-Step 10-

 

Seeing himself as one of the best singers in South Korea is Kim Jongdae's dream. He never thought he would be seeing himself like a singer as popular as Kangta-sumbaenim or BoA-noona but he is heading that way. He could hear the cheers from his fans at the other side of the stage; it was his moment. It was-

 

Exooo~

 

...What was that?

 

Exooo~

 

...That sounded really familiar

 

HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY~

 

...Wait a minute...

 

Ni dang ran kan bu tou kong tian de miracle

Zhe bu shi meng

Bie zai wen

Fang kong ni de tou~

 

"I really hate you right now, Wufan-hyung" Chen mumbled against his pillow, trying to block his ears from hearing Two Moons blazing from his hyung's alarm clock.

 

"Sorry Chenchen" Wufan smiled a little, trying to wake up and sitting at his bed. When Jongdae realized his hyung stood up from his bed, the younger turned his head to look at their clock.

 

"Hyung, why are you waking up at four in the morning?" Chen whispered, barely opening his eyes and trying to go back to his dream.

 

"Because in three hours the Variety show's staff is going to come and I need to get ready".

 

'...Ready?' Jongdae tried to process what that could mean. It was a variety show; they were going to get filmed waking up. How can you prepare for that? His curiosity got the better of him and Chen tried opening his eyes once more, trying to see what his hyung was doing. "What the..."

 

Chen didn't know if he should laugh or worry. Wufan was already standing up, looking himself at the mirror and trying to comb his hair 'casually'. After he finished brushing his eyebrows too, Kris went to the bathroom to wash his teeth, his face and apply a little...

 

"You know? I think you're overdoing it" Chen called from his bed, hugging his pillow and watching how his leader was so concentrated trying to put on BBcream without looking unnatural.

 

"Of course not" Kris answered "Do you think this is my idea? I can assure you I'm not the first one thinking of this." When he saw his dongseng's confused expression, the leader finished with his face and started undressing himself. "Think about it; we're going to get filmed for our first variety show. All of our fans are going to watch us waking up. Do you really want for them to see you for the first time... like that?"

 

"..." Without saying anything, Chen stood up from his bed as well and walked to Kris, looking himself at the mirror and seeing what his hyung was talking about. His hair was a mess, he was wearing worn-out boxers with a really old t-shirt, his left cheek had traces of saliva and his eyes were all red from lack of sleep. "...What are you talking about? I'm so handsome" He replied, emotionless.

 

"Sure" Kris smirked, opening one of his drawers and taking out another set of pajamas. Arching his eyebrows, Chen saw how Kris changes his sleepwear for another one.

 

"And you're doing that because...?"

 

"The fans love me wearing white and I can't use my old pajamas; you should change too. Besides, remember I need to cover my arms" Chen just smiled at Kris' concern. It was widely known between the SM idols how Kris had tattoos on both of his arms. One was of his Chinese horoscope symbol and the other one...

 

"I wonder what the fans would do if they knew who made you have the second one" Smiling innocently, Chen followed his leader's advice and went to their bathroom to wash his face and try to comb his hair. At least he doesn't have Luhan's hair...

 

"I wonder what Yixing was thinking..." Kris whispered, looking at his right-arm tattoo and rolling his eyes at the strange yet unique tattoo his dongseng had given him when they were trainees.

 

"Hey, do you plan to wake the others up?" Seeing how his hyung nodded, Chen followed the taller one out of their shared room and into Luhan and Yixing's room. When they entered, they caught a really weird scene.

 

Yixing was sleeping as always; like he was dead. He wasn't moving at all; he was barely breathing and had one of Luhan's legs on top of him, crushing him against the mattress. Luhan on the other hand, was covering all of Yixing's bed (and Yixing himself) with his body and was using Yixing as his personal pillow, drooling at his best friend's t-shirt.

 

"...Diugh, you're right. If we get recorded like that, we're going to lose fans" Chen smiled "You wake them up hyung, I'll go to Minseok's and Zitao's, all right?"

 

Wufan nodded, seeing how his roommate got out of the bedroom and focused in waking up the other two. Maybe if he tries with the younger one first...

 

"Yixing. Yixing, wake up" Kris whispered, leaning over his dongseng and whispering in his ear while shaking him gently. But Lay didn't move. "Yixing? We need to get ready. Wake up" After a few moments of trying, Wufan just saw how Yixing started smiling like an idiot. "Xing?"

 

"...Fan" Yixing whispered, a little bit and hugging Luhan's body even more. Wondering why his dongseng wasn't waking up Wufan kept trying, ignoring what was happening on Yixing's mind.

 

But Luhan noticed it.

 

Trying not to scream from the surprise Luhan covered his mouth with his hand, wishing to God Wufan hadn't noticed anything. The Chinese deer tried to separate himself from Yixing's body making his best friend hug him tighter and turning the situation even worse.

 

Between Yixing's imagination, Luhan's body heat and Wufan's whispers, Yixing's body was reacting quite awkwardly in Luhan's opinion.

 

'God please, please don't let it be what I think it is. Please' Luhan prayed, lowering his hand slowly and trying to feel what was poking at his abdomen. When he reached his destination, Luhan's eyes looked just like Kyungsoo's and his hand retreated back, avoiding touching anything more.

 

Unfortunately, Luhan's discovery made Yixing moan once more.

 

"Yixing, are you awake?"

 

Ignoring the awkwardness he was feeling, Luhan faked he was waking up just now, rubbing his eyes and saying a sleepy "Fan? What's going on?" while he tried to cover up Yixing's body reaction with his own body. Such a good friend he was...

 

"You and Xing look hideous-"

 

"Wow. Thanks Wufan"

 

"-so you need to wake up and fix yourselves" The taller finished, ignoring Luhan's comment and smiling. "Help me wake up Yixing" He added, taking one end of the covers and trying to take it off.

 

Only being stopped by Luhan.

 

"I'll wake Xing. Why don't you wake the others while I'm at it?" Luhan smiled cutely, glancing down briefly and looking how 'little Yixing' was pretty much awake and still poking at his abdomen.

 

'This is so awkward' Luhan cried mentally, trying with all his might to ignore his best friend rubbing against him.

 

"Chenchen is doing that. Come on, stand up Han" Wufan furrowed his eyes when he noticed how Luhan was so stubborn, not letting Yixing's body and pressing against the younger one even more. For some reason, this made Wufan angry and once again he tried to separate them, gaining a pout from the older.

 

'Ok, change tactics Luhan, fighting!' The deer cheered himself, pouting at his leader and saying cutely "Come on Fan, let us sleep a little bit more. It's four thirty in the morning; we have plenty of time!"

 

"No"

 

"Wufan!"

 

"Stand up, now!"

 

"No!"

 

...If only Yixing could wake up at the moment. But the unicorn was hugging Luhan happily, ignoring how his hyungs were fighting against each other on top of him and dreaming of not-so-innocent things with his leader for the very first time.

 

Knowing full well Kris is stronger than him, Luhan knew he didn't stand a chance against him. Asking for forgiveness, Luhan closed his eyes and did what he did best; kick Yixing out of his bed. Or in this case, kicking Yixing out of his own bed.

 

A dry thud was heard in the room, following by a rather quiet "ugh" coming from Yixing at the floor on other side of the bed. Just before the unicorn could react, Luhan pushed all the covers from the bed on top of his best friend, trying to cover his body as best as he could.

 

"Luhan, be careful next time!" Kris exclaimed worriedly, trying to get close to their younger dongseng. Kneeling beside the mountain of blankets on the floor, Wufan saw how a messy little head flopped out and stared at him with sleepy eyes. "Xing, are you okay?" Yixing could only nod absentmindedly, trying to understand what was going on. A couple of seconds passed before the Chinese dancer could notice what his best friend was doing. Just behind Kris and on top of the bed, was an alarmed Luhan signaling his pants with his finger and mouthing a silent warning.

 

Not knowing what his roommate was doing, Yixing smiled at Kris and was going to tell him good morning before his dream came crashing against his conscious mind and made him remember what he was dreaming about just minutes ago.

 

Widening his eyes, Yixing lowered his left hand between his legs and touched his pretty much awake problem. '...Oh  crap' was the first thing our not-so-innocent unicorn thought when he realized what was happening.

 

"Xing? Did Luhan push you too much?" Came Kris words, making Yixing blush noticing how his leader was kneeling beside him and was holding his face with his big hands, making him look directly at his eyes. Wufan always does it when he's trying to make Yixing focus on something.

 

"I-I'm fine!" Yixing opened his mouth for the first time that morning (being awake that is) "What are you doing here?"

 

"I was trying to wake the both of you" Kris smiled, releasing Lay's face and standing up so he could face Luhan too "But Han didn't wanted to wake up. He was holding onto you really strongly"

 

Seeing how Kris furrowed his eyebrows and looked like he was thinking of something else, Yixing glanced quickly at his best friend on the bed and realized how Luhan blushed. Trying to understand why Luhan was acting so weird, Yixing realized something.

 

They were sleeping together. Luhan was holding him too tight according to Kris. And Yixing has an at the moment.

 

"Are you sure you're alright?" Kris asked, looking confused at the two roommates and wondering why the hell they were both blushing madly. Maybe they were sharing a private moment between them? It wasn't the first time for Kris to witness how Luhan and Lay shared private thoughts between each other like the best friends they are that no one else could understand but for some reason, this time seemed different. This time they looked so awkward. What was going on? Kris wondered.

 

"I'm awake now" Yixing smiled at Kris, still sitting at the floor and surrounded by the blankets "Do you want waffles for breakfast?" He asked, smiling with his dimple and not noticing how his hair was a mess, how his old t-shirt was hanging from one of his shoulders and how huggable he seemed at the moment.

 

Looking at how his dongseng looked, Kris couldn't help but smile and nod, stretching his left arm and ruffling Yixing's hair like a little kid. "Just wait until the managers and the staff comes. I'm pretty sure Hyunkyun-gege would get mad if he realize we woke up before they come. I'll wait outside" saying that, Kris smiled at Luhan and ruffled his hair too, treating him like Luhan was the younger one and stepping out of their bedroom, closing the door behind him.

 

As soon as their leader was gone, Yixing stood up from the floor and sat beside his best friend.

 

"Ehm... you know..."

 

"Yeah?" Luhan asked, glancing back at his roommate.

 

"Did I just get an... you know... while hugging you?"

 

"...Yeap"

 

"...Oh. Sorry" Yixing tried to look at anything but Luhan.

 

"Yeah. Don't worry about it."

 

The awkward atmosphere was killing the both of them because it was the first time in their whole friendship they felt like this. Like they couldn't act like themselves with each other.

 

"In my defense, I was dreaming with Wufan" Yixing tried to ease the tension, feeling somewhat guilty about what had happened and was playing with his fingers resting on his lap, looking down and noticing how his wasn't as noticeable as before.

 

Luhan could only snort and smile a little bit "Yeah, I know. You were his name in my ear! And the motherer was whispering to you so I understand somehow"

 

"He was whispering to me?" This new piece of information made Yixing look at his friend, making him smile "Why? Awesome!"

 

"Hey! Don't look so pleased! You're ruining our first awkward moment here!" Luhan joked; looking at Yixing's eyes too and making the both of them feel more at ease with themselves.

 

"Sorry" Yixing smiled, don't looking regretful at all and laughing quietly. Lay hadn't forgotten what had happened last night with the other members but this moment with Luhan, made him feel protected.

 

It made him feel Luhan wouldn't leave him alone anytime soon. After all, Luhan had hugged and protected him against getting caught by Kris even if it meant both of them could get awkward with each other. "And thanks" He finished, really grateful to have such an amazing friend.

 

"Don't mention it" Luhan smiled "Just... just don't tell Jongin. God knows how he would laugh at us"

 

"Oh yeah"

 

 

When Luhan and Lay got out of their room, the older one couldn't help but remember how it felt when he was hugging his best friend; after all, it was the first time he had hugged a guy in a ual situation (If you could call it like that) and it felt rather... different. Yixing didn't make him curious, but the situation did. It was so different from being in bed with a girl. Trying to erase his confusing thoughts, Luhan raised his head and noticed how Xiumin was sleeping on their couch and Kris and Tao were... what were they doing?

 

"I kind of understand why the Taoris couple is so famous" Yixing raised his eyebrows looking at their tallest members and smiling a little "They look like a Jedi and his Padawan"

 

"And a Baozi!" Luhan smiled at his older friend, founding the picture quite hilarious. Kris and Tao were both wearing new pajamas; Kris was using an ironed (Yixing smiled at this) white t-shirt and a pair of black pants with a red dragon on one of the legs -a present from one of his fans- while Tao was wearing a full panda pajama -with ears and everything- and looked so clean and fluffy that no one would believe he was sleeping using that.

 

Right now Kris' looked really cool and Tao was the cutest teenager in Korea. Nevermind how they looked twenty minutes ago, like zombies. Both of them were checking each other's appearance and telling themselves little tips to look more "natural" in front of the cameras. When Tao finished ruffling his Duizhang's hair to make it look more wild yet cool, Yixing chuckled at them.

 

"Do you realize no one's going to believe you woke up just like that?"

 

"Do you realize you have Luhan's saliva on your hair?" Kris asked Yixing back, smiling and seeing how the shorter one widened his eyes before exclaiming a small disgusted noise before running to the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

 

"Xing-ge is not the only one whose going to need to take a shower" Zitao exclaimed, looking how Luhan was acting his age -yeah sure- and was taking off his own dirty socks and pulling them on top of Xiumin's face. It wasn't long before they heard a loud "YOU'RE DEAD, IDIOT!" and an "IT WAS WITH LOVE, BAOZI!" before the magnae decided to ignore them and glance back at his leader "By the way, Where's Jongdae-ge?"

 

"I guess he's still changing? He didn't have much time before he went to wake you up" Kris answered, sitting at the kitchen counter and looking at their whole apartment, trying to guess where the staff was going to put their cameras.

 

"But he didn't wake me up" Came Tao's unexpected answer making his leader glance at him with a confused expression "I wake up by myself and went to wake Minseok-ge. I hadn't see Jongdae-ge since yesterday".

 

Twitching one of his eyebrows as a tic, the leader ran to his and Chen's bedroom, only to find it empty. He searched at all the rooms -he even searched in the bathroom, not caring how a blushing Yixing almost tripped with the soap on the floor when he saw him enter- but Chen wasn't at the apartment.

 

'I'm going to kill him!' The dragon thought angrily, rubbing his temples and knowing full well most of his stress came from s. 'Ok Fan, think. You have two hours to find that motherer. Anger is not an option' He thought, trying to relax himself. "Minseok!" He screamed out of nowhere, stopping the fight between his two hyungs. "Jongdae's not here. Did he tell you something?"

 

"That idiot" Xiumin facepalmed himself before taking out his cellphone and trying to call his best friend. Luhan, Zitao and Wufan waited but seeing Xiumin's face, they understood how Chen's cellphone was off.

 

Seeing how his leader was getting angrier every second, Tao tried to use his skill. Aegyo.

 

"Gege, don't be mad" Tao pouted, clasping his hands together and seeing the taller in the eyes "What if Jongdae-ge went to wake the others?"

 

"...I'll ask" Kris sighed, already less angry. The whole world knew how a cute-Tao was one of Kris weaknesses. And Tao was wearing his panda suit. The bastard was cute as . "SUHO!" Kris growled at his phone, practically waking up the poor Exo-K leader and making him fall from his bed and surprising the rest of Exo-M at the sudden change of behavior.

 

"W-what?!" Joonmyun asked as soon as he grabbed his cellphone from the bedside table before falling, with his eyes wide open but with his brain still in the process of waking up. It was a miracle Sehun was still sleeping by his side, seeing as Kris' scream could wake up the entire building.

 

"Is Jongdae with you?!"

 

"..... Why are you asking me? He's yours!" Joonmyun whined, trying to stand up from the floor and rubbing his .

 

"Don't tell me that bull! Is only mine when he's causing problems?!"

 

"Yeah! You told me to handle Chanyeol by myself when he drank your full stock of Coke!"

 

"The idiot was jumping like a rabbit and I had work, you can't blame me!"

 

"And you think I wasn't doing anything?! I barely get any sleep trying to take care of this family!"

 

"Whatever. Is Jongdae with you or have we lost a child!?"

 

"Stop screaming! You woke up Sehunnie, good job!"

 

"What's going on?" A clean Yixing asked, drying his hair with a purple towel and seeing how his leader was screaming at his phone and could hear Joonmyun's voice screaming back at him.

 

"Our parents are fighting" Minseok smiled at Yixing, making the other realize how this was the first time they were together since last night at the van. Lay knew he had little to no chance to avoid his brothers when they’re living together, but he couldn’t face them right now. Not Xiumin, Chanyeol and Baekhyun at least. Unable to hold it any longer Yixing lowered his eyes and followed Luhan to the kitchen, not noticing Xiumin's raised eyebrow at his strange behavior and Zitao's intelligent stare.

 

 

 

Ignoring the hell that was happening at his own home, Kim Jongdae was at some bus and waiting to arrive at his destination. Glancing down at the paper at his hands, he read it again.

 

"Jongdae, if you still want to join us you're welcome to prove yourself. We'll wait for you tomorrow at 4:30am. Don't be late and don't tell anyone."

 

It read the address and nothing more. Taking care of his own appearance and being careful not to be noticed, Chen stepped out of the bus and glanced up at the apartment building in front of him.

 

The sun was rising in the distance and he needed to go back to his dorm before seven.

 

Glad to know no one was there -it was a Tuesday and all the fangirls were at home, sleeping and waiting to go to school- Chen entered the code at the front door and entered the building easily.

 

What they were going to make him do? He had seen what Taemin was going through and it wasn't pretty. Trying not to worry and looking as serious as possible, Kim Jongdae arrived at the front door and realized he didn't have the password this time. Shrugging a little, he rang the bell and waited.

 

"Who is it?" Chen heard from the screen above the password keyboard.

 

"Kim Jongdae"

 

"Oh, Hi Chen-sshi!....auch!"

 

"You're not supposed to answer him like that!"

 

"Hey! You dragged me off of my bed in the middle of the night. I have every right to answer Chen-sshi however I want!"

 

"Do you want me to accuse you to Kyuhyun-hyung?"

 

"...No"

 

"Then do your job"

 

Believing he recognized one of the voices -the second one-, Jongdae started having a bad feeling about all of this. Out of nowhere, the door opened and a really sleepy CN Blue Jonghyun smiled at him.

 

"Hello Chen-sshi!"

 

"Hi... Jonghyun-sshi, right?" Nodding, the older one let Jongdae enter the apartment and borrowed him a pair of slippers, making him realize who owned the apartment.

 

It wasn't that hard once you noticed the TVXQ! pictures on the slippers and on the walls and a U-Know Yunho snoring on the couch.

 

"Good morning Jongdae-sshi. We're glad you could make it on time" A new voice made Chen turn around and glance at the kitchen, realizing who was at the apartment. Sitting professionally at the kitchen table and wearing suits (Yeah, suits at five in the morning. Jonghyun wasn't pleased in the least) was Shinee's Minho -the owner of the second voice Chen heard-, Super Junior Ryeowook and Kyuhyun, CN Blue Jonghyun and TVXQ!' Changmin.

 

"Good morning Hyungs" Knowing what was expected of him, Chen bowed and took a couple of steps forward and sat in front of his sunbaes, waiting for instructions.

 

"As you might be aware, we're all part of an association founded for the solely purpose of...entertainment" Kyuhyun smirked, placing both of his arms on top of the table and looking like a young CEO in the middle of an important meeting. "It may have my name on it, but all of us know who our leader is" He signaled at Changmin who was sitting at the left of Kyuhyun and was wearing fake glasses to look even more intimidating. "This year and following your success as an Exo member, Changmin finally accepted my suggestion to let you try and join us. Do you want to try and prove us you have what it takes as a member of our really important and V.I.P group that it-!"

 

"Cut the unnecessary introductions Kyuhyun" A female voice interrupted the really odd speech, making Chen turn around and see two girls in executive suits -with secretaries' shirts and conservative high heels- smiling at him "Let Jongdae-ah breath; he's going to think all of us are as weird as you".

 

"Good morning Victoria-Noona" Chen smiled at the girl who interrupted his hyung "Good morning Gyuri-sshi"

 

F(x) Victoria and Kara's Gyuri both smiled down at Chen and sat besides Minho at the end of the table and facing the Exo member.

 

"You ruined my speech, Odd-Qian!" Kyuhyun whined at Victoria, making the older girl smile charmingly.

 

"I'm in charge of stopping both of you to try and conquer the world"

 

Seeing how Victoria had pointed at the both of them, Kyuhyun and Changmin smirked happily.

 

"But we promise you to make you our queen when we succeed" Changmin smiled innocently.

 

"I pity you" Gyuri whispered to Victoria.

 

"Whatever" Ryeowook spoke for the first time and looked back at Chen, handing him a folder. "These are our rules. Open them. As you can see, you need to prove yourself at something we can do. It has nothing to do with artistic abilities seeing as we're all idols so you can't be a part of us focusing only in your voice."

 

"Then... Can I choose the options I want from this list?" Jongdae asked, reading the papers and noticing how #1. was "ing members". 'I wonder what does that mean...' He thought.

 

"We suggest you the options 1, 5, 9 and 14" Changmin smiled "They're easier. If you succeed at five out of the thirty-five suggestions on the list, Kyuhyun's going to present you at Radio Star as our new member. And remember, you need to be filmed. We need to see your advances and Kyuhyun told us today starts the Exo variety show, right?"

 

Glancing at all the members at the table (Jonghyun was using his arms as a pillow and was probably sleeping again and Minho was too busy watching a football game in his cellphone), Chen nodded and smirked evilly, already thinking in all the things he could do to his 'beloved Exo brothers'.

 

"Good luck entering the KyuLine then!" Kyuhyun smiled happily and kicked Jonghyun under the table, startling him and waking him up again "Take Jongdae to the exit, please" Jonghyun mumbled something like 'I'm not a slave... Yonghwa-hyung treats me better' or something like that. Saying good bye to everyone on the table and bowing once again, Chen followed the CN Blue member and smiled happily. "Do you think I can do it?" He asked.

 

"I guess?" Jonghyun shrugged, passing the snoring-Yunho on the couch (Who wasn't aware of the dangerous meetings that took place at his own apartment.) and opening the front door. "But be happy. At least they made you choose."

 

"What do you mean?" Chen asked confused.

 

"I never had a choice" Jonghyun smiled before closing the door of the apartment and confusing Jongdae. Trying not to think any of that, he took out his cellphone and watched how he had twenty-four missed calls and six voice-mails. And it was 6:23am.

 

Looking outside the window, Victoria saw how Chen ran full speed to the nearest bus station. "What are you planning, Kyu-Oppa?" She asked once she noticed a tall figure standing behind her.

 

"What do you mean?"

 

“Do you think I didn't notice how you also invited Joonmyun to join us?" Victoria asked, turning back and facing his dongseng. "I'm asking you again. What are you planning?"

 

Seeing the worry on the girl's face, Kyuhyun smiled and played with Victoria's hair. "Well, Joonmyun's also my friend, right? He gets a chance too. Plus, I'm not pretty sure he's going to even try, you know? He's responsible and caring. He's not like Changmin and me."

 

"Yeah. He's a leader. He's like Gyuri and me. And we're here, aren't we?"

 

"Then, game on" Seeing a new glow appear on Kyuhyun's eyes following by his smirk, Victoria understood what that meant. It wasn't that hard knowing how the brain of a gamer works.

 

"If Suho wins, you, Changmin and Minho are going to do the prank you made Taemin do. Jonghyun has his JapanTour; we can't involve him in this."

 

"And If Chen wins, you, Wookie and Gyuri are going to shave your heads."

 

"Deal!"

 

"Deal!"

 

 

Seeing Kris get scolded by the managers wasn’t a beautiful sight for Yixing. Kris was tall. Kris was intimidating. But Kris respected their managers too much and was getting yelled at because they couldn’t find Chen. Suho was already awake and was being scolded too, but Hyunkyun and Sunghwan weren’t as harsh with him as they were with Kris. After all, Chen was an Exo-M member.

 

“This is the first time you’re going to get filmed and what do you do!? You care about your appearance instead of your members!” Hyunkyun screamed at Wufan, making the leader lower his head and accept all the blame. “You should have called us instead of looking for him by yourself!”

 

“He really was trying to find him, we had a lot of time and-“

 

“Shut up, Joonmyun!” Sunghwan screamed, not wanting for Suho to get involved. Sunghwan could be mean and sarcastic with all the members on a daily basis but that just was his personality. That was how he showed them he care. Hyunkyun on the other hand, was patient and usually let the members do what they wanted but when a problem occurred, he would blame Kris. Always.

 

“We’re on a week day, Wufan! It’s almost seven; how much traffic do you think there is at this hour?! We can’t cancel the program, you idiot!” Hyunkyun hit Kris’ head harshly, getting really frustrated with the situation.

 

The staff from the KBS –who were in charge of the variety show- were already in the middle of the living room, trying to put their cameras, the lights and rearranging the furniture so they could have more space and both managers didn’t care if all they staff heard them shout at the leader; Kris deserved it.

 

“I hope Jongdae arrives soon” Yixing whispered from his spot just besides Luhan and looking worriedly at how Kris was trying very hard at keeping his head lowered.

 

“I hope so too” Zitao whispered, kneeling besides Xiumin and the others and watching the living room from their hiding spot; the hallway. The four of them were suppose to be sleeping as soon as they heard the KBS staff arrive but they couldn’t do it. They couldn’t just let their leader take the blame by himself. Even if Suho was there supporting him like always, Minseok, Zitao, Luhan and Yixing feel it wrong to just go away.

 

“Ok. We’re ready!” The PD or director of the staff-members exclaimed, turning to face both managers and smiled. “The MC is going to be here at any minute so please stay behind the cameras so we can film the guys. If one of the members isn’t here, I’m sorry but we cannot wait any longer. We can start filming the other apartment if you prefer?” He asked, checking his cellphone “They’re telling me the cameras are also installed in the other dorm and none of the members has woken up”.

“It’s all right. We’ll start here” Hyunkyun deadpanned, glancing at Kris again and sending him a ‘You’ll talk with the bosses when they see Chen isn’t in the show’ with his stare. “Joonmyun, go to your room. You too, Wufan. Let’s start.”

Nodding, the staff-member left them alone and went to keep in check there wasn’t a single wire out of place or their ‘Special MC’ could get into an accident and they couldn’t afford that. After all, the MC was recommended by Kim Heechul himself; it had to be someone important.

Seeing how the managers left them, Kris sighed once more and tried to regain his composure. How he hated being yelled at. Feeling a soft hand patting his shoulder, Kris raised his head and saw Suho smiling at him and mouthing a ‘Take care’ before going out of the apartment. He felt grateful for Suho’s supportive gesture but he didn’t feel much better. He was just hoping he could at least pretend in front of the cameras once they start filming and say he’s angry because of being awaken at such hour. The fans already thought he sleeps ten hours a day either way.

 

Heading to his bedroom, Kris bowed to the staff-members, mumbling apologies and showing them respect until he reached the deserted hallway.

Looking at the other doors he sighed in relief, hoping the others could be asleep and without knowing how he got scolded; it was embarrassing. When he reached Luhan’s and Yixing’s closed door, he stopped a little and felt a huge need to look for Yixing. After all, Kris knew the Chinese dancer was the only one who could make him feel peaceful and he needed that right now. Once he reached the doorknob, a new voice could be heard at the living room.

 

“Good morning, everyone!”

 

“Good morning, Kim-sshi” Kris heard multiple greetings and understood that the MC already arrived. Sighing, he let go of the doorknob and turned around to head to his room, already knowing Chen wasn’t going to arrive on time.

 

Once he opened his door, a pair of arms took him by surprise and dragged him inside, closing the door behind him.

 

“How are you?” A soft whisper was heard in front of Wufan and instantly, he felt better.

 

“Yixing? What are you doing here?” The leader asked, trying to turn on the lights only to be stopped by Yixing’s left hand.

 

“Don’t do that” He could hear Yixing’s voice in front of him. It was already dawn being seven in the morning but Kris’ room wasn’t the brightest so he could only see Yixing’s profile “Even if the door is closed, they can see from the hallway if the lights are on”

 

“Alright” Kris smiled softly, still standing in front of Yixing in the middle of the dark. “And thanks. I guess”

 

A silence set in the middle of the room, but no one cared. The peacefulness Wufan needed was already there and Yixing had done nothing. The older could feel Yixing in front of him and standing really close, so he stretched one of his arms and tried to find the unicorn’s head.

 

“Ouch” Lay said, surprising his leader “Next time, don’t push my ear” He could hear Lay laugh softly, making him smile a little bit.

 

“Sorry. I was just searching for your head” He whispered back, hearing how the staff members were already filming and were just outside the hallway, probably “waking up” the already awake members. Strangely enough, Kris didn’t care anymore. “Found it” and taking Yixing’s head, he stepped close and lowered his own face, using Yixing’s fluffy and still damp hair as his pillow.

 

“…You know? I’m going to start charging you everytime you use me as your pillow” Murmured the shorter one, sighing happily and enjoying the moment.

 

“Charge me a… Do you want another plushie?”

 

“Yes!” Yixing smiled, already thinking which one he wanted to ‘steal’. Is not that he needed to be bribed to be this close with Wufan but it was nice knowing he could gain more. They were beside the door, were standing really close and Wufan was leaning on him, but Yixing didn’t care. He could stay like that forever.

 

Well, not forever. This wasn’t a fairytale when everything was perfect.

 

This was real life and in real life, Yixing was still awkward.

 

“Eh…Fan?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“You’re too heavy. I think I’m getting shorter”

 

“Sorry” Wufan laughed, hugging Yixing because he was just too adorable and weird and took him by the shoulders to look at him in the eyes. Wufan’s eyes were already growing accustomed to the lack of lights and now he could see Yixing’s face. Not clearly but he could still see it. “Do you want me to give you Ace?”

 

Looking really surprised and not knowing what to say, both of them heard Luhan’s voice just outside Kris’ bedroom.

 

“Tonight I think I kicked Yixing out of our room so he went to sleep here”

 

Luhan’s voice was too loud for someone who was probably talking to the camera and didn’t need someone else to hear him. Unless…

 

‘Thanks Luhan!’

 

“Go!” Wufan whispered at him, pushing him to Chen’s unmade bed and running at his own bed and pretend they’re sleeping. Three seconds after Yixing covered himself with Chen’s blankets, the door opened quietly and a lot of footsteps could be heard entering the room.

 

“I’ll wake Wufan-gege!” Yixing heard Tao’s voice speak in his broken Korean and knew instantly they were being filmed. Zitao is a pro at fanservice and he knew full well how the fans loved him with his Duizhang.

 

Silence followed and Yixing felt his curiosity get the better of him, so he opened his eyes a little bit and saw something… weird.

 

Apparently this people had no manners because the camera man was already on top of Wufan’s bed and was filming his face quite obviously. And as expected, Kris looked like he was deeply asleep, with his perfect face (with BBcream but don’t tell anyone), his perfect hair (already fixed by Zitao) and with awesome and really badass pajamas (Brand new and never used before).

 

Oh yeah, the sincerity of Variety Shows. Exo-M’s leader nailed it.

 

Apparently, the MC (Whom Yixing hadn’t seen his face yet) signaled Zitao to wake up his leader, because out of nowhere, the full-human size fluffy panda ran and landed on top of an unsuspected dragon, making him lose his breath and his cool image in less than five seconds.

 

“Zitao!”

 

“Gege’s awake!” Exo-M’s magnae smiled cutely at the camera and winked, knowing how the staff-noonas were already thinking how cute and handsome he was.

 

“Zitao, get off me!”

 

Knowing Wufan was refraining himself from cursing on national TV, Luhan smirked and took advantage of the situation. “Against the leader!” He screamed, sharing a smirk with Xiumin and both of them ran and landed on top of Zitao and Wufan.

With the added weight, Kris rolled on his bed trying to get rid of the other three who were laughing their asses off and growling internally because his moment of peace was dead now.

 

Knowing he couldn’t pretend he was sleep anymore, Yixing made a poor performance of him waking up because of the noise of the others. Lucky him, only a camera filmed him and no one else noticed him sitting on the bed and watching his other members fight.

Out of curiosity and not having anything else to do, Yixing glanced at his left to see who was their MC.

“Kibum-hyung!” Yixing exclaimed fully surprised at his hyung, whom he hasn’t see in a long time.

 

“Good morning Yixing” Super Junior Kibum showed his ‘killer-smile’, making one of the camera man start filming them both. Knowing the other four were still fighting and laughing, Kibum approached Yixing and pretended to tell him a huge secret. “You know? There’s a mission waiting for the first four to get to the living room. There’s a punishment for the last one” The last sentence, he said it loudly hoping the others could hear him as well.

It worked.

 

Using a force the other three didn’t know he had, Xiumin’s competitive side woke up and he pushed all the other members, standing up from the bed and running like a mad baozi towards the living room.

Not wasting anytime in being surprised, Yixing ran too, missing Zitao, Wufan and Luhan’s fight at Kris’ door to get out of the room first.

Once they got to the living room were more cameras and staff were waiting for them, Zitao jumped over the Chinese dancer, using Yixing’s shoulders to gain momentum and stretching both of his legs –his fluffy panda legs- he jumped over Lay and arrived at second place.

“Yeay!” Zitao smiled cutely, as if he never used his wushu skills to overcome his gege and didn’t look so badass a moment ago.

“That’s cheating!” Luhan screamed once Kris used Zitao’s distraction to take one of the cushions from the couch and hit him full force on the head to win fourth place after Yixing.

“It’s not. Luhan, you’re going to receive your punishment later” Kibum smiled and stepped closer once the loser was chosen. “Please, stand up and introduce when I told you to.” Glancing sideways, Kris saw how their managers were looking at him with serious expressions. Not wanting to disappoint them even more, Kris stood up and started organizing s. Once everyone was in their position, he signaled Zitao to start as always.

“Good morning everyone! I’m the cute panda who enjoys walking alone on the beach. Exo M’s magnae, Tao!” smiling at the camera and ignoring how everyone was watching their every move, Xiumin, Luhan, Lay and Kris introduced themselves, smiling at the camera and at Kibum as well.

“Good morning guys! And good morning everyone!” Kibum smiled at the camera “Did you miss me? I wish I could say something to my beloved Elfs but this is not my program, this Exo’s first Variety Show! Are you excited? I’m sure I am as well as your fans and I hope we can all have a good time and make good memories” Still smiling, Kibum glanced at Kris and signaled for him to start talking.

“Yeah” Kris answered, already using a mini-microphone in the neck of his t-shirt “We’re really happy to have the opportunity to spend more time with our fans and let them know us a little bit more before our comeback”.

 

“Oh! When is your comeback?” Kibum kept talking, letting the other members put on their own microphones.

 

“We’re not sure yet.” Kris smiled, knowing how he could not reveal that information yet.

 

“Well, your fans are waiting patiently for your comeback but they’re also excited. Not let them wait long! Anyway, as you may realize, this was your first competition. Do you know what you’re going to do?”
 

Shaking their heads and saying quick ‘No’s, the five of them pretended not to know and being oblivious about the situation.

“Then, we need to wake up Exo-K, shall we?”
 

Nodding this time, Kris lead the way and let a cameraman pass in front of them first so they could film them from all angles. Stepping out of the apartment, Kris glanced at the hallway, hoping to see Chen but he found nothing.

 

“Who do you want to wake up, guys?” Kibum tried to make them talk; smiling at them patiently and knowing they are still rookies and didn’t know how to entertain the public yet.

“I want to wake Baekhyun-hyung!” Zitao smiled, smirking mentally because he knew how their fans were. They were thirsty for more fanservice moments and being the ‘caring’ and ‘not-at-all camwhore magnae’ he was going to give them what they want.

 

“I guess I’ll wake up Jong… eh, Sehunnie!” Luhan smiled too at the camera, almost forgetting how ‘Hunhan’ was really famous.

 

Upon arriving at Exo-K’s dorm, Kris put on the password and let the cameraman enter first, letting him film the quiet dorm. He didn’t know how the other members were –he was busy being scolded by the managers to notice- but he was at least sure that Suho was awake.

Pretending they were on a secret mission, Xiumin and Luhan tiptoed across the living room –were there were cameras already- and into the hallway, stopping when they noticed Jongin and Kyungsoo’s door.

“We’re going to wake Kai and D.O first” Xiumin whispered at the camera while Luhan opened the door quietly.

 

When they entered, Luhan tried really hard not to laugh.

 

Obviously, no one told Kai and Kyungsoo about Taoris’ idea of waking up before.

 

Kai was sleeping all over his bed, using a black t-shirt that reads ‘y Beast’ on the front with white letters and a pair of really large and really old boxers. His hair was a mess and he was with his mouth open, hugging his pillow like his life depended on it.

Kyungsoo on the other hand, was a hugger too. But in his case, he was hugging Monggu –Kai’s dog- like it was his baby and was sleeping with all the covers over him, making him look rather cute with just his face showing from under the covers.

 

“…” Smiling, Xiumin took Monggu carefully on his arms and passed it to Zitao –who was fond of the little puppy- so he could not get harm when they try to wake Kyungsoo. Noticing how Luhan and Yixing went automatically to Jongin’s bed, Wufan went to help Xiumin.

 

Knowing they couldn’t really wake him up like they wanted –unless they want South Korea to know how bad friends they were- Luhan pointed at one of Kai’s t-shirts on the closet and signaled Yixing to take it. It was the one Kai used at their Showcase. It was dark with a deep cut on the front and a rather large necklace. Perfect. Already understanding what Luhan wanted, Yixing took off the necklace from the t-shirt and lowered it so it could touch Kai’s feet softly.

 

They succeed. As soon as the little feathers from the necklace touched Kai’s foot, Jongin started laughing hysterically, rolling on his bed and tangling himself on his covers until he couldn’t move anymore.

 

“As a dancer, he has sensitive feet” Yixing explained to the camera, trying to cover his smile and failing at it.

 

“Yah!” Kai growled, feeling like a sushi roll and trying to wake up from his drowsiness. “Leave me alone”

 

“Kai? I think you should wake up” When he heard Luhan calling him by his stage name, he knew something was wrong. Opening his eyes a little bit, he came face to face with a really ugly dude.

 

“AAAH!” Kai screamed as soon as he noticed how a staff guy was just beside his face and rolled off of his bed, looking like a really mad sushi roll and making Kibum worry about him.

 

“Is he the Kai who was in the majority of the teasers? The cool one?”

 

“Hard to believe, eh?” Wufan smiled, sitting at D.O’s bed and patting the head of the sleepy owner. Kyungsoo was trying to stay awake –he was awake enough to realize what was going on- but he was just so sleepy… and Minseok looked so fluffy and huggable…

 

“We’ll let you get ready guys” Kibum spoke for the first time, gaining Kai and Kyungsoo’s attentions and receiving a happy ‘Kibum-hyung!’ from the both of them. “The rest of you go wake the others”

Nodding, one by one –including the staff- left the bedroom until it got quiet again. Seeing as Minseok was gone and Tao had taken Monggu with him, Kyungsoo lowered his head. ‘What was he going to hug now?’

 

“Kyungsoo-hyung eh… can you help me?” Kai asked for his attention, being on the floor and still wrapped tightly on his blankets. Still drunk with sleep but conscious enough, D.O stood up from his bed, –grabbing his huge pants so they could not fall off from his tiny body- kneeling beside Jongin and started rolling him so he could get free.

“Thanks Hyung!” Kai smiled, not noticing how Kyungsoo looked at him with half-closed eyes.

Seeing as it was his only option and forgetting they weren’t friends yet, Kyungsoo opened his arms and let himself fall on top of his dongseng, hugging him like a koala and cuddling against him to get back to sleep.

 

“Ky-Kyungsoo-hyung?! What the-“

 

“Shut up and sleep, Jongin”

 

“But-but, on the floor?”

 

“Shut up”

 

Not knowing what to do and facing the ceiling with a Kyungsoo on top of him, Kai tried to get comfortable on the floor. Thankfully all his blankets were down there so it was rather comfy. What was he suppose to do? Just lay there? They couldn’t, the cameras and the members and a lot of people were just outside their door and were going to wonder where they were. But this was his chance! Kyungsoo had done this willingly and Kai could use it to make them break the ice and become friends. That’s what closeness do, right?

 

‘So… What do I do?’

 

Tip #13…

 

Woah! What was that? Why was he remembering that just now? Yixing’s tips were useless right now, he was trying to get close to Kyungsoo not Kris. Strangely, that tip didn’t leave his mind. He didn’t even write it, it was Luhan’s tip.
 

Tip #13… If for some reason you get to sleep by his side, make sure to hug him and make your face be the first thing he sees when he wakes up.

 

See? Useless in this situation. He already woke up seeing that dude’s face just in front of him and it was so creepy… although… Kai’s handsome, right? Kyungsoo’s not going to get scared seeing his face this close, right? Well, there’s only one way to know…

 

'No! What are you thinking, Jongin!? That would be just plain weird! It’s ok for Yixing because he needs to make Wufan fall in love with him but you don’t want that! You only want Kyungsoo to be your friend. That’s it.'

 

That’s it.

 

…Right?

 

‘Yeah! That’s it!’ His mind screamed, trying to make him stop looking at Kyungsoo’s sleeping face.

 

…

…

 

‘ it’ was Kai’s last thought before he hugged Kyungsoo with all his might and closed his eyes ‘Friends can hug too. Of course they do’.

 

 

Once the other members arrived at Chanyeol and Baekyun’s bedroom, none could speak at all.

Because there, sleeping beside Baekhyun, was Chen.

 

‘Son of a-!’ Kris’ train of thoughts stopped as soon as Luhan realized how his leader was going to curse and, not knowing a better solution, the deer pushed a rather spaced-out unicorn into the dragon’s arms.

 

“Chen-gege? Baekhyun-hyung? Wake up!” Tao beamed at the both of them, knowing full well how Yixing and Luhan were trying to control their angered leader.

 

Hearing Tao and waking up ‘beautifully’ because the both of them looked great, Baekhyun opened his eyes and smiled sleepily at Zitao. “Good morning”

“Hello guys” Chen smiled too, gaining glares from all the members of Exo-M but pretending not to notice them.

 

“Ehm…Chen” Xiumin smiled, trying not to kill his best friend in front of so many witnesses and avoiding talking out loud how they didn’t know where he was “Why did you decide to sleep here?”

 

“Well, I woke up in the middle of the night and I got bored. You all were sleeping so I came here” Chen smiled innocently, knowing how his hyungs were aware of the lie. He couldn’t say they all were awake because of Kris’ plan after all. But now, it was time for the real lie. “Baekhyun was awake too so we talked until we fell asleep. And that’s it”

 

“It’s true” Baekhyun smiled at them “He came at four in the morning”

 

Kris narrowed his eyes at the pair, but Baekhyun’s face was showing his sincerity. Confused, Kris realized they never looked out for Chen in Baekhyun's dorm. “And your cellphone? Why didn’t you answer?” The leader asked, without a care if he could speak like that in front of the cameras.

 

Chen just shrugged. “I don’t sleep with my cellphone, hyung. I guess I left it at my room. Why? There’s a problem?” He asked, concerned.

 

“Not at all, Chen-sshi”

 

“Kibum-hyung!” Baekhyun smiled happily when he saw who is going to be their MC. Even though Baekhyun and Chen arrived late at SM Entertainment, they still knew who Kibum is. Mostly Baekhyun who lives with a Super Junior fanboy on a daily basis.

 

Chuckling at himself, Baekhyun suggested Kibum to wake Chanyeol himself. It was going to be funny.

 

When the others focused on Chanyeol’s bed, Chen hugged Baekhyun from behind and whispered casually. “Thanks…”

 

“Anytime dude” Baekhyun whispered back, smiling a little and pretending they weren’t talking at all.

No one noticed how Baekhyun was wearing a really faint line on both of his eyelids and how his face looked refreshed and clean.

Good thing Chen woke him up just in time to let him borrow a pair of pajamas and let him know the variety show was already filming them.

 

Chen’s success at suggestion #14 in the KyuLine folder: ‘Make the 'innocent-face' work at an almost unbelievable situation’ was obvious. And he made them film it.

 

He smirked, knowing how he was going to win.

 

Unknowingly to him, his rival was at the same apartment, smiling kindly at how Sehun was sleeping by his side.

 

-----------------------------------------------------

 

You can blame me right? This chapter was 33 pages long at Microsoft Word. The largest I had ever wrote. (I keep beating my own records!) I was going to post it yesterday but... I fell asleep xD It's really hard for me to 'stop' writing because a lot of ideas keep comming to me but I guess I finished this chapter at an appropiate moment? (Unless you want to read Chanyeol being a Super Junior fanboy that is. Haha)

What do you think this time?
I enjoyed reading your ideas about what was going on between Kyuhyun and Chen and I hope you like the Kyuline! ;) As a troll myself, I love that group of people! xD and being Jongdae's biased, I couldn't help it.
But now, Suho was invited to join. What do you think our guardian is going to do?

I loved making Yixing had his first gay-(?) with Luhan xD As I wrote on the chapter, this is not a fairy tale where the princess has her first kiss with the love of her life (and her other's 'first' too) and they live happily ever after. Yixing is too awkward and Kris is too explosive for that.

I wanted to write the first 'episode?' of their variety show in this chapter but it was getting to long xD so I decided to cut it. About that, am I the only one that thinks some idols prepare themselves before being filmed at their home? Come on! If I was an idol, I would NEVER let anyone film my zombie face when I wake up in the mornings; I would lose all my fans xD Of course there are idols who don't give a damn and it's pretty obvious they were really asleep (cofcofMBLAQcofcof) but there are others (like Kris and Tao in my story) who is pretty obvious they use at least a moment to clean themselves before being filmed. I guess I'll use this opportunity to vent my frustrations over Korean's variety shows xD

And I couldn't help it; I'm an ELF at heart. (If you didn't notice it by now) I needed an MC and who's better than Kibum?! I mean, the guy needs a job xD He's always under the radar(?).

I guess I'll shut up.

Bye bye!

P.D: Yeah, Yixing's not going to forget which plushie Kris suggested to give him ;)

P.D2: What are your ideas about Kris' tattoos? Hehe ;)