14

Lyorin yawned and stretched herself. She woke up nice and fresh after the sleep. Hurriedly, she bathed and got ready because it was going to be a long day. Last night she remembered walking around the mansion and inspecting every corner. It was so dirty and dusty. She decided, that day would be perfect to do some cleaning because she could not stand the filthiness any longer.

Walking down the stairs, she saw some of the guys still soundly asleep in the living room. There were others in the kitchen and some just lazing around but none seemed to bother about the mess. She cleared and fake a cough but those that were already up totally ignored her presence. She saw D.O preparing a coffee for himself.

Waving at him, she called. “Oppa, come here for a while.”

Once everyone was back in the living room, even if some were still soundly asleep she took charge immediately. “Guys, wake up please! We have a lot of cleaning to do today.”

“What?! Cleaning?!” Chen, who was one of the few who was already up, asked in shocked.

Lyorin nodded her head and confirmed, “Yes, you heard me right. Come on lazy bums! Wake up! The house is in such a mess. We need to clean it. Just because Aunt is no longer here, you think you can get away from housework?”

As expected, she was ignored. Suddenly, Sehun pulled her and she fell right beside him on the sofa chair. He snuggled and whispered, “Lyorin ah, let’s sleep some more ~” She struggled to break free but he was tightly holding her. “We can just call in the maids to clear the mess ~” He yawned with his eyes half-closed.

After many tries, the boys just won’t listen to her. Just when she was about to give up, she thought of a mischievous idea that might actually make the guys wake up.

She squeezed her eyes and held her chest. “S-Sehun, i-it hurts. My chest h-hurts ~”

Immediately after hearing her soft cry, Sehun jolted up from his sleep and turned to her. “Lyorin, what’s wrong?” She knelt down and avoided the eye contact fearing that she might eventually laugh. She wasn’t in any pain. She was faking it because she knew that would make the guys wake up.

Seeing that she was still in so much pain, Sehun shook Lay and alerted the rest. “Lay hyung! Wake up! Lyorin doesn’t look too well!” He turned panicked.

In a flash, the guys woke up from their sleep and checked on her. Kai crouched beside her and was worried when he noticed her body was shaking. She was actually, well, she was just laughing while hiding her face. “Sehun, what happened?” He turned to the youngest and asked.

“I don’t know!” He replied innocently.

Kris step forward and called for Lay to check on her. “Lyorin, look up so that Lay can see what’s wrong.”

“AHA! Since everyone is up, let’s get going.” Lyorin stopped her acting at once and looked up at the boys with a cheeky grin. “Come on, we need to clean the house.”

From worried to confused, that was exactly what the guys were feeling at the moment. “I thought you’re in pain?” Sehun curiously asked.

“I’m perfectly fine.”

“So, you were faking it?!” Chanyeol shouted but not because he was angry. He was shocked because they got tricked.

She nodded and laughed. “I knew that will wake you guys up. I had to since all of you were –“

“KIM LYORIN!” Kris yelled.

“Oppa, you can’t shout at me. You gave me the right to slap you, remember?” She taunted further and held up her right palm threateningly.

Everyone was grumbling and complaining but Suho kept his smile and approached her. “That was the first time I see Kris hyung cowered. You do have a lot of guts, huh? You’re the only girl who managed to prank us yet we couldn’t get angry at you.”

“Because I know you guys love me too much.” She beamed proudly.

~*~

Soon, everyone was assigned duties to clean up the whole mansion. Kris and Luhan took control of the top part of the house. The ceiling, the chandelier and the hard to reach areas were for them. Kris could levitate. With a towel in one hand, he started wiping and cleaning the highest point of the house. Luhan used his ability to transport the pail of water to Kris so that he could easily use it without the need to travel back down.

However, a jealous Sehun had to voice his dissatisfaction. “Luhan hyung, that’s not fair! You’re just using your powers and not moving any of your limbs while I have to use both my arms and legs.” He pouted and complained to Lyorin. “Lyorin, it’s not fair ~”

“My power is still the best.” Luhan smirked. He was sitting comfortably on the sofa, sipping on a nice refreshing apple juice and igniting further discontentment from the rest.

“Luhan oppa ~” Lyorin nicely warned him to at least not make it so obvious.

He shrugged. “What? It’s actually tiring me when I use my powers okay? Beside, Sehun you can try using your wind power, who knows it might actually work.” He laughed.

Sehun was not going to lose himself. He conjured his wind power and tried to sweep the dust and threw it outside. But being the clumsy Sehun, he would never get his things done properly. As a result of his lack of control for his powers, the house became messier as the windswept not just the dusts but also objects. 

“Sehun, no!” Xiumin shouted but was too late. The house just got messier and everyone glared at the pitiful maknae.

One by one, the older guys nagged and scolded Sehun. Lyorin stepped up and comforted the poor guy. “It’s okay, Sehun.” She patted his back. “You can help by doing the laundry. Then help to hang the washed clothes outside and you can use your wind powers to quickly dry it all up. D.O oppa, can do it with you since he will be in the kitchen” She suggested and flashed him a smile.

Sehun felt better knowing at least one person was still nice to him. “I will do it. I promise I won’t make any mistake! Thank you, Lyorin! You’re the nicest!” He hugged and skipped away with D.O towards the kitchen.

Next, she had to deal with the rest who seemed to be clueless on what their roles were. She ordered Chanyeol, Xiumin and Tao, to clean up the outside of the house. They were plenty of dead leaves on the ground at the porch as well as the mess in the huge garage which they needed to clear it all. Chanyeol could use his fire power and burn the dead leaves once all of it had been gathered in a spot.

Then, Chen and Baekhyun had to clean up the attic area of the house which had no lights and electricity; just perfect for them. The attic was dusty and messy and it was acting as the store room.

“Chen oppa and Baek oppa, the attic will be easy for you guys right?” She asked and they nodded. “Good, here are your brooms, rags and pail. Thank you!” She exclaimed and handed them the necessary items for cleaning.

So, she was down to Kai, Lay and Suho.

“We can clean up the living room!” Lay announced.

Yes, that’s right. They were left with the living room to clean.

However, Lyorin remembered that behind the house were the garden and the pool. She pulled Suho and asked, “Suho oppa, let’s go to the garden. Lay oppa and ~” She looked at Kai.

Lay pulled Suho on the other side and interrupted, “No, I need Suho with me since we are the same age buddies.”

“But~” Lyorin sulked however, she was pushed towards Kai.

Suho smiled and said, “You can clean the garden and pool with Kai.”

She refused to budge. She had not spoken to the stupid guy for a while and it would be awkward if they had to do it together. Furthermore, she was still angry at him even if a little. The cold war needed to continue.

“Come on, Lyorin.” Suho reached for her hand and moved her towards the stupid guy.

She walked towards the garden and knelt down in front of the flowers. There were so many weeds and dried leaves. Meticulously, she cut off the withered flowers and the unwanted part of the plants, cleared the weeds and cleaned up the dirt. She tidied the soil and made sure the flowers stood firmly on it. She missed doing gardening ever since she left the house she had stayed in with Aunt. She remembered looking after the sunflowers, watered it every day and made sure it grew up beautifully. She wondered whether the plants were doing well without her. With a sigh, she continued her chore, ignoring the other presence that was with her in the garden as well.

Kai swept the garden floor with the broom and picked up the trashes. While he was doing his job, he kept glancing at Lyorin as she neatly tidied up the flower bed. She looked beautiful as always and he could not believe that she was the same girl whom he just got into a major fight. He must be really stupid, he thought. As he bent down to pick up a dead leaf, he heard a soft whimper.

“Ouch.” Lyorin accidentally pricked her finger when she touched the sharp thorn. Blood started to flow and it was stinging. She was about to get up and find a towel to wipe it off when all of a sudden Kai appeared right before her.

Holding the first aid kit in his hand, he searched for the antiseptic cream and cotton. Lightly, he held the wounded finger and dabbed it. She watched every single move intently and her heart fluttered despite the pain.

She hated how this guy in front could make her angry at one point time and then before she knew it, she was back to falling in love with him.

No, I will never fall prey to his sweet charms, she thought.

~*~

“Oppa ~ Oppa, I hurt my finger.” Little Sori cried as she showed her bruised finger to little Kai. “Oppa, I’m scared of pain.” A tear fell and immediately, Kai reached out and wipe it with his thumb.

He pulled her gently to the bench and let her sit. “Wait here, oppa will get the bandage for you.” Sori nodded and obediently waited for him to come back with a cute pink bandage. He knew she likes pink. “It will hurt a little, but oppa will do it very gently. I promise.” Carefully and gently, he plastered the bandage over her cut. She flinched, winced and squeezed her eyes. He blew a kiss and finally it was all nicely treated. “You’re a brave girl.”

Sori smiled and gave him a hug. “Kai oppa, you are the best! Promise me you’ll always be there for me when I cut my finger okay?” She pouted adorably and held out a pinkie.

Kai smiled and pinched her cheek. “I pro ~”

~*~

“Kai, excuse me. Hello?” Lyorin called and waved her hand in front of Kai. He snapped out of his dream and stared at her eyes. “I can do it on my own.” She pulled back her hand and took the plain white bandage from him. She carefully plastered it over her cut using her other free hand. Within seconds, she treated her cut finger on her own while he watched from the side.

She wiped the remaining dirt from her hands and walked away, leaving Kai in a confused state. He couldn’t believe that he actually thought of Sori at the moment. He remembered the times when she would hurt herself, and he would always be there for her.

Sori willingly allowed him to treat her but Lyorin; she pushed him away and did it on her own.

Kai thought he had enough of girls and their sweet talks and lies. After Sori, he distanced himself away from all the girls that would cling and stick to him.

He thought Sori was the last, but he was wrong.

He was scared he would fall for her. He was scared she would be just like Sori. But after that moment, he realised that she was not the same. Lyorin was different from all the girls he knew, all the girls he dated before and that included Sori.

(To be continued)

Of course she's different... DUH