I sighed and plopped down onto the couch beside my brother, “Why did that take so long to do?” When breakfast had finally finished Jongdae and Sehun dutifully followed me across the street to my apartment building that often housed mangerial staff. I had been given a third floor corner apartment that was spacious enough that it wouldn't feel cramped with all of my possessions, but it wasn't so big that I would feel lonely.

“Not too bad,” Chen had remarked, “I'm sure when the twelve of us come to visit we could all fit comfortably.” I had rolled my eyes in response. Every time those boys came over I was sure that my fridge would be emptied and my apartment left as a disaster zone. It was something that was just expected from teenage boys.

By the time the moving truck showed up with my belongings Suho had managed to drag over the rest of the boys to help out, all of them fully awake this time and oozing charm. 

Even with all of their help it had taken a little over five hours to get everything up to my apartment and set up. Currently they were all sprawled all over my living room.

“Why'd you bring so much stuff?” Chen groaned, face hidden in the couch cushion.

“Please Jongdae, you know half of it was stuff you wanted me to bring.” I scoffed and pushed him slightly.

“I didn't think it would be that much...”

“Obviously.”

I looked at the tired boys laying all around the room. I was supposed to start working with them tomorrow and yet all the interaction I had had with them was getting blindingly drunk with them and have them help me move into my house. Eesh.

“So,” I started, a bit nervously, and watched as they all turned their heads towards me, “Since I'm going to be working with you all quite a bit, how about I get to know everyone?”

Suho sat up and nodded, “That would be a good idea. I mean, we are going to be working closely together, so we should get to know each other well.”

It had taken over an hour. An entire hour to get through all of them. What should have been a ten minute introduction turned into an exercise in patience whenever one of the boys decided to interject on who the others actually were. Supposedly.

“Tao is actually a panda that was transformed into a human, don't let him fool you.”

“Sehun eats small children to sustain his life force. That's why he's so bratty all the time.”

“D.O is an actual demon. Don't piss him off or he'll seriously poison you out of spite.”

“Lay doesn't actually mispronounce things. He just uses it as an excuse to insult us secretly.”

“Chanyeol can actually use his ears to fly. Honestly.”

“Luhan and Suho are the best at girl group dances. They're really not that manly. At all.”

“Baekhyun and Chen sacrifice small animals to keep their voices sounding good.”

“Xiumin is a devious little bastard. Don't believe anything he says.”

“Kris likes to pretend he's this really cool guy when- OW!”

“Kai likes to pretend that Sehun's brattiness hasn't rubbed off on him, but that's bull.”

By the time they were through I was simultaneously exhausted and amused. These ones were going to be a handful, I could tell.

Eventually they had migrated back to their dorm after giving me my own interrogation until I reminded them that I literally had the same childhood as Jongdae, and squishing me in a large group hug, still bickering slightly as they left the building. Chen had stayed back, still shouting down the hall at s.

He turned to me as watched, amused, “These guys...”

I laughed, “They're very lively, that's for sure. No wonder why you enjoy being around them.”

Chen grinned and leaned against the counter, “We're all family, basically. So of course we're going to goof off a bit whenever we're all together. Since our new single is about to come out we've been able to stick together and we tend to get a bit out of control, since that hasn't happened for a while.”

I nodded, “I like it though, you're all so different that it's somehow refreshing to see so many different personalities working together like that.”

He ruffled my hair, “I'm glad. I know that they already like you based on your drunken shenanigans alone,” I groaned, which he ignored, “Plus they seem to like that you bully me, so I guess that's something.” He finished with a pout.

I snorted, hopping onto the counter next to him, “Right, and how often do you screw around with them then?”

“Are you kidding me? They bully me all the time! I'm like public enemy number one!” He cried, “All of them do it!”

I laughed, “Really now? Mischievous, bratty Jongdae is getting pushed around? I never thought I'd see the day!” I teased, poking at his sides. “I guess that means you need my help to get them back?”

His eyes lit up, “Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?”

“Nothing that will get me fired.” I warned.

“Let the era of the Kim Siblings begin!” He crowed, punching his fist in the air.

Oh dear, I thought, amused, watching my brother dance around my kitchen , what have I gotten myself into?

 

Week 1:

 

 

Suho:

[21:08] i'm really glad that you've joined on with us I ^^, now i can have someone other than Kris help me keep your troublesome brother in line...i'm charging you interest for his misdeeds.

 

Sent:

[21:10] would it help if I torture him for the rest of his life in return? I'd like to not have to make it up to you for the rest of mine...

 

Suho:

[21:11] I think we have a deal Miss Kim.

 

Sent:

[21:12] good. Wait, I just remembered something...SHOULDN'T YOU BE SLEEPING?? STOP SETTING A BAD EXAMPLE FOR YOUR MEMBERS AND GO TO BED JOONMYEON.

 

Suho:

[21:12] ^^ yes, mother.

 

Sent:

[21:13] SLEEP.

 

 

 

I tugged on my fringe and checked over if my converse-jeans-blouse-blazer combo was going to be good enough for the day. Exo's manager had called my the night before and told my to not worry about dressing nice and just wear comfortable clothes. Apparently the boys just had a couple meetings at the S.M building and were scheduled to be theree the entire day for various rehearsals and styling appointments.

First days are the actual worst. I picked up my bag, staring at my reflection one last time in the mirror before deciding to go. I was to meet the boys at their dorm so they could all get to S.M and branch out into their respective areas. My job was to check in on the boys every now and then in between my work to make sure they weren't unnecessarily screwing around (coughcough Chen and Baekhyun coughcough) and then get down to work with the management and visual team. Apparently there was a large project in the works for the boys and they wanted it to go off without a hitch, not to mention the upcoming promotion for the release of their new single.

Exiting my building and hurriedly crossing the street, I was greeted with the sight of twelve drowsy boys waiting on their doorstep. I raised my thermos of coffee and waved, “Good morning, boys!”

I was greeted with incoherent mumbles and lazy waves, Suho and Jongdae making their way over to me.

My brother draped himself over me, head resting on my shoulder, “Noona, I'm tired. Let me go back in and sleep some more.” I winced at the annoying whine in his voice and pushed him off.

“Don't be annoying.” I ruffled his hair as he pouted back at me, “Let me guess, you stayed up too late goofing off when you should have been sleeping, right?”

He scoffed, “I was staying up late worrying about my darling sister in her new apartment, thank you very much!”

I raised an eyebrow and turned to Suho, who laughed, “He and Lay were too busy screwing around on the internet to go to sleep.” I shot him a look, remembering his own refusal to go to bed early when texting me. He sent me an impish smile in return.

“Hyung! Wae!” I laughed at Jongdae's yelp and locked my arm around his neck and poked him in the side.

“Worried about your sister, huh? Do you kiss our mom with that lying mouth of yours?” I continued poking him, much to his distress, until the vans pulled up and the other boys surrounded us, finally awake enough to look amused.

“Hyung, how does it feel to have the tables finally you?” Sehun had come up beside us, casually draping his arm over me, “Good morning, Noona.”

I laughed and pushed his arm off of me, ruffling his hair as well, ignoring his chagrined look, “Morning, my adorable little dongsaeng.”

“What the hell are you talking about, maknae? You pull the same I do!” Chen was glaring at the boy from my side, “And who gave you permission to act so casually around my sister? Do I need to chop off that hand?”

Sehun opened his mouth to retort, but stopped when the manager driving one of the vans honked several times.

“Alright,” I clapped my hands, “Come on boys, into the vans. You have a long day ahead of you and you might as well get to it!”

“How do you have so much energy...?” Sehun grabbed my thermos and took a swig, “It's unnatural.”

I swiped the thermos back, “Ew, don't drink from my cup. I don't want your gross Sehun germs. And it's called sleeping eight hours a night. Something you all might want to try once in a while.” I glanced at the haggard faces climbing into the vans around me, “You all need it well enough.”

I sat myself in the passenger seat of the Exo-M van, smiling at the manager driving before buckling in.

“Eun Mi-ssi, did you get the paperwork I sent over last night?” He asked lightly, pulling back out into the road.

I nodded, “Mm! I reviewed it all last night!”

He whistled, “All of it?”

“Yeah, I wanted to be up to speed with what's happening. I don't like stumbling around in the dark much.” I glanced back to check on the boys to see that most of them had gone back to sleep, except for my brother and Lay. I hadn't interacted much with him, but from Chen's countless emails he was apparently hilarious. While I had been watching he looked up from his phone and flashed me a smile, dimple flashing out at me.

Awww. That dimple was deadly. Covering stare, I grinned back before turning back to the manager, Im Hyunkun, “So will we be just reviewing the plans for that big project today then, Hyunkun-ssi?”

“Yes. But you have some other responsibilities. I want you down with the visual team for the other half of the day, they were saying how they wanted to finish up the wardrobe planning. They filmed their newest MV last month and it's getting released at the end of this month, August 1st, specifically.”

I nodded, “So from what I remember, we're going to have them looking the same as the video for a little while, and then film the second MV later this month, right?”

Hyunkun nodded, “Good girl, you really did read it all. Also there is the big project that we're going to start in September, so be prepared for that. It's going to pretty insane from here on out. Performances and appearances everyday." He sighed, “I'm getting tired just thinking about it.”

I smiled, “Don't worry, I'll be right there with you Hyunkun-ssi! Fighting!” I raised my fist, a playful smirk on my face. The man laughed along side me and refocused himself on his driving.

“So,” The man started talking again when we reached a stop light, “Chen never really told us much about you. He just kept going on about how adorable his sister was and how we had all better watch out for the reign of terror he was planning with you at his side.” He spared an amused glance at me, “Which I don't have to worry about, right?”

I shook my head, “Only Jongdae has to be worried. I promise to be professional when I'm on the job,” I paused, thinking, “But I do reserve my right to hit Jongdae if he's being an idiot.”

“Yah! Wae?” my brother piped up from the back, “That's no way to talk about your older brother! And we have a promise!” I grinned and turned back to him, “Then behave yourself!”

Lay chuckled and I couldn't help my grin growing bigger at the sight of that dimple, “See, Lay agrees with me!”

The boy shook his head, hands coming up, despite his smile, “Oh no, don't get me involved in this. I'm not going to get in the middle of a war.”

I pouted a bit, “So you're going to leave me to the dogs? Throw me under the bus, so to speak? Hang me out to dry?” The boy's smile grew and he laughed again.

“Hey that's no fair, you can't pout like that! That's cheating!” Chen exclaimed from beside him.

I turned to him, grinning, “Oh like you haven't used aegyo to get your way, Chen. Don't pull that bull with me!”

My brother huffed and turned away, mumbling something that sounded like, “Cheater.”

I turned back to the front and grinned at the manager who was chuckling a bit, “So you're just like Chen then?”

“Yah!” I protested, “I like to think that I am much better than him! I don't scream and whine all the time like he does!”

“I'll give you that one.” Lay remarked from the back, “It get's a bit tiring on the ears.”

“Hyuuung~!” I laughed at my brother's whine.

Hyunkun laughed, “Well I have to say I'm glad you're not as bad as him,” He ignored the grumbling coming from the back, “But tell me about yourself, Eun Mi, I can call you that, right?”

I nodded, “I'm not sure what you want to know, though.”

“Well when you first signed on with us I noticed that you already had a file. You had auditioned with Chen, right? And you got in. I guess I want to know why you didn't join as a trainee.” He turned the wheel as they merged onto the highway, “Apparently they were as impressed with you as they were with him.”

I nodded before noticing my brother leaning forward in his seat to hear the conversation. He had never really understood why I had declined the offer, either.

I thought about it for a moment. Jongdae and I had always been together with one exception: when he had singing lessons I would be at my dance classes. We had taught each other what we knew and over the years we could be found in empty practice studios together, practicing until we dropped and our voices went hoarse. We had always shared the same dream, to become performers together.

When we had auditioned, though, something hadn't felt right to me. I loved the idea of performing in front of a huge crowd, still did, but I still didn't feel as though becoming a trainee was my path. It was my brother's. So when we had both gotten a call from S.M and I had turned mine down, Jongdae was more than confused. What had been our dream was now his, and he was feeling more than a little abandoned. I understood it, but I didn't quite understand my motivations. I decided that I needed to know more about me, just me, the me I was without Jongdae, before I could even commit to something like becoming a trainee. I knew who I was with my twin, my reactions and dreams, but not who I could be without him.

The idea of not being with my twin for the first time in eighteen years terrified me, and I had often cried about it at night, especially when my acceptance letter from a performing arts university in America came in the mail. Jongdae and I had sat in my room for what seemed like hours staring at the piece of paper. I had quietly whispered, “I'm going,” and my brother had gripped me in a tight embrace (I swore to this day that I felt tears soaking into my shirt), and soon I felt tears streaming down my face as I hugged him tightly in return.

The next day he moved into the trainee dorms and I was on a plane to America. I studied dance and production there, still loving the way performing made my feel, along with some singing classes. I ended up majoring in performing arts with a minor in production management, wrangling internships in a few of the huge music companies based in L.A.

At the end of it all I had many offers in the states, but this time I finally knew what I wanted to with myself. Especially when I caught sight of my exhausted brother running into my graduation, huge smile plastered on his face.

“I guess,” I finally responded, “I just wanted to figure out exactly who I was, so I could properly come back and show everyone just who I had become.”

I saw my brother start to smile widely at me from the corner of my eyes and I smiled earnestly back at him. God, that cheeseball.

“I can arrange another audition for you if you'd like,” Hyunkun started, but I cut him off.

“Thank you, but no. Right now, what I want most is to work with my brother towards his dream.” My grin slid into a smirk, remembering my promise to Suho, “And terrorize him a bit while I'm here, of course.”

 

 

While the outside of the S.M building might not have been the most impressive the inside was somewhere I could get lost in. I trailed behind my brother with wide eyes as they strolled through the building. Hyunkun subtly shifted my in the opposite direction the boys were going and I sent them a small wave, “Practice hard! Fighting!”

Chen grinned at my before shouting back, causing others in the lobby to turn and look at us, “Saranghae Eun! Have a good first day of work!”

My eyebrow twitched as I hurriedly turned around and stalked towards their elevator, “He wants to die, I'm sure of it...that little troll.”

Hyunkun chuckled beside me, “Welcome to the family.”

---

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Saranghae!!