----- Chapter Seventeen -----

                Dara sat down on her seat in her shared dressing room with Shin Hye. One look and you could tell she’s uneasy, and a little too nervous. She tried to calm herself down by making herself busy with her phone, yet she failed. The constant tapping of her feet echoed throughout the room, making Shin Hye finally talk her out.

                “Yah, Dara-ssi are you okay?” Shin Hye gave off a concerned look.

                Dara jumped out a little in surprise, which got her quite embarrassed. She hesistantly turned to her fellow artist before she gave her a nervous smile.

                “Yes, I-I am okay…” She stuttered, but seeing the suspecting look of Shin Hye, she sighed defeatedly. “…just a little nervous.”

                Shin Hye sighed with a smile as she shook her head. “I think that was an understatement.” She chuckled before she went closer and patted Dara’s shoulder. “Aigoo, just cheer up and be yourself. It’s not like the press will eat us alive. Hwaiting, Dara-ssi!” Shin Hye pumped her fist up, encouraging the unconfident bunny.

                Those words managed to slightly calm Dara. She took a deep breath before she smiled back at Shin Hye. Seeing 2ne1’s visual regaining composure, the actress once again patted her back before she excused herself to the washroom.

                Dara heaved another sigh before she turned her seat and faced the mirror in front of her. She looked at her reflection with a hint of worry.

                “Aigoo, what am I gonna do?” she thought as she gently slapped her cheeks. Yes, she was a bit tensed to face the press, but she knew deep down that she was more tensed to see Kris.

              “Omo, Sandara stop thinking about him!” she mentally scolded herself, patting her cheeks a little too hardly. “Ow!” she let out a yelp before caressing her now red cheeks.

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                “Okay!” The EXO’s manager asked the members to gather around for the instructions. EXO, being unusually obedient today, followed as they were told to. They slowly flocked around their beloved manager.

                “So I’m gonna give you some instructions regarding this press conference…” The manager then started to blabber on the to-do’s and not-to-do’s which were not really interesting for some of the members. Kai even let out a yawn before he was elbowed by Suho. Luhan, on the other hand, became bored so he playfully poked their M leader on the side. Kris jerked a little bit then glared at his doe-eyed gege.

                “Stop it.” He tried to warn the elder. The elder seemed unfazed that he just smiled cheekily at the duizhang.

                Kris was shifting his attention back to their manager when he suddenly felt another poke on his side.

                “Stop it, Luhan, I’m warning you.” He threatened his gege, keeping his voice as soft as possible so that the others won’t hear.

                Luhan just rolled his eyes, not feeling sorry at all. Kris tried to get his attention back to the blabbering manager when some stubborn deer poked his side for the third time.

                Kris heaved out a sigh, trying to gather all the patience left before glaring once again at Luhan.

                “What do you want?” His tone was harder, intending to scare off the smaller. But instead, Luhan just snickered at him.

                “Nothing. I’m just bored.”

                “Well then, go find someone else to play with.”

                Luhan just hummed before answering back. “I was supposed to do that though but I felt that I should be doing something more productive.”

                “And messing with me is ‘something productive’ to you?”

                Luhan grinned. “Well, just so you know I’m just trying to help you.”

                Kris scoffed. “Ugh, you’re not helping.”

                Luhan clicked his tongue before he crossed his arms and shook his head disapprovingly. “I’m trying to calm you down ‘cause I know how emotionally unstable you are right now.”

                “Hell no.”

                “Stop denying. I know you’re anxious meeting Dara-noona again.” Luhan nudged Kris and gave him a teasing grin.

                “I-I’m not.”

                Luhan chuckled at the younger. “You’re stuttering.”

                Kris mentally punched himself for stuttering. That was so unmanly and uncool. “Shut up.”

                Luhan laughed at him softly, earning another glare from the leader. “You know, you should check yourself in the mirror right now. You’re as red as tomatoes.”

                That was enough to get Kris tongue-tied. Luhan tried to hold in a hysterical laugh looking at the flustered leader. Kris knotted his eyebrows and began hitting the elder carefully so that no one would notice. They went on like that, little did they know Chanyeol had been watching them silently.

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                “You upset?” Luhan patted Kris as they stood up waiting on the sidestage, just a few minutes before the presscon starts.

                Kris did not look at the elder but still answered back. “No. Why would I be?” though his face screamed like he actually was.

                Luhan sighed. “Hn, of course you won’t be upset! It’s not like, me sitting beside Dara-noona throughout the presscon, is a big deal to you at all!” He sarcastically exclaimed before he chuckled, making Kris give a more grumpy expression.

                “Stupid seating arrangement,” Kris mumbled softly, but unfortunately, Luhan caught it. Luhan just smiled at him before he placed his arm around the taller.

                “You don’t have to worry, duizhang.” The doe-eyed member winked at him, leaving the M leader puzzled and confused.

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                Soon after, the Temptation leading ladies joined EXO on the sides. As expected, the boys were more than happy to see them, and they began greeting them politely. The girls also flashed their smiles at them and greeted them back. Dara stole a glance at Kris, but was somehow disheartened that the said male did not even spare any attention to them. It was as if he was too bored and not interested at all.

                Chanyeol noticed Dara pouting. “Cute,” he thought at first but brushed it all off realizing that he shouldn’t be fanboying on how cute Dara is when pouting, instead he should approach her and ask her what’s wrong. And that’s what he did.

                “Noona?”

                Dara was startled hearing such a deep voice. She ly to see the owner of the voice – Chanyeol.

                “Oh, Chanyeol-ssi! You scared me,” Dara reacted. Her hand was on her chest as she breathed out in relief.

                Chanyeol smiled sheepishly before muttering an apology. Dara smiled at the male’s humility.

                “It’s okay, Chanyeol-ssi. Hehe. What is it?” She stared at the male’s eyes, which just made Chanyeol’s heart do a summersault. He was in trance for a while before he came back to his senses.

                “A-are you okay, noona?” He stuttered.

                Dara’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion before replying back. “What do you mean, Chanyeol-ssi?“

                “Ugh,” Chanyeol’s eyes wandered for a while before he looked at the lady in the eyes. “You were frowning a while ago. What’s wrong noona?”

                “Eh?” Dara looked away, trying to recall what happened and then she realized it was about Kris. She looked back at Chanyeol before she nervously waved her hand ‘no’. “I-it’s nothing! Really.”

                Chanyeol smiled bitterly. “You’re still a bad liar, noona.”

                “I-I’m not!...” Dara denied immediately before whispering. “…a liar.”

                “It’s about hyung, right?”

                Dara’s eyes shot open.

                “I kind of, saw it, noona. But I just want to say, hyung is just like that to other people. You know, acting cool and stuff. But in reality he’s really…ugh…uncool. He’s a dork and an epic fail and a dummy and ugh..”

                Dara chuckled heartily at his statements, though she was still not able to get what he was trying to say.

                Chanyeol rubbed his nape awkwardly before heaving a sigh. “I know you might think I’m weird for blabbering some random stuffs but I just want you to know that, ugh, hyung is just like that. It’s a norm. Just, ugh, don’t take his snobbish attitude to heart. Don’t be sad, noona.”

                Dara smiled at the younger’s thoughtfulness. She was happy to witness his sweet side. She knew he was doing all this to cheer her up. She felt touched. She found it really cute of him, that she couldn’t help but reach for the younger’s head and ruffle his hair.

                Chanyeol froze at her gesture. He was shocked – so shocked that he suddenly forgot how to breathe. His eyes went wider. He felt his cheeks burning up, and his heart beating madly as if it’s trying to get out of his chest. Dara retrieved her hand and whispered a ‘thank you’ to him before she left, smiling. Chanyeol still had his feet rooted on the ground, unable to comprehend what the hell just happened moments ago.

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                “I sense some jealousy here,” Luhan sang-songed as he nudged the unmoving Kris. He could see how affected Kris was upon seeing Dara and Chanyeol moment not far from them. He could sense envy just by looking at Kris’ eyes. Luhan could not do anything but heave a sigh.

                “Kris,” Luhan called, his voice and tone was serious.

                Kris finally snapped back to reality before looking away, trying to avoid making an eye contact with the elder.

                “Come on, Kris.”

                Kris hesitantly turned and stared at the deer. “What?” He tried to sound as cold, like normal. But it seemed that he failed. He sounded gloomy instead.

                “If you won’t do anything,” Luhan paused before he sighed. “Then I’m afraid you’ll lose to him.”

                Kris looked down. He couldn’t say a word. He knew that. He knew there was no way that Dara would take notice of him. Chanyeol has such a likeable personality. No girl in the right mind could deny that. He on the other hand could not be compared to Chanyeol. Might as well just give up.

                “Hey, the Kris I know is stupid, overconfident who’s not afraid to end up getting embarrassed after doing things. Cheer up man. I’m not saying it’s over.”

                Kris rolled his eyes at the cheesiness. “Shut up.”

                Luhan grinned before patting the younger’s back a little harder. “You should be happy because the great Luhan is going to help you!”

                Kris just smirked at the elder.

                “Yah, you should thank me! You don’t know how bad I feel choosing between you and Chanyeol! And I chose you so you better treat me some meals or at least thank me.”

                “No one told you to do so, anyway!” Kris countered.

                “Such an ungrateful brat! Treat me lunch!”

                “Why would I? You haven’t even done anything yet!”

                Hearing that, Luhan broke into a wicked grin. “So, I think that means you’re accepting my help?”

                Kris flustered. “W-Whatever.”

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                The EXO-K members prepared themselves and lined up at the side, together with Shin Hye. EXO-M was trailing behind them, together with Dara.

                “And….go!” One of the staff announced, motioning the endorsers to come up on stage and finally face the media.

                “For the Pink Temptation, may we present, Park Shin Hye with EXO-K!”

                As if on cue, the said celebrities went up on stage. Kai went up first, followed by Kyungsoo, then Suho, Shin Hye, Baekhyun, Sehun and lastly, Chanyeol. They first lined up in front and bowed respectfully before they headed to their seats which were on the left part of the long table prepared for the whole Temptation endorsers.

                The emcee then introduced the Dark Temptation endorsers. Right after that, EXO-M and Dara went up on stage, following this order: Lay, Tao, Chen, Dara, Luhan, Kris and lastly Xiumin. But before they reached the front portion of the stage, Luhan slowly lowered his pace and stepped back, grabbing and pulling Kris in the process. He then smoothly switched places with the duizhang right before they stood in front. Kris was actually surprised with Luhan’s bold move. He just defied the seating arrangement prepared for them! And now, Kris was looking so dumbfounded next to Dara. Luhan just giggled mischievously. Though he knew he’d have some explaining to do as to why he just did that with Kris.

                Kris stiffened for a while until he regained composure. Good thing, he had calm down right before they bowed. Kris gazed at Luhan only to find the elder winking teasingly at him.

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                Dara tried to focus on the press conference. She was grateful that she was not placed next to Kris because for sure, she wouldn’t be able to focus at all. When the emcee introduced them, Dara flashed her angelic smile as she came up on stage. But her confident smile turned into a forced one when she noticed that Luhan gave room for Kris and that Kris was now beside her! She was very surprised. And the fact that at some point her shoulder brushed with Kris’ arm (because Kris is just too tall) made her condition even worse. Her heart began beating madly but she couldn’t do anything. Good thing she snapped back to reality when they were about to bow to the media men, though she ended up bowing a bit later than the others.

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                The Dark Temptation went to their respective seats, just next to their other half. They sat down and in a blink of an eye, Luhan managed to switch the name signs of him and Kris smoothly on the table. He needed to do so since he just defied the seating arrangement for Kris. Kris stared at his gege and Luhan just smiled at him.

                Chanyeol felt weird about the sudden change of seats. He felt worried for Dara, because he knew how Dara would react whenever Kris is near her. At the same time, he felt happy for Dara, but more like, he forced himself to be happy that Dara was now sitting beside the one she likes. He also felt something eerie; probably that’s what people call jealousy. But he just shrugged them off, trying to shift his attention to the press.

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                The first part of the presscon went smoothly – erm – well, not really for Dara. She couldn’t give her full attention to the presscon. She couldn’t help but glance from time to time at the person she was sitting next to – Kris. She was in awe, examining the said male’s features – from his thick eyebrows to his sharp jawline. He was perfect in her eyes. She mentally sighed, appreciating his perfection. Unfortunately, she failed to realize that she has been staring at him for a while. She only came back to her senses when this one embarrassing thing happened to her: Kris caught her staring at him.

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Dara’s POV

                His thick eyebrows, mysterious eyes, flawless fair skin, and his attractive sharp jawline – every single feature he has is simply beautiful. I stared at him, and I appreciated him more. He’s so handsome. How I wish I would be given a chance to get to know him – or maybe be friends with him. That’s so much more than enough. Is that to much to ask? Sadly, it is.

                I failed to realize that I had been staring at him for quite sometime when he suddenly glanced at me and caught me looking at him.

                OH MY GOSH! Did he just—did he just catch me staring at him?! I gasp inaudibly before I looked away. Oh no. I guess he did. My hands started to shake. My heart became crazy. I felt my cheeks became hot. Oh no.

                “OMO SANDARA WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!” I cried mentally, still turning my head as far as possible to hide my flushed face from Kris. I was embarrassed. I felt my vision getting hazy and the next thing I knew I had tears threatening to fall anytime. I desperately tried to blink those tears away. I was extremely embarrassed. I felt like crying. But I knew I had to get a hold of myself, because I am in a presscon! And I need to take caution of my actions. I don’t want the press to suspect anything or make headlines the next day. I took a deep full breath to calm myself down, and when I did, I forced a smile and faced the media men once again.

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Kris’ POV

                I had this weird feeling. I felt that someone was watching me. Then I felt uneasy. I tried to search around with my eyes doing all the work. I tried my hardest not to look at my left – I’m actually avoiding Dara. I don’t want to get distracted. It had been disturbing just sitting beside her. It might not be obvious but I’m giving too much effort to keep my indifferent face on this time.

                I still had the feeling of being watched, so I had no choice but to look at my left. And then I almost had a heart attack when my gaze caught Dara’s. My eyes widened a little bit. I was about to desperately look away but she was able to do it first.

                When we had that eye contact I was sure I saw her gasp before looking away. Was she the one watching me for some time? Probably not. Of course she wouldn’t waste her time looking at me. Her reaction a while ago was probably because the contact was an accident. That was an expected reaction when people get caught in each other’s gazes. That’s it. It meant nothing else. It was a pure accident. I just sighed at the thought and shrugged everything off, trying to focus again on the presscon.

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                “So, what is the difference between Dark and Pink?”

                Shin Hye picked her mic up and smiled sweetly at the pressmen before answering the question. “Uhm, the Pink Temptation is actually more on the playful and innocent side. Its scent is really sweet, which I personally think would best suit teenagers. The Dark Temptation has this strong and mysterious scent. I think it best suits adults.”

                The other endorsers nodded in agreement, while the reporter, who asked the question, was satisfied with the answer.

                Another reporter raised his hand to ask his question. He stood up and greeted the celebrities first before speaking, “I have the same question for both sides. But I want to ask this to EXO-K and Park Shin Hye-ssi first.”

                The mentioned idols nodded, prepared themselves and then flashed their best smiles.

                “The public’s reception of the Pink CF was fairly good. However, there were reportedly EXO fans who were not happy with the CF. How do you feel about this?”

                The said question sent shivers to Dara’s spine. That caught her by surprise. She suddenly became worried. What would she answer if that same question will be asked to her? Her hands, which were placed on the table, trembled slightly.

                Kris was not amused with the question. He did not like it. He was not worried for himself. He was worried for Dara. He felt anger towards the reporter. How could he throw such an insensitive question? He couldn’t help but glance at Dara. He noticed her anxiety. He also noticed how her small hands trembled and clenched.

                “We feel really sad seeing hateful comment about the CF. Personally, I don’t see anything bad about it and I actually liked the concept.” Suho, being EXO-K’s leader, answered first, cautiously.

                Baekhyun then picked up his microphone in attempt to answer next. “I understand that we cannot really please everybody. People have their own opinions.” He smiled once again before putting his mic down.

                “I see. But I would really like to hear out Park Shin Hye-ssi.” The reporter pleaded.

                The boys looked at the said celebrity with worries. Shin Hye just comforted them with her smile and then took her microphone.

                “I actually felt sad, seeing EXO fans hate on me with their comments,” she started. Eyes were all on her.

                “It might have made me feel down, but seeing some other positive comments gave me strength. Being in this industry for years, I’m already used to these kinds of things. So, I’m really not that affected anymore.”

                The idols smiled at her answer, and the pressmen seemed to be satisfied with it.

                “But we received a lot of bad comments from Shin Hye-ssi’s fanboys too!” Chanyeol, being the happy virus of EXO, butted in to lighten up the mood, earning laughter from the crowd.

                “Thank you for your answers. I would also like to ask the same question to Dark Temptation cast.” The same reporter said as he looked at the right side of the stage. EXO suddenly felt tensed and threw worried glances to their Dara-noona.

                “The Dark Temptation CF made headlines. On the day of its release, it gained a lot more criticisms and negative feedbacks from netizens than that of Pink. I would like to know your thoughts about this.”

                There was an awkward silence that followed. The EXO-M members were hesitant on answering the question. And Dara was not ready yet. The EXO-K looked at them with concern. Chanyeol worriedly glanced at Dara. Damn, he wanted to answer that question for her. But he was afraid on what he can say. The silence continued for a while before Luhan decided to break it.

                “To be honest, we were all upset about the feedbacks. I do not understand why people were hating on it. We just merely expressed the concept of Dark. I do not understand why netizens reacted that way as if we did something illegal.” Luhan straightforwardly answered, his face was unfazed. The boys, as well as Dara and Shin Hye and the whole press, were surprised at the Chinese’s bluntness. There was another silence before Luhan smiled at the crowd and put his mic down.

                “Way to go, Luhan-hyung!” Chanyeol mentally celebrated. How he wanted to bearhug that deer at that very moment!

                “Luhan-hyung is so brave.” The other’s thought as well, smiling.

                Lay then picked up his mic. “I agree with Luhan. I really think the CF was creative. But it’s sad to know some people don’t think of it that way.” he supported Luhan’s statement. The others nodded in agreement.

                “Thank you very much for sharing your honest opinions. I would like to address this next question to Dara-ssi.”

                Dara stiffened up upon the mention of her name. Her heartbeat quickened. Her hands grew colder. She took several deep breaths before she squeezed her eyes close.

                “Is this it?” Dara thought before she opened her eyes, trying to look confident, though she was really scared.

                “Dara-noona…” Chanyeol grew more tensed as he locked his eyes on the said female.

                Kris looked at Dara with eyes full of worries and concern. He once again noticed her trembling hands. At the very moment, he had the strongest urge to hold those shaking hands and squeeze them tight just to comfort her. But that was not possible.

                “A lot of netizens left very rude comments about you. You became the target of the bashers. And most of these people are EXO fans. How do you feel about it? What message can you give to those haters?”

                That was it. Dara tried her best to hide her fear. She saw all the concerned looks the boys were giving her. At the corner of her eye, she saw Chanyeol mouthing ‘Hwaiting!’ at her. She felt touched, but she still felt some lump stuck on . She couldn’t find any words.

                The pressmen waited patiently for Dara to answer. Chanyeol’s worries grew and seeing Dara uncomfortable and close to tears, he hastily picked up his mic and decided to stand up for her once again.

                “I pers—“

                “I do think it is best to leave that question unanswered.”

               Chanyeol’s eyes grew wider than they already were as he turned to see who cut him off and told that to the media. The other members were also surprised and turned to the same direction. Dara froze upon hearing the voice. She knew exactly who owned that voice. But it couldn’t possibly be. It was impossible. But then again, she heard it clearly. And she couldn’t be mistaken. She turned to her right and saw Kris holding his mic near his mouth, facing the media indifferently.

                Luhan had his mouth slightly opened, but then replaced it with a smirk. “Interesting.” He thought, his eyes still on the M leader.

                “Dara-ssi has experienced severe cyber harassment due to the CF. And it’s unacceptable that those horrible things were done by our so-called fans…”

                The boys were awed by the duizhang’s boldness. Though his choice of words scared them, they couldn’t help but admire him for his bravery.

                “Perhaps, Dara-ssi may still be in a state of shock, and is not prepared to answer such questions. If Dara-ssi chose not to answer it, then let her be. Let’s give her time.” After finishing what he wanted to say, he put his mic down and looked straight to the crowd, not sparing a glance to Dara or any other EXO member.

                “I could cry with that,” Tao mumbled, still in awe.

                “I’m so proud of him!” Chen added, wanting to give their leader a standing ovation.

                “Woohoo nice one!” Kai whispered. Sehun smiled and nodded.

                Chanyeol still looked very much surprised with Kris’ action, but he was happy. He then looked at Dara, who was as stiff as a ruler.

                Dara felt her cheeks burning. Did he just--? No. It couldn’t be. It was just an act of…concern? Probably. But still it was surreal. It was too good to be true. Her trembling suddenly stopped. It was as if his move soothed her. She felt so good. She felt so touched. She did not care for whatever reason why Kris did that. But it made her so happy.

                Dara glanced at Kris who was paying attention to the press - her embarrassment long gone. Though she knew Kris had his eyes on the media men, she still gave him her grateful and perhaps her sweetest smile. “Thank you,” she mumbled so softly, and she knew he hadn’t heard her – or that’s just what she thought.

                Kris caught everything. It might look like he was staring straight to the crowd, but his attention was on Dara. He saw her smile at him, in the corner of his eyes. And his ears did not fail hearing her sweet words. It made him happier knowing that those words were meant for him. He felt his heart stopped. But of course, he did not show it.

                “O-okay. I understand—“ the reporter was about to drop his question but was cut off by Dara.

                “U-uhm,” Dara suddenly spoke, surprising everyone. Before she was all scared, but right after Kris’ attempt to save her, she eerily found courage to speak.

                “Yes. That was probably the most hates I received.” She glanced at the EXO members and Kris. “And yes, I was really really down. I was hurt. I know I should get used to this because I’m a celebrity, but I’m human too.” She paused as she took a deep breath.

                “The people close to me were very much angry with the situation. They asked me why I just kept silent. I was upset. And there came a point that my feelings made me want to – ugh – let them get a dose of their own medicine.” Dara chuckled nervously.

                The spectators were all silent; listening intently to every single word Dara has spoken.

                “But then there’s this one person who told me something.”

                That sparked interest from the spectators.

                “Emotions are not an excuse to ruin someone.” She then shyly smiled, eyes wandered as if she was reminiscing something.

                Kris’ eyes widened upon hearing that statement from her. He was shocked, that for a moment, he forgot how to breathe.

                Emotions are not an excuse to ruin someone…

                Emotions are not an excuse to ruin someone…

                Emotions are not an excuse to ruin someone…

                Kris froze. He knew it was familiar. Those exact words. But. But. It couldn’t be…right?

Ssantokki00:                       I understand that they just don’t want EXO with Dara.

COOLduizhang:                 You shouldn’t understand them. They’re being unreasonable.

COOLduizhang:                 The comments were too much, to the point that they’re disrespecting Dara.

Ssantokki00:                       They’re just upset.

COOLduizhang:                 Emotions are not an excuse to ruin someone.

                It couldn’t be. It’s definitely a coincidence. But those words…

                “Kris, are you alright? You seem…lost,” Luhan whispered after he nudged Kris.

                Kris then came into his senses and and avoided Luhan’s knowing gaze. “I-I’m alright. It’s nothing.” He answered nervously, before shifting his attention back to Dara.

                “When that person told me that, I realized one thing; people tend to do things that are usually driven by their emotions. I guess that explains why netizens did those things. So, as for my message for them, it’s that emotions are never an excuse to ruin someone. Never let your emotions push you into doing something not good.” Dara took a deep breath before flashing a smile. “That is all. Thank you.”

                The audience was amazed with Dara’s words. It was deep, yet very meaningful. Everybody fell in silence, momentarily. Kris, on the other hand, was still not over what she just said.

                “Is it possible..that she…?” Kris then glanced at Dara. “Could it be…?”

                “Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts, Dara-ssi.” The reporter was very impressed with her answer. He sat down grinning.

                Another reporter raised his hand and stood up, wearing a teasing smile. “Dara-ssi, who’s ‘that person’ are you talking about?”

                The crowd suddenly giggled teasingly. Kris stared at Dara intently.

                “E-eh? That person?” Dara stuttered.

                “Is it a special someone? A boyfriend, perhaps?” Another reporter added.

                Dara’s face flushed as she gasped audibly. “Oh no! Did I just…?” Dara wanted to hit herself so badly, realizing what she just said earlier. She couldn’t believe she quoted something that COOLduizhang said. And now, she’s dead! What if it would be on the news and that duizhang would get an idea that she’s Ssantokki00?! Oh no! She’s screwed. How she hated her habit of blabbering things out without thinking!

                “N-no! It’s a friend! Just a friend.” She managed to breathe out, but her face was still flustered, earning some teasing looks from the media.

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                Almost half an hour passed before the press conference ended well, but not for EXO’s manager. He kind of got stressed out with the bold behavior the boys showed a while ago. He did not waste any time that he immediately approached them for some lecture.

                “Hey, Kris? What’s wrong? You’ve been spacing out for some time now,” Luhan, who once again chose not to listen to their manager’s preach, elbowed the younger in attempt to break him off from his trance.

                The gesture successfully brought some sense back to Kris that he looked at the elder to respond. “It’s nothing, really,” he lied.

                Luhan just glared at the younger. Kris swallowed hard before he finally gave up because he knew Luhan would bug him to death if he kept on denying.

                The duizhang took a deep breath before giving in to the elder. “It’s just that,” his eyes nervously wandered before they finally settled on Luhan’s. ‘It’s just, I don’t know. Yeah I know this sounds crazy but, I ugh…”

                Luhan impatiently clicked his tongue before complaining, “Quit that crap. Just say it already.”

                Kris’ eyebrows knotted, and his lips were pressed together, forming a frown. “I think Dara is Ssantokki…” he suspected hesitantly.

                Luhan raised an eyebrow, confused. “Who’s Ssantokki?”

                Kris groaned. He’s too tired to explain but he knew he needed to. “You know, the one I chat with lately? In chatpal?”

                The doe-eyed member mouthed an ‘o’ before retorting, “You’re kidding, right?”

                Kris sighed. He knew the elder was doubting, but he couldn’t blame him because he himself was not sure too. “I don’t know,” he mumbled almost inaudibly. “But a while back, in the presscon, she said som---“

                “Hey Kris, Luhan, you still listening?” The manager eyed the two hardly. “You better listen well. Don’t think I forgot what you guys did there, especially Luhan,” he clicked his tongue before heaving a defeated sigh. “Not following the seating plan, eh? Aigoo, why did I get assigned with a bunch of stubborn kids?” He brought his fingers to his temple and began massaging it.

                Luhan just chuckled, as well as the other boys, before giving the poor manager an apologetic look. He then looked back at Kris.

                “So, you were saying?”

                “Back in there, she said something very familiar.”

                “And?”

                “It was exactly what I told Ssantokki in one of our convos!” Kris insisted.

                “You sure? Maybe it’s just coincidence.”

                “B-but—“ That’s when Kris snapped out of it. Of course, it was just a coincidence. There was no way Dara is Ssantokki. It was too impossible. But how can one explain that thing that Dara said during the presscon? But hey, it was just a single statement though. Maybe Dara just had that similar thought with Kris. That’s possible. That was probably the reason, and nothing else. Kris frowned, for some odd reasons. He probably was disappointed, because there’s this side of him silently hoping his suspicion was true.

                “Yeah, it’s probably just coincidence,” Kris voiced out, his tone slightly off.

                Luhan gave off a sympathetic smile before patting his back. “Stop overthinking things.” Kris then forced himself a small smile.

                “Oh, good evening, gentlemen,” suddenly, one of the Temptation’s staff approached the boys. She smiled at them politely before bowing. The boys did the same and greeted back.

               “Aigoo, we just wanted to invite you guys for a dinner tonight,” she started, earning soft cheers from the members. “—that’s if, you’re free?”

                The boys grinned widely, turning their heads to their manager. They flashed him their pleading looks and best aegyo, hoping he would give in. They knew for sure they finished their schedules for the day and a free dinner would be very much welcome.

                The manager just sighed in defeat before agreeing. The boys cheered and thanked their manager-hyung loudly. The staff just chuckled at them before giving them more details.

                “We reserved a restaurant nearby. The press conference turned out great and the fans who were present there were actually satisfied. So, this is our little gift for our endorsers.”

                The boys cheered once again.

                “Is Dara noona and Shin Hye noona coming too?” the EXO-K’s maknae suddenly asked.

                The staff smiled. “Unfortunately, Shin Hye-ssi won’t be able to make it. But Dara-ssi will be there.”

                The boys shyly grinned, having a mental celebration. They knew it was another opportunity for them to know Dara better.

                Luhan poked Kris teasingly. Kris just ignored the elder. He sighed. That just meant another meeting with Dara. Kris did not know what to feel. He knew he should be happy but he felt nervous instead. Then, he suddenly remembered about the thing that had happened earlier.

                Emotions are not an excuse to ruin someone…

                With that, Kris felt a more nervous. He felt like this was probably a chance to prove his suspicion true – or the other way around. It was perhaps an opportunity to solve things out, and he must not let go of this.

                He turned to look at Dara who was busy talking with her assistant. He stared at her intently, feeling his heart beat a little bit faster than normal.

                “Could you be…Ssantokki?” he thought before taking a deep breath. He definitely wanted to know the answer himself.

----- End of Chapter -----

< Author's Note > Sorry.