[Yifan's P.O.V]
We got out of the van and I stretched out my hands.
"Yifan, you gotta buy me ice cream." Teng Min said.
I frowned, "Why?"
"You forgot already? We made a bet that if you slept the whole way, you would buy me ice cream."
"We did?"
"Yes, and you slept!" He pointed his index at me. "Now you have to buy me ice cream!"
"Yeah yeah," I pushed down his finger and clicked my tongue.
The six of us waited for the other van where the rest of the Vanilla members and manager were in. However, our stylists called us inside the buildings to start with our makeup.
My makeup and hair were done first. So I grabbed my phone and got out of the building to get some fresh LA air. I usually don't like humid places, but LA's air is different.
I like it here.
I put on my headphones and started to practice my rap parts when I noticed that other van had finally arrived. I paused the music.
They parked the car at a distance and one by one, they got out. First Sun Ming, then Shi Qiu, Dai Ah, Cao Yu, and then finally Bai He and Kai.
"Oh!" Lin Wuying exclaimed and I flinched at his sudden appearance. "They are here."
Sun Ming and the rest went inside the building, but I noticed that Bai He and Kai were still near the van.
"What are they doing?" I asked myself.
"I think he's going to tell now…" Lin Wuying mumbled.
"Tell what?" I asked.
"Right…You don't know, do you?"
"Know what?" Cheng Yi popped out of nowhere and asked impassively. He was done with his hair and makeup too.
"Wah…LA is something, isn't it?" Xian Wu said while sipping on his iced coffee. "Why are they both not coming?"
Lin Wuying sighed.
"Lin Wuying, what is it?" I asked. "You're making me curious."
"It's just that…"
And Lin Wuying narrated some shitty complicated story. Teng Min also came out of nowhere at random and listened to it all as quietly as a child as if his mother was telling him a bedtime story.
"And since then, he is trying to tell Kai about it but he is not able to…" Lin Wuying finished.
We wordlessly stared at Bai He and Kai. Bai He said something to Kai while keeping his expression as serious as he could. Kai listened, but he said something, his face was irritated; maybe even angry.
Bai He stared for a few minutes before bursting into a laugh. Kai frowned confusedly but laughed as well. He then punched Bai He's shoulders and finally walked toward the building. Bai He suddenly stopped laughing and breathed heavily. He followed Kai's footsteps.
"Bai He is really funny these days." Kai snorted and went inside the building. Bai He stopped in front of us.
"So?" Lin Wuying asked, eyes widening eagerly.
"I told him…"
"And?" Xian Wu asked.
"I'm pretty sure he thought of it as a joke…" Cheng Yi guessed.
"Wait, how do you guys—Lin Wuying, you told them too, didn't you?" Bai He sighed.
"Well, they asked me so I couldn't help it."
"Bai He, don't change the topic. What did Kai say?" I asked seriously because seriously, this was something that none of us can turn a blind eye to.
"Well…I did tell him the facts and stuff…but when he suddenly glared at me…" Bai He shivered. "I could only say that it was all a joke…"
Lin Wuying smacked his face disappointedly.
"This sucks." Teng Min uttered.
"What do I do guys?!" Bai He whined.
"You should've just let him glared at you." Cheng Yi said.
"Yeah right, easy for you to say," Bai He said. "Why don't you come into my shoes and feel what I'm feeling? Why don't you try and look at Kai when he's all furious?"
"Nope, thank you." Cheng Yi said and immediately walked inside the building.
Bai He rubbed his forehead. "Excuse me now, I have to cover my depression with some makeup." He said and sluggishly walked inside.
"We should help that poor kid." Xian Wu said.
"He brought it upon himself." Lin Wuying said.
"But it was all a misunderstanding, right?" I asked.
"Yeah…"
"Then maybe we can try and explain this matter to Kai."
"Bai He's a scaredy-cat." Teng Min stated.
"Hey, guys, what's up?" Zhang Ye suddenly asked and I flinched again upon his sudden appearance.
"Okay, Lin Wuying, the story-teller, you're up," I said and walked back inside the building where the other members were.
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We were given a fifteen-minute break. I and the other members were seated on chairs. I glanced at Kai and he was playing on his phone.
I then glanced at Lin Wuying who was beside me. He took out his phone as well, went to Kakao Talk, and began typing something.
"Who are you messaging?" I asked.
"Kai."
"What?"
"I'm telling him everything. Someone has to."
He typed the message and click sent. We looked at Kai and waited for his reaction. Five seconds passed. Thirty seconds passed. A minute passed yet there was no reaction from him.
"That's strange…" Lin Wuying muttered. "Didn't he read my message?"
"Show it to me," I said and he showed me the screen. The message did go through, but unfortunately, the message wasn't sent.
"Don't you have Wifi or data?" I asked.
Realization struck Lin Wuying like a lightning bolt and he quickly called out to his manager. The manager came running to Lin Wuying thinking that perhaps something had happened. "What is it?! Did you get hurt somewhere? Did Yifan say anything to you?"
I looked at the manager with the 'What did I do wrong?' expression, but he ignored me.
"No, it's nothing like that and I'm fine," Lin Wuying said to the manager. "Do you have data?"
"Eh? No, why?"
"You don't? Ah, forget it…" Lin Wuying clicked his tongue annoyedly.
"First you call me, then you get annoyed at me, what's your problem? Can't you guys give me some peace for a second!"
"Oi, Manager, if you're done shouting, can you get me some coffee?!" Teng Min yelled from afar.
The Manager breathed heavily, locked his anger inside himself, and shouted back, "In a minute!" before walking past us.
"Let me handle this." Eventually, I got up, rolled up my sleeves, and approached Kai.
"Kai."
He caught a glance at me and continued playing again. "What is it, Yifan?"
"I need to talk to you."
"About? I'm in the middle of killing this dragon--"
I snatched the phone from his hand and threw it behind me. I thought Kai would jump and run to get it, instead, he just looked at me in shock.
"I want to talk to you," I repeated.
"What is it?" He asked.
I looked around and saw the other members staring at me. I also noticed Dai Ah picking up the phone and checking if it was working alright or not. He then called out loudly, "Manager! Your phone is broken!"
"Privately…" I grabbed his hand and dragged him a few steps away from the crowd.
"Uh…you know they could still listen," Kai said but I ignored him.
"Listen, Kai, there's been a misunderstanding with Ari's mom, and whatever Bai He told you is not a joke but the truth. Ari's mom has confused you with Bai He and to make matters worse, Bai He and Ari are now getting married in a month, so if you don't go and settle this, it's going to be one helluva problem which is not my problem but as your brother from another mother, I'm suggesting you that you and Bai He better set this right before you mess up Ari's life." I ceased and stared.
Kai stared back. His face told me that none of what I told him just now made any sense and he was trying hard to register it all in his mind.
Suddenly though, he began to laugh. I furrowed my brows puzzlingly. "Why are you laughing?"
"You guys are seriously planning on something aren't you? But unfortunately, Yifan, I know your plans now. You can't make me cry and I won't fall for any of your traps again." He pointed his finger at me and the rest of the members.
Shin Qiu tilted his head. The others sighed heavily. I patted Kai's shoulders, shook my head, turned around, and walked away.
No one can make him understand this simple matter…
Right then, Sun Ming passed me by. However, I stopped him, placed a hand on his shoulder, and said, "I leave it all up to you, Sun Ming. It's in your hands now." And I continued walking.
"Of course, it's in my hands now, Yifan. I'm the leader of Vanilla. That's what I do!" Sun Ming said, obviously oblivious to the matter at hand. "And Yifan--!"
I looked back at him. "Why are you crying?"
"Huh? Me and crying?" I wiped the tears that fell in a perfect line. "I'm not crying? What is crying anyways?"