Even though they tried to fade into the background behind Super Junior and TVXQ as they all stood by the gates, EXO still recieved large amounts of attention in the forms of blatant gawking and carrying whispers. Most of the people present had heard rumours of SM's new team, and even if they had not, a group of twelve young, good-looking boys surrounded by two of the most well-known teams in the Underground was certainly cause for gossip.

 

"When is Jinhye-jie going to get here..." Tao murmured in a small voice, shadowy eyes glancing nervously left and right from his hiding place behind Kris.

 

"She'll be here soon, don't worry," soothed Suho, with a quick look at Kris, who was usually the one reassuring the younger boy. Then again, he was sure the older Chinese male had other things on his mind at the moment.

 

"You guys sure got attached pretty quickly, didn't you?" Leeteuk asked with a grin.

 

"Jinhye-ssi was very kind to us. She taught us a lot," Baekhyun said. 

 

"Even though, you know, she was kind of a in the beginning," Kai muttered. D.O kicked him. "Ow! She was!"

 

"Only because you made it your duty to piss her off, hyung," Sehun said quiety, a small smile playing at his lips.

 

"Yah, watch it, maknae-"

 

Yunho watched as Sehun ducked away to hide behind Luhan, his heart growing heavy with guilt. Changmin felt the change, and placed a hand on his shoulder, though he did not say anything. Anything that could have been said had already been said years ago, yet he knew that his hyung's conscience never really let him recover from that night two years ago.

 

"Jessica!"

 

Donghae's call to his on-and-off girlfriend stirred the duo out of their thoughts, turning their heads towards the girls getting out of the newly arrived limo that slid into place behind the two at the curb. 

 

As usual, the nine ladies of SNSD looked flawless, justifying their nicknames as the Goddesses of the track. However, tonight, the main point of focus and anticipation was not on them, but the smaller figure that trailed after them almost unwillingly.

 

"...whoa."

 

 

 

 

You followed Seohyun, hiding behind Sooyoung, twisting your hands nervously. Sooyoung noticed this old, almost endearing habit, and gently tugged your wrist to walk beside her. You glared at her, feeling a blush creeping up your cheeks.

 

"Exactly what you need, a little bit of colour," she said, grinning. 

 

"Come on, Jinnie, where's the not-taking-your-, better-than-you-on-an-off-day, confident-as- from the tracks?" Hyoyeon said, nudging your side cheekily.

 

"She got suffocated underneath all the makeup and ," you deadpanned. 

 

"Please, Jinhye. You make it sound as if we made a new face for you or something. We didn't even put on that much," Yuri said. "Lucky girl, I want your skin."

 

"Jessica!"

 

You turned in the direction of Donghae's voice to see the rather large group of suits by the doors. Your quickly found the tallest male there, only to cringe away when your eyes met. You tried to slink back behind the group, but Sooyoung's grip on your wrist kept you prisoner.

 

"Lee Jinhye, you better calm the hell down and get a grip on yourself before you go into that hall, because you know they're going to be on you like rabid vultures."

 

Sooyoung's uncharacteristically harsh words and serious stare shook you out of your daze, stopping the small panic attack you could feel building. You felt angry with yourself. Not only was your friend right, but you couldn't afford to turn into a wibbling mess of self-conscious teenager in front of EXO. Or Kris, for that matter.

 

You shook your head and gritted your teeth. Now was not the time for those thoughts. 

 

You were now close enough to see the stunned expressions and gaping mouths of SM's males. 

 

"Sheesh, Jinhye, what happened to the scrappy little runt covered in grease and motor oil?" Kangin said, his eyes laughing good-naturedly.

 

"She got attacked by these awful witches," you shot back, gesturing to SNSD. "Also, she grew up."

 

You turned to the twelve dressed in your favourite colour combination. "Hey boys. Lookin' sharp."

 

"...wow, Jinhye-ssi," Suho breathed after a moment of silence. "You look...wow."

 

"...so, you're like, actually female?" Kai said, not quite hiding his amazement completely. "'Cause, you know, I wasn't sure."

 

To their surprise, you smiled.

 

"Thanks, Kai. I'll take that as a compliment."

 

"It was meant to be," D.O said quickly, shooting Kai a look. "Wasn't it?"

 

"But seriously, Jinhye-ssi, you look beautiful," Baekhyun said quickly, cutting off Kai's reply.

 

"Really, really beautiful, Jinhye-jie! Right, gege?" Tao bubbled, turning to the taller man beside him with a bright and clueless grin.

 

It was as if the air had suddenly crystallized. Even Super Junior and TVXQ, who did not know of the happenings between the two of you, felt the change.

 

Kris wasn't expecting Tao's question. Heck, he was surprised the question even registered. The sight of you had done something wonky to his brain, and he was having trouble formulating coherent thoughts.

 

Your dress was an almost blinding white, the front cutting off above the knees, tapering away in soft folds to reach the ground in the back, so the chiffon and silk fluttered softly behind you in the night wind. A pair of delicate silver heels were wrapped around your bare feet, giving you a boost in height. Your long dark hair fell in waves of loose curls on either side of your face, occasionally tickling your bare shoulders, looping inwards and ending at your abdomen. A small diamond cube hung glinting on the thinnest string of silver at your throat. A small bit of pink gloss accentuated your lips, and the bit of natural rosiness from your blush balanced out the paleness of your skin.Your eyelashes had been thickened and fluffed, making your eyes stand out more than usual. 

 

Those very same eyes had just locked with his, and they tore the word from him before he could properly process it.

 

"Stunning."

 

 

 

 

The fire in his eyes made you want to turn away and cover your face. However, you doubted that doing so would really add to the whole "strong, confident, mature young woman" image you needed to keep up. So instead you stomped down on the butterflies and smiled, ripping your gaze away from his. 

 

"You don't look half-bad yourselves."

 

And they didn't. Masako had kept true to her word. Their hair went along the stylishly messy, casually tousled fashion, dyed varying shades between black to an almost-blonde brown. Add in their personalized attire, and you didn't feel the least bit wrong to say that they would definitely be stealing some attention from their sunbaes this evening.

 

"Shall we go in then?" 

 

Leeteuk's words were easier said than done. Entrances of the teams, particularly multiple teams from the same company, were always quite an affair. It was like a miniature parade - a procession to be ogled at.

 

Yunho and Changmin took the lead, setting up things nicely, bowing and smiling. Super Junior copied their example, walking quickly down the ruby carpet that traversed the length of the entrance hall to the inner ballroom. You quickly turned to EXO before it was your turn with SNSD.

 

"Look sharp, be confident, chin up, head high. You're going to be the best racers the Circuits have ever seen. Don't smile, don't wave. Let them whisper, keep them guessing. I'll join you inside."

 

The murmurs of the crowd in the hall erupted into a wildfire of hissing as your back retreated down towards the high double doors at the other end. 

 

Suho took a deep breath, before smiling at the eleven boys, all of whom suddenly felt various degrees of nausea and lightheadedness.

 

"Come on. Let's not disappoint Jinhye-ssi."

 

 

 

 

You looked up at the high, vaulted ceiling, from which numerous crystal chandeliers hung. An orchestra played softly in a corner of the enormous room, rather unecessary background noise to the chatter of the people already present - people whose heads were turning towards the arrival of the SM company, people whose stares you avoided by ducking behind Siwon and Kyuhyun. Fortunately, no one approached you yet, as they all knew the order of events. After the formalities, however, you would have nowhere to hide.

 

Silent as ghosts, EXO joined your group. Their demeanors did not change from what they were outside - awkward, stiff, and uncomfortable. 

 

"Guys? Breathe. Pretend they're...ducks, or something," you said lightly, placatingly.

 

Lay chuckled weakly at your attempt at soothing them, while Kai gave you an incredulous sideways glance before Yunho caught Lee Sooman's eye from across the room and gestured to them to follow him.

 

 

--

 

 

"We are ONE! We are EXO!"

 

You watched them bow after their introduction, a strange conflict taking place in your head. Technically, you could leave now. Your agreement with SM was to train EXO for the Circuits, and since he decided to debut them, he obviously thought they were ready. Thus, your services were logically no longer necessary. He couldn't say anything if you decided to leave and never come back.

 

However, you didn't want to. You knew that there were still things that EXO was not prepared for, things that couldn't be taught, things that could only be learned through guided experience. And their mods were still not ready. 

 

All of these things were really feeble excuses though. The main reason that you did not want to leave SM was because you had become too attached to the twelve boys, become too comfortable with your former lifestyle. This relationship was dangerous, and the fact that you could not find it within yourself to care scared you.

 

"Well, hey there, Princess~"

 

Jerked from your thoughts, you realized that you were now alone at the table, your companions having drifted off to mingle. You looked at the bizarrely-dressed young male who had appeared beside you, and felt rather grateful that he was the one that approached you first.

 

"Hi, GD."

 

GD, G-Dragon, or Kwon Jiyong, was one of the few racers outside of SM that you held in your esteem. Hell, you liked all of Big Bang, to an extent. 

 

"Heard rumours you were back, didn't really believe them, but here you are," he said, a smile playing at his lips. "Looking quite y, might I add."

 

"Thanks, though it doesn't mean much, coming from you," you replied, rolling your eyes. He merely laughed, since you both knew of his playboy, womanizer ways.

 

"Well, I can't really say about anything else until I race you, can I?"

 

"Guess you can't say anything ever then."

 

He raised an eyebrow. "So you're actually just their trainer?" He jerked his chin towards EXO, who had gotten off the raised stage and were currently surrounded by eager businessmen and women.

 

You shrugged. There was a moment of silence while he observed you.

 

"Hmm. Well anyway, come say hi. Don't just sit here all night. And we'll help keep the paparazzi away."

 

 

 

 

It took ages to get away from the curious and eager sponsors, and EXO had no choice but to nod and smile patiently, responding to direct questions as simply as they could while Lee Sooman did the majority of the conversing.

 

When the crowd finally dispersed, they were allowed to grab a glass of champagne from the plates of waiters floating throughout the room and relax a little by the wall.

 

Well, until Tao noticed something a bit unsettling as he gazed around the masses of people while looking for you.

 

"Gege...who are those people?" he asked Kris quietly.

 

The taller male tore his eyes away from your white-clad figure talking to a group of five eccentrically dressed men and looked at Tao quizzically.

 

"Who?"

 

"Them - one beside that pillar, two by the refreshments, one there, three by the gargoyles on the balconies, three by- "

 

"- the orchestra pit," Kris finished, an unwelcome, familiar surge of adrenaline coursing through his body when he realized what Tao was talking about.

 

"Ge? I think they saw me looking..."

 

.

 

 

 

--

 

I don't actually ship HaeSica, just putting it out there. It was just the first Super Generation ship that I saw when I googled, since I don't know enough about either group, let alone their interactions. So uh, sorry? :/

 

...I kind of thought I'd enjoy writing this chapter a bit more than I did. It was still pretty fun, but there was a section that I didn't quite think through beforehand I guess. And I sort of ragequit bruteforced my way through it. lol guess where

 

Anyway, this is just the beginning~ The next chapter will have lots of deliciousness and...well, it could also be deliciousness, depending on your point of view. 8P
 

 

^why I'm using SNSD so much tbh

 

(^The tag for this shoot on my tumblr is #condemn this photoshoot to Satan's onsen. Just sayin')

 

life ruiners.

 

ft. GD!

 

IMPORTANT: I will be starting second year university on September 10th, and updates will therefore be less frequent. I'm looking at once a week, at best. I'm probably underestimating how soul-killing Biochem can be though, so... ;_;  Hopefully, all of you love me enough to bear with me through this. I'm not planning to abandon this story, since I already have its entirety literally worked out in my head. I've gone through scenes in so much detail omfg. It would kill me to ditch this. 

 

Keep in mind that I may be bribed to update more quickly via thoughful comments and subscribers though.

 

I mean, if you would comment/subscribe, I would probably love you a little bit more. And you would make me that much happier because it's amazing how much the words "New Alerts!" brighten up my day. 

 

Finally, if you'd like to see the vague outlines for Jinhye's appearance, you can click here and here. Go nuts otherwise.

 

See you next chapter~

I hope.

 

- Ace