CHAERAE P.O.V. 

I was shivering with fear as the man soaked with the smell of alcohol and smoke neared me. He had chased me from one side of the station to the other. No one in the station took any notice to me. I used my guitar case to shield me from him despite it being my absolute favorite instrument in my possession next to my flute. My life was in danger. And no one was here to help me. No one. I squeezed my eyes shut as tears began forming. I would have to take my punishment. This is my punishment for everything bad I have ever done. 

THUMP! BANG! THUMP! 

My eyes shot open when the loud noises met my ears. Before I could see anything a large familiar hand covered my eyes and I was pulled into a warm embrace. His heart was pounding and his chest heaving as though he'd run a marathon. "Ch-Chanyeol..." 

"Chanyeol! Take her home! I'll take care of this. Go!" Kai? They both came? I felt Chanyeol nod and hum. Effortlessly, he swung my guitar onto his back and held onto my hand with a grip that could never break. He pulled me after him, going in whatever direction he saw fit. He didn't speak and neither did I. I followed him as he pushed past people and led me out onto the streets of the Gangnam district. When we surfaced he stopped so we could catch our breath. 

"Are you okay?" He questioned me but I didn't respond. He frowned at my silence and circled me, inspecting me from head to toe. I stood there without moving as he faced me once again, bending down so we were both eye level to each other. I brought my walls up and kept a stoic face. "At least say something! You're driving me crazy! You gave me a heart attack!" He stood straight up once again and growled in frustration. Why was he so upset? We have nothing to do with each other now. I made it so it was that way. "I was so worried. I thought we were going to be too late! How could you ignore my calls!? What are you doing here to begin with!? What-"

"Stop acting like you're my boyfriend!" 

CHANYEOL P.O.V.

"Stop acting like you're my boyfriend!" 

I froze. Acting? Am I not your boyfriend? Does a text message you sent me qualify as a means of breaking up? I never agreed to it! What are you saying!? We aren't broken up! We're still together Jagiya! We are! It's not over! I don't believe those lies! I never will! As much as I wanted to shout these things at her, I just couldn't. I could see her eyes watering. I could see her bottom lip quivering. 

She held out her hand as she looked away. "My guitar, please." My heart clenched. Formal speech. Why? I complied, slipping the case from my shoulder and handing it to her without a single word. A bit of shock flashed in her eyes but was gone the instant in which it appeared. "Thank you." With that she her heel and hailed a taxi. I watched, powerless, as she climbed into the taxi without a second look back at me. She wouldn't look at me again would she? I stood there until the taxi left my sight and longer. Eventually Kai came up behind me panting but without a single mark on him that would suggest that he was in a fight. 

"Where... Is she?" He questioned when he realized that I was alone. I didn't answer and turned around, going to the nearest convenience store. I had enough money on me to get enough alcohol to drown out everything. This would be the first time I would ever drink. I needed to forget everything that just happened. 

***ONE AND A HALF YEARS LATER***

CHANYEOL P.O.V.

I grinned widely to the crowd of adoring fans and waved enthusiastically. We just got back from our latest event and were greeted by a large crowd of fans at Incheon airport. I'd become used to this by now, but it still made me happy to have the support of so many wonderful fans. Our debut came about a year ago and we'd gotten quite a bit of popularity over the past few months. I've been so grateful to everyone who has been a part of this. 

"Yah! Happy Virus! Stop smiling like an idiot and get into the van!" Kai teased me and I growled at him. 

"Kai! Respect your hyung!" Suho scolded from his seat inside the van. I grinned at Suho and climbed into the van, sitting beside Baekhyun. He smiled at me and turned back to his phone to play a game. Once all of EXO-K was in the van it sped off to the SM building. We all got off to be met with more fans. I bowed to them quickly before following the other members into the building. We hurried to our practice room and changed into our practice clothes before stretching on our own. 

"Yah! Chanyeol! You giant! What are you doing just lying there!" Baekhyun scolded me. I smiled from my resting spot. Instead of stretching I decided to lie down for a while. I was exhausted. We had a full weeks worth of events and I hadn't gotten much sleep at all. 

"I'm just doing as my fans tell me! I'm taking care of my health! I need to sleep. So shush bacon! Go play with the maknae!" I shooed my best friend away and he scoffed. I laughed at his actions. Just then a phone rang. We all dug into our pockets but none of our phones were ringing. Except for Kai's. His eyes widened when they landed on the screen. 

"Uhm. I have to take this." He bowed to us before ducking out of the room and answering the call. Who was it that he had to step out? He always took calls from his family with us sitting right in front of him. But it seemed that this person needed all of his attention and he didn't want anyone listening in.He'd done this almost every week since the day we left Song Academy and officially debuted. 

Curious, and not wanting to be in the dark anymore, I followed him. Excusing myself to use the rest room. He hasn't gone that far. He'd just gone down the hallway and into the stair case. I hid myself behind the steps where he sat and listened closely. 

"That's great! I'm so happy everything is going well for you!" There was a lot of affection in his voice. It couldn't be his parents. I listened closer. "No, we just got back. We're about to have a practice session. No! You're not interrupting! It's fine!" He laughed and I smirked. It must be a girl. "Is that your manager? Okay! I'll text you later! Take care! Oh! Chaerae! Save a day for me to meet you. We need to celebrate!" Chaerae? My Chaerae? “Arasso!” He paused once again and it seemed as though he was listening to her speak. “Chanyeol? He’s fine. Smiling like usual. He also changed his hair again. Have you seen the updated sites?” Another pause. Jealousy was evident in his voice. “Alright. Well I have to get back. I’ll call you again at the usual time. Mmmh.” He hummed once more and then he was silent. I heard him sigh quietly before descending the stairs and leaving the stair well. I stood there for a while, not being able to fully process what I had just heard. It took me a few seconds to shake everything off and force myself to return to the practice room.

Suho scolded me for taking so long and I just apologized mechanically. Everyone noticed my change in mood, but chose to stay silent. I thanked them in my mind as we continued learning the choreography to our comeback song. I tried my best to focus on all of the steps, but I was struggling almost the entire time. The choreographer ended up dismissing me, disappointed in my performance. I apologized to everyone as I left to change. They continued on until our session was finished. The ride to the dorms was quiet, except for the music on the radio. Our manager chose not to question my behavior and let me go to my room without eating. That night I could not sleep a wink. Memories and regrets kept me up all night long, relentlessly biting at my heart.

Here she was, coming back into my life without even trying. Was she keeping in contact with just Kai? Why is he so special? Why didn’t she respond to any of my calls and text messages? For the past year and more I tried to find her again. All I was told was that she finished her studies at the academy the same year she came there and was scouted into SM. I tried looking for her in all of the buildings’ rooms but would be scolded by all of my old mentors and even my sunbaes. Trainee and Idol relations were strictly forbidden, so we were kept apart as much as possible. I remember thinking I saw her in the café just across the street, but I was wrong. After desperately running past the speeding cars and dealing with the enraged drivers, I was disappointed to be met with the sight of a fan girl of mine whom recognized me instantly. It was a hellish ordeal, and I had to beg her not to tell anyone about seeing me. I even had to pull out some aegyo just to be sure. Now I knew she really was here. And she was right under my nose.

JUEUN P.O.V.

I watched as she picked at her food. She should be happier about finally being put into a group. But she was only picking at the food that my oemma had made for us. It was a thank you gift from her for taking care of the café when she was in the hospital. Chaerae really became my backbone when it came to oemma being in the hospital. She was such a caring person and I was lucky to have her as a friend.

“So when are you two debuting?” Oemma smiled at us from her seat on the edge of the table. I smiled. I still couldn’t get used to the fact that I was accepted in as a trainee alongside Chaerae. She had somehow been able to convince Lee SooMan to allow me in with her. And by a miracle we were put into a group together with three other girls whom we had befriended during our year of training and one girl whom had been scouted from YG Entertainment.

Chaerae responded with the ghost of her former smile. “In about two months. We are currently working on our debut song and the choreography. We are also recording three other songs for the album. I will have them save a copy for you and my oemma. Will you please give it to her when I get it sent here? We will be promoting on multiple shows so I am not sure if I will get to see her for a while.” My oemma grinned and nodded elated.

“Of course! I am just so happy for you girls! Have the other girls come by before you become too busy and I won’t be able to meet them before the world meets you.”

“Neh, omoni.” Chaerae smiled warmly, a small bit of her old self showing. I held in my surprise by sipping my drink. “Jueun-ah, we should head back to the dorms before Minjoo Oennie gets upset. Kamsahamnida for everything, oemoni.” She stood to bow, but was instead pulled into a large hug from my oemma, and returned it. I smiled at her and then took my turn to hug oemma before giving her a kiss on the cheek and the reassurance that I would call in the morning.

~~~~~~~

WHOOOO~ I UPDATED WITHIN TWO DAYS~! DO YOU GUYS LOVE ME?

Kekeke~ So time has passed. And a lot of things have happened. A lot of things haven't happened. :) Anyway, we EXOtics did it! We hit 2.5 million views over the weekend! Whoo! Now we await for our gift! So instead of waiting and waiting for the upvotes to come in, I chose oneof my very active subbies allany! ^^ I will PM you with the details I need for your character in the fanfiction. The other three members names will be voted on in the following polls.

So please vote ASAP for the next chappie to be up soon! ^^ Thank you fo all of your cooperation and the support from all of you these past months. Every comment, subbie, and upvote means a lot! 

Hello to my new subbies! Welcome to my story! Please enjoy! Another hello to current subbies! ^^ Don't be afraid to comment!! I love seeing your comments! Please don't be a silent subbie! 

Until next time my darlings!~