Strange Love

Chapter 2

"Uhm, it's pretty late actually, but I think its fine. Would you mind if I pay for my drink and snacks first?" I smiled.

I turned and walked past Sehun towards the cashier. It was then someone sauntered past me like a whirl of wind and grabbed the strawberry milk and sweets in my hands. While walking, Sehun turned back and winked at me as he shook the snacks he took from me slightly with his left hand. I was still dumbfounded with my hands held at the same position as if I was still holding my strawberry milk, gummy bears and M&M's. Following after that, I felt an extra weight on my shoulder.

"Let Sehun pay for you. Nah, don't give him the credits. Let me pay for you. It's on my treat today. He's using my card." I seriously have no idea when Baekhyun walked to my side. Oh, and Chanyeol already beside Sehun, releasing all the goods he had been holding in his arms, with that same silly grin we all knew so well, again. I finally let out a sigh and lowered my hands to both side of my thighs. While staring at the amount of food and drinks placed at the counter, I thought to myself.

Wow, that amount of snacks? It's gonna cost Baekhyun quite a fortune. But, well, how much does he earn. DUH.

I not so quietly thought to myself, subconsciously mummuring it under my breath. Fuck my life. I didn't intend to let Baekhyun hear that, to be honest.

"Don't worry, I can afford those." Baekhyun laughed it off with a reply as such. When had we become this close? EXO's Byun Baekhyun with his arm around my shoulder? Oh Sehun, no, Byun Baekhyun buying me snacks? Sally Jia attending EXO's private after party? I was certainly not dreaming 'cause I could definitely feel the weight on my shoulder. It's no joke. I was that lucky bitch the whole universe had tried to be.

"Let's go!" Chanyeol and Sehun cheered kinda happily as they wiggled the three big plastic bags of, uhm, food, I guess? They covered their faces more as they pulled their caps even lower. "Sally, you do know the way to the hotel, don't you? Would you mind leading us? We'll follow you from behind." Baekhyun sort of whispered into my ears before leaving the store.

I nodded in a robotic motion and I went out of the convenient store. After approximately 10 seconds, I heard the convenient door opened behind me. I understood their motive behind this. They were trying to cause as little harm to both me and themselves. They knew there would be fans stalking them taking photos or whatsoever, well, they assumed. If I were to walk with them off to the same direction at a very close distance, it would definitely cause another hassle on the net, especially by websites like Deespetch, Koriabuu, Pennnn and etc. I definitely wouldn't want to be hated by the whole world, having to read what 'netizens' had to say about me.

They obviously could recognize their way back even without my guide. The convenient store wasn't really too far away from the hotel either. It was foremost a few hundred meters away. As they walked casually at a constant moderate momentum, I walked leisurely as if I was on my holiday and on my way to return to my hotel. Looking around as if things were pretty new and unfamiliar to me, reading texts on my phone, taking selfies, fixing my hair. Things did not get any easier even after we entered the hotel. I had to slow down my pace even more by making some random useless actions such as checking my appearance in front of the mirror on the wall and trying to look for my "room key" just to wait for the three other boys to stroll past me as I paced behind them to the elevator.

The sense of relief when I let my breath out as I entered the elevator with the boys. I never realized I was holding it in until then. Stress level. Am I on an audition to be a ninja or what? Then, I felt a hand on my back, soothing it as that same familiar voice rolled into my ears. "You need to learn to breathe, Sally." Baekhyun chuckled in his magnetic voice as I slouched my back and leaned against the cold glass wall of the elevator. Sehun and Chanyeol were talking about the concert just now and Baekhyun joined in the conversation laughing at how Chanyeol had failed with the 'Machine' fan chant. As they were bawling out laughing at Chanyeol, the conversation was thrown back at me again.