“We actually spent time with them! We need to do this more often. I should arrange another interview with Minseok. Like can you imagine how many more views my blog would get? This whole association is a goldmine for me.” Jongdae was just talking and talking. Junmyeon was getting to the point where tuning out his friend didn’t seem like such a bad idea anymore.

“You know they’re people right? Not just sources of popularity for you to exploit?” He muttered. Jongdae stopped his endless talking to give him a look that could only convey just how stupid Junmyeon must’ve sounded to him.

“Oh course I know that. I just think that now that I actually have people to inform, by the way because they care, that I should do everything in my power to be a good reporter.”

Right...Junmyeon wasn’t fooled by that. If the stars in Jongdae’s eyes were anything to go by it was more than just about being a good reporter. To be fair the Exo guys were attractive but they were still just regular guys. He couldn’t really say more or get overly excited like Jongdae. It just seemed weird and kind of unnecessary.

“Now, if you’re done being judgy could you do me the favor of dropping me off at that cafe on the outskirts of the city? I’m meeting with some associates and it’s too far to walk.” Jongdae asked. His things already gathered into a messenger bag and his phone in hand, dinging away with all kinds of notifications.

“Why of course Mr. Kim, I am after all your chauffeur.” Junmyeon muttered while grabbing his things from his night stand and walking towards the door of their dorm room. “Oh and since when do you have associates?”

“Oh I don’t...I just convinced Minseok via text to meet with me again.”

~~

Junmyeon hated traffic. It was annoying and completely unavoidable sometimes. Times like these made him wonder how much money he would have to throw for people to move out of the way. Then of course he remembered that was a terrible thing to think and he just sat in traffic like everyone else. It . But it even more when he had Jongdae in the passenger seat of the BMW singing along to songs and hitting the high notes regardless of the fact he was right next to Junmyeon.

Junmyeon had long ago decided Jongdae had been born to torment him and this car ride was certainly reinforcing that belief.

“For the love of god. If you sing a high note again, I will never drive you anywhere again.” He threatened and Jongdae stopped mid impending high note. He had the gall to pout and Junmyeon simply momentarily glared at him before returning his eyes to the traffic.

“But you have the nicest car! Like Yixing’s is old and liable to break down. I don’t even have a car anymore. You’re all I’ve got hyung! Don’t let me down like this.” His whining voice wasn’t winning him any favors with older boy but Jongdae persisted. “Please. Please. Please.”

“Oh my--stop it. Just quit it. Fine. I’ll drive you places but as soon as your parents think it's a good idea to give you a car again. Train wreck accident aside. You’re not riding around with me anymore unless we’re all driving together. Got it? Oh, and keep the ridiculously high singing for the shower.” A side glance to the younger was all the attention he spared. The pouty expression and sad nod of acceptance was a good enough answer.

Finally the traffic was letting up and the car was relatively quiet outside of the music playing faintly in the background. Junmyeon drove them towards the cafe with practiced ease and Jongdae hummed along to the music. It was a compromise at best, but one that Junmyeon could deal with. High notes were just too much in a confined space like the front of his BMW.

They arrived relatively quickly and Junmyeon stopped right outside the front of the cafe. He nodded at his friend.

“Just text me a couple minutes before you want to leave so that I can be here by then. Yes?”

“Yes mom.” Jongdae muttered while grabbing his messenger bag and shutting the door behind him. Junmyeon sighed and slid down the passenger side window with the push of a button.

“Kim, you want a ride home? Get it from someone else.” He said loud enough for the other to turn around in terror. Then he was merging back into traffic with a smile on his face.

Jongdae was an idiot if he believed Junmyeon would actually leave him stranded but he’d let him think that for a while. There were very few things that entertained Junmyeon so if he decided to return the favor of torment to his loud best friend. Well you can’t blame him.

~~

The peace and quiet of the dorm room was unlike Junmyeon’s typical days. He’d successfully proofread a couple short articles for his own journalism class. He was finally starting on the essay he’d been putting off for his communications class. He was actually being productive. It had him seriously considering throwing Jongdae out of the room more often.

He reached for the bottled raspberry flavored chia juice he loved to indulge in when his phone went off, loudly disrupting his quiet moment. He set aside his drink sadly, turning his attention to look at the screen of the iPhone. Jongdae was flashing across the screen. He sighed before answering the call.

“Hello Jongdae. What do you need?”

“Umm hi Junmyeonie. You know you’re the best hyung I have right? Could you do me a small favor? Please. I’ll even catch a ride back with someone else afterwards if you want.” Jongdae sounded distressed. The pleadingly tone in his voice immediately making Junmyeon suspicious.

“What do you need?”

“Ahh, could you possibly bring my laptop charger? The wifi is down at the cafe so I can’t use google docs and I don’t have any flash drives to spare. My computer is running out of memory. I told you that remember? I’m not done with my interview and I don’t want to lose my notes. Please please please.”

This kid. He rose from his seat while shaking his head. A couple small strides to the other side of the room where Jongdae kept his chargers and then Junmyeon was grabbing his things and his chia juice to head out.

“You owe me Kim.”

“I know hyung. I know.”

~~

Upon arriving at the cafe Junmyeon wished he’d stayed back at the dorm. Jongdae was chatting with Luhan, Yifan, and Minseok in a booth. His things were sitting at the end of the booth table where it met the wall, completely forgotten and looking like it hadn’t even been opened since he arrived. He set the neatly bundled laptop charger down on the table harder than he needed to in front of his best friend. The other looked at him with wide eyes before smiling guiltily.

“Hyung, I needed an excuse to get you here. See I’ve been talking with Minseok and well he’s been telling me that Exo is really busy and would really benefit from some help. My damage control tweets helped but they would probably be better off if they had an actual crew to help them this year. I mentioned it to Yixing and he didn’t seem too reluctant, it’s practice for his future as a doctor so he said he didn’t mind too much. I would be their official online rep. It would work out really well if we help them.” The hopeful expression on Jongdae’s face was almost cute. Bright eyes, the biting of a lower lip. Almost cute.

“Okay, and what am I supposed to be Jongdae? The sponsor or the driver or both?” Junmyeon asked and immediately wanted to apologize. His tone had been far harsher than he’d intended and Jongdae looked devastated already. The other three sitting at the booth hadn’t said a word until now.

“Hey, hey. Nothing like that. What college kid could sponsor a whole group of performers? None that I know. After discussing things with your friend here we came to the conclusion that you’d work with him to do the official statements and stuff. You’re a communications major right? This is what you’re meant to do. You know the closer we get to the actual performance date the more crazy things get.” Yifan cut in and the calm he projected seemed to immediately put Junmyeon slightly more at ease. He sighed and bowed his head in acknowledgement.

“I’m sorry Dae. I didn’t mean to sound so rude. I guess it’s a good idea. After all Yixing is right. Its practice for our futures. May as well do it.”

“Take a seat Junmyeon.” Luhan murmured and nodded to the only empty spot next to Yifan. Junmyeon did as told and looked across at his friend who was smiling again. Albeit timidly but still, much better than the earlier devastation.

“So now lets talk about the plan Jongdae and I came up with.” Minseok began and slid out a notebook from seemingly out of nowhere. Alright so maybe this was actually a business meeting in disguise the entire time. Well at least Jongdae was right, he had associates now.

~~

An hour went by before Junmyeon realized it. Jongdae and Minseok had really planned everything out. He couldn’t hide how impressed he was by it all. It was by no means an impossible feat for Jongdae but everything he’d ever heard of Minseok made the alliance between them rather unlikely. Yet here they were wrapping up the plan bit by bit.

He excused himself to the restroom, the chia juice finally catching up with him. When he came back Yifan was the only one left at the booth. Everything was gone from the table. He frowned and sat across from Yifan.

“Is this also part of the plan? I’m onboard despite my earlier outburst. No need to play up your leader role.” He muttered and the blonde across from him smiled. It was a smile full of amusement and it made Junmyeon feel like he was being humored. He didn’t really like that feeling.

“I just wanted to talk with you again. I mean the last time we talked was at dinner and that was a week ago. You’re interesting you know.” The amusement had moved from his smile to his eyes and Junmyeon didn’t know what to say for a second.

“Are you sure? Most people think I’m terribly boring.”

“I’m positive. Otherwise I wouldn’t have handed over my car keys to Luhan and entrusted him with the lives of our friends. I mean I’m potentially sacrificing them just for this conversation. You haven’t disappointed yet. Although I have got to say you’re awfully guarded today, it seems like you don’t want to be here. Something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I just..it’s nothing.” The younger shrugged and leant back in his seat. His gaze landing on random things in the cafe. The pastry display, the shiny coffee machine, Yifan’s blonde hair. He kept himself slightly distracted. Yifan had noticed his snappiness, his lack of ease and had called him out on it. Now he had to play it off.

“See that works on your friends I bet. They probably listen to you and let it go but I feel like I shouldn’t so why don’t you just tell me? Its not like I’m going to go blabbing to anyone. I’m generally too busy to even think after all.” Like that was reassurance. Junmyeon fought the scoff wanting to escape from his throat.

“Its nothing really. I just have a lot of things going on. Being friends with Jongdae means I get nothing done. Its just the typical school stress coupled with my friends convincing me to do things that I probably shouldn’t.” As the last bit left his lips Junmyeon once again felt like apologizing. He was just insulting people left and right today wasn’t he? Yifan did a better job of hiding it than Jongdae but that same upset could be found in his eyes.

“Well you know, you could always..I don’t know. Ask for help?” The brunette frowned at the blonde. What kind of nonsense was he spouting? Kim Junmyeon couldn’t ask anyone for help. That was silly. Way too silly an idea to even entertain it for a second longer than he already had.

“No. I don’t think so. This has been great. Really but...I have got to go. You know that school stuff and what not.” Junmyeon rose out of his seat, grabbed his things, and smiled awkwardly before rushing out of the cafe.

That conversation had gotten a little out of hand. He didn’t want to deal with it either.

~~

A/N: Hello~ my lovely readers! First off, I would like to thank everyone for reading this story. It's a new experience for me, I don't usually write happy stories so...I'm glad so many of you like it. Also, a big thank you to the lovely ReadingUntilThreeAM who made a poster for this fic. I am eternally grateful, thank you! Please check it out in the Foreword. One last thank you, this one is to my fantastic beta IDreamofEugenie because without him this fic would be a mess. If you love Kaisoo his fic is the one to read! Anyway, comment, subscribe, or just leave me a message about this fic if you'd like. I'm curious as to what you all think in regards to the future chapters of this story. Thank you again, Slythie <3