{ Loose Ends } — luhan & taeyeon
"Taeyeon-ssi, do you have a minute to spare?" Flashing the girls a confused glance, she got up from amidst their circle in the middle of the practice room. They were discussing their most recent world tour stop, in Bangkok, and hadn't been expecting any interruptions. The staff member walking ahead of her wasn't unfamiliar, really; she'd seen him around a few times though he'd been associated mainly with her newer label-mates–EXO, in particular. Silence hung between the two as he led her towards a wing of the building level that she barely recognized. Taeyeon was shown into a room she'd stepped into maybe once or twice. The hesitant, yet polite, greetings coming from 12 of her juniors had her slightly wide-eyed and even more curious about what she was to be doing. Honorifics echoed in her ear as the members with whom she was more than acquaintances, such as Baekhyun and Suho, with referring to her as "noona," while she'd picked up on "sunbae" from a few others. The man who had led her to EXO's practice room proceeded with an explanation after noting the obscurity in the female's expression.
"As you all know, or I'm assuming your manager have made you aware–you will be endorsing Nature Republic cosmetics. The company has sealed a 2-year contract and we have managed to schedule a day during which you will..." And just like that, her focus was compromised by the male slipping into the room, Taeyeon wasn't one to distract easily, but the distress was visible in the other's features. Interactions between Luhan, seated beside an unfazed Jongin who had slung an arm around him, and herself were limited. She'd peered over her shoulder in a subtle manner, keeping her glance quick but long enough to capture sight of the forced smile that barely lifted the male's lips. Drawing his attention wasn't something she'd intended on doing, but during the brief moment his gaze came into view, Taeyeon took the time to examine it.
"Taeyeon, did you catch all of that?" Her lack of attention must have been more obvious than she'd thought. Without hesitation, the female nodded, coupling the gesture with an assuring smile. Following the group's dismissal, each to return to their respective practice sessions, Taeyeon scanned the room in search of the suspicious male, whose disappearance had seemed of the norm. She was having a hard time shaking off the look his dark orbs reflected just moments ago. It was evident–no, obvious–that there was something he was struggling with; being an expert at keeping her anxiety contained, Taeyeon would know. Years ago, the female would have been cornered by one of her members, forced to spill every detail concerning her 'not-so-masked' internal conflict. Things were different now, she'd gotten much better at avoiding that kind of confrontation.
Luhan was present once more, mingling and entertaining himself as if nothing had happened. His laughter rung loud, yet something stirred within the female, urging her to pursue the worry his previous composure brought on. While pushing off the floor to stand up, her contemplative trance was interrupted by Sehun who stood at her side, gently resting his palm along the back of her shoulder. "Noona, I was asked to lead you back to your practice room, unless you know the way." She turned towards the male, faintly shaking her head. "Oh, I'll be fine, Sehun-ah, but thank you." The two exchanged smiles before parting. Prior to making her leave, the lingering mixture of concern and wonder caused Taeyeon to sneak in a final glimpse in Luhan's direction. She was going to have to get him alone, somehow. But how?
Annoyance-- Aggravation? Agitation? The male was sure one, all, or perhaps even another similar word best described his feeling in that moment. How long had it been now? He recalled walking through the gate door, splattered with some dark substance as it usually was. The man currently babbling away about utter nonsense at the head of the table had greeted him as he always did: “Stay for a cup of tea!” Luhan had no time for tea, which the man in the rather tall hat knew and was constantly aware of during these visits. The plan was a rather simple and straight forward one; visit the Hatter to retrieve his weekly report, exchange a few pleasantries, and then he would be on his way. Did this ever actually go according to plan? Of course not. It seemed more often than not that Luhan would call upon a wandering guard, pass on the reports and have them deliver it to their destination. Having done just that a good twenty minutes ago, he now sat with his chin propped up on the palm of his hand with a look of boredom plastered over his fair features. “I’m probably missing-- lord only knows what but it’s probably important…” He thought to himself, sitting up straight when he notices the man has become preoccupied with a passing rabbit. Carefully and quietly the young male rose from his seat, backing his way out of garden so heavily concealed by shrubs-- something he was quite grateful for at that moment.
Once he stood outside the door, Luhan removed an antique pocket watch from the pocket of his jeans. “I should still have time,” he mumbled near silently to himself while flipping open the watch and adjusting the hands appropriately. Before him appeared a translucent rectangular veil that could only be seen by the trained eye-- well, the eye of those meant to see it that is. Cautiously glancing around to ensure he hadn’t been spotted by the Hatter or any of his associates, he stepped through the enchanted doorway only to find himself in a rather familiar hallway. It only took a few steps until he was at the corner, glancing about each away and finding the room he needed to find was only several feet away. The male muttered a silent thank you to whichever deity may have helped him with this, silently slipping into the room with a quick apologetic nod to the man speaking. It wasn’t until he was seated beside one of his group mates-- in all honesty he hadn’t even noticed it was Jongin right away-- that he realised a pair of eyes were focused on him. Exhausted as he was from the previous ordeal, Luhan forced his lips into what he hoped was a smile; shifting a bit in his spot to catch a glimpse of the woman. Though they had only worked together a handful or so of times, of course he knew of Taeyeon fairly well. Who didn’t not only in SM but the general public as well?
Could it be considered odd to actually be filled with joy when one’s attention was diverted away from him? Luhan didn’t think all that much of it considering “odd” seemed to be a bit of an understatement as of late. However, he was in fact beyond glad when Taeyeon was prompted to turn her gaze in a different direction, sinking low in his spot much like a deflated balloon. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t used to the added duties tagged onto those of being an idol, it was more-- He couldn’t quite explain it really. In the past several days, along with vigorous practices and rehearsals for one thing or another, he’d been called upon for more jobs than were necessary. “As if that woman doesn’t have other people to do it for her.” Even as the thought passed through the male’s mind, knowing as well as anyone the woman in question was nowhere in sight, he suddenly sat up straight and frantically glanced around the room. Apparently they had all been dismissed to return back to whatever they had been scheduled for that day. Luhan had been so caught up in his own exhaustion and thoughts that he hadn’t even noticed, earning him a jab in the side from Jongin’s bony elbow. With a roll of his eyes, Luhan pushed himself up from the floor and joined in on the idle chatter his other group mates.
As per usual, more than one of the other males made jokes about Luhan’s unnecessarily long disappearance. “Did you get lost on the way back from the bathroom or something? I knew we should’ve gotten you a GPS for Christmas.” With the feeling of being watched returning soon after, the male forced himself to laugh as best he could at the various comments. What was it that the woman found so interesting about him? The various times that they had been made to interact, it had always been polite and strictly on a professional level. But from the first moment Taeyeon had spotted him walking through the door, Luhan felt a bit uneasy. Just then, as if to add to the situation, a soft vibration went off in his pocket. Pulling away from the small group of band mates, the male was grateful to find Taeyeon was somewhat distracted by Sehun while making his way out of the room. From his pocket he retrieved a small hand mirror, glancing around the hallway before ducking down around a corner just as an all too familiar feline appeared in the glass. “What the hell do you want?”