The next morning, I woke up earlier so I could change the dressing on my forehead, removing the bloodstained gauze brought back all the painful memories of that day. I unconsciously reached up to touch the wound only to regret it as pain shot through my head.

“Dammit!” I cursed a bit too loudly, I could hear my voice echo throughout the house and I prayed that no one would wake up because of it.

I quietly opened the cabinet above the sink and was glad to find cotton balls and disinfectant, I shut the cabinet, looking up in the mirror and finding another face next to mine. I screamed, Baekhyun screamed, clutching his chest dramatically.

“Jesus Yun! You scared me!”

“I scared you?! You scared me!” I corrected, breathing in and out to control my fast beating heart.

Doors opening and shutting followed by footsteps sounded in the house, a few seconds later the guys were crowded around the bathroom entrance, in all the shirtless glory. The guys took one look at Baekhyun, then to me and back to Baekhyun.

“Did you catch Baek spying on you?” Suho asked me, glaring at Baekhyun.

“Yah! I wasn’t spying on her! I was coming in to use the toilet when she started screaming.”

“You flashed her?!” The guys chorused, Baekhyun’s eyes went wide, waving his hands frantically.

“Aniya!! I didn’t flash her.”

The guys started accusing Baekhyun of ridiculous things, insults started flying everywhere so I got Suho’s attention by tapping him on the shoulder, mustering the best sweetest smile I could.

“He didn’t do anything, I just got startled, that’s all. I was trying to change my bandage; I wasn’t expecting anyone to be up this early.” I tilted my head slightly for maximum effect, it worked.

Suho smiled at me, ruffling my hair before turning to Baekhyun.

“Sorry for accusing you Baek. Forgiven?” He said hand out stretched towards him.

“Forgiven.” Baekhyun replied taking the offered hand.

“Okay, let’s go downstairs and make breakfast!” Kyungsoo said, leading a couple of the boys away.

I went to grab a cotton ball when Jongin lead me to the edge of the bathtub, making me sit on it. He sat down next to me as Yixing soaked a cotton ball in the brown liquid before coming over to me. He gently moved my hair out of the way, Jongin swiftly put his hand on my head to hold the lock of hair. Yixing dabbed the cotton ball on the cut, I winced at the stinging sensation.

“Does it hurt still?” Jongin asks, his free hand held one of mine.

“No, it just stings from the disinfectant.” I assured him as Yixing placed a small band aid over the cut.

“Good as new, I think you’ll live this time.” He says smiling.

“Thank you, both of you.” I said sincerely.

I always treated my own wounds, having someone else do it for me was certainly a new feeling. My siblings never bothered to ask if I was alright every time they saw cuts or bruises on me, it was that fact alone that made me realise that they really never truly cared about me at all.

~

After breakfast, some of the guys and I went grocery shopping. It was hectic deciding who to take with me, with everyone stating why they would be the best choice. In the end, Yixing, Chanyeol, Suho, Sehun and Minseok got to come with me, much to the chagrin of everyone else. I didn’t notice how handsome the guys were until we were strolling to the aisles and every woman that spotted them went slack jawed and starry eyed as we went past.

“You guys are such Casanovas.” I remarked when I saw Sehun and Chanyeol wink at the girls walking past us. I rolled my eyes as the girls squealed in delight at being noticed in return.

“Aww don’t be like that Yun, we can’t help it if god made us gorgeous.” Sehun said waving to random girls in the next aisle.

“Don’t worry Yun, you will always be our number 1.” Suho declared suddenly, his cheeks going red as soon as he realised what he’d just said. The others stopped talking and stared at him with wide eyes.

“Nicely said Suho!” Chanyeol says slapping Suho on the back.

I covered my face as Suho got high fived by the rest of them, Sehun video-called Jongin and began telling him what Suho said. This was so embarrassing so I snuck away to the next aisle and proceeded to shop for our groceries.

I could still hear them from the other side, trying my best to ignore them and get the grocery shopping done so we can leave. I looked down at the list then to the shelf, the damn thing that I wanted was on the top shelf, I knew straight away I could never reach it but I wasn’t going to ask for help from the guys. I reached up myself, stretching my fingers as far as they could go and I was still a few inches away. Another hand appeared, reaching past mine and grabbing the thing I needed, my eyes followed.

The guy before flashed a big grin at me, he had one of the most amazing eye smiles I’ve ever seen in my life. His hand extended out towards me suddenly and I instinctively took a cautious step back, he chuckled at my action.

“I’m not a weird person, I swear.” He says still wearing that cute smile, my eyes took in every feature on his face, from his chocolate brown eyes to his insanely sharp jawline that most guys would kill for.

“Then what kind of person are you?” I asked him, relaxing just a little bit.

“I like to think that I’m a good person. Should I prove it to you?” He replies tilting his head and then extending his hand out with the item I needed.

I wasn’t sure if I could just take it from him, what if he needed it more than I did? I guess I could just wait until next time to get it, I’m not desperate it for it now. I smiled back at him, shaking my head.

“It’s okay, you can have it.”

“Are you sure?” He asks eyes wide as if he wasn’t expecting me to leave it.

“I can tell you are a good person. I’m Yun.” I introduced myself, holding out my hand. He took it instantly and shook it.

“I’m Taehyung.” He says, winking at me playfully.

“YO! TAE!!”

That voice sounded familiar to me as we both looked at the person who called out for Taehyung, my eyes widened at the group walking towards us. The two people in front broke out in big smiles when they saw me.

“Noona!!!”

Seo Joon and Woo Bin ran the rest of the way to me and sandwiched me between them in a big hug, showering me kisses on my forehead and cheek, spouting nonsense about how they missed me. Taehyung looked utterly confused, he was probably wondering how I knew them and why they are acting like little kids around me.

I smiled at their actions when I remembered that it was a week day which meant it was a school day.

“Seo Joon? Woo Bin?”

“Yes Noona?” They answered still holding onto me, smiling like idiots

“Why aren’t you in school?”

They both tensed up at my question before releasing me and taking a step back, rubbing the backs of their necks, giving me puppy eyes. I knew them long enough to now when they are trying to come up with an excuse.

“Noona, don’t be mad. We have a very good reason for not going to school.” Seo Joon said nervously laughing, Woo Bin was surprised by his response.

“I’m listening boys.” I crossed my arms and stared at all the boys in the group, waiting for the ridiculous excuse they were about to give me. Suddenly all of them dropped to their knees in front of me, hands in front of them like they were praying. Taehyung was amused by his friend’s behaviour and simply watched with an amused grin.

“We’re sorry Noona but school is so boring and the teachers all say we have the attention span of a goldfish so it doesn’t bother them if we are there or not.” Woo Bin says with everyone nodding their heads in agreement.

I couldn’t really fault them for not liking and skipping school, teachers these days only took care of the kids who were academically efficient and ignored the ones who didn’t, claiming them to be a waste of their time and yet they still expected every student to sit for university exams regardless of the grades they receive before graduation.

“Well why don’t you guys look for a job instead of gallivanting around the neighbourhood causing trouble.” I suggested to them, Woo Bin and Seo Joon looked genuinely offended by what I said.

“Ha! Ye of little faith Noona!”

‘We don’t cause trouble anymore instead we help out anyone who needs it. Taehyung works at the neighbourhood centre and gets requests for us to do.” Seo Joon said proudly, shoulder bumping Taehyung.

I had to admit that I was impressed by how much the boys had changed their ways; the years of nagging had finally paid off. It also made Taehyung more interesting to me, why had I heard of him before today? Seo Joon and Woo Bin seemed close to him so they must have been friend’s way before they met me.

“I’m proud of you boys, I should come check out this neighbourhood centre one of these days. Would that be okay, Taehyung?” I asked him as I spotted Chanyeol and Yixing coming towards us, there arms full of snacks and soda.

“I don’t mind. Its open all day every day so come in whenever you want, Yun.” Taehyung says with a grin.

“By the way Noona, where are you living now?” Woo Bin asked just as Chanyeol brushed past him and deposited the snacks into the grocery basket. Yixing stood quietly beside Seo Joon with a friendly smile as Chanyeol took one look at all the boys before putting an arm around me.

“She lives with me and my friends.” He said in a possessive tone that did not go unnoticed by Seo Joon, Taehyung and Woo Bin.

“I’ll text you the address so feel free to come visit me anytime boys.” I said quickly detaching myself from Chanyeol and walking away to join Sehun, Suho and Minseok who appeared at the end of the aisle with their arms also full of snacks and sodas.

In the car on the way back, Chanyeol refused to apologize for his behaviour towards the boys and only aggravated the situation by commenting that the boys had crushes on me. I was sitting in the back with Sehun, Chanyeol saw me glaring at him in the rear-view mirror.

“They are just teenagers Chanyeol. I’ve been their friend and only their friend for 6 years and anyway, they see me as a big sister.”

“Sehun, Jongin and Tao are only teenagers.” He says as a matter of factly

“But those three don’t have a crush on me and who are you to judge whether a guy likes me or not?” I questioned with a frown.

“Well as your saviours- “

“Chanyeol! Shut up!” Minseok and Suho shouted in unison, Yixing looked like he was ready to jump out of the van.

“-we should have a say on who you date or not.”

‘Hyung!” Sehun exclaimed

I stayed silent the rest of the car ride home otherwise I might have caused an accident, what the heck has possessed Chanyeol to think like that? Was I deluded by thinking that there still were decent people in this world? Did the boys all-share Chanyeol’s opinion? Those questions plagued by mind until we got home, Suho and Sehun let me get out of the car first while Yixing passed them the groceries from the back seat.

“Yun!”

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo come out of the house all smiles but the moment they saw us they knew something was wrong, I took a bag from Suho and went into the house first, passing by Baekhyun and Kyungsoo and headed straight for the kitchen. Luhan, Kris and Jongdae were in the process of making lunch when I walked in and placed the bag of groceries on the counter.

“Are you okay Yun? You look upset.” Kris says suddenly and I feel like an open book and it’s frustrating.

“It’s nothing, just Chanyeol and his big mouth.” I tell him and they all nod in understanding but I could tell that they knew it was much more than that.

“I’m going to sit in the garden for a bit. Call me if you need anything.” I said going out the back door and sitting on the grass next to the flower garden. I started to pick at the grass, my mind trying to make sense of why Chanyeol was acting like this.

Was I kidding myself by thinking that there are people in this world that wouldn’t expect anything in return for showing kindness? Maybe I wanted too much, my father and siblings never once gave me words of kindness after Mother died. Did I assume to know Chanyeol’s character or anyone else’s just because they took me in and helped me? Was I so starved for affection that I immediately clung to whatever kindness that I received?

I laid down, putting my arms under my head and watched the sky, wishing right at this moment to be a cloud. I could just float all day and not have any problems, go wherever the wind takes me. Maybe I should leave this house, I’m all better now and it wouldn’t be right to stay here and do nothing. I need to live for myself now since I don’t have to look after anyone anymore and I can actually start saving money now that I don’t have my siblings stealing from me.

I hear footsteps and rustling next to me, looking above me and see Jongin and Sehun staring down at me. I heave a sigh and sit up as they sit down next to me. I stare at them, biting the inside of my cheek as they regard me in silence.

“Yun, don’t stress about Chanyeol. He is just jealous.” Sehun says with a small smile, taking one of my hands in his.

“What is he jealous of?” I asked and receiving dumbfounded looks from the boy sitting before me.

“You didn’t notice?” Jongin questions with a chuckle. “And here we thought he was being too obvious.”

I stared at them in confusion.

“What was obvious?”

“Chanyeol was jealous because of how close you were to those guys at the supermarket.” Sehun explains, looking at me before he begins speaking again.

“He likes you Yun.”

I stare at them in shock for a moment before laughing, they both look at me like I’ve gone mental.

“You can’t be serious, Chanyeol doesn’t like me. He’s just being childish.” I dismissed, waving my hands.

“He does, ever since the first time he saw you at the library.” Jongin adds, earning a shove from Sehun.

“You weren’t supposed to tell her that!” He says in a hushed tone.

Wait, so Chanyeol likes me? I mentally slap myself for thinking those terrible things about him and everyone else. I am dense to these kind of things, I’ve never dated anyone before so the concept itself is foreign to me. The fact that a boy likes someone like me is daunting, how am I supposed to act around him now that I know his feelings? The real question is, Do I like him back?

He is a good guy, one of the few good ones out there. I need to get to know him a little more before I can say with confidence that I like him too. I need that one definite moment where my heart knows, and I get butterflies in my stomach, until then I won’t lead him on.

“How long has he liked me?” I ask Jongin since he spilled the beans.

“It would have been last year in April, our agency made us do volunteer work for charity. He noticed you sitting by the window, you had your head resting against the window and you were sleeping. He told us he’d seen an Angel, we all thought he’d gone crazy until we caught him watching you.” Jongin says, smiling sheepishly.

“He’s liked me for that long? I feel bad now for not noticing him. Why didn’t he just come up to me and introduce himself?”

“Our agency doesn’t allow us to date and we all noticed that the library was an escape for you, so no one bothered you.” Sehun explains with a small smile.

Maybe I should just let this go, Chanyeol is probably just being protective of me, considering what happened to me. He is perhaps afraid that something will happen to me if he isn’t by my side always. It kind of warms my heart thinking of it like that, I’m still upset with how he behaved but for now I’ll let this slide, for his sake and everyone else’s.  

“Wait, agency? What exactly do you guys do?” I asked changing the subject since I’ve always wondered how they could afford a house this large.

“All of us are models, we aren’t crazy famous, but we do get recognised sometimes.” Jongin explains.

“Yeah and since the company dorms aren’t big enough for the twelve of us, Chanyeol’s parents let us use this investment home as our dorm and we don’t have to pay rent, we just have to keep the place clean and tidy.” Sehun adds.

“Models, that’s pretty cool. Can I come to a photoshoot sometime?” I think seeing them work would be fun and interesting to see, and it would help me get to know them better.

“Of course, you can, we’ll just tell the company you’re a family member or something. I think the guys wouldn’t mind if you came along, some of them might show off though so be prepared for that.” Jongin says with a smile, Sehun nods in agreement.

“Maybe I should have a talk with Chanyeol.” I say after a moment of silence, both of them stand up.

“We’ll tell him to come outside.” Said Sehun as they walk into the house.

A few moments later Chanyeol comes out and sits on the grass next to me, his long legs stretched out in front of him. We stay quiet, I’m unsure how to start the conversation when Chanyeol takes a deep breathe and turns to me.

“I’m sorry Yun about what I said. I was being selfish and jealous, it was out of line and I hope you’ll forgive me.” He says with an apologetic expression on his face.

“ I forgive you and I don’t know if I like you the way you like me yet but I’m willing to go on a couple of dates and see where this goes.” I tell him with a smile, he breathed a sigh of relief and was quickly back to his cheery self again.

“When is your next photoshoot?” I asked as we were walking back into the house, detouring to the kitchen to get a drink of water and noticing it was clean when only moments ago, it was a mess. Chanyeol leaned against the kitchen counter with a thoughtful look.

“I’m not sure, either tomorrow or Thursday. Suho, when is our next photoshoot?” He wonders aloud, glancing at Suho as he came into the kitchen with Minseok and Kyungsoo behind him.

“Thursday afternoon. Why?” He answers staring at Chanyeol.

“Jongin and Sehun said I could come watch you guys work the next time you had a photoshoot, if its not too much trouble.” I said hoping that they wouldn’t say no to me coming and watching them.

“I wouldn’t mind if you came, you guys mind?” Suho turned to Minseok and Kyungsoo for confirmation that it was okay, they smile and nod in agreement.

“Thank you!” I was happy that they didn’t mind, it would be interesting to see them in their element and it would be an experience for me since I’ve never seen anything like that up close.

Minseok gave us water jugs and glasses to carry to the dining room where everyone was seated for lunch, I’d completely forgotten it was lunchtime, one sniff of the food and my tummy growled softly. I blushed in embarrassment even though no one had heard it and sat down in the empty chair in between Jongin and Sehun, since they kept signalling me ever since I came into the room to sit with them.

The lunch was a simple Chinese fried rice, but it was the best rice I’ve ever tasted, I complimented the three chefs responsible for this meal. Kris, Luhan and Jongdae all turned red at my appraisal, it was endearing sight to see. The others joined in, teasing and mucking around with them while I watched in amused silence and envy, I keep thinking about my siblings when I see the boys acting like this. Min and Hyuk were horrible to me, they never respected me, they always lied and stole from me and, yet I can’t help but worry about them.

After all, I did promise our mother before she died that I would take care of them and, yet I feel like I shouldn’t have to anymore but something in the back of my mind keeps telling me I need to. For my mothers’ sake, would she be watching from heaven and be disappointed in me? That I failed in my responsibility to look after my family? Is she glad that I am doing so well despite what my siblings are going through? I sometimes wonder if Min and Hyuk ever feel guilty or regretful for what they did to me but knowing them, they wouldn’t care and that is the part that hurts me.

Whatever, they are someone else’s problem now, I am free to do whatever I want and not have to worry about anyone else but me. I shouldn’t worry about them anymore since for the first time in my life, I can breathe and be myself. I finally a group of people who accept me for me and don’t demand things from me. They respect me and treat me like we’ve known each other for ages, I am in better circumstances and I will never go back to being someone’s slave.

not really an update, i just added more to this chapter. Enjoy my lovely readers :)