D.O. nudged Chanyeol. “There’s no more food,” he muttered in an undertone. “I need to go to the grocery store.”

The two glanced at Areum simultaneously. She was still immersed in her book on the carpet.

Chanyeol knew that when D.O. went grocery shopping, he needed another person to come along to help haul all the groceries. He glanced at Kai and D.O.’s room, where Kai was. “Do you think he’s capable of babysitting?” Chanyeol hissed back.

D.O. shrugged. The two silently did rock-paper-scissors. D.O. brought out rock as Chanyeol brought out scissors. The older boy sighed heavily.

Chanyeol crept into Kai’s room and shut the door behind him. Kai was at his computer, delving into the dark world under the surface of the Internet, where the online activities of the Underground World took place. He was a genius hacker.

“Um, Kai,” Chanyeol said quietly. The said boy looked up coolly. “D.O. needs to go grocery shopping, and-”

“I’ll stay,” Kai interrupted.

Chanyeol’s jaw dropped. “Um, okay,” he mumbled as he left the room. “You better keep a close eye on her.”

As soon as the two older boys went to the store, Kai stretched and left his room to check on Areum. She was in the same position as she had been that afternoon, with her nose buried in the book. Silently, Kai walked over and sat on the couch. The girl didn’t seem to notice his presence and just flipped a page.

He studied her face. Sometimes, when she came to a suspenseful part, her brow would furrow and her eyes would show utmost concentration. When she came to a funny part, the corners of her lips would curl up slightly and her eyes would silently laugh. Kai was immersed in her diverse expressions as much as Areum was in the book.

When she finished the book and closed it, Kai quickly averted his gaze. He looked at the clock and was surprised – already half an hour had passed.

He felt the side of the couch sink in and looked back to find Areum sitting next to him, staring straight at him. “When did you come into the living room? What were you doing?” she asked with wide eyes.

Words failed the boy. Areum smiled at his awkwardness and waved her book in front of him. “Should I tell you the summary of this story? It’s quite amusing.”

Speechless, Kai nodded.

Chanyeol pushed the door open, groaning under the weight of several heavy plastic bags. “I can’t believe you bought so much this time,” he muttered.

“Since Areum is here, I feel like just rice and kimchi aren’t enough,” D.O. grunted. He was carrying as many bags as the other.

“You must have been really pissed when she said that your cooking was similar to Joonmyeon Hyung’s. You’re trying to impress her with your specialties, aren’t you?”

The taller boy stumbled into the living room and nearly dropped the groceries. He froze in place. “Hey, careful,” D.O. snapped, nearly bumping into him.

Shuffling to the side, D.O. was about to head to the kitchen when something in the living room caught his eye. His mouth fell open and his eyes bulged.

Chanyeol was in the same state as him. “Please tell me that’s not Kai,” he whispered.

On the couch, Kai was sleeping with his back against it. Next to him, Areum was sleeping just as peacefully, her head on his shoulder. They looked like a couple that had just fallen asleep after talking.

“That cannot be the Kai I know,” D.O. agreed.

Kai’s eyes fluttered open. His shoulder felt stiff. Tilting his head to the right to stretch his neck, his head hit another head. He froze. An incoherent mumble was heard from beside him.

He turned his head and squinted – the sun was just starting to rise, so it was still kind of dark. The outline of a girl’s head could be seen. Then it dawned on him. It was Areum.

Moving his head slightly to get a closer look at her face, he realized that she was still sleeping. A sigh escaped his lips. They must’ve fallen asleep last night while talking. Then he remembered why the two were alone in the house that night. He face-palmed himself; what had Chanyeol and D.O. thought when they saw the two of them like this?

Carefully, he extracted himself from the situation by getting off the couch and lowering Areum’s head onto the couch. The girl didn’t even move the slightest.

Kai found himself crouching down next to her to stare at her face. It was so small – he believed it was the size of his hand. She looked so peaceful, breathing deeply in her sleep.

He didn’t know how much time passed before he heard a door softly creak open. He jumped onto his feet. Chanyeol exited his room in the middle of a huge yawn. He glanced sleepily at Kai. “You’re awake,” he commented in a sleepy voice. “Good morning.”

Kai froze, feeling like he was caught in the middle of doing something. Chanyeol ignored him and headed towards the bathroom. “I’ll wash first.” He disappeared behind the door.

Blinking several times, Kai stared blankly at the closed bathroom door. He had half-expected the older boy to comment about yesterday night. He scratched his head and started heading towards his room, but stopped. D.O. was probably inside. Sighing, he walked to the dining room to have some quiet time by himself.