Kyungsoo liked working in the Age Care Institution.  He had afternoon shifts on three weekdays and all he had to do for work was talk to everybody there.  Old men and women, who are entrusted into the institution’s care; he treated everybody as if they were his own grandparents. 

“Halmeoni, what did I say about eating your vegetables?” He shakes his head as one of his residents refused to eat her greens.

“I don’t like them.  They’re tasteless,”

“Well,” He takes out a bottle of sauce from his bag and puts a finger to his lips as he adds some onto her meal.  “Will you eat them now?”

“Why, of course,” She cackles and eats them clean, allowing Kyungsoo to take her dirty dishes away.  “Always works on me,”

Chuckling, he winks at her.  “Don’t forget your pills.  And water.  Lots of them,”

“Aigoo, just wash the dishes,” She flaps her hand dismissively but takes her pills obediently, resting for more sleep.

At first, he was a volunteer.  But gradually, everybody there grew fond of him and the staff decided to make him a full-time caretaker, paying him weekly.  The pay wasn’t much, but it was more than enough.  He wasn’t there for the money, anyways.

He was there simply because he liked to be.

A muffled ring came out of his pocket and he fishes his phone out.  “Hello?” He puts his phone between his ear and shoulder, hands occupied with the dishes.

Sehun’s voice come through the line.  ‘Hyung, you busy at work?’

“Just finishing up, why?”

“Come over for dinner at Kai’s,” He invites.

“Is it come over to have dinner or come over to make dinner?” Kyungsoo playfully asks, knowing his friends’ ulterior motive.

A loud “eyyy” comes through the line and he knows that he’s on speakerphone.  “Alright, I’ll be there in 15,” He chuckles.

“Be here in 10!” Kai adds before hanging up.

The plates are now tidily ordered on their respective shelves, along with the cups and glasses and spoons and forks.  Satisfied with his work, Kyungsoo steps outside the kitchen and bids his goodbye towards the other staffs and the residents still outside.  “Remember curfew, guys,” He sighs, evoking laughter from the people around him.  “I’ll be going now, be back in three days,”

“Why doesn’t he have shifts on weekends?” A resident asks.  “I might just be able to invite my granddaughter over and set you two up on a date!”

“Hey, I’ve got my dibs on him first!”

“He’s going to be my grandson-in-law, not yours!”

Shaking his head while chuckling, Kyungsoo salutes the head staff and leaves the building, slipping his arms into his jacket as he makes his way towards Kai’s house.

***

“Man, I wonder why you don’t have a girlfriend,” Kai wonders aloud, chewing his food. 

Kyungsoo, amused, eyes everybody around him while he eats and listens to their chatter. 

Chanyeol swallows his food and points out.  “You’re an amazing cook, you’re great with everybody, you’re so nice, and your voice is outside-of-this-world,” He flips his hair out of his eyes. 

“All that, and you’re single.  Lonely, so lonely in this world,” Baekhyun adds.

The laughing Sehun then finishes for him.  “If he’s lonely, then what are we?”

Kyungsoo follows along in the feat of laughter, along with his close-knit friends. 

They’re what people call ‘the popular guys’.  6 of them; Kai, Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, Sehun, Baekhyun and Suho.  Good-looking, above-average academic skills, active in organizations and sports teams, musically talented, nobody could ask for more.  And yet, every single one of them is not in a relationship.  ‘Haven’t found the right one’ they say, even when the whole school is practically swooning over the way they breathe.  They’re not players, as you’d expect popular guys to be.  On the contrary, they’re very cautious about other people’s feelings.

“Ooh!” Sehun slams his mug onto the table, making everybody jump.  “Sorry, sorry, anyways! Speaking about girlfriends, our Kyungsoo here, has his eyes on somebody,”

The whole table erupts in applause and excited whoops, and Kyungsoo kicks Sehun’s leg under the table, making him hiss in pain.  “Clam it, maknae,”

“He really does, doesn’t he?” Kai nods in amusement.  “So, who is it? Who’s the lucky princess?”

“Hyorin? Hyomin? What was it? Her family name was Son,” Sehun quickly pipes up. 

“Haerin,” Kyungsoo reflexively fixes her name and sighs dejectedly, unable to avoid the talk.  “Son Haerin.  She just, I don’t know, she’s interesting, I guess?”

“That’s good enough,” Baekhyun high fives Chanyeol.

“You’re getting riled up for nothing,” Suho pops into the conversation.  “You know that this one’s a tough nut to break.  He might look interested on the outside, but on the inside,” He shivers playfully.  “Completely empty,”

“He’s so nice to everybody…” Baekhyun says and gestures for Chanyeol to finish.

“Nobody knows who he’s actually nice to,”

“Hey,” Kyungsoo shuts them up.  “Don’t do that,”

“Do what?” The two says in unison, grinning like idiots.

“That,” Kyungsoo rolls his eyes and stands from his seat. 

“You should really fix that, though, hyung,” Sehun says helpfully.

Kai gathers the dishes and walks to the kitchen sink with him.  “I know you’re just being nice and all, but I, um, I meant, we, think that your standard of common courtesy, is too much above normal people’s,”

Kyungsoo slumps, unfocused on the dishes he’s doing.  “I’m just trying to be nice,”

“We know, we know,” Kai chuckles.  “But really, it’ll be such a harm to your future relationships,”

He’s always had that issue.  His parents were psychology majors, so they were very observant.  They would notice the subtlest shift in their only son’s mood and do whatever it is they can to make him the happiest.  Kyungsoo got that habit from his parents; being observant, that is.  He’s the kind who gauges people’s reactions, sits back to quietly watch someone from afar, and make his own conclusions.  It might sound like he’s judging a book by its cover, but that’s not what he means.  He’s just very prone towards the feelings of those around him and he does whatever he takes to please them. 

It might probably be one of the reasons he likes to skip classes and do nothing at the rooftop.

Because there’s nobody to please over there.

okay guys i know it's boring

but i'm trying to you know, introduce our lovely characters to you

get to know them better y'know?

JUST COPE WITH ME PLZ