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She hears some clattering sound as soon as she steps out of the bath. She first opens the door and checks for more sounds.

The house seems soundless so she leaves the door open to change quickly in the closet. Halfway between slipping into her cosy sweatpants, she hears another sound, this time clearer since the door of the bedroom is wide open.

Jaejoong hurriedly throws on her clothes while walking to the source of the sound. The distinct beeps of the microwave has Jaejoong buttoning up the random pyjama top she picked clumsily while traipsing down the stairs.

"Min, is that you?" Jaejoong peeks into the kitchen and clutches her heart. Did a typhoon swoop through her house? The rest of the house is fine. So the damage to the kitchen can only be caused by the typhoon of a human grinning sheepishly at her.

"What did you do Minnie?" Jaejoong sighs, both upset and amused by the puddles of milk and residual kimchi water meeting in a spicy milky blend on the marble top. She's dying to know how what happened. She also wants to know how there's cooked rice stuck on the refrigerator door. The giant orange stain on the wall behind the stovetop is particularly glaring.

"You're not hurt are you?" Jaejoong takes a large step over the spilt rice to get to Changmin.

"I'm fine."

"I would think you had a food fight with yourself." She points at the carnage on the stovetop, "How did that happen?"

"I tried to stir the chicken but the spoon got stuck under the weight of everything and it all flung everywhere." Changmin gesticulated wildly at the entirety of the kitchen.

"What did you make?"

"I made breakfast and lunch."

"And a mess." Jaejoong mutters seeing the pile of dirty dishes in the sink. "I meant what did you cook?"

"Stir fry chicken, kimchi rice, aaaand egg roll for me." Changmin shows the lunchbox he packed for himself. Jaejoong flicked one of the two eggrolls out of it. "Umma!" The whiny 13-year-old shrieks in horror. That took a lot of work.

"You're good at egg rolls at least." Jaejoong estimates the mess in the kitchen. "You've definitely got your dad's talent in the kitchen... I was joking about you earning your keep. You didn't have to."

"I know..." Changmin trails off, "I just... Appa would have to cook something as soon as he's back from the night shift because Ji Ajhumma's not there anymore. I thought he could get some rest if there's one chore less. But... I guess I only made it worse." He sniffles and rubs his nose on his forearm. "I'll clean up everything."

"No, you have to get ready for school. I'll clean up." Jaejoong gets a couple of eggs from the refrigerator intending to make Changmin some eggrolls too.

"But you'll get exhausted."

"And you'll be late on the first day of the new school year. Quickly, get dressed. And don't forget the exemption note you have to give to your principal."

"Will Appa be mad?"