Do You Remember? (EXO Chen)

Meeting the Parents?!

My eyes widened in shock, and my mind went blank. Who could ever put a blame on someone like that?

"She just wanted to make you feel guilty. You don't actually know if she actually-"

"I know," Chen interrupted, "I already told you before, remember? She was a liar."

"How could someone just...." I trailed off.

This time it was me who hugged him tightly. Without knowing what else to say, I just wanted him to know that it wasn't his fault. To put that kind of blame on someone was really just.....

"Does she ever try to talk to you?" I asked.

"Yes. Even after these 3 years, she still messages me," he mumbled.

"What does she want?" I asked warily.

"To date me again," he let out a dry laugh, "I think she just wants the fame."

"Guilt.....it's not something that ever leaves your mind, right?" I sighed quietly.

"Do you ever feel guilty?" he asked faintly.

"Of course. My aunt....I think she's not telling me something really important about the accident," I smiled a little, "how've we become so serious all of a sudden?"

Chen pulled away gently, "you've always made me smile before. Say something."

"Ummm......" I scanned my brain, "I think I'm taller than you?"

"Hey!" he jumped to his feet, and pulled me up, "I'm taller than you."

"I'm really tall though," I warned him, moving so I was back-to-back with him, "I'm totally taller."

"How can you even see that?" he challenged, "no, I refuse to accept it unless someone else says so."

"I'm pretty sure I'm just as tall as Kyungsoo-sunbaenim. And I'm pretty sure you're around the same height as him," I rolled my eyes, laughing.

"I'm a whole 1 centimetre taller than him!" Chen protested, "so therefore I'm taller than you. Hah."

"Whatever, Kim Jongdae," I mock-sighed, "I give up."

"Yayyy~" he did a childish dance that I found absolutely adorable, "we better go back now. Before the doctors think I made you break the rules."

"The hospital has rules?" I asked innocently, as we headed back to my room.

"I made sure to memorize all of them before I visited you," Chen bragged.

I laughed, knowing that was no way true. We filed back to my room, and I sat down at the foot of my bed. Chen sat down on the chair facing me. We were sitting so close that our knees were almost brushing, and I tried not to look like I was hyperventilating (when in reality I totally was on the inside).

Before I could react, Chen snatched my phone from the bedside, "before you do anything else, go call your mom."

"Why....." I trailed off, staring at my phone wordlessly. Like they had planned this together, my phone started ringing. Sure enough, it was my mom.

"Come on, you should talk to her when you have the chance. Later on you might regret it," Chen chided gently.

I looked into his eyes, and slightly shook my head, "I can't......I can't bring myself to do this right now. Sorry."

He observed me with thoughtful eyes, as if asking me a question. I guess it was answered when he picked up for me.

"Holly? Holly is that you?" that familiar pang ran through my heart as I heard her voice. Even after all this time, it was familiar. A sound I could never forget.

"Ah-anyoung haseyo, Ms. Zeph," Chen greeted cheerfully, keeping his eyes on me, "sorry, but this is one of her friends talking. She-"

"You don't have to tell me the reason," my mother heavily sighed, "don't bother lying. Nice to meet you, what's your name?"

"I'm Kim Jongdae-imnida," Chen replied politely.

"Has Holly been well these days? Is she working hard as a trainee?" my mother continued.

Chen gestured the phone towards me, and I stared at it silently for a few moments before taking it slowly, "hi, mom."

"Holly!" the joy in my mom's voice was evident, and it shot a pang of guilt through me, "how have you been? Have you been eating well? Is your health okay? Are you comfortable with your new dorm? Are you-"

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm fine," I interrupted, "so thank you for worrying about me."

"Ah...." my mom uncertainly paused, "that's really good to hear. I'm so glad."

"Are you okay, mom?" I blurted out before I could think twice.

"I'm fine, everything's going really well here," she replied, "why-why don't you come back sometimes?"

"Maybe," I replied, but I knew both of us knew what the real answer was, "I think I have to hang up now, so...."

"Ah, of course. You must be busy," my mom quickly agreed, "go and work hard, okay? And take care of your health, okay?"

"Bye," I hung up, and stared blankly at my blank screen, "are you happy now?"

"Are you?" he asked gently.

I rubbed my forehead, "I-I don't know."

"It'll get easier to talk to her after a while," Chen murmured.

"I hope so," I whispered faintly, letting out a sigh. Glancing sideways at his face, a thought suddenly occurred to me, "why don't you call your parents?"

"Mine?" he repeated, off-guard.

"Do you have time to call them often? I'm sure they miss you," I explained quietly.

"Alright," he quirked a breathtaking smile at me, and scrolled through his contacts before finally pressing call. He placed it on loudspeaker.

"Yeoboseyo?" his mom answered.

"Ah, umma! Have you been well?" Chen asked cheerfully.

"Jongdae! Yes, we've been doing fine. What about you?" his mom replied, thrilled at the call.

"I'm having fun," he replied lightly, "but right now, I have a friend beside me. Can you talk to her for a little while?"

"Sure. Are you a member of EXO?" his mom asked. Clearly that question was directed towards me. I shot a surprised look at Chen.

"Ah no.....I'm a trainee at SM right now. I come from Canada, and Jongdae-sunbaenim has helped me to adjust here well," I replied politely, "my name is Holly, nice to meet you!"

"Holly, right? Nice to meet you as well! Make sure to keep Jongdae out of trouble, alright?" his mom chuckled.

"I'll try," I laughed.

"Does he cause a lot of trouble?"

"He does, he likes to joke with others a lot."

"Does he ever get in trouble with the staff and his manager?"

"Ye-"

"Umma, I think that's enough talking with her," Chen interrupted loudly. I laughed along with his mom over the phone.

"Alright, alright. You two, take care, okay? Jongdae, I'll talk to you later, mmm?" his mom replied.

"Nae~" Chen replied, "bye umma. Take care of yourself."

He hanged up, and I playfully nudged his knee with my knee, "why did you make me talk to your mom? I wasn't ready!"

"It's fun watching you panic on what you're going to say," Chen laughed.

"But doesn't matter, because I got my revenge," I sang, sticking my tongue out at him.

"Yep, you did," he agreed. He bit his lip, "would you do me a favor?"

"Favor? What kind?" I wondered, surprised.

"EXO has a concert next week.....can you go?"