Chapter 04

 

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This can’t be happening to me. I had thought that there would only be a couple of them stayed temporarily with me not FRICKIN’ TWELVE males or whatever the heck they are!?

 

Jieun took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm down her evidently frazzled nerves. She was currently in the 24 hour supermarket that was just ten minutes away from her flat, clad in one thick layer of a jumper, black leggings and ankle boots.

 

It was only just gone eight o’clock in the morning, so there wasn’t many customers about except from a few elderly women who were slowly hobbling about with their walking sticks and a cluster of rushing mothers with their hair pulled into a messy bun as they quickly rummaged around the store to find what they needed.

 

The chestnut haired girl let out a long, wistful sigh as she reluctantly pushed the trolley towards the meat section. Now I’m gonna have to spend of all my money on feeding the bottomless pit of stomachs of twelve boys...or demons or whatever the heck they are! Just flipping great.

 

She picked up two different brands of chicken, weighting up the pros and cons of each item individually before she finally settled on the cheaper one.

 

Wait a minute. She frowned as she halted in her footsteps for a moment of brief deliberation. Why am I acting like I’m actually going to let them stay with me? Living by myself in that apartment was already cramped enough, how are they all going to fit in?

 

Jieun groaned in frustration, feeling the urge to pull on her hair at that very moment. Out of all the humans on Earth, why did I have to find that book?!

 

“Maiden, I’ve brought you the items you requested~” Suho called over, his hands filled to the brim with assorted ramen flavours, his cheerful tone accompanied by his ever present angelic smile.

 

Lay wandered over silently, holding several heavy bags of rice carefully with both hands. Jieun had given them strict instructions to take extra caution with carrying the items she had assigned to them, so the brown haired male used all the concentration in his system to ensure that he didn’t drop the rice bags, in fear of upsetting her by creating more of a mess.

 

The brunette had shooed them off merely five minutes ago, hoping for some peace and quiet to try and gather up her thoughts. However, it seemed that she had underestimated their sense of direction—despite popping out a book and appearing on Earth, a completely different system to what they have grown up with– as she presumed that they would not be very familiar with the various ‘human’ products in the supermarket.

 

She inwardly scowled. So much for getting rid of them, even if it was going to be for a short while.

 

When she had promptly changed into a different set of clothes earlier that morning, after managing to sneak in a quick nap to try and regain some of her lost sleep, she found that the pair were completely adamant on accompanying her which of course led the reluctant girl to allow them with tag along.

 

However, it was safe to say that she had instantly started to regret letting them follow her, as they fussed over her like mother hens through the whole duration of the walk to the supermarket without fail.

 

Honestly, they’re worst than my grandmother.

 

“Is there anything else we can get for you, Jieun-ah?” The sugar coated voice of Suho travelled to her ears; she shifted her attention over towards the smiling male.

 

“No, I think that’s everything. We should probably go to the cashier now.” She pushed the trolley at a much slower pace, noting how heavier it had gotten with the additional weight of the rice.

 

She puffed her cheeks out in evident irritation. Aish, it’s too early in the morning to deal with this. I’m sure there’s enough food to feed about a hundred in this trolley!

 

Of course, when you’ve experienced a mixture of sleep deprivation and the aftershock of having to deal with not only two strange ‘alien beings’ but also another ten are to follow, there’s a high chance of a person becoming slightly delusional.  

 

“Let me help you Jieun-ah, you’ll just tire yourself out otherwise.” Lay nudged her lightly to the side, as he took hold of the trolley with a smile. The girl in question merely inclined her head in response, not having enough energy to retort back as it was futile trying to argue with these boys when it was obvious they set their mind on something.

 

Goodbye well earned cash. The brown haired girl hesitated to hand over the large sum of money to the lady cashier, who was holding her hand out expectantly with a bored expression etched on her face, popping a bright hue of pink bubblegum.

 

She was about to lift up a few of the bags once everything was all packed and paid for, only to see them quickly snatched from her eyes. Confused, she shot a glance towards Suho and Lay, who were busying themselves by sharing out the weight of all the bags between them.

 

I feel too much of a princess with these guys. I don’t think I like this feeling very much. Jieun scowled in distain as she tried to grab one of the bags from their hands.

 

“Guys, seriously let me carry at least one bag.” She folded her arms over her chest after unsuccessfully trying to seize the bags from their relatively strong grasps.

 

“These bags are very heavy; we wouldn’t want your arms to hurt from carrying them Jieun-ah.” Suho shook his head with an easy-going smile.

 

I’m starting to get annoyed with that smile. She thought with a scowl as she took a step forward towards them. Her gaze flickered towards the bags for a moment, a thoughtful expression taking over for a few seconds before her default blank face returned.

 

“How about we hold the bag together so one bag strap each, then at least we’re sharing out the weight?” She raised an eyebrow challengingly, daring the male to come up with another excuse but much to her surprise, he extended his arm out with a smile.

 

Well, I didn’t expect him to let me help him. She quickly recovered from the brief shock, as she grabbed hold of the bag strap. The girl turned her head to look at Lay as she held out her free hand with a smile, the forgetful male seemed to snap out of whatever daydream that consumed his thoughts to lower his gaze towards her hand in confusion.

 

“Don’t just stand there and stare at my hand, let me help you carry yours too.” His eyes widened slightly at the unexpected smile, as he slowly edged his arm closer for her to carry the bag. The moment his hand briefly brushed against Jieun's, he had sworn he felt a tingle of electricity run up his arm.

 

Walking in between them, she didn’t notice the exchange of looks the pair shared before they glanced back down to her with affection present in their eyes.

 

They had never felt so grateful for fate allowing them to meet such a kind-hearted, beautiful girl such as herself.

 

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“Grandma, I’ve brought you the food you asked for!” The eighteen year old girl hollered, as she stepped into the house carrying the bags in one hand while carefully arranging her shoes with her other.

 

The pleasing aroma of freshly baked goods welcomed her nostrils, as the scent flowed freely from the kitchen where her grandmother was just taking out some blueberry muffins from the oven.

 

“Good morning, my dear. How are you feeling today?” Her kind, elderly face beamed brightly at her the minute she stepped into the warm kitchen area.

 

Jieun felt a grin quirk on her lips as she settled the bags down onto the counter. Same old grandma, always baking cakes whenever I come round to visit, I swear she has perfect timing.

 

“Oh you know granny, same old same old.” She shrugged her shoulders casually. “Nothing major has changed my life since I saw you yesterday.”

 

Except of course, I found a journal in your attic which had successfully ruined my life in a matter of seconds. She suppressed the urge to say as she busied herself by restocking the cupboards.

 

“Well, you don’t know if you’ve had a major impact on somebody’s life today! Do you know what a simple smile can do to someone’s day?” Grandma released a chuckle as she began to wash the plates.

 

The brunette shot her an incredulous look. “I hardly think that I could brighten someone’s day with my smile, grandma.” Most of the time, she found herself having to make an effort to smile, rather than it being a natural reaction, so her smiles felt fake to her.

 

“Though despite that, you still manage to make my day better whenever you smile, dear.”

 

Jieun halted in her actions, stopping her arm halfway out of the cupboard as slowly a fond smile made its way onto her face.

 

“Oh stop, granny. You’re making me blush.”

 

The woman in question batted off her teasing tone with an eye roll as she lifted her gaze towards the window, her eyes trailing over her blooming garden in appreciation until something caught her eye in the distance.

 

“Jieun, do you know why there are two handsome boys standing outside?” There was no denying that there was a slight chiding tone in her voice as she addressed her one and only granddaughter.

 

The girl in question visibly tensed up. Crap, I thought I had told them to go on without me. Aish, those boys. She let out a sigh as she turned her head towards the elderly woman with feigned disinterest.

 

“Nope, haven’t got a clue grandma. Maybe they’re just waiting for somebody?” She went back to emptying the shop bag, while keeping an attentive eye on the other occupier in the room.

 

The older woman seemed to pout in disappointment. “Well that’s a shame. I was hoping that they were your suitors or admirers as you youngsters call it these days, I’m sure that your parents are expecting grandchildren soon my dear.”

 

An explosion of red instantly darkened face in embarrassment. “Grandma, I’m only eighteen for goodness’ sake! I’m far too young to be thinking about having children.” She groaned in mortification.

 

“Nonsense, Jieun. At that age, I was already happily married to your dear grandfather. It wasn’t very long until your mother came along, I have to say that giving birth was probably one of the biggest pains in my life—“

 

“GRANDMA, WE ARE NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT HAVING CHILDREN.” The brunette had completely abandoned her task as she quickly covered her ears; the colour on her face easily rivalled that of a ripe red tomato.

 

The tingling sound of amused laughter escaped from the grandmother lips. “Alright, I get it. I suppose it’s a good thing you’re too naïve and innocent for your own good, not that's a bad thing of course."

 

The grey haired woman blinked her eyes in surprise. “Oh? Those boys keep looking over here, Jieun. Are you sure they didn’t follow you from the supermarket?”

 

“Yes I’m sure, grandma.” The girl in question stepped beside the older woman as she peeked out through the cotton white curtain that hung loosely overhead. Unsurprisingly, Suho and Lay were both standing there—bag less, so she presumed that they must have dropped them off at her apartment and returned quickly just to walk her back.

 

She shook her head, but that didn’t stop the smile from stretching across her face at the thoughtfulness of these boys.

 

The minute that she came into their view, their faces instantly brightened up like a Christmas tree as they began to wave their hands frantically.

 

So much for the subtle approach guys… She barely suppressed the urge to sigh.

 

“Don’t know them, huh?” She heard her grandmother murmur softly under her breath with a shake of her head. “Jieun, there’s no need to be shy about it! I’ve been telling you from the start that you would be batting off boys with a stick when you become older, your grandmother is always right you know.”

 

She just about resisted the strong urge to slap her forehead at that precise moment. How did their conversation manage to escalate to this?

 

“I told you, grandma. I don’t know them, so why would I care if they’re looking here?”

 

“Then I suppose you wouldn’t mind inviting them in, dear.”

 

“I guess not—Wait what?”

 

There was a glint in her eyes that Jieun didn’t like one bit. “Even if you don’t, I would like to get to know the boys who have gained an interest in my beautiful and charming granddaughter.”

 

Somewhere deep inside her, an unsettled feeling rolled around in fear as she slowly lifted her gaze to meet the warm eyes of the beaming pair.

 

was about to go down.

 

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Author's Corner                                                                                                                                              

Hello everyone~ I hope you're all liking this so far ^___^ Some more Suho/Lay moments to follow in the next chapter, for those of you who <3 them.

Then of course, there will (definitely this time, lol) be TWO more appearances from the book :3 So you've still got time to vote for who you want to show up~

(I think at the moment, there's a tie between Tao/Kris & Luhan/Sehun)

Anyways, I think that's pretty much it from me. I'm running out of things to say because of all the updates I've posted this week >___<

Until next time, my lovely readers~~