Out of all the days of the week, Saturdays, in your opinion, were the best. No school, no stress, and certainly, you could put off your homework for Sundays - that's what they were there for, anyway. You could also catch up on some well-deserved rest and sleep in until whenever you pleased.

But alas, it was Friday, which meant you had to wake up to go to school in a little while, but not before catching a few more winks.

Annoyingly enough, a sudden, heavy weight toppled over you as you made a sound of drowsy annoyance. Surely, you couldn't open your eyes now - it was way too early.

Almost certain that it was your grandma shaking you awake, you didn't budge an inch.

"Five more minutes, Gran," you mumbled, but she didn't listen. Instead, you felt warm on your cheeks and screamed at once, shoving the presence off of your bed. If you weren't wide awake before, you sure were now.

You gawked when you saw who it was. A silver-haired wolf with glowing amber eyes rolled around on the floor with a frustrated whine.

"Y-You! How many times do I have to tell you that you can't just come in here?!"

The wolf sniffled and gazed sadly at you.

"Don't look at me like that," you sighed, but in truth, you were caving in. The darned animal knew you had a weakness for fluffy creatures and was taking full advantage of it. Sneakily, he traipsed over to you and nuzzled his muzzle against your arm while you absentmindedly pet him on the head.

"What time is it anyway? Wha—HEY! I can still sleep in for thirty minutes!"

The wolf blinked innocently before emitting a strange, white glow. In no less than a second, it had shapeshifted into a taller, tanned boy with defined muscles, a sharp jaw, and piercing dark eyes. His silver hair was fluffy and non-styled, as you preferred, and his lips curled up into a devious grin as he poked the tip of your nose with his finger.

"By waking up earlier, missy, you can spend those thirty minutes with me."

"TAEYONG!" You slapped your hands over your eyes to shield them from his ness, “Oh my god!"

"That's my name, don't wear it out, babe," he winked as you smacked him against the arm. “Ow, that's animal abuse, you know. Didn't think you wanted to be in jail for abusing your boyfriend."

“Easy way to bail out: tell them the truth. You are not my boyfriend," you shielded your eyes as he slipped into some clothes he insisted on leaving at your place.

"You can look now," he called shortly after, and you felt relieved upon seeing him in a vested jean jacket, white shirt and pants.

Taking in his almost godly appearance, you knew for sure that he stood out like a sore thumb. Heck - he was more fashionable than you, and you used to live in Seoul, the city of fashion! Not too long ago, you'd moved to your grandma's small home in a forest village in the countryside to take care of her. That's when you met them.

By them, you meant the seven boys lodged together as the wolf pack NCT 127, and their leader Taeyong, who had his heart set on you to be his partner. You thought they were terrifying at first and learned to stay away, but when they saved you from an enemy pack's attacks on Taeyong's request, you’d learned to trust them. Occassionally, under the pretense of 'protecting you from intruders', Taeyong would sneak into your house and check up on you, but when he was caught, you would always give him a scolding.

"I think it's adorable that you're denying our relationship when you’re already pining for me. Look, your cherry cheeks give it away.”

Taeyong got up from your lap and steadied himself on his palms, face heart-stoppingly close to your own.

Thoroughly embarrassed, you shoved him away and finally got up.

"Where's grandma? Don’t tell me she was the one who let you in again…”

"She went to the village mart to shop. You know she spends hours there. And of course she let me in," he showed off a maroon-red ribbon tied to his wrist, "I'm her Yongie, remember?"

You rolled your eyes. "If Gran knew that you were really a werewolf and not some stray, I doubt she'd continue to treat you like a pet."

"I don't mind it," Taeyong patted the ribbon and slung his long arms from behind you into a back-hug. He peered down at you adoringly from his tall height with a gaze that melted you like butter. "We can sleep some more if you'd like...."

"Nope, I'm wide-awake," you brushed him off again and hurried to the bathroom to get a head start on getting ready for the day.

Taeyong watched as you escaped quickly and simply shook his head with a grin. What a cutie.

After putting on some light makeup and changing into your uniform, you hurried downstairs to grab a quick breakfast of cereal, but Taeyong was already cooking something up in the kitchen. Stunned and partly curious, you inched closer to him and poked your head out to catch a glimpse of the delicious concoction.

Small pieces of seafood, eggs, and rice were sizzling in the wok. It looked scrumptious, and you glanced up to see Taeyong's carefree expression as he worked on the seafood fried rice.

“I didn't know you could cook."

"You never asked," Taeyong mused, and he held up a peace sign with a snooty look on his face. "Well? Have you fallen for me yet?"

"Nice try," you gave him a flat look. "But I have fallen for that food..." On cue, your stomach growled, and Taeyong couldn't help but grin as he scooped some out in a bowl for your breakfast and put the rest in a container for your lunch. Moments later, he was gazing at you in amusement, one hand resting on the kitchen table as you wolfed down the food.

"It's delicious! Way better than what you can buy at the cafeteria at school!" You blissfully sighed as you finished the last scoop, and Taeyong shrugged.

"If you agree to be my girlfriend, you'd be getting this daily. Bye-bye, cafeteria food."

"All I can say is that if this rice asked me out, I'd say yes in a heartbeat," you your lips and put your dishes away, slipping on your backpack. "Thanks for the meal."

Taeyong glared at the rice before walking you to the door. "Have a good day, babe."

"Huh?" You blinked. "Aren't you leaving?"

"Well you see, I fight evil forces by night and I'm a mother of five little brats and Taeil hyung by day, so I figured I'd get some well-deserved rest here.”

You raised an eyebrow, "In my house?"

"I'm the little wolf that guards Gran’s house, remember?" He pawed at the air, red ribbon tied tight around his wrist. "I'll guard it extra closely today for the price of one girlfriend!" He expectantly puckered up his lips at you.

"Bye, Taeyong," you turned when Taeyong pouted and called out to you.

”Wait."

When you glanced back, Taeyong had gently pecked the top of your hand like a gentleman.

"Stay safe, okay?"

"D-Don't let Gran see you as a human," was all you could lamely mumble before running off.

*

All throughout the day, you couldn't concentrate at all on the lessons, and your mind swirled around Taeyong. Was he doing okay? Did he break anything? Did Gran come back early and spot him in his human form? You were so engaged in your thoughts that you didn't notice Haechan waving his hand in front of your face.

"Hello? Hellooooo. Noona."

"Dude, she's totally spaced out," Mark snickered.

Winwin lightly tapped your shoulder in concern. "You okay?"

You snapped out of your trance to realize that you were totally zoned out in the cafeteria. It was lunch break, and you hadn't started your lunch at all.

"S-Sorry, guys."

"Did something happen? You've been out of it all day," Jaehyun asked as he took a sip of Haechan's cola, much to the younger's annoyance.

You smiled weakly and pulled open the lid to your container.

“Wait—I’d recognize that smell anywhere. Is that Taeyong hyung's famous fried rice?!" Mark gasped as you opened your lunch.

"Impossible. He never cooks for us anymore," Haechan waved it off and started to unwrap his triangle kimbap when Mark seized him around the neck with twinkling eyes.

"No! It's true! My nose can't be wrong!"

Winwin smiled shyly. "I love Taeyong's fried rice."

You pushed it over to them, having one too many worries to eat at the moment. "Knock yourselves out."

"You really mean it, noona?"

"All hail Taeyong hyung’s food!" They chorused as they dug in straightaway.

"So that's where he hurried off to in the morning," Jaehyun nodded sympathetically. "Came to annoy you again, did he?"

"Ever - om - since - nom—" Haechan swallowed his food before speaking again. "Ever since Taeyong hyung and the other hyungs graduated, all they do is laze around at home. You wouldn't believe how annoyed Taeyong hyung gets when Taeil hyung says he's hungry or Yuta hyung pesters him with lame jokes."

So he was telling the truth, you thought with a chortle.

"Lately he's been worried since there are quite a few wolf packs passing by town. Bet he’s losing some sleep over it,” Mark supplied. "It's understandable, since he's the first in our pack to have found his mate."

"He's paranoid that they'll come and attack you again," Winwin added as you softened. I had no idea.

The conversation was cut short when Jaehyun's phone began to go off.

"Hello?" he picked it up curiously and listened for a while before he shook his head with an unamused expression. "Yes. Only one cup. No — one cup. Yeah. Just follow the instructions — you know how to read. Okay, bye."

"Speak of the devil," Haechan hummed.

"Did something happen? Did my grandma come back?" You straightened up in anxiety.

"No and no," Jaehyun snickered. “It’s better. Taeyong hyung's doing your laundry."

*

As soon as you finished classes, you rushed home straightaway in total mortification. Why was Taeyong doing your laundry? Why did he try to clean your entire house when he didn't even know how to turn on a vaccuum cleaner? According to Mark, it was preposterous for him to even lift a finger to clean. He only knew how to cook well.

If he touches my underwear, he's dead, you thought before bursting into the house.

The lights were off, and there was a dim brightness cast through the thick curtains. Before you could shout his name, you heard the faint hum of the dryer going off, and when your peered inside, everything seemed fine. No odd whirring, no soapy bubbles pouring out, everything was just fine. He had done a fine job.

The next thing you noticed was the kitchen. It was sparkling clean, and anyone could tell. Now that you noticed it, the floors were vaccuumed and mopped, and the main clue that indicated it was recently done was that the mop and vaccuum were lying neatly against the kitchen wall. You slowly made your way to your bedroom, and saw Taeyong fast asleep.

You leaned over to him and took in his exhausted face, wondering how determined he was to make you feel proud of his hard efforts. A tingling sensation filled your heart, and before you knew it, you had leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead.

Although you were bashful, you didn't regret it. You did regret it, however, when you realized Taeyong was staring at you plainly. There was an awkward silence before his lips curved into his trademark smirk.

"You're home already? Missed me much?"

You swallowed slowly, hoping that he wouldn't bring up anything about the kiss. "You're insane."

"Why?"

"I heard you've never touched a vaccuum cleaner in your life."

"Aw, I told Jaehyun not to tell," Taeyong snapped his fingers. "What can I say? If I want to be a good husband, I should learn how to clean for my lovely wife."

“Whoa there, buddy. One step at a time. Boyfriend is before husband."

"What?" Taeyong blinked, baffled at your statement. "You mean..."

"Just don't touch my laundry for a while, deal?" you shyly asked, and Taeyong's smile went the widest it possibly could. Pure happiness glowed in his eyes as he got up and pulled you close in a comforting hug.

"Deal," he murmured next to your ear before pulling you down beside him onto the bed. Your eyes almost bulged out of their sockets, heart thumping wildly as Taeyong's face appeared over yours for the second time that day.

In a swift movement, he leaned in and pecked your lips quickly before pulling away. Your eyes went wide in surprise, but before you could respond, Taeyong heaved a great sigh and covered his face. "I can't do this."

Can't do what? More curious than shy at this point, you slowly pulled his palm away from his face. "Taeyong...?"

You were most stunned to see the usually coolheaded, flirty Taeyong with cheeks as red as yours was this morning. Bashfully, he burrowed his face in your pillow like a shy, embarrassed girl.

"That's payback for attacking me first."