"...Then Taeyeon just jumped on me out of nowhere, and a bunch of girls came from behind me and jumped on her. Seriously, I was going to suffocate when all those heavy girls climbed above me. Though I was able to forgive her easily since she already acknowledged my prince-like status. After we got back on our feet, Taeyeon asked me to be her friend since she needed 'inspiration' for whatever she talked about, so I said that it was fine and gave her my number. She never called me until recently when she asked me to treat you well on this date, but who cares? Even if Taeyeon likes you, that doesn't mean that I like everyone she likes. She really needs to understand that people don't like everyone. I didn't like her, and she kept calling me 'Chen-ster' or 'Chen Chen,' but the most annoying name was how she called me 'Kim Jongdae,' my real name. I mean, she's the only one who calls me that! Not even my friends call me Jongdae..."

Jieun almost fell asleep as Chen continued to rant on about how he met Taeyeon and about how "amazing" he was. She played with the large microphone in her hand, and took a sip from her cup of soda. She looked around the dim room, where only the television in front of them flashed beautiful scene.

"Jieun?" Chen called her, snapping his finger. Jieun snapped out of her thoughts and stared at Chen.

"H-Huh?"

"Were you even listening? Do I have to tell you everything again?" Chen asked.

"No, no. I understand that you and Taeyeon are close. Good for you. By the way..." Jieun lifted up her microphone. "...what's the point of going to a karaoke room if you're not going to sing?"

He lifted his drink in the air. "To drink and eat in private. Why?"

"Can we sing at least one song?" she pleaded desperately. Every time her eyes landed back on the microphone, she was itching to sing and let her love for music burst out from her voice. Chen snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Please," he said, "we're not going to sing."

"Why not? Just one song? I'll be the one singing, so you don't have to be embarrassed or anything--"

"That's the problem. I don't want you to sing," Chen said, staring at the second microphone on the table. "You're going to sound terrible and I'm going to have your screechy voice in my head. It's annoying."

"You can... cover your ears?" she suggested.

"No."

"Then can you at least step outside?"

"Me? Be kicked out? Definitely a no."

"Then will you sing?"

"Nope. Singing is a waste of your time and your breath."

"You don't mean that."

"Yes I do."

"Is it because you're bad?"

"Me? Bad?" Chen let out a laugh. "I can't be bad at singing. I'm Chen! I'm the popular Chen who can do anything he wants to."

"So you'll sing, right?" Jieun pleaded, putting the microphone in his hand. She looked at him with puppy eyes, hoping that he would not resist. As planned, he fell into her trap and heaved a sigh.

"Fine," Chen said, flipping through the song book. "Just one song, okay?"

"Is it a duet--"

"No," he said sharply, narrowing his eyes. Jieun widened her eyes, surprised from the quick reply. Although he was snappy and rude, he was more cold and distant this time. She cring her back and waited for him to sing a song in silence. He paused for a second at one song, as if he was hesitating to play it. Then, he reached over the small tablet and punched in the song number. Jieun looked up at the screen.

"'It's Fortunate'?" she read. Chen shot her a glare, as if he was telling her to be quiet. She pressed her lips together, then respectful gestured him to continue. The sound of piano flooded the room. Chen took a deep breath, watching the numbers count down until the first word was being colored from white to blue.

For meeting you and being able to touch your hair

For meeting each other and being able to breath, looking at each other

For being hugged and being able to let the tears flow when its tough...

Jieun widened her eyes, surprised how well he sang. She was sure that he sang much better than Daehyun, but there was something special about Chen's style of singing.

In the violent wind and under the wet roof, I'm not getting...

The girl looked up at Chen. He had stopped singing, but the microphone was still below his lips. He stared at the screen, watching the words fade away and new ones come back. Jieun examined him a bit more. He looked furious, angry, and disappointed. However, he looked more upset, as if he was longing for something precious.

"Chen...?" she whispered quietly. He didn't respond. "Chen? Chen-ster..." The corner of his lips twitched. Seeing this reaction, Jieun pressed on. "Kim... Jongdae?"

Startled, Chen dropped his microphone. He looked behind him and gazed at Jieun, who gave her a distressed look. There were tears in his eyes, but they did not fall. His lips quivered, but it did not let out a sound. She slowly widened her eyes.

"You like Taeyeon," she breathed. He turned pale, but he wasn't sure what to say or do. He kept staring at Jieun as if that was all he could do.

"Why... W-Why do you think it's like that?" he asked, turning off the microphone and taking a seat next to her. He leaned closer to her, barely touching her lips. "What makes you think that I like her instead of you?"

"Did you ever date her?" Jieun asked, pushing him away. She was far too interested in Chen's story with Taeyeon. He scowled and looked away.

"No. How could I? I despise her," he declared.

"No way! That song was dedicated to Taeyeon, right?" Jieun asked, grabbing his arm. He continued to avoid her gaze. "Come on! Stop being stubborn! Fess up, when did you like her? I'll help you get hooked up with her--"

"No!" Chen shouted, pushing Jieun away. He glared at her. "You are not going to help me! Taeyeon doesn't need me, and I'll be over this after you introduce me to all the girls I requested."

Jieun pouted. "But why? Take a step forward! We're talking about Taeyeon. It's not like she likes anyone--"

"She's obssessed over BL love than anything else," Chen pointed out. "She doesn't have time for a relationship. She's jumping around and about, trying to find people to ship or something."

"B-B what?" she asked, confused.

"BL. You know, boy's love? Isn't there anyone from your group that she ships?"

"Oh, right. MyungBaek."

"Myung what? You said that earlier at the café, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. We have this lazy guy named Myungsoo, and a grumpy dude named Baekhyun. The two are in the same year, same class, but they don't get along very well since Myungsoo annoys the heck out of Baekhyun," Jieun explained. "Baekhyun hates being shipped, but Myungsoo's going along with it. He's really nice to Taeyeon--"

"He's doing what?" Chen asked, widening his eyes.

"Baekhyun? Baekhyun's not--"

"No, no! The other guy! He's doing what?"

"Myungsoo? He's going along with Taeyeon's fantasy. He's such as passive guy, really. He doesn't mind being shipped or anything unless it actually becomes an obstacle for him--"

"Tell him to stop!" Chen shouted. He grabbed ahold of Jieun's wrist, squeezing her tiny wrist with his large hands. She tried to squirm out of his tight grip, but failed.

"First, let me go! It hurts!" she yelled.

"Doesn't he know that the longer he continues, the crazier Taeyeon gets with her fantasy?"

"So? He's just satisfying her dreams--"

"No, he isn't! Last time I let Taeyeon fantasize about me and this one guy, she went into a three-day coma for having a major nosebleed." Jieun let out a small giggle, causing Chen to glower at her. "It's not funny! I was seriously worried!"

The door suddenly swung open. The two looked at the bright light, where three boys rushed into the room. Daehyun gasped and kept pointing to the odd position Chen and Jieun were in. The snobby boy was on top of her, grabbing ahold of her wrist as if he was pinning her down to the seat. Baekhyun looked over to them, then growled.

"You jerk!" Baekhyun shouted, running over to pull Chen away from Jieun. She gasped and rubbed her sore wrist, but managed to push Baekhyun before he could land a fist on Chen's lovely features.

"I didn't do anything!" Chen protested.

"I found the key, Baekhyun!" Myungsoo exclaimed, holding up a ring of keys. One silver key stood out among the several other keys. "This one is the key to the V.I.P place. I just know it!"

"Myungsoo, this isn't the time!" Daehyun exclaimed frantically. "Baekhyun's getting into a fight!"

"Really? Who's winning?"

"Kim Myungsoo! Get yourself over here and help me stop him!" Jieun screamed, trying her best to intercept Baekhyun and Chen.

"Why can't Daehyun do it--"

"Myungsoo!"

After spending ten minutes of pulling the boys apart and causing a disturbance to the other rooms, the five were all kicked out of the karaoke building, being told to never return. Chen heaved a sigh, then rubbed his forehead with his fingers. He looked over at Jieun who was shooting her bandmates a look of disappointment.

"Okay, I'll make you a new deal," Chen said, walking towards Jieun. Baekhyun stepped forward protectively, but Myungsoo grabbed ahold of his collar. Jieun turned around, then raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of deal?"

"You make that Myungsoo guy of yours to stop going along with the flow, and don't tell anyone about...that," he started, referring to his liking towards Taeyeon. Jieun smirked, causing Chen to become annoyed. "In exchange, you don't have to set me up with ten different girls. Deal?"

"So no Nine Muses?" Myungsoo asked. "We were going to get your Girls' Generation, but we thought that Nine Muses would be the best--"

Daehyun put his hand over Myungsoo's loud mouth. Jieun smiled at him, then turned back to Chen.

"That sounds good, but don't you want our help?" she asked.

"Nope. I don't want to do anything related to you or your band. I don't even want to do anything related to her, too." Chen pulled out a small index card from his pocket. "Here's my number. Feel free to call me if something goes wrong or if you need vocal lessons."

"Don't take it, Jieun!" Daehyun cried out. She ignored him, and swiped away the card.

"Thanks. I'll give you a call later--"

"No need," Chen said, shaking his head. "I already have your number. Taeyeon gave it to me already."

"O-Oh. Then--"

Before she could say anything else, he turned around and gave her a silent wave. Jieun pouted, then looked back at the trio. The boys immediately lined up against each other like army men.

"You guys caused so much trouble for me," Jieun said. Then, she clasped her hand and flashed them a smile. "Though I'm still grateful for that. Thank you!"

A blush crawled upon all of the boys' cheeks, and they only stared at Jieun's charming smile in admiration.

Songs mentioned:

"It's Fortunate" — EXO's Chen