Aelyn sat there, stunned. She swept her fringe away from her face and rubbed her eyes. What just happened?

 

"Omo they do look alike." Chen exclaimed. 

 

Looking past that curtain of a fringe, Sehun's signature piercing eyes were reflected on Aelyn's face. They had the same flawless, milky white skin and small but sharp nose, the only difference was that Sehun had stronger features: harsher brows and a more angular jaw; Aelyn had a slight v-line, and straighter brows, more feminine features naturally, she was a girl after all. 

The fun in the van carried on as per usual, that being karaoke. The lead vocals who usually belted out high notes on stage, hitting them ever so perfectly, mocked their own song by purposely singing off-key like tone-deaf people. The other members laughed and joined in, and they occasionally gave Aelyn warm smiles. They were one cheery bunch.

 

After about 15 minutes, the van pulled over. 

 

"Tipton Service Apartments".  Ah, it must've been where EXO was staying while they were in town. The apartment was relatively new, it was very posh with glass windows and modern architecture. 

 

"Put this on." Sehun mumbled, passing Aelyn a jacket and a cap.

 

Aelyn didn't understand what was going on, but obediently tossed on the apparel. 

 

"Just follow behind me, keep your head down and walk as fast as possible." 

 

With a slide of the van door, the screams of fan girls could be heard. Sasaengs. They whipped out their DSLRs and prepared to snap shots of the EXO members. Aelyn had heard of sasaengs, crazily obsessed fans with warped logic who stalked their idols, and even took drastic measures to harm them with the idea that they would at least have left a deep impression on their idols. It sounded bad, but seeing it before her eyes confirmed the madness of the sasaengs. Through God knows what means, they had managed to find out EXO's residence. There were about 30 of them, which was already bad enough, but that definitely paled in comparison to the number of sasaengs in Korea. 

 

Suho, Xiumin, Luhan and Kris got out of the van first. Chanyeol and Chen went next.

 

"Come on." Sehun beckoned to Aelyn. 

 

Aelyn hesitated.

 

"Don't worry, we've got your back." a distinct, reassuring voice said, its owner none other than Baekhyun, who smiled at Aelyn. Next to him was Kai, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. 

 

Sehun stepped down and Aelyn swiftly hid behind his back, tugging at the back of his shirt. 

 

Baekhyun and Kai followed soon after, and then D.O., Tao and Lay, who all aided in blocking Aelyn, and smuggling her into the building. 

 

It was only when they finally entered the apartment that they all sighed in relief. 

 

"Phew, close shave."

 

"Yeah, my heart was beating so fast I could hear it loud and clear." 

 

"Good job, my friends! Phase II complete." 

 

Aelyn took off the cap and jacket and passed it back to Sehun. 

 

"Welcome to our pad I guess." Sehun said.

 

She looked around. The apartment was huge. It was slightly messy, with luggages and bags strewn all over the place, gaming console, and phone chargers at every available socket. 

 

"Technically it's not, we rented it, but we'll be here till the rest of the month."

 

He sat Aelyn down on the couch. The members all gathered round. 

 

"Ah...I'm sorry we haven't formally introduced ourselves. My name is Suho. Nice to meet you." 

 

"Hyung! We just went to her school three days ago! Who am I?" a guy with puffy eyebags asked, looking at Aelyn eagerly. 

 

"Tao..." she said shyly. 

 

Tao pumped his fist in the air, and seemed like a proud owner who taught his pet dog a new trick. 

 

She then proceeded to name all the members without hesitation, to their amazement. 

 

"What about me?" Baekhyun pointed to himself. 

 

"Baekhyun-ssi...." Aelyn answered meekly. 

 

"Hee, cute." He patted Aelyn on the head again. 

 

"Guys! We've gotta prepare for dinner! Sehun, you're excused for the day. Aelyn, we'll play later okay?" Suho instructed. 

 

The members were reluctant, but eventually listened to Suho, shuffling over to the kitchen. Well, too many cooks spoil the broth, half the members deemed not-so-useful were kicked out of the kitchen, much to their delight. They however, had to do the dishes afterwards. 

 

Sehun brought Aelyn into a room. There were four beds. 

 

"Baekhyun, Kai, Chanyeol, me." he pointed out the beds."

 

We decided to swap roommates." 

 

The room was frankly, a pig sty. Piles of clothes, piles of socks, a slightly impressive but still messy stack of snapbacks, and other knickknacks. 

 

Aelyn didn't know what to do. It was her first time being in a guy's room. She sat on the floor. 

 

"No no get up, just sit on any bed. It's fine." 

 

Aelyn quickly chose Sehun's. It just wasn't right, sitting on random guys' beds. 

 

Sehun chuckled. He sat opposite Aelyn. 

 

"Seyeon-ah. How are you?"