Chapter 8

No one spoke for the next hour as they finished cleaning up the apartment. Dirty dishes were washed and dried with paper towels. The laundry machine whirred as piles after piles of dirty clothes were placed into it to be washed and dried. Trash bags were loaded at the door, waiting to be taken out to the apartment disposal room. The windows sparkled in clear brightness, and the floor was wiped clean and rid of debris.

Tao hid himself in the bedroom, slowly vacuuming the floor and crevices between the beds after dusting the desks. The loud noise from the vacuum drowned out his hiccups. His mouth was dry from deep breathing, and he filled the small bin with tissues. Tao’s eyes were red from crying, but no more tears fell from his saddened irises.

He hated it when they fought. Not one of them was perfect, but Tao thought that after years of living together, they would learn to get along better. Instead, he thought things were getting worse.

Every one of them went through something difficult. Each had secrets that they didn’t tell the others. He knew their stories, but at the same time, he knew there was more that was hidden in the darkness. Tao also knew that each one of them needed something, but he also knew that none of them knew what they wanted.

For a long time, Tao didn’t know what was the one factor in life he needed the most. But after the blowout among the members, especially between Jongin and the others, Tao knew he was getting somewhere with this major question.

Jongin had a fiery temper, but it rarely came out. Over the years, since he was a boy, Tao watched the younger learn how to control his emotions, which resulted in Jongin’s current snarky attitude. But in Tao’s mind, anything was better than a shouting, red-faced Jongin. So now that Jongin lost his temper for the nth time in the last month, Tao could feel that something was not right in this entire group dynamic.

It saddened him to think that the makeshift family they had wasn’t as strong as it could be. Maybe that was why he cried. Not because Jongin lost his temper. Not because others like Kyungsoo and Luhan were about ready to punch the living daylights out of Jongin, was it not for Minseok and Kris who held them back.

At that moment, Tao knew that his biggest fear was that his only family in the entire world would fall apart. They were the only thing he had left, flaws and all, and he knew he didn’t want anyone to leave.

The one problem was, Tao didn’t know what to do. “I’m such a coward.” All he could do is cry. He had no other way of expressing himself.

Tao was simply scared, and he didn’t know what to do about it.

~~~~~~

Elise wiped the sweat from her forehead with her wrist as she finished cleaning the entire living room. Her knees were red from kneeling on the hard, wooden floor, and her hands were gray from the amount of dust that collected from below the couch. “Do these guys ever clean this place? Oh well, at least it’s clean now.” She shook her head as she tied the last bag of dust and head to the front door of the apartment.

Yixing spotted Elise as she tried to carry two large trash bags at once, and immediately ran to her side. “Wait, Elise! Let me help you.”

“Oh, I’m fine,” she started, but the kind boy already lifted the larger bag from her hands and opened the door.

“You should rest a bit, Elise,” Yixing started as he took a good look at her sweaty, flushed face.

She simply waved her hand and head out the door. “I’m fine.”

“Mmkay.” The two stayed in comfortable silence as they walked down the hall to the disposal room.

Once they returned, Elise hasn’t said a word. “Elise?” Yixing broke the silence.

“Mm?”

“I mean it.”

Elise tilted her head in confusion. “What?”

Yixing scratched his neck. “I mean, you should rest. It’s been a busy hour.”

“I’ll be fine. Besides, you had the longer day,” she said as she gave him a firm gaze before entering the apartment.

The boy sighed as he followed her into the house. He couldn’t understand her, but knew she only meant well for him and the boys. Otherwise, why would she make all of them clean the apartment together?

Elise watched the rest of the boys sprawl themselves all over the couches, tired from cleaning the apartment. She nearly smiled at the sight. After working together, nearly all traces of animosity disappeared from the boys’ faces. Tiredness, and maybe a hint of accomplishment, replaced the negative emotions. With eyes closed, most of the EXO boys napped on each other, with heads on each others’ shoulders. “Now that’s what I want to see.”

Joonmyun, who kept himself separate from the crowd, walked up to Elise’s side, and she ce she felt his presence. “Joonmyun?”

“Elise, thanks so much,” he smiled one grateful, tired smile at her.

“What for?”

“Just…” he chuckled, “bringing us together, even just a little.”

She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

Joonmyun smiled before observing Kris, Luhan, and Minseok’s exhausted expressions on the couch, and turning the lights off to the living room. “Would you like to come with me, Elise?”

“Where?”

“Just to the bedroom. We can let them rest, and I… want to tell you a few things.”

“Um,” Elise started, but Joonmyun already started to the bedroom, so she could only follow.

Once they entered the bedroom, Joonmyun found Tao sprawled across his bed, snoring softly as he inhaled and exhaled. Elise watched as the leader pulled his own blanket off his bed and placed it on top of the sleeping boy, and could feel her heart flutter as she watched the formerly crying boy snuggle himself deeper into the covers.

“Elise, take a seat here,” Joonmyun gestured to his bed as he took a seat in the adjacent chair. Elise sat herself down and made herself comfortable as she watched Joonmyun, who was deep in thought.

The young man sighed. “Can I tell you a few things?”

“What things?”

“A few things that have been on my chest for a while.”

She nodded. “I’ll listen.”

~~~~~~

After he made himself comfortable and made sure that Tao was asleep, Joonmyun met gazes with Elise. “These boys… I love them with all my heart.”

Elise nodded as she watched him take a deep breath. “They’re all I have,” he started, but he then tilted his head up and started blinking. Elise could make out the beginnings of tears as the moonlight reflected his shimmering eyes.

She reached out a hand to him. “Joonmyun?”

He quickly shook his head, shaking away the tears. “I’m okay. Just, these boys are all I have. But, I may have gotten a little possessive.”

Seeing that Elise set all of her attention on him, Joonmyun continued, “Before I talk about them… when I was younger, I came from a well-off family. I had a mother, father, and a younger sister. I loved them all, and I thought that I was the happiest boy in the world. Oh, how naïve I was…”

He took another deep breath. “My sister, she was beautiful, even as a kid. She had those large, twinkling eyes, straight, jet-black hair, and she was one smart little girl. But she was a little... hyper for her age.”

“My parents doted her. Not that I was left out, but they were the typical parents. Always believe the younger kid, the older kid is always at fault. The younger child never does wrong. So, naturally, all the blame for whatever my sister did wrong or whatever happened to my sister was placed on me.”

“I was never mad. I knew that was how parents acted, so I always let it go. Because I loved my sister, I never fought back with her. I was like my parents, in a way. I just let all her acts go.”

“But one thing changed it all… one day, she was just playing in the yard, and I was there, watching her. She was playing on the new swings and playground that my parents built for her in the back.”

“Being the kid I was then who loved my sister, I let her do what she wanted. So I simply sat there… and cheered her on, as she climbed up the ladder to the very top of the... playground...” Joonmyun trailed off, seeming to collect his thoughts together. He took another deep breath to calm himself down, but he couldn’t stop one lone tear from trailing down his blemish-free face.

Joonmyun sniffled, and nearly apologized when he felt a firm hand on his knee. He looked up, and his eyes widened as he saw Elise rubbing comfortable circles around his knee. Although a little awkward, she tried, and Joonmyun chuckled.

But that didn’t stop more tears from leaving his clear, sharp eyes. “Oh God…”

“You don’t have to tell me now.”

He faced her, holding a hand to his mouth as his eyes released a stream of tears. “Why?” he sniffled.

Elise shook her head and scooted closer to him. She started to rub slow circles on his back. “The head of the orphanage I stayed at for a few months many years ago used to do this to me when I was sad. I mean, she would rub circles…”

Joonmyun stifled his cries. “E-e-lise…”

She shook her head. “Don’t talk, Joonmyun, just let it out. Tell me later…”

As Elise whispered to him to let it out, and continued to rub smooth circles on his back, for the first time in years, Joonmyun let his heart erupt in sadness, and let the tears flow free.

~~~~~~

Joonmyun cried himself to sleep after a few hours. Thankfully, at least to Elise, no one else woke up yet, so the other boys did not witness Joonmyun’s moment of vulnerability. At least, she knew that she wouldn’t want anyone to see her like that if she had one of her moments.

After tucking Joonmyun into his bed, Elise quietly made her way out of the bedroom. The other boys were still passed out on the couch, and she smiled at the scene. She made her way to the closet, and pulled out the plastic bag full of notebooks and pens. She then walked to the kitchen table, now clear of newspapers, books, and snacks, and placed the bag on the table. Elise pulled out a small piece of notepad paper from her own bag, and wrote a quick note to the boys.

Once she made sure that everything in the apartment was the way it should be, Elise took one last glance at the boys before closing and locking the door. “I hope everything will be better tomorrow. See you all soon.”

Elise made her way down the long hallways of the orphanage, and happened to pass by Mrs. Lee, whose office door was still wide open. Although Elise was not used to initiating greetings, she decided to give it a go.

She knocked softly on the door. “Come in!” Mrs. Lee spoke.

Elise entered. “Hi, Mrs. Lee.”

“Ah, Elise, you’re still here? It’s nearly 10,” Mrs. Lee seemed genuinely surprised that Elise was still there.

She shrugged. “I guess so.”

“The boys giving you a hard time?” Mrs. Lee received a shake of the head. “Well, they are a handful. But, they’ll need you, Elise.”

“Need me?”

“Yes. Sooner or later, they’ll need you for more than teaching them basic things and helping them take care of themselves better.”

“Could you elaborate?” Elise asked.

“Well,” Mrs. Lee began, “all of them have issues. I’m being blunt with you. But it’s true. And frankly, if you haven’t witnessed it yet, having twelve boys with varying degrees of problems causes its own problems.”

“I’ve already seen it.” “Then why are they all living together?”

“Ah, so you’ve noticed,” Mrs. Lee said, her face breaking out into a soft smile for the first time that night. “Because even though problems could result, the pros could be much greater.”

Elise tilted her head. “Pros?”

Mrs. Lee leaned forward on her desk to face the young woman better. “What is it that you desire most, Elise?”

She froze out of surprise. “Me?”

“Yes.”

Elise looked down to the table, eyes losing focus as she placed her attention to herself. “What do I desire most?”

Mrs. Lee’s gaze softened. “You don’t need to answer that now.” Elise looked up in confusion. Mrs. Lee nodded, “But once you do know the answer, you'll know what'll be best for the boys.”

“I will?”

“I’m sure, because what you desire is exactly what they desire too. And that was my goal in placing all twelve of them together,” Mrs. Lee concluded.

Elise crossed her arms deep in thought. “What I desire… what they desire…”

Mrs. Lee got up from her seat and made her way to the young woman. “Elise, you’re an intelligent woman. You’ll realize it soon.”

She looked up to the older woman. “Really?”

“I know so. It just needs some time. But ultimately, that’s why I wanted you as their volunteer. The boys’ past volunteers never understood, never realized what these boys needed. All came crying to me after the first week.”

Elise fixed her gaze on Mrs. Lee, who suddenly seemed much more tired than before. “For a long while, I’ve tried finding the best for them. But, no one seemed to come along in the last two years. Not until Kate brought you along. I’m so thankful, Elise, that you’re here.”

Elise bit her lips. “Yeah?”

“Yes. You’ll realize what they need before they do, and I think you’ll be the best in helping them realize this.”

“But, Mrs. Lee… how am I supposed to help if I don’t know yet?”

Mrs. Lee’s eyes crinkled, small wrinkle lines showing as a result of age and work. “You’re already helping them out. Tonight’s the first night in a long while that I didn’t have to send security up there.”

“Security?” Elise gasped.

Mrs. Lee shook her head, a distant smile still gracing her face. “That’s a story for another time. So don’t worry, Elise, you’re doing fine, and I can only thank you again.”

Elise scratched her head, murmuring a small and unsure “You’re welcome.” She was still confused as to what she could do and what she has done that may have helped the boys. The young woman continued to ponder this issue, even when Mrs. Lee sent her to the last subway train so she could get a decent night’s sleep.

~~~~~~

Kris squinted at the bright rays of light that passed through the newly-wiped windows, and couldn’t feel either of his legs. After rubbing his eyes and taking in a deep yawn, he glanced down to his legs to see Jongin and Sehun using his thighs as pillows, as Chanyeol and Yixing used his shoulders as pillows as well.

He chuckled as he gently moved the younger two boys’ heads off his thighs and placed pillows under Yixing and Chanyeol’s heads. After making sure they were more comfortable, Kris stretched out his numb legs and made his way to the kitchen.

The first thing that met his gaze was a large plastic bag on the kitchen table, with a small piece of paper taped to it. Kris ripped the paper off and read:

Dear boys,

You all were resting so peacefully that I didn’t want to disturb you. Hopefully you all are feeling a little better. I wanted to show you guys what I brought in the plastic bag personally, but I’ll see you with them tomorrow. In the bag are twelve notebooks, twelve pens, and a small whiteboard with marker and eraser. You can place the whiteboard anywhere you see fit. These notebooks will be so that I can be a better teacher to you all (Kris, Joonmyun, please use your notebooks however you want. I don’t need to teach you guys, do I?).

I’ll be back tomorrow at the same time. Hope everything is to your liking.

Elise

Kris placed the note back on the table before opening the plastic bag. He proceeded to pull out twelve notebooks, all dark blue with the same design, and twelve black ink pens. He took the top notebook, and flipped through it. “Oh, Elise… the things you do. It's so nice though…” After putting away the plastic bag for future use, Kris then took the notebook and a pen, and sat down to write.

Baekhyun was next to wake up, and he found Kris writing away in the kitchen. “Whatcha doin’?”

Kris looked up and smiled. “Mornin’, Baek. Just writing.”

“Mm. What’s all this?” Baekhyun lifted up a notebook from the pile.

“Elise left these for us yesterday. We all passed out though, so she just left them here.”

“For… us?” Baekhyun asked in near disbelief as he flipped through the smooth pages in the notebook.

“Yeah.”

Baekhyun nodded, taking the information in. “Is that what the note says?”

The taller boy held the paper out. “Want to try and read it?”

The shorter boy shook his head. “S’okay. Just…”

“Yeah?”

“... Nothing.”

Kris sighed before sending Baekhyun a soft look. “Well, Baek, you can go ahead and take a notebook and pen. I’m sure you’ll want to start learning later when she arrives.”

“I guess,” he shrugged. “I’m just going to… go to my bed for now.”

Kris waved once as he watched the younger boy leave with his new notebook and pen. He glanced down at the once sentence he managed to write down this entire time.

I love all of you. Each and every one of you. And there isn’t anything we can’t do together.

“Funny how that’s the one thing I can think of at this time of day, huh?” Kris muttered to himself before shutting the notebook, heading to the bedroom, and closing the door.

Hey readers!

As you all can see from this chapter, this is a little heavier in terms of the boys and Elise's thoughts and emotions. Now we know a little bit about Joonmyun's past... though it's not finished. Yet.

I wonder if any of you have any thoughts about where things are going. Not sure if you noticed, but while I'm writing it, the story is taking itself in its own direction. This would probably be the first time something has been this... natural in terms of writing. Please comment! I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Also, I'm thinking of updating this story more often over the summer, but I won't abandon "End of the World" either! Please be sure to check it out if you haven't. It's a little more serious in terms of action, but there is some romance there :)

Also, I got my first vote for this story! Thank you so much to IkaSeobbie for voting for this story! It has really made my day for today :)

And before I peace out for today, I want to thank all my readers and subscribers. I sure am loving writing for everyone, so I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them! Please subscribe if you like it! It gives me more motivation to be a better creative writer, trust me :)

This will be the longest message I will have in a while. Won't be this long again! See you all soon <3

shadowonsapphire

P.S. I just started the foreword page for my new story, "Fragile Vases." It's angsty, but the format of the story will be slightly different. I guess you can say that I'm experimenting.

Also, I'm thinking of having another story that I might start later this summer, maybe in July. It would be a college romance story, starring Sehun. As of now, I don't have a clear idea about what the story will be exactly, but I've been having random dreams lately. A little like a movie, but the scenes are broken and out of order. So far it has been a random boy and girl, and it seems to be turning into a story in my head.

What do you guys think?