20/01/2012

Lyorin had been busy packing all the stuffs she needed. The house she had been staying would still be around, Aunt assured. She didn't like the idea of leaving the house but since she knew the house will never be sold away, she held on to the hope of coming back. Two weeks had passed and the day for her to move out had come. It was a Friday evening. Hurray to the weekends, she thought. As she zipped her luggage, she glanced at her bedroom for the last time before heading downstairs, carrying her bags with her. Aunt Marie was already waiting by the front yard. Lyorin carefully stepped out of her house and momentarily sadness engulfed her. She looked at the sunflowers patch along the way. Aunt gave her a gentle squeeze on the shoulder and promised to take care of the sunflowers. She would still come back to this house occasionally. Lyorin felt better knowing that the house and the sunflowers would never be neglected.  With a heavy heart, she continued to move forward. Goodbye to the house who had watched me grew up, whispered her heart.

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You blinked your eyes and saw Kris and Suho standing in front of a car; a BMW car. Wow, they must be rich. While they were helping with the bags, you hopped in to the car and waited. Within minutes, the engine roared and the car drove away. Kris was the driver. You gazed out the window, not wanting to talk because you just did not have the mood.

"Are you excited, Lyorin?" Suho's voice broke the silence. You replied flatly with a 'No'.

"Shh, Lyorin. That's not how you treat an oppa" Aunt Marie tapped your arm. Oppa? No. I don’t have any oppa and I don’t plan to call anyone oppa, especially to strangers.

"Whatever", you muttered.

"I'm sorry Suho. Lyorin can be a little...feisty and stubborn at times", Aunt apologised on your behalf. You rolled your eyes at the remark.

 "It's okay. We understand. Hmm, how old are you,  Lyorin?" Suho asked.

"17", you answered. Kris spoke out and said that he's 21 while Suho was 20 years old. He mentioned that the boys that you would be living with were around 17-21years old. Aunt Marie face brightened when she knew there were boys the same age as you.

"Kai and Sehun are of the same age. But I think our Lyorin is the youngest since she's born late", Suho joked. You shuddered when Suho said, 'our Lyorin'. You didn't like the whole friendly atmosphere. It was just odd. Aunt Marie, on the other hand, looked really happy. Back to the age-issue. Yes, your birthday falls on December; the last month of the year.

"Apparently, they are in the same school as you,” said Kris. Oh no! Not the same school please, you sadly thought.

An hour journey and you finally reached. You stepped out of the car and instantly your jaws dropped at the magnificent scene of a mansion. A huge mansion surrounded by woods. No wonder you noticed many trees outside when the car along the stretch of road before it reached the mansion. You quickly snapped yourself from immersing deeper in to the beauty and put on a poker face. Kris and Suho led you through the garden until you reached the doorstep. You spotted a basketball court on the right side of the mansion and a swimming pool on the left while walking through the garden. Once you reached the doorstep, you held your breathe. Please let me survive this. Suho opened the door slowly, "Guys, we're back!"

*************************************

The 10 boys quickly gathered at the front door. Lyorin peered her head inside the mansion and was slowly greeted by 10 handsome boys. Chen who reached first, flashed a brighful smile to Lyorin. She forced a small smile in return. One by one the boys came and finally saw their Star. They were excited upon seeing her and most of them; actually all of them were stunned by Lyorin's beauty. Even though she had a glum look, nothing can deny the beautiful aura she exuded. Aunt Marie understood. She was aware on how pretty Lyorin was. To avoid the awkward moment, she started introducing herself first.

"Hello there gentlemen, I'm Marie and you can call me Aunt Marie or Noona; whichever you prefer.” Aunt chuckled. She continued, “This is Lyorin. Come on Lyorin, say Hi."

"Hi, I'm Lyorin", she slightly bowed. Lyorin felt really intimidated having 10 pairs of eyes staring at her.

Kris ordered the boys to introduce themselves. Upon hearing that, Lyorin swallowed hard. The thought of remembering 12 names was just too daunting.

"Hi. I'm Chen", he held out his hand. Lyorin slowly took his hand for a shake. This guy with a strong jaw line, he's Chen. She figured the best way to remember was to associate them with their distinctive features.

"Hi..my name is Luhan" He smiled. Cute baby-face, he's Luhan.

Next, "Hi..I’m D.O but you can call me Kyungsoo as well" Big-round eyes, he's D.O...wait Kyungsoo..okay whichever, still the same person.

"Hi, I'm Xiumun...hmm you're really pretty" Lyorin was surprised at his compliment but managed to say thank you. Puffy cheeks, he's Xiumin.

“Hi..my name is Baekhyun. Nice to meet you" Hoarse voice, he's Baekhyun.

"Hi, I'm Tao" A guy with dark circles under his eyes, he's Tao.

"Hello there sweetie, I'm Chanyeol" She nearly choked when he called her sweetie. Tall with the widest grin, he's Chanyeol.

"Hi...I’m Lay" Lay was shy. Lyorin saw how nervous he was. Shy guy, he's Lay.

"Hi..I’m Sehun. I believe we are schoolmates" Lyorin smiled weakly, totally not liking the idea of him as your schoolmate. Cute eye-smile, he's Sehun.

The last one. He stood the furthest and had a cold expression. Lyorin knew in that instant that this guy hated her presence. "Kai?", called Suho. So he's Kai, the cold one.

He walked up to Lyorin and stared at her for awhile before saying, "Kai". That's it. Just his name. No Hi or anything else. He turned and walked away. She made a disgusted face. Rude. That's her first impression of him.

*************************************

After the brief introduction session, Kris gently placed a hand on your shoulder and smiled. “Okay guys, Lyorin must be tired from the journey. Come, I’ll show you, your room. By the way Aunt, you requested to have yours near the kitchen right? Yeol, show Aunt her room“, ordered Kris.

You were not tired at all. It was not as if you took the plane and suffered from jet-lag. It was just an hour car ride. You hated how they viewed you as weak but you didn’t bother to rebut. You didn’t care about what they thought of you.  Your main aim was to find information about your parents, thus, your relationship with them was strictly business. You looked at Aunt Marie gleefully made her way to her new room and you then glanced at Kris. He was already moving up the tall staircase steps. Awkwardly, you followed him. The rest of the boys dispersed themselves; some went away while two of them followed you and Kris.

“Go on. Have a look”, said Kris as he pushed the door to your ‘temporary’ bedroom. You stepped in and absorbed the vastness of the bedroom. It was big, really big. The best part, you will be staying in this room all by yourself. The bathroom was located inside as well. It was simple yet elegant. You actually loved it but kept on a poker face. Luhan, you remembered his name, sat on your bed and tapped beside him gesturing for you to sit on it.

“So how do you do you find your room?” asked the other one. You didn’t get his name yet.

“Hmmm…big?” you lied. It was not just big, it’s beautiful.

“Xiumin, do not touch!” ordered Kris to the guy who was fiddling with the art pieces on the wall. Oh, he’s Xiumin, you noted.

 “Are these new? How come…never mind”, Xiumin said. You settled yourself on the bed, beside Luhan. You had a few conversations with them. You found out that, Kris, Luhan and Xiumin were the oldest. All of them slept in 4 bedrooms, in groups of 3. Kris, Tao and D.O in one room, Luhan, Xiumin and Sehun in another while, Kai, Suho and Lay in the room next to yours. Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Chen were together since they were of the same age. As you talked to them, you realised that they were actually quite nice and friendly.

*************************************

Dinner was noisy. With 12 boys around, they could never have a quiet, peaceful meal. Lyorin played with her food and was not really eating. She was not hungry. Since Aunt Marie did the cooking for the first time for the boys, they could not stop thanking her. Aunt was pleased that the boys loved her food and volunteered to do the cooking from then onwards. Suho, who sat beside, saw your plate that was still full. She barely touched; there were chicken cutlets and mashed potato on your plate but she just didn’t have the appetite. He gave Aunt a worried look.

“Lyorin, why aren’t you eating? Is the food not to your liking? I thought you love chicken cutlets?” Aunt Marie asked. Lyorin apologised and gave a lame excuse that she was too tired to eat and quickly stood up with her plate in hand and went to the kitchen to wash. She heard the boys asking Aunt whether if she was okay. Aunt assured them that she will be fine and need time to adapt. Lyorin walked past the long dining table and went straight to her room.

After the sudden interruption, the boys began to question Aunt Marie in regard to Lyorin.

"So, when will you guys tell her? You know...your...", asked Aunt Marie. What is it the guys have to tell Lyorin?

"Tomorrow morning. We will tell her tomorrow" Kris answered. The boys had decided to reveal some of what she always wanted to know. They were aware of Lyorin's needs and were trying best to address it to her as.

"Hyung, will it be okay?" asked Chanyeol glancing towards the leader with a worried frown.

"Hmmm Aunt, she's not suffering from any heart disease right?" Luhan asked. Aunt Marie laughed out of a sudden.

"No, she's healthy and definitely not suffering from any heart problems. She's an ace runner in school if you guys aren't aware of. So, I'm pretty sure she's perfectly fine. She's strong," Aunt Marie spoke. The boys felt relieved a little.

To be continued...