I nibbled on my toasted bread quietly while everyone else spoke. We were having breakfast although, it felt like an interview more than anything. The EXO members were taking it in turns to ask, Lay, the member that returned from China, questions about his time in his native country. Judging by the excited eyes and keen stares, Lay was someone they hadn't seen, or spoken to, in a very long time.

"We saw your latest song, 'Lose Control'" Baekhyun piped. "It was really well composed."

"Did they really let you arrange everything?" Sehun asked him.

Lay nodded. He had just taken a shower so his jet-black hair was combed back to reveal his fair forehead. Overall, his skin was milky and smooth which brought out the intensity in his dark eyes. Like Sehun, he had a pointy chin which made him look mature especially when his hair was combed back. He saw me gaping at him and he turned to give me a quick smile. Flustered, I looked away immediately.

"I'm proud of you, Lay," Xiumin told him warmly. "I'm happy they're finally letting you do your own thing."

Lay smiled back at him and I noticed that he had dimples. "Thanks, hyung" he beamed but then he sighed sadly and his dimples disappeared. "If only SM let the others do their own thing too then, maybe they wouldn't have left..."

Suddenly, the atmosphere around the dining table dampened as the EXO members looked down at their plates. The 'others' Lay was most likely referring to were the other Chinese members that left EXO. I peered at the members and saw that they were all contemplating on what Lay had said.

"We can't turn back time," Suho said finally. "But, we can enjoy what we have achieved now."

"That's true" Chen agreed, "so congrats, Lay-hyung, on your first mini album!"

The EXO members started clapping so I joined in too. Lay's dimples returned as he smiled at the rest of us bashfully. Once everyone was done with applauding Lay, his eyes met with mine. "So" he began, "You're our dorm mother."

I smiled at him amiably. "Yeah. I guess it's finally nice to meet the elusive ninth member" I joked. 

He cocked his head and replied, "I don't think we got off on the right foot earlier." He scratched his head. "I'm sorry for surprising you. I was too tired to think last night so I'd completely forgotten that you were staying in the dorm."

"You don't have to apologise! It was my fault too--"

"No. It was definitely all mine. I should have been more wary--"

"But, you were right about what you were saying earlier. I shouldn't have been in your room in the first place--"

"Ah. But I should have let the others know I was coming back. So ultimately, it was my fault--"

"It was both your faults!" Baekhyun snapped. His sudden outburst surprised both of us. "What is this? A battle of politeness?"

Sehun chortled. "Lay-hyung can't help it. He's a natural softie."

"And Nami-ah's stubborn too" D.O added. I gave him a questioning look and he explained. "Even back at the retreat, you insisted on sleeping on the floor even though I offered the sofa to you. It was only when Chanyeol--" D.O stopped abruptly at the mention of Chanyeol's name.

The rest of the members started to look around as they noticed that Chanyeol was nowhere to be found. I looked around too. Where was he? As if Lay had read my mind, he voiced out that same question.

"He left for China this morning" Baekhyun replied.

"What?!" Lay exclaimed, clearly astonished. "He left for China? Just when I came back?"

"You literally missed him by a few hours" D.O mentioned.

I gawked at D.O. Chanyeol left? Without saying goodbye? I felt a tightness in my chest as I continued thinking about him. Even though I knew I shouldn't care about him anymore, I couldn't help feeling saddened by his departure. Even if we were estranged, I still expected him to say goodbye. After all, we weren't going to see each other for a long time and as much as I didn't want to admit it, I was going to miss him.

"Speaking of a few hours" Kai suddenly interrupted. "Did everyone receive notice to leave their schedules free for this afternoon and evening?"

Almost everyone nodded.

"I don't have my schedule yet" Lay explained. "So I'm guessing I'm free."

"Does anyone know why, though?" Kai asked. "I mean, is there something going on today?"

Just then, the doorbell rang which caught everyone's attention. All eyes focused on the direction of the front door. Who could it be so early in the morning?

"Sehun, go answer it" Suho ordered.

Sehun huffed, "Why me?"

"Because you're the closest to the door."

Sehun scowled at Suho's reasoning and unwillingly got up to answer the door. When he came back, he was holding two envelopes in his hand. He stared at them whilst he walked over to us. "There was no one outside. Whoever came by dropped these off." He showed us the two envelopes. "This one's for you, Little Umma," he said as he handed me one of them.

I looked at it curiously. A letter? Who could it be from? As far as I knew, no one from back home knew where I lived. I peered at the name at the back of the envelope and saw that it was addressed to a 'Minami'. I knew for sure that it was definitely not from someone back home.

"What does it say?" Kai asked as he encouraged me to open the envelope.

Carefully, I tore the flap open and pulled out a white piece of card that had cursive Hangul written all over it. I squinted at the card, embarrassed that my reading ability for the Korean alphabet was a lot lower than my speaking ability. I skimmed over it and tried my best to read out what I could.

"'You are... invited... your... at five o'clock... tonight.'"

"Huh?"

I looked up and saw that the rest of the EXO members were just as confused as I was.

"Give it here," Baekhyun said as he snatched the invitation from me. "'You are cordially invited to your wedding which will be happening at five o'clock at the SM Entertainment Headquarters. Please be ready for tonight.'"

I felt everyone's stares lock onto me as they all slowly turned around to see my reaction. My wedding? My jaw was left hanging open.

"It's the invitation!" Sehun exclaimed. "It's the WGM invitation!"

"You're getting married?!" Lay shouted at me. "To who?"

Everyone turned to Sehun, who was still holding onto the other invitation. Immediately, they all made a grab for it while Sehun stretched his arm above his head to keep it away from them. "Not so fast, guys!"

"Damn it! You're too tall, Sehunnie!" Kai cursed, as he pushed himself up to his tip-toes.

Sehun smirked triumphantly. "While Chanyeol-hyung is away, I'm the tallest in the group."

"Just hurry up and open the envelope already!" Xiumin shouted impatiently.

"Yeah!" Suho agreed. "Let's find out who's doing WGM with Nami-ah."

"Wait a sec," Lay interrupted the others. "Am I included in this too? I didn't even know this was happening."

The other EXO members exchanged looks with each other. "I think you are" Suho replied. "Since Chanyeol's away, you might be taking his place. But we don't know for sure."

"I'd laugh if it turned out to be Lay-hyung" Chen commented. "Imagine that, Nami-ah and Lay-hyung going on WGM together even though they've just met."

"It would be awkward for you guys" Baekhyun mentioned.

I looked at Lay and immediately felt nervous. Baekhyun was right. It would be awkward to go and do WGM with Lay. I hardly knew him.

To my surprise, Lay was relaxed. "I don't think so," he responded nonchalantly. "In fact, I and Nami-ssi are already very close."

This made me curious. "Why do you say that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked while smiling at me flirtatiously, revealing his dimples. "Because we've already slept together on the first meeting" and he winked.

I felt myself colour in his response.

"Yah! Don't go making a move on Little Umma like that, Lay-hyung!" Baekhyun exclaimed.

Suho covered his face with his hands as he mumbled, "First a dirty maknae, now a dirty hyung..." He sighed.

Chen laughed, "You're so smooth, hyung! When did you get so bold?"

D.O and Xiumin's lips thinned to show an unimpressed expression.

While Sehun was distracted, Kai leapt and managed to grab the invitation off of Sehun's hand. "Got it!"

"Yah!" Sehun shouted.

Kai tore the envelope open and took out the card hurriedly. The EXO members diverted their attention to Kai as he read the card, his eyes skimming through the lines. Once he was done, his face sank, "It doesn't mention who."

"What?" Suho snatched the card and reached the same conclusion. "It's just addressed to 'All of EXO'." He frowned, "The groom could be any of us."

Everyone eyed each other competitively.

"Well, at least we know that it won't be long till we find out" Xiumin declared. "The wedding's this evening."

"Which means the wait is nearly over" D.O mentioned.

Sehun agreed. "One of us will be getting hitched today."

"We're not really getting married" I replied. "And why are you guys so keen on taking part in WGM anyway?"

All the EXO members looked at me as if I'd asked a stupid question.

"Nami-ah" Chen started, "We have been asking to go on WGM for a very long time."

"It's actually one of the rarest times we get to show off our affectionate side without upsetting the fans too much" Suho replied. "Although, the same can't be said about how they would feel towards the bride."

"It also helps us promote ourselves too" Baekhyun mentioned.

"But you don't need any more promotion," I told him. "EXO is already well-known as it is."

"I meant promotion in a different sense. Like, promoting how dateable we are. It's great fan service too."

I arched my brow at him.

"I just want to go on it because I want to find out what the show is like" Kai interjected. "Taemin did it and it looked like fun."

"Nami-ssi" I turned to face Lay, "just be rest assured that if I do end up going on WGM with you, I'll treat you like an angel" and he winked at me again. He turned to face D.O, who was scowling at him, "Do we have any more eggs, D.O-ah? I'm still hungry."

"Sure" D.O replied coldly and I noticed that his eyes were like half-moons.

"Uh-oh" Baekhyun whispered from beside me. "Looks like Lay-hyung has just woken up Satansoo."

D.O returned from the kitchen and served Lay two blackened fried eggs. "They're a little burnt" he informed him curtly.

Lay was bemused.

Looks like today was going to be one hectic day...

~*~

"There!" Stylist-unnie declared as she finished spraying hairspray on my hair. "All done!"

"Can I look now?" I asked her.

Stylist-unnie was smiling at me happily like she was eyeing a prized masterpiece. "Of course!" 

She slowly turned me around the swivel chair so that I could face the vanity table that was behind me. I gasped when I saw my reflection. Stylist-unnie had done my makeup in a natural way that blurred all my imperfections. With the romantic hues of rose golds and bronze, my eye makeup brought out the colour of my dark brown eyes while the cherry red lipstick and blush made me look young and full of vitality. It was a large contrast to what I looked like before.

I blinked at my reflection several times, in complete disbelief, that the person staring right back at me was me. Stylist-unnie was standing behind me, her satisfied smile still apparent on her lips. "Do you like it, Minami-ssi?"

"It's perfect!" I exclaimed. "You always make me look ten times better than what I normally do."

She grinned, "You were already pretty to begin with."

I stood up as Stylist-unnie took out the wedding dress that was still covered. It was finally time for me to wear it. "Will I be wearing a white wedding dress?" I asked her. While I was researching WGM on the internet, I found out that in some cases, celebrities could opt to choose a handbok, which was traditional Korean attire.

She smirked. "Let's find out."

Stylist-unnie unzipped the bag and I was relieved to see that it was a white dress. Once the cover was completely off, I saw that the top of the dress had an intricate and elegant design that was made of lace. There were short, capped sleeves that helped to cover the chest area but the back had a long V-shaped cut that reached down to where the small of my back would be. There was no train but the material of the dress was flowy as it was made of chiffon. Overall, it was the kind of dress that suited my taste: it was simple yet elegant.

Stylist-unnie peered at the dress and exchanged looks with me. "Ready to put it on?"

I nodded. "Is it nearly time?"

She looked at her watch. "It's already four. Filming starts in an hour."

I looked around the dressing room until I found a clock on the wall. She was right. Only an hour until filming starts-- until I find out who my husband will be for WGM. My stomach felt like it was doing somersaults. "I feel a little nervous, unnie."

"Don't be" she reassured. "You'll be fine. Whichever EXO member joins you in this show will be lucky to be paired up with you."

I gave her a nervous smile. I wasn't too worried about who will do the show with me but, rather I was worried about all the cameras outside. When we arrived at SMHQ a few hours ago, I was startled to see so many cameras being set up in one of the halls. They were doing tests on the equipment and I was supposed to have some hidden cameras in the dressing room too, to film me having my makeup done but, Stylist-unnie managed to get me out of it. I was thankful to her since she knew that I wasn't a famous model like what Suho and Manager-nim told the media.

As Stylist-unnie helped me put the dress on, she questioned me, "So, do you have a preference on who you'd like to do WGM with?"

I stiffened. "Not-not really."

I saw Stylist-unnie look up at me doubtfully from the mirror. "C'mon, there must be someone! You've been living with them for a while now, surely one of them has piqued your interest?"

I shuffled on my feet. "I-I did have- I did have a crush on someone" I admitted.

Stylist-unnie gasped in delight. "Omo! Who? Who?"

"It-it was a long time ago," I told her, hoping that she wouldn't press any further. Thinking about it made my heart ache.

Stylist-unnie, hearing the sadness in my voice, thankfully didn't push further. Instead, she asked, "Is that person doing WGM today?"

I hesitated to give her an answer. "Yes," I lied.

~*~

I waited outside the pretend church hall nervously. I tried to maintain a smile on my face as the camera crew swarmed around me like predators, trying to capture my every move on tape. It was awfully uncomfortable and I couldn't help glancing at the imposing cameras every now and then even though, I had been told to act like they were invisible. I could feel my armpits getting sweaty with nerves and my palms getting clammy as I held onto my bouquet of pink carnations: it was a pleasant surprise to find that they had made a bouquet of my favourite flowers.

I waited in anticipation as I stared at the double doors in front of me. It was nearly five o'clock. Behind those doors will be one of the EXO members who I would spend the next few weeks filming WGM with. My heart raced at the thought. Who could it be? I asked myself inwardly. I couldn't tell whether I was anxious or excited to find out.

A woman wearing a black shirt and skinny jeans spoke into her radio headset. "Okay. Got it." She turned to me. "Minami-ssi, standby. The doors will be opening in a minute. Just walk straight ahead once they do."

I nodded in response. This is it.

I started to chew on my lip nervously as I waited for the doors to open. Any second now.

I didn't know what to expect once they did. Would there be a long aisle and all I had to do was walk up it? Or will there be more cameras waiting to ambush me and catch me doing something embarrassing? I just hoped that I won't trip up or mess up my vows or something.

But as I ran through all the worst case scenarios in my head, the doors suddenly opened and I heard a harmony of voices start singing from the other side. It sounded like a choir of angels had descended from above. 

As I took the first step into the hall, the voices suddenly stopped and the piano started playing an easy beat that was both uplifting and cheerful. It was definitely not your usual Pachelbel's Canon.

My eyes adjusted to the lights in the hall as I continued to walk inside. It was beautifully decorated with garlands of flowers around the hall and a red carpet down the aisle. There were rows of seats on either side that was filled by SM staff. I noticed that there were also cameras but, they were stationed in the corners of the room. When my eyes finally focused on what was in front of me, I saw that it was Baekhyun, wearing a white tuxedo and a pink carnation. He smiled at me as he took my hand. Was he my groom?

In a daze, I let him lead me as he started singing along to the background music as we walked alongside each other. He stared into my eyes as he sang, "If you stare at me like that, it's hard for me not to feel anything..."

As he continued singing, I didn't notice that we had walked up to Sehun. Baekhyun let go of my hand and Sehun took it as this time, he led me down the aisle. I was so confused as to what was happening. Sehun grinned at me and I noticed that he too, was wearing a white tuxedo and had a pink carnation on his lapel. "If my friend saw me, he would've cursed at me, I'm not used to being like this, or saying this..."

"Your eyes, your nose, your lips. Are they still going to be pretty no matter how much I look...?" Chen sang as Sehun handed me over to him. Chen was smiling at me as he continued singing along. He was also wearing a white tuxedo and a pink carnation.

At this point, I realised that the further I went down the aisle, the closer I got to my real groom. As we neared the next EXO member, he turned around and I saw that it was Suho. He held out his hand and Chen let go of mine. I noticed that Suho was wearing the same as the previous three: a white tuxedo and pink carnation. "I ask myself why I'm being like this but instead of a clear reason the trembling feelings tell me nothing else is important..."

"I know it's really strange but don't say anything and just listen--I know it's unfair..." Kai sang as we approached him. He grinned at me and I smiled back. Like the others, he was wearing a white tuxedo and the familiar pink carnation. 

Only three more to go...

"I wanna be the only one who looks at you, am I being too greedy?" Lay sang as we got closer to him. He winked at me as I took his hand. He also was wearing a white tux and had a pink carnation on his lapel too. There were only two more people left. My heart raced in anticipation as I realised who those two people were. I looked ahead anxiously and my heart wouldn't stop drumming against my chest as we approached him.

"Girl, girl be my love we drank coffee every day..." a familiar voice sang. He turned around and he gave me a child-like smile. "Girl, girl, be my love we talked for a long time on the phone every night..." he continued to sing as I took his hand. 

"Xiumin-oppa" I said while smiling as he walked me down the last part of the aisle. He looked at me endearingly and I noticed that he was wearing a white tuxedo and pink carnation on his lapel. He continued singing until we neared the altar where he stopped to let me go.

It was only when he was no longer holding my hand did I realise that there was one person I hadn't seen yet. I looked up in front of me and saw my groom, wearing a white tuxedo and this time, a red carnation on his lapel. His round eyes were beaming at me as his heart-shaped lips formed a radiant smile. He sang as I joined him by his side. "Girl, girl, be my love it's time that you come to me. Ooh, baby falling, let's fall in love..."

"Eommaya" the rest of the EXO members sang as they finished the song.

I couldn't help smiling. 

Suddenly, all the nerves and anxiety that I had been feeling washed away as he took my hand in his. His hand felt warm and comforting.

"It's you," I said to him. "You're my groom."

D.O smiled. "Yes" he replied. "Yes, I am," he squeezed my hand slightly as he blushed, "and you're my bride."

~*~

Author's Note:

Hey reader! Thanks for reading chapter 47 of Our Little Dorm Mother!

Kyaaaaa! Did you expect it to be D.O? >.< What do you think will happen next?

Stick around and find out!