Note from the author: To save confusion, everything said in ENGLISH will be in BOLD font.

“Phew, I’m stuffed!”, Luhan declares half an hour later as he pushes his plate away from the edge of the table.

Tao reaches into a stretch, “Me too”.

“You should be”, D.O. states, “You ate Jae’s second burger too!  What if she was just being polite?”

“It’s fine”, you sweetly smile at Tao in reassurance, “Honestly, I could never have managed a second burger”.

Kris lets out a groan whilst rubbing his stomach in content: “It’s true.  I always end up eating half her food”.

“Yup, he’s a pig”, you taunt as you stick your tongue out at him.

“Unless it’s chocolate fudge icing”, he affirms as he playfully glares at you, “Then she ends up eating my share”.

“Yup, I’m a pig”, you admit with a shrug causing everyone to burst into laughter.

You don’t know why, but being with EXO is extremely easy.  It feels like you’ve known them all for years, not just hours, making you feel at ease in their company.

“Okay then”, Chanyeol asserts, “Who’s doing the washing up?”

“Shall we play kai bai bo to decide?”, Baekhyun suggests.

Tao flails and slumps onto the table head first, barely missing his plate.  “But I as this game!”, he mumbles whilst kicking his feet under the table.

“That’s just because you’re a sore loser”, Suho asserts.

“Am not!”, Tao denies as he outstretches his arms across the table, causing dishes to knock together as they course pass them.

“Oh well”, Chanyeol mocks as he nudges him in the torso, “Guess you’ll be doing the washing up then!”

Whilst Tao is busy moping on the table, Xiumin holds his right hand in the air behind Luhan.  It takes everyone a second to work out what he’s doing, but then it clicks.

“Ready?”, Luhan asks as he pokes Tao’s back, causing him to sit up.

Instead of answering verbally, he simply holds his right fist out whilst pouting.

“Kai bai bo!”, everyone chimes in chorus.  Except for Tao, everyone is holding out paper.

“YA!”, he yells as he realises his rock has been defeated, “You cheated!”

“No we didn’t”, Luhan denies with a slight smile.

“Do it again”, Tao wails, “There’s no way you didn’t cheat”.  Whilst complaining, he is completely unaware of Xiumin’s right arm stretching up behind Luhan for a second time.

Everyone tries to subdue their laughter: “Kai bai bo!”

This time all ten of you put out scissors.

“Ooooo”, everyone croons as they prepare for both the next game and Xiumin’s cunning signal.

“Kai bai bo!”

Looking around the circle, you see that Tao is the only one who has used scissors for a second time; the rest of you followed Xiumin and put out rock.

“LOSER!”, Xiumin bawls at Tao as he stands up in victory.

“YA!  This is totally not fair!”, Tao moans before slumping back in his chair in protest.

“Alright”, Luhan declares ignoring the child sat next to him, “Kai bai bo!”

Without Xiumin controlling the moves, a variety of hand signals are put out.  Luhan, Xiumin, Baekhyun and Kris’s paper defeats the four rocks, whilst your scissors loses to D.O. and Suho’s rocks in the second round.  With the decider being between you and Chanyeol, the stakes are high.

“Kai bai bo!”

Opening your eyes you see that Chanyeol has won.  You let out a sigh, but gracefully admit defeat: “Alright, Tao.  It looks like we’re a team”.

Before anyone can protest, Tao has managed to run around the table, grab your arm and drag you into the kitchen.

“What first, mummy Jae?”

Cringing slightly to the nickname, you set to work: “Fill the sink with hot water and soap, please”.

Looking over to the table, you see that nearly everyone has made their way to the floor in front of the TV.  The only three that remain are carefully stacking the plates at the end of the table.

“Thanks guys”, you smile as D.O., Baekhyun and Kris start ferrying the dirty dishes to the sink.

“It’s okay”, Baekhyun smiles as he carefully places them beside Tao, “You’re our guest after all”.

You let out a giggle, “True, but I really don’t mind”.

“Sure?”, he questions as he wipes his hands on his jeans and takes a step towards you.

*Oh man!  He’s so gorgeous!  What do I do?*, you panic as he takes another step closer.  “I’m sure”, you smile before quickly escaping to the sink, leaving Baekhyun in your wake.

“I’ll wash up and you dry”, you affirm to Tao before plunging your hands in the sink.

Only ten minutes have passed, but Tao has already become bored and given up with the chores, leaving you alone in the kitchen.  *I thought I was the guest*, you sigh whilst scrubbing burnt burger off the spatula, *Oh well, I guess this gives me time to regain my thoughts before I meet the last three members.  I don’t know why, but I feel nervous again*.  Placing the now sparkling spatula on the drying rack, you pick up the first frying pan and begin rubbing away the layer of oil that coats it.

“YES!  I WIN!”, Luhan excitedly yells from the living area, followed by Xiumin’s defeated cries. 

“That makes it one game each”, Suho asserts to comfort Xiumin’s deflated corpse, “You need to play a deciding match”.

“I will definitely not lose to you, deer face!”, Xiumin taunts as the whistle signally a new game blows.

Swiftly, the room is filled with cheering from both the members and the game, but Luhan’s voice can still be heard through them: “Bring it on, lil’ bun”.

As you swish the water around in the pan, you can’t help but smile to yourself.  *They are all so close!  I only have one friend like that… It must be so nice having eleven*.  Turning the pan upside down, you let the dirty water escape into the drain before rinsing it with clean water.  *Ah, I really do miss Minhye*, you sigh as you place the pan onto the rack before drying your hands.  

Reaching into your back pocket you pull out your phone.  No new texts.  Minhye has been extremely busy with her new job recently, meaning that you have not been able to talk to her properly for two weeks.  You have no idea when she will visit you, but you are already counting down the days.  Unlocking your phone, you open Kakao Talk and press on Minhye’s chat.  “Hey chingu”, you type, “Seriously missing you whilst surrounded by nine drop dead gorgeous guys… Strange, right?  Don’t get too jealous though!  One of them is totally your type!  He’s got an amazing smile and has this gentle, yet strong and manly demeanour.  You’d fall in seconds, trust me.  But I won’t tell you his name!  Instead I’ll wait until you visit me to see if my assumption is correct.  Anyway, I hope your new job is going well and that the funds to visit me are piling up!  Just remember, don’t oversleep and don’t quit!”  You finish the text with a sticker of SHINee’s Taemin throwing hearts and click send.  

Letting out a long breath, you push your phone back in your pocket and lean on the counter.  After draining the dirty water, you rinse out the sink quickly before replacing the plug and waiting for it to fill up again.   

“Everything alright, Jae?”, a deep voice asks from behind.

Looking over your shoulder you see that your new companion is Chanyeol.  “Yeah, just texting my best friend back home”, you reply as tears start to form in your eyes.  Before he can notice, you turn back to the sink, turn the tap off and take a deep breathe.  You hadn’t realised how home sick you were till now.

“Sure?”

“Yeah, I’m just a little home sick”, you sadly giggle, “I could do with a hug”.  The tears refuse to disappear and keep threatening to spill over.

Without a word Chanyeol swings his long arms around your shoulders and pulls you into a tight backwards hug: “Don’t be upset, chopstick girl.  You have us now”.

“Thanks, Yeollie”, you breath as you place your hands on his forearms.  His height and warmth is so comforting that you don’t want him to let go just yet.  Plus, he’s right.  You have gained eight new friends so far today, so surely you should be happy.

Pulling back slightly he gives you a quizzical look: “Yeollie?”

“Well”, you giggle, “I just thought that seeing as you call me chopstick girl, I should give you a nickname too”.

“Yeollie…”, he exhales as he holds you tighter again, “I like it”.

Expecting Chanyeol to let go, you pick up the second frying pan and plunge it in the sink to soak.  His grip does no loosen, so you lean your head back on his chest and close your eyes.  *Did he see the tears?*, you question as you hear his heart beat, *He smells really good*.

“Am I interrupting something?”, a loud voice playfully enquires making Chanyeol let go of you.

Opening your eyes you see that Kris is standing only centimetres away.  “Nope”, you smile sweetly, “Chanyeol was just trying to cheer me up”.

“Trying?”, Chanyeol asserts whilst pulling the cutest shocked expression.

“And succeeding”, you state as you lightly nudge him with your elbow.

Glancing at Kris you see that he looks somewhat peeved.  *Is Kris jealous?  But I don’t even know what’s going on between us!  I wish he’d be a little clearer about these things!*

“Yeollie, why don’t you go join the others again?”, you affirm, slightly afraid that an argument might happen if he doesn’t vacate the kitchen soon.  

“Araso.  But only if you’re okay now, chopstick girl”.

“I’m perfectly fine”, you reassuringly smile, “Now shoo!”

After waving him away, you turn to Kris: “Come to help me with the washing up?”

“That wasn’t my original plan”, he sighs, “But I guess I have no choice but to be nice to you”.

“What are you talking about?”, you question as you pick up the tea towel and lightly whip his thigh with it, “You’re always nice to me, babo”.

Quickly, Kris grabs the tea towel and pulls you towards him: “True.  But it’s our secret, alright?”

“Araso.  But isn’t it hard work playing it cool all the time?”

Your question makes Kris smirk evilly as he pulls you even closer with the tea towel until your faces are only millimetres apart: “Not at all”.

The warmth of his breath makes shivers run down your spine, but you daren’t let it show.  Lightly pushing yourself away from his grasp, you turn your attention back to the sink and begin scrubbing the frying pan.  Once it is rinsed clean, you hand it to Kris who unwillingly takes it.

“Thanks, Kris”, you beam

“Do I not get a nickname?”, he pouts as he slowly dries the pan.

You raise your eyebrow at him quizzically: “Do you want one?”

He considers this for a second before answering, “Not really”.

“Exactly”, you tease as you stick your tongue out at him, causing him to whip your with the tea towel.

“YA!”, you exclaim before bursting into laughter, “That’s not hygienic!”

            *    *    *

“Who’s winning?”, you query as you casually plonk yourself on the floor next to Chen.

“Xiumin”, he affirms, “Finished washing up?”

“Yup, but I’ve left Kris doing the drying”, you evilly grin.

Chen looks at you in complete shock and then at the kitchen: “You got Kris to do chores?  Wow, you’re really something, Jae”.

“Thanks”, you giggle, “He’s not that hard to train though.  Just some simple bribing and a cup of coffee will do the trick”.

Your comment makes Chen laugh as he fist pumps you: “I’ll have to keep that in mind”.

Hearing shuffling, you turn your head just in time to see Chanyeol arriving behind you and Chen.

“Cleaning the floor?”, you query with eyebrows raised.

“Yup”, he beams as he motions to the floor around him, “I thought I should make the place look all shiny for you”.

“With your ?”, Chen chuckles, “That’s very high class of you”.

Chanyeol lets out a low laugh, “Only the best for chopstick girl”.

As you lightly punch him in the arm, the room around you bursts into a mix of sighs and cheers.  The game is over.  Looking over you observe Xiumin performing a victory dance over Luhan’s deflated body.  *Strange guys*, you giggle.

“What shall we do next?”, Suho asks as he stretches out on the floor.

“I don’t know”, Baekhyun sighs as he leans back and uses Suho as a pillow, “Anyone got a suggestion?”

The room goes quiet for a second.  All that can be heard is the sound of a plate being stacked in the kitchen.

“We could watch a film”, D.O. proposes.

“Plan!”, you affirm perhaps a little too eagerly.

Chen laughs lightly, “What genre do you usually watch?”

“Um…”, you consider as Kris joins you in the living area, wiping his hands on his jeans, “Anything really”.

To make life easier, the nine of you decide to play another round of kai bai bo.  Eventually Luhan wins and asserts that he wants to watch Death Bell 2, causing Tao to whine for nearly five minutes.  Quickly, you all make a base on the floor using a mix of duvets, cuddly toys and pillows before grabbing the snacks you bought earlier and some drinks.  Once everything is ready, you position yourself between Kris and Chen as you wait for the rest to get settled. 

“Turn off the lights”, Xiumin calls to Chanyeol as he finds a gap on the floor.

“Please don’t!”, Tao whimpers whilst hugging his panda cuddly toy closer to his chest.

Letting out an evil laugh, Chanyeol switches off the lights: “Too late!”

Everyone in the room apart from Tao applauds as Chanyeol slides into the last vacant space on the floor.

“Ready?”, Suho asks, holding the remote towards the TV.

Luhan stretches on the floor towards the snacks, grabs a handful of crisps and over dramatically takes a bite of one: “I was born ready”.

As Suho hits play, the eerie music of the opening fills the room causing Tao to let out a high pitched yelp.  *I never thought the tall, strong looking one would be afraid of horror movies*, you chuckle as the first scene appears on the TV.

                *    *    *

Ten minutes into the film you hear the front door open, followed by three voices.  No one else shows any sign of acknowledging their arrival; they’re too absorbed in the movie. 

“Man, I really need to take a shower”, the tallest sighs as he heads towards the bathroom without saying anything to his fellow EXO members.

“I’m starving!”, the other two declare in unison as they kick their shoes off.

Subtly leaning on your elbow, you take in the two new arrivals as they make their way to the kitchen and turn on the light.  *I really recognise the taller one*, you ponder before turning a deep shade of maroon for what must be the hundredth time today, *OMO!  It’s Kai!  The one with the dark, y glare that I thought was hot in the advertisement.  Eotteoke?!  This is going to be awkward, I can feel it!  He’s going to know!*

“There’s food for you in the fridge”, Chen helpfully yells, pulling your attention back to reality.

Opening the door, Kai steps back and gasps in shock: “Who cooked?  D.O.?  Isn’t he too lazy for that these days?”

“I’m not lazy”, D.O. laughs sarcastically, “But as if I’d leave you some of my cooking!  Ungrateful dancers!”

“Chopstick girl cooked”, Chanyeol states without looking away from the TV.

Kai glances over in confusion, his eyes scanning the mound of bodies on the floor: “Who?”

Seeing this as his opportunity to leave the horror fest, Tao bounds into the kitchen and hangs his arm around Kai’s neck.  “Mummy Jae”, he innocently smiles.

*Oh great*, you sigh as you face plant the floor, *Two nicknames in under thirty seconds…*

“Her name is Jae”, Kris protectively affirms as he grabs your hand and pulls you gently to your feet.

“Annyeonghaseyo”, you politely bow once you have found your balance.  Slowly you follow Kris into the kitchen: “Do you want me to cook them for you now?"

“Ooo, yes please! We haven’t had home cooked food in ages!”, the shorter of the two happily chimes, “I’m Lay, by the way”.

Within seconds D.O. has arrived at your side: “Need a hand, second in command?”

“Thanks, chef”, you giggle as you retrieve a frying pan from the cupboard and place it on the hob.

Glancing over you see that the other seven members have paused the film, but remain slumped on the floor motionless. 

“Do you want to prepare their buns and salad whilst I cook the burgers?”, you suggest to D.O. as Lay and Kai watch you curiously.  *Their stares are pretty intense!*, you gulp as you pull the burgers out of the fridge.

Turning on the heat, you pour a suitable amount of oil into the pan before positioning three burgers in it.

“How was rehearsal?  Is the choreography going well?”, D.O. enquires to save you from the silence.

“Pretty good”, Kai states as he slouches against the counter, “But there’s still a lot that needs improving”.

“You choreograph your own dances?”, you gasp.

“Sort of”, Lay sweetly smiles, “We work with other choreographers because there’s still a lot for us to learn”.

“That’s awesome”, you beam, “I’d love to see you all dance!”

“Jae can dance”, Luhan affirms as he arrives in the kitchen with Chen, Chanyeol and Xiumin.

“Not really”, you shyly return.

Xiumin nudges you lightly, “You danced to Apink perfectly earlier”.

“I just pick up dances really quickly.  That doesn’t mean I’m good”.

“Hm…”, Kai smirks ily, “We’ll see”.  

“Don’t worry”, Lay comforts with kindness in his eyes, “You can’t be worse than grandpa Suho”.

“YA!  I heard that!”, Suho yells from the living area causing everyone in the kitchen to keel over in laughter.

“Or Chen and Chanyeol”, Kris adds as he slides his arm around your waist and pulls you closer to his body.  *Why do I get the feeling that Kris is claiming me?*, you ponder as the warmth of his chest comes into contact with your back, *How am I supposed to be reading this?  AISH!  Things like this just confuse me more!*

Chen forces a laugh, apparently a little hurt by Kris’s comment.  “You’re included in that list too, you know”, he affirms, “Everyone agrees that you’re the most awkward dancer”.

You lightly nudge Kris’s torso and look up at him whilst shaking your head as a warning.  You don’t want this to turn into a needless argument.  “I need to flip the burgers”, you assert as you try to loosen Kris’s grasp around your waist, but he refuses to let go. 

“Araso”, he affirms as he easily turns your body back towards the stove. 

Letting out a sigh of defeat, you pick up the spatula and flip the first burger.  As you move onto the second you hear footsteps approaching the kitchen.

“What smells so good?”, a new voice states enthusiastically.

“Our dinner”, Kai asserts with a smile.

“Who cooked?”

Seeing that you’ve finished flipping the burgers, Kris turns your body towards the newest arrival.  “This amazing girl”, he smiles as he basically exhibits you to the last member, “Her name’s Jae.  Don’t listen to what the others call her”.

“Huh?”, he raises his eyebrow in confusion but shakes it off, “I’m Sehun, their maknae”.

*Maknae?  But he’s so tall and manly!*, you gasp as you smile kindly at him, feeling a little embarrassed by Kris’s attachment to you.

“Hungry?”, D.O. asks.

“Ravished!”, Sehun states as he plods towards D.O. and hangs his head over his shoulder, “Hurry up and feed me, hyung”.

                *    *    *

Once Lay, Kai and Sehun have finished their burgers, the thirteen of you reposition yourselves in front of the TV ready to start the film again.

“Jae, come here”, Kris asserts as he pats the empty space next to him.

Sitting down slowly, you look at him quizzically.  *Something has changed since the other three arrived home*, you contemplate, *He’s acting like a jealous boyfriend… I like the attention, but it concerns me slightly*.

“Do you want a drink?”, Chanyeol asks as he arrives at your side.

You shake your head and smile, “Nah, I’m okay thanks”.

After hearing your answer, he makes himself comfortable between you and Suho.  Reaching behind, he picks up a blanket and slowly wraps it around himself whilst looking at you.  Before you get chance to work out why, Kris places one side of a blanket over your shoulders and wraps his arm around your waist, causing Chanyeol to move look away with a slight look of anger on his face.  *I really don’t get what’s going on here*, you sigh, *It’s not like they’re all going to fall for me or anything… I’m not that amazing and this isn’t a drama!*

“Turn off the lights!”, Suho calls to Kai who is leaving the kitchen with a glass of water in one hand and a banana in the other.

Once Kai has turned off the lights and fumbled his way to the living area, Suho clicks play for the second time.

                *    *    *

Whilst everyone is engrossed with the film, you slowly glance around the room to access everyone’s faces.  *Oh wow*, you admire yet again, *I feel like I’m surrounded by models.  Minhye, I hope you don’t make a fool of yourself when you meet them*. 

Noticing that you aren’t paying attention to the movie, Kris nudges you with his shoulder softly.  “Are you okay?”, he whispers.

“Yeah”, you whisper back before covering yourself, “I was just seeing how scared Tao is”.

Leaning forward, Kris glances at Tao before turning to face the TV again with a warm smile on his face.  *Phew*, you sigh, *That was close.  I can’t be caught checking them all out!  That would be the end of me!*

Suddenly you hear Chanyeol chuckling quietly beside you.  As you peek to your left, you see him leaning closer to you.

“Want to do something fun?”, he murmurs in your ear. 

You nod, slightly confused but up for a laugh.

“Okay”, he breathes as he slyly shuffles towards you, “Stay here whilst I scare the living daylight out of Tao.  Make sure you bulk up the blanket so it looks like I’m still here”.

Using the darkness for cover, Chanyeol slowly slides in front of you and Kris before disappearing into the abyss behind.  Kris looks at you confused, but you simply place your index finger over your lips and wink.  Sneakily glancing to the side, you notice that Chen and Baekhyun are smirking, apparently both aware of and awaiting Chanyeol’s attack.  No one else has noticed his disappearance, something that greatly helps the operation at hand.

Five minutes pass as he lingers in the darkness waiting for the perfect moment to act, but finally the moment arrives.  As the tension of the scene builds up, Chanyeol stealthily crawls his way towards his unsuspecting victim until he is practically on top of him.  

More seconds pass as Chanyeol times his attack flawlessly. 

Suddenly, without warning, he pounces on Tao.

At that moment you swear you see the light leave Tao’s eyes.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”, he screams at the top of his lungs as he flails his arms in desperation.

Looking around you see that Suho, Xiumin and Kai have also turned deathly white from fright.  *Success!*

Whilst Tao is still in a state of panic, Chanyeol removes himself and rolls over in laughter.  Soon the rest of the room has joined in, some even applauding his attack.

“I could have had a heart attack!”, Tao howls as he stands up in frustration.

“Oh shush, panda”, Chanyeol pants whilst clutching his side, “Besides, it was Jae’s idea”.

Hearing your name you stop laughing.  “YA!”, you yell, “That’s not true!”

“Well it’s not like you tried to stop me!”, he teases as the rest of the room goes quite whilst they try to access the situation.

Feeling everyone’s eyes on you makes you uncomfortable, but you don’t know what to do.  Quickly you try to think of a way to apologise.

“I’m – ”, is all you manage to assert before the room is full of laughter again.

“She’s one of the family already!”, Xiumin chimes as he moves to high five you.

“I don’t know what you’re so happy about”, Luhan affirms, “You  and Suho practically jumped into my lap just now!”

“Aw”, Kai smirks, “Baby Xiumin and Suho, scared of Chanyeol”.

“And you!”, you accuse whilst sticking your tongue out playfully, making Kai turn a shade of crimson.

“Yup”, Baekhyun chuckles before smiling, “Definitely one of us!”