chapter five            














as the dormmates fell asleep to the hisses of their annoyed friend, all of them bore happy thoughts on how they could start a new life there. 

ji-ae awoke before dawn broke. she was always the cautious one and liked to plan her activities in advance. as she slid out of bed, she felt queer seeing unfamiliar faces all around her. she groaned as she stretched out her limbs, getting rid of the numbness. tiffany stirred as she felt ji-ae move away from the bed. forcing an eye open, tiffany rasped, "good morning.. you cow." ji-ae didn't like to wake up early in the mornings but she somehow felt responsible for the rest of her dormmates. "ji-ae.. why do you make things so hard for yourself.." she whispered to herself as she trudged into the kitchen. ji-ae had this inert ability to look out for others before herself and she couldn't control it. she couldn't see it herself. she naturally took it upon her to save the world. 

as she made breakfast for the rest of her dormmates - two pancakes, two pieces of toasted bread, two bowls of cereal with a side of milk and milo to go around, a girl flounced into the kitchen, already in her school uniform, with her bag slung over her shoulder. she took one look at the dishes on the table and swiped up a piece of toast, only pausing to nod at ji-ae, grabbing the rest of her books and turning to leave the dorm. "come and let's have breakfast together!" ji-ae stopped her at the door. "we haven't even gotten to know your name!" the girl cocked her head and stared up at ji-ae. "I'm kwon minah. I've got a consultation with a professor before class.. so if you'll excuse me.." Minah didn't look like she was waiting for an answer as she stepped past ji-ae through the door. resigned, ji-ae took off her apron and hung it up on the convenient hook near the kitchen sink. she placed the plates neatly around the table before walking towards the beds. 

climbing up to the bunk bed above hers, she watched as the girl tossed in bed and bit her lips nervously. the spirit that had been following her around since the first day was with her as well, both snuggled in together under the blankets. "eunji.. breakfast's ready.. rise and shine!" ji-ae coaxed as the younger rubbed her eyes in confusion. when she finally gathered her thoughts, she sniffed the air and exclaimed, "unnie good morning! ahh- I should've been the one to prepare breakfast!" ji-ae shook her head and smiled as the apparition gave a yawn as well. "eunji seems so much more confident when she's half-asleep!" ji-ae mused as she moved on to the next bed right opposite her own. the girl in that particular bed was sprawled ungracefully over the covers, her hair tousled and messy. "kymin-ah.." ji-ae shook her gently awake. "breakfast's ready.." kymin was quick to respond, only uttering for "another five minutes pleaseeee.." before burying her head under the pillows. ji-ae sighed with amusement in her voice as she climbed to reach the bunk bed above kymin's. the girl was hugging a panda-bear close to her chest, smiling sweetly as if in a dream. ji-ae almost couldn't bear to wake her up. "hyusu.." she cooed as the girl blnked. "I've prepared breakfast.. let's eat together?" hyusu sat up immediately, rubbing her eyes as she gasped, "ahh I wanted to cook for y'all! ahh- opps komapwo unnie! I'll cook next time!" hyusu was still half-asleep as she made her way down her bunk bed. ji-ae swung herself onto the last bunk bed, stepping on the bed previously occupied by minah. the girl had her earphones on and soothing music could be heard playing from them. around her, soft toys decorated her bed. ji-ae carefully removed her earphones and whispered, "chaebyul.. it's morning.. let's have breakfast together!" the girl woke with a start as she scrambled to find her earphones. "are you feeling better yet?" ji-ae asked as she held out the earphones. chaebyul seemed dazed as she nodded gratefully at ji-ae. she was still reserved and shy. ji-ae left her  alone to wash up with a kindly smile. walking back to the kitchen table, she prodded the still-sleeping kymin, only to have her ask for "another five minutesssss" in bed. exasperated, ji-ae dragged kymin off the bed gently and stood her up. kymin swayed unsteadily on her feet before wearily padding to the bathroom. "the bathroom's THAT side!" ji-ae quickly turned kymin around before she crashed headfirst into the kitchen wall. 

as they took turns using the bathroom, ji-ae busied herself tidying the beds. The girls had gone to wash up first but ji-ae had noticed that eunji had already made her bed; the covers of the others were folded neatly over the bed with some under their pillows while kymin's bed was a disaster. books were strewn everywhere under the blankets and the covers were all twisted. "how does this girl sleep?" ji-ae groaned as she stacked the books and straightened the covers. washing up was a fairly quick affair and soon enough, all of them were done. the girls filed one by one into the kitchen as they sat themselves down at the dining table. eunji scooped up a spoonful of cereal and popped it into before she remembered that there were elders at the table. with a mouthful of food, she sputtered, "unnies, have a nice breakfast!" the other girls smiled in return and called out for the elders to dig in as well. "thankyou unnie.." chaebyul glanced up at ji-ae shyly before biting into the toast. younju smiled at her across the table. while chaebyul gulped in shock, she bobbed her head a little to  acknowledge the spirit. kymin was dozing off at the breakfast table while hyusu sliced her pancakes into smaller pieces. the girls had left the pancakes for the elder girls. hyusu was having trouble with the knife and was afraid of making too much noise. ji-ae gently beckoned her to pass over her plate. hyusu looked at her gratefully while ji-ae slid her own plate over, with bite-sized pieces neatly cut out. hyusu nudged kymin as the latter threatened to overturn her bowl of cereal as her elbows slid off the table. kymin groggily dug into her breakfast. 

"unnies.. aren't we missing one member?" chaebyul voiced timidly but wondered about the last member. had she not forgiven them for their prank on her yesterday? ji-ae smiled as she noted that the younger was warming up to them. "she left in the morning.. for a consultation with her professor.." chaebyul nodded. ji-ae passed slices of pancakes around the table as she initiated conversation. "I found the recipe for these raspberry pancakes online! I had some once at a cafe and it was so good I wanted to share them with everyone!" ji-ae confessed. eunji excitedly waved her hand around. "I search online for recipes as well! I love pastries.. I have to make some for all of y'all one day!" her eyes brightened as she thought about the pastries. hyusu grinned as she joined in the sudden fervour for cooking. she loved to cook for her family. she didn't have any friends at her previous school but now she had the chance to share her love for cooking with her dormmates. kymin drawled lazily as she gobbled the last of her cereal, "I can be the taster.. I can't cook.." chaebyul gave a quiet giggle, "I haven't tried cooking before.. but I eat when I'm stressed.." she brightened up as she suggested, "we could all cook together!" the girls all clapped in glee as they bobbed their heads.

just then, the door to the dorm swung open. minah stood at the doorway, frowning while the girls froze mid-laugh. "w-welcome back!" ji-ae was caught by surprise as well. "do you want more breakfast? we were just finishing up.." minah growled as she stared at them with distaste.

"what a racket first thing in the morning."    

co-author's note:     heyyyy so here's the fifth chapter! ^^ T'm trying to get the dormmates closer together and trying to introduce problems into the story! :) and I bet y'all can guess who's story arc I'm going to write about first! thank you all of y'all for staying by! I hope you're enjoying the story!~ look out for the next chapter by sherr! ^^