"Luhan—" Eun Ah gasped while your heart dropped into the bottomless pit of your stomach. You froze as he stared back at you with blank eyes. Your body went numb and you quickly looked away to avoid his eyes as he whispered, "I had a hunch that you were hiding something from the start, So Kyung...or should I say, Xue Hua?"

Let me give you time to process this.

JUST KIDDING!

NO! OF COURSE IT WASN'T LUHAN! ARE YOU CRAZY?!

     You gasped and jumped up onto your feet with Eun Ah right beside you. You had gotten up too fast and your vision suddenly blurred. Everything went black and you stumbled back as you quickly tried to reach out and grab a hold of something to keep your balance. You felt a firm hold grasp around your arm to keep you in place as you closed your eyes and tried to blink away the darkness when you your vision gradually returned. The bright light caught your eyes as soon as you opened them and you quickly shut them again and shook your head before slowly peeking again.

     "Are you okay?" His face was so close to yours that you felt your heart skip a beat.

     "I'm fine!" You yanked yourself away from him roughly.

     "Yah, is that how you treat the guy that just helped you?" He arched an offended brow, but other matters were on your mind so instead of thanking him, you only snapped back, "How much did you hear?" His eyes widened and there was a long moment of pause as he glanced back at Eun Ah and then you. He cleared his throat softly and then nodded, "Enough to know why you're so crazy over Luhan now." You were about to snap at him for eavesdropping when he added, "Does anyone else know? I'm taking that Kris knows everything since you two are always together, right?"

     "Chen, if you tell anyone else—" You threatened dangerously as you swiftly stepped up to him with your fiercest glare, "I swear that I will kill you." Eun Ah looked back to you with wide eyes, shocked, but to your surprise, no fear registered in Chen's eyes as he stared right back into your eyes. Instead, there was a flash of what almost seemed like amusement in his eyes as the corners of his lips curled upwards a tiny bit.

     "So Kyung, you are planning to tell Luhan someday, aren't you?" Chen crossed his arms.

     "That is none of your business!" You didn't know why, but his question pissed you off.

     "Well, now that I know everything, isn't it?" He arched a brow and stepped back as if to leave when your body automatically reacted and you reached out and grabbed him by the collar. He stopped abruptly while Eun Ah gasped, "So Kyung, wait!" You halted your actions, but kept your grip on his collar as he looked back to you with a blank face.

     "You better not tell anyone." You grunted when he only snorted, "Threats don't work on me."

     "Chen, honestly!" Eun Ah glared at him, but he ignored her.

     "So Kyung-ah, you don't need to try so hard protect yourself." Chen's eyes softened and you felt his hands grasp around your wrists gently, "You're a part of the Exo family now. We won't let anyone hurt you anymore...arraso?" You didn't realize that you had loosened your grip on his shirt, until he easily removed your hands. You felt a thump in your chest as his words slowly enlisted in your mind while he turned to Eun Ah and smiled, "The others are downstairs. You need to leave soon, don't you?"

     "Oh my god! I totally forgot!" Eun Ah blurted and checked the time on her watch, "Oh crap. Chen, is the other manager here?" She looked to him and he nodded as she then turned her attention to you, "So Kyung, I'm sorry. I'll see you two downstairs." You waved her off and she hurriedly left. Then you  glanced back at Chen, "How'd you know that we were going to be here?"

     "I'm smarter than the rest. They're probably still looking for you. All I did was ask the lady at the desk what your grandma's room number was." He smirked and let go of your wrist. You pulled your hand back and rubbed your wrist gently, staring back at him silently before the smirk on his face faded and was replaced by a soft and sincere smile, "I promise that I won't say a word. I understand why you'd prefer to keep quiet for now." He turned to head after Eun Ah, but stopped and glanced back over his shoulder at you, "So Kyung, you don't need to suffer all by yourself. If anything's bothering you, you can talk to me, too." He arched a brow and gave you a little wave before leaving.

     You felt a surprised thump in your chest as you watched him leave. It wasn't until he disappeared around the corner that you gasped out loud to yourself and while crossing your arms. You turned, completely shocked when your reflection in the mirror caught your eyes. You looked back up at yourself before hearing Chen's words ring in your ears again, "you don't need to suffer all by yourself." You stared at yourself for a moment longer and then glanced down the hall again as you uncrossed your arms. Who knew that Chen had that kind of side to him?

Eun Ah sighed softly and shook her head with a small smile as she watched Kris lecturing So Kyung quietly in the corner while the other members waited patiently around the waiting area. She turned when Luhan appeared by her side and surprised her by handing her a cup of hot chocolate.

     "Ah, Kumowo." Eun Ah thanked him gently and turned to face him as he glanced back in the direction where Kris was talking to So Kyung. Then he stuffed his hands in his pockets and sighed quietly. Eun Ah glanced back at them for a second before looking back to him and raising a questioning brow as she asked in a voice barely above a whisper, "What is it?"

     "It's nothing." He shook his head and chuckled lightly, turning his attention back to her. But he still ended up looking back over to So Kyung and Kris. Kris knocked So Kyung on the head like he was knocking on a door and So Kyung swatted his hands away before playfully punching him in the stomach. Eun Ah nudged him and he hesitated for a minute before his shoulders slumped and he shook his head again, "It's...It's just that I'm glad she's feeling better now. It was...difficult to see So Kyung so broken down, especially because she's always been so strong. Manager Im Hyun Kyun had a long talk with us during the drive back to our hotel. The others are really worried about her, too."

     "Knowing So Kyung...she's probably going to brush it off as if it never happened." Eun Ah shrugged as she took a small sip of her hot chocolate while Luhan looked back to her. He bit his bottom lip for a moment and then scratched the back of his head as he asked softly, "Why does she do that? Why does she try to so hard to put up such a front? She's only human." Eun Ah was going to take another sip of her coffee, when she stopped and turned back to face him. She stared at him for a long moment before arching a confused brow, "What do you mean by that? Are you asking because you care about her? Or are you asking because you're annoyed by her? Which is it?"

     "Because I care, Eun Ah...a lot of us were surprised by the So Kyung that we've seen yesterday. It's completely changed our outlook on her..." Luhan huffed lightly, with slightly ashamed eyes as he looked down to his feet and shuffled them quietly. Eun Ah watched him for a long moment before taking another sip of her drink. There was a long silence between them until she let out a deep breath, "You know something, Luhan? The way I see it...you and So Kyung are really similar." Luhan's eyes widened and he turned his head in her direction, but Eun Ah continued to stare straight ahead.

     "When you two are hurt...you both tend to hide it and lie to yourselves. You tell yourself that you're okay, but the truth is, you're not. And you hold it all in until you can't handle it anymore." Eun Ah blinked and pursed her lips while Luhan frowned, "No, I don't."

     "I think you do. You just don't realize it." She shrugged again and looked back up to him.

     "When did I do that?" He arched a challenging brow and she answered him immediately without missing a beat, "When you sang Baby Don't Cry and told me about Xue Hua." Luhan's eyes widened and his body tensed up instantly as Eun Ah continued on cautiously, "Even when we were breaking up, Luhan, you were still thinking about Xue Hua...you're still regretting it and you're still hurt, but you keep pushing everything aside and pretending you're okay. Are you really okay?"

     "I'm fine." His reply was automatic as he quickly looked away from her. There was another long moment of silence between them before Eun Ah sighed and asked softly, "Why did you let her leave that day? Without telling her how you felt?" He didn't answer her and she shifted to look at him again before he but his bottom lip and looked up at the ceiling instead, his eyes glassy.

     "I—I didn't want to hold her back..." Luhan paused for a moment and then ran a hand through his hair, "Honestly, I was still just a teenager, so I wasn't even sure if my feelings were real or not. But I knew that she was going to America and I knew that she had better opportunities there. What good would I do by holding her back? If I had told her that I loved her...then I don't think I would have been strong enough to watch her leave. I would have made her stay behind...with me." He chuckled bitterly, "I thought that it was probably best to let her go, but...I guess I shouldn't have. Maybe if I had say those three words and held her back, she would still be here. But, I didn't. So, now I'm with Exo."

     "What?" Eun Ah's jaw dropped.

     "I guess you're right, Eun Ah." He straightened up as the other members start to get up and gather, "I only sing, because of Xue Hua. Because when I sing, I feel as if she's still here with me. As if nothing has changed." Eun Ah only stared back at him. Luhan gave her a small smile and nodded before heading back to where everyone else was. He pulled on a bright smile as he walked over to Xiumin. Xiumin said something and then Luhan laughed before Eun Ah looked and saw So Kyung waving her over.

     "Yah, give me a call or anything if you ever need to talk, mmkay?" Eun Ah hummed as you two walked towards her gate. You only smiled back at her and shrugged, "Yeah...but I think I'll be okay for a while. So, don't worry." She stopped in her tracks and gave you a semi glare before turning to the side and calling out to where Kris was waiting with the other manager, "Yah! Kris! You better call me if anything happens to this kid!"

     Kris smiled a little back and nodded while giving her a small wave as a voice came over the intercom to announce planes that were soon to be departed. Eun Ah chuckled and waved back at them. Then she turned back to you and pulled you into a hug. You were surprised, but smiled as you hugged her back tightly, "Take care of the others for me, arraso?"

     "Don't worry about it. I'm just there to keep an eye on them. Hana's taking her job seriously, so they're all being good boys." Eun Ah laughed lightly and you were about to pull back when she tightened her arms around you and stopped you, "So Kyung."

     "Hm?" You frowned to yourself.

     "If you don't believe that Luhan still loves you, then ask him why he sings." She pulled away before you could react and grabbed your hand, squeezing it tightly as she smiled prettily, "I'll text you when I get." She let go, but you tried to stop her, blurting, "Eun Ah!"

     "See you later, So Kyung." Eun Ah whispered the words gently just like she did when you were leaving her for China. Then she pushed your hand away before leaving. You watched her head over to wait in line to board when you felt a warm and strong, but gentle grip on your shoulder. You glanced up and back at Kris. He nodded back at you and let go of your shoulder to ruffle your hair a bit. Then he hooked an arm around your shoulder and sighed, "Come on. Let's go back to the hotel. The others are waiting for us."

     "No dorm?" You raised a brow as the two of you turned and started walking back to with Manager Im was when he shook his head, "Nah. We're a week early, so the dorms are still in use. The people are still moving out for now, so we're going to be at the hotels for a couple more days at the most."

     "Oh..." You mumbled and then sighed heavily, "Gosh, this is all my fault." Kris stopped walking and suddenly wrapped his arm around your neck and pulled your head into a headlock. He pretended to punch you in the head over and over as he gritted his teeth, "Yah, why didn't you tell me anything, you little brat? I had to find out from the news channels! "

     "Kris, I'm going to kill you if you don't stop!" You muttered threateningly under your breath and tried to get out of the head lock while Manager Im called over to you two, "Aish, stop wasting time! They're waiting for us!" Kris stopped and straightened you back up while you instantly frowned, "What? Why? Why are they waiting for us? Aren't they supposed to be preparing for—" He only flicked you on the head and laughed, "Come on, let's go."

     "What's the schedule? I haven't been informed yet." You tried to keep up with his long lengthy steps as you two headed over to Manager Im. He only gave you a small smirk and shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know? I'm not the manager." You glared back at him and nudged him in the side lightly with your elbow, "But you're the Duizhang." He arched a brow at you as you giggled, "Hey, it has a nice ring to it, Duizhang~"

     "Shut up, So Kyung." He tried to glare at you, but you could see the smile fighting its way onto his lips and pressed on, sweetly, "Duizhang~ Duizhang~ Gàosu wǒ~ (tell me~)" He stopped walking again and crossed his arms, about to say no when you pulled on your puppy eyes. You knew that it always worked on him, but you barely used it because you hated playing cute. You wanted to know what Manager Im wasn't telling you though, so you added even more by puffing up your cheeks and pouting. He sighed and uncrossed his arms to pinch your cheeks as he replied, "Aish, don't make that face."

     "If you tell me, then I won't." You huffed when he grinned his boyish grin.

     "Hǎo, hǎo. (okay, okay.)" He stopped pinching your cheeks and cupped them instead, "The others are—" Manager Im suddenly popped up and grabbed your arm, "Stop flirting! We have to go!" You inwardly groaned as you watched Kris laugh while you got dragged away. You glared at him and he only shrugged before you noticed how many eyes were on you guys. You felt a sense of shame wash over you immediately as you remembered that you were on the job. You swiftly loosened yourself from Manager Im and cleared your throat, pulling on your work face again as the three of you exited the airport and boarded back into the van.

     For the rest of the ride, you silently lectured yourself for letting down your guard. You were so mad at yourself that you talked to Kris so openly in front of so many people. He was a handsome man, so there was no doubt that many eyes were watching. Plus, Exo was already promoting so you definitely should had been more careful. If you slip up, then the boys were going to get in trouble if the fans started any dumb rumors. You inwardly groaned and smacked a palm to your head. Kris chuckled from behind you and you glanced over your shoulder to shoot him a glare. He was definitely teasing you again.

     "Don't be too hard on yourself, So Kyung." Manager Im chuckled lightly, surprising you.

     "Huh?" You quickly looked back to him.

     "It's all right. Don't stress out. I was just joking about the flirting. I know that you two are good friends. For now, you just take a break and relax a bit. We won't be doing much until next week anyways. Since that's when most of the boys' schedules begin." He assured as he flashed you a kind and warm smile. You felt your cheeks get hot from embarrassment and shrank into your seat.

     "Ah, am I that easy to read?" You laughed lightly, but your stomach churned uneasily.

     "You're a hard worker, So Kyung." He only smiled as the van entered the parking lot of a large hotel. You got out of the car after parking and grabbed your bag. Then you all entered the building and you followed Manager Im's way. He lead you down a hall and towards a more private area before stopping you and Kris in front of a door labeled Room B and handed you a key before smiling, "This is for you. We have two rooms for the boys on the 6th floor. You have your own room next to them. I'll be with staying with the other staff members on the 5th floor. I trust that you'll watch over them and I know that they'll listen to you more than they will me." You took the key and were about to ask him why you were stopped in front of room B when he opened the door and—

     "SURPRISE, SO KYUNG!"

You cringed as there were loud popping sounds and confetti was shot everywhere. Your heart raced crazily and you looked around confusedly for a moment before you realized that everyone was laughing as they hurried over to you with a cake.

     "Stay strong, So Kyung!" Tao hurried over to you excitedly and grabbed your hand as Lay and Luhan stepped up to you with the cake. They smiled at you as Xiumin added, "We'll always be here to support you!" Then Chen popped up with a party hat in hand as he shouted, "Fighting!" Manager Im laughed and the other staff members cheered, but the cheers and all the noise quickly died down when you continued to stare blankly at them. You stepped back and bumped into something. You gasped and swiftly turned to see Kris blinking back at you in confusion.

     "I..." You glanced back at everyone who was staring at you with wide eyes, "I—please excuse me!" You blurted and then instantly turned to leave when Kris caught a hold on your arm. He opened his mouth, about to reply when you yanked your arm away and pulled the door closed behind you. Then you turned to walk away, but you only made it a couple of steps when you had to stop and lean against the wall for support.

     Your knees shook so badly that you had to take a deep breath as you slid down onto the floor and hugged them tightly to yourself. Your heart pounded harshly against your chest as you slowly let it all register in your head. You heard the muffled talking through the wall, but couldn't understand them as people started shuffling around. There was a twist in your guts, but you didn't know what to do. What were you supposed to do? Who told them to throw you a surprise party? Why at this kind of time? How were you supposed to react? What was the meaning of all this? The sound of a door opening threw you off your thought tracks and you gasped, glancing up as he closed the door softly behind him.

     "It's okay, it's just me." Chen smiled gently as he cautiously made his way over to sit beside you.

     "What?" You shot back when he stared at back at you. He arched a brow at you as the corner of his lip curled into a half smirk, "Always the tone of defense. I'm not going to attack you or anything." He waited for your reaction, but when you continued to stare him down, his smirk faded and he chuckled warmly, "I just came to see if you're okay."

     "I'm fine." You answered automatically when he frowned doubtfully and shook his head slightly, "Pfft. Yeah right. Says you, the one who freaked out and slammed the door in everyone's face when all they were doing was throwing her a surprise party." You felt your guts twist shamefully again and quickly looked away from him.

     "I didn't want anything." You muttered quietly, more to yourself than him. How were you supposed to enjoy a party when you just came back from seeing your Grandma at the hospital?! You bit the inside of your bottom lip and scooted a little away from him when he turned to fully face you.

     "You know? We didn't throw the party to distract you from your situation." Chen started gently, "After seeing you cry like that—the guys just wanted to let you know that you have our support. We just want to help you stay strong." You felt a weird warmth seep into your chest and slow the beating of your thumping heart.

     "You were always breathing down our necks and making sure that we did what we were supposed to do. And at first, we thought that you were just an annoying bratty new manager, but now we know that you only did that because you cared about us." He reached into his pocket and pulled out an apple flavored er. Then he held it out to you and chuckled, "This is just our way of thanking you and showing you that we also care about you, too, even though we've never really said it out loud, So Kyung." You turned to look back at him before he leaned in and held the er even closer, "Come on back inside and join the fun."

     "How can I? I just pulled a complete move." You felt your eyes water and you didn't know why, but Chen only shook his head, "It's fine. You just got back from visiting your Grandma and you didn't know how to react. That's all. Just go back inside and thank everyone. That's good enough." He nodded at the candy in his hand you slowly reached out to take it before Chen grabbed your hand and pulled you back up onto your feet. You thought that he'd let go of your hand, but instead, you yanked you over to the door and opened it before pulling you in.

     Everyone stopped chattering and the room became completely silent as all eyes zoomed in on you while Chen released his hold on your hand, leaving the candy in your hand as he walked over to where Xiumin. You glanced back at everyone's blank faces and then quickly bowed, but instead of straightening up, you kept your head down as you almost shouted, "I'm sorry for the way I reacted! I was too shocked, but thank you very much for all your support and love!" You then quickly straightened up and almost expected them to continue glaring at you, but were surprised again when they all started cheering again.

     "It's fine, So Kyung. You don't need to say sorry." Lay hurried over to you while clapping.

     "Come on, come eat some cake!" Luhan called over to you and Lay with a grin from the table filled with all kinds of junk food before Lay hooked his arm around yours and led the way. Kris flashed you a small smile and you returned it. Then you glanced over your shoulder and back at Chen where you caught his eyes. You grinned at him and silently mouthed, Thank you to him before he winked and mouthed back cheekily with a smirk,

     "I know."

Time for me to introduce the THIRD MAIN! I bet a lot of you thought it was Kris, huh? Hahaha, hope you guys enjoyed the trolling and this chapter ^__^ It's been a while since I've trolled you guys anyways ;DDDD

NEW MAIN
KIM JONGDAE aka CHEN ♥

사랑합니다 ♥ 은애!