Pascucci Cafe, Gangnam-gu

"We aren't kicked out."

"Wait, then what was Hansol spazzing out for?"

"The dorms are infested. Chan's bug houses all fell over."

"His ant farms? That's kinda gross..."

Seungcheol had met up with Joshua and Dalasini at the cafe to thank her and explain the issue he had called about. She just listened, wondering if Chan had brought any of those ants with him to her apartment. Just like Joshua had done the day before, Seungcheol had bought her a drink before she got there. But I don't like coffee. Yoogeun sat in her lap, eating (making a mess of) the cupcake Seungcheol had bought for him.

"It's really gross. There were ants in Jihoon's shoes."

"He's going to kill Chan."

"I thought about doing it myself, that's when I realized the three of you weren't back yet."

"Sorry, I didn't plan on that. But Hansol and Chan wanted to stay and Dalasini was really patient with them."

Seungcheol looked over at her for the first time since they had all greeted each other, "I forgot to thank you in person for that. Thank you. These kids can be a handful, I know."

"It wasn't a big deal, really. It was nice to have someone to keep me company and help with the baby."

"I was going to ask about him." Seungcheol reached over, messing with Yoogeun's hair while the baby finished smearing cupcake icing on his own face. "What's the story with this one?"

"Joshua helped me get a job as his babysitter. I wanted to repay him for that too, that's a part of why I let them stay at my place for the night."

"Well, you did me a real favor. I thought they had gotten into trouble."

Dalasini noticed that, even though he was the same age as Joshua, Seungcheol had a very fatherly aura around him. That must have been what made him so easy to talk to, it was almost like talking to an older brother. Yoogeun started pulling at her hair again, with traces of icing still on his hands. Eew...his hands are sticky. 

"Seungcheol, what are we going to do about the dorms?" Joshua spoke up for the first time in a while, probably having spent the duration of their conversation trying to solve that problem.

"Everything's gonna be alright! We'll figure something out."

"But-"

"It's fine! It's fine!"

"Seungcheol-"

"It's fine. It's fine. It's fine."

Joshua sighed, "Explain to me how it's fine. Where are we going to stay? You make it sound like you have a plan."

"I do!" Seungcheol turned to Dalasini, smiling in a way that reminded her of Hansol for some reason. Joshua was thinking the same thing, mumbling something under his breath that sounded like "That must be where Hansol gets it from".

"If you guys need to figure something out until the dorm is cleaned out, you can stay with me."

"See? I told you everything would be alright."

"You can't be serious. Dalasini doesn't need to-"

"It's fine!"

"Seungcheol, stop-"

"It's fine! It's fine!"

"..."

~Dalasini's Apartment~

Dalasini had returned to the apartment by herself, only to find Hansol asleep on the floor and Chan coloring on his face. It was another situation where she should have said something, but instead left Yoogeun to watch and started cleaning the apartment. She was nearly finished cleaning the kitchen when Chan called out to her form the front room.

"Noona! Where's Joshua hyung?"

"He went to get the rest of your friends at the dorm."

"They're coming here? All of them?"

"Yeah...how many of you are there?" She had forgotten to ask about that before.

"Wow! Why is everyone coming over here?"

"Your ant farms made a mess and the dorms are infested. You'll have to stay with me until it's cleaned out."

"ALL OF MY BUGS SPILLED OUT??? WHAT IF THE HYUNGS KILL THEM???"

She decided not to tell him that "cleaning out" meant all the bugs would be killed. After the kitchen, she planned on cleaning the two bedrooms since they hadn't been used yet but was interrupted by an expected shout from the front room.

"CHAN WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY FACE???"

"I made art."

"WHY???"

"You were sleeping."

"What does that have to do with-"

"That meant you couldn't stop me."

"CHAN."

"I love you."

Dalasini ignored the sounds of footsteps running past the kitchen, figuring Hansol had started chasing after Chan because of his "artwork". Maybe I should have said something to Chan when he was doing that. She stepped out of the kitchen just as Chan was running back and he tripped over himself trying not to crash into her. He was able to hide before Hansol caught up to him though, clinging to her until she finished cleaning and sat down in the front room with Yoogeun. The baby had been playing around with her phone until she recieved a text and he handed it to her.

"Ring Ding Dong~" She was 79% sure that this child was a SHINee fan.

Joshua: Are you still sure about letting us stay at your place?

Dalasini: Of course. Bring everyone over.

She couldn't figure out why Joshua seemed so bent on convincing her to say no. It was most likely just in his nature to help people, and he was worried about being a problem.

"When will the rest of the hyungs get here?"

"They're on their way, Chan."

"I don't think Jihoon hyung will be happy to see me."

"Then why are you laughing?"

"Because it'll be funny."

Hansol broke his uncharacteristic streak of silence. He had been so quiet that Dalasini almost forgot he was there.

"Wait, so are they gonna kill Chan's bugs?"

"NO!"

Dalasini nudged the older boy with her elbow, "The dorm has to be cleaned out or you guys can't live there."

"THEY CAN'T KILL MY BUGS."

"Don't worry about it."

"You sound like Joshua hyung..."

There was no chance to respond to this comment, the doorbell cutting the whole conversation short followed by an extremely excited voice on the other side of the door.

"Hey! Hey! It's Soonyoung! Hey! We made it! Are you guys there? Hey! Hey!"

"That's Soonyoung hyung. He's the fun one."

"Oh really?" Dalasini asked this as she opened the door, then shut it again. "Chan?"

"Yes?"

"How many of you are there?"

"Uh...me and Hansol are two...so the other 11 are out there."

"There's 13 of you guys?"

The voice on the other side, Soonyoung, called out in a surprisingly cheerful voice for someone who had just had a door slammed in his face.

"Hey! Hey! No worries! It surprises everyone!"

She opened the door again and nearly screamed when Soonyoung suddenly pulled her into a hug, patting her on the back several times.

"Thank you so much for letting us stay here!"

"Uh...no problem.."

Followed by Soonyoung's overly enthusiastic greeting, the other boys entered one at a time. Those she hadn't met already bowed to her before introducing themselves. She had no clue how she was going to remember thirteen names...until she realized how "unique" their greetings were. If I remember anything, it'll be how they introduced themselves.

"I'm Jeonghan. Thank you for helping us." (~insert fabulous hair flip~)

"I'm Jihoon. I'm sorry if they've already driven you mad." (Doesn't he sound so excited?)

"I'm Mingyu and this is Wonwoo! Thank you for letting us stay!"

"I can introduce myself, Mingyu..."

"I'm Junhui, it's really nice to meet you!"

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Boo Seungkwan." Oh, his English is really cute.

"I'm Seokmin!" (thanks to his smile, no quirky introduction is necessary)

"Hi...thank you." (Just guess who it is~)

Dalasini bowed in turn to each of them as they came in, still slightly dazed by the number of people now standing in her apartment. She helped the boys find a spot for their things, the few things that could be saved from Chan's bugs, and understood why Seungcheol was so concerned when he didn't know where the other three were. They're like a kindergarden class, these kids are absolutely clueless. (We all know this is true.) After everyone had settled down, she realized she was going to have to cook for 15 people tonight...then she remembered Yoogeun had been sitting patiently in the front room for her to come back. She carried him into the kitchen with her, leaving the others in the front. The first voice she heard break the silence was Jihoon's, followed by Chan's and several others.

"Chan."

"I love you."

"Don't hit him!"

"Guys, you're being too loud. Dalasini is trying to be nice-"

"KILL HIM!"

"You weren't even there..."

"Let's not fight!"

"Chan."

"I said I love you! What do you want from me?"

"Guys, don't fight."

"THE BUGS WERE IN MY SHOES!"

"Fine...I love you a lot."

".........."

Dalasini turned to Yoogeun, who was sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor. And for the first time since she had met him, the child didn't speak in third person.

"I think the hyungs are crazy."

"Yeah, me too."

After having eaten dinner, everyone finally was able to relax. Eventually, they all drifted in sleep. (Jihoon did so with guitar in hand, just in case.) Except for Joshua, who had been waiting for the others to fall asleep. Dalasini had put Yoogeun to bed, managed to convince Chan that Jihoon wouldn't wake up and kill him, and then began cleaning the mess left by her new house guests.

"Here, Dalasini. Let me do it."

"Joshua? I thought you were asleep."

"No, just waiting."

"For what?"

"To thank you. You're being so nice to people you've just met."

"You do realize what you've done, right?"

"What are you talking about?" (Clueless Joshua)

"You helped me without having a reason to. Don't you think I'd want to do the same for you guys?"

"But you don't have a reason to."

"Joshua. I don't think you're listening. I want to help you and your friends. Even if you don't want my help."

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"...I don't know."

"Joshua."

"Sorry."

"Stop it."

"Okay, sorry."

"....."

"Sorry."

"Joshua!"

"I'm really sorry."

"I will fight you."

"Please don't."

"Okay listen, I'll try and explain this again. When we first met, where were we?"

"I saw you at the cafe."

"And?"

"I bought you a coffee, and had the waitress bring it to you."

"Why did you do that?"

"Because you looked sad."

"Alright. And when I left the cafe you came after me. Why bother?"

"You were crying. I don't like when people are sad or crying."

"Me neither. I don't want to let someone suffer if it's within my power to help them. I would do all that I can to make sure they felt better before I left."

"So would I."

"And what would be your reason? Why would you do all that?"

"..."

"So do you understand what I'm saying? You get why I want to help you guys without having a reason to?"

"You're really-"

"Joshua, don't say it."

"But you're really sweet."

"I said don't say it!"

"Sorry."

"Joshua!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author's Note

I hope my comments in parenthesis weren't too annoying XD

I have finally brought all my children together, at Chan's expense unfortunately. I had the idea to give him the ant farms because he likes bugs and beetles and other things that make me want to cry XD

I hope you guys like the update, I wanted to focus on Joshua and Dalasini near the end because this is their story after all. I don't know if it turned out how I thought but hopefully you liked it! The next update is coming soon.