You stood there in line bouncing ever so slightly. You were clutching an Exo album to your chest, looking around the room in sheer excitement. This was going to make your week better. This was going to make you happy again. You were going to meet the one person who was going to flash you the brightest of smiles and make you feel special. The happy virus Chanyeol of Exo. He was going to make everything better, you just knew it. You didn’t know how you knew, but he was the happy virus so it made sense to believe he was going to make you happy! You peered at the amount of girls in front of you, pouting slightly as you realized that there were so many people in front of you, and only a couple behind you. You were one of the last few left, but you had rushed here after a final. Which was the main reason you wanted to meet the happy virus, you needed some much needed relief after all your finals. This was your treat to yourself, your celebration for being done. Your way of ridding yourself of the anxieties that comes with not knowing your marks just yet.

You were watching him intently, smiling to yourself every time he grinned toward a fan. He was so lively, and just seemed like so much fun. You couldn’t help but get taken in by his aura, even from so far away. The big smile that was usually plastered on his face and his overall happy demeanor had you completely entranced. You didn’t even realize you had started to smile already as you approached the first member. Quickly you had everything signed, trying to rush slightly in order to get to your real goal. The Park Chanyeol.

When you got to him you were a flurry of feels and excitement. You gave him your CD, just barely touching his hand as he smiled softly, barely looking at you. You didn’t pay much attention to it until he looked down right away. You froze. He wouldn’t even look up to ask you what your name was. This is when you took the time to analyze him. The bags under his eyes, and his aura of “I don’t want to be here” were the first things that you made note of.  You stood there in silence, watching over him carefully, taking in all the details. You stared him down, and even the rest of Exo had started to watch you because you were so intent on watching their surprisingly quiet character.

You were realizing something that was going to change your view on idols for the rest of your life. He was not the happy virus or the Park Chanyeol of Exo. He was just Chanyeol, the human; allowed to have his ups and downs, just like you were having. He probably did not want to be here fan servicing all these young women, and just sitting there signing albums. This was probably not how he wanted to spend his days, despite this being the profession that he picked. It had been a long day, and a lot of girls but it just wasn’t fair! How come you of all people, you who needed to see his smile most, went without? You wanted to get mad at him, which only made you mad because you were being absolutely ridiculous. How could you expect perfection from another human? Since when were you that stupid? Why were you crying because of something you had always known?

You quickly wiped your tears as Kai nudged Chanyeol under the table. The boy snapped back to life and looked up to give you back your CD. You forced a weak smile, thanking him for his time and starting to go. In your eyes though was pure sadness and desolation. Your dreams were crushed, your day and week were ruined, and right now, nothing could make you feel better. You bowed quickly as you accepted the CD from him, blinking away any tears. Then you turned and left, without looking at him again, missing the look of absolute confusion on his face. Tears streamed down your face, and your focus was on the CD clutched to your chest so you missed the sound of a chair crashing as the giant stood quickly.

Chanyeol was lost. What had he done? He had never seen anyone so heartbroken at a fan signing. Especially not such a beautiful girl… he couldn’t let her leave with such a heartbreaking expression. Despite his leader calling out for him, Chanyeol made a dash for it, trying to follow her out. He hadn’t paid attention to what he was wearing, which was when he realized it. He had barely even looked at her, or else he would have noticed how beautiful she was before. Chanyeol knew he probably would have gotten lost in your beauty and would end up having taken as much time as he could to write on your CD, so that he could keep you there. The giraffe was lost, desperate to find you until he saw a figure quickly walking away from the scene. “Jeogiyo!” He called out quickly, running up to the small female and turning her around. It was you…

Your eyes widened as you were spun around by the idol, quickly rubbing your eyes. You weren’t crying, but you still couldn’t believe it. Park Chanyeol had gone after you, no less stopped you. You opened your mouth to say anything, but nothing came out and no intelligent sentences formed in your brain.

“Are you okay?!” He asked in a panic, watching your face with his own fraught with worry and concern. You felt your face turning red, and immediately his hands came up to your face. “Ah, no fever… that’s good!” He chirped, flashing a giant happy virus smile. “Now, what’s wrong pretty girl?”

Again, you could barely find words, but you could feel the tears welling up in your eyes, and cascading down your cheeks. The soft of thumbs quickly wiped them away, but they were not you thumbs. You sighed and looked down. “I really, had just forgotten something really important, and you made me remember it Chanyeol-ssi…” You said hesitantly, not bothering to look up. You sighed and continued before he could say anything. “Idols work amazingly hard, and they have such long days. Then after all of this they are expected to be the light for fans. To make us our happiest and we always forget to think about you guys. But you are only human, and you have bad days too.  And I guess I took this for granted today, but never again. Because you aren’t just some happy virus that is there to make me happy… you’re still a human.” By the end of your little monologue, Chanyeol had tilted your head back up to him, flashing you the largest smile he could attain. A warmth ran through you and you almost shivered, smiling brightly back up at your bias.

“Thank you…” He mumbled with a small smile, a bashful blush creeping onto his cheeks slowly. Both of you were pulled from your little fantasy world as Suho walked over, ready to scold Chanyeol for leaving the last of the fans behind. You bowed quickly, saying goodbye and leaving before Chanyeol could stop you. All the heartbroken giant had now was a name and a picture etched into his memory until you two met again…