Ling's POV

Nam Soon and I left the shop after saying goodbye to Zhang-ge. Sehun had called me earlier telling me that we were going to meet at one of Lay's favorite Chinese restaurants in the heart of Beijing. With Nam Soon unfamiliarity with the language, I pulled him along to the bus and made sure he followed me where ever I went.

It was around dinner time and Beijing was crowded with people. Nam Soon struggled to keep up and I had almost thought that I had lost him from time to time. Eventually, we arrived at the restaurant feeling exhausted and starving from the trip. The restaurant was big and luxurious and subconsciously I placed a worried hand on my wallet in my bag.

"Nam Soon," I muttered under my breath as we bowed at the waiter at the entrance. "I don't think I'll be able to afford this place."

Nam Soon chuckled under his breath and took a large gulp of air. "At least, you're working, I have no money."

"Ling!" Sehun waved at me from the back of the restaurant and pointed at the room next to him. "In here!"

Nam Soon rushed towards them and I followed glancing nervously at the people around me, all of whom were wearing fancy clothing.

I slipped into the room and opened my mouth to complain.

"Surprise!" Streamers and confetti popped all around me falling in my hair and on my face. I blinked in surprise as Baekhyun pulled me into a tight hug. Xiumin waved at me excitedly and moved towards me. D.O and Kai stood leaning against the table and beamed at me when I made eye contact with them. Xiumin walked over, tore Baekhyun off of me and ruffled my hair.

I felt my face grow hot as my vision started to blur with tears. I ran into Xiumin almost knocking the wind out of him. He laughed and wrapped his arms around me, rocking back and forth in a hug. "Xiumin, I missed you!"

"Me too," He whispered in my ear and pecked me on the cheek.

"Aish, that's enough," Sehun said and tugged on my arm to pull me out of Xiumin's grip. I laughed and followed him to a seat around the table. The members sat around me and presented the cake on the table.

I covered my face in embarrassment as they sang for me in unison their voices ringing out filling the room. I peered at them between my fingers. D.O, Kai, Sehun, Xiumin, Lay, Nam Soon, and Baekhyun, all of them supported me when the incident with Borin happened. It made me kind of upset that the other members didn't come but remembering the words Chanyeol and Suho had said to me, it was unlikely that they would've.

When they finished singing, Kai put a hand on my shoulder next to me. "How have you been?"

"So good, I missed you guys so much." I beamed at them from across the table. My eyes rested on Xiumin and he smiled flashing his teeth at me. I blushed and suddenly remembered the words Nam Soon had said to me in the shop.

"Sehun!" I snapped angrily at him beside me. The members looked at me in alarm as I held out my hand to him. "Give me your phone, delete that photo."

Lay was the first one to catch on and he broke out in a fit of laughter, Baekhyun and Xiumin eventually joining in. D.O looked at me. "Aren't you two dating?"

"No, Sehun's been spreading false rumors," I said eyeing Sehun who put his hand over his pocket protectively. "Give me your phone."

"I only did that to get back at Borin," He whined and shook his shoulders. "Ling, I did it for you."
Xiumin scoffed loudly. "Are you sure it wasn't to make yourself happy that you have a girlfriend."

He looked at Xiumin defensively. "Luhan has a girlfriend why can't-"

The whole room fell silence and I looked at Nam Soon who shook his head at me, begging me not to say anything about him.

"With Borin, I know." I smiled and ate a piece of cake.

Xiumin frowned and scratched his head. "To be honest I don't really understand how they got together to begin with."

"You know her and her pity stories," Baekhyun muttered in between a mouthful of cake. "and Luhan eventually felt guilty so he asked her out."

Lay frowned and shook his head in dismay. "The more I think about her, the more unpleasant she becomes."

D.O nodded in agreement. "Disappointing isn't she."

The atmosphere in the room became heavy. I looked between their faces which refused to meet my eyes. I frowned and bit on my fork. "Let's go do something fun, shall we go play somewhere?"

Xiumin smiled at me. "You always want to play don't you."

I giggled and nodded shyly. "Do you have a better idea?"

Kai nudged D.O and he chuckled under his breath. He pointed at Baekhyun, Sehun, Namsoon, Kai, and Lay. "Actually Ling, we have places to be."

"No, we don't," Sehun glared at him. "Hyung, Ling wants to play with all of us."

Lay smacked Sehun behind the head and I laughed at his expression. It was pretty obvious that they were trying to pair me off with Xiumin and I didn't really mind. I looked at Xiumin who was red in the face with embarrassment while grinning to himself. It warmed my heart to see him so happy.

Kai, D.O, Nam Soon and Lay struggled to pull Baekhyun and Sehun from the room but eventually they succeeded. Nam Soon gave me a quick thumbs up as he pushed a whining Baekhyun out of the room and closed the door behind them, leaving me and Xiumin to sit across each other alone in the room. I blushed at the awkwardness as I racked my brain for something to say.

Xiumin moved to sit next to me and leaned on the table to rest his head. "They didn't pay the bill," He complained and reached for the slip of paper at the center of the room.

I chuckled and looked around the table. We ate really well judging by the empty plates. I snatched the bill from him and choked a little when I saw the total.

Xiumin laughed and took it back. "You, won't be paying."

After leaving the money on the table, Xiumin led me by the hand and covered his face with his scarf and hood. We walked out of the room hand in hand. The restaurant was booming in business. The clattering of cutlery and conversation was absolutely deafening. I looked worriedly up at Xiumin who seemed unbothered by this as he pulled down his hood to make sure he was covered one hundred percent.

Once we were out of the restaurant, it was my turn to take the lead. We walked around shops trying different samples here and there. Surprisingly, some fans managed to recognize Xiumin and came over to ask for a picture with the both of us.

Eventually, we found ourselves back at the ice cream stall we went to when he was a runaway idol. We ordered a sundae and sat outside to chat. The stars were out that night but were outshined by the light of the city, though it didn't bother me as I was too distracted by Xiumin. Every time he smiled, his shining white teeth would peek out from behind his lips. The corners of his eyes would crinkle slightly and his cheeks would blossom making me smile.

"What," He stopped in the middle of telling me about his new drama. "Is there something on my face?"

I shook my head and hid my smile. "Go on, keep going."

Xiumin lowered his head and looked up at me. He stared at me blankly for a few seconds and pouted. "What is it? You're smiling so much."

I blushed and stuffed my mouth with ice cream hoping it would cool me down. Xiumin chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "So cute, you're making me like you more."

I looked at him in surprise, it was the first time he had said something like that to me. I smiled at him and bit my lip, deciding to tease him a bit. "Oppa, aren't I always cute?"

His face glowed red in surprise. He covered his nose with the back of his hand and looked away from me. I chuckled and continued eating, smiling to myself. My heart was pounding now from his words, it surprised me just how much I liked his complement.

"Aish,"

I looked up as he leaned closer towards me and without warning, he pressed our lips together. My eyes widened in surprise as his lips enclosed around mine in a gentle but fierce kiss. He rested his hand on the back of my head and brought me closer to him stopping only for a brief second to breathe.

I found myself lost in the taste of his lips and I closed my eyes. Slowly I reached to grab on to the front of his hoody and I felt myself surrender to him, losing my senses completely.

Yes, this kiss was familiar to me.

Xiumin was the one who had kissed me in the haunted house, and it couldn't have made me happier knowing it was him.

Notes

//Author's Note:
Luhan and Borin in Korea. Xiumin and Ling in China. What kind of match is this?

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