The time on the digital clock set tidily on the bedside table shows 7:00. The red light doesn’t look as bright as it had been the first time Kyungsoo acquired the clock as a birthday gift, five years ago. As long as she can still see the time, there is no need to replace it, she always convinces herself.

Normally, exactly at that time, the alarm will activate and the clock will start to make noises alarms make, but because it’s an old clock, the sound comes out weak like a kitten’s mewl, although still enough - again Kyungsoo always convinces herself. But that day isn’t a normal day. Kyungsoo doesn't have to wake up early; she doesn't have to force herself to leave the comfort of her bed to get ready for school.

Yes, school. But not as a student, she’s far from the 17 years old girly girls she teaches who giggle every time a cute boy so much passes by. Instead, she’s there to implant knowledge to young minds, the future of the generation, to motivate them to be a better person and contribute to the society. Yes, that is it. Absolutely not because she needs the job, hence the money to pay rent, bills, grocery, bags, shoes, etc. No, course not.

Today Kyungsoo plans to sleep in because school holiday has finally begun. Doesn’t matter that it’s only for two weeks, but holidays! Even better is that in the two weeks off, she really doesn’t have to do anything. No papers to mark or examinations to prepare for. Score.

Well, that was the plan. But since when does Kyungsoo’s plan ever go the way she wants it. Not when she planned to marry her stupid excuse of a boyfriend before he went and ruined their perfect-in-her-eyes relationship by cheating on her with some gardening tool (read: hoe). And definitely not when she planned to live alone after the break-up but then ended up living with three guys she never even met before.

It isn’t the alarm that wakes her, but instead the sound of something banging on her bedroom wall. She groans in her sleep, cursing incoherently because she doesn’t get to see the end to her sweet dream. Do they get to live happily after the prince kissed her or will the Queen curse them into the 21st century? But not long after, she hears grunting and also, she cringes when she hears it - .

“Ah oppa, faster!”

It definitely isn’t the first time, in fact, Kyungsoo has lost count but she can never get used to it. Feeling her cheeks warming up, she quickly scrambles out her bed, still in her pyjamas and rushes out the room, purposely closing the door with a loud bang. She’ll follow house etiquettes when everyone else does.

“Ah noona, I see you’ve woken up,” a monotonous voice greets her as soon as she appears in the living area, “and blushing too I might add.”

“Shut it Sehun.” But even when the words prick, her tone is still gentle. It’s Sehun after all, she can never be mad at him for real. “Haven’t I told him many times to pull his bed away from the wall?”

“Not enough it seems, and besides what are you going to do with the other noises anyway?”

If she can control it, she would, but sadly she can’t so she feels her blood surfacing again towards her skin and Sehun doesn't even bother holding in his laughter.

She goes blank for a second before mumbling, “I don’t know, gags I guess?”

It isn’t so much the statement that makes Sehun doubles up with laughter; it’s the innocence in the voice that comes with it.

“I didn’t know you’re into that kind of thing noona.”

Her eyes widen in realisation, she blames it on the fact that she just woke up and so her thought process isn't functioning that well just yet.

“I- I don’t mean it that way,” she grumbles, punching her roommate lightly who laughs even more, “Shut up.”

Seeing that Sehun doesn’t seem to be calming down anytime soon, she gives up, opting to walk away towards the kitchen, shared in the same space as the living and dining area, which she absolutely loves because whenever she bakes, the smell spreads to the whole apartment.

“Hey what’s so funny?” Sehun is still laughing hysterically in the background, so it definitely isn’t him who’s talking, but Kyungsoo doesn’t have to turn around to find out. She’s been living in the apartment, sharing them with three guys for half a year already. She knows their voices, heck she even recognizes their smell (their colognes, please. Not their body odour, eww).

She braces herself before turning; she’s almost sure that her face isn’t flushed anymore to face the speaker. She cheers mentally when she doesn’t even bat an eyelash at the sight of Kris topless, proudly showing his not prominent but still there six packs. At least he has the decency to put on his sweatpants before leaving his room.

“Kris-ssi, how many times do I have to tell you to pull your bed away from the wall?” she starts, purposely picking up formality like she always does so he’ll know how serious (and annoyed) she is, “Do I need to know every time you do the do?”

He chuckles, the formality she uses never works but she still tries anyway, “I’m sorry. I’ll try to remember next time if I can pull out my tong-“

“Stop," she cuts in quickly, "I didn’t ask for the details."

Sehun has just calmed down enough but as he listens to the conversation, he cackles back with laughter, “What about the other noises?”

Automatically, she reddens again, so she hurriedly turns back around to face the kitchen cabinets while she listens to Sehun telling Kris about her earlier mishap. He is obviously exaggerating because she’s pretty sure she never said she wants to try using gags.

She turns around immediately to clear the misunderstanding but Kris is faster, “I am willing to be the one tying you up if you want,” he offers, complete with obnoxious eyebrows wriggling. Kyungsoo wails internally.

To make matter even more awkward, at the same time, the girl Kris’s supposed to say that to comes out his room. Kyungsoo pretends she doesn’t notice that her skirt is the wrong way round or her blouse isn’t completely buttoned. The girl just looks at each of them slowly (glares at Kyungsoo), before sending a final glance towards Kris, which Kyungsoo can easily guess also means call me before leaving the apartment.

The abrupt silence only lasts for three and a quarter seconds before Kris whines loudly, “One night stands always make me famished. What’s for breakfast Kyungsoo?”

It takes another few more seconds before two grown men approach the kitchen area, taking a seat on the stools by the lone kitchen island where Sehun immediately starts to do aegyo. Who is she to refuse the cute? Meanwhile Kris tries to copy Sehun. Who is she to refuse such a pitiful person? Sighing, the lie in can wait, she begins preparing for breakfast.

She’s glad her other roommate isn’t up yet (he can sleep through an earthquake and even an alien invasion) because him in particular is a different type of trouble. Especially recently.

--

It happened a few days ago when Kyungsoo had to leave school early. There had been a minor incident where Kyungsoo felt nauseous all of the sudden and at one point had to rush to the ladies’ room because she thought she was going to puke (and she did but no one saw). Naturally, because who thinks of food poisoning when those things happen, everyone thought that she’s pregnant and ushered her home to get checked up.

Kyungsoo’s protests of no I’m not, I probably ate something bad were ignored in favour of insincere congratulations and more enthusiastic who’s the daddy’s? Unless it’s the year 1984 and Kyungsoo somehow got pregnant through Kris banging someone else (and literally, her wall), then her roommate would be the father. But it isn’t, she can swear upon her grandmother’s treasured recipe book that contains weird yet delicious concoction of Korean and Western foods and sometimes a mixture of both, that she is definitely not pregnant.

But alas nobody listened to her, and she thought she needed to leave anyway, her stomach was killing her, so she said goodbye to everyone and went home.

To her surprise, Jongin was home too. She had expected it to be empty because she knows everyone should be at work at that time. Jongin mirrored her surprise as he looked up when she entered the apartment, “Hey, you’re home!”

She smiled back; her reply was at the very tip of her tongue when she felt something else altogether was coming out. She ran towards the bathroom immediately, hearing footsteps behind her, no doubt Jongin must be panicking too.

She didn’t care then that Jongin was witnessing her throwing out the contents of her stomach, because she saw him simply as a roommate, much like Sehun and Kris. Especially Kris. There could never be embarrassment. He watched her retch, gently pulling back her long hair that she usually ties up but curses, not that day. When she was finally done, he rubbed her back tenderly as she rinsed .

“Are you okay?” he asked worriedly, “What’s wrong?”

He was still holding on to her hair when she turned suddenly to face him, pulling it in the process and she grunted in pain.

“Sorry!” He let go quickly, guilt evident on his face.

“It’s fine,” she chuckled, “And I think I have food poisoning. It’s not too bad. I’ll be okay, don’t worry.”

Somehow his logic when hearing the words ‘don’t worry’ triggered him to worry more instead as he frowned in concern. He promptly pulled her out the bathroom and led her to her bedroom, tucking her in the bed as if she’s a five year old.

“Wait here, I’ll go get water so you'll stay hydrated.”

She watched him leave, complaining that he didn’t even help take her jacket off, it’s hot in her room. Not long after he came back with a large glass of water.

He pushed said glass in her face and forced her to gulp in everything and afterwards, pushed her back to lie down on the bed.

“Sleep,” was all he said.

And Kyungsoo happily complied.

It was when she woke up later in the evening that she walked out to the living room to see Jongin working out, tanned skin exposed glistening with sweat for her to see and muscles she never expected a skinny guy like him to have. It's something she witnessed countless times before, yet she found her heart skip a beat and the air gets knocked out of her.

And that's the moment she suddenly fell in like.

She’s one of those 17 years old giggly girly girls after all. The food must have poisoned her mind too.