I stood there, frozen.

 

"W-what?" I asked in a small voice.

 

"You are going to debut as a group." Kyung said, smiling at us.

 

There was a moment of silence, until Chaerin broke it.

 

"JEONGMAL!?!?!?!?" She shouted, eyes as wide as plates. Kyung simply nodded, earning a squeal from Chaerin. I put both hands over my mouth.

 

We're going to debut.....

 

..................

 

OH MY GOD, WE'RE GOING TO DEBUT!!!!!!

 

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!!!" Jiwoo exclaimed, hugging Jijoon, who was smiling widely.

 

Hyunae looked over at Kyung as she hugged Sooyun. "So, the six of us are going to be debuting together!?" She exclaimed, tears of joy running down her cheeks.

 

"Nope. The eight of you will be debuting together." This caught our attention.

 

"Eight?" Sooyun questioned.

 

"Yes. Eight." Lee seonsangnim confirmed. "You two can come in now." We all looked to the door to see two girls walk in. I scratched the back of my head in confusion as they stood in front of us.

 

"Annyeonghaseyo, Seo Ha Na imnida!" The girl with short hair said with a bow.

 

"Annyeonghaseyo, Park Suye imnida..." The one with long, dark hair said a bit shyly and bowed.

 

"These two are one of the best trainees we have. We think they would be a great addition to your group." Kyung said as I stared at the two.

 

"Cool! So, how old are you guys?" Sooyun asked curiously.

 

"We're both 16, but I'm younger than she is." Hana said with a smile while Suye just nodded. Hyunae jumped up.

 

"WE HAVE OUR MAKNAE!! AWESOME!!" She cheered while glomping them both. Soon, we all joined, hugging our two new members.

 

"Ahem." We all looked at Kyung. "I'm happy that you all get along well, but we still have some things to discuss."

 

I nodded along with everyone else. "Right."

 

"Anyways, it's been decided that I will be your manager." I smiled widely.

 

"Yay!!!" I inwardly cheered.

 

I was glad about that. Kyung was the one who got me into the entertainment business and now he's become my manager!

 

Yup.

 

I was one happy girl.

 

"We have also selected your group leader. She is the person who has shown the best leadership skills since she became a trainee here." My ears perked up in interest.

 

"Chaerin." Chaerin looked up at Kyung with shock. "You are the leader of this group."

 

She squealed happily. "AWESOME!!!"

 

"Alright, now please take a look at these." Kyung handed each of us a sheet of paper in sheet protecters.

 

"What is this?" I asked.

 

"These are ideas for each of your stage names. Please choose one. If you want to keep your original name, then that's fine."

 

I skimmed through the names and gave it back to Kyung. "It's ok. I'll keep my name." I said.

 

"Same here." Sooyun said, giving him her paper aswell.

 

"Us too!" Hana said with Suye at her side then copied Sooyun.

 

"I'll go by Chaeri!~" Chaerin said with a big smile.

 

Jiwoo bounced happily. "J-Kat....I like it!"

 

"Jihan....sounds simple enough." Jijoon smiled, looking at her paper.

 

"HyunAe...nice!!" Hyunae exclaimed excitedly. "I like how it's spelled!"

 

"Good. Please address each other with these names from now on, arasseo?" We all nodded.

 

"Ok. I want to talk about the name of your group. Here." Kyung handed Chaerin..I mean, Chaeri, a notepad. "It contains some names for your group that you might like."

 

I looked over her shoulder as she went through it.

 

"Gpop, Scarlet, GPlus....." I muttered as she turned the pages.

 

"Hmmm...." Chaeri looked troubled. Kyung raised his eyebrow.

 

"Can't decide?" Chaeri shook her head.

 

"It's just....they don't really seem to fit us. Y'know, as a group..." She said. Kyung had a thoughtful look.

 

"I see....well, what do you think the name should be?" He asked. Chaeri thought about it.

 

"What about GEMS?" They all looked at me.

 

"GEMS...." Chaeri then got a big smile on her face. "Yeah! That could work!"

 

"GEMS!~ I like it!" HyunAe squealed.

 

"Sounds good to me." Jihan smiled as the others cheered.

 

"That's a pretty good name." Lee seonsangnim praised.

 

"Now that everything is set, here are your schedules for tomorrow. I will be picking you all up in the morning. See you till then."

 

(Some time later...)

 

"I still can't believe this..." Jihan said as we all walked together and looked up at the sky .

 

"It happened so fast..." Sooyun said.

 

I nodded.

 

I still couldn't believe it either.

 

I never thought I would actually make it this far.

 

I couldn't even begin to describe how happy I felt.

 

"Tao..." I thought, looking down. "I want to tell him...."

 

"Unnie, are you okay?" I looked up to see Suye staring at me with worry. I smiled at her.

 

"Yeah! I'm fine!" I said energetically.

 

"I bet she's thinking about a guy!~" HyunAe joked.

 

I immediately looked away, feeling my face become hot. She saw this and gasped.

 

"I was right!?" She exclaimed in shock. "Who are you thinking about!?"

 

I said nothing.

 

"MIRI." I glanced up and saw Jihan stare me down. "WHO IS IT?" I gulped.

 

"Uhh...." I played with my hair. "N-no one really..."

 

"Did you finally meet Tao from Exo?" Chaeri questioned, half jokingly. I froze. Chaeri's eyes widened.

 

"YOU DID!?!?! WHEN!?!?" She shouted in complete shock.

 

"Ooh, look! A rock!" I said and pointed to the ground, trying to distract them.

 

I failed miserably...

 

"KYU MI RI, TELL US NOW." They all gathered around me, staring at me. I sighed heavily.

 

"I kinda got stuck in Exo's van the day they came to S.M....and that's where I met him..." I said quietly. "It was...love at first sight for me...."

 

Silence.......

 

.................

 

...............................

 

...................................................

 

"HOW COME I ONLY HEAR OF THIS NOW!?"

 

"YOU GOT STUCK IN THEIR VAN!? YOU LUCKY PANDA!!!"

 

"YOU MET EXO!?!?"

 

"OMO!!! THAT'S SO CUTE!!!"

 

"HAHAHA!!! I FREAKING KNEW IT!!" Chaeri laughed.

 

 I looked at her. "What?"

 

"Remember what I said before? That I knew you would fall for a guy in Exo M? Well, that guy so happened to be Tao. And guess what? I WAS RIGHT!!!" She said smugly and continued to laugh.

 

I frowned at her. "Whatever..." I looked to the side and stopped walking. "My house is down this street. I'll see you guys tomorrow." I waved to them and started walking.

 

Once they were out of sight, I buried my face in my hands in embarrassment.

 

"Gahhh...I can't believe I told them that I like him..." I muttered to myself.

 

As I walked, I noticed a playground a bit further ahead of me. As I got closer, I decided to just hang out there for a bit. I walked over to one of the swings and sat down on it.

 

It was quiet.

 

"I wonder how my life is gonna be from now on.." I thought and swung my feet a little.

 

"Hey." A sudden, yet familiar voice said from behind me. I jumped up, startled and whirled around.

 

My eyes widened.

 

"T-Tao!? Is that you?" I exclaimed in shock.

 

He nodded, removing his sunglasses. He smiled. "It's good to see you again."

 

I stared at him. "Yeah, but what the heck are you doing here!? Aren't you super busy???" I questioned.

 

"I just finished my schedule." He said.

 

"Ok, but that doesn't really answer why you're here." I said.

 

"I just wanted to wander around a little. My group is at a nearby store right now. We're gonna head to our apartment afterwards." Tao explained smoothly.

 

"I see..." I said quietly.

 

"So, what are you doing here?" He looked at me, making me blush a bit.

 

"Nothing really...." I said, looking away.

 

Tao stared at me for a second before taking a seat on one of the swings. I looked at him questioningly when he gestured for me to sit on the other one beside him, but sat down anyways.

 

I was expecting him to say something, but oddly, he didn't.

 

We just sat there in silence.

 

I glanced at him.

 

"....He's so pretty..." I thought, staring at him as he looked at the ground, seeming to be deep in thought.

 

I paused.

 

I just called a guy pretty......

 

......

 

Well, that's a first...

 

I then got an idea.

 

"Let's play a game!" I said suddenly, catching his attention. He raised an eyebrow.

 

"Like what?" I thought about it.

 

"What about 21 questions?" I suggested.

 

"21 questions?" He asked, slightly confused.

 

"It's a game where we both ask each other 21 questions. Now, if you were to ask me a question, then I won't be able to ask you the same thing later and you cannot ask me a question two times in a row. We have to take turns. No matter what the question is, you must answer it. Get it?" I smiled when he nodded slowly.

 

"Ok, I'll start it off!" I turned myself in my swing, so that I was facing him. "What's your favorite color?"

 

"Blue." He answered, facing me aswell. "Um...what's your favorite animal?"

 

"Pandas." I said, making Tao smirk a little. "What?"

 

"Panda is actually my nickname. I got it from my fans." He said, causing me to laugh.

 

"Haha! My friends call me panda too! They said it was because I look like one." I said after calming down. "Anyways, favorite fruit?"

 

"Watermelons." He said. "Hobbies?"

 

"Singing, dancing, and does eating count?" Tao laughed at the last part and just nodded.

 

It went on like this for about 10 minutes until I was at my 19th question.

 

"Hmm..." I thought for a while, trying to come up with a question.

 

My eyes widened a bit when a thought came to my mind.

 

No way!

 

I can't ask him that!!

 

.......

 

...........

 

But, I'm so curious.........

 

...Gah.......

 

"What....type of girl do you like?" I asked quietly, looking down at my hands in my lap.

 

I shut my eyes and bit my lip when I heard nothing.

 

"Was...that too forward?" I thought to myself worriedly.

 

"Nice, funny, pretty...." My eyes snapped open in surprise when I heard Tao speak and I looked at him as he continued. "kind, adorable, and warm-hearted."

 

My heart skipped a beat when he looked at me in the eyes.

 

"What type of guy do you like?" He asked, surprising me.

 

"Wait, didn't I just ask you the same question?" I asked him, narrowing my eyes.

 

He smirked. "No. You asked what type of girl I like. Not guy."

 

I frowned at him.

This smart panda....

 

"Strong, nice, sweet, and romantic." I answered.

 

He had a thoughtful look. "I see."

 

"Sooo, when's your birthday?" I asked, trying to get rid of the awkwardness.

 

"May 2nd, 1993." He answered smoothly. "Any siblings?"

 

I nodded. "I actually have a twin brother."

 

He looked surprised. "You have a twin? What's his name?"

 

I laughed. "Can't ask me two questions in a row!~" I sang.

 

Tao pouted, making me inwardly squeal.

 

"And for my last question!" I looked at him straight in the eyes. "Are you having fun?"

 

Tao paused.

 

He then smiled at me. "Yes."

 

"Good!" I grinned at him. "Now, what's your last question?"

 

He sat there, looking like he was deep in thought.

 

"Have you ever been in love?" That caught me off guard.

 

I looked down, avoiding his eyes. "......No...." Well, until I met you....

 

I glanced at Tao, wanting to see his reaction.

 

He looked like he was staring off into space. I raised an eyebrow at that.

 

What's he thinking?

 

"I better get going." He said suddenly and stood up. "Everyone is probably looking for me."

 

I stood up aswell. "Yeah...I had a good time with you, Tao." I smiled at him. He stared at me.

 

"I had a good time with you too." He smiled back.

 

A sudden cold breeze blew, making me hug myself for warmth.

 

I knew I should've brought a jacket with me today....

 

"Well, I'll see you next time." I said, starting to walk away. A strong hand suddenly grabbed my wrist gently, causing me to turn around in surprise.

 

"Wait. Wear this." Tao took off his black, pullover hoodie.

 

My eyes widened. "Uh, no! It's fine! You don't have to!" He shook his head.

 

"I'd feel bad if I don't do this." He said and made me face him. He then put the jacket over my head. I heard him laugh when my head got stuck in the hole then pulled it over me.

 

"Not funny." I pouted, my hair all messed up.

 

He chuckled. "Sure it is." I almost jumped in surprise when he started fixing my hair for me.

 

I looked up at him as he focused on my hair.

 

"....You're so tall." I muttered. He looked down at me.

 

"You're short." Tao said, laughing a bit.

 

I frowned. "I'm tall!!" I huffed.

 

He just laughed. "Uhuh."

 

When Tao finished, he stepped back. He looked me over before laughing.

 

"What???" I asked, confused.

 

"Nothing...it just looks so big on you..." He chuckled.

 

He was right.

 

The hem of the jacket reached a little above my knees and the sleeves covered my hands.

 

.....But, it was warm and...

 

I liked it...

 

"Thanks..." I said, blushing a little. "I promise I'll give it back whenever I see you again."

 

Tao nodded. "I better go."

 

We walked together to the sidewalk and went opposite ways.

 

Wait a second....

 

WASN'T I GONNA TELL HIM ABOUT MY.....

 

"TAO!!!!!!!!!" I called him as he walked away.

 

He stopped walking and turned around.

 

"I FORGOT TO TELL YOU THAT I'M GOING TO DEBUT!!!!" I shouted to him.

 

He stood there and smiled widely at me.

 

"FIGHTING!!" He shouted back, making a fist.

 

I grinned at him then ran off, my heart pounding.

 

I really love him.