DAY 3

After all, it IS summer in Seoul, so you feel extremely carefree. Last night, your roommate had gladly told you as much as she knew about EXO, but not too much that you'd feel overwhelmed with all the new info. Their comeback was a few months ago, so you assumed that they must have a lot of work coming.

It's morning now and you're already awake, washed, and presentable. You apologize to your friends for not being able to hang out with them again, but they laugh it off and tell you to "go for it!" and "good luck!" You smile back. Then, one of your Korean friends tells you that you should speak Korean with them so that you can improve your vocabulary. Your eyes widen at the idea. It's a little embarrassing to, but it's a smart plan. 

"Kamsahamnida!" You say to them as they leave to do more sightseeing. You don't even know where they're going today. "Joeun haru dweseyo!" You hope that you said that right. You meant to say "have a nice day".

Fifteen minutes of sitting in the hotel lounge later, Kai comes to pick you up. It's still very early morning. "I want you to watch me dance." He had said. The car that comes is to pick you up so you can go to the SM building to watch them practice. 

It's not too far and Kai's driving the car. Right when you arrive at the building, he stops the car but doesn't step out.  He faces you and opens his mouth to say something, but stops. It's like he's hiding something, you think.  Instead, he gives you a small smile (that you immediately think is extremely adorable) and steps out of the car. You do too and he leads the way into the huge building.

Even this early in the morning, there are fans everywhere. They snap pictures of Kai whenever they get the chance and you feel very uncomfortable as you follow him. But it's as if he can read your mind, he takes your hand and pulls you through the crowd.

Inside, he continues holding your hand, leading you through the building. It's huge, as expected, and the dance studio is what you almost expected it to look like. There's a mirror that covers the entire wall. And, in one corner of the room, stood five extremely handsome boys all staring at you. One of them looks up at Kai and says, "Kai, you're late."

He apologizes and then the other boy starts laughing and telling him it's ok. Kai introduces you to them.

There's Suho, who's the leader of the group. His real name is Kim Joonmyun and he's very polite and gentleman-like. He tells you that you may call him Joonmyun. He's quite a bit shorter than Kai and his slightly-red hair is short and kind of spiky. 

Next is D.O. The first thing he tells you is that you can call him Kyungsoo. His real name is Do Kyungsoo (which almost explains why his stage name is D.O.). His eyes are very big and he has a very happy look to him. He's nice, a little kiddish, and easy to talk to. He's the same height as Suho and his hair is dyed brown, a little wavy, and styled well. He has an easy smile.

Park Chanyeol introduces himself, even before Kai can introduce him. He's good looking and looks sorta like a kid, but he's really tall. You find yourself looking up, and you step back so that you don't have to look up at such a severe angle. Well, that was slightly exaggerated, but he is very tall. His hair is black and quite short. When he smiles, it's wide and cheery and contagious. His voice is surprisingly deep and has a nice sound to it.

Kai introduces you to Byun Baekhyun, stage name Baekhyun. He's really cute and adorable as opposed to handsome or sexy. His voice is also surprisingly low, though, and he's a charming person. His hair is dyed blonde, his eyes are bright, and his smiles are also cute. He's polite as he is introduced and bows. 

Lastly, there's Oh Sehun, the maknae, or youngest, of EXO-K. His hair is the first thing you notice as it is dyed blonde, short on one side, and has pink highlights. Even though you've never seen such a hairstyle, it looks good on him. He has a slight lisp, which makes you feel kind of sad to hear. You imagine that he must not get too many parts because of it. But he's a little shy, yet polite, and he shakes your hand and bows.

After being introduced to all the wonderful members, you say "And then there's Kai--"

"Ah!" Chanyeol says, "You still call him Kai? Why not call him Jongin?"

You look at Kai. He shrugs, then smirks.

Just then, someone walks in and immediately the rehearsal gets started. You get to sit in one corner of the room as you watch them dance. You don't know how much time passes since there's no clock in the room, but a long while later, the members are granted a break. While the other members get criticism from a person who seems to be the choreographer, Chanyeol comes over and sits next to you. You say hi and he gives you a smile. Then he takes a drink from his water bottle. "You know," he says in his deep, mesmerizing voice. "Kai is dancing really well today."

"Doesn't he always?" You ask.

"Yeah, but..." He turns and smiles. "Well, he's dancing even better." Then he gets up and walks away. You can't help but wonder why he wanted to come over just to tell you that.

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[Hours later...]

It's late at night. You can't imagine having to do this multiple times over and over again. You ask Kai how he manages.

"It's tiresome." He says. "But I love what I do." And he gives you a smile. He stops the car in the hotel parking spot and pauses for a second. It starts raining outside.  Crap.. You think you to yourself. I'll have to run to the entrance...

You reach to open the car door, but he stops you. His hand is on your arm.  The expression on his face is dead serious. "What is it?" You ask him.  Your hand is still on the door handle, but you move it off slowly. Your eyebrows knit together in confusion, but you try to listen to what he seems to want to say. Maybe this is what he wanted to say in the morning. 

"Three days ago, I barely met you."  He begins. He looks hesitant, as if he might make a big mistake in any second.

"Yes. I know. What's...what's wrong?"  Where is this going?

"But you're so different. It's almost like I know you already."

For some reason, a tear streams down your face. This is too cliched. But he continues anyway.

Then he says, "but, I think I love you."

Another tear. His expression is concerned. "Why...are you crying?" He asks you, then uses a finger to swipe away the teardrop. 

"Scared...to...love...you...." Is what you say. When did you get this cheesy?

But he doesn't laugh at how cheesy it sounds. He takes your face in his hands, looks you right in the eyes, and leans forwards slowly. His lips barely touch your forehead and then he looks you in the eyes again.  He whispers to you.

"Don't be afraid."