Papa had an early flight the next day, but he had an out of office meeting with Mr. Kim and Min while we enjoyed Jin's party. After dinner, the three of them excused themselves and went down to Mr. Kim's office for their meeting. Mama and the two other older ladies went down as well for a nightcap. We, the younger ones stayed on the rooftop. This time, J had brought his CD player and loudspeakers up on the rooftop. Namjoon helped him set it up and the two of them acted as DJs. J had a mixer as well. Yoongi went over to check out the system and played with it. He mixed some beats and melody and it turned out pretty good.

Namjoon had said that his Yoongi hyung was the unspoken musician of the family. He never showed his musical inclination in public, and he was kinda bummed at that, because he just recently found out that his hyung was "helluva talented" as he puts it.

The Brat just watched the proceedings and nodded his head to the beat of the music. His older sister and younger brother were more of a company than he was. Jeno was a hit among Jin's school friends, because he taught them some basic Korean phrases. All three of them speak conversational Chinese as well, so it was not hard for Jeno to converse with them.

J also pushed his Jin hyung to the piano and asked him to play one of his compositions. We cheered him on and he went from pink to red in the face. Jimin went to pat his hyung's back and told him that he had to show his hidden talent or else the people around would only think of him as a nerd. Jin had to slap his for that and Jimin was startled and moved away, laughing.

Anyway, papa took more time than he originally planned, so we had to wait for him to finish his meeting before we went home. We stayed in the Kim's living room and I had slouched beside mama while waiting for papa. The other boys had mellowed down as well. They sat perfectly behaved and talked in hushed voices. Jin, as the host and birthday celebrant had waited until we had gone home before he himself went to sleep. He and his eomma kept us company.

J, Jimin and Jungkook were ordered to go to bed by their eomma. I could tell by the looks in their faces that they still wanted to stay awake and keep us company, but Mrs. Kim had been firm.

The Mins had the same plight as us, because their appa was at the meeting, too. Yoongi had gone to sit at the corner couch and reclined. A few minutes later, he was already snoring. Taehyung went to sit beside his hyung and tried to wake him up by pulling his ears. Yoongi slapped his hand away and curled up on the couch. Namjoon went to sit by the glass door leading to the fish pond. Some of my brothers went to sit with him and they talked to keep themselves awake.

We got home almost midnight. We thanked the Kims, especially Jin, for inviting us and for the happy vibe at dinner. Papa had reminded Mr. Kim that their flight was at 6 AM. Mr. Min had said that he was needed in Hong Kong, so he won't leave for Korea until Wednesday. So, we bade them goodnight and set off for home.

When we arrived home, everyone was tired and sleepy. I literally dragged my feet up the stairs. Luhan had to hold my arm, so I won't slip and fall. Chanyeol forgot about being upset over his half a week's allowance loss to Kai. Kai was happy as he reminded Chanyeol that he will be collecting his winnings by Monday.

Chanyeol: I'm broke next week. Someone has to treat me lunch.

Kai: Don't worry hyung. I'll treat you lunch.

Chan: Then you might as well not collect money from me.

Kai: I have witnesses, hyung. You lost.

Chan: Taeyong was....was...I don't know. He sort of lost himself all so suddenly.

Sehun: He was not paying attention to the match.

Chan: Oh? If you just told me, I won't have had placed a bet in the first place.

Sehun: How should I have known? I only realized after I beat him.

Kai: I think it was because Jungkook was sitting so closely to our Xiao Yi.

Chan: Why would he be distracted over that? Unless he likes mei baobei...

And they turned their heads around at me. Luhan glared at them and Chanyeol had to grin widely and made a peace sign, before he continued walking up the stairs.

Once I was in my room, I hurriedly got my pajamas and ran to the bathroom. I wanted to be the first to wash up, so I could go to sleep right away. I was lucky because none of the boys got there first, so I was able to wash up and got ready for bed.

The next morning, I woke up sort of late. When I checked my watch on the bedside table, it was already half past eight in the morning. Papa have already left for Korea, then. The house was in its usual chaos. Especially because papa was not present. I guess mama was not home either, because if she was, I would have heard her scold at least one of them. Luhan was probably out too. I couldn't hear him. Or maybe the house was just too noisy that I couldn't hear his voice.

Someone was playing rock songs too loud. My suspects were Baek, Chen and Chanyeol. I could also hear an electric guitar playing along with the music. I was glad there was no drumset in the house, otherwise, it would sound as if we were inside a dance club or entertainment center.

I was still in my pajamas when I went down. I didn't meet anyone on the second floor. When I got to the first floor, the media room was open and I could see Chanyeol's back and he was holding an electric guitar and banging his head with the loud rock music. Then I saw a foot peek from the door. Someone was lazily lying around by the door. I walked over to the stairs and I saw that the foot belonged to Tao. Downstairs was a different story. Kyungsoo and Baek had rolled down the blinds in the living room and was watching a movie. They were both sprawled on each couch and each hugged a pillow. The volume was so loud that you could barely distinguish the movie from the electric guitar. As it turned out, mama and the oldies were not in the house.

Since the three oldies were mostly in papa's office that whole week, they hadn't had time to practice their sports, so they decided to meet up with their co-members to practice. Mama had gone to the pedia center because of a call from the nurse. Mama was not yet a full-fledged doctor, but because of her knowledge, they trusted her to help at the center. Mrs. Min was the resident doctor at the pedia where mama was, and I bet she had asked for mama to come and help her.

I didn't know where the other boys were. Suho was nowhere in sight either. I guessed he was just too tired from last night that he was still probably sleeping, as was Kai and Chen. The three of them just participated in the school's first of the holiday theater plays, and went to the party. I could only imagine how tired they were. Kai was a deep sleeper, so not even the amount of noise the others were making right now would wake him up. Maybe not unless someone shook him and play the electric guitar in his room.

I didn't see Lay and Sehun inside the house. I decided to go out the front door and sit under the tree shade. I didn't feel hungry, so I didn't go to eat breakfast. The two were not out the front lawn, either. Maybe they were in the back or in their rooms, I didn't know. I lounged on the chair and started counting clouds that were passing by. It was sort of felt like a laid back Sunday. Well, except for the noise inside the house.

Then the buzzer rang. I waited until someone from inside the house go to get it. Then I realized that because of the noise, no one would hear it. The househelp were probably in the laundry room and not able to hear, so I lazily got up and walked to the gate. Before I opened it, I checked first from the small monitor that was installed just by the keyhole.

Soo Taeyong was standing outside the gate.

What was he doing here?

I opened the gate a little.

Me: What are you doing here?

Him: Can I not come and visit?

Me: Why would you visit?

Him: I am expected to visit you.

Me: Who told you?

Him: Appa told me to come here today.

Me: You know you didn't have to.

Him: But I wanted to.

Me: But I don't want you to.

Him: Too late. My driver just dropped me off. I can't go back.

Me: Call him back.

Him: He's supposed to drive nuna and Jeno to the mall.

Me: The mall doesn't open until nine.

Him: It's almost nine.

Me: Grrrrr....

Him: Let me in.

I opened the gate and he walked in. I closed it and stared at him. He stood in front of me and raised an eyebrow. He was assessing my state of Sunday morning awesomeness in pajamas.

Holy .

I was still in my pajamas.

Him: Wow.

Me: Shut up.

Him: Hahahah. You look...smashing.

Me: Grrrrr...

I punched him in the arm.

Him: Hey! Do that again and you'll regret it.

Me: You are in my property, therefore I have every right to do whatever I want.

Him: Show me your papers.

Me: Shut up...ughh...

He looked up at the house and smirked.

Him: Somebody's having a rock concert, huh?

Me;: Yo oppa.

Him: Who?

Me: Chanyeol oppa.

Him: Oh...

And without warning, he started walking towards the front door and the doorknob so he could go inside.

What the?

Arrogant piece of Korean brat!

Me: Who invited you to go in there?

Him: Oh, am I not allowed to go inside?

Me: No, you are not.

Him: Pshhhh..don't be so childish.

Me: Who are you calling childish, you...?

Him: Come on, let's go in.

And he pushed open the door. I could do nothing anymore, so I just followed him. He must have been shocked to see Kyungsoo and Baek on the couch watching a movie that was as loud as Chanyeol's rock concert upstairs.

Him: Oh, what do we have here?

He made it sound like he owned the house and had just found out his staff had been idle. I went to sit by Kyungsoo's feet. My brother looked up to see who it was that came inside the house with me. Baek also looked up and when he saw that it was Taeyong, he just waved his hand and continued watching. Kyungsoo sat up slowly and raised a hand to acknowledge the brat intruder.

Taeyong sat himself on one of the armchairs and watched the movie as well. He seemed to like the movie, because he laughed at some parts and I thought he looked like a nice guy when he laughed.

No. You are not nice.

It was weird not having a shocked expression from my brothers. It was as if they were expecting him to come here.

Wait.

Did they know he was coming here today?

Was I the only one who don't know?

I went upstairs, and didn't even look back at him. Ughhh... I went to take a bath and changed my clothes before I went back down. Why did he have to come here? I went to the kitchen and checked for food. Suho was already awake and was sitting on the kitchen counter, eating his breakfast. I guessed he came down while I was taking a bath. He still had bed hair and he turned the TV in the kitchen on. He was watching an anime channel. If you were not part of this family, you would wonder how we are able to watch and concentrate when there are other sounds around you. But Suho enjoyed the anime program he was watching, even if he could hear the movie and music around him. He didn't even bother to scold the boys. It was Sunday, after all. And papa and mama were not in the house. Luhan, Kris and Xiumin were not in the house, too. As long as he saw that there was no trouble, then there was no reason for him to scold anyone.

It actually felt like I was in a rock concert, because of the electric guitar. The neighbors would have buzzed in or banged on the gate if they were bothered by the noise. But nothing of that sort happened. Although, buzzing in wouldn't help anyway.

Suho: You haven't eaten your breakfast yet?

Me: Nope.

Suho: Okay, wait. You sit down.

And he got up and went to prepare breakfast for me. I went to sit on the other stool beside his and waited. The others probably had eaten breakfast already. I turned to look at the brat who was watching the movie with my brothers. I could see part of his face from where I was sitting. He looked so relaxed sitting there like it was his house. I could see him smile at what he was watching.

You should smile more, you know.

I went back to watching Suho as he prepared breakfast for me. I fought the urge to look back at the brat again, so I went to transfer seats.

Suho: Do you want fruits with that?

Me: Nope, it's okay.

Suho: I think Kyung had prepared sliced peaches...I saw some...oh, here you go.

Me: Hmm...alright. I'll have some.

Suho: Were you awake when papa left?

Me: Nope.

Suho: Ahh...how about mama?

Me: Nope.

Suho: Do you know where mama is?

Me: Pedia center.

Suho: Oh. Will she be home for lunch?

Me: I don't know.

Suho: Hmmm. I'll just call her later then.

Me: She probably will have lunch out.

Suho: Yeah, probably. You wanna come with me?

Me: Where?

Suho: I gotta do grocery for this week.

Me: I...err...

Suho: Busy?

Me: Well, there's...

Suho: There's what?

Me: Not what, but who.

Suho: Huh? What who?

Me: Soo Taeyong.

Suho: What about him?

Me: *whisper* He's here.

Suho: Huh? Ta na-er?

Me: Watching the movie...

And he turned his head towards the living room. When he saw the brat, he opened his mouth probably to say a greeting, but decided to just keep quiet. It was probably too late for a greeting because it was at least more than thirty minutes that he was downstairs, yet he didn't see the brat.

Suho: I didn't see him when I went down the stairs.

Me: He was there even before I went back upstairs to take a bath.

Suho: What is he do-? Oh...yeah...right.

Me: You know about it?

Suho: Uhm...hmmm...yeah...well...

Me: Who else knows?

Suho: I think all of us know.

Me: I feel so outdated. I'm always the last to know.

Suho: Mei baobei, don't think about it. Whatever you decide in the end, I will support you.

Me: Gege, I don't know...

Suho: Then don't think about it.

Me: You know how papa is.

Suho: Papa is breaking his own rule. You can break it, too.

Me: What do you mean?

Suho: He has his no dating rule until you're 17, right?

Me: Yes. Then?

Suho: Then he breaks it with...matchmaking you with...him.

Me: ...you forgot there are two of them.

Suho: Oh yeah. Them.

Me: Then what do you mean by breaking it, too?

Suho: Stick with his first rule. If he gets mad, tell him you only follow the original rule. This new one is him breaking his own rule, therefore, there is no reason for him to get mad at you.

Me: Won't papa ship me off somewhere if I don't follow him?

Suho: You won't get shipped anywhere. I promise you that.

Me: I'm actually scared, gege.

Suho: We all are scared of papa orz.

Me: But you said...

Suho: Don't worry, even if I'm scared of him, I'll be backing you up.

Me: Xiexie ni.

Suho: Actually, all of us are gonna back you up.

Me: You are talking behind me, you know that?

Suho: Only when the topic is not for underaged.

Me: I'm not the only underaged here.

Suho: But you are our only girl.

I snorted at that, and he tousled my hair. He urged me to eat more and he got more fruit slices as well. He burped loudly. Kinda normal when papa was not home. No one dared burp like that in front of papa. Well, except maybe Baek or Chen. LOL.

Midday and I went out the front lawn. The movie done, Taeyong followed me outside. The boys had gone upstairs to take a bath. Baek had asked the other boys to go to the park and do some skateboard practice drills. Chanyeol had turned off his rock music and was now singing Frank Sinatra with Tao. Talk about randomness. Normal Sunday without papa in the house.

Kai and Chen had woken up and were now eating late breakfast. Sehun was in the backyard all this time with Lay. I guess they were escaping the noise inside the house that time.

I sat at the table under the tree. Taeyong had sat on the chair across me. He kept eyeing me with amusement. It was awkward. He didn't really speak. He just kept staring at me and chuckling to himself. I laid my head on the table and faced the other way. He tapped my head. I shrugged. He tapped my head again.

Me: What?

Him: Wanna go skateboarding?

Me: You're kidding, right?

Him: No. I'm serious.

Me: I don't know how to skate.

Him: I can teach you.

Me: I already have a teacher.

Him: Jungkook?

Me: Yes.

Him: I'm a better teacher.

Me: Show off.

Him: So, you admit I'm better than him.

Me: No.

Him: But you picked me.

Me: Lucky star, maybe.

Him: Fangyang de xingxing...

Me: Yeah.

Him: You're lucky. I'm the star.

Me: Yeah right.

Him: I'm not done yet.

Me: Huh?

Him: I'm your lucky star.

And he chuckled.

Cheesy.

I didn't know that brats can be cheesy, too. I straightened up and narowed my eyes at him. He stared back. It reminded me of the time when he stared like this. It was Chanyeol's birthday. If Jungkook hadn't asked me to go outside with him, I would have won that staring contest. Today, there was no Jungkook to...ahemm...interrupt. I would win this.

He raised an eyebrow at me and leaned forward. I leaned backward. He laughed.

Him: Coward.

Me: At least three feet away, juseyo.

Him: Hahahah. Fine. You're still a coward.

Me: I'm not.

Him: Then don't step back.

I could sense he was testing me. I didn't give in. I remained where I was and stared back. He was doing some little movements with his mouth as he chuckled. It made his eyes look fierce, by the way.

Damn you.

Why did you have to have those eyes?

Him: So, wanna go skateboarding?

Me: Like I said, I don't know how to.

Him: Like I said, I'll teach you.

Me: Like I said, I already have a teacher.

Him: Like I said, I'm a better teacher.

Me: You are annoying.

Him: I know, right

Me: I hate you.

Him: I...like...annoying you.

I wanted to look away and go back inside the house, but I didn't want to lose to him in this staring contest, so I took a deep breath and slammed my fist on the table.

Me: I will never pick you, then.

Him: Ouch.

Me: Are you scared?

Him: No.

Me: Jinjja?

Him: Yes.

Me: Right. You have a heart of stone.

Him: Wanna see what my heart is made of?

Me: No.

Him: You might be surprised it's not made of stone.

Me: Ice, then?

Him: Nope.

Me: What?

Him: Wanna see?

Me: No.

Him: Okay. But soon, I'll let you see. Even if you don't want to.

Me: Keep dreaming.

Him: *softly* Yeah...that's what I'm doing now.

Fuuu...!

You are playing with my feels.

I wanted to punch him. I already closed my fist and was ready to punch him, but before I could, the buzzer rang. Sehun was the one who ran outside and got to the gate. Namjoon and Taehyung appeared with skateboards.

Sehun: Come in. Let's wait for the others.

Namjoon: I thought we were the last.

Sehun: No.

Namjoon: Okay. Cool.

He and Sehun went inside the house. Taehyung saw me and Taeyong and went to sit at the other empty chair.

Taehyung: Annyeong.

Me: Hi.

Taeyong: Yeah.

Taehyung: What are you doing here?

TY: Me?

TH: Yes.

TY: I'm supposed to be here.

TH: Okay. Hey, Xiao Yi, remember that book?

Me: Which one?

TH: You forgot already?

And his face fell.

Me: I'm kidding. Of course I remember. What about it?

TH: Are you done reading it?

Me: Yes. I keep forgetting to return it to you.

TH: Ah, it's okay. I'm still trying to recall the story. Can you forget about testing me on that?

Me: Hahaha. No. We had a deal.

TH: Sheesh. Okay. But not right away.

Me: Tomorrow?

TH: We have group work, right?

Me: Yes.

TH: Ne...ne...okay...

Taeyong looked left out, but if he did, he didn't say it out loud. He just leaned back on his chair and kept staring at me. If his stares could bore a hole, my face would be hollow by now. I glanced at him for a second or two and saw that he winked at me.

Grrrrrrrr...

Taehyung had looked over his shoulder, because he heard Chanyeol go out of the house with his skateboard scraping the driveway.

Buzz! Buzz!

Two buzzes, meaning, it wasn't one of us. Chanyeol went to open the gate.

Chanyeol: Yo! Wassup?

The Kims have arrived. I slowly moved my chair farther away from view, but failed. The first person I saw who entered was him. He was grinning handsomely. Jimin and J followed.

I'm not okay.

His head had automatically turned towards us. It was like there was a magnet that made him turn his head to where I was sitting, because his eyes didn't scan the area. It met mine right away.

Did he have powers or something?

Taehyung raised his hand and called out to the Kims.

"You ready to scrape the pavement?"

A pretty long chapter. And there's another chapter I'm puttingup after this. Sorry for the time lapse of updating. I'm starting to get busy again, you know. Hehehe. Anything I missed will be in the story feed. ^_^