It was a never on purpose; it's been some sort of a reflex for Taeil to respond like so because although he is the oldest among them, he's still a dongsaeng to the staff and a junior to the sunbaenims at the office. However, ever since Taeil noticed the nervous side glance Taeyong gave him after his response, along with the sudden stutter and the reckless of his hands as he knocks down bottles of condiments on the kitchen counter, it's became a habit of Taeil to continually tease the younger. Because the way Taeyong hides his face under his bangs as he avoids Taeil's prying gaze is unexpectedly adorable Taeil can't bring himself to stop.

“Where do you want me to put this, hyung?” Taeil says, stressing on the title as he catches an empty cup Taeyong accidentally drops after he purposely uses honorific on the younger.

The funny thing is, as uncomfortable as Taeyong might seem like, the younger never complains. And Taeil knows Taeyong well enough to tell that he’s not the type to stay quiet when he gets to have a say although it means he has to protest against an elder. “The tap— the, I mean the u-uh, the sink. Just. Leave the tap open.”

“Yes, hyung.”

Taeyong stumbles again as he fetches for the sponge; it slips out of his hand and dives into the sink, splashing water at his face. A lighthearted laugh then erupts from next to him, the sound chimes blissfully in his ears and Taeyong bites the insides of his cheeks in an attempt to hold down a smile.

“Do you want me to wash the dishes? You look like you need more sleep,” Taeil offers, taking a plate from Taeyong’s hand before he drops that too.

“I’m fine, give me that back,” Taeyong mutters, avoiding eye contact with Taeil. He reaches out for the plate when Taeil refuses to give it to him and instead drags it away from his reach. “Oh ha-ha very mature, hyung.”

Taeil is now holding the plate behind his back, his grip careful so as to not drop it. “Oh? Well can you show me what being mature supposed to look like, hyung?”

Feeling challenged, Taeyong glowers at him and slowly subtracts their distance, forcing the older to look up at him as he inches closer. His hand doesn’t go unnoticed though, when he snakes it around Taeil’s waist to grab the plate. He loses his footing when the older shifts to move the plate away from him again, causing him to topple over his own toes but he manages to regain his balance before his face collides with Taeil’s chest.

He looks up then, finding Taeil’s chin way too close from his nose and he notices the red hue that’s starting to emerge on the older’s face.

Taeyong is blushing too now, and he knows for sure if Taeil decides to call him hyung again, he’ll scream.

“Hyung.”

Taeyong is ready to let out his voice when Taeil breaks their eye contact and turns his head. He follows Taeil's gaze and finds Doyoung and Jisung across the dining table, the older of the two staring judgingly at them.

“Please spare Jisung's innocence. We still got a few minors here,” Doyoung says in a monotone voice. They manage to hear him say And what happened to the no flirting in the dorm rule before Doyoung pulls Jisung away to the living room.

Using this chance, Taeyong quickly grabs the plate from Taeil’s grip and returns it to the sink. “Let’s get back to dishwashing.”

Feeling his rapid heartbeat slowing down, Taeil claims back his spot  next to Taeyong and passes the younger the dirty dishes. He focuses on cleaning now, only after teasing Taeyong for one last time. “Yes, hyung.”