Final

Leader Appreciation

As soon as Suho was finally out of the door and out of sight, Kris ushered everyone into the living room for a group meeting. “Why did we have to wait until Suho hyung left?” Sehun curiously asked. Kris waved him off for he was about to explain everything, “As you all know, we’ve been working very hard these past few weeks. Our schedules have been relentless and we haven’t been able to relax. Although, we’ve all been stressed, there’s one person who has a lot of extra business to deal with. And that person is Suho. He goes through vocal, dance, and acting practices like the rest of us, but he also has leader duties as well. Although I am also a leader, Suho seems to always be taking care of the rest of us. Since he deserves some recognition, I’ve prepared a plan for a surprise party for him!” There were nods of agreement and excited chatter amongst the others. Once things quieted down, they discussed the plans.

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“Bye guys, we’ll be back in a couple of hours! Please do not do anything destructive, be safe!” Suho shouted out the door as him and Kris left. Kris explained to Suho earlier that morning that he wanted to take him shopping for a belated birthday gift. Even though his birthday was a month and a half ago and Kris already gave him a gift, Suho went along with it because he didn’t want to upset Kris. When they arrived to his favorite store, Suho began bouncing in his seat like a five year old. “It’s been ages since I’ve been able to shop here! But wait.. it’s pretty expensive.. Kris, are you sure?  I don’t want you to spend all your money on me. I can always just pay for-” Kris put his hand over Suho mouth that was still moving, attempting to finish his sentence. “Please just let me get you something, okay? The gift I gave you before was like a filler gift until I got more money. Now that I have it, please let me spend it on you. You deserve it,” Kris whispered centimeters away from Suho. Suho sighed and peeled Kris’s hand off of his mouth and gave him a quick kiss on his forehead. “Okay then, thank you.”

Suho spent an hour and a half in the store searching for the perfect item to purchase. He finally settled on a plain maroon shirt with a floral pocket. He claimed he just really liked the floral pattern, but Kris knew he chose that particular shirt because Kris had a similar one at home. Suho always liked to wear couple items with him. Although neither boy knew exactly what their relationship was, they both knew that it was special. Once they were settled into the car, Kris sent a quick text to Xiumin asking if everything was set up. After he got a text confirming it was safe to head home, Kris pulled out of the parking lot and headed home.

Suho opened the door to the dorm expecting to find utter chaos, but instead he found complete silence and darkness. After a few moments of nothing, Suho turned towards Kris in the door.

“What’s going on, where did everyone go?” Kris could hear the panic rising in his voice, so he silently hoped for them to hurry up. “Goddammit Sehun, hurry up and turn on the lights! What’s taking you so long? I told you to have it ready for when he came in. I swear-” Before Kyungsoo got to finish his lecture, twinkling lights lit up the dorm room. Suho’s favorite song started to quietly play over speakers. In the middle of the room there was a huge cake, and above that there was a banner made of construction paper and crayons that read, “We Love You, Suho!” He could feel his eyes starting to moisten as everyone jumped out from various places and yelled, “Surprise Suho, thanks for everything you do!” Suho dropped his bags and went over to hug everyone and tell them thank you. Once all the greetings were made, they all went to go sit at the table that the cake sat atop of. Kyungsoo began cutting his masterpiece and handing the slices out. Kris cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “Suho, since we all love and appreciate your hard work, we wanted to do something special for you. Usually you’re in charge of cheesiness and sappiness, but today I’m taking charge of that. How about we all go around the table and tell a story of a time Suho has helped us and it really stuck with us. We’ll go from oldest to youngest, so Xiumin you start it off.”

 

Xiumin didn’t even have to think before he began his story, “When we first debuted, I was a little chubbier than the rest of you. A lot of people gave me a hard time about this, as you all know. Well, one night I was sitting in the kitchen crying because I saw a brownie and I just broke down. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to eat anything like a brownie for a very long time. Living off of vegetables and still being called fat wasn’t very good for my confidence. Suho came into the kitchen to get a glass of water and found me sitting on the floor. He immediately forgot about his water and sat down next to me and took me into his arms. Eventually I stopped crying after he rocked me back and forth a while. He cautiously asked me what was wrong and I explained everything to him. When I was done, he took my face into his hands and began to list everything that was beautiful about me. After about the 10th thing, I finally broke out into a smile. I’ll never forget what he said to me, ‘Xiumin hyung you’re one of the most beautiful people I know, and no matter how many people say mean things to you, there will always be twice that many loving and supporting you for who you are.’ Suho, you’re the reason I’m so confident today. After that night, I slowly began loving myself again.”

Luhan began telling his story, “Mine isn’t as emotional, but it still meant a lot to me when Suho did this for me. When we all went to Disneyland, I was really anxious because of my fear of heights. The day went really well until everyone suggested that we ride The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. I really didn’t want to get on, so I asked to hold everyone’s bags. Suho insisted that I go have fun, so I ended up riding it. Everyone around me was screaming and laughing, but I was frozen solid. Once the ride ended and everyone ran off to the next, I ran to the bathroom. I quickly found a stall and slammed it shut. I started sobbing and shaking, I was having a severe panic attack. I didn’t know Suho followed me until he was outside of my stall, asking to come in. I unlocked the door and let him in. He sat down in front of me and waited for me to calm down. I was surprised on how well he handled it. Once I was calm, he asked me if I wanted to talk about it. I said no and stood up. He got up as well and hugged me while combing through my hair with his fingers. Although not many words were exchanged, I still found comfort in you just being there for me.”

Everyone turned to Kris, expecting him to start his story too, but instead he stated that he wanted to go last.

Since Kris was skipped, Lay began, “This isn’t exactly a story of something that happened once, but more like something Suho does for me all the time. Before every comeback, I’m always in the dance studio for at least eight hours a day. Sometimes I would get so wrapped up in practicing that I would forget to eat. Apparently hyung caught onto that quickly after every night he saw me eating around two in the morning. Eventually he started coming to the practice room everyday delivering some sandwiches, water, and vitamins. He would stay for a while encouraging me too. I always look forward to when you stop by Suho, it means a lot to me.”

All eyes went to Baekhyun, anticipating his story. “I always like to prank Suho hyung. He’s just so gullible that I can’t resist. With that being said, I want you to know I still respect and look up to you a lot. Not literally though, because you are quite short.” Laughter erupted around the table and the teary-eyed leader spoke up, “Yah, Baekhyun, you’re only one centimeter taller than me!” Baekhyun jokingly rolled his eyes and continued, “Anyways, my story is about pre-debut. Before I came to SM, I thought I was a good singer. And obviously I wasn’t bad or I wouldn’t be accepted. But after a few vocal lessons, I quickly realized there’s a lot more to singing that simply just opening your mouth and letting the lyrics spill out. After a particularly long vocal lesson, I just broke down. Suho, Chen, and Luhan were there too. Suho motioned for Chen and Luhan to leave and came to sit down with me. He began rubbing circles onto my back with his fingertips and whispering sweet words into my ear. After I stopped crying, he picked up the music sheets and encouraged me to try again. Forty minutes later, I finally got it right. He then praised me for my vocal talent and how quickly I was learning. He really made me feel better about myself. He gave me a hug and then we walked out together. Of course when we opened the door two unsuspecting, eavesdropping idiots fell to the ground.”

Once laughter and chatter quieted down from Baekhyun’s story, Chen began telling his, “Fans often jokingly make fun of my dancing. I recognize that I’m not the best dancer, but some of the comments are really brutal. One day I was really down because I read an especially hurtful comment. Suho hyung picked up that something was wrong rather quickly. When he asked, I explained to him what was wrong. He brought me out into the living room, set up a mirror from his room, and Growl. When the music started he began dancing, so I did too. He told me to watch myself dance, so I did. Afterwards we sat down on the floor in comfortable silence until Suho spoke up, ‘Now, did you see anything wrong with your dancing because I didn’t.’ I shook my head, ‘But it’s not choreographed dancing that’s the problem. I’m terrible at freestyle dancing.’ Suho stood up and changed the song to Gee. He started to dance, rather weirdly, may I add. I started laughing and begging him to stop, but instead he pulled me up to join him. We danced around the room acting like dorks for fifteen minutes before he turned off the music. He embraced me and said, ‘Chen, you’re a great dancer, so don’t doubt your abilities. Even if your freestyle dancing is a little unique, I think it’s one of your charms.’ I’m much more confident in my dancing now, thank you hyung.”

Chanyeol started his next, “When I joined Exo, I was assigned the role of a rapper and the happy virus. The happy virus thing was easy at first because I was always happy, but then the stress of schedules kicked in and it got harder to be happy all the time. I took the role very seriously and I still do, so I didn’t want to be caught upset. I would often cry at night since I held so much in during the day. One night as Suho hyung walked by my room, he heard me crying. He came in and got into the bed with me. He cuddled me and played with my hair until I calmed down. I told him how I felt once the crying ceased. He then said, ‘Chanyeol, even though you’re Exo’s happy virus you’re still allowed to be upset, stressed, or even angry. You can feel however you want to and you’re definitely allowed to express your emotions. Please don’t keep it in, come talk to me whenever you want to.’ That moment meant a lot to me because I now have someone I can vent to. And everyone needs someone like that. We’re lucky enough to have one a shout away”

Kyungsoo nodded, agreeing with Chanyeol. He started his story, “Although I’ve never really had a heart-to-heart with Suho hyung like most of you have, he does really help me in a lot of small ways. Well, he may think they’re small and no big deal, but they mean a lot to me. He’s always helping me cook and clean. He compliments me on my cooking, my fashion, singing, dancing, and just everything. Those little things he does to help me and lift my spirits really gets me through the day sometimes, so thank you Suho.”

At this point, everyone could hear little sniffles coming from Suho. They should’ve known their emotional leader was going to cry. Tao started his story, adding to Suho’s tears. “I think of Suho hyung as my Mom. He always takes care of me and comforts me. Not just now and then either, every single day Suho hyung is there for me. I was depressed in the past until my late trainee days. A lot of people often got fed up with my stubbornness and how I never wanted to go out because of my feelings. Suho was patient with me though, he knew that if he helped me through it, it would all work out in the end. And it did, thanks to Suho hyung. Sometimes I get down from looking back on those rather dark days, but I know that he’ll always be there to comfort and encourage me.”

Kai then began telling his story, “Suho hyung has comforted me emotionally before, but he also helped me physically before too.” Kai is interrupted with giggles from all the inappropriate minds at the table. Kris throws napkins at them then tells Kai to continue. “Alright you sick s, you made me lose my seriousness. Okay so anyways, I often get injured because of dance. Sometimes it’s hard for me to move at all, so Suho hyung will do things for me. One time when I had a really bad waist injury he took care of me for a few days. He would dress me, brush my teeth, bring me food,  give me my medicine and entertain me. During those few days I think we watched every anime ever. But it was fun and not as painful thanks to Suho. I can now dance without worrying about injury because I know if I do get injured, my favorite hyung will be there to help me.”

Everyone turned to Sehun and were surprised to see that he was crying too. The maknae could be rather emotional sometimes. “What? You people act like you’ve never seen someone cry before. You all can just close your jaws so I can tell my story. Ahem, I’ve had a lot of night terrors recently. The doctor says that it’s due to stress. Sometimes during my night terrors I’ll scream or cry. Due to this, Suho hyung has been sleeping with me. Whenever I start an episode of crying or screaming, he’ll wake me up and rock me in his arms until I fall asleep again. They’ve been getting less severe and I think it’s because my unconscious mind knows that my hyung is right beside me.”

Kris then stood up and took Suho’s hand, pulling him up along with him. Below them several members started making sounds of disgust until Xiumin and Kyungsoo made them quiet down with looks that could kill. “Suho, you’ve been there for me for a long time. Us, as leaders and as a couple have been through a lot of ups and downs.” Suho could feel his heart quickening at the sound of Kris calling them a couple. That confirmed any doubt he had that Kris didn’t view him as his boyfriend. Kris continued, “My story is going to be about the time you found me crying about you. During our trainee days until the Wolf era, I had the biggest crush on you without anyone knowing about it. All I could do was stare at you longingly and hope that one day you would stare at me the same way. One night as I was crying because of you, you came into my room and saw me. You quickly came over and asked me what was the matter. For a few minutes I debated on telling you the truth or making up some lie as to why I was crying. I decided to tell you the truth, and I’m glad I did. That night we confessed everything to each other and shared our first kiss. Here we are now, going as strong as ever. I love you Suho, and I’m glad you’re such a caring person to me and to our members. I’m sure I’m speaking on behalf of all the others when I say that we’re here for you too.” When Kris was done, Suho immediately captured his lips in a sweet kiss. The loud cheering behind them, caused them to pull away from each other and look away because they were embarrassed.  Kris wiped away Suho’s tears and then went back to eating cake. Suho hugged everyone again and told them thank you about a million times.

The rest of the night they danced and played board games until about two in the morning before everyone started going off into their rooms. As Suho laid down with his arms around Sehun, he couldn’t help but think he may be the most lucky guy in the whole world to have such loving friends.

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A/N:

I wrote this little one shot for Vanessa, who graduated last Tuesday! Congrats Vanessa, I'm proud!!

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Myeonni2020 #1
Chapter 1: Beautiful story... Love ot12
nightingalesatnight #2
Chapter 1: This was so touching and lovely. Beautiful absolutely beautiful
Exoxoxoot12
#3
Chapter 1: Quite honestly, this was funny fluffy andim not crying T.T .... The relationships between the members and the leader gave me so much feelz! And with Krisho <3 as well T.T krisho will live!!!!
i-just-read #4
Chapter 1: Nice fic. author-nim! Fluff! hehe Fighting author-nim
MaraudingSnitch1314 #5
Chapter 1: I'm Vanessa and I just want to thank you for this lovely story, author-ssi. I love Suho/EXO fics so much and this story is exactly what I was looking for. (Plus, it's Krisho! <3)
thebaozi #6
I love how you did the relationships between the members and it's such a lovely fic! So cute, my feels! <33