Do You Remember? (EXO Chen)

Good/Bad News

"That picture..."

"Was that just taken?"

"That doesn't look photoshopped."

"Is Chen-oppa here right now?!"

Whispers started emerging from the crowd, and I involuntarily took a step back from the girl. She smirked, sensing my losing confidence, and took a step forward.

 I glanced at Chen, and it didn't take him long to understand my message. It would be bad if we got hoarded here because of him, in addition to all that was already going on. He gave me a helpless look, but slipped away from the crowd all the same. I watched his back fade out of sigh before I focused my attention back on the glaring girl.

"Who are you? What are you in Jongdae's life?" she hissed.

A million answers - a million lies - ran through my head, but I somehow couldn't bring myself to say any of them.

"And why should I tell you?" I managed to speak up.

"Because I'm pretty sure you're doing something  you're not supposed to be doing right now. My oppa can't date anyone else other than me," the girl snarled.

That was when I was certain that that girl was absolutely insane. I felt a pang of fear, for I knew it was the crazy ones who did the most unexpected things...in order to get what they wanted.

"I'm sorry," I bowed slightly, "you must've mistaken me for someone else. I'm not the person in the photo."

"Do you think I'm blind?" the girl scoffed, "it's you. I know it is. Stop lying."

I closed my eyes for a few seconds, counted to 5, and then opened them again, "what do you want."

"What?"

"You're obviously not going to stop this until you get what you want. So what is it that you want?" I demanded.

"You're smart. I like that," the girl leaned forward, "I'll clear everything up if you promise me one thing."

"What."

Did I even have to ask to know the answer?

"Stay away from Kim Jongdae. The second you go near him is the second I will make your life a living hell," the girl whispered in my ear, the tone of her voice hinting a smile.

I knew that she was going to ruin my life if I didn't agree. And I had already come so far in training. My family, my friends, and I myself would be absolutely devastated to see it all go to waste because of this scandal this girl standing in front of me could cause.

I didn't want to give Chen up.

But I had no choice.

Just like I had no choice in every other bad thing that had happened in my life.

"Fine," I heard myself say, but it felt like another person was acting as me, speaking as me, and I was just watching from a window.

I saw the girl smirk, and pat me on the head before turning around, "guys, I was messing with you. This is actually a good friend of mine, we were just trying to play a prank. Sorry about that!"

Groans filled the crowd, and it quickly dispersed. I stood rooted in my spot, realizing that the girl hadn't moved either. She was observing me with an unreadable expression on her face.

"What else do you want?" I asked listlessly.

"Do you remember?"

"What?" I blinked.

She shook her head quickly, "nevermind. Just remember the deal, and I'll keep my side if you keep yours."

And with that, she walked away. Observing her backside, I realized that she had a slight limp.

Had we met before?

~~

"Holly-ssi, we have good news," the vocal instructor clapped her hands together, and glanced down at the paper that sat in her lap. A cool wind was filtering from the window of her office, making the papers softly flutter. I jiggled my legs impatiently, then mentally scolded myself to stop. Why had I been called up?

"Your debut is scheduled to be in 2 months," she gave me a rare smile, "congratulations!"

I blinked, and it took a few seconds for her words to sink into my brain, "d-debut? In 2 months? Really? Am I in a group?"

"Yes, you will be put in a 5-member girl group, and the others will also be trainees. You may already know them. You'll be introduced to them today, which is why I'm telling you this early in the morning. You girls will have 2 months to perfect your debut stage."

"Wow," I leaned back on my chair, "thank you so much!"

"No problem," the vocal instructor replied, "you've been working very hard, so you definitely deserve this debut. Now go start preparing, alright?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed back, and gave her a bow before heading out of her office.

Just as I was about to walk out of the dorms, a hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me into another room, quickly closing the door behind us.

"Are you safe? Are you okay? Did you get hurt? What did that girl do?" a smile tugged on my lips as Chen started fussing over me.

"We can't be seen in public," I rubbed my forehead, letting out a sigh, "I made a promise with that girl to stay away from you. At least now we know what the reaction would be like if we announced that we were dating publicly."

"I'm sorry you had to experience that," Chen looked down at the floor, "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean for you to go through things like that. I-I just hoped that our fans would understand me, would support this, but..."

"Hey," I brushed my hand by his cheek softly, "it's okay, okay? I'm alright. Don't worry about it. We just have to be a lot more careful from now on."

"Alright. But tell me if anything's bothering you, alright?" Chen asked, and I nodded.

A silence fell upon us, and I prayed that Chen would say something soon.

"Why did you look so happy before I grabbed you?" thank gosh he changed the topic.

I gave him a playful smile, "I'm debuting in 2 months!!"

"Really?!" Chen jumped up and down excitedly, "congratulations!!"

"It's a 5-member girl group. I'm so excited, I can't wait," I gushed, squealing like a child, "but I'm so nervous as well, my gosh."

"You'll do amazing, don't worry," he poked my cheek, "the public will love you! Just practice hard, work hard, and it'll definitely pay off. I'll be cheering you on!"

"Thanks Chen," I took his head unconsciously, and swung it back-and-forth playfully, "you're the best."

"Of course," he mock-boasted, "I would expect no less from myself."

I laughed, and gave him a quick peck on his lips before skipping away, laughing as I imagined his reaction. He always surprised me, so I wanted to surprise him for once.

It was nice to be on the other side of the rope for once.

~~

Anyone else watched EXO's live broadcast on the V-app for their Sing For You album?? It was so funny :P And their live performances for Sing For You and especially Unfair on music shows have been so adorable, dorky, and just perfect <3 I didn't realize how much I missed their promoting until they started performing again. Ugh, they need to stop doing this to my heart.