up in a fetal position. Immediately, my heart went out to him. He looked just like that vulnerable Kim Jongin four years back. When he saw me, he turned over, wiping his tears. His back was facing me.

“Kai... Come out from there, will you?” I touched his shoulder lightly.

Again, he did not budge.

“Jongin...” I knelt down and crawled beneath the piano beside him.

“You can’t hide forever. Just as Enigma did, EXO needs you,” I mumbled. He suddenly rolled over on his back, giving me a fright.

“Shut up before I kiss you, Song Jiyeon.” He snapped at me. My mouth was hanging open in shock.

What?

The next few moments happened in a blur. I was hauled out from beneath the piano and my face was crashed into something warm. I squeezed my eyes closed, afraid of what was happening.

I opened my eyes when I realized we were sitting upright on the ground. Jongin’s head was nestled into my neck, his arms surrounding my waist so tight I had trouble breathing.

He was panting as well.

“W-what are you doing?” I stammered.

He squeezed me even tighter, engraving my face even deeper into his chest. My protests were completely muffled.

“Please, just for a little while, Jiyeon. Please.” 

And there you have it, chapter EIGHT! Once again, a shoutout to all my wonderful readers, subscribers and friends who've supported me all along! :) I'm really gonna miss this place for the next couple of months, but I'll be back in December! :) 

Once again, subscribe/comment/add me if you want to find out what happens to Kai and Jiyeon! 

All my love, 

FloobieMyPetWhale

Just a little treat for you guys!! :) (GIFs don't belong to me!) 

Till then :)