It was something that initially rose out of a need for security. For Jongdae who'd never been away from home, being packed off to another country, with five other boys was very close to his worst nightmare. Not being able to speak the language just made the situation even better.... in being worse. So somewhere in between the schedules and walking in the airports through a sea of rabid fans, Jongdae started clinging onto his hyung.

To anyone, Minseok might seem the childish one, however, five minutes into any conversation with him, his caring, kind self emerged. It was this side that led Chen to seek his hyung when he was the least comfortable. Hooking his arm into the older male's, clinging onto his hands, glad for the contact, Chen took to the habit of walking through crowds almost stuck to Xiumin. Though, because of their heights it seemed that Xiumin was the one in need for protection, but everyone in Exo knew that it was just the other way around.

Walking through the crowd, in a foreign country, through a crowd of foreign people, chanting for in words, words he was not sure was meant to praise or hurt him. In that, to be at Xiumn's side, knowing that the older would not let go, made him feel at home. At times Chen wondered if that sentiment made him sound like a love stricken girl, but he really couldn't argue, he needed his Hyung and if it made him sound a little... well, gay, then you could shoot him for all he cared, because it was still the truth.

Somewhere down the line, Minseok, with his sensitivity, realised that he was needed by the younger. That, the younger needed him to be his security blanket. Somewhere down the line, he added Jongdae's Bodygaurd, to his mental list of roles. He ensured that the younger was beside him during interviews, at the airport, on the streets..... not that he needed to, Chen stuck to him like a baby koala.

Eventually, the need for security turned into a need for comfort, on both sides. It wasn't very surprising. The two Koreans were bound to drift together because of their common nationality in a foreign nation. It wasn't very hard either, what with all the clinging Chen did, all the time they spent studying Chinese, and all the time they spent on stage, with the translator behind them, and Chen and Xiumin, always Jongdae and Minseok hyung, to each other, became used to the fact that wherever one was the other would never be too far behind.

It wasn't very hard to notice that the two boys gravitated towards each other, airport or stage. It wasn't very hard to see that Jongdae repaid his hyung by taking care of the older when he himself was unable to. It wasn't very surprising to see him lead his hyung through the airports, while they were blocked by fans, or wrap his hying in a back hug, with a towel, when the older fell into a pool on a show, or crack the world's lamest joked that made his hyujng look like a happy baozi. On Minseok' part, he was grateful for his dongsaeng's care. Not that he wasn't a one hundred percent sure that the other members would not help him, that he knew they would, but he was more than happy to realise that Jongdae cared for him as much as he cared for Jongdae, blissfully unaware when the need for security and comfort, on Jongdae's part, had turned into a sort of compulsion. Jongdae himself did not realise this until he was no longer in possession of the liberty of contact.

It had been an epic argument. An argument that the four Chinese members of Exo-M watched from the sidelines. Tao, because he really had no idea of what was being said, Lay, because he kept spacing out, and Luhan and Kris because they had never seen sweet and kind Baozi look so infuriated. It probably wasn't all of Chen's doing. Sure, he had cracked some pretty bad and lame baozi jokes (so lame, that Luhan would later remark that the jokes couldn't even stand with the help of crutches).... Still it was mostly because Xuimin had been on too many shows and experienced (suffered, to his mind) several Baozi jokes and had really felt the need to retaliate. For something, that would have usually involved Jongdae cracking baozi jokes, Minseok puffing his cheeks with air in irritation, Jongdae pinching his puffed cheeks and hence restoring the normal order of things, it became a bad case of wrong-place-wrong-time with Jongdae cracking baozi jokes, Minseok snapping in anger and then everything spiralling downwards from there on. There had been raised voices (raised enough for Tao to wonder if their group mates in Seoul could her them). Neither had backed down, yelling and shouting every possible fault of the other, until Kris had snapped out of his initial shock and returned to his usual, Duizhang, self, ordering the two to their rooms, which they complied to... after yelling at each other's turned backs.

So, for lack of schedules, interviews or airport runs, Jongdae hadn't spoken to (save the occasional "pass the pepper" or "please move"), laughed with, or, and most importantly, hugged his hyung in two days. On the third, he was on his bed, curled into a ball in a corner, occasionally whining about the uselessness of the world.

"Chen-Chen?" Jongdae knew it was Luhan that poked his head through the door and sat at the end of the bed. "Chennie?" He peeked through his blanket and pillow cocoon (no! It was certainly not a baozi substitute) at the older, doe-eyed male. For a moment Luhan felt like he was looking at a kicked puppy. He patted Chen's head and said, "does your heart hurt Chennie?"

Chen bolted up in bed, flustered and irritated. "Wha-?! What?!? Gege! Seriously!" From the other bed in the room, Kris' heavy laugh filled the air, joined by Luhan's softer one.

"Baby don't cry tonight~!" Half-sang Luhan, and added a wink at the end. Kris was still chortling from his bed and then added, in his rapper's voice,

"My heart be breakin'."

Chen pounded on the bed, like a petulant child, "you guys are so mean! I'm telling Min-" and then he realised that he'd been caught out. Loud laughter exploded in the room and Luhan wiped fake tears from his eyes, while Kris said,

"You've spent the last two days looking like you've been dumped, bro."

"And you're acting like you're hung up over Minnie gege so don't argue with us. Go make up or whatever." Sighed Luhan. Chen opened his mouth twice, like a fish and then closed them both times without saying anything. Kris cleared his throat and Chen realised the Duizhang was standing over his bed with a look that made the members respect him and girls (and Tao) gush all over the place.

"Chen, whatever it is that you need to do, do it. I'm sick of seeing a kicked pup on the other side of the room."

"I can almost feel an aura of negativity from this room every time I pass by," added Luhan, with a solemn nod. Chen dived back into his cocoon (no, it was still not a baozi substitute) and shook his head violently.

Kris looked at Luhan, and in a moment of superb understanding, the leader and the little deer grabbed Chen's arms and legs respectively and hoisted him into the air between them. This was met by a loud yelp of sheer horror and and angry shout of, "what the hell are you doing?" from Chen as he attempted to kick and struggle, to no avail.

"What I should have done two days ago," remarked Kris, through gritted teeth as he attempted to drag Chen out his door and towards Luhan's shared room.

Xiumin had been pouring over his Chinese all morning, with Lay for company, only to be interrupted by a horrified yelp, followed by indistinguishable angry shouts.

"What is that...?" He asked Lay, who looked at him with equally confused eyes and replied,

"Maybe they're murdering someone...?"

"It sounds like Jongdae..." began Xiumin, though he didn't have to wonder for long.

The door to the room flew open and the strange posse of three entered, Chen slung, uncerimoniously, between Luhan and Kris as if on an invisible hammock, still kicking and screaming, which he stopped as soon as he saw Xiumin gaping, wide eyed, at him. Lay covered his mouth with a notebook.

"This, I believe, belongs to you, gege," said Kris, stepping to Xiumin, with Luhan, Chen still in the air between them, as Xiumin looked at them in utter confusion. Lay rose.

"I'm going to get coffee, do you want some gege?" Xiumin shook his head mutely as he looked at Chen, who tried, and failed miserably, to look dignified. Tao poked his head through the door, hoping to catch some of the action, but was pushed outside by Lay, on his way out.

"I think you broke him," said Luhan with a smile that made Chen shiver, "I'll leave the fixing to you." With that ominous note, the two boys dropped Chen onto the floor, at Xiumin's feet, where he curled up into a petulant ball, and walked out.

For a while Jongdae didn't know how to begin a conversation with his hyung. Yes Minseok would always be his hyung. Gege to the others but hyung only to him. It would be an understatement to say that he was shocked when Minseok's voice, next to his ears, asked, "Jongdae.... gaenchana?" He started violently out of his self made ball. Minseok had joined him on the floor.

He looked up in a way that made Minseok see him in the same way that Kris had earlier- a kicked pup. Jongdae looked somewhere between his hyung's feet and the floor and whispered, "Hyung.... I missed you..."

Minseok raised an eyebrow and asked,

"Exactly how did you? I live next door- literally!"

"I erm....." Jongdae did not know how to go on as the older looked at him in confusion. There was a beep that distracted their attentions. Minseok looked at his phone.

"It's from Luhan...?" Warning signals rang in Jongdae's head.

"Hyung!! Andwae!! Don't read it!" But Minseok had already begun to read.

"...ask Chennie if his heart still hurts..?" He looked at his dongsaeng in utter confusion. "Did you breakup with someone? Three days and you get a girl- and break up with her too!"

"What-? Hyung no! There is no girl. Just forget it!" Jongdae started walking towards the door.

"Jongdae-ah. Khajima..." Minseok sat on the bed with pursed lips. "Don't you think maybe we should talk about what happened?"

"What happened!?" Jongdae turned around, the pent-up rage and frustration bubbling up inside him, almost as if someone had a switch. "You want to talk now?! Where were you two days ago?!"

"Are you kidding me!" Minseok threw his arms in the air. "Each time I tried to get near you, you'd say 'move out of my way please' or 'pass the salt'- even if we weren't at the table!- and you looked like you'd been er-punched, so I thought you had other things to deal with!" Jongdae's switch had suddenly been turned off. He hung his head.

"Mi-mianhae hyung...." He took a few hesitant steps closer. "Can I hug you?" Minseok raised an eyebrow but rose and put his arms around the younger, yet taller male. It was then that Jongdae started crying. Of cousre it wasn't all of Minseok's fault. Sure, he had hugged the younger after a good forty-eight hours but Jongdae was mostly homesick, tired and frustrated with his lack of Chinese skills. "I hate us not being friends.." Minseok kept quiet and patted his dongsaeng's back. "I feel so lost and alone here... at least you remind me of home.... oh lord! I sound like a freaking girl!" Minseok started laughing.

"No, you sound mostly like Tao."

"Oh holy Lord! I sound like Tao!? That's worse!" Jongdae was still sniffing, but his tears had reduced. But before he had so much as a chance to say another word, the door flew open.

"Hey! I heard that! Not cool bro!" Yelled Tao, but the effect was somewhat destroyed by his wide grin. Behind him, Luhan and Kris were smirking, obviously having been evesdropping, while Lay clutched two mugs, looking very sheepish.

"So no hearts be breakin' tonight and no babies be crying either?" Luhan winked at Chen, who narrowed his eyes and hissed,

"Hyung, get a car, we need to run over a deer." Xiumin laughed and flashed a grateful smile at the others before pushing Chen out of the door.

"Come on, let's get you some ice cream, before you get arrested for animal cruelty towards the deer."

"Animal cruel-?! That deer was cruel to me!" Minseok laughed as they stepped into the chill air of the night. "Besides, I'm not a kid, I want a cappuccino."

"Fine, but you sure do act like one." Jongdae puffed his cheeks out.

"You look like one."

"Your comebacks are getting worse Dae-ah." Jongdae flashed a grin that could only be termed as Jongdae-like to Minseok's mind.

Only when it comes to you hyung.