I still wasn’t off the hook. I still needed to come up with something to do at the talent show, but what? My teacher wanted me to hand in my contribution latest tomorrow.

I groaned and threw myself on the bed in my parents room –I somehow found inspiration in here.-

Then our maid Mary entered and jumped a little when she saw me.

“Oh dear! Soo-na, you scared me!”

I smiled at her, “Sorry Ajumma!”

“What’s wrong?” she asked and I sighed while sitting up.

“We’re having a talent show at school where everyone has to participate and I have no idea what to do!”

Mary slowly nodded while thinking, “And you’ve got your stage fright too… I assume you can’t work behind?”

“Already asked.”

She nodded again and took a seat next to me, “You can’t be with a classmate?”

“They don’t want me…”

“Then just stay home! Tell them you’re sick!”

I’d thought about it. It would definitely be the easiest way out, but it would also satisfy the rest of the students. By not being there I would show my white flag, saying I give up. But if I went and totally screw up I would also show them they were right, that I was useless.

So I basically had to got and own it.

But I couldn’t. Just thinking about being on a stage in front of the whole school made me nauseous.

“Whatever, I’ll just go with it…” I said and left Mary on the bed.

“Go with what?” she asked.

“Don’t know… We’ll see! Thanks though!” I smiled at her. She sadly smiled back and shook her head when I had left.

“Such a pitiful girl…”

“Yah! YAH! Young-min! For the love of God get your over here!” Tae-hee yelled at her husband over the phone, “I’ve got an idea!”

“Honey, I can’t! I have a huge deal here! I mean, this is seriously huge! You need to see it! Come here you!”

“…Fine…” she sighed and got in the car.

While at the company she went into her husbands’ office where she found him as usual by his desk.

“What’s the dealio?” she asked as she took the seat opposite to him. He smirked and tossed a magazine over to her.

“Read the front page.”

‘SM Entertainment’s got a new staff?’, it read and Tae-hee looked up at her husband confused.

“You have a new employee or what? You seriously dragged me out here just because of this? Congrats you’ve—“

“No! No! Just open and read it all!”

With a tired sigh Tae-hee opened the magazine and begun to read. As she read her eyes widened and the magazine got closer and closer to her.

“Oh my god, this is huge! What are we gonna do?”

“I don’t know,” Young-min smirked and studied his nails, “I’m thinking about letting it leak…”

When she got the memo Tae-hee also smirked suspiciously and leaned back, “Yeah. I mean, there’s no evidence we ever saw this magazine. We couldn’t actually stop this from leaking, right?”

“No…”

“But…” Tae-hee suddenly got serious, “What’ll it do to your business?”

“If anything I’ll just get more attention, so it’ll only benefit me.”

“Great then!” they both smiled.

“What was it you wanted to talk to me about?” Young-min then asked and his wife shrugged.

“Nothing much… I’m just gonna have to pay Soo-na’s school a visit.”

“Really? Why?”

“Just… You know…”

I walked the hallway down in my loneliness, occupied thinking about what performance to pull off. I would never sing.

Maybe I could be a magician?

Suddenly I heard a hell lot of whispers and saw people flocking around something. I curiously looked at that direction and to my horror saw my mother walking out of the principals’ office. We locked eyes for a second and she discreetly blinked at me.

What the hell was she up to now?

She then continued out of the building while having a whole pack of students following her. Some even asked her stuff, which she gladly responded.

“Soo-na,” someone than said and I snapped out for my trance. I turned around and saw Mrs. Choi smiling at me. Why is she smiling? It’s giving me a bad feeling.

Mom, what the did you do?

“Yeah?”

“Would you please talk with me for a second?”

“Sure…” I hesitated. I really had a bad feeling about this.

She escorted me into our classroom and closed the door. At this rate I just couldn’t handle it anymore.

“What’d my mother do?”

She widened her eyes and formed an O with , “Your mother? Nothing special. She was just curious about the parent meeting next week.”

“Why didn’t she call then? Or asked me,” I muttered under my breath, “What’d you want to talk about then?” I crossed my arms.

“The talent show. Have you come up with anything yet?”

I looked down in the floor while twisting, “Nooo… Not really… I’ve thought about doing a magic trick maybe?”

She gave me an interested look, “Oh! You know magic?”

“No…”

She facepalmed, “Then how’d you think you would preform it?”

“I don’t know…”

She sighed tiredly, “We’ll talk about this later, class’s starting.”

“Oh my god! Did you guys see her?”

“She was so magnificent!”

“Yeah! What was she even doing here?”

“Maybe she’s finally signing her daughter in at this school?”

“Or maybe… she already goes here…?”

This was the conversation everyone had going while entering the classroom. I carefully listened; their speculations were actually kind of fun to hear.

“Na, I think we’d know if she went here… Hongbin were pretty obvious with who he was.”

“Yeah, but seonsengnim said she was shy…”

“Though, judging by the looks of her mother, she must be a real beauty. There’s no way we could miss her. Mrs. Kim was probably here to transfer her here.”

“Or it had something to do with EXO and their visit.”

“Maybe she was looking for talents?”

Mrs. Choi stood in the front and smiled at how charming her students were. For once, they actually used their brains to think.

“Let’s begin class students. And if you can please keep that brain working for just this last class too, both your grades and I would be happy.”

The students sighed and opened their books.

“Today we’re staring a new chapter…” the teacher begun her history lesson and it all went pretty fast.

Soon she asked us to close the books again for the day and dismissed us with her final words, “Remember that I want a taste of your performance by the end of this week, which gives you exactly three days to prepare.”

The rest of the class murmured some response and then hurried out. Lucky for me, they all seemed in a hurry today and didn’t bother much about me.

When I exited the room Hongbin stood outside and waited while leaning on the wall.

“I’m so happy I don’t go to your class,” he said. I glanced at him with raised brows and he continued, “Or else I would be forced to stand on a stage in front of the whole school, plus EXO, and embarrass myself.”

My expression darkened, he was obviously mocking me, “I hate you.”

He continued like he hadn’t heard me, “Luckily I don’t. And I assume you’ve got everything under control?”

“What do you think? Of course I do,” I muttered. We walked to my locker.

“I look forward to see it.”

“I’ll force you to sing with me, though… That’s my final.”

He smiled a little, “That wouldn’t be a good idea. I’m hot, not talented.”

I skeptically eyed his full length. He looked good, I couldn’t deny that. Though, I’m not going to give him that pleasure, “Dream on, ego.”

I closed the locker and went for the exit, “Do you need help?” he asked and I stopped.

Hell yeah I did. Though, I was planning on asking someone from EXO or something for help.

“Um… No, thanks. I think I’ve got it under control,” his face sank a little, “but can I call you if I get any troubles?” I added. His face slightly shone up and he nodded.

“Sure thing! Well, call me then!” he said and gave my arm a pat. Then he turned away and walked from the school. I smirked a little and ran after him.

“Why you sayin’ goodbye? We’re like neighbors, we go the same way home, remember? Man, you always have to make things awkward, do you?” I joked while blinking at him.

Firstly he stared a little at me, then he smiled, “Right. I forgot.”

I snickered and grabbed his arm.

“Arg, Kyungsoo, help me! I don’t know what to do!” I head someone complain out in the kitchen and curiously looked out, only to find Soo-na lying with her face down onto the table.

When did she get here?

Kyungsoo patted her back while saying something that made her crack her head up. Right then Tao also walked into the kitchen and slammed himself down next to her. She leaned her head on Tao and he snickered about something she said.

I frowned my eyebrows at her and Tao. Could she not do that? It makes me uncomfortable.

Suddenly Chanyeol came walking into his room –which I was currently in. This was the only quiet place.

“Hey, watcha doin’?” he asked and I moved my eyes to him.

“Nothing, just… When did Soo-na get here?”

“Oh,” Chanyeol too looked out at her, “a while ago. She apparently needs help with something music/talent related… I don’t know. Couldn’t handle Jongdae, so I had to take my escape.”

I cracked my head a little bit further and saw Jongdae messing with everyone.

“You should probably go out help her. I’m guessing it was you she was looking for either way.”

I slightly blushed and nodded, “Yeah.”

I slowly approached her while listening to their conversation, “Suho oppa, weren’t you nervous your first time on a stage?”

Suho oppa?

“Then how about you Kris oppa? I heard Yixing oppa was so nervous the first time he almost fainted, the poor thing. Minseok oppa had to go fetch him water all the time.”

Kris oppa? Yixing oppa? Minseok oppa?

My eyes slowly darkened by every word. My mind was somehow uneasy and suddenly I was next to her. She looked up at me and smiled.

“Oh, hi, Baekhyun.”

That was it, “BAEKHYUN? THAT’S IT?”

She blinked confused, “Yeah?”

“WHY THE DO YOU CALL EVERYONE ELSE OPPA AND NOT ME?”

The other members stared in shock before starting to giggle. Soo-na just blinked at me, before staring to laugh too.

“I’M SERIOUS HERE! YOU SAID YOU’D CALL ME OPPA! AM I NOT A MAN TO YOU OR SOMETHING? IS THAT’S WHY?”

She suddenly got angry and stood up, “Why do I have to call you oppa? You act like a freaking child and you can’t force me. Grow up, geez.”

Soo-na stormed out and threw the door shut. I just stood there and blinked. What’d just happen?

Kris tsked and came to stand beside me, “I think you just made her angry.”

“No , Sherlock,” Suho snapped and stood on my other side, “You should apologize.”

“Did you seriously get jealous because she didn’t call you oppa?” Jongdae then came and shook his head.

Suho then sighed and gave me a look, “Of course she sees you as a man, you . What the hell did you think otherwise?”

 I drove a hand through my hair, ignoring Suho, and groaned.

“Why should I apologize? She didn’t have to get angry.”

I left to Chanyeol’s room and annoyed locked the door. Everything was just so annoying. Why couldn’t she just call me oppa? She called everyone else oppa. Even Sehun, that baby.

Then the door unlocked and Chanyeol made his appearance. He came to sit down next to me on the bed.

“How’d you get in?” I asked.

“I have the key to my own room, you know.”

I nodded and we went silent again. Chanyeol just sat there until I opened my mouth.

“I don’t even know why it is so important to me. But…” I took a pause, “I don’t want her to see me as a brother, who she can be whatever around. I want to be a man to her, just like you all are. Can’t I have the same chances as you?”

“She does see you as a man. Use your brain a little, idiot. It’s the rest of us who are the brothers. Can’t you see the way she shines up when she’s with you? She talks to you about things first of all and she always comes to see you. Never us.”

“Then why won’t she call me oppa?”

“Maybe because she’s insecure? She knows she can call the rest of us oppa, because it will never mean anything to her. It’s a different thing with you; it’s a different meaning behind the word oppa, and maybe she wants to be sure of what you’re feeling first.”

I looked at Chanyeol and his eyes were nothing but serious.

He was probably right and I had been a total to her.

“I have to apologize,” I said and he nodded.

“You should.”

I left and Chanyeol was left smiling on his bed. Then Sehun walked in, “You should write a book.”

“I know, right!” the elder burst out.