Lee Yunji’s POV

 

“Don’t tell me not to worry about it,” he cut me off, “don’t.”

 

His concern was touching. I think it was right then that I knew that Kris had somewhat a real concern for me and our friendship. He wasn’t wrong. I did feel awkward being surrounded by the eleven other members of EXO and I didn’t like feeling that I was under observation.

 

But I had been having fun, despite my discomfort. It wasn’t that I was incapable of conversing with his friends, I just wasn’t used to them like I was with him.

 

My heart was pounding with an exhilaration I hadn’t experienced before as I sat parallel from Kris. It was the first time I had ever seen this face of his, a face I never knew he was capable of making. At first glance all anyone would be able to see would be anger, but if someone took the time to stay focused for a little while longer they would see how upset the man in front of me really was.

 

“We’re sorry if we upset you Yunji-ssi,” Suho bowed his head, apologizing on behalf of the group. I couldn’t help but think that it must have been these things, like apologizing promptly, that gave him his leadership position.

 

“We weren’t trying to make you uncomfortable,” Lay spoke too.

 

“We all got a little too caught up in the excitement of meeting you,” Xiumin’s head bobbed up and down like a toy as he nodded.  

 

“Please accept our apology,” their voices united unison.

 

My hands furiously waved around in front of me. “You guys don’t need to apologize for anything,” I smiled, “it’s fi-” I stopped. Kris was sending me a ‘don’t you dare say it’s fine’ look.

 

I firmly pressed my lips together and sighed. “Thank you for apologizing,” I mumbled, acting how Kris wanted me to. “I appreciate it.”

 

EXO and I finished our drinks in silence. No more words were exchanged after Kris’ outburst.

 

I wondered what tonight would have been like if EXO hadn’t followed him. Would we have talked for long? Would he have asked for something to eat? Would I have gotten any more work done?

 

It dawned on me, that I had only gotten through half of what I was supposed to finish tonight.

 

Lee Yunji you’re an idiot.

 

When I got Kris’ text asking if he could come over, I was hesitant at first to say yes. I knew he would stop me from working, and I knew that would mean more stress for me. However, I couldn’t deny him what he wanted. The soft spot I was developing for Kris was actually quite a problem, though it was turning into a problem I refused to fix.

 

Really, tonight’s whole mess was my fault. If I had just had enough of a backbone to tell Kris he couldn’t come over, then we both wouldn’t have been in a pickle. His secret of coming over here to buy bubble tea and of our friendship would still be a secret.

 

“Are you okay?” I was nudged gently. I looked up from my empty bubble tea cup to find Chanyeol looking down at me with an encouraging smile.

 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been asked that question so many times in one day,” I chuckled, “yeah, I’m okay. Why?”

 

“Are you always so quiet?”

 

Ahh, you think something’s up because I’m not talking.

 

“She can be really talkative at times,” another voice intruded in on our small conversation. A lovely, rich voice that never failed to possess this distinct accent to it.

 

One of Chanyeol’s eyebrows rose. “I should sneak out with him from now on so that I can get to see that.”

 

“What makes you think I’ll let you tag along?” The irritation in that accented voice pricked.

 

Chanyeol brushed Kris off as if he didn’t hear him and turned back to me. “Should I just come by myself then?” He lowered his voice, playfully wiggling his eyebrows.

 

I giggled at how he seemed so set on coming around here. He was my third idol-husband, but it was more because of how silly he acted rather than his appearance. Hence, the reason why I didn’t get as nervous around him as I did when I was talking to Kris. From what I could tell, there was no difference in terms of how Chanyeol was on and off stage. He truly was a happy person with a bright personality.

 

“Ouch!” I jumped in my seat. I had been kicked from under the table.

 

“Oh my God! Was that you?” The grumpy Kris disappeared in an instant. “I’m so sorry Yunji. That was meant for the creep next to you,” he pointed a finger in the direction of Chanyeol.

 

The table of quiet chatter evaporated into a table of sniggers. All the members of EXO besides Kris looking at each other as if they were sharing an inside joke.

 

I rubbed my shin where Kris had kicked it and winced. Why on earth did he want to kick Chanyeol?

 

“Aish, Hyung I think you’ve really hurt Noona. Look at her face,” I felt Sehun pat my back.

 

Immediately I sat up, not wanting him to feel bad about accidentally hurting me. I knew he would feel guilty seeing me doubling over in pain.

 

As soon as I was sitting up straight, my eyes met his. His forehead was crinkled up with lines as he furrowed his eyebrows. “It’s okay,” I nodded reassuringly.

 

“Ahh, we should probably get going now before someone pops into the dorm to check up on us,” Suho cleared his throat.

 

It was nearly midnight already to my surprise. Everyone started scooting out of the booth, throwing their trash into the bins and fixing their disguises for outside. When it came time for me to stand up, I was met with an outstretched hand.

 

“Do you need help standing?” Kris massaged the back of his neck with his free hand.

 

My jaw went a bit slack with the offer. Was he serious? I stared up at him dumbstruck.

 

He rolled his eyes at my reaction and pulled me up to my feet, steadying me with an arm around my waist as I stumbled. “You were trapping Sehun,” he said, gesturing to the younger male who stepped out of the booth after me.

 

I blushed, both from embarrassment and from the sudden contact with the good looking guy holding me. “Sorry,” I managed to give Sehun a small bow while stuck in Kris’ hold.

 

“It’s okay Noona,” he laughed before gathering up his things.

 

I watched his back retreat for a moment before peeking down at the large, firm hand around my waist. My heart was jumping, and my cheeks were probably scarlet red. But I liked it, the feeling of being held by Kris. Even though I knew it meant nothing close to what it made me feel.

 

Carefully, I lifted my head to look at Kris. His attention was on his band, meaning I could only really see his jaw. His pale skin stretched over his Adams apple nicely, something I hadn’t really taken notice of before. It bobbed up and down in a rather distracting way, making me gulp down.

 

“Enjoying the view?” He whispered, his gaze staying on the members as they finished up. I couldn’t fathom how he could tell I was staring at him.

 

“I-I-I-”

 

“Hmmm?”

 

“I just wanted to tell you that you can let go of me now.”

 

He slowly peered down at me, taking note of his hold on me. “Oh,” he grunted, “sorry,” he released me.

 

I shifted my weight onto my good leg and nodded. “Don’t worry about it,” I folded my arms across my chest, secretly trying to capture the warmth that was now escaping me with the loss of contact. “Thanks for helping me up,” I my lips.

 

“Well…I kicked you. I would be an if I didn’t help the girl I hurt up,” he started, “you’re welcome.”

 

There was always a logical justification for everything Kris ever did.

 

“Thanks for putting up with us tonight Yunji-ssi,” Suho bowed politely, “It was nice meeting you.”

 

“Any time. I enjoyed meeting all of you too,” I bowed back.

 

“Please continue making bubble tea for us,” Sehun popped up by my side, “or at least for me.” He winked.

 

“Don’t listen to him,” Lay laughed, “I’ll be sad if I don’t get to drink anymore of your stuff.”

 

Xiumin nodded in agreement “I think we all would be disappointed if today was the last time we got to drink any.”

 

“You make it the best,” Chanyeol cheesed, giving me two thumbs up.

 

“That’s really sweet of you guys,” I tucked some hair behind my ear, “don’t worry, it’s not like I’ll be stopping any time soon.”

 

“Be prepared for more orders when Kris-ge comes over,” Tao said.

 

“Lots of them,” Baekhyun, Kai, and Chen added in at the same time.

 

“Have a goodnight night Yunji-ssi,” Kyungsoo waved, leading everyone out the door.

 

I waved back and watched as the café was slowly drained of people. Luhan was the last one to exit. With his hand on the door handle, he turned back and frowned. “Aren’t you coming?” The question was directed at the guy standing next to me. Kris hadn’t moved from his spot close to my side.

 

“I’ll catch up with you guys soon. I just want to talk to Yunji for a minute,” Kris replied.

 

With a shrug the door closed behind Luhan, leaving Kris and I alone. I walked over to the counter and grabbed a cloth to clean the booth’s table with.

 

“Are you okay?” I asked him as I wiped the table.

 

“I should be the one asking you that question.”

 

I sighed and turned around to face him. “I’ve been asked that question too many times tonight,” I stated, “I’m fine, thanks. Now answer my question.”

 

“I’m okay,” he answered, “just tired.”

 

“Me too,” I paused, “next time a little bit of warning would be nice.”

 

“That’s what you get for keeping your door unlocked,” he teased.

 

I felt a smile tug at the corners of my lips as I threw the cloth into the trash. “Point taken,” I laughed.

 

“What was keeping you here so late?”

 

I jerked a thumb back in the direction of my office. “A lot of paperwork. Which I didn’t get to finish like I was supposed to,” I gave him a meaningful look.

 

“Sorry about that,” he chuckled, “and again, I’m sorry about your leg. I wasn’t trying to kick you.”

 

“You shouldn’t be trying to kick people in the first place. Why Chanyeol?”

 

“He was being a creep.”

 

“No he wasn’t.”

 

“Maybe you didn’t notice because you two were both so focused on flirting with each other.”

 

My eyes widened at that. “Flirting with each other? We were not flirting.”

 

“Yes, you were.”

 

“No, we weren’t.”

 

“You so were,” Kris insisted.

 

“You’re being ridiculous,” I scoffed, “if Chanyeol and I were flirting, then what you and I do must be something really scandalous.”

 

“What do you mean? We just talk,” he stated.

 

“Exactly. We just talk comfortably, like friends should,” I retorted, “and what Chanyeol and I were doing was that. Simply talking.”

 

“It looked a like a lot more than that,” he refused to listen.

 

“You’re insane,” I flatly said, “why should that bother you anyway?”

 

“I don’t know,” Kris yawned, “it’s just weird. You’re my friend and he’s like a brother, it just seems…wrong.”

 

I shook my head and walked away from the conversation, grabbing my bag from my office. I couldn’t follow Kris’ logic. I was too tired and he was being too confusing. It was hard for me to follow his train of thought, and even harder for me to remember that the way he saw things was different to the way I saw them. He helping me up to him meant nothing, but to me it was gentlemanly. He slipping his arm around my waist tightly made my stomach go mad with butterflies, while he remained immune to any romantic feelings that could arise from the gesture.

 

I needed to continuously remind myself that Kris was just my friend. He said it himself, that he wouldn’t turn into my Prince Charming.

 

It was just getting harder to supress the budding crush for this person I was getting to know.

 

“Stupid Wu Yifan,” I whispered to myself.

 

“What did you say?”

 

I found Kris leaning against the doorframe, not with a playful or grumpy look on his face, but rather an indecipherable one. I hadn’t seen this expression before, and therefore I couldn’t associate it with any emotion in particular.

 

“Stupid Wu Yifan,” I blinked.

 

His eyes flashed with mischief. “Say it again. But drop the first word.”

 

“Why?” I questioned, suspicious.

 

“Just do it.”

 

“Wu Yifan.”

 

“Say it once more. But this time, drop my last name.”

 

I rolled my eyes, but complied. “Yifan.”

 

A smile flowered on his face, beautiful and glowing. “Say it again.”

 

“Y-yah. You said I only had to say it once more,” I stuttered, not understanding why he wanted me to keep on repeating myself.

 

“I lied,” he bluntly shut down my point, “just say it. I swear this is the last time I’ll ask you.”

 

I hesitated.

 

“Please,” he added.

 

“Yifan,” I gave in.

 

His smile didn’t fade, and though I liked seeing it, after a while it was just plain creepy.

 

“Ummm, okay…” I mumbled, slipping strap over my shoulder. I neared the light switch, and taking the hint Kris moved out of the doorway and into the café.

 

I checked that I hadn’t left anything I needed behind and then looked back at my friend. He no longer had his smile painted on his face, but he was staring at me.

 

“What?” I asked.

 

“You should called me that from now on.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You should call me by my real name from now on,” he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.

 

“Really?” I tilted my head to the side.

 

“Really,” he nodded.

 

Calling Kris by his real name wasn’t something I had ever expected to start doing when we originally became friends. I didn’t think I’d ever be given the opportunity to do something like that. It seemed too close to home.

 

“Okay then,” I replied. “We should get going now,” I gestured to the door, “it’s late.”

 

He got to the door first and opened it for me. “Thanks,” I muttered, walking out first. He stepped out after me and let me lock up the place. We were forced to stand close to each other again, in that small area in front of the entrance.

 

“I’ll be going first then,” I said, about to walk away.

 

“I’ll walk you home,” his hand wrapped around my wrist, “it’s late.”

 

I was glad that it was darker outside because I didn’t want him to see me blush for the millionth time that night. I shook my head and gently pulled away from him. “It’s okay. I live close anyway, and it’s not a rough area.”

 

He gave me a look that implied he didn’t believe me. “I can handle myself Kris,” I rolled my eyes, “Goodnight.” I took the first step away.

 

He had my wrist in his grasp again.

 

“Seriously, I’ll be fine-”

 

“It’s not that,” he interrupted me, “you forgot something.”

 

“What did I forget?”

 

“My name,” he answered.

 

A small smile crept onto my lips, making me look down at the ground. It was kind of cute, how he stopped me just because of that.

 

“Goodnight…Yifan.”

 

He released my wrist. “Goodnight Yunji.”

 

That night was the beginning of me really separating the two people that man was; Kris Wu and Wu Yifan.

 

Kris Wu’s POV

 

I wasn’t a native Korean speaker, so I knew my pronunciation wasn’t perfect. I would never be mistaken for an actual Korean person. I was used to seeing the faces people made as they registered that I was a foreigner as soon as I opened my mouth.

 

I really shouldn’t have been surprised with Yunji because of that, but I couldn’t help it. The way she said my name, my real name, was really funny. Not haha-funny, but the kind of funny that you only got when you heard a cute elementary school kid speak. The first time I heard her say it, I thought I must have misheard it. But after the second time, I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from laughing.

 

I really liked the way she said my name far too much.

 

“Yifan,” I chuckled to myself, mimicking her as I opened the door to the dorm.

 

“Welcome back.”

 

As expected, they were waiting for me. I slipped off my shoes and locked the door behind me. All eleven of my bandmates were dressed for bed, occupying the whole living room area. They looked tired, but determined. The TV wasn’t even , which made me wonder what they had been doing while waiting for me all this time.

 

“Hi,” I lifted a hand as I dropped my stuff on the side table.

 

“You have a lot of explaining to do,” Tao flatly said, getting straight to the point.

 

I sighed. “I know,” I dragged myself over to the empty spot next to Suho at the end of one of the couches. The room was dimly lit, they had only bothered to turn on one of the lamps beside the TV. A bowl of cheese popcorn sat in the centre of the coffee table. “Eating still?”

 

“You took your sweet time getting back here,” Sehun sleepy said, “so we resorted to eating for fun.”

 

“Ah, sorry about that,” I laughed it off, “what do you guys want to know?”

 

“Everything,” Kai crunched on some popcorn.

 

Baekhyun facepalmed at Kai’s vague answer. “How did you meet Lee Yunji?”

 

“It was Sehun’s fault that I ever stepped into that place,” I smiled. I told them the whole story, going over exactly how it happened. How she didn’t recognise me, how I insisted that I was who I was, how things panned out after she realized I wasn’t joking around.

 

“This instantly disproves those rumours that claim you’re better looking in real life,” Chen pressed a fist to his mouth, muffling his laughter.

 

“How could she not recognise you?” Suho lightly elbowed me for my attention.

 

“I never actually found out what was up with that,” I scrunched my nose “I’m sure there is some explanation that she just couldn’t be bothered giving me.”

 

I spent the next few minutes explaining how we ended up becoming friends after I bought bubble tea from her several times later. They thought I was crazy, just like her.

 

“You know…the café’s name…when did she open the café exactly?” Kyungsoo struggled to word his question.

 

“She opened it when she was 19, so a few years ago,” I replied.

 

“Oh, so she isn’t actually onto us or the comeback?” He clicked his tongue. “Because it’s called Black Pearls and-”

 

“Yeah, I know. I noticed that when I first dived into the place too,” I laughed. “Biggest coincidence of the century.”

 

“I wonder how she’ll react when we have our comeback,” Lay mused.

 

A little moment of quiet followed. Perhaps my interrogation wasn’t going to be as intense as I had originally thought.

 

“So you two are…just friends?” Chanyeol scooped up a handful of popcorn.

 

“Yeah,” I narrowed my eyes at the derpy-creep, “I thought we established that at the café?”

 

“Just checking,” he pushed one piece into his mouth.

 

“You better not be thinking of doing anything funny,” I warned him.

 

“Is that the sound of a competition I hear?” Kai placed a hand behind an ear.

 

“Why does it matter if he tries anything on her? You said you didn’t like her earlier.”

 

Everyone, including me, looked at Luhan. He hadn’t really spoken too much after he had his fun teasing Yunji.

 

“Earlier?” Xiumin quizzed. “When did he say that Luhan?”

 

“Yeah,” Tao furrowed his eyebrows, “I don’t remember hearing that tonight Lu-ge.”

 

“Kris and I talked about it a few days ago,” was Luhan’s reply to their queries.

 

“Wait,” Lay pasued, “so…you knew?”

 

He shrugged nonchalantly. “I found out about Lee Yunji the day I saved Kris’ phone from Sehun. I saw their texts.”

 

“Oh!” Sehun exclaimed. “That’s why you were so secretive about what you were doing!”

 

“And why you got so worked up over him trying to see what you were doing,” Baekhyun snapped his fingers.

 

“When were you planning on telling us about all of this actually Kris?” Suho questioned.

 

“I wasn’t really planning on telling anyone. No one was meant to find out…” I trailed off. “And to answer your question Lu, I don’t like her. I just don’t want this punk,” I gestured to Chanyeol, “to mess with her.”

 

“Yah. Hyung, you know I wouldn’t do that to a girl,” Chanyeol frowned.

 

“I know you wouldn’t,” I retorted, “you know what I mean. Just stay away from her. Lee Yunji is off limits to all of you, arasso?”

 

There was no need to further question me on that note. It seemed that everyone took what I said about staying away from any romantic antics seriously.

 

“I’m sure you’ve already considered all the risks involved with this…friendship of yours,” Suho ran a hand through his hair, “so I don’t think it will be necessary for any of us to scold you for what you’re doing.”

 

“Don’t listen to him. Guys, feel free to remind our Duizhang of just how much of an idiot he is being,” Luhan smiled.

 

Suho closed his eyes briefly, ignoring my roommate. “Just…always be careful about what you do. Yunji-ssi seems like a nice enough girl, and the fact that she hasn’t leaked anything over the time that you two have known each other is something we can all appreciate,” he turned his head over to look at me head on. “Make sure none of the managers find out,” he gave me a meaningful look.

 

“We’ll all keep your secret a secret Hyung,” Sehun spoke for the group.

 

I nodded once and kicked the carpet. “Thanks guys,” I murmured, “I’m sorry for keeping this from all of you. I didn’t exactly go out searching for new friends or anything like that.”

 

“It’s okay. happens, that’s life,” Lay voiced out his opinion.

 

“Can you get Yunji-noona to make me more bubble tea tomorrow?” Sehun asked.

 

“That’s the real reason why you’re going to keep my secret huh? So you can continue drinking her bubble tea.”

 

“Pretty much. It’s amazing.”

 

“What is so good about it anyway?”

 

“Everything,” the eleven of them answered at once.

 

“What? You haven’t tried any before?” Kyungsoo furrowed his eyebrows.

 

“He never feels like it when he goes over apparently,” Luhan answered for me.

 

“You should try it,” Xiumin pouted, “it’s better than your coke.”

 

I bit my lip, debating over whether I should just try it- break my rules to know what everyone else was talking about.

 

“Maybe next time, right Gege?” Tao winked.

 

 

“What was up with you tonight?”

 

It was just Luhan and I in the bathroom brushing our teeth. I felt that it would be the best time to confront him about the things that had happened earlier.

 

“I just felt like mixing things up a bit,” he spat into the sink, “it’s not like I traumatised the girl.”

 

“You were stirring up trouble.”

 

“I was stirring the trouble that you summoned. And I was genuinely curious about whether I made it onto her husband list.”

 

“Isn’t it enough that you’re paired up with every single member for couple-shippings?” I scoffed with a mouth full of foam.

 

“I’m a greedy man,” he gave me a foamy smile, “you should know that by now.”

 

I shook my head and rinsed my tooth brush, gargling water afterwards.

 

“By the way…”

 

“Yeah?” I spat into the sink.

 

“How on earth is she not your type?”

 

“Huh?” I raised an eyebrow.

 

Luhan wiped his mouth with a tissue. “You said she’s not your type. But she’s…like everyone’s type. I’m pretty sure everyone living in this dorm wouldn’t have minded going out with Yunji before we debuted. She even has that eyes-mile that Chen has been searching for.”

 

“Really?” I hummed. “He’s been looking for that eye-smile for how many years now?”

 

“Just answer the question,” Luhan glared.

 

“She just isn’t-” I stopped myself, “I don’t think I could start liking her,” I corrected myself.

 

I had this feeling that just kept me tongue-tied. I wasn’t so sure anymore. Was Yunji my type? Admittedly, I had always thought that she was attractive. But then again, I thought a lot of girls were in varying ways.

 

And there wasn’t only her appearance to take into consideration. I knew her, this girl. Or at least, I was getting to know her. She had captured my curiosity.

 

To top it all off, I had been feeling especially strange around her lately.

 

I grimaced.

 

“What are you thinking about?” mirrored my expression, not liking the way my face was.

 

I pursed my lips together, more and more thoughts about Yunji flooded into my mind. “Nothing.”

 

---

Writer's Notes:

I bet none of you were expecting me to update again this week huh? ㅋㅋㅋ well I'm happy I did.
So...what's going on with everyone? Where are our chracters heading? I hope you guys are excited as I am ^^
Am I the only one who doesn't really feel like it's Christmas yet? There are only 5 more days to go...
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season full of miracles in December (see what I did there? xD)
Thanks for reading/subscribing/commenting/upvoting/supporting/being my lovely readers <3

Lots of love,
xoxoxo,
HEARTACHES <3