[Sol Han Na’s POV]

I was woken up by sunlight hitting my eyes. 

I sat bolt upright and flipped my phone open.

8:03AM.

I’m screwed.

I flew off to the bathroom and took a bath. A few more minutes on that bed and I’m surely going to be late for work. Why didn’t the boys wake me up? 

I sped off my self-preparations and immediately went downstairs. As expected, the boys are already gathered in the living room, enjoying their breakfasts.

“Good Morning, Han Na!” Suho greeted, waving at me from the sofa.

“Good Morning, oppa,” I replied, feeling embarrassed. 

An arm suddenly draped over my shoulders. It was Chanyeol, holding me close to his body. 

“I see you had a good night sleep,” he began, smirking at me. “You’re up late.”

“Good morning, oppa,” I said, removing his arm over me. “And yes, I had a pretty good sleep.”

I walked over to the couch and sat beside Sehun who’s quietly enjoying his pancakes. I caught Baekhyun looking at me. I gave him a polite nod. 

Actually, I wasn’t sure if last night had been a dream or what. I was pondering about it as I took my shower. It was too good to be true that I actually thought I had been imagining it myself. But with the way Baekhyun is looking at me right now, I know all of it had been real. 

I remembered the way he sang to me. His voice, full of sweetness and passion. I had only listened to him sing the first two verses before my mind finally drifted to sleep. It was the most peaceful sleep I ever had since I arrived here. The nightmares didn’t visit me that night. I better remind myself to thank him later. 

“So... who prepared breakfast?” I asked, eyeing the food scattered on the living room table. Bacon, eggs, hotdogs, pancakes... they were all in different varieties.

“Kyungsoo hyung cooked it for us, noona,” Sehun answered through a mouthful of pancakes. I covered his mouth with my hand. “Ya, don’t speak when your mouth is full.”

Sehun and I are laughing at our own jokes when Kyungsoo suddenly entered from the kitchen. He’s still wearing a blue apron and holding a spatula in his right hand. He looked cute, I began to giggle.

“I like your fashion sense, oppa,” I teased. 

He rolled his eyes at me and answered, “I prepared some food for you. Come eat with me in the kitchen.” 

He walked off. I stood up from the couch and patted Sehun in the head. “I better go. Kyungsoo oppa seems to be in a bad mood.”

“He’s always in a bad mood,” Sehun muttered under his breath. I laughed and made my way into the kitchen.

“So you made breakfast, oppa?” I asked as I sat on one of the stools in the island table. Kyungsoo placed a plate of bacon and eggs in front of me. It smelled nice.

“Yeah. We wouldn’t want to wake up the sleeping beauty,” he replied, placing a  freshly cooked egg on his plate. He removed his apron and sat beside me. “Why aren’t you eating?”

I was playing the egg with my fork, I stopped. “Nothing, oppa. Sorry I overslept.”

“Nah, it’s okay,” he said, ruffling my hair. “It’s nice to see you sleeping so well.”

I smiled at him. “So, it’s American-style breakfast, huh?”

“The boys wanted it for a change,” he answered with a shrug.

We finished our breakfast peacefully, only the two of us, when we hear the familiar honk of the van. I stood up.

“Go on to the living room, oppa. I’ll follow after washing this,” I said as I carefully took our used plates.

He stopped me with a hold of his hand. He grabbed the plates from me and placed then on the kitchen sink. 

“We’ll do that later. Let’s go,” he said as he took me by the arm and pulled me towards the living room. Sure enough, Manager Song is already there. 

Kyungsoo and I walked towards the other members, his hand still gripping my arm, and I saw Baekhyun looking at us. Am I imagining things again? I decided to take a peek at Baekhyun and he wasn’t looking. I shrugged. Maybe I’m being delirious.

Moments later, we’re in the van and on our way to the company.

“You know you’re going to record today, right?” Manager Song spoke, looking at the boys through the rear view mirror.

“Yes,” they answered in unison.

“Well, I hope we can finish everything,” she began. Her gaze suddenly shifted from the boys to me. She continued, “By the way, Han Na. The CEO gave you some amount for the song you wrote. How much should I send to your family?”

This caught my attention. Oh yes, the song. I’d probably get paid for the copyright. I almost forgot about it.

“Please send everything to them, Manager,” I replied. 

Manager Song raised her eyebrow at me. “You’re not leaving anything for yourself?”

I shrugged. I still have the money I received from the convenience store and I haven’t used it once. “Do I have to, Manager?”

“Of course,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You have needs, too. I’ll send the 60%, keep the 40% to yourself.”

“30%, Manager,” I bargained.

She sighed and spoke, “Fine, 30%. We’ll go to the mall this week and buy you some stuffs. You’ll need lots of new clothes.”

“Can we go, Manager?” Sehun suddenly spoke.

“No,” Manager answered without a thought.

“Please?” he spoke again, his voice pleading. I looked at him at the back and saw that he already had his trademark puppy eyes and pouty lips.

“No, Sehun. We can’t afford to have you seen by many people in public,” Manager Song replied, her tone final.

Sehun simply laid back on his seat, his lips pouting even more.

“Just make sure you’ll buy her the best clothes, Manager,” Baekhyun spoke from the back. His voice sounded smug, teasing.

Manager Song twisted from her seat to looked at him. She smiled and said, “Of course. You know my style.”

I don’t know what has passed between them but that look and smile from Manager Song really gave me the shivers. 

A few moments later and we’re inside the practice room.

“Here you go,” Manager Song began, handing Suho a folder and something that looked like a CD. “The folder contains the lyrics to your three new songs while the CD contains the instrumentals. Listen to it very carefully and try practicing your lines. You’ll start recording after lunch. Good luck.”

Manager left as soon as she finished handing everything out. The boys took a CD player and began working. I was left standing in the middle of the room, suddenly not knowing where to go. 

“Hey Han Na, what are you doing there?” Kai asked. He and the boys are sitting on the floor, circling the CD player. 

“Uhh...” I mumbled, not sure what to say.

Kai stood up and walked towards me. “Don’t just stand there. Help us in here,” he said as he placed an arm over my shoulder and dragged me into their circle. I sat down. Kai still has his arm over me. My mind is going blank.

“So our comeback song is entitled Growl,” Suho spoke, staring intently at the folder in his hand. “It looks great.”

“Let me see it, hyung,” Baekhyun said, getting the folder from his hands. He seemed to read whatever’s inside it and began to nod. “Yeah, it looks great.” 

He handed the folder to Kai. I took a peek. It wasn’t what I was expecting. Because of its title, Growl, I was anticipating something super manly and sort of action-packed, but well, it was a love song after all. I felt myself nodding in amusement.

“Cool, huh?” Kai spoke. He still has his arm over my shoulders, making me sit a bit closer to him than necessary. I can easily smell his scent. Get a grip, Han Na. I mentally slapped myself.

“Y-Yeah,” I blurted. Baekhyun made a disbelief sound beside me, like he thought something was pathetic. I looked at him but he was looking far away. 

“Shall we play the CD?” Chanyeol offered. The boys nodded and so he hit play. Kai removed his arm over me and focused on the piece of paper handed to him. The other guys did the same. 

Suddenly, music sounded from the player. This must be their comeback song, I thought to myself. The music is “hip-hop-ish” with a bit of “dubstep” touch in it and later on, I am actually nodding my head to the beat.

What sounds like the first verse and chorus of the song ended and we’re now entering the second part. The boys, who has finally grasped the song, began to sing along.

“Geomeun geurimja nae ane kkaeeona
Neol boneun du nune bulkkochi twinda
Geunyeo gyeoteseo modu da mulleona
Ijen jogeumssik sanawojinda
Na eureureong eureureong eureureong dae
Na eureureong eureureong eureureong dae
Na eureureong eureureong eureureong dae
Neo mulleoseoji anheumyeon dachyeodo molla”

Everything was going on smoothly. Everyone was serious and focused on mastering the songs and memorizing the lines, but all of us cracked up when Sehun sang the E X O part.

“Do it again, do it again,” Chanyeol ordered, still laughing hard.

Sehun immediately obeyed. “E X O,” he said, shaping his fingers according to every letter. The members cracked up again.

“Hey maknae, that’s good. You can do it in the actual music video,” Baekhyun suggested. Sehun nodded in agreement, looking so smug and proud because of his new discovery.

The practice continued and soon we have finished the second song titled XOXO which is quite upbeat but with a sweet feel in it.

There was a moment of silence just as a familiar melody swept through the air making everyone react.

“It’s your song, noona!” Sehun exclaimed, holding my shoulders while shaking me.

“Wow, it sounded different without the guitar,” Kai mused. 

True enough, it really sounded different. The melody became happier, more energetic. The bass was clearly noticeable but guitar was still used together with piano. I felt a surge of pride, just hearing how my work turned out.

“They really outdid themselves,” I said in awe. “It sounds so wonderful.”

We easily picked up the melody and sang along. The moment felt so light, so perfect, like I don’t have a single problem or worry in this world. We finished the rehearsal and immediately made our way to the cafeteria to grab some lunch. 

Eyes followed us as we entered the room and found ourselves an empty table. At first, I thought it was EXO the people were looking at but in the end I realized it was me. I ducked my head, letting my hair cover my face. I felt so uncomfortable with all those eyes directed at me. 

“Han Na, you okay?” It was Baekhyun, his hand placed protectively on my shoulder.

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter