The herd of guys tramples downstairs, more like a group of buffalo than grown men. There’s snippets of conversation going on between the members as they make themselves comfortable. By Kyungsoo’s count, there’s five people in the band, not including himself. Once the conversation simmers down, Jongin starts introducing the rest of the band.

    “Alright, roll call. I know we’re all here but this guy doesn’t know you guys yet. “ he says with a pointed glance at Kyungsoo.

    “Sehun?”

    “ me. “ the maknae replies with a raise of a hand.

    “I’ve heard worse from you, Sehunnie. Tao?”

“Here. “ a lithe blonde in skinny jeans mumbles, detaching himself briefly from the lips of a menacingly large man with equally large hands to respond before immediately resuming the kiss.

“If you could please quit trying to swallow your boyfriend in public, thank you... Kris?”

The man puts a hand up, mouth still entangled with Tao’s.

“Aaaand.. Chanyeol?”

“Here!” a tall smiling brunette answers, and the wheels start to turn in Kyungsoo’s head. This is the voice he’s heard rattling from his friend’s phone at all hours of the day. So this is Baekhyun’s crush... Barista by day, musician by night.

“Good, good. Now, this is our… Uh, what are you trying out for, dude?“ Jongin asks, glancing at him.

“Lead vocalist, if that’s free. “

“Right... Our lead vocalist hopeful, Do Kyungsoo.“ Jongin pats him on the back and smiles.

“Wait, wait, wait. He’s the only one that we have?” Kris interrupts.

“For now, yeah. Sehun screwed up and didn’t get the posters out until earlier today. Not my fault. “ he explains.

“Hey! How about you try dumping a truck full of paper on a campus!“ Sehun objects from his spot to the right of Kyungsoo.

“Alright, that’s enough. Shush, we don’t want to scare him off. “ Jongin tells them.

“Do I get an accompaniment?“ he asks, trying to keep the tremor out of his voice.

“Yeah, sure. We’ll do our best. “ Jongin assures. “What song?

“What is Love. You’ve heard it, right?“

“Ooh, so you’re a balladeer...  I’m down with that. “ the elder hums in agreement as the band scurries to their positions.

Sehun struggles in vain to get one of the guitars off of the wall. Kris steps over and hands it to the maknae, taking the second one for himself. Tao settles at the drum set. Kyungsoo feels the eyes of the band on him, and his palms suddenly start to sweat as he walks up to the microphone.

Chanyeol and Jongin move to stand in front of him.

“I was the main vocalist and Chanyeol was backup, but I kinda realized we’d be doing a lot better if we had someone who had, well, actual singing ability. So Chanyeol and I will both be backup vocals if you make the cut. So show us what you’ve got. “ Jongin finishes. His breath smells like vanilla.

Kyungsoo clears his throat. The words flow smoothly, his voice stable as the band starts playing behind him. For such a playful group, the musicians are surprisingly well-trained.

“I lost my mind, the moment I saw you

Except you, everything gets in slow motion

Tell me, if this is love

Fighting, crying and hugging

Tell me, if this is love

All the guys in the world are jealous of me

They must be jealous to death of me, for having you

I can tell, this is love..”

Jongin cuts him off there.  “You don’t need to do any more. I think we can all agree that you definitely belong with us, right, guys?”  Various affirmative sounds arise from the other members, and Kyungsoo thinks he sees tears in Chanyeol’s eyes.

“You’re officially apart of EXO, Kyungsoo. “ Jongin says, loud enough for the rest to hear. At this, they break out in celebration. Obligatory high-fives and fist bumps are exchanged as a welcome to the band’s newest member. Kyungsoo revels in the attention before his phone buzzes with a message. He checks it quickly, a small smile appearing on his face when he reads the message.

(1) message from byun_baek: DUDE. CHANYEOL’S PART OF EXO. I FOUND THEM ON BANDCAMP. DSKJSKJJKASDJKADS I CAN’T AUDITION, I CAN’T DO IT. GO ON WITHOUT ME SOO.

    He turns his phone off as the group then disperses around the room. He’s got to tell Baekhyun about this.

    “I’m going to, uh, go home. I’ll see you guys later. “ he exits, heading up the stairs The group lets out a collective groan of disappointment, but does nothing.

    “We’ve got a practice tomorrow. “ Jongin calls after him with a click of his tongue.

    “I’ll be there. “ he affirms.

    It’s only when Kyungsoo gets back to his own dorm that he realizes he’s totally screwed.