The next morning, MiYeon was awakened by Baekhyun’s message. She groaned when she heard her ringtone. HyoRi wasn’t in her bed when she woke up and then the designer remembered her best friend went out to a fansigning in Myeongdeong. HyoRi did tell her beforehand. She’ll return to the hotel around noon.

Good morning, Yeonnie! Come eat with us! We’ll be waiting outside your hotel! –Baekkie

MiYeon frowned at the message. Knowing Baekhyun, he was surely downstairs along with the other K members. Luckily, M wasn’t around or she punched Luhan in the face since she still hates him. “I hate this,” she muttered before getting up, ruffling her own hair and covering her eyes from the blinding sunlight.

After around an hour, she was applying her make-up. She can’t go around Seoul looking like a mess after all. She has a reputation to keep. She wore a Peter Pan collared dress and black leggings plus her black high heels with a red ribbon at the end.

She hurriedly went down, worrying if they stay longer, HyoRi might come back sooner than expected. “Annyeong,” MiYeon muttered as she bowed at EXO-K. “I missed you, noona,” Jong-in said. “I missed you too,” MiYeon muttered. “Talk louder. We’re here to bring back memories,” Baekhyun commanded. Chanyeol ran to hug her but MiYeon motioned her hand for him to stop. “I am not supposed to be with you so don’t act so friendly with me,” MiYeon told him. “Where’s noona?” Sehun suddenly asked.

MiYeon shook her head. “I won’t tell you,” she said. Baekhyun smirked to himself. “But I will,” he said. MiYeon eyed him. “Don’t dare. How would you even know?” She told him. “I have resources, Yeonnie. Now, let’s go and have breakfast. I know this pancake house that makes delicious pancakes!” Baekhyun said as he lead the way to the van.

MiYeon sat between Joonmyeon and Sehun and it was surely awkward. “How’s it been?” Joonmyeon asked. “Good,” MiYeon answered.

Silence.

“Is HyoRi healthy?” He asked. “Sickly as usual,” MiYeon answered.

Silence.

“Oh here we are! Thanks for driving us, Kyungsoo-yah!” Baekhyun cheered. Chanyeol pulled MiYeon out of the car and forced her to sit between Baekhyun and him. “She’s a writer now, isn’t she?” Kyungsoo asked. “Who?” MiYeon avoided his eyes. “HyoRi-ssi,” Kyungsoo answered with a sentimental smile. “I guess so,” she answered. “She wrote about all twelve of us. I noticed that,” Joonmyeon pointed out. “In fact, she did. Weirdly as it is, she portrayed you all well. Too well,” MiYeon reacted.

“Too well? She’s been with all of us all these years. Of course she can write about us!” Chanyeol said with a smile on his face. “But she always told me she’ll compose music someday,” Sehun muttered. “Noona has better plans for herself of course,” Jong-in told the younger.

Baekhyun pulled out a book from his bag and slid it towards Sehun. The cover of the book had a girl turning her back on a man longing for her to come back. “She wrote that. It’s her latest book,” Baekhyun said. “What’s the Korean title again?” He turned his head to MiYeon with a smile. “Jeoneul saranghaeyo… Jebal (Love me, please),” She answered in an annoyed tone.

“Doesn’t it remind us of this maknae?” Baekhyun teased. “Stop being evil, paboya,” Chanyeol hit Baekhyun’s head. “Even so, it did remind me of Sehun when I read it and at the same time, I remembered HyoRi,” Baekhyun smiled sadly at the memory. “Both of you had an unrequited love and wished for the person you love to love you back, right?” he said. “A common experience when it comes to love,” MiYeon told him.

“Still, the main character acts like Sehun so much and the girl acts so much like HyoRi,” Baekhyun said. Then he opened the book and read a paragraph:

Her eyes twinkled in excitement when she heard the news. “Maybe oppa does love me!” She said in a cheerful tone. “Maybe not,” I and she returned a pout. “He does, I’m sure of it!” She said in a determined spirit. I hated how she gets like this when she talks about hyung. She gets all fired up for nothing. Hyung doesn’t like her. Or is too dense to notice her feelings. “Come on, maknae, you know I have hope! You just don’t want your noona to disappear but I will never leave you!” She cheered with a smile on her face. I wished her smile was mine too.

“You have a point,” Kyungsoo nodded. Sehun looked down. “Where’s noona?” He asked. “Seems like I’ve triggered the maknae,” Baekhyun snickered. “I will never tell you. It’s for the better,” MiYeon said sternly. “How is it for the better, MiYeon? How is hiding that girl we all love for the better of both sides?” Joonmyeon narrowed his eyes. “You will never understand. You can’t find out. She can’t find out,” MiYeon freaked out.

“Find out what? Spill the beans,” Baekhyun said, finally getting to the topic he was waiting for. “I have my right to remain silent,” MiYeon said as she glared at him. “You can’t keep her from us forever, noona. And I think Sehun wants to know what happened to his first love,” Jong-in pleaded. And that was her weakness. She loves her dongsaengs too much.

“Alright,” MiYeon said. “I’ll tell you everything but after this, understand why I don’t want to show you to HyoRi,” she added before taking a deep breath.

By noon, HyoRi wrapped up her fansigning and decided to pick MiYeon up from wherever she is. “MiYeon?” HyoRi said with a tinge of American accent. “What? Why can’t I go there? Hey, are you hiding something, MiYeon? I understand. Okay then. Later,” HyoRi sighed when she hang up.

“Alone…” She said as she drove. “Why does this feel so nostalgic though? This place seems so familiar, as if I had some other memories in this place,” She muttered before parking by a bubble tea shop. “Maybe this might cheer me up,” she whispered to herself.

She went in line but she was kind of confused when she saw the man before her. He was familiar at the same time, completely new to her. She shook her head. Maybe this man was someone she saw in America on the streets. Or maybe he studied in the same school as her.

“Thanks,” Yixing said as he bowed at the cashier and took his cup and the plastic with the other member’s bubble tea. EXO-M was in Korea to practice for their concert and Minseok ordered Yixing to buy those for them. When Yixing turned around, he suddenly bumped into the girl behind him.

“I’m sorry,” he said as he looked at the girl’s face. She was all too familiar. She had the same panda-like eyes. She had the same pale white skin. Her lips were slightly curved up at the ends. But she looked different too. She was wearing a puffy black skirt (he wasn’t sure what it was called), a black and grey coat, black leggings and cute black boots. She was black from head to toe.

Unlike a certain girl Yixing knows.

HyoRi furrowed her eyebrows when Yixing spoke Korean. She tried to remember what it meant. ‘It means I’m sorry right?’ She asked herself. She looked up to Yixing and slightly bowed. “It’s my fault too,” she said in English. Yixing noticed the girl’s difficulty in speaking Korean. Maybe it wasn’t her after all. The girl he knows knew how to twist up words and make them into songs but this one didn’t know the basics of Korean.

“It’s alright,” Yixing managed to say, struggling on the pronunciation of the words. He then went by a nearby table, because he decided to observe the girl he bumped into. It’s not like he grew an interest, it’s more of she was all too familiar and his guts told him it was her. It was the same girl EXO grew up with.

“Chocolate please, extra pearls,” HyoRi told the cashier. Yixing’s head popped up. That was always her order. She always loved pearls. She loved bubble tea and going with Sehun and Luhan to buy it. “Thanks,” HyoRi said as she got her cup and slightly bowed before sitting by a wall with different celebrities’ photos and signatures.

HyoRi played with the straw in her hands, a playful side MiYeon rarely sees since the incident, and finally removed the wrapper and stabbed her straw into the cup. Yixing observed that and remembered how she always did that when they were younger. She would make the straw roll in her hands and sometimes twirl it with her fingers just to show off her skills.

Habits do die hard.

“I wonder where she is,” HyoRI muttered to herself. “The fansigning is done. Maybe I should go to Hanlim, I’ve heard there are a lot of fans of mine there,” she said before sipping the drink. “Yes, I should take a visit. And my old high school… I forgot the name. Maybe I could regain some of my memories…” She had a dazed look in her eyes.

Yixing didn’t hear her but the movement of her lips were readable. He was having questions in his head. His suspicions weren’t confirmed since there wasn’t any concrete evidence she was HyoRi after all. If he told this to the other members, they won’t believe him. He must have proof.

He might need to bring her along.

Yixing took a deep breath and went to her table.

“Miss? Can I talk to you?”

MiYeon looked at the other members. They took her to MIXXO, a famous fashion store in Seoul because TTS advertised it. She didn’t want to be there though. She was a fashion designer and she loves clothes but this place reminds her of HyoRi so much. She loves this shop after all. She went here when she got hurt by Luhan. She went here to cheer her up always.

HyoRi was such a gigantic fan of KPOP.

“Lighten up. We’re here to treat you,” Chanyeol patted MiYeon’s back. “I’d rather not,” she avoided his eyes. Joonmyeon bent his knees a bit to match her gaze. “Yah, we just want to spend time with you. All of those years… You’ve struggled so much too, haven’t you?” he said with a soft smile. “If HyoRi finds out… I don’t,” MiYeon shook her head. “She won’t. We promise,” Baekhyun said, taking a dress out of the lines of clothes.

“If Baekhyun promises, he intends to keep it,” KyungSoo smiled a bit. “I hope so,” MiYeon muttered. Jong-in’s phone suddenly rang and he picked it up. “Who is this?” He asked. “Sorry, I forgot to save your number. Bwo? You’re in Seoul?” Jong-in had a shocked expression on his face. “What do you mean..? Lay-hyung is taking a long time out of the building and he left his phone again? Okay, arasseo. Bye,” Jong-in hang up and hid his phone.

“Yah, hyung, you heard it right, right? Lay-hyung took a detour when he was buying bubble tea for M,” Jong-in said as he looked at Joonmyeon. The leader sighed. “This is why I avoid having Lay on errands. Okay then, let’s go to the bubble tea shop Sehun goes to. It’s just near here,” Joonmyeon said.

MiYeon had a nagging thought in her head.

What if..?

If HyoRi went around Seoul, would it be possible for her to bump into Yixing? It’s impossible but MiYeon had a bad feeling. She knows she can’t hide HyoRi forever from her past.

What’s a best friend got to do?