~ Chapter 27

“What is the next thing on the list?” Suho asked one of their agents. They had previously finished a commitment and had only an hour of some free time before they would head to the next part of their schedule. Most of the guys were busy deciding on what to have for lunch as a way to spend their hour.

“I haven’t eaten there in forever, please?” Lay begged, hoping the other members would just go along with his choice of restaurant.

“Fine,” surrendered Luhan. He’d been equally set on a specific spot, but gave in.

Lay told the driver the way to the restaurant. Everyone in the van had quieted down as they waited to arrive at the restaurant. The peace was actually welcome in the middle of such a busy schedule. They pulled up to the restaurant just a few minutes later and eagerly exited the van.

“Hey,” Kris mumbled at Tao, grabbing the elbow of his jacket as they exited the van.

“What?” Tao replied sharply.

“I need to talk to you later. I’m sorry with how things have been lately. When we get back to the hotel later, we should talk.”

Tao just nodded. He knew that they were going to have to get past the whole situation stemming from their attachment to Amy, and Tao sincerely hoped that Kris was going to back off. Until they had the chance to talk, Tao would remain apprehensive. Kris wasn’t exactly lacking in the stubborn department, but then, neither was Tao.

It hadn’t taken long for everyone to devour their food and get back in the van to depart for the next destination. The manager began to mentally prepare the guys on just what was expected from them and what the routine would be. They had been over these things a hundred times already, but it was always practical to hear it all again.

“But, you’ll be excited to know that we cut a few new tracks for all of you to listen to and give us feedback on. The music is written and there are some initial lyrics as always, but we’ll be leaving the tracks for you in the dorm studio so you can listen to them in a couple of days,” the manager finished explaining.

“When?” Luhan asked.

“You won’t be able to listen to them until you’ve returned to Korea,” the manager answered.

“I get that. When are the tracks being dropped off?”Luhan asked again.

The manager wore a confused look on his face. “I’m sure it will be dropped off sometime today,” he answered.

Luhan snapped his gaze back to Tao who was already a step ahead.

Where are you? Right now?! Tao punched into the messenger and hit send.  Amy would tell him in a manner of minutes. He could only hope that they were out for the day and that he had enough time to warn them.

Tao looked up from his cellphone. As he looked at his fellow members, he realized they all had the same pensive look in their eyes. Everyone was thinking the same thing, and all they could do was wait.

“WHO ARE YOU AND HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?!”

Amy and Paige spun around at the sound of the very angry male voice. Both of them gingerly placed the items in their hands down on the counter and stood as still as they could. One glance at the stranger and both girls knew that they were staring at someone from Exo’s agency.

“How did you get in here?!” the man asked again, angrily.

Paige tried to speak up, completely afraid of the consequences that lay before them. The words evaded her, however, as any explanation would require some back-story. This man looked as though any explanation longer than about five words in length would be too many. While Paige fumbled over a response, the man whipped out a cellphone and mumbled something to what Paige assumed was security.

After he ended the call, he whipped a threatening gaze back to the girls. “I don’t know how you managed to get in here or what you hoped to find. Security is on their way.”

The silent tension could have been cut with a knife. Neither of the girls knew where to start or if either of them should begin to explain. Amy put her hand in her pocket with the intention to text Tao, but when her pocket wound up empty she cursed herself for leaving it upstairs on the charger.

“My phone is upstairs,” Amy murmured, in English, to Paige.

“I know,” Paige replied, knowing full well that the phone was charging. “I have mine, but I don’t have their numbers.”

“I saved Tao’s, but I don’t have it memorized,” Amy quietly whined.

The girls were still frozen in the kitchen, while the man in the main room paced waiting for security. He had dialed at least two other numbers and had quick conversations. The most the girls had heard had to do with Exo’s safety and crazy stalking fans. Paige exhaled, wishing she could explain exactly what had happened.

A moment later, the front door opened an a few security personnel walked into the dorm. The man explained to them what had happened and directed them to where the girls were standing. As they neared, both of the girls began to panic.

“Wait! We didn’t break in! We’ve been staying here!” Paige began, knowing it sounded ridiculous. “Call any of the members, they’ll tell you!”

“Our things are upstairs! Please, let us at least get them!” Amy shrieked as the security officers quickened their steps towards the girls.

“Take them to the office,” the man demanded.

Both of the girls found themselves being walked out the front door by an officer on each side who put them into a waiting car. Inside, they waited for a few minutes before the car pulled away. They noticed the man had come out of the dorm and entered his own vehicle.

Paige pulled her cell phone from her pocket, “are you sure you don’t remember any of Tao’s number?”

“I don’t even know how it begins,” she murmured. Paige tucked the phone back in her pocket. The car finally left the curb with two very frightened girls in the backseat.

“Nothing,” Tao whispered. It seemed that each minute that ticked by had a different member of his group asking if he’d received any reply. They were already halfway through their last commitment of the day and Tao had no opportunities to place a phone call. All he could do was wait for a text reply.

“This is bad,” Sehun murmured.

“Not necessarily. They could just be occupied which means they may not have been caught,” Chen stated, trying to calm nerves. The three of them were off to the side talking while others were being focused on.

“I just wish she’d reply and put my mind at ease,” Tao replied.

“You can call her in another hour. We’ll be headed to the hotel after this,” Chen stated.

“Does anyone have Paige’s number?” Sehun wondered.

“Kai should, right?” Chen assumed.

“I would think so,” Sehun agreed.

“Either him or Luhan,” Chen laughed. He looked towards Kai who was entirely wrapped up in his task at hand. Then he looked at Luhan who was sitting off in another corner with Lay and XiuMin looking completely lost in thought. “Let’s go ask them.”

“Come on! Come on! If we do this one correctly, we’ll be out of here quickly!” one of the managers yelled from across the room. Chen shrugged at Sehun, putting off asking Kai or Luhan until after they were finished for the day. All twelve of them quickly returned to their places with a determined mind frame to do the work perfectly and get home early.

“Do you want to explain how you broke into the dorm?”

“We didn’t break in,” Paige replied. She was talking to the same man who had found them in the dorm, however they were at a huge office building now.

“I caught you rummaging through the dorm. I heard you speaking about looking for something. I don’t know what you were looking for, specifically, but I’m glad I caught you before you found it,” the man stated.

“We were looking for some lunch,” Amy retorted, quietly. She hadn’t actually meant to reply, but she didn’t like the accusations either.

“We’ve been staying there. I know it sounds crazy, but if you call and speak to any of the Exo members, I’m sure they’ll fill you in,” Paige explained.

“Call Kris. Just call Kris,” Amy stated.

Just then, the door opened and another man stepped inside the room. This one, however, looked familiar. Amy recognized him as the manager who had been with the boys at the airport. She in a gasp and waited for him to say something.

The girls waited while the two men exchanged a short conversation before the manager turned towards them. It took him a moment, but recognition flashed across his face a moment later.

“You two?” he pointed while taking in the shock. “I assumed you were back in the United States.”

“No, sir. We’ve been staying at the dorm,” Amy replied.

The manager in his breath, no doubt digesting the millions of possibilities and rumors that could stem from anyone finding out such a thing.

“After we left the hospital, the hotel cancelled our reservations. Kris suggested that we stay in one of the rooms at the dorm until everything was straightened out. We stayed because of the missing luggage,” Amy explained.

“The luggage was returned!” the manager shouted.

“Yes, sir. We were set to leave in four more days,” Paige added.

“You’ll be leaving first thing tomorrow.”

Both of the girls gasped in surprised, but neither of them said anything. They knew there was no arguing with such a decision.

“Our things are still at the dorm,” Amy murmured. She really just wanted her cell phone.

“I will send someone to get your belongings from the dorm. You two are not to leave this office or be seen anywhere near that dorm. You’ll return to America as soon as possible and without anyone else finding out that you’ve been in that dorm.” The manager ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He turned towards the other man, who was still in the room and instructed him to keep an eye on him for now while he dealt with a few things. After the man nodded, the manager walked out of the room.

The girls looked at each other, and then found spots on the floor or walls to stare at. Neither of them could do anything.

“Tao, can we talk now?” Kris asked. He had just knocked on the hotel door to the room that Tao was sharing with Lay and Chen.

“Yes,” Tao replied. The two of them walked to one of the many recreation areas within the hotel. There was no one else there but them.

“Nothing still?” Kris asked.

“No, I called, but there was no response. It went straight to her voicemail,” he said, concerned.

“I’m sure, if they’d been caught, we’d all have heard about it by now.”

“Of course, but the fact that she’s not returning my messages is a little worrisome regardless. What if she’s lost again or something else happened to her and Paige while they were out?”

“Or maybe her battery died again and it’s nothing serious,” Kris suggested. “Tao, this isn’t what I specifically wanted to talk to you about.”

“Okay?”

Kris wasn’t sure how to word things correctly. He knew he was going to come off as a jerk no matter how many different ways he had reworded his explanation. “I have something to give you. I know what you’re going to say once I do. Just, … I made a stupid decision and this should come from you.”

Kris held out a closed fist, indicating that Tao put his hand underneath it. Once Tao’s palm was open, Kris dropped the necklace in his hand and waited for the inevitable reaction.

“Is this… Amy’s?” Tao asked.

Kris nodded.

“You had it?”

Kris nodded.

“For… how…long?” Tao enunciated through clenched teeth. It was the second time he’d seriously considered punching Kris, but he was still able to hold himself back.

“When the luggage was returned, about 5 days ago.”

“You’ve had it for nearly a week?”

“It’s not like I’ve had it since the first day they were here,” Kris reasoned.

“Does it matter? She should have had it the moment it was found!”

“I agree. I’m sorry.”

“I’ll give this back to her, but you’re still apologizing. I’m not doing that for you.”

Kris nodded.

Tao spun back towards the door to the recreation room and made a beeline back to his hotel room. Kris trailed behind him by several steps, intending to return to his own room.

In the corridor that held all of their shared hotel rooms, they could hear one of their managers yelling. Both of them rushed to the outside of Sehun and Suho’s door. Tao stopped just outside while Kris proceeded to reach to the door and knock. The voices quieted down until the door opened and Sehun stood back to let them in. Everyone else was in the room and with Kris and Tao joining, the twelve members returned their gaze to their angry manager.

“And you! You were the one with the whole idea!” the manager pointed at Kris. It hadn’t taken a genius to figure out that the girls had been found out.

The room was filled with accusations of being irresponsible and not thinking about the possibilities of rumors and the destruction of their reputations. Not to mention the accusations of things that could have happened with two girls living with them. All of them were quick to defend against anything suggestive which finally broke them all from a trance of being yelled at like children.

“Having them stay was easier than worrying about them not having a place to stay,” Kris argued.

“You should have told us!”

“Maybe, but we took care of it. They are set to leave in a few more days and that will be the end of it,” Kris continued.

“They leave in the morning,” the manager announced.

Tao erupted out of his seat, “No! They can’t yet!”

Luhan stood and put a hand on Tao’s shoulder to steady him.

“We’ve had their belongings removed from Kai and D.O’s room and they are waiting until we can board them on a morning flight. After that, I want to hear nothing about them having stayed. And this will not happen again.”

The manager stalked from the room, forcefully closing the door behind him.

“She can’t leave yet! I have to give this to her!” Tao exclaimed, clenching the necklace in his hand.

“We can’t do anything. We’re all in a ton of trouble as it is,” Suho stated.

Tao left the group and ran back to his room to grab his cellphone. There had still been no return messages from Amy.

Tao returned to Suho’s room with his phone in hand, looking quite beside himself.

“Tao?” Chen asked.

“There’s still no reply,” he said. “Shouldn’t she be trying to contact me?”

“Kai? Don’t you have Paige’s number?” Chen asked, remembering that he was going to do so earlier.

“No,” Kai answered, confused as to why Chen would assume that he did.

“Are you serious? How do you not have her number when you two are seeing each other?” Chen asked, baffled.

“It never came up.”

“You’re in a different country, she was going to leave in four more days, and you don’t have her number?” even Luhan couldn’t believe that such a simple trade hadn’t occurred.

“I said, it never came up,” Kai bit back.

“Were you going to get it before she left?” Luhan continued.

“Sure.”

“Sure?” a string of curse words mumbled past Luhan’s lips in Chinese. Several members stifled their reactions. “Kai, have you made up your mind yet? Because she’s leaving, now!”

“I have to get back to Korea before they leave,” Tao stated, interrupting the current argument.

“There is no way you’re going to get out of here and on a plane without anyone interfering,” Chen replied.

“Not by myself,” he looked around the room with pleading eyes.

“So, we all go!” Chanyeol’s voice echoed from the back of the room. Everyone turned their gazes around to see the happy virus grinning mischievously.

A/N

It's almost....... almost........ done........

4 more chapters.... ish?