a/n: this is a longer update to make up for my inactivity. hang tight!
"Hey sleeping beauty!"
Someone poked my shoulder, and as my eyes fluttered open I came face to face with Baekhyun.
"I would kiss you awake like the movie, but that's Xiumin's job and he's still getting changed out of his stage outfit."
I couldn't help but smile. "You know Baekhyun, I'm really thankful for everything you've done and helped me with. From the moment I stepped through the door of your dorm all of you guys have been looking after me and I don't know how I can repay you."
"Why does it sound like you're saying goodbye?" Baekhyun questioned.
"We won't let you leave, you are one of us now."
As I yawned and adjusted myself on the chair that was still facing the backstage monitor, Baekhyun reached forward and ruffled my hair.
"Hey!" I swatted his hands away, both of us laughing.
He came around to the front of me and pulled me to a standing position. With his hands on my shoulders he turned me around and gently pushed me towards the change rooms as he spoke. "Aren't you forgetting that you promised you would come with us to the BBQ restaurant? Go, get changed and get ready! The other members are still changing, you should still have some time before we leave," he urged.
"Right, I will! Thanks Baekhyun!" I shouted as I walked through the backstage door and into my dressing room.
I changed into some spare clothing I brought with me. I slipped on my black ripped jeans and a light pink pullover sweater before brushing through the curls put in my hair and pulling it up into a ponytail. The makeup artist artist was kind enough to offer some touch ups again, which I agreed to. Being in this backstage environment was still something that felt foreign to me, but hopefully with more exposure to these experiences I would get used to it.
I grabbed my purse and ran out of the change room towards the backstage door, and luckily caught the members and the managers before they started separating into groups for transportation. I came to a stop beside Xiumin and Chen, deciding to sit beside them in the backseat of the van for the short ride to the restaurant.
"I was about to go and wake you up but I guess someone else beat me to it," Xiumin mumbled as he took his hand in mine and we piled into one of the two black fans.
As one of their managers started the van, Chen finally finished clicking his seatbelt into place and sighed back into his seat. "I don't know why, but I always get so nostalgic when we gather together in vans. From debut to when Kitkay joined us, such memorable moments have happened in vans."
"I never would have imagined Chen to be deep and nostalgic. Lay, Suho, and Kyungsoo better fit the existential crisis personality, this is weird," Chanyeol interrupted.
Baekhyun chuckled. "You're lucky that the three of them are in the other van because I'm pretty sure all of them would've just kicked your ass."
"That may be one of the reasons I said it just now."
Baekhyun turned around and looked at us from where he was sitting together with Chanyeol in the middle of the six person van. He over dramatically rolled his eyes which earned him a few smacks from Chanyeol.
"I never said that I didn't agree with you!" Baekhyun defended himself from Chanyeol's long arms. "If anything I think that Kitkay should be added to that list. She gave this whole speech earlier when I woke her up about how grateful she is that we accepted her into our lives."
Xiumin turned his head towards me and buried it into the neck of my hoodie. "That sounds like a goodbye speech."
"I said that too," Baekhyun said, both him and Chanyeol turning around in their seats to look at me questioningly.
"I'm not going anywhere! I promise. After all we've been through now there is no way I could just leave all of you guys. You should know that."
"You can never be too sure," Xiumin mumbled, head still buried into my hoodie.
The manager cleared his throat from where he was sitting, in the drivers seat. "Ji Kyung, you put on a good stage tonight. I personally don't have any decision in whether you stay with us or not, or if you debut with a group or go solo. But I believe in you- you seem a lot stronger than the other trainees working under SM Entertainment. You have my trust."
"WOAH!" Chen yelled. "You even gained our manager's trust, Kitkay!"
"Chen, I'm only one of your managers. You know how strict Jungri is. He tends to abuse his power as your other manager. He doesn't take what you want into consideration, and SM is too blind to see it."
Baekhyun sighed. "I know. When he came to visit Lay in the hospital, he got mad at Lay for getting sick. Manager Jungri kept going on about how it would affect his schedule and how Lay would have to make a fast recovery even if he wasn't getting any better."
"Why didn't you tell me this earlier, Baekhyun?" Manager Wongyu asked, his hands tightly gripping the steering wheel.
"Because Lay made me promise not to."
Manager Wongyu seemed like a nice guy, compared to the second manager that Baekhyun was mentioning. Maybe that had something to do with Lay's recent behavior changes, but by the weird vibes I was picking up from Xiumin when Lay was around I'm starting to think I'm a root cause as well.
Sensing a shift in my demeanor, Xiumin looked up and gave me a quick peck on the check. "We'll always be here. I feel like you are constantly worried about us but we all get through things together."
"Okay guys, this looks like the BBQ chicken place that Kai was talking about," Manager Wongyu said as he carefully parked the van, Chanyeol nodding in approval that this was indeed the right place.
Hopping out of the van and quickly running into the restaurant to avoid the rain, the other group of EXO members were already there. Managers and members separating into two different tables, and we all sat down at our own round table.
"Jeez Chanyeol," Suho uttered. "This is quite fancy for a BBQ Chicken restaurant."
"It isn't often that we all get to sit down around one table and share a meal together. So many of us have different schedules but Kai and I thought that now would be a perfect time to eat together. Since it was our idea anyway, Kai and I will be splitting everyone's bill." Wide eyes were passed around, Xiumin and Suho sharing the most disbelief.
Kyungsoo was the first one to break the silence. "Are you guys sure? There's ten of us plus managers and staff. Wouldn't the bill be a bit to much?"
"The staff are paying for themselves," Kai explained. "Plus with Chanyeol and I splitting the bill it isn't actually as bad as it sounds."
"Alright then," Suho gave in. Waiters came around with menus, giving them to each of us as he walked around the table. We were still sitting in similar spots from our groups in the vans- Xiumin and Baekhyun on either side of me with Chanyeol and Chen beside them. Suho, Lay, Kai, Kyungsoo, and Sehun sat on the part of the round table opposite me.
"Should we order individually or as a party serving? I'm starving," Sehun piped up.
"Let's go with the 40 piece wings and drumsticks set, and then get the large pasta and salad side dishes to go with it," Kai stated. "And soju too. Let's go all out."
I was about to say that that seemed like a lot of food, but then I remembered that I was sitting with 9 boys who were all hungry after a long concert. The food would more than likely be inhaled instead of eaten.
As the waiter came back around, Baekhyun leaned over towards me and put his phone out on the table. "Hey Xiumin!" he said, getting the older's attention. "You might wanna check this out." Baekhyun slid the phone across the table and my placemat towards Xiumin. Giving Baekhyun and I a side glance before picking up the phone, he read the news article plastered onto the screen.
"Multiple popular Xiumin fan sites reopen after recent Exo concert with Xiumin's girlfriend." He looked up from the screen, a smile slowly starting to spread across his face.
"Keep reading," Chen urged, the whole table quieting down as Xiumin kept scrolling further into the article.
"After the very recent Exo concert where Xiumin's girlfriend -by the name Ji Kyung- performed a solo stage, multiple Xiumin fan sites have reopened. Xiusweets, Mini99, and My Snowflake have all reopened, and although nothing is confirmed it is suspected that the reopening is because of their approval of Ji Kyung. Although some fans still aren't happy with the whole situation, Ji Kyung's stage has seemed to settle down some of the issues. More fan sites are in talks of reopening- we will keep updating our article accordingly." The smile on Xiumin's face spread across the table, and even Lay was now smiling.
Suho threw his arms up in the air, the same way a soccer player would after just scoring a goal. "We knew the stage would work! Your director sure is smart, Kitkay."
"We should celebrate," Kyungsoo considered. The other members nodded in agreement.
"How about just celebrating here, since we're already all together," I proposed. "Nothing too extravagant."
Kai nodded. "We ordered soju, right? So let's just have a good cheers and eat well tonight."
"It's been a while since we've drank together, hasn't it?" Xiumin asked.
I thought for a few seconds before adding my own input. "It hasn't been too long though, almost all of us drank when we were at the Christmas party." Both looks of suspicion and smirks of happiness were shared between the members.
Lay was the first to clear his voice. "Yeah..." He muttered. "That was quite the night." The conversation died down after that, but the atmosphere remaining comfortable.
I could easily tell that the members were exhausted- most of them were turning to their phones to entertain them and they sunk into their chairs and patiently waiting for the food to arrive. Once it did, the waiter divided it between three serving plates and distributed the chicken around the table. He went back to the kitchen to retrieve the pasta and salad, placing them in the center. A second waiter came out and placed bottles of soju around the table.
"Let me pour your shot for you, Kitkay," Xiumin said as he gave off a wide smile. As the soju began pouring out of the bottle and into the clear shot glass my eyes slowly traveled up to his arms. His biceps were shaded and sculpted perfectly; very obviously the result of hard training. The muscles in his neck were long and defined, cutting off sharply at his angular jawline. He was biting his lip, which caused them to turn a shade of red slightly darker than usual. His cheeks were slightly flushed, but it could just be the lighting of the restaurant playing tricks on my eyes.
He turned towards me and met my gaze, catching my previous actions. "Like what you see?" He asked as he set my shot glass in front of me on the table.
"I think it's obvious by now...." I trailed off, once again focusing my attention on the other members at the table. As they each picked up their glasses, I did the same.
"Cheers!" Suho exclaimed. "Cheers to the people we have grown to be in this short period of time. To Kitkay for not only putting up with us but accepting us. Cheers to problems solved, and may we continue on our paths successfully wherever they may take us."
My mind drifted to my current status at SM. Was I still considered a trainee? I hadn't debuted yet officially... If my director deemed me unfit after my performance then there was still the possibility of be going under the radar and being dismissed.
Suho broke me from my thoughts. "Anything you would like to add, Kitkay?"
"Thank you for everything, since the beginning. I'm incredibly fortunate to be in this position and very lucky to have met all of you." All eyes were on me, but unlike a few hours ago when I was onstage, these gazes have me hope.
"Then cheers!" Xiumin concluded.
"Cheers!" Everyone shouted before lifting up their glasses and letting the contents pour down their throat. The soju that Xiumin poured me must've been flavored, as the aftertaste was slightly fruity.
Looking around me, all the members seemed to be in bliss. They were engaging in conversations with each other while smiling brightly, and cheery laughter filled the air. I glanced towards Baekhyun and saw that he was the only one who didn't seem one hundred percent into it. I tapped his shoulder to get his attention off his phone, then gave him a questioning look as I tilted my head.
He hesitated before reluctantly setting his phone on the table and sliding it towards me, just like earlier. I looked down and picked it up, my mind evaluating what what on the screen.
It was a text message from EXO's manager, Wongyu.
Manager Wongyu: Thought I'd give you a bit of a heads up about a meeting that was being called for tomorrow morning. Director Soo Man said he wanted all the EXO managers and members present, as well Kitkay and her director. I just received the email a few minutes ago. You might want to limit the alcohol- don't want to risk too bad of hangover. Have fun, I'm a few tables over if you need anything.
Looking up at locking eyes with Baekhyun, I saw my own worried expression shared. My future would be decided tomorrow and there was no further way I could convince my director that I was worthy of debuting if he and Soo Man had already decided to dismiss me.
I turned my head and looked back at Xiumin, who currently has his head thrown back in laughter as Kai chowed down on another piece of chicken.
Let's have tonight together as a group, together as one. Whatever happens tomorrow- so be it. Let's just make memories tonight.
—•—•—
a/n
I want to do some serious editing of this book once I complete it. There's only about 2 more chapters left, are you guys excited? Don't forget to comment and vote! Let me know how you are doing and what you think :)