Knock knock.

“Kyungsoo?”

The curious, wide-eyed teen looks up from his book and towards his door.  “Come in.”

The bedroom door opens.  In steps Kyungsoo’s older brother Kris, a towering figure with sandy blonde hair, sculpted features, and bushy eyebrows turned downwards.

“Ne?” D.O. answers.

“Can you please take out the trash?” Kris asks, his deep voice monotonous as ever.  It’s more of a command even if it doesn’t sound like one.  As one of the eldest brothers, Kris finds it his responsibility to take care of Kyungsoo and his brothers, along with another elder brother, Suho.  In reality, they aren’t the oldest of the twelve.  The eldest brothers are actually XiuMin and LuHan.  However, XiuMin didn’t feel he was capable enough to carry such a responsibility.  LuHan, on the other hand, was deemed too childish to be placed in charge.  Therefore, the positions were filled by the next two oldest boys instead.

“Isn’t it your day to take out the trash?” D.O. questions, cocking an eyebrow at his older brother.

“It is, but Mom called and told me to go grocery shopping for dinner tonight.  One of the maids called in sick and couldn’t do it, so I have to go,” Kris explains.

Kyungsoo frowns slightly.  “And the others?”

Kris thinks for a moment, leaning against the doorframe.  “Well, Suho’s coming with me to the supermarket.  LuHan took Lay, Sehun and Tao to the mall, Xiumin and Chen went to the cafe, and I had already told Baekhyun and Chanyeol to go meet Kai at work because they were bored by themselves.  And you know them, when they’re bored and left unattended, they start getting into trouble.  I’ve learned my lesson after they almost burned the house down last time.”  Kris shakes his head at the memory.

Of course, no one wants to take responsibility in this house.  “Alright, I’ll get on it then,” D.O. replies with an internal sigh.

Kris half-smiles at him gratefully.  “Thanks, Soo.  Suho and I will be back in about an hour if things go smoothly.  Enjoy your day alone.  If you go out, remember to be back before Mom and Dad get home from work."  With that, he exits D.O.'s room.

Once Kris is out of sight, D.O. sighs again - audibly this time - bookmarks his place, and gets up.  Kyungsoo starts collecting the garbage bags from each of the rooms in the huge house.  Each brother has his own bedroom with a connecting bathroom.  Their parents have the master bedroom with a bathroom, and there’s a guest room.  On top of all that, there’s also the dining room, living room, kitchen, breakfast area, and an extra powder room.

In the halls, one of the younger maids catches D.O. carrying the garbage bags over his shoulder.  "Young Master, what are you doing?"  The girl is petite, in her late twenties with long brown hair and brown eyes that are still trying to retain their brightness despite the dark circles around them.  She strides over to him hastily.  “Please let me take that-”

"Oh, it's alright, I can do it myself,” he waves her off politely.  “I don't want you to have another chore to worry about.  Maybe when you’re done you can take a little rest."  He smiles warmly at her.

Kyungsoo had fought with his brothers that they should all try pitching in to do some of the household chores.  He feels uncomfortable knowing that the maids do all the dirty work for them, and he can tell they deserve a break from the worn-out look in their eyes.  Thankfully, the leaders agreed to D.O.'s plan and started splitting the smaller chores amongst the the twelve of them: washing the dishes after meals, taking out the garbage, making their beds, and cleaning their rooms.  Of course, sometimes no one would comply, leaving Kyungsoo to do the work.  It’s not that he has anything better to do or that he doesn't like cleaning, he just despises how irresponsible his brothers are sometimes.  But he just keeps it to himself because it's nothing to throw a tantrum over.

After D.O. takes the trash bins out to the curb, he flops down onto the couch in the quiet living room.  Although their parents forbade them from leaving the house unless they were sent out, their curiosity and thirst for the outside world got the best of them, leading them to sneak out during the day.  Unlike his other brothers, Kyungsoo doesn’t feel the urge to explore the outside world; he’s content being in the house while the others go running around everywhere, risking getting caught.   But today feels different.  He usually appreciates being home alone, but today he feels like stepping outside for once, get some fresh air and think out in the open.

Without giving himself a chance to second guess the thought, he puts on his denim jacket and heads outside.

~*~*~*~

“Let’s get some bubble tea before we start shopping,” LuHan suggests happily, entering the large shopping mall with his three brothers.

“Okay, hyung,” Sehun agrees with a smile.

Tao just shrugs and follows his older brother without complaints.

“I’ll treat you guys,” Lay offers.  “Duizhang just gave me my allowance for the week.”

“He hasn’t given me anything in weeks,” Luhan frowns as he leads them to the bubble tea store near the mall entrance.  “I’ve been borrowing from Minseok, but I feel bad because it isn’t his responsibility to take care of me.”  The eldest turns to the raven-haired boy following behind him.  “But, didn’t Kris just give you money too, Tao?”

“Yeah,” the panda-eyed boy answers curtly.

Luhan groans.  “He’s playing favorites again.”

“Maybe you should talk to Kris hyung?” the youngest perks up.

“I don’t know if he’ll listen to me, Sehun.”  LuHan shakes his head.  The group is on line for the bubble tea shop now.

“What do you guys want?” Lay asks, pulling his wallet out.

“Taro,” LuHan responds.

“Taro,” Sehun echoes.

“Matcha,” Tao answers.

“What are you getting, hyung?” Sehun asks, seeing his older brother tap his wallet to his chin as he stares at the menu.

“I’m not sure…” he responds, his face blank as usual.

LuHan chuckles.  “You never get the same thing twice in a row, Yixing.”

“I’m just experimenting,” the brunette shrugs.  “You don’t know what your favorite is until you’ve tried all of them.”  After a few moments of thinking, he decides, “I’m feeling Passion Fruit Green Tea today.”

The other boys wait on the side as Lay pays and picks up the boys’ drinks.

“You can have some of my money, Lu ge, I don’t mind splitting with you,” Lay offers as he brings the drinks and hands them all straws.  Tao and Sehun thank the older male for their drinks.

“Thanks, but duizhang needs to own up since he promised,” the eldest declines, poking a hole in the top of his cup.  He notices Sehun having some trouble and chuckles at him.  “Sehun-ah, don’t you have any strength in you?” he chides playfully and pokes the hole for the younger boy.

Sehun lowers his head, embarrassed that his older brother had to help him, though he still mutters a thanks.  Tao, quietly sipping his drink, offers Sehun a pat on the shoulder to soothe him.

The group heads into the mall corridor and starts window shopping.  LuHan adamantly points out clothes he likes while the other brothers - mostly Lay - would either approve or criticize the outfit.  Tao and Sehun hang back a little to talk quietly among themselves.

“Are you still having those dreams, hyung?” Sehun asks, careful so their older brothers won’t hear.

Tao responds with a nod.  It was only a month ago that he decided to confide in Sehun about the unsettling dreams he’s had since he was a child; dreams where he would see the sky painted red and people running in panic.  He was being pulled around by someone who would lock him inside something before he saw intimidating figures shoot the person from behind.  Often, he would wake up crying in his room and his brothers would have to check on him.  Eventually, he got used to the visions and interrupted sleep.  The dreams would only happen every week or so.  Other times, he wouldn’t remember his dreams, only to be going about his day and experiencing peculiar feelings of deja vu.  It was then he realized that these dreams were telling him the future,  As cool as it may sound to have fortune-telling dreams, it actually isn’t, because he would only remember them once his dreams happen in real life.

Tao never wanted to say anything since he didn’t want to freak his brothers out, but Sehun had woken Tao one morning to find tears on the dark-haired boy’s face.

“It’s fine, I’ll just have to live with them,” he assures the younger boy, dismissing the topic.

Soon, the group finds themselves wandering inside a store as LuHan tries on a few jackets.

“I’m not crazy about leather,” LuHan frowns as he tries on a leather jacket with buckle enclosures, turning towards the brothers.

“Eh,” Lay makes a face.  “I don’t think it suits you.”

Sehun shakes his head apologetically.

“Try the denim, ge,” Tao suggests in his low voice.

LuHan takes the jacket off and tries the denim one next to it.  Looking in the nearby mirror, he nods in approval.  “Much better.”

Sehun nudges the hooded-eyed male next to him.  “I think leather would look good on you, hyung,” he suggests.

Tao shrugs as LuHan hands him the leather jacket.  The other boys make sounds of awe when Tao puts it on.  He seems comfortable in the jacket, and it suits his dark hair and quiet aura.

“Awesome,” LuHan praises with a thumbs up.  “The neighborhood martial artist becomes a bad boy.  You should get it.”

Tao shrugs out of it and puts it back on the hanger as he holds it in his hand.  “Thank you for the jacket, duizhang,” he remarks, making the other brothers laugh.

~*~*~*~

“Minnie, can you make me a Macchiato?” Chen asks.  He’s leaning his arm on the counter next to the kitchen.

The round-faced elder just laughs at his younger brother, cleaning the countertop in the kitchen.  The only reason Chen comes to the cafe is to follow his favorite brother and get free coffee.  “I don’t think my boss will like that, Jongdae,” he replies.

“He won’t notice,” the other waves off.  “Please, hyung?”

Xiumin smiles at the younger’s plea and starts preparing the coffee grinds.  Chen watches as his brother meticulously prepares the perfect amount of grinds into the spoon.  He remembers when they were younger, Xiumin would love watching the food channels, but he would always be mesmerized by coffeehouses.  It was like love at first sight, and he wanted nothing more than to be a barista when he got older, saddened by the rule forbidding the boys from leaving the house.  Chen smiles remembering how he would cheer Xiumin up by asking him to pre