Author's point of view:
On a warm summer day, EXO M's lead vocal, Chen decided to go out for a while to cool down. Being his only day off, he decided that a day spent at the park was best. Chen walked sluggishly to the closest park and took a seat on an old wooden bench under a large magnolia tree. The flowers were in full bloom and Chen couldn't help but marvel over them.
He stared up at the pink flowers for what seemed liked hours. He was intrigued by their beauty and he suddenly felt inspiration come over him. A billion thoughts popped into his head; possible song lyrics, genres he'd like to try out, ideas on how to improve his artistic value. His facial expression became saddened as he began to compare himself with the rest of his group members and his lack of talent.
As he tried to shake that thought away, he looked away from the magnolia tree to focus on something else. It was only then that he noticed a girl sitting across from him. She was looking at him with mere curiosity, she was curious about what he was thinking so hard about. She smiled over at him as he looked at her. Chen smiled in return and quickly looked away as he was embarrassed that he had been caught at such an emotional state.
No one saw this side of Chen. No one knew how much he worried about his limited talent. The pressure of being a main vocal was too much but he didn't express his fear. He wasn't satisfied with himself and that was his only defect, he had no confidence to say he was worthy of such a position yet. The rest of EXO was just as talented if not more than he was, he didn't understand why he stood out as to be the main singer.
As Chen thought more on this subject the girl had hesitantly got up and walked across to stand in front of him.
"Um- I'm sorry to bother you but," She began to say as Chen looked up at her, "Are you by any chance EXO M's Chen?"
"Yeah." He nodded reluctantly.
He didn't expect the girl to approach him, nor recognize him, but he was suddenly feeling content with knowing that he was known. Someone had recognized him and that only meant that he did stand out.
"I knew it!" She squealed, "I'm sorry, I'm just a huge fan. This is the last place I would have imagined meeting you."
"It just seemed like a nice day for a walk." He explained.
"Are you here alone?" She asked.
Chen didn't know how to answer this. If he said he was alone would she be disappointed? Or would she happy that she at least got to see him? He wasn't quite sure but he wanted to know.
"Yeah, I came alone." He answered hesitantly while watching her facial expression.
She showed no disappointment and that comforted him in a way.
"Are you okay? I mean, you look like you're thinking really hard about something."
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine." Chen replied in a rush, surprised that she had been so observant.
"Is it anything I could help you with?" She asked shyly but sincerely.
Chen looked into her eyes then. He knew she was being sincere with him and honestly, he did need someone to talk to. Someone who wouldn't say things just to comfort him, he needed an honest opinion and he figured that she could do that for him.
"Can I ask you something? But you have to be completely honest with me." He requested.
"Yeah, of course." She answered as she took a seat next to Chen on the bench.
"Who is your favorite EXO member?"
"Honestly?" Chen nodded in response, "You are." She said while blushing slightly.
"I'm serious, don't just say that because I'm sitting besides you, but really, who?" He asked again.
He couldn't believe that she actually liked him but she truly was being completely honest with him. Chen truly was her favorite, he was perfect in her eyes and even more now that she was face to face with him. He was tall, handsome, his laugh was contagious, he had the most beautiful smile she had ever seen and his voice, his voice stirred so many emotions in her heart. His personality was just as great based on what she had seen on reality shows. She loved his persona but she wasn't sure why he was questioning her.
"I am being serious, you are my favorite." She assured.
Chen looked into her eyes again, looking for any hint that she was lying but he found nothing.
"Why?" He asked abruptly looking back up at the magnolia tree.
"Be-because. Well, what's not to like about you?" She mused.
"I can give you a million reason as to why not." Chen declared.
"And I could probably give you a million and one reasons as to why I like you." She said in return.
She was annoyed that he didn't believe her words. Why was he questioning himself like this? She couldn't think of any reason as to why he would think that he wasn't great, he was great in his own way.
"Look Chen, I don't know what's going through your mind right now but I assure you, you are amazing. You are a wonderful singer and a great dancer. You have hundreds of fans that love you as much or even more than I do. So what are you worrying about?"
"I - I don't think I'm good enough." He admitted in a whisper.
"What do you mean?" She was saddened by his confession.
"Compared to the rest I mean, I'm not as great as they are. Tao can dance, sing, rap and he does martial arts on top of that. Lay is amazing at dancing, singing and he can-" He started to tear up.
"Stop- Chen, you can do all of that too!" She took hold of both his hands then, "Chen, don't you dare doubt yourself for even a second. You are great, if you weren't then you would have never gotten the chance to debut with the rest of EXO. That has to mean something, right? You were chosen because they found you talented, so don't think that way."
Chen slowly processed everything she was saying, and she was right. She was right about everything. He had no reason to doubt himself in such a way. What once felt like a burden was now beginning to feel like an honor. It was an honor to have such an important role and he now realized that. While sitting under that magnolia tree and looking into her eyes, he vowed to never let himself forget that. He was special, he was talented, he belonged in EXO just as much as the others.
This short oneshot was inspired by a rude fan who said that Chen didn't fit in with the rest of the EXO members.
Chen is perfect and he definitely is EXO worthy.
Thank you for reading.
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