After class, Jongdae rushed back to the music room. He knows that it’s the only place where he might’ve left his music player. He could not afford to lose it; it belonged to his Mama Wei. Kwangmin tried to get steal it from him numerous times but always failed. But now, Jongdae fears that he had lost it for real. What’s worse is that he lost it to someone he does not know.

“Please… please… please…” He chanted like a mantra.

He reached the room and quickly charged inside. He searched every corner of the room but didn’t find what he was looking for. Hopeless, he went to the front desk outside and asked the person in charge of the schedules of the usage of music room.

“Excuse me Miss, did someone use the music room 204 after I left?”

“Let me check.” She reached for the logbook and opened the pages to the current date. “What’s your name?”

“Kim Jongdae.”

“Kim Jongdae… Hmm, no one used the room after you.” She faced him. “Why, did you lose something?”

“Ahh.. yeah, I left my music player because I was in a hurry.”

“That’s hard, I’ll ask the janitor in charge earlier, maybe he found it. Come back here tomorrow.” She advised.

“Neh, I will. Thank you.” Jongdae bowed slightly before leaving. He just hopes that the janitor who found it –if ever he did –handed it to the office for lost and found announcements.

The next day in Jongdae’s music composition with technology subject, Prof. Park surprised the class with a guest he invited. Said guest had a lot of experience in that field and Prof. Park wanted him to share those experiences to the students. As soon as the guest step a foot into the hall, all the students looked at him in awe.

“Hello everyone, I’m Xiumin! I’m looking forward to our activities for today.” He greeted and the whole class –which consist of only nineteen students –is very much delighted to spend the next two hours with him. Prof. Park just stood on the side; observing the class.

Jongdae, all the while never took his eyes off Xiumin. All the voice of his classmates with their ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ as Xiumin shared with them some of his experiences in his career, are blocked out. So it’s really true that Xiumin handles Junior and Senior classes. Kwangmin would be so envious!

“So here’s what we’re going to do today…” Xiumin continued. “…I’ll give you five minutes to think of a song or piece that will represent what your philosophy in music is. You can sing or play any instruments available here. So any song or solo pieces, you’ll present it in front for one minute. After that explain in five sentences why you chose that song or piece, alright?” He asked the class with a smile.

“Alright!” the students hollered back.

Xiumin grinned widely at the students’ enthusiasm. “Then five minutes starts now!”

When it was finally Jongdae’s turn, he nervously stood up from his seat and slowly made his way to the front. All of his classmates who went first did their presentation in which they are majoring in but since he didn’t bring his violin today, he’ll go for the other instrument available.

“Hello, I’m Kim Jongdae, Violin major, but I don’t have my Violin with me so I’ll just play the piano. I’m going to play a piece by Beethoven. I hope you enjoy it.” He bowed slightly then approached the upright piano on the side.

He wiggled his fingers, fervently wishing to not embarrass himself in front of Xiumin. He lifted the cover and seconds after, started playing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Major. Ludwig Van Beethoven is his favorite composer. He loves all of His symphonies and he admired him more when he learned that Beethoven is almost deaf when he composed his greatest works. He chose Symphony No. 9 in D Major because for him, this composition represents freedom. And his philosophy in music is freedom in everything. ‘This is my composition; this is my piece, so I’ll play it any way I please.’

Not only does it apply in his music philosophy, but also in his life. He wants to be free, from all his inhibitions and fears, from his life with his ‘step-this’ and steps-that’. But most of all he wanted to be free from being…

Xiumin watched Jongdae intently, his eyes never leaving the lean figure. From time to time, their gaze would meet, only for a second or two then Jongdae would look down on the keys again. Jongdae kind of reminded him of one person. Come to think of it, Jongdae looks familiar, he’s sure that he had seen him somewhere; he just can’t remember when but he’s sure that it’s just recently.

Because Xiumin was so deep in thought, Jongdae’s one minute of play became two minutes –and counting –until one student pointed it out.

“Jongdae plays the piano so well that you let him play for more than one minute, right Minseok-ssi?”

Everyone turned to Xiumin which caught Jongdae’s attention. He stopped playing and also looked at him.

“Well, yeah, that I can’t deny.” Xiumin said and didn’t know why he’s suddenly feeling uneasy.

Jongdae stood up. “I think I played for more than a minute. Sorry. I forgot.” He said to Xiumin.

“It’s okay, you play so well anyway.” Xiumin replied and Jongdae tried to control his heart from somersaulting.

“Thank you.” Was the only thing he was able to say before returning to his seat.

“You should hear him play the violin. He plays it ten times better than the piano.” The student from earlier said again. He’s also a Violin Major and has seen Jongdae played numerous times. All the other four violin majors agreed –excluding Jongdae who remained silent and fiddled with his earphones.

Xiumin glanced at Jongdae’s direction and he felt his heart skip a beat when Jongdae looked up and met his eyes again. This time, the latter didn’t look away and he was the first one to –reluctantly –do so. For the whole period, he could feel Jongdae’s stares at him. It was as if the latter never took his eyes off him; watching his every expression.

It kind of made him uncomfortable –plus the fact that Jongdae seemed familiar adds up to it. He’s sure he wasn’t one of the students who auditioned. Did they met somewhere and he promised something to Jongdae? Maybe he had a debt to pay him? He can’t really remember, he’ll just wait for Jongdae to approach him if he ever did have a debt on him.

But after class, no Jongdae approached him. In fact, it was as if he was in a hurry to leave. Maybe Jongdae is the one who has a debt on him. Anyway, he doesn’t really mind because he can’t remember. But it still doesn’t change the fact that Jongdae looks achingly familiar. Xiumin felt his phone vibrates and he immediately pulled it out from his pocket.

The manager of SNSD is calling him. What a rare thing.

“Hello?”

“Xiumin-ssi, are you busy?”

He frowned. “Not really, why?”

“Could you drop by the annex studio today? I have a song here you might want to look at. A fan gave it to Sunny.”

“Sure, I’ll be there in an hour.”

“Thanks, bye.”

“Bye.”

‘Another fan-written song?’ he thought. It wasn’t the first time this happened but the company never directly included fan-written songs in the album. If they find the song good, they buy it from the fan who wrote it and then they will revise it. After launching the album, the original writer cannot anymore say that he wrote or owns the song because the company already bought it. That’s how it practically works with fan-written songs.

He put his phone in his pocket before Prof. Park called him for a small talk. After their little chat, Xiumin headed for his car and drove off to the studio.

When he got to the lobby, Sunny and SNSD’s Manager is waiting for him, exchange greetings here and there then finally the manager handed him the music sheet. And as soon as he reads the first lines, his eyes widened in shock.

“Where did you get these?” Xiumin asked Sunny, his eyes never leaving the papers as he scans the last page –and yes, Xiumin’s hunch is right; it’s Chen’s. His signature is there. He finally looked at Sunny.

“A fan gave it to me during the meet and greet.”

“Did he tell you his name?”

“Chen, that’s the only name he gave me. You’re so worked up Xiumin-ah, I wonder why?” Sunny asked.

“Actually, I’ve been searching for this Chen-guy since Taemin’s birthday party.”

“I understand, it sure is hard to let him go, huh?” She teased, earning her a disbelieving look from Xiumin.

“What do you mean by that?” he asked.

“Don’t deny it, I’m sure that charming smile of his swept you off your feet Plus that jawline, so sharp.”

“Well you should hear him sing.” Xiumin suddenly blurted out, getting carried away by Sunny’s compliments for Chen.

“Really?” SH epouted. “I should’ve made him sing at that time. Well, give me a call if you find him, alright?”

“Why would I?”

“So I could ask him out for coffee.”

“Yah! Idols can’t date.”

“Don’t ‘yah’ me! I’m older than you. And I’m sure Uncle Mansoo could make an exception since I’m his niece and if he doesn’t then I’m sure you’ll keep it a secret from him and manager-oppa because you’re my adorable little baozi cousin, hn? What do you say?”

“Nothing and no, I’m not going to keep any secret because you’re not going out on any date with Chen because I’m not calling you.”

“Hogging Chen-chen all to yourself, I see.” She raised a brow at her cousin. She’s the daughter of Kim Mansoo’s only brother, making her and Xiumin cousins. They are very close since they were kids. When Sunny debuted as a member of SNSD, she received a lot of criticisms and harsh comments, saying that the only reason why she’s an idol is because the CEO is her uncle. Xiumin stood up for her and stayed by her side, and for that she’s very thankful. Sunny also proved those people wrong a she showcased her talents and results of her long training to be in SNSD.

“I’m not!” Xiumin said in a defensive tone.

“Whatever, just let me know if you finally find him. I still have schedule so I need to go!” she said and pinched Xiumin’s nose. “You’re so cute!” she flicked his forehead then scurried to the door.

“Noooooonaaaaaaa…..” Xiumin whined as he rubbed the abused skin.

Sunny chuckled then waved from the door before disappearing completely. Xiumin shook his head at Sunny’s antics. Maybe that’s also where he got his childishness from –aside from his mother. Sunny and he are inseparable. Sunny and he are both only child so they pretty much understand its pros and cons.

He decided to drop by the coffee shop nearby since he doesn’t have anything to do.

The first thing that Jongdae did after class was he rushed back to the second floor, remembering his talk with the front desk lady yesterday. When he got there, she told him that she’d already talked to the janitor and the janitor said the he didn’t found anything in the music room yesterday when he cleaned it. They both new that the janitor is telling the truth because he had been working in SNU for a very long time and every time a  student accidentally leaves something,  he always returns them or he’ll surrender it to the office.

So right now, Jongdae is pining on the counter about his lost music player. He had been wiping the marble counter top with a rag for the past fifteen minutes that Dongahe and Yesung thinks that the counter top would soon turn into a mirror.

“You know Jongdae, that rag will murder you later in your sleep.” He muttered but Jongdae didn’t seem to hear him. So he poked the younger’s -hole, completely surprising him. And he almost died of oxygen shortage because of laughing non-stop at Jongdae’s reaction. Yesung was also laughing at the side.

“Hyung! That wasn’t funny!” He hissed after pulling Donghae near the backdoor where they are at least out of some customers’ ear-shot.

Donghae, who’s still trying to stop his laughter mumbled out an incoherent half-meant apology. “Sorry, it’s just that you’re so gloomy and sad. I know how precious that iPod is but sometimes you have to let go of things, especially if it’s not really meant to be with you.” He added.

Yesung approached them and draped an arm on Jongdae’s shoulder; the younger ones both looked at their weird barista. “You talk as if he just lost a lover.”

“That’s the point!” he made a gesture with his hands to prove his point, Jongdae turned his attention to him with a half-puzzled half-bewildered expression. “That’s my point, hyung. It’s just like losing a lover. It hurts at first but eventually, you’ll forget it, like it never happened. Then you’ll find someone who’s worth all the pain and sufferings.”

“Hyung, I don’t need your love advises, okay?”

“You’ll need it someday, trust me.” He said confidently. “So how was school? Except for the fact that the janitor didn’t find your iPod.”

“Must you bring that up?” Yesung commented.

“Xiumin’s with the class today.” How could Jongdae forget? Somehow, the memory of the producer’s presence earlier lifted his mood in split second. It’s like Xiumin’s the happiness of the day and his lost music player is the sadness, his mood is balanced. Like yin and yang.

“Really? What did he do?” Donghae asked while Yesung just listened to the side as Jongdae narrated the occurrences of earlier.

“Did you act cute and flirty in front of him?” Donghae asked again.

“No hyung, why would I? I was actually silent the whole period, I was even thankful I didn’t made a mistake while playing. I was so nervous, my knees are literally shaking.”

“Why are you so tense when that Xiumin is around?”

Yesung patted Jongdae’s shoulder and the younger looked at him. “He’s innocent, Donghae. Unlike you and Hyukjae, the whole neighborhood could hear you every night.”

Donghae shrugged his shoulder and tilted his head to the side, Jongdae turned to him. “At least the whole neighborhood would know who Hyukkie belongs to.”

“I’m out of here.” Jongdae declared. He didn’t want to know about Donghae’s life. Knowing that they do it like frustrated rabbit is enough to make his head spin. He didn’t want to know the other details and things that come along with.

But Jongdae can’t seem to deduct how their topic drifted from his class with Xiumin to “EunHae’s” life. He blushed at his own thought; using ‘Xiumin’ and ‘’ in the same sentence is quite disturbing.

Just then, the bell chimed as the door opened and the newcomer came in. He could practically visualize himself getting redder by the second. How come did the main subject of his mind is standing here at the counter now?!

“OMO!” Xiumin gasped and Jongdae was slightly taken aback. “I knew I’ve seen you before! You’re Jongdae right?” The latter just nodded; his mouth agape in confusion. “I was thinking earlier how familiar you look, now I know why, you took my orders the last time I was here with my mother. You know, I actually thought that I owe you a big amount of money and I forgot to pay you or maybe it was you who had one and you were running away from me since you were in a hurry to leave earlier, after class.”

“O…..kaaaay…” Jongdae said absent-mindedly. He’s also kind of unsure of what to say.

“I should really order now, shouldn’t I?” Xiumin asked foolishly, mentally slapping himself for blabbering like that. “I’ll have Chai Latte then.”

“Grande?”

“Yeah. Sorry if I talked too much.”

“It’s okay, if you need someone to chat with, I have a hyung here and he really needs someone to talk to right now.” He said, raising his voice a little higher so that Donghae could hear him. He needs his revenge for Donghae’s -poke earlier. He could see from his peripheral that Dongahe is approaching them, shooting him a ‘what-are-you-doing’ look.

“Really? Why?” Xiumin asked out of pure curiosity, oblivious to Jongdae’s scheme.

“Well, you see, his boy –unf!”

He wasn’t able to finish his sentence because Donghae clamped a hand over his mouth. “Actually Xiumin-ssi, Jongdae here is the one who needs someone to talk to. You see…” he started, imitating Jongdae’s voice earlier. “…he lost SOMEONE very precious and he was moping around like a sad puppy since he got from the university. So if it isn’t much trouble, please talk to him. Or he’ll lose his mind.” Donghae said then unceremoniously pushed Jongdae to Xiumin’s side.

Now Jongdae’s the one throwing Donghae a ‘what-the--are-you-doing’ look.

“Is that so?” Xiumin asked and Donghae nodded –more eagerly than necessary. “Okay. Then, I actually wanted to talk to Jongdae about something.”

“Now’s the perfect time then!”

“Order anything you like Jongdae, my treat.” Xiumin said.

But Jongdae didn’t seem to hear what he said. His mind is in a dazed-blank state ever since Donghae clamped a hand on his mouth. Since, he wasn’t able to catch a word the two are saying. So Donghae, wanting to save Jongdae from potential embarrassment spoke.

“I’ll take care of it, I know what he likes.” He patted Jongdae’s head to pull him back to where his wits have gone to. “Go on Jongdae, follow Xiumin to your table.”

Jongdae turned to Xiumin who said “Let’s go.” And immediately turned around, leaving him no other choice but to follow him. He looked back at Donghae who’s grinning like a lunatic.

‘I’m doing you a favor.” The older mouthed.

All the while, Jongdae’s head is pre-occupied with “101 Ways to Murder Lee Donghae” and was only interrupted when they reached their table. Now seated, Jongdae although feeling a little tense, gave his one hundred percent attention to Xiumin. He needs to be assertive or Xiumin might notice that something is ‘off’ with him.

Something that only Jungsoo, Donghae, and Yesung knows.

A/N: Hello everyone!! How are you? Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! Keke. EXO 2013 Official Diary will be released on 26, who’s going to buy? I’m definitely buying one! :DDD anyways, I hoped you liked this chapter. I really made it long as my gift to all of you.

I’m planning on doing a giveaway. Do you guys want? :DDD Maybe Lanyards, or ballers, or Mugs. Or an EXO shirt. What do you think?

Comments are loved. :DDDD

GAYO DAEJUN!!!! :DDDD