Fly - GOT7

This just came out today!

Oh my god, I've been waiting for their comeback in forever holy. I was so on top of this, I've watched their teaser which ... is some pretty deep stuff, and the album spoiler. I am so hyped for this album!

My bias in the group is Jackson, he's just too much of a dork for me and honestly, he needs to continue to be more of a dork. I watched him on 拜托了冰箱 and I loved every second of his innocent self. Can't wait for season two of that show, he needs to continue to be MC. 

Anyways, the song. Let's just say that it took me two tries to get into the music. It's not I didn't like it, I don't know, something about it caught me off guard, but then again, first time I listened to this song was when I just woke up so I was groggy and half asleep. The chorus is really catchy (Jackson's raps are always on point) I do wish that for the chorus they had the high notes more prominant, as it did sound as if it was dying out, but it would make sense since they had to drown it out for the raps. 

I love their outfits in the MV. The concept is great, camera work is brilliant, a bit too much cuts for my liking, but hey, they have to keep changing angles to maintain interest I guess. The choreography is very cute. It seems like a very performance based choreography as much of the MV was actually just them dancing on an empty set. That being said, I still can not wait to see how they perform this live, and for the dance practice video to be out!

One thing is, I'm very curious about the basis for the MV as in what the whole idea behind it is, but so far, I really like how it keeps me questioning the events that occur. Really hoping to see more from GOT7, I can not wait for their album release.

-O.F

Chapter 13

Ling's POV

I spent the majority of my time in the hospital next to Luhan. He didn't really need to be in the hospital, but the company had thought it a good idea to keep him there longer for publicity reasons.

One morning I had decided to go over early right after EXO had left for their schedules. I snuck out of the dorm and made my way to the hospital under Zhang-ge's guidance over text. When I arrived, Luhan was still sleeping. I sat and watched him sleep, eventually falling asleep myself with my head on his bed.

When I woke up, Luhan was stroking my hair.

"Good morning," He beamed at me.

I flushed red and sat up straight next to him. "H-how's your wrist."

He shrugged at me. "It's fine, I hate how I'm just stuck here."

He got out of bed and walked around the room stretching. He stopped in front of the rows of flowers given by his fans. "If only they knew why I'm still in the hospital."

"Oh," I got a lunch box from my bag. "I made you lunch."

He turned in surprise. "For me? You shouldn't have."

He made his way to me and took the lunch box with no hesitation. "Tell you what Ling, I've been getting sick of the food here. I mean it's good and all but..."

I watched him look at the contents hungrily and take an egg roll.

"Wow, you can really cook." He looked at me, eyes wide.

"I worked at a small restaurant before. I can cook really well."

"Perfect wife material."

I blushed profusely and shook my head, my heart feeling like its going to beat out of my chest. "No, no."

He laughed my reaction. "So you're the ring girl huh? Sehun couldn't stop talking about you last night on the phone."

I looked at him surprised. "Really? I'm not that interesting."

"He told me how you resolved his argument with Xiumin."

I blushed.

"I have to say, you're doing really well as his ring girl."

"No, Sehun's just immature," I explained. "He didn't understand why Xiumin went to see you without telling him. I mean Xiumin's just trying to protect him you know, and he just didn't understand."

Luhan smiled at me and said nothing.

I stared back. "What?"

"You're fond of him," Luhan's smile widened into a smirk. "You like Xiumin."

My heart flew out of my chest and I felt my eyes widen in shock.

How could you say that to me, when it's plainly obvious that the one I like is you.

"You're so cute when ur embarrassed." Luhan ruffled my hair and stuffed the past of the lunch in his mouth. 

"It was delicious thank you."

Mid afternoon, Xiumin arrived at the room with a basket of fruits. He stopped when he saw me.

"Ling, what are you doing here, why aren't you at home?"

"What are you doing here, don't you have schedules?" I retorted back.

Xiumin waved a hand at me. "It's over for the day."

He sat down next to me and looked at Luhan. "Fruit basket for you from your fans. I picked it up at the front desk."

"Oh thanks," Luhan put it on the bedside table. "Did you bring me anything?"

Xiumin stared blankly at him as he chuckled. "Ling brought me a lunch box, where's your present?"

Xiumin stared at me for a moment then back at Luhan. "Lu-ge, I'm here, what more do you need?"

Luhan laughed and pulled me closer to him. "I have Ling, I don't need you."

I felt his chin on my head as he held me around my shoulders and my heart just couldn't take it anymore.

Luhan...

-
Xiumin's POV

I was jealous. Jealous of the lunch she made for him and jealous of their relationship. The way Ling looked at me was nothing compared to the way she looked at Luhan.

I watched as he jokingly pulled her into a hug, her face turning red and his not.

It's so obvious that he doesn't like you that way, Ling.

I grabbed Ling and pulled her out of his grip.

"You should go home," I muttered to her.

She looked at me confused. "What why?"

So I don't have to watch you and Luhan.

"Our manager is coming later, and if he sees you, there'll be talk."

Luhan nodded in agreement. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Ling frowned and walked out of the room without looking back.

"Jerks." She said before she closed the door and I couldn't help but smile.

"How's your wrist doing," I asked Luhan.

"Fine," he smirked at me and leaned forward. "Let me tell you something, brother."

I leaned in.

"I think Ling likes you."

I snapped and stood up glaring down at him. "Let me tell you something, if you think I'm going to lose against you, you are wrong."

He stared at me with a lost expression. "What? What are we competing for?"

I cried out in frustration. He doesn't even know, he's always so oblivious and it is really pissing me off.

I glared at him again and waved it off. "Never mind, let's talk about something else."

We listened to music and talked about his concert for the rest of the afternoon. Around 7, the rest of EXO filed into the room. We all yelled excitedly at each other waiting for the camera man and the managers arrival to shoot our next scene with Luhan. Naturally, he was not excited for the shoot. Luhan was the only one out of all of us to have a script. The managers couldn't risk him letting slip something as he was no longer in EXO.

I watched as Sehun and Chen tried to cheer him up with new jokes they've learned. He smiled weakly back at them and eventually the two of them gave up deciding it was best to just give him some space.

The cameramen arrived first with our makeup artist. I couldn't help but glance at Luhan as they brushed his soft dyed gray hair. His face looked grim as he read over the script the cameraman gave him.

Without warning the door to the room slammed open and our manager stormed in. He slammed his hand on the table.

"Xiumin, that friend of yours from China," he bellowed at me and I jumped. "What is her name?"

I blinked.

"What happened?" Luhan left his bed and joined us around the table.

"Oh great, you know her too?" Our manager was fuming in anger. "And all of you know her as well."

All of EXO bowed their head in confusion.

"Great, great, that's wonderful, then do tell me." He paused to take a breath. "How do I explain this situation to your fans?"

He pointed at a picture on his phone. I moved closer to take a look.

The photo was taken at the hospital and Ling stood at the center of the members, not including me. Sehun stood in front of her and Chen had his arm around her shoulders. She was smiling and her fingers were in Sehun's blonde hair, stroking it back.

He scrolled the page to reveal more pictures and I felt my mouth drop.

One of them was a picture of Ling in her blue blouse and me in my sunglasses walking in the mall with our coffees.

Beside me, Sehun stared at the photo of the two of them walking together at night.

Ling!

Chapter 12

Ling's POV

I had told Zhang-ge to pick me up at their dorm so that we could go to the hospital together. I specifically kept this from Xiumin as we walked home in worry.

Of course, all this backfired when we arrived home and Zhang-ge was already there.

"Ling let's go."

"Where are you going?" Lay asked joining into our conversation. "What's happened."

Xiumin looked at the members and his gaze rested on Sehun. "Luhan's at the hospital."

Sehun's expression turned dark instantly and he grabbed his coat. "We're going."

Suho nodded and the members all left to grab their jackets.

"No!" I screamed at them and they stopped in their tracks. "You signed a contract!"

Suho sat down in thought. "That's true."

Sehun didn't stop and headed for the door. "I don't care."

Kai held him back. "Let's think of another way."

"Use the fans," Zhang-ge muttered impatiently at me. "If they find out that Luhan's at a hospital in Korea, they'll have to let them see him."

Lay nodded. "That's not a bad idea."

I explained to the members and they nodded their heads.

"Baekhyung has a fan account he uses to interact secretly with the fans." Chanyeol grinned and Baekhyung blushed. The two of them huddled together on his phone and started to spread the news. Zhang-ge passed his phone to me.

"It's all over the Chinese news, I don't think you need to do that," He said scratching at his stubbles. "We got swarmed at the airport when I went to meet him too. Everything should already be in the media."

"Oh!" Baekhyung yelled. "They already know! SM is getting major hate right now."

He played a video on his phone.

"Fans have gathered in front of SM entertainment to protest against not letting the members of EXO see their former member Luhan at the hospital." The reporter was yelling at the top of his lungs over the fan cries. "The former Chinese member was transported to Korea earlier tonight after being in a fatal hit and run accident in Beijing, China. It is reported that he did not want to abandon his Korea concert which will be happening later this month. Nothing has been heard from the Chinese police regarding the suspects, but the investigation is ongoing."

Suho's phone rang.

"Hyung-nim?" Everyone looked at him. "Yes, yes, I understand."

He hung up and grabbed his jacket. "They're letting us see him."

Everyone cheered and left to prepare.

"You and Zhang-ge should probably go ahead of us," Suho told me. "It'll be bad if our manager sees you here."

I agreed and left with Zhang-ge to the hospital.

-
Luhan's POV

They made too much of a deal about it on the news.

A fatal injury? Not even, I wasn't dying, well except a broken wrist and an aching side. But really, fatal was not the word.

The door to my room burst open and Ling ran in towards me. She bit on her lip and smacked me on the head.

I blinked at her and my mouth fell open. "W-why!"

"How did you get in an accident!" She bellowed at me tears forming in her eyes.

"It wasn't my fault!" I reassured her. "I-"

That wasn't true and I knew it. I recalled my dizziness just before the collision and shut my mouth tight.

"Your manager outside just said to me that you were over-worked!" She said sitting down angrily on the chair next to me. "And that you wanted to be overworked?"

I said nothing, it was nice to see Ling again.

She pouted and glanced up at me, her eyes softening. "I'm glad that you're alright."

I blushed and ruffled her hair. "You're dressed so nicely, did you go somewhere today?"

She nodded. "Xiumin showed me around Seoul."

Xiumin?

Just then the door burst open again and all of the EXO members rushed in.

"Hyung!" Chen rushed over to my side. "How are you?"

I spent the next hour being entertained by my visitors. We joked and they filled me in on all the things that happened after I left. I couldn't help but feel left out as they continued each other's sentences to finish telling me a story.

I used to be a part of that.

Ling put her hand on my good hand and squeezed. She looked at me but said nothing.

"Luhan, did you know she was the ring girl?" Sehun said excitedly.

"What? No way."

Sehun took my hand and showed him the ring on my finger. The members oohed and I felt my face explode with embarrassment.

"I bought her the shirt." Xiumin cut in smirking at Sehun and the members grew louder.

"I bought her those shoes." I challenged feeling slightly irritated. "Back off from my sister."

"What is happening here?" Chen laughed. "Love, square?"

Before I even had time to react, the door to my hospital room slammed open for the third time. My old EXO manager walked in followed by the other EXO managers and a few cameramen.

"You two, out." He pointed at Ling and Zhang-ge.

I watched as they were escorted out of the room and into the hallway with the door slamming in their face.

"You guys just act normal." My ex-manager said to us. "Ignore the camera man."

The other managers hurried to do our makeup and fix our clothes.

I pushed them away with my good hand. "I'm sorry, I'm not with SM anymore and I don't want you filming in here."

He smirked at me and leaned into my face. "You think I don't know why Xiumin went to China?"

The room fell into complete silence.

"I don't think he will still have a spot in EXO after I tell the boss."

I glared back at him then glanced at Xiumin who shook his head.

"Fine." I spat at him bitterly.

His face distorted into an ugly smile and he handed me a piece of paper. "Your script."

"My what?" I snapped. "Why do I need a script?"

He looked at me and laughed. "So you don't mess this up."

I read over the script in annoyance and paused at a line.

"I'll be working on a song with EXO?"

-
Ling's POV

I stood outside the door with my ears pressed against the door as Zhang-ge sat patiently with his tea in his hand.

"I can't hear anything!" I complained and sat next to him. "Why did they shut us out?"

"So it's just EXO members." Zhang-ge chuckled. "They probably don't want us messing up their image."

I ran my hands through my hair. "I can't believe SM is using stuff like this to their benefit."

Zhang-ge shrugged. "That's business."

A few minutes later, the door to the room opened and the camera crew and managers flooded out.

I watched as the EXO members followed them out and all bowed in unison. I joined them back in the room and sat on the bed next to Luhan.

"What happened?" I asked as Zhang-ge strolled slowly back inside.

Baekhyung passed me his phone with a video on it. The members talking to Luhan just like old times and-

"You're working on a joint project together?"

Everyone shrugged in confusion and the video continued. "SM planned it."

I looked at Luhan who has been silent since I walked in. Our eyes locked and he smiled weakly.

"You okay?" I asked and everyone looked at him.

"Yeah," he paused and looked up at us, his voice was shaking. "I just don't want to anymore, not with SM again."

I sat feeling helpless in the silence of the room. My hand yearning to hold on to his.

Chapter 11

Ling's POV

I woke up to the smell of breakfast and wandered in my pajamas to the kitchen where Xiumin was making breakfast.

He turned to me holding a cup of coffee. "This is about the only thing I can make well."

He puffed his cheeks in embarrassment and passed the cup to me.

"It smells amazing," I smiled at him. "Thank you."

I took a sip just as Baekhyung, Chanyeol and Sehun came down the stairs.

"Woah!" Baekhyung called out. "Ling, you shorts! They're so-"

I blushed hard and tried to pull down my shorts.

Sehun smacked him on the head and held him in a choke hold. "What were you thinking hyung."

Baekhyung laughed and the two of them moved to the couch and crashed.

"Wow, hyung!" Chanyeol's mouth watered at the site of the food. "Is this all for us?"

Xiumin laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, it's not that great."

He passed me a plate of eggs, toast and bacon and leaned on the counter as Chanyeol and Sehun helped themselves to breakfast.

"Where do you want to go today, let's go do something fun." He grinned and tilted his head.

I pinched his cheeks and giggled. "So cute." I blurted out.

He frowned and pushed my hand away. "Stop it."

I looked at him blankly kind of shocked.

"I'll meet you back here in 10 minutes for our outing okay?" He said without looking at me.

"Yeah, okay." I said hesitantly and watched him go back to his room.

I sat there in silence trying to comprehend what had happened. Sehun took Xiumin's place in front of me and looked me in the eye. "You shouldn't have said that."

"What? I didn't offend him." I groaned.

He flicked my forehead. "Aish this girl. You hurt his man pride."

I furrowed my brows and looked at him skeptically.

"You see, guys don't like being called cute." He stabbed a piece of bacon with his fork.

"Hey don't worry. He'll get over it." He said with his mouthful. "Go get changed, you have a date don't you?"

I blushed red and left quickly as Sehun chuckled behind me.

About five minutes later I walked out of my room only to walk right into Sehun. He put a finger to his lips and guided me back into my room.

"Wear this." He held up a pale blue blouse. "He bought this for you yesterday."

As Sehun stood facing the door with a towel wrapped over his eyes, I changed into a white tank top and put on the blouse. It was a perfect fit. There were holes at the shoulders and the medium length sleeves connected to the body of the shirt where it puffed out. It matched nicely with my denim shorts and the white sneakers that Luhan had given me.

"How do I look?" I uncovered Sehun's eyes and spun him around to face me.

He gave me the thumbs up. "Go get him." He winked at me and I smiled.

-
Xiumin's POV

I sat on the couch with my sunglasses and snapback in my hand. I looked at my watch.

She's late. Is she upset that I pushed her hand away?

I used my phone as a mirror and checked my hair one last time. I ran my hand through it to make sure it stayed up. Tired of sitting, I stood up and began impatiently pacing the room. I had on a pair of black cargo shirt with a short sleeved white and green hoody, but now that I had more time, I felt more of a need to change.

I headed for my room again.

Maybe a different shirt? Should I just leave my hair down?

I tipped my head in frustration just as Ling walked down the stairs.

She was stunning from head to toe. The first thing I noticed was the blue blouse that I had bought for her the day before. She wore it extremely well. Her hair was down in small waves that surrounded her face. She combed it back with her fingers and she smiled making me blush.

"Ready?" She said coming closer.

"You look nice." I smiled and bowed my head.

"What is this, why are you so formal." She smiled cheekily at me and punched me in the shoulder.

We left after she helped me hide my identity. I had decided not to wear the face mask today because of how crowded I suspected the roads would be. Ling was worried but I insisted I without one.

The day went very well. We went to the movies, followed by lunch and made our final stop at the mall. Ling and I joked around at different shops and eventually found ourselves in a hat shop.

"You like hats don't you?" Ling ran ahead of me and tried on a top hat. She grabbed another one and placed it on my head.

"What is this." I laughed when I saw my reflection in the mirror.

We took several selfies together with different combinations of hats. Eventually, we felt the angry glaring of the shop owner and decided to leave before she kicked us out. When we left the mall with our coffee it was already dark.

"Should we go get dinner too then?" I asked looking at her from the corners of my eyes.

"Anything you want Oppa." She had made herself comfortable with calling me that word but my heart was certainly not. I felt it beat faster as we walked towards a small corner restaurant with her arms looped into mine.

"Could we get a room?" Ling asked after I told the waiters that it was only us two.

The waiter stared at us for a brief moment then nodded. "There's a room free for the night."

We made ourselves comfortable with the small room sitting side by side in front of a round table and looked at the menu. As soon as the waiter had left the room from delivering our orders Ling sprung onto me.

"Excuse me." She smiled and grabbed my glasses off my face. "It's very awkward not being able to see your eyes when I talk to you."

I stared at her surprised, my heart beating loudly.

"Imagine talking to some one who looks like this all day." She put on the glasses and my hat. Ling brought her face closer to mine to make a point. "Not very easy to talk to right?"

I laughed and took my hat back from her. "Sorry for putting you through that."

She shrugged and began to eat.

We walked home through a park. It was late and there was almost no one around. I put my arm around her holding her close.

"Are you scared?" She smiled at me. I shook my head and slipped off my glasses, I felt strange wearing sunglasses when it was dark.

She frowned at me. "You're going to get caught."

"Then I'm ready for the consequences."

"I'm not," she whined. "I'm telling you now, I would not be able to live with myself if you get kicked out of EXO."

She looked away. "There's already been so many members that left."

I hugged her closer. "Aw, you don't have to worry about me."

She pushed me away. "Oppa, you're taking this like a joke."

I stared at her in the darkness.

"You and the members get along really well, how can you be willing to just sacrifice that."

Because of you.

She crossed her arms at me and maintained a distance. My phone rang and she looked at me.

"Hello?"

Zhang-ge's voice bellowed through the speaker. "Give to Ling."

His Korean was horrible, but I passed the phone to her all the same. I listened to Ling chattering away in Mandarin and suddenly felt the urge to learn it as well.

"Xiumin," she finally said. "Luhan's in Korea."

"What really? Where?" I said taking the phone back from her.

She paused.

"The hospital."

I felt my heart sink into a deep dark hole.

Chapter 10

Ling's POV

I held Sehun's ring in my hand and grinned at him. I slipped it on my middle finger and showed it to him.

"It fits!" I grinned. "Thank you, Oppa."

He laughed and his eyes crinkled. "So how about doing our hair?"

"I agreed to spend the day with Xiumin tomorrow." I pouted.

He nodded kind of disappointed then smiled cheerfully. He stood up and reached for my hand. "Let's go now."

"N-now?" I blinked in surprise.

He grabbed my hand and pulled on his cover. The two of us left the house and got on a bus
towards the heart of Seoul.

"This isn't right," I whispered standing next to him on the bus. "If we get caught you're going to be kicked out of EXO for sure."

I hear him laugh behind his mask as he leaned closer to me. "Don't worry, no one has recognized me yet."

I frowned. "Yet, but if it happens."

He put his arm around my shoulder and brought me closer to him. "Let's just have fun alright? You've been cooped up at the dorm way too much."

I couldn't help but smile at him. Alright, only this time.

We arrived at the barber shop. It was a small place that sat between two tall business buildings. It looked completely out of place with it's battered up sign that hung crooked on the front of the building.

"Ajumma!" Sehun yelled as soon as the door closed behind us. When he noticed that the shop was empty he took off his cover and motioned for me to sit on a chair.

"Yes?" A short lady walked out and stopped when he saw Sehun. "No no no no no. I can't dye your hair today."

Sehun smiled and looked at me. "She was the one who gave me that rainbow hair."

"Oh? What's this?" Her eyes narrowed when she saw me. "You finally went and got a girlfriend huh?"

My face felt hot and I looked away.

Sehun laughed and leaned on the counter next to me, his tone was embarrassed. "No, we're just friends."

I nodded in agreement but avoided eye contact with him.

"What made him your favorite," the lady shook her head and gathered her equipment. "He's nothing but trouble."

We chatted with the lady as Sehun watched her give me a hair cut. I watched in the mirror as my dyed brown hair fell to the ground little by little.

When we were finished Sehun grabbed me by the hand and took me out for dinner at a small diner.

"Alright so, tell me," He said as we were waiting for our order of extra large fries with honey garlic wings. "What is your relationship with Xiumin?"

"Xiumin?" I repeated after him a bit surprised at the question.

He chuckled and leaned forward in his chair directly in front of me. "Well?"

"I don't know," I frowned and looked at his eyes through his sunglasses. "What are you expecting me to say."

He shrugged. "I don't know, I feel some kind of tension between you two. Do you, like him?"

I blushed and he burst out in laughter. Lucky we were in a noisy diner, otherwise, Sehun would not be able to get away with his disguise right now. He pulled his hood lower to cover half of his face. "You do don't you."

"N-no! I don't."

"Yaa, you don't have to lie about it, it's pretty obvious."

"I really don't."

"Oh come on, you don't have to hide it from me, I'm your Oppa remember?"

"I really don't," I desperately tried to convince him. "I like Luhan."

Oh, crap.

Sehun stared at me, mouth open as our plate of food came.

He ignored the food and leaned even closer to me. "Really? Like really like?"

I felt like running out of the diner at that very moment. I was prepared to disappear in embarrassment. I nodded and covered my face with my hand. "Ah, why is this happening."

He laughed at me and took a Chicken Wing. "Hey don't worry, this Oppa will keep your secret. On one condition."

I froze. There's a condition?

"Tell me how this love of yours happened."

The sky outside had already started to darken, but it seems like its going to be a long night.

-
Xiumin's POV

I was the last member that returned to the dorm with exception to Sehun who didn't return at all. When I walked through the door Ling was nowhere in sight and her shoes were gone. In the living room, the members sat surrounding the shopping bags that were filled with the clothes we had bought for her.

"Sehun came back," Chen complained. "I told him to bring these back since he was finishing first today."

"Yeah but he's not here is he." Suho ruffled his hair in frustration.

"Neither is Ling," Baekhyung said lazily. He looked exhausted.

"They probably went somewhere together," D.O said looking around.

"Hey Xiumin, what did you buy for her?" Chen asked taking his bag out of the bunch. "I got her this hoody."

He held up a black hoody with the word EXO on it. The members broke out in laughter.

"What is that," Chanyeol laughed and held up a white and blue ruffled skirt. "See this is cuter."

"Not as cute as this." Baekhyung held up a coral colored sundress.

The members followed by showing each other what they had bought for her. We proceeded to laugh about the events that happened during our schedules today and eventually decided to sleep.

I was getting restless. As Baekhyung and Chen played cards on the kitchen counter I paced around the living room waiting for Ling to come home with Sehun.

At around 11, Ling and Sehun burst through the door huffing and puffing.

"I win!" Ling laughed holding up her hand.

Sehun shook his head and bent over to support himself on his knees. "No, I did."

I could barely watch as Sehun slipped his hand through her fingers and dragged her to the living room where they sat next to each other. They whispered in each others ears and laughed like old friends. I frowned and retreated to my room where I buried my face in a pillow.

Ling, please look at me and only me.

-
Luhan's POV

I found myself working harder than before. I wanted to get to Korea as soon as possible and join Xiumin, Zhang-ge, and Ling. I made sure my manager had packed my schedule so that I would be able to get to Korea sooner. With 3 more days of heavy schedules, I had started to feel like I was back with SM again.

After the photo shoot with Puma, I left with my manager feeling slightly nauseous. I left the set with my mask and sunglasses on and walked with my head down behind my manager. I tried to avoid the groups of fans who were standing outside the building, nodding at them and jogging to keep up.

The sun was blinding and the weather was extremely hot. It was suffocating behind the mask and I started to feel slightly dizzy as I moved towards the crosswalk. I pushed myself thinking of my trip to Korea and nodded away the feeling.

For a brief moment, everything blurred. A car beeped loudly in my ear followed by an intense pain in my sides. Everything went hazy then before I knew it, I was on the ground and everything went dark.

Chapter 9

Sehun's POV

I heard footsteps following after me but did not turn to see who it was. I shut myself in my room without giving a chance for the person to follow in.

They knocked on the door. "Sehun, open up."

It was Ling. I looked up feeling irritated.

Why hadn't Xiumin brought back Luhan rather than this girl? Why was she here anyways?

"Sehun, please open up," she continued. "Don't do this."

I scowled in the darkness.

Next she's probably going to tell me all the words I want to hear. Yes, I know how comforting people works.

"You know you're really a jerk for saying those things to Xiumin."

I glared at the door.

What?

"I get that you're angry but come on, don't be so immature about it."

She was not helping.

"I guess that's what you get for being the youngest."

I swung open the door in anger. "What did you say?"

She slipped passed me and into my room. I held back my anger and closed the door.

"You planned that."

She turned on the light and smiled. "Oh, believe me, I meant everything I said."

I frowned.

"Let's run through this in Xiumin's perspective okay?"

I sat angrily on my bed and said nothing.

"Xiumin wants to see Luhan, he doesn't care if he breaks the rules, he's ready for the consequences." She paused. "Do you think he would've told you the youngest member to break the rules?"

I thought about it.

"If let's say something went wrong on the way and you got caught. Who do you think is going to be more disadvantaged? The older guy or the younger?"

I looked at Ling. Her eyes were soft and her brows were furrowed.

She made some good points.

"I could've prepared myself for the consequences." I reasoned with myself.

"Xiumin couldn't," she didn't hesitate. "I doubt he would've forgiven himself if something bad had happened."

I felt guilt rush throughout body like a bolt of lightning. I stood and gave Ling a hug. "Thank you."

She stared at me blankly when I let go and I couldn't help but smile.

-----♡
Xiumin's POV

I didn't know what was worst. The fact that Sehun and I were fighting, or the fact that Ling went to him rather than me. I sat in the living room with the other members giving me words of comfort. I could never tell if what they say we're genuine or just out of respect because I'm the oldest. I kept glancing in the direction of Sehun's room hoping Ling would return at any time now.

Few minutes later, Sehun rushed out followed by Ling. He walked straight up to me and bowed his head.

"Hyung, I'm sorry," He said. "I was wrong."

Everyone just stared at him then at Ling.

"Wow, what did you say to him!" Baekhyung laughed. "Incredible."

She shrugged and grinned happily.

"Hyung, forgive me?" Sehun hung his head in shame.

I pulled him in and gave him a bear hug. "Of course."

"So tell us, did u get to see Luhan?" Chanyeol asked excitedly.

I nodded and sat down on the couch again. Everyone sat down and looked intensely at me. Ling sat next to Sehun, the two of them looked closer than before making me wonder what had happened in his room.

"He's doing really well in China actually," I explained. "Healthier and a lot happier."

"He asked about all of you, asking how you were and stuff."

"Oh!" Ling cut in. "He has a concert in Korea, that's the main reason why I'm here actually."

Sehun looked at Ling. "Really?"

She nodded and explained how she met him at the coffee shop.

"Ah, Zhang-ge's coffee shop, of course, he loves it there."

"Ling's staying here until Luhan comes to Korea," I explained.

"Then we can get Luhan to come over," Chen shouted.

Lay nodded in agreement. "We'll make sure we're not caught."

Sehun's face lit up and agreed.

The next morning I woke up to find Ling in the kitchen making breakfast.

"Good morning!" She glanced at me and smiled. "How was your sleep?"

"It was great."

Sehun walked down downstairs still in his pajamas and stood next to Ling.

They exchanged looks and laughed. "Go wash your face Sehun, you look like a mess." She ran her finger through his hair and pushed it away from his eyes.

I frowned at the feeling at the pit of my stomach.

First Luhan, now Sehun. Why won't you look at me?

When Sehun left to wash his face, I took the opportunity to help her with breakfast.

"Thanks for the dinner last night, it was delicious."

She beamed at me. "Glad you liked it."

"Tomorrow, I don't have a schedule, how about going somewhere with me?"

She turned and looked at me. To my surprise, her cheeks were red. "Sure."

My heart skipped a beat and I let out a sigh of relief. She poked my cheeks and I turned to look at her.

She giggled. "Xiumin, you're so cute."

I laughed feeling a bit embarrassed, but somewhere in the back of my head, I didn't like her calling me that.

Sehun returned and together the three of us cooked for the rest of the members. We ate and once again left and headed for our schedules. I locked eyes with her for a brief second before leaving and she smiled.

"Oppa, fighting!"

-----♡
Ling's POV

The minute they left the house I began to clean again. The boys were friendly and funny but they were undoubtedly the messiest people I have ever met. I picked up a shoe in the middle of the stair way and began to search for its pair. I found myself wondering into the old rooms of Luhan and completely forgot about the shoe. I looked around at the unfurnished bed, the clean desk and the photos hung on the walls. They were mostly cute selfies with the members. Behind a group picture of all the EXO members, a red strip of ribbon was hanging out. I pulled on it and a stack of folded paper fell out. I kneeled and looked through them.

They were letters dating back to before he debuted, letters that went back and forth from him to his friends in China. A picture of Luhan and a girl slipped out of the last picture. I picked it up and examined it. His hair was blonde which meant that it was taken after their debut.

Borin?

I recognized the girl as a friend of mine during my time as an exchange student in Korea. I hastily pulled out my phone to look at her pictures on social media.

It is! This is Borin!

I scowled at the photo and stuffed it into my pocket. My heart thumped loudly as I left the room.

Jealously pulled at my heart as I thought about Borin and Luhan together. I shook it off and continued cleaning.

At around 2 PM (shout out to my all-time favorite group), Sehun returned to the dorm with bags of clothes and sat on the couch.

"Ling, come here." He motioned me towards him.

"We all decided to buy some clothes for your stay here." He pointed at the bags. "They are all here, they wanted to see if you could guess who got you what."

I stared at him and turned as if I have not seen him.

"Hey," he stood up. "Do you know how hard it was to get these clothes? We had to sacrifice our break, go under cover and walk into female stores. We had to-"

"Alright alright." I turned and returned to his side on the couch.

I looked at all the bags. "These weren't expensive were they?"

Sehun smiled. "No, we don't want to burden you. Hold on, before you start."

He took off his ring and gave it to me. "It's the one I gave you that time at the fan signing. Keep it."

Sehun dropped it into my hand. "How about we go and get our hair done tomorrow?"

Chapter 8

Sehun's POV

At first, I didn't process what Xiumin had said. I looked around to see everyone's expressions turn dark as Xiumin hung his head in shame. In front of him, Ling looked at Xiumin with a worried expression.

I made eye contact with Chen and he mouthed the name of the man I had felt most comfortable with in EXO.

I felt the anger burn through my senses and I gripped my hand into a fist, suppressing it. He had gone to visit Luhan without me, despite knowing how close I was with him. Lay stood up from the bed and moved to put a hand on my chest.

"Calm down," He whispered, his voice had always been so soothing.

I ran my hand through my hair and left the room without saying another word. I hear Chen, Baekhyung and Lay following and calling my name but I didn't care. I hadn't talked to Luhan for almost a year because of the agreement we had to sign regarding communications with ex-members. I had almost broken that agreement several times after he had left but always stuck to it in the end and Xiumin just. He just-

Suho stood up from the living room and moved in my way. "What happened?"

"Do you know," I bellowed. "Do you know why Xiumin went to China?"

Suho's eyes widened in surprise. "Sehun-"

"That bastard," I found myself holding back tears. "He went to see Luhan!"

-

Xiumin's POV

Sehun's voice echoed through the house, each word hitting me with guilt. I stood with my head down in front of Ling not knowing what to do next.

I felt her presence get closer to me and my hat came off of my head. She ran her fingers through my hair and fixed my bangs which were a mess. I looked away, I couldn't bring myself to look her in the eye, not after her seeing me like that. With no warning, she brought me into a hug and I found myself buried in her shoulder, the scent of her hair rushed to my head and I calmed down.

"You didn't tell the others?" her voice was barely a whisper. "You should've told them."

She didn't hesitate to tell me the truth. I stayed in her embrace as she whispered in my ear, some hurtful things, and some sweet. I closed my eyes and just listened to her careful pronunciations, and the song-like tone of her voice.

"It's okay, I'm on your side."

I couldn't help but hide a smile on her shoulder. She let go and looked me in the eye.

"Don't worry too much okay?" She beamed at me.

Despite everything that's happened, my heart wouldn't stop beating.

Ling's POV

Xiumin was smiling again after I hugged him. His cheeks blossomed like a flower and he stood straighter than before. He bumped his forehead against mine and rested his hand on my waist. I blushed but couldn't look away from his bold eyes and gorgeous smile. My mind went blank.
I watched as his eyes lingered on my lips and he leaned forward.

A kiss? No, but-

Luhan's face flashed in my mind and I had to push away. Xiumin stumbled slightly and looked at me a bit surprised.

I didn't really have a reason to deny Xiumin's kiss other than the fact that I was in love with Luhan. Yet, it was a lot harder to push Xiumin away than I thought. I felt more of a connection with Luhan than with him but at the same time, Xiumin had spent more time with me.

I brushed back my bangs and tried to untangle the thoughts in my head. I glanced at Xiumin who was undoubtedly also deep in thought.

Finally, he left the room without another word leaving me alone in my room with my luggage still in its case.

As I began to unpack, Baekhyung and Chanyeol decided to drop in. They helped me unpack while playing with my clothes like children. The two of them ended up finding my jewelry case and had started to look into it.

"Hey, isn't this-" Chanyeol held up a ring.

"Oh! Its Sehun's ring!" Baekhyung bellowed. "Hold on, you're the ring girl?"

"Woah, this is some coincidence right here." Chanyeol shook his head as Baekhyung darted out with the ring to find Sehun.

"Hey." I joined Chanyeol on the ground next to the bed. "Are you guys going to forgive Xiumin?"

I couldn't help but worry about their relationship. I didn't want this small mistake to ruin their friendship forever.

Chanyeol furrowed his brows. "Probably, we always end up as one again. We just need him to step up to it you know? We all don't mind keeping this a secret."

I nodded.

Baekhyung returned moments later dragging a still unhappy Sehun behind him.

"Ling, show him, no say the words you said to him that day, do you still remember them?

I repeated the words I had said to him that day. I still didn't quite understand what the big deal was with what had said.

"Ring girl!" He smiled and pointed at his short blonde fluffy hair. "How do you like my hair today?"

I gave him a thumbs up. "Not as great as the rainbow but, it'll do."

He laughed and moved to sit next to me. "So Ling is your name. Tell me, am I your bias in EXO?"

It surprised me how much they all wanted to be someone's bias. I grinned and nodded feeling kind of embarrassed for admitting it.

"Then you have a reason to call me Oppa." He laughed evilly and smirked at Baekhyung who resumed whining.

A few minutes later, Suho called them down to go for their next schedule. I watched from the stairs as everyone filed to the couch including Xiumin. He sat alone in the corner of the room not talking to anyone.

I frowned. He should just talk to them like Chanyeol had said, they will forgive him if he just owned up to his mistake. Eventually, EXO had left the dorm, each waving to me as they left through the door. Xiumin was the last to go.

He ruffled my hair. "Don't worry, be good okay?"

"Talk to the members, they'll understand." I pleaded.

He said nothing and just smiled before leaving through the front door.

I couldn't go out and see them off as their managers were in the van. I looked around the dorm suddenly feeling extremely lonely.

At half past five, I started to read in the living room waiting for them to return. When it was 6, I decided to start cooking. I made enough for all the members and myself. After eating, I cleaned the kitchen and returned to my position in the living room. Their dinners sat at the dining table getting colder by the minute.

I don't know when I fell asleep, all I know is that I woke up to shouting. The time was 11 when I woke, the dinners were gone and the EXO members sat around the living room with Sehun and Xiumin standing in front of each other at the center. Lay put a finger to his mouth when he noticed that I had woke up and D.O who was sitting on the other side of me did the same.

"You know, this is just like you," Sehun was almost shouting. "You never share your opinion with us, and you never act your age."

"You think I didn't way to tell you guys?" Xiumin bellowed back. "We wouldn't be able to go see him at all if I told!"

"Not even me? You know how close I was with Luhan!"

"Not as close as I was."

Sehun snapped and raised a fist which was immediately stopped by Kai.

"That's enough." Suho stood up. "Xiumin has a point."

Sehun scoffed and lowered his fist shaking Kai off of him.

"It always ends like this, we always just end up agreeing to everything he says."

I watched Sehun walk off in anger and couldn't help but follow after him. From the corner if my eyes I saw Xiumin watching me.