Login with:

Facebook

Twitter

Tumblr

Google

Yahoo

Aol.

Mibba

Your info will not be visible on the site. After logging in for the first time you'll be able to choose your display name.

American Casual

Surprise

Julia was leaving her apartment when her phone rang. “Hey babe,” she said, putting the phone to her ear.

“Are you free tonight?” Shindo asked. “I'm thinking about going to that employee mixer later.”

“Isn't that for the creative crew?” she asked, locking her door behind her. “You know, dancers and whatever?”

“Yes, but you could be my plus one,” Shindo persisted. “It would be a great opportunity for you to meet other SM employees.”

“Okay, but I won't be off work until after six,” she reminded him.

“I'll pick you up at eight.”

Julia hung up and ducked outside to hail a taxi. Once she was inside and safely on her way she checked her phone again. Chanyeol had sent her a cryptic message the night before that simply said Big day 2mrrw, then proceeded to ignore her questions about it. This is weird, she thought. It's got to be about the tour.

The taxi pulled up to the SM building and she half-expected them to jump out at her as she entered the lobby, but she made it all the way to her office without incident.
Everything looks normal, she thought, but she checked her office anyway before heading to the break room.

Jin was already there, talking animatedly to a group of interns. “Hey!” he called, raising a hand in greeting. “Guys, this is Julia Park. She's the interpreter from America.”

Julia nodded politely and the interns bowed deeply in response. All of them wore total black, like Jin, so Julia assumed they were part of the photography team. “Nice to meet you,” she said, stirring an unhealthy amount of sugar into her coffee.

“I'll catch up with you in a minute,” Jin said, shooing the interns away. He walked over and leaned against the wall conspiratorially. “So there's this party tonight,” he began.

“The mixer? Shindo already invited me.”

Jin’s face fell a little. “I forgot about him,” he grumbled. “Does that mean you're coming?”

Julia nodded. “What should I wear?” she asked.

“Most of us just come straight from work, but a few people like to dress up,” he said. He downed the rest of his coffee and tossed the cup into the trash can. “I look forward to meeting your mysterious dancer,” he teased.

Julia shoved him and headed back to her office. She set her coffee on the desk and was about to review her lessons when she heard running footsteps coming down the hallway, and she peeked out in time to see Yixing and Jongdae barreling toward her at top speed.

“There she is!” Jongdae panted. Julia was a little alarmed and stepped back as the guys skidded to a stop at her door. “What's all this?” she asked cautiously.

“No time… come… we're… running late,” Jongdae gasped.

“We've got a… surprise,” Yixing explained breathlessly, “but you have to… come with us.”

“Come where?” Julia asked. “Does this have anything to do with-”

“No time!” Jongdae insisted, grabbing her hand. “We have to go or we'll miss it!”

“Okay, okay!” Julia said quickly. She barely managed to grab her bag before Jongdae pulled her out of the office and they took off running back the way they came.

“Can't someone just explain what's going on?” Julia panted.

“You'll see,” Yixing promised. They led her down a few hallways and several flights of stairs before they went out a side door to the parking lot. A large van was idling nearby, and as they came out the door swung open and Minseok poked his head out. “Get in!” he called, waving them over. Yixing guided Julia in first, then he and Jongdae climbed in and the van pulled away immediately.

“What is going on?” Julia demanded, sandwiching herself between Minseok and Yixing.

“Were you surprised?” Chanyeol asked.

“No one will tell me what the surprise is.”

“No one told her?” Youngjun said from the driver's seat.

“Youngjun's here?” she exclaimed. “This must be a big deal.”

“I'm flattered,” he said. “The boys had a little project to work on today and they wanted to bring you along for the ride. I hope you don't mind.”

“Not at all,” Julia said immediately, “though next time we could do without the frantic running. Where are we going?”

“You'll see,” Youngjun said mysteriously, making a right turn.

Julia leaned close to Yixing. “I know what you did with the practice room,” she whispered. “That was pretty sneaky of you.”

“You're welcome,” Yixing grinned. Julia shoved him and he laughed. “What? It worked, didn't it?”

“Lucky for you,” she said, glancing at Sehun in the backseat. “But it was touch and go at first, I promise you that.”

“Now that you and Sehun are buddies, have you decided how to make friends with Jongin?”

“We're here!” Youngjun announced, pulling up to a large nondescript building. Everyone tumbled out of the van in a mass of limbs and jackets and Julia shook her head. “I already tried,” she whispered.

“Okay, who wants to tell her?” Youngjun asked. Baekhyun's hand shot up and Youngjun nodded at him.

“We have to get inside first,” he said, pulling a bandanna out of his pocket.

“Oh, do I have to be blindfolded?” Julia groaned. “The last time I let someone blindfold me I ended up soaked in Kool Aid.”

“Don't you trust us?” he asked, tying the bandanna over her eyes.

“No,” she said stubbornly. “Anyone who pulls anything will be strangled.”

“Fair enough,” Junmyeon agreed, and she felt several hands lightly propel her forward and into the building. As they walked she could hear people murmuring and the warning beeps of machinery in operation. “What is going on out there?” she wondered aloud.

“All in good time,” Jongdae said cheerfully. “I think this is a good spot.”

They came to a stop and she felt a hand on her head. “Ready?” Baekhyun asked. He pulled the bandanna off and Julia blinked rapidly as her eyes adjusted.

They were in a huge room filled with activity. Several green screens were set up with partial sets and lighting, and two forklifts were ferrying huge set pieces back and forth, hence the beeping. Crew members ran back and forth, shouting to each other or listening to their headsets as they worked.

Julia's chin dropped. “Is this…?”

Baekhyun nodded. “Welcome to the set of our new music video!” he announced, throwing his arms wide.

“You mean, I get to be on set while you film?” she asked in disbelief.

“All access, all day,” Junmyeon confirmed, smiling like a proud dad.

Julia shrieked and hugged the nearest member, which happened to be Kyungsoo, and he hugged her back gingerly. “You're welcome,” he said awkwardly.

Julia let go and wiped her eyes carefully, trying not to smudge her makeup. “Guys, I think she's crying,” Minseok said warily.

“Don't cry!” Chanyeol exclaimed, putting an arm around her.

“I'm not crying,” she said determinedly. “Only fangirls cry at moments like this.”

Sehun walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. “It's okay to fangirl,” he whispered. “It doesn't make us think less of you or anything.”

Julia looked up and saw everyone staring at them, looking completely flabbergasted. “Oh yeah, Sehun and I are friends now,” she said. “Surprise!”

“Now I might cry,” Junmyeon said, putting a hand to his heart.

“Don't be weird,” Sehun muttered.

“Oh boys, you should've been in hair and makeup ten minutes ago!” Youngjun exclaimed, looking at his watch. “Go, go, go!”

The boys took off and Julia dabbed her eyes again.

“Like your surprise?” Youngjun asked.

“I thought their schedules were cleared until the tour,” she said, “not that I'm complaining.”

“This is technically part of their comeback, so it couldn't be avoided,” he explained. “It should only take one or two days, though. I thought it might be a nice change of pace for you.”

“It is pretty surreal,” she admitted, looking around the room again. “What song are they doing?”

“Power,” Youngjun replied. Julia resisted the urge to shriek again and folded her hands tightly. “Sounds cool,” she said smoothly.

Youngjun leaned in close. “Sehun's right, you know,” he whispered. “It's okay to get excited. It's actually rather sweet, and I think it lifts their spirits.”

“Really?” Julia said wonderingly. “I was worried they'd-”

“Look down on you?” Youngjun finished. “On the contrary. They're some of the kindest, most genuine people you'll meet, and they appreciate those qualities in others.”

Julia thought about Jongin and tried not to frown. He had stayed in the background during the whole adventure and studiously ignored her. She struggled to understand this behavior compared to Youngjun's glowing words, but she pushed the confusion away for the moment. “Thank you,” she said, bowing slightly. “I'm gonna go find the guys.”

She left the set and went in search of their dressing room, determined not to let his moodiness ruin her day. He can ignore me if he wants, but I'm going to have a fantastic time, she told herself.

She finally found the dressing room and slipped in behind a pair of assistants. Eight of the guys were in makeup chairs around the room, while Yixing was laying on a narrow couch and texting furiously.

“Julia!” Baekhyun called. “Sehun was telling us what an amazing dancer you are! I can't believe you showed him before the rest of us.”

Julia walked over and leaned against the wall beside him. “There were… special circumstances,” she said mysteriously.

“Ooh, spicy,” Jongdae teased. Sehun threw a comb at him, only to have his hand smacked by the woman styling his hair. “I don't have time to hide black eyes today!” she snapped.

“Sorry,” Sehun apologized, rubbing his hand meekly.

“Really though, you said you'd show us,” Chanyeol reminded her.

“Only if you were making progress with your English,” Julia countered.

“I've got an idea,” Minseok announced. “If we can hold a five minute conversation in English, you have to show us.”

Julia raised her eyebrows. “Are you sure?” she asked.

“Pfft, we can do that,” Junmyeon said unconcernedly.

“Easy,” Kyungsoo said, looking very concerned.

“Okay,” she agreed. “Five minutes, starting… now,” she said, starting a timer on her phone.

The room went completely silent as all of them concentrated hard.

“Hey Chanyeol,” Junmyeon said after a beat.

“Yeah?”

“Where did you get that new coffee from?”

Chanyeol licked his lips nervously. “Um, from the… store,” he stammered.

“The new one down the street?” Baekhyun asked.

“Yeah. It's a little… cleaner.”

“I like the old coffee,” Jongdae pronounced. “It's stronger.”

“I agree,” Minseok chimed in. “Why can't we stay with the old kind?”

“Some of us... like change,” Kyungsoo managed.

“We can have more than one… type of coffee,” Junmyeon pointed out. “There's no law against it.”

Three minutes left and they're doing phenomenally, Julia thought happily. Time to shake things up.

“What are you most excited about concerning your tour?” she asked.

“Hawaii,” Kyungsoo said immediately. “I love Hawaii.”

“I'm interested… to see some new cities,” Baekhyun volunteered.

“And try new stuff,” Sehun added. “I heard there's a big… difference between each region.”

“There is,” Julia affirmed. “I traveled the States during my freshman year of college, and each state definitely has its own culture.”

“What was your favorite state?” Chanyeol asked.

“Probably Montana,” Julia replied. “The mountains there were so beautiful, and there was so much open space it was like I could see the whole world all at once.”

“That's beautiful,” Minseok said softly.

“I like New York City,” Baekhyun said decidedly. “It's so fun and… bright.”

“Youngjun gave us a list of all the cities we'll be going to,” Junmyeon said, “but we can't… find some of them on the map.”

“I'll help you,” Julia promised. “I can't believe you're going to eighteen cities. That sounds like a lot.”

They all shrugged. “It will be fine,” Jongdae said. “We're… used to it.”

The timer beeped and the guys cheered loudly. “I knew we could do it!” Junmyeon said, switching back to Korean.

“Okay, pay up,” Kyungsoo said. “You promised.”

Julia sighed and looked around critically. “There's not much space in here,” she mused.

“We'll make space,” Chanyeol said. He leapt out of his chair, much to his stylist's dismay, and started moving things over to the side of the room. Minseok and Junmyeon helped and soon there was a cleared space in the middle of the room.

“What should I do?” she asked, stepping into the space.

“Can you freestyle?” Yixing called, peering at her over the couch.

“Can you?” she shot back with a grin. Yixing vaulted over the couch in one fluid motion. “Is that a challenge?” he asked eagerly.

“No challenges!” Baekhyun insisted. “It’s Julia's turn.”

Yixing folded his arms and Julia took a deep breath. “Music please,” she called.

Jongdae started playing some heavy hip hop song and Julia nodded approvingly. She closed her eyes and tried to forget about everyone watching her, then started dancing.

She quickly gained confidence and started adding some athletics to it, though the small space kept her from getting too inventive. The guys got more hyped up the longer she went, and she even caught sight of Jongin watching her in the mirror.

She ended with a death drop and the guys yelled excitedly, applauding as she lay panting on the floor. Junmyeon extended his hand to her. “That was awesome!” he exclaimed, pulling her back up.

“That death drop was lit!” Baekhyun shouted.

“Do people even say 'lit’ anymore?” Kyungsoo asked.

“I don't care, I like it,” he rebutted.

“Sit down!” the head stylist ordered. “We have to finish and get you to wardrobe.”

The guys resumed their seats and Julia joined Yixing on the couch. “Well?” she asked.

“Amazing,” he replied. “You're really talented.”

“Thanks,” she said, blushing in spite of herself. “I’m sorry you couldn’t be in the comeback, by the way. I know it’s not really anyone’s fault, but it’s still unfair.”

“There will be other comebacks,” he said, “though I’m a little jealous of this video. They get to shoot laser guns.”

“What?!” she exclaimed.

“Hey, no spoilers!” Chanyeol called. He was squirming in his seat as the makeup artist attempted to apply his eyeliner and Julia couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “Sit still before you get stabbed in the eye,” she returned.

Yixing started texting again and Julia nudged him. “Got a hot girl on the line?” she teased. He blushed this time and put his phone away. “No,” he said defensively, “it’s my director. I have to go back to China in two weeks.”

“But I thought your filming ended early!” she said, crestfallen.

“More like we took a break,” he said, leaning back against the couch. “There was some issue with the network and they halted production, so I decided to come back here for a little while.”

“Why didn’t you just say so?”

“Because,” he whispered, “they didn’t want the story getting leaked to the media. Our ratings would plummet.”

His phone rang and he got up immediately. “I'll be back,” he promised, stepping out of the room. Julia pulled her legs up onto the couch and watched the guys be transformed by their stylists. “Tell me what the concept is,” she begged.

“Think 'outer-space soldier task force',” Jongdae said.

“So you're fighting someone?”

“Some thing,” Minseok corrected. “A giant robot, actually.”

Chanyeol leaned over the counter as he tried to put a colored contact lens in, but he kept failing and cursing under his breath. “No, I got it,” he said, waving the stylist away.

“Need some help?” Julia asked.

“No, I can do it,” he said stubbornly. Julia rolled her eyes and got up off the couch. “Let me try,” she suggested, coming over to him. He grudgingly handed over the lens and sat back in his chair.

Julia tilted his head back and carefully dropped the lens onto his eye. “How's that?” she asked.

He blinked a few times and nodded. “Good,” he said, winking at her. His iris was now bright red, like a cyborg's mechanical eye.

“I'd say no to me too if I wanted a pretty girl to help instead,” the stylist said dryly.

“Why does everyone think I have a crush on Julia?!” Chanyeol demanded.

“Careful, my boyfriend wouldn't like competition,” she teased.

“Boyfriend?!” they exclaimed.

“Who is he?” Baekhyun demanded, turning to look at her.

“That's none of our business!” Kyungsoo told him.

“What if he's some horribly twisted psycho?” Chanyeol countered. “It's our job to keep her safe from guys like that.”

“I'm right here!” Julia exclaimed. “And I'm pretty sure I don't need you to keep me safe from anything. Shindo is a great guy and-”

“Shindo, Shindo,” Baekhyun muttered. “Do we know a Shindo?”

“Is it someone that works at SM?” Jongdae asked.

“Kyungsoo’s right, it's none of your business,” she replied, “but yes, he does.”

“Why aren't all of you getting dressed yet?” Youngjun demanded, leaning through the open doorway. “The set is almost done and we've got to get all of our footage today!”

The guys all sank down guiltily. “We're almost ready,” Junmyeon said quickly.

“Hmph,” Youngjun sniffed. “Five minutes,” he said before disappearing again.

“I'm done,” Jongdae said, bouncing out of his seat. “See you in the next room.” He breezed by Julia and left the room, almost immediately followed by Minseok and Sehun. Chanyeol winked at her again on his way out and Junmyeon shoved him out the door.

“Why are you still here?” Kyungsoo asked, looking at Baekhyun.

“I couldn't decide which contacts I wanted,” he mumbled, leaning into the mirror as he put them in. “There,” he said, blinking a few times. He spun around and struck a dramatic pose. “How do I look?”

“Like an idiot,” Julia said, “but a handsome one.”

Baekhyun grinned and strutted past her, humming happily.

Julia walked over to Kyungsoo and examined his face. “Nice battle wound,” she commented, pointing at the fake scar the stylist was finishing up. “Sexy.”

Kyungsoo bit his lip seductively and arched one eyebrow. “Thank you,” he purred.

“Ew, gross,” she laughed. “Get out of here, you weirdo.”

Kyungsoo left and Julia was right behind him when she felt a light tap on her arm. She turned around and froze. “Oh,” she whispered. “I'd forgotten you were here.”

Jongin grimaced. “That's probably what you wanted,” he muttered. The stylist had applied rhinestones around his left eye and they sparkled as he looked at her uncomfortably. They stood there in silence as the stylists left one by one, until they were alone in the middle of the room.

This is weird, Julia thought awkwardly. “I should go,” she said aloud.

“I just… well, what you said… ”

“If you want to apologize, feel free,” she said, “but I'm not here to relieve your guilt. I meant what I said. What are you going to do about it?”

She turned and walked out of the room, only to collide into Yixing in the hallway. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

“What was that?” he asked. “What did he say? What did you say?”

“Nothing, and nothing,” she said flatly. “Forget about it, Yixing.”

“No way,” he said, walking with her back to the set. “I know you've had problems with him, but he's a really great guy, Julia. You should really-”

“What, try to get to know him?” she snapped. “I did try, over and over, but he was condescending, and rude and crass and generally a terrible person. He couldn't even apologize just now. I can't believe I…” she trailed off into silence.

“What?” Yixing pressed.

“Nothing,” she muttered.

The guys straggled out one by one, each of them now sporting outfits befitting outer space soldiers, replete with bomber jackets and goggles and all kinds of paraphernalia. “Okay, be honest,” Junmyeon said. “Who's your favorite?”

Julia looked at each of them thoughtfully. “Sorry, but I've gotta give it to Minseok,” she said finally. The others groaned and Minseok did a celebratory twirl. “Why him?” Jongdae asked.

“He's not wearing yellow eyeshadow for starters,” she countered.

“Ohhhhh!” the guys shouted.

Would you like some ice for that burn?” Minseok teased.

“I'll have you know I look fly in this makeup,” Jongdae sniffed.

“Not if you have to tell everyone,” Minseok shot back. Jongdae ran at him and Minseok took off, holding onto his hat as Jongdae chased him around the room.

“Great, now they'll be like this all day,” Kyungsoo grumbled.

“Selfie time!” Baekhyun said, pulling out his phone. Chanyeol immediately crouched behind him and he snapped a few pictures. “Come on, group shot,” he said, waving them over. “You too, Julia.”

They all squeezed together and Baekhyun held his phone up high. “Say 'Power’!” he called.

“'Power’!” they chorused, and he took the picture. “Awesome,” he said, checking it immediately. “That'll look great on Instagram.”

“Don't post pictures of me on your Instagram,” Julia said quickly.

“Why not?” he asked.

“‘Mystery Girl in Idol’s Pic Sparks Heated Discussion Among EXO-Ls’,” she said in her best news anchor voice.

“She's right, Baek,” Junmyeon said.

“This is stupid,” he exclaimed. “Why can't everyone just get along and be friends without causing dumb drama?”

Julia glanced at Jongin before she could stop herself. “I wish I knew,” she whispered.

Notes

Comments

Love this story! Thank you!

Krazzi-J Krazzi-J
8/14/18

@Kaimin
Thank you!

Now I can't wait to know how Minseok does. I'm crying ! Hahaha ! I really liked it dispite you living it in uspence. Hihihi !

Kaimin Kaimin
10/7/17

@Kaimin
Thanks! It's nice when they all get along lol

Every chapter catches more my atrention. Its sp funy ! Hahaha ! Fifhring !

Kaimin Kaimin
9/15/17