We decided to go to one of the malls because we need to buy my clothes. There is only one stall that sell clothes in the open market and they only sell simple t-shirts and a few shorts. We bought a few from that stall but Eunji said that it’s not enough because I only brought a pyjama and one piece of shirt from home which is absolutely false. I brought 3 pieces of them. Mom told me to get new ones when I reach here.

We went into the mall closest to the open market. Seungcheol told us that the malls closest to the market are cheaper compared to the bigger malls further in the shopping district. I just need to get a few more clothes for myself as what Eunji had demanded and some clothes for Chanyeol and Lay.

Top priority is Chanyeol because he had been looking super demotivated ever since both the fruit stall granny and I pranked him. When I asked if he want any of the t-shirts at the stall, he just shook his head and said that he would prefer it if I could change the clothes that I wish to buy for him into a proper meal for him. He still didn’t get that all of that is just a prank.

We went into a store and saw a line of girls waiting in front of the fitting room. Most of them seemed to be girls from outside of the city like us based on their dress-up. A few looks like how Seunghee dress-up so, I guess they are from the city.

“Just leave the things with Seungcheol. He’ll be staying outside” Seunghee said as she grab the items in my hand.

“Why?” Eunji asked before I could open my mouth.

“The ladies in our house always take a really long time when shopping for clothes so I end up waiting for them outside. I guess it became a habit now” Seungcheol replied and was about to take the items that was in his sister’s hand when Chanyeol took it from her.

“I’ll take that” he said and went back to silent. If I had not been aware that he was feeling demotivated, I’m pretty sure that I would look just like my other companions. The two siblings and Eunji jumped at his sudden intrusion, taking the items from their hands. All three of them had their eyes wide, looking at Chanyeol and then back at me.

“I totally forgot about him” Eunji said “I mean, I didn’t realize that he was with us this whole time. He was so quiet, completely different than how he usually is” she glanced at Chanyeol before whispering at me “I think he’s unhappy about his meal being only fruits”

I smiled and tapped her shoulder “Worry not my dear, for I already have the means to make him happy again” I told her then went straight to one of the dress section.

 

It took us some time to choose the clothes that we want. It took longer to enter the fitting room. Once inside, I closed my eyes and called for Lay. I could feel the person standing in front of me looking around.

“Where are we?” he asked.

“Fitting room” I answered in a hush and saw him getting flustered “so you better speak in a whisper unless you want the other girls to know that there’s a guy in the fitting room” I said “but then again, I was the one who called you here” I mumbled.

I saw him frowning a bit before asking “And why did you call for me? Where’s Chanyeol?” he asked “ah, don’t answer that. This is a fitting room so he must be waiting outside” he stated.

“I need you to prepare Yeollie’s favourite food for dinner. I’ll prepare the dessert” I told him “I’ve bought the ingredients already” I said when he looked like he was about to ask about the ingredients.

He smiled and nodded at my request. “May I ask why you’re doing this?” he asked.

“Well, I may or may not have pranked him into thinking that his meals for the month are only the fruits which he had silently added with the ones I was purchasing and now, he is very quiet. He was even rejecting the clothes that I wanted to buy for him. He said that he would prefer it if I could change the clothes into proper meals” I explained and he bobbed his head as he listened to me.

“I got it. I’ll prepare the foods once we’re back at home” he said and then cleared his throat “I’ll let you try your clothes now” he looked away and was about to disappear when I stopped him.

“Wait!” I held his arm “I still need your help in choosing the right shirt size for both you and Chanyeol later” I said and saw him smiling before disappearing.

I look at my reflection in the mirror and squinted. “That means okay right?” I wondered then shook my head and proceed with trying on the clothes.

 

We also went to a few other stores in the mall and I had managed to buy a few clothes for both Lay and Chanyeol. Poor child had to deal with me getting him to try the clothes not only for his portion but also Chanyeol’s too. Lay had to estimate the clothing size that would suit Chanyeol while I use his body to imagine if the design would suit the spoiled brat.

Even if Lay did not walk around or search for any clothes, I could see him looking distracted and tired by the time we were trying on clothes in the fourth store. I guess, men, no matter if they are slaves or normal human, they get tired of shopping rather easily. I mean, Lay could clean the whole village without stopping for more than 24 hours and still cook us breakfast the next morning without looking tired and yet he looks tired from just trying a few clothes for a much shorter duration.

We went back to our new home soon after and reached the house when the sky was turning red. The reflection of the twilight sky on the surface of the water makes the view looks like there are gold dusts shining on the surface of the water. Both Seungcheol and Seunghee had went back to their respective home halfway through walking back with us since our house is further into the woods as compared to the apartment area where they live.

I saw Chanyeol placing all the groceries on the kitchen table and decided to kick him out of the kitchen. “Just leave the groceries there and keep the clothes that I bought in my room” I told him and he proceed to do like I had told him as I called for Lay to help me with the items in the kitchen. I had Eunji and Junho help in sorting out the ingredients we bought before they went to their room to keep the other items that they had bought.

Both Lay and I were prepping the ingredients for dinner when Chanyeol came back into the kitchen. When he saw us, he asked if there is anything that he can help with but I was afraid that he might realize that the food we’re preparing is including his food based on the amount of the ingredients used so, I quickly said no and kicked him out of the kitchen. I gave him an apple and told him to wait in his room.

“Just stay in your room and have this apple. You’re not allowed to go out of the room without my permission” I told him as I pushed him out of the kitchen area.

“Which one is my room?” he asked when he was out of the kitchen.

I blinked a few times at his question and simply said “Just pick one” before going back in the kitchen to continue preparing for dinner. I waited for his heavy footsteps to be rather faint before looking at Lay.

“Do you think he saw the ingredients?” I asked in a panic.

I saw Lay smile before opening the refrigerator. “I’m pretty sure he didn’t see the one in the fridge” he said as he pull out one portion of the raw meat out of the refrigerator.

“You sneaky boy” I said and lightly punched his arm “when did you keep it in there?” I asked again.

“While we were marinating the meat, I heard his footsteps and quickly hide this one in the fridge and took out an egg” he showed me the egg before placing the unused egg back into the refrigerator.

“So you pretended to take out an egg?” I chuckled and shook my head.

“Good thing he wasn’t here too long” he said as he prepare the food “any longer and he might notice that I’m not using the egg” he moved to wash his hands.

I heard footsteps entering the kitchen so I turned to face the entrance, unconsciously holding in my breath. “Oh, it’s just you two” I said and released my breath when I saw that it was Eunji and Junho at the entrance.

“What happened?” Eunji asked “Why do two look so nervous?” she asked and shift his eyes from looking at me to Lay and back at me.

Her statement made me turn to face Lay. Was he surprised too? I thought and felt the corner of my lips stretching. “Did you also think that was Chanyeol too?” I and saw his lips turn into a thin line. He turned to me and squinted.

“I let my guard down because I don’t think he would defy your words and the sudden sound of footsteps made me think that he might have heard what we talked about” he confessed.

“What is this with Chanyeol?” Eunji asked again.

Lay was the one who answered her. “We are preparing our dinner and it includes Chanyeol’s portion. It’s a surprise for him so Hana kicked him out of the kitchen. We thought it was Chanyeol who entered. That’s why we were surprised” he explained briefly.

“We were talking about how he almost found out about the extra portion just now when you two entered” I told them.

Eunji laughed at the answer the we gave her. “So, where is the lucky boy?” she asked, looking around.

“I made him wait in the room. I told him not to go out of the room without my permission” I said.

“And you think that he would stay in the room just like you instructed? That restless child?” she said and made me rethink of the times where he would not listen to me and does whatever he wishes to do just like how he didn’t wash the dishes when he lost the bet.

“Why didn’t I think of that?” I murmured. I saw Junho walks out of the kitchen and asked Eunji “Where is he going?” as I pointed to the person who is walking past the entrance of the kitchen.

However, the moment Eunji turned around, he had disappeared. “Who?” she asked and realized that her slave, Junho is gone. “Oh? Where did Junho go?” she asked more to herself a she turn around to look at the other areas in the kitchen in case she didn’t realize that he had moved.

“He went out of the kitchen” Lay stated and I nod in agreement, earning a confused look from Eunji.

“And why would he go somewhere else without telling me?” she asked, looking at both Lay and I as if we have the answer for that.

“I don’t know Eunji. I was the one who asked where he’s going just a moment ago” I told her.

It didn’t take that long before Junho entered the kitchen again. “Where did you go? Disappearing so suddenly without saying anything to me?” Eunji asked the said boy when she saw him entering.

“I was trying to see if Chanyeol is still in his room” he said to which all three of us was looking forward to the answer “and he’s still in the room, sitting on the bed, eating his apple in small bites. He said that he needed to take small bites to make sure that he takes a longer time to finish the apple since that happens to be his only dish for dinner” he explained.

I sighed and smiled at his words. “At least he didn’t exit the room” I said but doubt my own words so I looked at Junho “am I right?” I asked and earned a nod from him.

“I believe that he was in the room the whole time considering how he is still sulking over the fact that his dinner is only the apple” he stated.

I saw Eunji nodding her head and then clasped her hands together. “Well then, case closed. What can I help you with for dinner preparation?” she asked and looked at Lay.

“Just set the table as I prepare the foods” Lay stated “and Hana, you should start preparing the dessert” he said and went straight to work.

When it comes to the kitchen, everyone listens to Lay. At first, it was just Chanyeol who was banned from the kitchen because he almost burnt the whole kitchen when he was cooking. Lay had allowed Chanyeol to help in the kitchen with his supervision after the incident but every time the big guy tried to help with cooking, he burned the kitchen area. Eventually, Lay made a rule that Chanyeol is not allowed to touch anything that can cause fire in the kitchen.

However, what made us listen to Lay when we are in the kitchen all started from when I was almost stabbed by the kitchen knife while playing with Eunji in the kitchen. He was so mad at us that he banned everyone including my mother from entering the kitchen for a month. It took mom a whole day of convincing to make him allow her to enter the kitchen to help him cook. He was so angry that he threw the knife, which he barely managed to catch moments before it stabbed me, to the thin area between Junho and Chanyeol’s head, barely dodging Jun’s ear when it hit the wooden wall he was leaning against.

I remember the shocked look we all had at that time. Everyone was stuck at the place they were standing and holding their breath. Lay had punished us by locking us in my room while he deal with the other slaves. I still remember how pale Jun looked like when he opened the door to our room to let us out. Mom told me later that day that Lay had gotten angry at everyone in the house for allowing Eunji and I to play in the kitchen where there are a lot of sharp things in there. Since that day, everyone can only enter the kitchen with Lay’s permission.

As I was reminiscing those days, our foods are almost ready. I saw Eunji and Junho setting the table and turn to face Lay for further instructions. “Go get Chanyeol for dinner. It’ll be ready soon” he said with a smile.

I nodded and head to the second floor where the rooms are located. When I reached the second floor, I realized that I don’t know which room he would be in. I sighed and knocked on the first door. When I heard no reply, I opened the door and saw that it was empty.

“I should have asked Junho which room he was in before going up” I muttered and knocked on the door next to mine.

“Junho, I told you to go away!” I heard the boy’s muffled scream, probably from covering his face with a pillow.

“I hope he’s not crying” I muttered before knocking on the door again, hoping he knows that I’m not Junho. This time, I only heard a groan coming from the boy. It didn’t take that long for the door to open.

“What?!” he was frowning when he forcefully open the door as he said the words. When he saw that it was me who was standing in front of the door, his face changed to surprise and then the look of horror, probably finally realizing that the person standing in front of him is his master.

“Uh, Hana. I’m sorry. I thought you were Junho” he said in a softer voice and looked away.

“Are you mad at me?” I asked with a poker face. His reaction made me want to laugh. His eyes went big and he was clearly panicking. I turned around  before he could say anything and told him to go down.

“Lay need you to help him with something” I told him and walked away without looking back. I heard him following silently from behind. I wonder what kind of expression he have while following me.

When we reached the dining table, everyone was already seated. I took a seat and nod at Lay. Lay turned his attention to the tall boy standing next to me. “You’re here” he said.

“What do you need me for?” he asked while looking at Lay.

“Sit” Lay ordered and I pulled the empty chair next to me to make him take his seat there.

He followed the order and pulled the chair further back. He was about to sit when he saw the plate set on the table in front of him. He raised his head and looked at the other plates and was probably calculating the number of dishes placed on the table.

“There’s an extra dish?” he questioned as he slowly took his seat.

“Yeah” I answered simply.

“And they’re tonkatsu and galbi” he said as he scanned at the foods on the table.

“Your favorites” I nodded.

“Can I eat them?” he asked, looking directly at me with his puppy eyes so, I smiled as the answer.

“It’s her form of apology for the prank she did earlier today” Lay told him “there are also clothes for you” he stated and I can see the joy creeping on Chanyeol’s face.

“Thank you!” he exclaimed.

“You should be” Lay said “you don’t know how hard it is to keep on trying on all the clothes”  he grumbled.

“Lay, it was just a few clothes” I told him.

“We went to four fitting rooms and I tried hundreds of clothes” he declared.

“It’s not that many, Lay. I only picked around three clothes to try on per store” I stated.

“That makes it 12 clothes times two because I had to try on the ones for Chanyeol too” he said and I just rolled my eyes at his statement.

“We had to wait for quite some time for her too” Eunji told Chanyeol, remembering the time when she had to wait for me because I had to go for the second round to the fitting room due to the item limit per entry and heard the boy chuckling. Now that she mentioned that, I do feel bad for making them wait for me.

“You know, I just wanted to check on you and yet you got angry at me for that” Junho told the boy and I saw him rubbing the back of his neck, looking away while saying sorry. I’m pretty sure he’s feeling guilty for what he did.

“I was in a bad mood because I thought my dinner was only the apple” he explained to Junho, trying to defend himself for what he did which cause the whole room to laugh at his antics.

I smiled when I looked at him being happy and chatty. “Thank goodness you’re not sad anymore. This is more like you” I muttered and saw Lay smiling at me as if he heard my words.

I was surprised when I felt the weight when the big boy hug me. “Thank you, Hana” he whispered before he let go of me. I look at him eating his food with a smile on his face as if he was not moody or just hugged me.