‘‘BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEE-  *CLACK *’’

You whacked your alarm clock as hard as you could.

 It was still dark outside as you pulled the duvet off you and turned your phone on to check the time. It was 5am, uhhhhhhhhhhh.

Slowly, you stretched hard to try and wake yourself up, but it didn’t help. Your phone immediately buzzed with a trillion messages about the day’s schedule. It was going to be super busy and super long. You couldn’t even be bothered to get nervous or excited for the day while you pulled a hoodie over your pyjama top and slid into your flip flops, shuffling out of your little room with heavy lids.

Why would you be excited for the day?

Because it was the boys’ first live Inkigayo performance.

Today would be the start of their official promotions as Exo-K, it was a wonderful thing but…but it was 5am.

The managers had messaged you, telling you to make sure the boys were up and ready to get into their van that would be parked outside at 6:00 on the dot.

Why so early? The boys would have to do stage checks and mic checks as well as a quick rehearsal on stage, backstage interviews and of course get all made up.

It was a while since you had seen them done up, it would be a nice change seeing as you had to watch them constantly looking shabby around the dorms the past few days. But could you blame them? They were out and in like clockwork from SM, practicing nonstop for this big moment. Their appearance was the last thing on their minds.

You knocked softly before opening Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s room as it was right next to yours.

‘Guys wake up, you have to - *yawn* - you have to get ready, we need to go in an hour.’ You mumbled half-arsedly.

You heard someone fumble in the darkness, but no-one stirred.

‘Guyssss.’ You knew it would annoy them but-

*click*

‘AHHHHHHHHHHHHH.’

You switched the bedroom light on which instantly provoked moans from Baekhyun. Chanyeol could hardly sit up otherwise his head would hit the underside of Baekhyun’s bunk, so he slid his feet off the bed and narrowly hung his head over his lap. His rugged bed-head made him look so much younger.

‘Aish.’ Baekhyun grumbled sitting up. He genuinely looked like a new born puppy, his eyes were so tiny while he squinted due to the harsh light.

‘Chin-cha.’ Baekhyun grumbled.

‘I thought you’d like the brightness, Mr Power of light.’ You tried to make a joke but it was just too early, neither of the boys laughed while they rubbed their faces in their hands. You shrugged your shoulders and walked to the next room –

‘Kyunggie, Jongin-ah. Wake u- oh you’re awake?’ You felt a bit more awake yourself while you stood up straighter, confused at how Kyunngsoo was already folding his duvet and Jongin…well Jongin was lounging on the bed, face pressed down onto his pillow.

‘Yeah you said be up for 5.’ Kyungsoo replied with swollen eyes and pouty lips. His black hair lay flat like a bowl cut around his head.

‘Mm yeah I did. Ok, I wish everyone was as efficient as you.’ You said walking to the next room.

Now you felt a bit more awake, you opened the door and entered Sehun and Junmyeon’s room. You had never actually entered it before, and you realised why no one ever visited their room. It was an absolute mess. Clothes were piled up on the floor in mountains and valleys. You suspected it to be Sehun’s mess seeing as Junmyeon couldn’t possibly be this untidy.

 ‘Sehun-ah, Junmyeon, wake upppppppp, you’ve got an hour to get up and get out, come on.’ Neither the boys moved for a few moments in their beds. You couldn’t help but notice before he stirred; Junmyeon had a six pack.

God knows where he got it when the most ab exercises this guy did was getting up and out of bed. But there it was, slightly on show since you hadn’t turned the light on, the small bit of light from the corridor traced the pits and valleys of Junmyeon’s abdominal muscles. His shirt had lifted slightly in his sleep hence why you could see, the duvet had been pushed to the side which gave you further room to view his physique in a way you hadn’t noticed before. You stood without blinking for a few seconds before realising you were a professional and you had a job to do (and Junmyeon had sat up so you had to avert your eyes super quickly before he noticed you were staring).

‘Um, morning Junmyeon’ you quickly switched the light on. Junmyeon squinted due to the brightness, combing his fingers through his hair and ruffling it.

‘Morning _____-ah.’ He replied blinking slowly, almost in a daze.

Sehun sat up rubbing his eyes. His Mickey Mouse pyjama top definitely reminded you that he was the maknae.  

‘I’ll make breakfast and then we’re off.’ You said walking out so no one would notice your reddening cheeks…

============================

The boys made it in relatively good time and you got to the studio in good time too. Immediately they got on stage before being done up and rehearsed their choreography so the camera men had a good idea of where and who to record. The boys didn’t sing though so as to save their voices. You didn’t really have time to talk as much as you would’ve liked as you had to run around, following manager Yuna and manager Kim’s orders while seeing to whatever the boys would’ve needed.

You saw the boys standing around backstage for a few moments before they’d ultimately have to go and get ready in their costumes. Kyungsoo stood by Junmyeon, memorising lines. You had never seen that expression on Kyungsoo’s face before…it was worry.

‘Guys, how’s it going?’ You asked rushing over to them with a clipboard.

‘Ok.’ Baekhyun said sighing while Chanyeol watched Jongin practice the choreography one more time, he practiced the moves in a slower pace than Jongin, trying hard to mimic the boy’s moves. Your eyes lingered on Jongin dancing for a few moments before you asked Chanyeol why he was watching;

‘Aish…I’m a bit of a black hole when it comes to dancing, my legs just won’t move the way I want them to, Jongin-ah is the best dancer so I always look at him when we dance but…but it’s never the same, ahhhhhhhhhhhh.’ Chanyeol grumbled, closing his eyes tightly and slapping his forehead.

‘Well at least you’ve got that voice to make up for it.’ You mumbled, realising you were thinking out loud. Chanyeol’s low and husky voice made up for pretty much any fault he had in your opinion. Even the way he grumbled and moaned was music to your ears.

‘What?’ Chanyeol asked, pretending he hadn’t heard what you said so you would say it again.

‘Nothing, you’ll be fine.’ You said quickly before slapping him on the arm and moving on to Sehun who kept quiet, staring into space while he ruffled his bangs and his lips absent mindedly.

‘Sehun-ah how are you feeling?’ You asked making small talk.

‘Ok but…but do you think they’ll notice my lisp?’ He asked out of the blue. The question nearly knocked you sideways.

‘Wha- no – I mean, why are you worrying about your lisp??’ You asked shocked by Sehun’s mentioning of it.

Yes he had a lisp but, you were so used to it, you never even heard it when he spoke.

‘Manager Kwon said my lisp made me sound like a 6-year old and that I’d have to go to speech therapy to get rid of it if it continues…’ Sehun mumbled in no more than a whisper, he looked down at the floor without blinking.

‘WELL HES A-‘ You stopped yourself from yelling, remembering you were out in public and you didn’t want people to stare.

‘…Well he’s a and he’s wrong.’ You hissed, leaning in closer to Sehun.

‘Believe me when I say the girls will fall for it instantly the moment you speak.’ You added, nodding your head approvingly.

‘No they won’t…will they?’ Sehun shook his head slowly before fumbling with his t-shirt.

‘Ha – trust me on that one.’ You laughed slightly.

‘Do you like it?’ Sehun asked quizickly, but it caught you off guard;

‘Um – well I don’t even hear it any more I’m so used to it, it’s not even that obvious in the first place. Besides, I think it’s just one of those wonderful, special things that make you…well…you! It makes you different than the others…So yeah, I love the sound of it.’ You smiled almost too merrily, trying to encourage Sehun who pouted his lips only slightly, as if trying to stop himself from smiling while he nodded.

‘You’ll do perfect.’ You encouraged before moving on to see Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo hardly looked up while his lips continued to move, memorising whatever was written on the sheet of paper.

‘Orchestral harmonics…orchestral harmonics…’ Kyungsoo mumbled to himself. You were going to say something, but it was probably best to leave Kyungsoo to memorise his lines for the interview they were to have soon. You’d pep talk him after, for the performance.

‘Ah guys I got to go.’ You mumbled checking down at your ringing phone.

They were so nervous of course before you had to leave them.

‘You’ll be back before we go on right?’ Junmyeon asked before you walked off to follow the sound-check guy. Concern and fear was evident in his eyes.

‘Mm yeah of course I’ll come and see you, good luck.’ You gave a thumbs-up before disappearing down the corridor, leaving the 6 of them.

========================

After nearly an hour of random management work, Manager Kim finally ordered you to collect the boys; ‘Ok time is nearly up, go bring them down now, they’re on in half an hour. We need to tape their mics up.’

‘Sure.’ You replied walking to the changing rooms, making your way to the sign that said ‘Exo K.’

"Ok! Guys I've been told I have to bring you dow-"....you weren't prepared for it. You should’ve since you’d seen it before and you knew it was coming. But you were just so used to seeing these boys looking normal, with hair straight as rulers, constantly in the same hoodies and pyjamas, which to be honest definitely contributed to the feeling that you were on their level. You knew you’d have to just get over it, get over seeing them so flashy and so…above your level seeing as it would be the norm soon enough.

Besides, it was moments like these where you walked in and realised just why, why there were screaming girls waiting for them outside......
Uhhh how could these knuckleheads look so...so...
They were dressed upscale even if it was weird - it went with their mama super power concept (which was weird in itself to be honest but hey, you weren’t a part of the production team). Regardless, they pulled it off. Of course they did, their thin frames made any clothes look good.

None of them noticed your evident stare as they were all too busy being anxious. Junmyeon sat still in a chair while his hair got done, eyes fixed on himself while he repeated the lines to his interview. Jongin stood facing the wall, moving along to the beat in his head, constantly practicing his moves over and over again.

Your expression eased up a little. You bit the inside of your cheek. Just as nervous for them as you always were for their big events but…but it was so nice seeing them like this. It reminded you that they weren’t just a bunch of fools but, but hard working boys who had really gone through years of pain to get to this stage, and they were still working hard for their big moment. It wasn’t offered on a plate, they had to fight, and it would get harder from here on out. But neither of you knew that just yet…

‘Guys we have to go soon, oh wait, where’s Baekhyun?’ You asked noticing there were only 5 boys in the room.

"Yeah Baekhyun's not out yet." Chanyeol said correcting his top and fidgeting with his gloves.
"Wha, why not?" You asked confused.

"His jeans were too tight around his thighs." A Noona said before combing a stern-looking Kyungsoo’s hair delicately one more time.

‘Ok I see.’ You squinted thinking it was a bit TMI, you didn’t need to know what Baekhyun’s thighs were up to-
"-Oh." Breathed, taking a step back. Baekhyun had popped out of nowhere, almost bumping into you in the process while you were in deep thought. He caught your wrists and pulled you forward slightly to keep you balanced before letting go so the makeup artists wouldn’t notice the contact.   
You didn’t even notice, you were still distracted;
Was this even him? 
When was the last time you saw Baekhyun in eyeliner?
His eyes looked...they just made his face. You didn’t need to look anywhere else they encaptured you so much. You remembered this same feeling the time you saw their Mama MV for the first time. You weren't allowed to go see the filming so you had to watch the released video. You remembered this slight feeling of utter bewilderment seeing Baekhyun’s eyes...

"______-ah, hello? What are you staring at?" Baekhyun snapped you out of it. You immediately felt yourself turn red upon standing there looking like a lemon.

"Nothing, nothing at all, just. Nothing..." you pursed your lips together and refused to look him in the eye, feeling a slight panic that if he caught on. But Baekhyun was too nervous to notice your fluster.

"Is my hair ok?" He asked in all seriousness. 
"Uh yep, sure." You replied looking away quickly.

"Aigoo I could actually really use your water right now cuz my throats getting dry-" He added standing back and sliding his delicate fingers down his neck. His brown hair almost looked wind-swept, you couldn’t help but look away quick.
You immediately pulled out a bottle from your side bag and handed it to Baekhyun.

"I always come prepared." You smiled tapping him on the shoulder.

"Woah thanks." He replied, guzzling the water down.
"Don’t drink water otherwise you’ll pee yourself while were dancing." Chanyeol joked as he sat down on another chair nervously.

‘Jongin do you want water?’ You asked as he had taken a few seconds break from dancing.

‘No thanks.’ He shook his head, hardly looking at you as he got back to it; Jongin continued to move his body, practicing the dance moves to Mama solidly in his head. He had to be on point for the rest of the team seeing as he was the main dancer. You loved the way his vest was covered in layers of thread-like string that shook and swayed in time with his torso movements. His skin was only slightly darker than the rest, but it was one of his biggest assets, you remembered watching the boys practice their dance moves and seeing Jongin’s arms glisten with sweat while he danced was always a pleasant sight to see. You quickly looked away before anyone noticed, meeting Kyungsoo's knowing face that was too nervous to care at the moment.

"Kyungsoo chill, you’ll do fine, just say the few lines without too much thought otherwise you will muck it up.  Being relaxed is the best thing you could be in this situation. But a little bit of nerves is good too." You said giving him a thumbs up. He tried to smile, but the thought of speaking in public didn't help. 

"Baekhyun, water, my voice is dry too." He ordered while Baekhyun handed him the bottle obediently, not wanting to mess with Kyungsoo today.

 ‘Oh yeah I got to take pics by Polaroid for some fan giveaway event.’ You remembered Manager Kim had ordered you to take some photos to tease the fans to buy more albums.

You immediately took photos of the boys completely off guard while the Noona’s worked on them.

‘Aish no don’t take a picture while I’m – yah!’ Sehun said acting all stiff the moment you started taking photos of him while he got his bangs combed again.

‘I thought natural, caught off-guard poses would be better.’ You said smugly, knowing this would fluster Sehun further.

‘Aigoo, they need to do poses that captures girl’s hearts _____-shi, do ‘V’ poses and heart poses.’ The Noona who was fixing Chanyeol’s gloves ordered knowingly.

‘Yeah Aegyo, girls love it when boys do aegyo.’ The other Noona added. You couldn’t help but cringe at the thought – were Korean girls really into all that? But what was probably more epic were the boys’ responses. Of course the Noonas wouldn’t be able to tell, but you knew these guys and they all looked so uncomfortable at the idea of being cute.

So of course you now had to make the