I yawned as I stretched my arms as far as I could over my head, wrapping my fingers around the headboard and smiling at the feel of the cold metal. There was something about summers that made that simple feeling feel new every single day. Sighing with contentment, I rolled onto my side to look at my phone. No new messages. That meant I hadn’t had any replies to my job applications. I knew I should be disappointed, but it meant at least one more day of relaxation before I had to start setting an alarm again.

“Noona! Are you awake?” With another yawn, I pushed up to sit on the edge of my bed just as my door swung open. “Noona!!” I wasn’t sitting up for long before I was sent flying backwards by what seemed to be a herd of antelope but I knew to be two, perhaps three insane young men.

“Let me up you lunatics!!” I screeched, hacking a little as a few strands of hair from one of them drifted into my mouth. They laughed, scrambling off me and grabbing my hands to pull me upright once more. I pushed my hair out of my face and looked at what turned out to be four beaming faces, reaching out to ruffle one’s hair. “Now, are you going to tell me why the heck you barged into my house at this time of day?” I couldn’t say morning, mostly because I wasn’t even sure it *was* morning right now.

“Pancakes” stated one of them, and I rolled my eyes. I knew I would regret letting him know I knew how to cook those things. With a sigh, I stood up, gesturing to them to move so I could get to my bathroom, leaving it open just a crack so I could continue talking to them as I changed.

“I swear, Hoseok. You really need to get Jin to learn to make those things. You guys can’t just keep coming over here every week to get me to cook breakfast for you.”

I could practically feel the puppy-like pout spreading across Taehyung’s face and peeked out, giving them a reassuring smile. “You know I’ll do it, but you could at least ask first.” I squeaked and ducked backwards as Jungkook knelt down outside the door with his head bowed, though he couldn’t see into the bathroom anyway from there.

“Noonaaaa” he crooned, “Would you please make us pancakes?” I burst out laughing at the adorable maknae and reached through the gap in the door, ruffling his hair again.

“Alright, I’ll make you pancakes, you little kiss-up” I teased as I yanked my shirt into place and checked to make sure my skirt was neat before opening the door. “Jimin, are the others here with you guys?” He nodded. “Okay, can you go tell Jin to get the ingredients out of the pantry for me? He’ll know what I need.” He grinned and almost skidded as he his heel and dashed out of my room.

“Jin-hyung!!! Noona says she needs the ingredients out of th-“

“I said go tell him, not tell him as you go!” I shouted after him, hearing his words quickly cut off for a minute as he ran the rest of the way to the kitchen and proceeded to relay the instructions in a less ear-shattering volume.

Plunking down on the stool by my dressing table, I grabbed a brush and began to work the tangles out of my hair as the remaining guys sat on the edge of my bed. “So did you get hired, noona?” Taehyung asked, frowning at the shake of my head. “Why not?” I shrugged.

“I guess I’m just not what they want” I responded, doing my best not to let disappointment colour my voice. Apparently I didn’t do well enough, and Hoseok hurried over, wrapping his arms around my shoulders in a tight hug.

“Then they’re stupid. Anyone who doesn’t want our noona is wrong in the head” he muttered sulkily. I smiled. Patting his arm with one hand, I set my brush down with the other and rested my head back against his shoulder.

“Nah. It just means I’m meant for something bigger!” I said brightly as I grinned at him then ducked down under his arm and jumped up. “Now, hurry, or noona won’t make strawberry sauce!” I chided, shooing them ahead of me down the stairs as I grabbed my phone and tucked it in my pocket, smiling fondly after them.

I had been in Korea for over 20 years, meeting Hoseok when his mother had asked me to babysit him when her friend invited her and her husband for a holiday and soon becoming like a big sister to him. We had been almost inseparable ever since, and when he had become an idol, he had been sweet enough to buy me a house near his dorm. It had soon become apparent that that house came with a few pests – seven to be exact. Not that I minded. The boys, as I called them, had started treating me the same as Hoseok almost the day I met them, and now all were like little brothers to me, complete with all the pains and brattiness that came with that. They treated the house like their own home away from home, each having his own key and barging in at all hours of the day and night for food, movies, or just for a knee to nap on when they needed a break from the general chaos of their dorm. It wasn’t unheard of for me to wake up in the morning to find one of them asleep on my couch, half-finished slice of pizza in hand, and all of them knew to check my house before ever wondering whether one of them was missing.

Padding into the kitchen in bare feet, I grinned as I was enveloped in a tight hug by my eldest ‘sibling’, a nuzzle on the head making me giggle.

“Jin! I just did my hair, you brat!” I smoothed my hair back down, sticking my tongue out at him and taking the apron Yoongi handed me. After over a year of making breakfast for these boys, they had come to know every step of my cooking routine, and it made me smile to see that every necessity was on the counter, right down to my favourite utensils, all laid out with a precision only Jin could have managed.

It took mere minutes to rustle up the batter and soon a stack of pancakes was beginning to form on the dining table, Jin and Yoongi eyeing them hungrily while Hoseok sat in his usual chair, fork and knife clenched in his fists. That had been one of the toughest things to train the boys into. I could never master chopsticks so, as an act of rebellion against the perpetual home invasion, I had insisted they learn to use “proper utensils”. They had complained, but once they found out they got far more food when they obeyed, they soon acquiesced.

At last, the last of the pancakes was on the table, a bowl of steaming stewed strawberries sitting by them. The boys almost toppled their chairs as they lunged into them when I gave them the okay, loading their plates with more than I thought they could ever eat. This was the reward every time they came over. I had loved to cook all my life, a legacy left by my mother, and seeing the joy when they enjoyed something I made wasn’t satisfying, it was a source of joy. I loved these moments of normality, of feeling like I had a giant family to take care of. As much as I complained and teased, I cherished having my boys around me.

I hadn’t realised I was daydreaming until a hand reached in front of me, dropping a pancake on my plate. Looking over at Hoseok, I smiled at him, a gentle smile echoing my own. He knew. If there was one thing I adored most about that guy it was how he always seemed to know what I was thinking. I had never been close to my own brother. He had stopped speaking to me after our parents died, but I had gained a brother closer than any blood could have given me. We couldn’t be more in sync if we had been twins, and though it could be annoying at times, it made it so much easier that I never had to explain myself. I just had to be near Hoseok and he seemed to read my mind and know what was wrong or right.

I looked up at the clock, blinking in surprise. It was nearly 9am, far earlier than I had thought, but far later than they should have been at my house. Quickly beginning to eat, I pointed wordlessly to the clock, giving Jin a meaningful look. He nodded and swallowed the mouthful of berries he was munching on.

“Hurry up, guys! We have half an hour to be at the studio!” he barked, quickly replacing berries with pancake as the clatter of forks sped up. Another five minutes and the plates were empty, the boys rubbing their stomachs with happy smiles on their faces. I took their plates, setting them in the dishwasher while they grabbed their bags of training gear. I was about to walk them to the door when Jungkook turned, drawing me into a hug and giving me a kiss on the cheek, the others coming over to do the same. I blinked at them in surprise, unused to such gestures. Kookie smiled at me, patting my head, even the youngest of the group almost a full head taller than me.

“Don’t worry noona” he said softly, my bright smile fading a little at the words. “You’ll get a job soon. I know you will.” I chuckled quietly to hide the lump in my throat forming at the concern from the boys and pushed Kookie and Tae gently toward the door.

“You’re just trying to get lunch too, aren’t you?” I was rewarded by a grin from Jimin and smiled back at him. “I knew it! There’s no such thing as a free kiss from you lot. Now get going, and I’ll think about bringing you something to eat later.” A chorus of cheers sounded from the group as they covered their faces with their masks and jogged to the van waiting for them, waving as they climbed in one by one. I waved them off before turning and wandering back into the house, closing the door behind me as I looked around. Time to do some cleaning and figure out what to take the twerps for lunch. I grinned and scurried over to my stereo, switching on my favourite song and grabbing my broom, spinning with it as I sang along to the music. Noone could be in a bad mood after a wakeup call like that.