Ushering Joonmyeon into the kitchen, Yixing continued rubbing soothing circles on his back until Joonmyeon took a seat.  He moved to the cabinet to pull out a small bowl.  He then poured some soup, hoping that its aroma would be able to relax Joonmyeon.

He placed the bowl in front of Joonmyeon.  “Here you go.  Fresh off the stove, so it’s going to be hot.”  Yixing moved over to grab his apron and tie it on before taking a seat next to Joonmyeon.  He watched as Joonmyeon grabbed the bowl and slowly lifted it up to his lips, blowing on the surface to cool it down.  He then took a sip, closing his eyes to let the flavor run through his taste buds and flow through his esophagus into his stomach.

“Wow, Yixing, this is a masterpiece!  I’m not sure I’ve had soup this great in a long time!” exclaimed Joonmyeon, a smile blossoming on his face.  

Content with Joonmyeon’s response, Yixing reciprocated the smile and replied, “I’m glad you like it.”  Standing up, he ruffled Joonmyeon’s hair and continued, “Make sure you finish that bowl before helping me okay?”  After noting Joonmyeon’s nod (but missing the slight blush), Yixing then headed to the refrigerator.  He opened the door, careful not to use too much force seeing as the refrigerator was also in need of repair, and inspected all the ingredients left.

After some quick calculations, Yixing pulled out the necessary ingredients just in time to hear the washing of a bowl.  

“You’re already done?  Great, let’s get to cooking!”

With that, the two prepared a simple but hearty dinner for everyone, including their two new “guests.”  As the food was readied, the scent of their cooking wafted throughout the guild (the holes in the building helped carry the smell).  

On the floor, a certain figure previously thought to be unconscious started sniffing.  He rose up and started following his nose towards the kitchen.  No one noticed as he sat down in the first empty chair he found.  Over in the common room, Baekhyun was too busy lounging on their dying couch.  Since Baekhyun was taking up so much space (seriously, how does his petite body do that?), the others had retreated to their rooms, doing whatever.

Soon, however, the rest of the guild slowly made their way to the kitchen, all driven by hunger.  As Tao walked in, he noticed the figure waiting obediently and immediately stopped, his eyes glinting dangerously.  It took Sehun, who had followed Tao for food, the rest of his strength to force Tao to sit down patiently and ignore the “evil vagrant”.  To prevent any more chaos, Sehun took the seat on Tao’s left, creating small talk to keep him occupied before dinner was served.  

Hui Qi wandered in next; noticing Sehun in her seat, she stared at him with a raised eyebrow.  After some silent communication, she conceded and sat down at the other head of the table, across from Sehun.  After a while, Baekhyun skipped in, sitting down in the next closest seat available.  Last in the room was Kris; he, unfortunately, had to take the seat next to Hui Qi.

When the bowls were out and both Joonmyeon and Yixing were seated, everyone began eating.  Tao, Sehun and the so-called “vagrant” were all gulping down their bowls of food, while the rest, just a bit more civilized, were eating at slower paces.  For a while, all that could be heard was the chewing of food and clanking of utensils against bowls.

Yixing, thinking ahead, brought the whole pot of soup and ladle over, just in case anyone finished too early.  Thanks to Yixing’s quick thinking, the “vagrant” was saved from talking, and in turn saved from triggering any potential aggression from Tao.  

As the “vagrant” finished, he used the back of his hand to wipe his mouth off.  With a now-satisfied stomach, he finally looked up.  He slowly looked around, still completely confused at where he was and how he got there.  When his eyes landed on Baekhyun and then registered Tao, the guy who strangled him, as well as Sehun, the accomplice, they grew wide in recognition.

“AHHHH!!!!  It’s that guy who tried to kill me!!!  Stay away from me and my Pastry Bake!!!” shouted the “vagrant” as he pulled Baekhyun towards his chest, attempting to protect him as he waved his fork at Tao and Sehun.  

Suddenly, all eyes were focused on the odd situation of Sehun, once again, restraining Tao (and his foul mouth) as Baekhyun calmly finished chewing with the “vagrant”s arm around him.

When he finished, Baekhyun looked up, furrowing his brow while trying to recall why the face looked so familiar.  An epiphany struck him as he remarked, “Oh hey.  What are you doing here… uh… what’s your name again?”

“How can you not remember me?  You’ve been feeding me pastries for, like, ever?”  When that didn’t seem to jog his memory, the “vagrant” answered, “I’m Chanyeol, remember?”

Wracking his memory, Baekhyun thought for a couple of seconds before replying, “Nope not a clue.  And ewwww, get your dirty hands off me!  I’ll have you know that the Byun Baekhyun holds high regards in cleanliness.”  He slapped and pinched Chanyeol’s arms until the other was retracting them with whines of pain.

While watching the scene in front of him, Sehun’s hand slipped off Tao’s mouth.  Tao took the opportunity to start screaming, “HAHA!  SERVES YOU RIGHT YOU VILE, DIRTY, DISGU- hmmf,” before being muffled by Sehun’s hand once more.  Forcing Tao back into his seat, Sehun shoved some soup into his mouth and commanded, “Drink it.”  When the soup registered in Tao’s mind, he started relaxing, tuning out the unnecessary chatter and focusing on the meal before him.

Joonmyeon was also engrossed in his soup.  Once he realized what had just been revealed, he turned and spit out the remaining soup, drenching Kris’s face.  “Byun Baekhyun!  As in the heir of Byun Enterprises!!!  THAT’S WHO WE KIDNAPPED!?” shouted Joonmyeon, his eyes bulging as he finally realized the weight of their crime.  

“Yup!  That’s the one and only, fabulous me!” boasted Baekhyun.

Clearly Joonmyeon overlooked some very important details as he turned back to Hui Qi for an explanation.  

Putting down her phone (the whole affair was too funny to not take pictures), Hui Qi remarked, “Yes, we took Baekhyun for his money.  He was going to be our hostage so we could mooch money off of Byun Enterprises, one of the wealthiest companies out there.  We’ll need the money to fix up this whole place.  I guess I have to thank Kris for pointing out how horribly wrecked this guild is.”

“Y-You did what!  You took him for ransom?  What the heck guys!?  That is not the solution Kris was talking about!” Joonmyeon protested indignantly.  

While he was cleaning the soup from his face, Kris swiveled his head in Joonmyeon’s direction and mentioned, “Well, I never really proposed a solution in the first place.”  With one glare sent from Joonmyeon, Kris meekly turned back to wiping soup, playing off the whole conversation.

Baekhyun interrupted, “Hey wait!  I don’t want to go back to those stuffy offices!  Remember, I’m joining your guild.”  As Hui Qi opened , Baekhyun added, “I’ve got my credit card, right here in my pocket.  You let me join, and it’s basically yours.”  He held out his hand, as if to offer his services through the card.

Without a moment of hesitation, Hui Qi took his hand and smiled.  “Welcome to Mirage, Baekhyun!  From now on you’re officially a guild member!”

“Shoot me in the face,” muttered Kris, looking away from the exchange.

Hui Qi leveled her eyes to his face and challenged, “If you don’t want him to join, then fix the guild yourself.  If you get the job done, we’ll kick Baekhyun out.”

Kris nodded and conversation at the table gradually resumed, almost as if the squabble from before didn’t happen.  After quickly finishing his food, Kris stood up to dump his bowl and utensils into the sink, claiming that he had to “wake up early for the big day tomorrow”.  He left the dining area, a couple of eyes staring at his retreating figure as it went up the stairs.

When he figured Kris was out of range, Tao looked skeptically at Hui Qi.  “You’re not actually going to see if this works out, right?”

Hui Qi snorted, rolled her eyes, and replied, “Hell to the no.  There is no way I’m staying cooped up in this decrepit building when I could be lounging on a real couch.  Baekhyun,” she called out, “we’ll go scouting for our new guild location right after breakfast tomorrow.”

“Then why did you lift his hopes up?”

“It’s just so amusing to watch him struggle.  Don’t you agree?” chuckled Hui Qi as the smirk grew wider on her face.  Sehun nodded to himself in total agreement as he ate; it would be hilarious to watch Kris fail and have to accept Baekhyun as an official member of Mirage.

A/N: Heyheyyyy!  We're back (I hope you didn't miss us :P)!  Man do I want some soup made by Xing <3 Imagine solving the world's problems with soup XD  Hope you guys enjoyed this chap, and we'll seeya next week!

I feel kind of sorry for Chanyeol but meh no sympathy for Kris.