-my apologies, this is a long one.-

Misun’s apartment was the most crowded it had ever been. She stood in the kitchen doorway, taking in the madness. All six boys, along with Sera were there, vying for space in the kitchen.

“Jongup-ah, pass me the spoon.” Himchan called out.

“Which spoon?”

“The one in your hand!” With a confused look, Himchan stopped searching for the spoon and looked at the boy.

“Okay, hold up! Everybody out!” Sera suddenly yelled. The boys all jumped and looked over at her. “This is going to take two times longer if we're all in here at once. Misun and Himchan stay, everyone else, go play video games or something.”

Protests broke out, making Misun smile at them. “Come on, guys, shoo.” She pulled on Daehyun's arm as he was about to grab a snack from the counter.

“But I'm hungryyyy.” He whined, making puppy dog eyes at the younger girl.

“You can survive thirty more minutes while we finish this up.” Sera told him as she pushed her hair back out if her eyes. She turned and gave Yongguk a kiss on his cheek before forcefully pushing him out the door.

He looked back at her forlornly before giving up for now. “Alright kids, let's give them some space.” Yongguk commanded, leading the way into the living room.

Once those five were out of the way, the three left in the kitchen sighed in relief. “So how is the spaghetti coming along, oppa?” Misun asked, looking over Himchan’s shoulder at the pot on the stove.

“It's almost ready. Maybe five more minutes.” He said, giving her a smile. “How’re your dishes?”

“All done!” Misun told him cheerfully as she pointed over to a counter where a giant salad and a basket of breadsticks were sitting.

“Good job, you two.” Sera remarked as she checked the rotisserie chicken in the oven. “Looks like this guy is almost done, too. Misun, can you set the table?”

“I'll help!” Daehyun came into the kitchen once again, a shameless grin on his face. Misun smiled back at him and shook her head.

“Couldn't stay away, huh?” Himchan scoffed, though he was smiling, too.

“If you want to help, then you can grab those plates, Daehyun oppa.” Misun nodded to the stack on the counter and Daehyun bounded over.

“Yes, ma'am!” He led the way and set the plates around the table as Misun put down the utensils. A ruckus was heard from the living room making both of them chuckle.

“Misun, are you doing okay? This is a lot of people, right?” Daehyun asked as he came around the table to stand next to her.

She looked up at him and nodded. “I'm doing okay. It's taking some getting used to, but I can handle it.”

“Okay, I'm glad.” He patted her on the head and grinned, causing her to grin back.

“Dinner is ready~” Sera called out as she brought the chicken to the table. She was followed by Himchan carrying the spaghetti, salad, and breadsticks on a tray.

“Food!!” Daehyun screamed, making Misun jump in surprise.

“Don't scream in people's ears, oppa.” She admonished, smacking him lightly on the arm.

He grinned a heart-stopping smile at her. “Sorry, I'm just excited. Come on.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her over to one of the chairs. He pulled it out for her and she sat down as the rest of the boys came in from the living room. Daehyun sat down next to her and looked the food over hungrily.

Once everyone was sitting, Yongguk nodded at them. “Okay, let's eat!” And suddenly it was a battle for the food as boys scrambled for their favorites. Misun and Sera sat back and laughed,watching them fight over what they wanted.

“Here you go.” Daehyun was suddenly bringing her food, making sure she had some of everything before it was all gone.

“Oh, thank you.. You didn't have to do that.” She said, blushing as she picked up her utensils. She felt bad because he didn't have anything on his plate yet.

“I wanted to.” He told her with a smile, winking when she looked up at him.

“Yah, Daehyun hyung! You're going to make us lose our appetites.” Zelo told him, pushing the older boy with his shoulder.

“We have dessert, too, guys.” Sera said, changing the conversation topic from her seat next to Yongguk. “Try to eat everything, okay?” They all made agreeing noises and went back to work, enjoying the meal thoroughly.

Soon, all of the food was gone. Everyone sat back with sighs of satisfaction. “That was great. Thank you for cooking for us.” Jongup said to Himchan, Sera, and Misun.

“You're welcome.” Sera said, grinning at the younger boy. She laid her head against Yongguk’s shoulder as he held her hand under the table.

Misun smiled as well and stood up. “Shall we have dessert in the living room? It's more comfortable there.”

“I'll help!” Daehyun got up and started collecting the dirty plates and utensils. Youngjae stood as well, helping his friend until everything was cleared off of the table.

Misun and Daehyun worked together in the kitchen, putting ice cream into bowls quickly. Together, they carried them out to the rest of the group who were sitting on the couch.

Misun sat in between Himchan and Daehyun on the couch, Sera sat on Yongguk's lap in an armchair, and the others sprawled out on the floor. Conversation flowed smoothly and Misun could feel herself getting more attached to these people she had only met last week.

“How did you two even meet, anyway?” Jongup asked with curiosity in his eyes. “Himchan hyung never told us.”

Misun looked over to Himchan for him to explain. However, he shook his head. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “I think this is a story you need to tell.”

Misun’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “I can't oppa.. it's not a good story.”

“What are you talking about? I'm in it; it's a great story.” He gave her an encouraging smile and squeezed her shoulders in a side hug.

The girl looked around the room and her eyes landed on Daehyun. He was looking at her with curiosity as well as understanding. Like he wouldn't hold it against her if she didn't tell them.

But she wanted to tell them. She wanted to be free from this weight on her chest.

Daehyun reached out and held her hand. “It'll be okay if you don't explain right now, Misunnie.” He smiled at her and his look gave her a sense of security that was different from Himchan’s.

Misun sighed and shook her head. “No, you have all been so nice to me. I think you deserve to know..” She looked around and noticed the serious expressions on their faces.

“You can do it, noona!” Zelo encouraged her from his spot on the floor with a big smile.

She sighed and nodded. “I was a really happy kid with a good life until I was about ten years old. I was an only child who lived with my mom and dad in Daegu.” She began. “My father passed away due to a heart attack. The entire family was in shock for weeks. Without him around, we lost touch with his side of the family.Then my mother decided to move to Seoul. She was following what she called a ‘job opportunity’ but was mostly just ion.” Misun sighed and played with the spoon in her empty ice cream bowl. “My mom and I were running out of money quickly. She would always tell me how much easier her life would be if she didn’t have a kid. She told me often enough that I ended up believing her. I did my best to not be a burden, but when you’re that young, there’s only so much you can do, you know?”

She looked around and the others nodded sympathetically. Daehyun reached out and held her hand in his reassuringly, making Misun smile a little. “My mom was having a hard time paying the rent. Just when we were about to get kicked out of our apartment, she and one of her ‘clients’ got serious. He had a lot of money and was willing to take care of us. From when we first met, I didn’t like him very much. However, I didn’t want to burden my mother with my opinion, so I just did the best that I could to get along with him. Even when he hit me or screamed at me. I just kept my head down and listened to him as best as I could.” Misun heard several gasps and she looked up to see shocked expressions on everyone’s faces.

“You poor girl..” Sera covered with one hand as she tried to contain her emotions. Yongguk wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tightly, trying to keep his own feelings in check.

Misun shrugged and continued. It was best if she didn’t let her emotions take over as she told this story, so she tucked them away for later. “Eventually they got married and we moved into his house. My step father had set up stocks and trust funds in both my mother’s and my names, so we began making a lot of money. However, things continued to go downhill between my step father and I throughout my time in middle school and high school. My mother never tried to stop him; she sometimes would just watch with this blank look on her face while he screamed his head off at me over something I didn’t even do.

“A year after I started at the university, I decided I had had enough. I screamed at him. I fought back against him.” Misun took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she tried to stay calm. “My mother wasn’t going to have any of that, though. She joined him this time. They yelled at me as they backed me into a corner. They hit and kicked me and all of that stuff until they had tired themselves out. I think they had broken a few ribs and I was covered in bruises, but I could still walk. Once they left me on the floor, I got up and packed my things. I grabbed whatever I could carry and walked out the door.”

Daehyun squeezed her hand again and she looked over at him. “That’s when you met Himchan hyung, right?” He asked in a gentle voice.

Misun nodded. “There was a really bad storm and it was the middle of the night. I started walking toward the university because that was the only shelter I knew of. I had known Sooyeon at the time and we were good friends, but I didn’t want to trouble her with my family problems.” Misun swallowed thickly and continued. “Anyway, I was walking along the sidewalk when a car drove past me. There weren’t any other cars out on the road at this time, but I didn’t really pay attention. The next thing I knew, a man picked me up and took me to his car. He set me in the front seat and drove off in a totally different direction.” She looked up at Himchan and smiled a little. “I thought you were kidnapping me.”

He laughed and shook his head. “I’m glad I found you when I did. You were freezing that night.”

She nodded in agreement. “So Himchannie oppa took me to his and Yongguk oppa’s apartment. They helped me out and I stayed with them for about a month until I found this place. That was about two years ago. Then about one year ago Sooyeon finally found out about everything. Our friendship wasn’t the same after that. She couldn’t understand why I didn’t fight back against my step father sooner. She couldn’t understand why I didn’t tell her about my problems.” Misun huffed in frustration. “But when you grow up being told that you’re a burden, your natural default becomes silence. You don’t just spill your heart out for people and hope that they care… Anyway, after that we became more distant. She started making friends in the drama club and I sat back and watched. So yeah, that’s how that went.”

It was quiet for a few minutes as everyone sat there, digesting her story. Zelo suddenly stood up and walked over to her.

“Noona, stand up, please.” There were tears hanging in the corner of his eyes as he looked down at her. Misun tilted her head to the side in confusion and set her bowl on the ground. She stood up and was abruptly lifted off of the ground in a strong hug. She squeaked and clung to Zelo so that she wouldn't fall. “Thank you for telling us. You're so strong, noona. I love you even more now.”

His frank statement surprised Misun. “You what..?”

Zelo set her back down on her feet and she looked up to see him smiling at her. “I love you like a big sister. You're the best.” He hugged her again, this time without sweeping her off her feet.

She hugged him back after a moment of hesitation. “Thank you, Zelo.”

The rest watched these two with smiles. Especially Himchan was glad that this girl was opening her heart to others.

  he did a good job here.*coughcough*