17

Chapter 17

There was nothing quite like the scene being displayed right in front of her eyes. The sheer quantity of people occupying her small dining room was enough to make any person feel claustrophobic. It was an understatement to say that Jieun felt extremely out of place sitting in the room with the twelve equivalents of the 21^st century modern day princes—mind the pun—as she picked at her plate idly. She could practically feel the digging stares from Yunhee from the other side of the room.

I ask myself this everyday, but what exactly did I do to deserve this?

“Jieun-ah,” The brunette’s hold on her chopsticks suddenly turned rigid as the saccharine coated tone belonging to the bombshell rang out. “You never did tell me how exactly you met your…” Her eyes racked over the others shamelessly with an amused grin. “New friends.”

I was hoping to delay this talk until later when I finally came up with a plausible explanation myself. She grimaced slightly. Nevertheless she slowly raised her head to meet the inquisitive eyes of Yunhee, who was leaning against her fist with an easy-going smile.

Stop smiling like that you sneaky fox. Although she possessed the looks that could easily rival a model’s, Jieun did not know whether it was a blessing or a curse that she was also clever enough to not appear sly nor manipulate. Since moving into her small apartment—meant for a maximum of three to four people, she noted with annoyance—the older woman did not even hesitate to fill into the protective older sister role, despite trying to voice out her own objections which often fell on deaf ears.

“I have no relations with these people other than being an acquaintance, Yunhee.” She replied evenly, folding her arms over her chest, ignoring the huffs and whines echoing in her mind coming from the youngest members of the group. “They’re just tourists who are simply passing by, that’s all.”

“Oh, you’re the host to these lovely men? For how long are they staying here, Jieun-ah?” Suddenly there was a glint of excitement evident in her eyes upon hearing her answer. But the brunette wasn’t going to humour the woman any further than she needed to.

“Only a few days until they’re fully adjusted to living in Seoul.” She shrugged before returning her attention back to eating as she lifted up a piece of chicken to pop into , chewing nonchalantly as she did so. At her answer, Sehun and Jongin immediately stiffened as the pair shot her alarmed questioning looks. Chanyeol did not even bother keeping his composure as he stared at her in agape while the others simply did not know how to react. At once, a dozen voices clambered down into her mind, nearly causing her to wince at the overflowing sum of volume echoing in her mind.

“What do you mean a FEW days?”

“Was that something you somehow forgot to tell us?”

“Were you planning on kicking us out from the beginning?”

Kyungsoo sounded like he was going to tear up.

“BETRAYAL ALERT—“ The devil twins belted out.

“I knew it! She absolutely hates us!!

“You mean she just hates you, right Chanyeol?”

“YAH, stop spreading such vicious untrue lies, RIGHT JIEUN-AH?!”

“There’s no need to be so loud, Chanyeol. You’ve just blown my eardrums.”

Will you all shut up for a second? It’s already difficult to come up with these excuses if you’re practically screaming bloody murder in my mind. She inwardly seethed in annoyance as she sent them a silencing glare to which the results were instantaneous as they quietened down, some struggling more to keep their thoughts to themselves.

“So where did you say you all are from? You guys don’t seem like foreigners to me.” Yunhee arched an eyebrow, unknowingly breaking the interconnection between them. Jieun nearly let out a breath of relief as she rubbed her temples, her head slightly thumping from the sudden pressure of the voices.

“Uh, they’re all from different countries, Yunhee.”

The older woman caught onto the slight hesitation, her eyes slating in unveiled suspicion. “Isn’t it a bit strange that they all know each other yet they do not origin from the same place? It doesn’t seem like a coincidence if you ask me,” She titled her head to the side with a less-than-amused expression before she added with a huff. “And it’s Yunhee-unnie; you make it sound as if we’re just strangers.”

Jieun wanted nothing more than for the truth to come out. It would make things easier that way, at least then she wouldn’t have to lie to Yunhee’s face all the time. But having said that, even she herself still finds it difficult to comprehend half the time despite being proved wrong on many an occasion. The sheer mind-spinning revelation that in actual fact, there were more than just the human species that inhabited this universe would not be taken so seriously by the highly sceptical older woman.

“We’re all brothers related by blood; we’ve all been travelling to different places due to our individual tastes. We thought it was about time for a long overdue reunion.” Suho swiftly cut in, shooting Jieun a reassuring smile which did not leave her with the desired effect as she pursed her lips tightly.

“Jieun-ah,” Yunhee hissed, placing one hand over as she leaned backwards in her chair to meet her eyes with the most deadly sober expression etched on her face. “If these guys are controlling you against your will, all you have to do is wink twice.”

The brunette in question did not even bother to blink, letting out a low drawn out breath instead with a did-you-seriously-just-ask-me-that-question look. The urge to slap her face was becoming too difficult to suppress any longer.

“I’m beginning to question your choice of friends, little human.”

“To answer your question, we had encountered some complications with our arranged accommodation when we arrived in Seoul. It turned out that the rooms were not booked in advance as there were no free spaces left in the hotel.” Kris cut in smoothly, brushing a few stray strands of hair away from his eyes, a small gesture but nonetheless still had its desired effect as Yunhee swooned in the background.

“Just when we thought we would be homeless, it seemed that the strings of fate had brought us to maiden—“ Chanyeol was sharply elbowed in the gut, causing him to gasp at the pang of unexpected pain. He shot a dirty look over to the perpetrator Sehun who donned an innocent façade. “I mean Jieun-ah.”

…Strings of fate? What is this, some kind of corny K-pop drama? The petite girl nearly snorted at that.

“And how exactly did you meet my dear Jieun? I’ve known her long enough to doubt the fact that she would agree so freely for you to live in her apartment.” Yunhee continued to interrogate them with a hawk eyed stare, her lips firmly pulled into a tight line.

“It was purely by coincidence more than anything else. I had only met a few of them at the start so I didn’t know the total number of the group.” Jieun started off, calmly taking in a few breaths as she attempted to think of something to say next. It was difficult to put together an explanation, let alone make it actually believable. Knowing that she was running low on time she racked quickly through her mind, remembering each individual meeting she had with each and every one of them.

Looking back on it now, she didn’t have much trouble smiling about her very first encounter with the demons. The compassionate, beaming face of Suho popped into her head, even until this day her cheeks felt warmer at the memory of him calling her a term which wasn’t really associated with her—beautiful. Lay was the soothingly calm member of the group, with his naturally calming nature; he was the one who fussed over her slightly scalded fingers as if she was delicate and made out of porcelain. Yet, it was their caring natures that although sometimes came across as suffocating that made them enduringly sweet, the kind of boyfriends you wish you could have. Both of whom she didn’t mind being in the company of, if she were to decide amongst all the members of the group.

She nearly scowled at the recollection of her initial first impression of Chanyeol, who had shamelessly invaded her personal space. But nevertheless, he proved to be a child at heart despite his towering height. The fire breather was enduringly sweet and thoughtful when he wanted to be, other times he was abrupt and spontaneous—however he was always there when she needed him…and even when she didn’t, he was there. Baekhyun was the characteristic prince, with his serene composure, eye-blinding smiles and musical smooth voice. He would not hesitate to listen to her rants and would helpfully supply her with advice when necessary.

Then of course, there were the devil twins—the constant pains in her neck from day one of their stay in her apartment. With the mischievous, scheming smirks and grins adoring their handsome features, they were undeniably insufferable—enough to a point where she actually considered the option of pulling her hair out on several occasions. Luhan was the deceivingly youthful one; the type of guy you would assume at first would be sweet and thoughtful. But really, that couldn’t be further from the truth as his doll-like appearance was like a façade to pull you in quick before you even knew what was going on. He was smart and crafty; no doubt the mind master of his schemes that his brother blindly followed without even taking a second to consider the consequences. Sehun, the baby, forever remains stuck at the hip with his old brother; his decisions were largely influenced by the blond male at the beginning. Though, it did seem that he was—slowly, but surely—becoming more independent.

But the majority of the time, he would stick to her, much to her chagrin. Kind of like a lost puppy, albeit the cuteness gradually lost its charm once he started overstepping boundaries.

Then, it hit her like a ton of bricks. The brunette’s eyes lit up in realization, the brown orbs settled on the pair in question for a while which in turn caused them to blink in surprise. However, before they could even attempt to voice out their concerns in her mind, she subtly shook her head.

Just play along guys, don’t go overboard though. Jieun shot a meaningful look towards all of them as she digressed with her explanation to the eagerly anticipating older woman. “I was walking back home from grandma’s one evening and there was a group of teenagers walking around the corner and—“

“They didn’t touch you right? Because if they did, I swear—“ Yunhee narrowed her eyes dangerously, her lips pulled into a snarl as her protective side was rapidly oozing out.

“No Yunhee, you think I would have let them?” The brunette raised an eyebrow, an inquisitive look taking up the vacant space on her face. Though, the black haired woman did not seem fully convinced as she folded her arms over her chest.

“If I didn’t know how to defend myself, how else do you think I could have survived high school?” The older woman softened ever so slightly, allowing a small smile to grace her face. “Carry on what you were saying, baby girl.”

“And at first they didn’t leave me alone, you know how boys can be, trying to act macho in front of their friends.” She tried to be casual about it, shrugging her shoulders with a sigh, fully aware of the hazardously rising angry auras radiating from the others. “They didn’t get the message that I wasn’t interested…and I might have bruised the leader’s ego so he tried to assault me.” Yunhee looked about ready to throw her chair back and hunt down the one that dared to hurt her little—adopted—sister, her eyes darkened as she clenched her fists tightly by her sides.

“Thankfully, Luhan and Sehun were there to talk some sense into them and they dropped the matter, without the need to resort to violence Yunhee.” Jieun felt the need to stress the last statement towards the woman in question, who merely deflated in disappointment at her answer. Suho and Lay chuckled at the sight while the devil twins scowled openly. Obviously, she left out a few crucial details, but of course what Yunhee didn’t know, couldn’t hurt her.

“Luhan and Sehun explained to me their situation, so like I said before I let them stay in my apartment in exchange for helping me out. And everything was settled in the end.” The petite girl ended with an awkward smile, to which the older woman pursed her lips for a moment with a heavily scrutinizing gaze. Jieun held her breath in anticipation but nevertheless kept up her composure in fear of being exposed.

The brunette wanted nothing more than to crawl under a rock at that moment, anything to get away from the smouldering stare. Crap, crap. She’s on to me, I’m like the worst flipping liar ever to exist. Ugh, now I’m gonna have to explain all about the existence of demons and deal with Yunhee fangirling all over the place—

“Oh Jieun-ah! Why didn’t you just start with that from the beginning? Keeping me in suspense like that!” Yunhee whined loudly with a huff. The petite girl in question had a double back in shock from the sudden shift in personality, her heartbeat was still recovering from its accelerating pace. Aish this girl, nearly giving me a heart attack.

Lay patted her shoulder reassuringly; a seemingly normal gesture to the normal observer, but the brunette knew of his intentions as her body quickly calmed down enough for her to be able to think cohesive thoughts. She turned to him to shoot a beaming smile which never failed to cause his own heart to beat at an irregular pace before returning her attention back onto the practically hyperventilating woman sitting across the table.

“They’re like your knights in shining armour! How dreamy is that?” She said in complete and utter awe, hearts virtually appearing in her eyes.

“Why can’t you react like that to us, kitten?”

Because if I did, I would never hear the end of it. She nearly scoffed in disbelief, shooting a deadpan look in Sehun’s direction who pouted deeply in response. But the moment she averted her eyes away from him, a cunning glint flashed in his eyes for a brief moment. Though, before anyone could stop him, he leapt over the table and onto her lap.

“AGH, Sehun—“ The assaulted girl squeaked out, her voice turning muffled as he wrapped his arms around her waist, thereby shamelessly clinging onto her like a koala bear on a tree. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he nuzzled his nose into her locks with a blissful sigh.

“I’m sorry Jieun…I couldn’t hold back any longer.” He murmured in her ear, yet audible enough for all the occupants of the room to hear. He her hair in a lovingly manner, leaning forward to press a chaste kiss to her forehead—thus leaving her pink faced and inwardly killing him over and over again in her mind for putting her into this predicament. “From the first moment I met you, I thought you were some reckless, foolish girl. Admittedly I didn’t like you that much at the beginning of our beautiful relationship.”

Sehun, where are you going with this? She felt her eye twitch in annoyance, trying to create some space between them, but it was like pushing against a brick wall. Fruitless and it hurt her arms for even attempting. Her annoyance increased tenfold when she could hear Yunhee swooning in the background.

“Ssh, I’m just getting started, don’t be so impatient my little kitten~”

“But as I’ve gotten to know you better, I’ve found you a very likable individual, what with our countless dates and those number of times we’ve stayed up late chatting—“ Stop spreading bullcrap before I kick you where it hurts. Jieun gave a deadly warning, to which the youngest merely laughed it off airily while growls were emitted from the jealous brothers but due to the guest’s presence they were forced to withhold their urges to rip the maknae away.

“On a more serious note, I’m not only glad that I met you that day but also when you found that book because without that none of us would have had the privilege of being in your company. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has those views, Jieun.” He leaned forward so that their foreheads were lightly touching. “I take back what I said about you being self-righteous, I rather like that side of you. Or rather I like all of you, kitty.” He smiled cutely at her. But the brunette did not even realise she was holding her breath with the proximity between them, she almost thought he was going to kiss her, with his speech sounding like a confession—which she immediately disregarded as an option—her face felt like it was burning.

“Oh ho, what’s this? I thought you weren’t in a relationship right now Jieun-ah?” Yunhee cackled behind her hand, a highly amused look etched on her face causing the pair to return back to reality. Sehun was shoved unceremoniously onto the ground, Chanyeol whistled innocently with a knowing maniac grin as Jieun tried to recollect her thoughts as she lightly tapped her burning cheeks in an attempt to cool them down.

“She isn’t. Our maknae just doesn’t understand the concept of personal space.” Surprisingly, it was Baekhyun who said this, complete with gritted teeth and red specks tainting his eyes. The only evidence he was affected by what had happened.

“Jieun-ah! They’re all being mean to me~” Sehun whimpered, adding a few sniffs here and there as he glanced pitifully up at her from the ground. A complete 180 from his former manly image he had previously had. The brunette merely ignored his cries, not forgetting how he clearly exploited the situation, directing her attention back onto Yunhee who possessed a smug smile on her alabaster complexion.

“As if I would want to be in a relationship, they’re just too troublesome, Yunhee.” She shot back with a roll of her eyes in exasperation. The ebony haired woman let out a bark of short laughter, murmuring ‘unbelievable’ under her breath with a shake of her head in disbelief at the innocence of the girl.

“Of course, you wouldn’t want to make Junhong-ah jealous now would you?” Immediately most of the brothers bristled at the mention of the name of the boy who dominated her attention of the majority of the day while only Kris and Tao remained indifferent. The temperature seemed to be in conflict with one another, one second it was too humid, the next it was freezing cold. Yunhee subtly took note of this, but decided not to comment further for if she were to continue, there was no doubt in her mind that Jieun would do her absolute best to avoid speaking to her at all costs—the annoying thing about that girl was that if she wished it, she could easily avoid you.

“But we’ll save that conversation for another time, hm? Now for the boring part of my sister duty, how are you coping financially?”

Jieun blinked, surprised yet thankful for the change in topic. The digging stares were getting a bit too much. “It’s not a problem; I’m not exactly starving am I?”

Yunhee directed a blank look at her. “Really? Your salary would be able to cover just you but you can’t actually be telling me that you can afford to feed all of them and be able to pay off your rent?”

It was true what she was saying. Any other person wouldn’t have been able to accommodate the average standard of living for thirteen individuals on a minimum wage salary. Jieun was fortunate in a sense that she earned a few tips here and there but she knew that if it weren’t for her savings, she would never have been able to afford to look after them. But she couldn’t tell Yunhee that, for she would only chide her for spending her money mindlessly. There was a part of her, however, that didn’t mind. Since her parents barely lived in the apartment, it was too quiet with just her occupying the space. It was nice to have some company around, regardless of whether they gave her headaches.

“Honestly, I’ve been working overtime anyway to be able to cover the costs. I know that sacrifices have had to be made like how much electricity and gas I use on a daily basis, but it’s the least I can do in return for when they helped me before.” Jieun allowed a small smile to grace her features as she bowed her head humbly. The others looked at her in awe, an abundance of appreciation evident in their eyes.

Yunhee clicked her tongue in mild disapproval for a moment. “You should really look after your health, too much work contributes to stress which is as you know a big killer—“

“WHAT? You mean Jieun-ah’s gonna die?!”

“Crazy-middle-aged-bipolar-woman-say-WHAT?”

“NO, I WON’T ALLOW MY BABY TO DIE~”

With that being said, Chanyeol lunged forward to cling onto her arm as if she was going to disappear into thin air while muttering mantras under his breath such as don’t-ever-leave-me and I’m-too-young-to-be-widowed.

We’re not even married, you pabo. Jieun exhaled deeply, far too exhausted emotionally to even attempt to swat him away—much to the fire breather’s joy as he nuzzled closer to her.

Then Yunhee smiled, her eyes crinkled at the sides at the scene in front of her. A few months ago, the petite anti-social girl did not bother going outside the apartment, unless it was to go to the local shop or to visit her grandmother. The older woman could not help but feel pangs of worry that her little sister-like figure would not have anyone to talk to or to be around, she feared that Jieun must have felt lonely at times. Despite the fact the girl was far too proud to admit it, of course. It was quite rare for the girl to have company over. But now, glancing around the room, there was no doubt about the affectionate, tender stares the oblivious girl was receiving. A feeling of seeing your child fly from the nest was akin to what she was feeling from merely watching them. The ebony haired female let a small chuckle escape her lips fondly. Looks like she doesn’t need me around as much, now she’s got these guys.

“But, now it looks like you’re very much being taken care of now, baby girl. You’re the happiest I’ve seen in a long while,” She beamed brightly causing the girl in question to bow her head in mortification, waving her hands at the woman as if to shut her up. Chanyeol laughed in his typical dorky manner at her unusual cute self, the others surrounding simply smiled at the sight.

God damn it, this is so embarrassing.

Yunhee glanced at her watch, her lips pulled into a pout at how late it was getting. “Aish, I wish I could stay longer but I wouldn’t want to interrupt further on your blossoming relationship with these fine flower boys of yours~”

Jieun lifted her head up to glare daggers at the laughing woman, who seemed to find amusement in her reaction. This is one of those times I think I should be grateful I don’t have an older sister, if this is what it could have been like, I’m glad I was saved from the torture.

“Before I do go, I would like to have a little chat with your friends, if you wouldn’t mind Jieun-ah?” The girl in question blinked a few times before inclining her head slowly, suspicion clouding her senses in speculation of what the woman’s intentions were.

“Now don’t give me that stare, baby girl! I’m not going to try and steal your handsome friends away from you; they seem to be quite attached to you~” Yunhee smirked knowingly at the sputtering girl, her cheeks dusted with a darkening blush, who shuffled out of the room inwardly cursing profanities at the older woman.

Once she knew that the brunette was out of earshot with the sounds of doors closing, Yunhee turned serious, and her light carefree look instantly disappeared as her full attention was placed onto the twelve individuals. She leaned forward slightly, interlocking her fingers together, eyes slating slightly.

“While I appreciate that you helped out Jieun-ah before, I want to make sure that your intentions are good so I don’t want you to take advantage of Jieun’s hospitality. She may appear to be strong in the way she conducts herself, but she’s still a teenager at heart—she’s far too naïve for her own good.”

Suho cleared his throat, his trademark smile appearing somewhat nervously under the hawk-like gaze. “We give you our word that we would never inflict harm onto Jieun, Yunhee-ssi.” Kris nodded his head in mute agreement.

“Most people in this situation would not even consider giving this a second thought but Jieun-ah has been the most gracious host and we are ever most grateful for all the help and support she’s given us during our stay.”

“She’s far too precious to us; we wouldn’t know where we would be right now if it wasn’t for her.” Luhan spoke up, his lips being pulled into a firm line, no longer was there a playful glint in his eyes. His other half standing up, his default poker face set on his face. “I would hurt anyone who dared to even lay a finger on her, I promise you that Yunhee-ssi.”

“We all would. Jieun’s best interests are what are most important to us.” Chanyeol vowed, his yes blazing with an abundance of determination.

“Oh please, someone get me a sick bag.”

Tao rolled his eyes, ignoring a few irritated looks being shot his way. He didn’t understand why his brothers were being so mushy and sickly sweet. There wasn’t anything particularly special about that human girl, she was plain looking, hot-tempered and was far too self-righteous for her own good. That speech that she gave him circled around in his head, lingering as if refusing to leave—her voice fixed in his mind. Most humans would not have hesitated to order his brothers to comply with their demands, but this one didn’t appear to be too fussed with that, instead she ranted about freedom, something that was easy to talk about when she herself has freedom while they are bound to the master of the book. He scoffed in disbelief. She would be no different than the other humans, so he would not treat her different and follow her mindlessly like his brothers did, he refused to.

Words escaped Yunhee, the overwhelmingly emotions radiating from them rendered her to be speechless. For people who were meant to be acquaintances, they sure harboured strong feelings for her baby girl. Though, the profusion of sincerity was not to be overlooked. Of course it was just words, but the older woman felt as if they truly meant them, as if they were speaking directly from the heart.

Oh baby girl, what love hexagon you’ve been dragged into. You poor, ually oblivious girl.

“What is your true relationship with Jieun?”

Some blinked in surprise of the question, while others averted their eyes away from her conflicted emotions appeared on their faces, all unsure of how to describe their relationship as it was the first time they’ve had to acknowledge it, think about it thoroughly. “She’s our…friend.” Baekhyun answered, hesitance evident in his tone as if he were disappointment with the term.

Yunhee raised an inquiring brow, not believing that for one second. “Really? You guys speak about her far too strongly to even consider her as a friend.” She folded her arms over her chest; her gaze flickered over each and every one of them. “Do you, perhaps, have feelings for Jieun-ah?”

There was not a moment of hesitation. “Yes, we care very much for her.”

But that’s not what I want to hear. She nearly clicked her tongue. This was like trying to pull teeth from their answers. “I can see that you all evidently care for her.” Now for the bigger question, she raised one finger in the air. “But do you love her?”

Jieun let out a huff as she plodded along towards her bed until she allowed herself to fall onto the mattress. Why would Yunhee need to talk to them? Unless she’s probably threatening them to the inch of their life, showing no mercy. She sniggered at the thought of her older sister-like figure wreaking havoc on those poor souls in the kitchen.

“It makes me wonder what my life would have been like if I had never found that book.” She pondered thoughtfully before releasing a pelt up sigh. It would have remained mundane no doubt. The brunette didn’t know whether that would have been a good thing or a bad thing.

Jieun’s eyes wandered aimlessly around her room, the bare peach painted walls—something you wouldn’t often see in a girls room, since most would have at least stuck a few posters up—other than her own personal belongings, such as her small wardrobe, jewellery case and books, you wouldn’t think anybody even lived in this room. It was immaculately clean and well organised.

Until her gaze stopped once it reached the book on her bedside table. Before, she would have shot laser glares at it and let out a stream of profanities at it for causing her such unnecessary grief. But now, she felt no anger towards it, maybe because it was pointless getting so worked up over an inanimate object.

Or maybe it’s because you’re getting used to their company?

All from Suho’s beaming face, Lay’s forever clueless expression, Chanyeol’s derpy face, Baekhyun’s soft, tender look in his eyes, Luhan and Sehun’s mischievous up-to-no-good looks, Kyungsoo’s adorable smile, Jongin’s infuriatingly good looking smirk, Chen’s musical voice, Xiumin’s puffy cheeks, Kris’ dazzling appearance and Tao’s scowling face appeared in her mind.

As strange as it sounded, she could not imagine what it would be like if they all…left. Sure, she could just move on because she had no other option, but she could not help but feel a stab of pain at even the thought that they would leave. After being constantly reminded that they were meant to be her ‘servants’ and they would be there for her for as long as she needs them, she could not brush away the emotions of insecurity that lingered in the back of her mind.

Maybe they’re just pretending to like me. I mean, it’s not like they’ve got much choice. Other than Tao of course, that emotionally constipated bastard.

“My brother has the ability to control time which allows him to manipulate events or to erase them when suitable.”

“But of course, you would have already known that if you read the book.”

Tao’s words loitered around in her mind and once again she found herself reaching out for the item in question. I’ll show you, smartass panda. She scowled, gliding her hand along the thin aged papers until she reached the page she wanted. Let’s see, which ones haven’t I read over?

Birth Name: Kim Jongdae (Chen)

Birth Date: September 21--

Height: 178cm

Specialities: His power ranges from being able to influence the weather into ruthless thunder and lightening storms to controlling electrical currents.

Description: Prefers to stay well away from trouble when possible, a tea addict. He’s one of the calmest, uses logical thinking to determinate what to do in a given situation. Though, you shouldn’t trust everything he says, for he had a reputation for being a jokester.

Birth Name: Kim Minseok (Xiumin)

Birth Date: March 26--

Height: 176cm

Specialities: Some refer his powers to being similar to that of Jack Frost. He can easily shift the temperature to chilling, icy degrees.

Description: The oldest of the group, has a huge appetite. Tends to stray away from responsibilities, which is why he abdicated from being leader as he favours having a good time over doing work. He cares for his brothers, though he doesn’t always show it.

Birth Name: Wu Fan (Kris)

Birth Date: November 6--

Height: 187cm

Specialities: He possesses the power of flight and can summon dragons on whim whenever he wishes.

Description: A man of little words. He is gifted with the ability of being able to pick up languages. Yet, he has all the respect from all from his dominant, candid personality. But an ominous burden is placed on his shoulders—being a leader, something he would rarely speak of.

Birth Name: Huang Zitao (Tao)

Birth Date: May 2--

Height: 183cm

Specialities: Has the ability of being able to fully contort time to how he pleases, whether it is to erase, stop, go back or forward in time.

Description: Quiet, yet observant. Difficult to gain his trust, has a distinctive dislike for those who he finds incompetent—unfortunately for you reader, this includes humans. One of the youngest yet behaves like one of the oldest, that is, until you get to know him better.

I said this once and I’ll say it again, they just sound like Pokemon to me. Jieun puffed her cheeks out, her eyes flickering through the information making sure to take in every little detail. Her eyebrows furrowed together at the last line of Tao’s profile. What, does he turn into a baby if I get to know him? She snorted; there was a snowball’s chance in hell that she would get along with that guy. At least, until he finally got rid of that stick that was wedged up his frigging .

The brunette closed the book with a sigh, leaning her cheek against her fist. It did seem unfair though, that she was able to look through all this information about them, all the small details such as their birthdays, personalities, and they—probably—knew little about herself. Though, it felt embarrassing to speak facts regarding her to twelve insanely curious beings.

Maybe I should open up more to them? I keep pushing them away so much that I never give them a chance to get to know me. She mused with a nod of her head. The sound of the dining chairs scrapping against the floor knocked her out of her thoughts, assuming that Yunhee was finished with her chat, the teenager hopped over her bed to open the door curiously.

“--Jieun-ah! I’ve leaving now, thanks for letting me stay for dinner! We should do it again some time~” The black haired woman sang over her shoulder, slipping into her shoes with the males slowly trailing into the room.

“Um sure, but please ask if advance before you decide to take control of my kitchen hm?” Jieun smiled good-naturedly, only for the woman to shot her a dejected look in response. “I wanted to surprise you! You’ve been avoiding me for the last few weeks and I wanted to find out why! But now I know your well kept secret~”

“Well now you know, you can leave.”

“So cold, Jieun-ah!”

The girl in question shook her head, padding towards the door towards the pouting woman. “I’ll see you soon, Yunhee.” She bowed her head with a smile. The woman let out a squeal before wrapping her arms around her unsuspecting victim. “I’m afraid I’ve got work most of this week, but don’t you worry your pretty little head, I’ll make sure to pop up and check these flower boys of yours look after you.”

Flowers boys of mine? However, she wasn’t given much time to fully absorb this as she felt a brief peck on her forehead. “Stay safe and pretty, baby girl~” With that, she skipped out of the apartment, leaving the thirteen in silence.

Jieun blinked sleepily, suddenly hit with a wave of fatigue. Well, I’d better get some sleep since it’ll be my first day tomorrow. She stretched her arms over her head, her shirt hitching up slightly before she rubbed her eyes cutely. Though, I should clean the kitchen before I sleep so there would be fewer things to do in the morning without me worrying and running around like a headless chicken.

“I’ll just go wash up the plates—“

“Already done~” Chanyeol bounded towards her with his carefree grin.

Jieun squinted her eyes for a moment, mild suspicion spiking up in her mind. “Then I’ll dry the plates and put them away—“

“Done and dusted!” The devil twins cheered, identical smirks etched on their faces.

The brunette pursed her lips into a thin line. “Has all the leftover food been put into containers?”

“We’ve taken care of it, Jieun-ah. There’s no need to worry.” Suho smiled at her, waving off her concerns with a flourish of his hands.

Oh…then I guess I can go to sleep now. She stifled a yawn, feeling her eye lids slowly closing. “Thanks for that guys, goodnight and see you in the morning.” Smiling sleepily, she made a move to walk back to her bedroom to grab her sleeping garments and other necessities for the bathroom, feeling the call of her bedroom far too tempting to resist.

“Ah, wait a minute please Jieun-ah!”

She halted mid-step, turning her head over her shoulder, far too tired to even pull an annoyed look. “Yes?”

“Could we all sleep in the living room tonight?” Lay piped up, a hopeful look in his eyes. Jieun furrowed her eyebrows together in confusion. Why do they even need to ask such a question? Don’t most of them sleep in the living room anyway?

Not putting much thought into it, she merely waved it with a nonchalant shrug. “Do what you want.”

Closing the door behind her, she heard a few happy cheers erupt in the living room, the sound of mattresses being pulling across the floor and voices complaining about where to sleep. She shook her head, pulling her clothes off before stepping to her bathtub and turning on the shower head. She let out a blissful sigh, wetting her head before massaging her hair with her watermelon scented shampoo and conditioner.

Wonder what’s gotten them so excited? She thought, cleaning her arms and legs with her shower gel before rinsing them off with the warm water.

Aish, like I’d be able to understand the minds of demons. Quickly rinsing her hair free from the foam, she leaned against the wall for a moment. Allowing herself these sacred few minutes to be alone, she closed her eyes. If only I could just stay in here for the evening.

“—Jieun-ah! They won’t give back my pillow!”

“You’ve got too many pillows, you need to share it!”

Yeah, if only. She snapped her eyes open back into reality, switching off the shower before stepping out, drying herself off with her towel. Deciding to take her time, she did her post-shower habits, dabbing moisturizer over her skin then pulling her pj’s on, a set consisting of a Pikachu shirt and mid-length shorts. Leaving the towel around her neck to soak in the water from her hair, she left the bathroom with her toothbrush hanging out of .

“Alright, what’s going on…?” She trailed off, narrowing her eyes slightly at the scene. The floor was covered so much with the white mattresses accompanied by thin blankets and pillows decorating them, beddings were hung around the room acting like a fort. It’s like a a kid's giant dream sleepover…only worse, with twelve demons.

“Ah you’re here!” Luhan’s head popped up from one of the entrances—she presumed into the fort. “Now we can settle this, who do you want to sleep next to, kitty?” Just as he asked the question, numerous heads appeared all around the room, looking expectantly at her.

Jieun blinked stupidly. Did he just ask me what I think he did?

“Could we all sleep in the living room tonight?” The question came back to haunt her. She wanted to slap her forehead at her rookie mistake. Aish, why am I getting worked up about it? I’ll just let them sleep here and I’ll sleep in my room, that way no arguments about who I sleep near. The hazel haired girl narrowed her eyes at the skinship monster who merely grinned back. Especially Chanyeol.

“I’m staying in my room, so you can discuss amongst yourselves who you’re sleeping by.” Jieun shot a meaningful look before pivoting on her heel back into the bathroom. The main thing I want to worry about tomorrow is my first day at the University, not who I’m being molested by when I’m sleeping.

Wisps of black snapped in front of her which she merely walked around until a hand shot out and grabbed her arm. She didn’t even have to look back to know who it was as she spoke through gritted teeth. “Jongin, let go of me.”

“No.”

You’ve got to be kidding me. “Jongin, I won’t ask again. I need to go to sleep.”

“Then sleep with us, then I’ll let go.”

…That sounded so wrong. She inwardly cringed. “I’m not having this conversation with you, I’ve got to wake up early tomorrow—“

“Come on, it’s only for a couple of hours. We won’t do anything, kitten.” Sehun tilted his head at her, jutting out his lower lip. Yeah right, like I’d believe you after the stunt you pulled earlier. She merely glared at him in response.

“Please? I’ll make you banana pancakes that I’ve been working on Jieun-ah~” Kyungsoo attempted a bribe, his doe eyes silently pleading with her. She bit the inside of her cheek to resist giving in. No, they’re just using him as a pawn for me to agree! I’m sorry Kyungsoo…

Soon, all of the younger members of the group—except of course Tao—were huddled together in a line, all of whom showing a range from puppy dog eyes to aegyo while the rest were taking up residence on the mattresses, finding amusement in watching the scene play out before them.

“No.” Jieun remained adamant, sticking to her guns as she returned back into the bathroom to finish brushing her teeth, making sure to lock the door in case they were to barge in. As she expected, the knocks appeared complete with a series of childish whining and tantrum stamping of feet.

“Jieun-ah, if you don’t agree, we’ll be forced to do something we don’t want to do!”

The girl snorted lightly, bowing her head to spit of the remainder of the toothpaste into the sink before rinsing out . What’s that? Cling to me until I say yes? Fat chance of that going to happen. Tying her hair into a high ponytail, she departed the bathroom, striding purposely towards her room. But this time, no one even bothered to stop her.

Maybe they gave up? However, Jieun felt there was something wrong. Paranoia was the main thing pulsing through her veins, which wasn’t helped by the sneaking grins she noticed some of them shared. It wasn’t until she reached her bedroom did she realise what made them so smug. This time, she didn’t hold back on her restrained anger.

“WHICH ONE OF YOU BASTARDS TOOK MY MATTRESS?!”

Author's Corner

oh HAI guys....um surprise? I didn't realise it had been like 3 months since I last updated o_o I only meant it to be like two, oh well. What matters is that I updated right? Like, I kept getting worried as the months went on, I had some more subscribers and I felt like , I'm gonna have to write a pretty good chapter to make up for my absence...I don't know whether I pulled through but this is what you're getting guys. love you <3.

This chapter was so mushy and sweet, ugh.

Honestly, most of the content in this was churned out of nowhere. Like, most of the stuff that I planned on writing in this chapter didn't even happen. Mostly because if I actually went through with what I had planned for this chapter...I don't think it would have ended, like seriously. So, I decided to leave it like that~ I'm not sure whether I like this chapter or not. Hm.

I'M FINALLY FREE FROM THE CLUTCHES OF SCHOOL, EXAMS AND SOCIALISING~ (outdoors)

Maybe now I'll be able to update more.

So much has happened with Exo whilst I've been gone on study leave, what with the Wolf era, wtf was going on in the drama mv? I've been fangirling so much, ugh so much feels. Also, I like BTS. And BAP's coffee shop, now THAT I could listen to all day~

Now, I don't usually do this, but for those who are like interested in talking to me/getting to know me/want to be a nosy stalker/or just plain nosy then I've got some links you can look at, follow, do whatever to your hearts content.

Now that's done, once again I would thank to personally thank all you guys who are still reading until now (or have just started) I love writing and it makes it even better knowing that there are people out there who actually read my work. I love you guys <3

now for some gifs, I've included all of them this time!