Doing her work at the neighbour’s seemed much easier for Ga Young now that she’s used to every crook and cranny of the place. She knew to expect a much messier state in the basement game room whenever she came because that’s where the boys spent most of their time, and the cleanest space would be the living room. Occasionally, she’d find some papers on the dining table in the kitchen and learned that they belonged to Chanyeol as he’d sometimes leave the confines of his room to write music.

Speaking of the man, Ga Young found it easier for her to approach him ever since the breakfast at her house a week ago. He had loved her banana pancakes and after an initial awkward sitting, she managed to get him to talk about the music he’s been writing and the instruments he played, and she was surprised yet super glad when he actually went on with it and answered her questions.

Sometimes, Chanyeol would be the only member left at the house while the others went for their schedules, and instead of avoiding her altogether, he made his presence known in the house by sitting at the dining table when she’s cleaning the kitchen, loitering around the backyard when she’s hanging out the laundry, and strumming the guitar at his desk when she’s cleaning his room.

There were no awkward moments between them anymore, but they didn’t spend all their time talking either. They were both content with the comfortable silence between them, and Ga Young found herself looking forward to it a lot whenever she knew Chanyeol was around.

There were times when she’s not needed to clean the house, like now, as the boys had not been home for the last couple of days since they had schedules to attend overseas. Ga Young missed them, of course, but she was glad to have a few days off to settle her application to continue her studies. Together with Doyeon, they’ve been preparing the necessary documents to apply for their Master’s program at the University of Manchester, although she made a point to visit the house from time to time to ensure that not even a speck of dust could be seen for when the members would return.

Ga Young was writing an essay that was required for her application for a scholarship when a message came. She gave it a glance, quickly typed in a few words that were stuck in her head for the essay, before grabbing her phone. She unknowingly smiled when she realized that the message was from Chanyeol.

[Ga Young-ah, are you at home?]

[Yup! Are you guys back in Seoul already?], she asked back.

[Yeah… I need your help.]

[Sure, what is it?]

***

Sehun wouldn’t stop bouncing in his seat, although no one seemed to be annoyed at him. They were all pretty much excited and wanted to reach their destinations quickly, but there was a slight delay in traffic which only made them even more restless. It was fifteen minutes later when the van finally stopped and their manager announced their arrival, and Sehun was the first to bolt out of the vehicle and into the building before them.

Kai and Baekhyun laughed before they quickly rushed after him, and Kyungsoo shook his head in amusement as Chanyeol came to stand beside him. They gave each other a look and smiled before quickly following after them into the building, and their smiles grew wider when they heard the ruckus as they walked into the waiting hall where the others were.

Kyungsoo let out a chuckle when he saw the chaotic scene; Xiumin and Chen were hugging the daylights out of Baekhyun, Kai and Tao were wrapped in a hug as well, giggling and bouncing like kindergarten children, while Sehun had one arm around Yixing’s shoulders and the other around… Suho?

“Suho hyung!” Baekhyun cried out and carefully wrapped his arms around their leader, not wanting to hurt him. Suho chuckled as he hugged the other. “We missed you, hyung!”

“I missed you too!” the leader said and ruffled his hair.

Kyungsoo walked over to hug the other too, and Chanyeol stood standing there staring at the scene with a heavy feeling. He had finally gone over to visit Suho at his family home after a while of avoiding the elder, and Suho had chided him for taking the blame when they both knew it was just an accident. Chanyeol had cried tearfully in Suho’s arms that night, and he ended up staying over since he was too tired to make the journey back.

Chanyeol was glad to see that Suho looked better than he did before. The guy still had his leg wrapped in a cast and there was a crutch leaning against the back of the couch where Suho had sat, but he was standing fine with Sehun’s and Yixing flanking his sides. Suho had a huge smile on his face as the members smothered him with hugs and kisses, and Chanyeol found himself smiling adoringly at the sight.

Suho pulled away from Kai’s suffocating hug with a laugh before his gaze met Chanyeol’s. The younger smiled a little when their eyes meet, his own a bit teary due to relief, and Suho beckoned the taller over with a wave of his hand. Chanyeol nodded and squirmed his way through s, tackling Tao when the younger threw himself at him on his way to the leader, before finally reaching Suho and wrapping his arms around the shorter.

“I missed you, Yeol.” the guy said when they pulled away. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, hyung. Did you listen to the new cover I sent you the other night?” he asked, tilting his head at his older member.

Suho nodded. “I did. It’s really good. Your English has gotten better too.”

“Hyung,” Kai suddenly called, making them turn to him. “Are you going to join us for the photoshoot too?” he asked Suho who smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, but they’re going to have to cover my leg though.”

“You should just rest, hyung.” Kyungsoo said softly although he didn’t look like he was opposing to the idea.

“Don’t worry, Kyungsoo-ah. I wanted to do this photoshoot because this is our first schedule as a whole after so long, and I promised the managers I’d take it easy.”

“You’d better,” Chanyeol warned him. Suho smiled and nodded his head. “Come on, hyung. I’ll lead you to the dressing room.”

That was the cue for everyone to start moving as well. They quickly gathered their things and moved to the dressing room where the staffs were waiting to do their hair and makeup. Chanyeol patiently walked beside Suho as the man more or less wobbled towards the room, but he didn’t look uncomfortable and smiled a lot as Sehun spoke to him on his other side.

Everything was a blur after that. The EXO members were rushed to change into suits that they were supposed to wear for the shoot, and one by one, they took their turns to get their hair and makeup done. When Chanyeol walked into the room dressed in his attire, he saw Xiumin, Kai, Suho and Sehun seated on the chairs by the mirrors with the stylists working around them, while the others sat at the back on the couch, talking amongst themselves.

Baekhyun looked up when he saw Chanyeol. “Hey, Yeol. You have Ms Moon’s number, right?” he suddenly asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“Can you call her?” Tao asked next. “We want to meet her!”

He frowned. “Why?”

“Why can’t we?” Chen asked, lifting a brow. “We want to meet your secret member as well.”

Chanyeol scoffed. “What secret member? Ga Young’s not–”

“Ah, is this the girl who cleans your house?” Suho interrupted, looking back at them through the mirror.

Sehun nodded from beside him. “Yup. She’s like our secret angel, hyung. She cooks, she cleans and she does the laundry. The house would be sparkling clean and smells amazing every time she’s done.”

“Ahh… I see. I want to meet this angel of yours too, now.”

“You’ll love her, hyung.” Baekhyun added, nodding his head.

Chanyeol frowned at that. s continued to talk around him, asking Baekhyun about Ga Young and wanting to know what she’s like. He felt a little bit uncomfortable at the topic, and Chanyeol was surprised at himself for feeling that way. Why am I like this?, he thought when he heard Sehun’s endless praise and admiration for his childhood friend.

“Chanyeol-ah!” He blinked out of his stupor and focused his attention back to s, realizing that they were all staring at him. “You alright, buddy?” Chen asked, being the one who had called out his name.

“Uh… yeah.”

“Come on, Yeol. Call her already,” Xiumin said as he stood up from the chair, already done with his hair and makeup. “Let us meet her.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he protested, shaking his head. “She might get overly excited and post about us online.”

Baekhyun scoffed. “You know she won’t, idiot.”

“Ga Young-sshi will never do that,” Kyungsoo added.

“Unless… it’s you who doesn’t want us to meet her, hyung.” Kai suddenly said, smirking at the older.

“Wh–What are you talking about? Why would I do that?” he stuttered, inwardly cursing himself for doing so.

“Then there won’t be a problem for you to call her over, right?”

Chanyeol narrowed his eyes at the younger and sighed before fishing his phone out of his text and scrolled through his recent contacts.

***

Ga Young arrived at the location Chanyeol had sent her and looked around in wonder. The building was located at a rather quiet street and there was hardly anybody around, but she did recognize the black van parked by the side of the street and quickly made her way inside.

Everything inside the building was different than the street outside. People bustled around, and she could hear loud voices coming from corners, throwing out orders and other words she couldn’t really make out. She almost bumped into a guy holding a huge light and she quickly apologized before getting out of his – and everybody else’s – way.

How am I supposed to find him like this?, she thought and quickly unlocked her phone to text Chanyeol. At the same time, two men entered the room and stood not far from where she was, talking to themselves. She ignored them for the sake of scowling down at her phone that was lagging, but she perked up when she heard a familiar name.

“No, vanilla latte is for Kai. Black coffee is for Sehun and Minseok hyung.”

Ga Young quickly turned her head and spotted one of EXO’s managers, and with him was a guy with a beanie who had his back towards her. The manager was frowning down at something before he glanced at his companion and raised a brow.

“Since when does Sehun drink black coffee?” he asked.

The other shrugged. “I don’t know. Baekhyun said something about addiction to drip coffee, or something like that. Honestly, I don’t get it myself, hyung.”

The manager sighed. “Fine, whatever. Just take it to them, okay? And make sure they don’t spill it on their outfits please.”

“Aye, sir. Chen-derella at your service!” the other guy playfully said before the manager walked away with a shake of his head.

Chen-derella? Chen-derella… Her eyes widened when realization hit her. Chen? EXO Chen?! Just then, the said man turned and began to walk away, and she quickly ran after him. “E–Excuse me!”

Chen paused, turning his head when he realized that the voice came right from behind him. He blinked at the sight of the pretty girl, using a second to take in her figure, before flashing her a kind smile.

“Yes?”

“Y–You’re Chen-sshi, right? From EXO?” she asked, wanting to make sure she got the right person. The guy standing in front of her looked slightly different than the Chen she saw in EXO’s music video

“Ah, yes I am. Uh… are you a staff?” he asked.

Ga Young quickly shook her head. “Uhm, no. Actually, I don’t know how to say this without sounding super weird, but I’m a… friend of some of your members. And I came to pass something to one of them.”

Chen blinked again, staring at her blankly before something in his mind clicked. He gasped. “Oh my god, it’s you! You’re Ms Moon, right?”

Ga Young jumped back a little due to the man’s rather unexpected response. “Uh, yes. I’m Moon Ga Young,” she said. She figured since Chen knew Baekhyun’s and Sehun’s nickname for her, he must’ve heard about her from them. She took a second to bask in that warm feeling before adding, “I live next door to your members.”

“Yes, yes. I know you,” Chen exclaimed happily. “Glad to finally meet you. Come on, the guys are inside. Everyone’s been dying to meet you!”

Huh?

Before she knew it, she was ushered further down the hallways where there were more people bustling about, doing their work, and for a moment she felt bad for interrupting and getting in their way. But Chen, the very persistent singer with high cheek bones, kept urging her to quickly walk ahead before making her open a double door leading to huge waiting room for him since he had his hands full with various type of drinks.

“Coffee is here!” Chen yelled, walking past her with a wink. She watched in confusion as he walked deeper into the room, disappearing into a section on the left where there were voices, and she tentatively followed him and peeked into the room.

Ga Young’s eyes widened a little when she saw the number of boys sitting around the room, all preoccupied with their own things. Some were sitting by the vicinity mirror with female staffs working with their hair or makeup, and some were loitering around the couch, talking or just playing with their phones.

“Oi, Chen-derella! Did you get my iced Americano too?” Baekhyun’s familiar voice could be heard as he looked up from his phone to wear Chen stood, distributing drinks to respective members.

“I did,” the man nodded with a wide grin. “But that’s not the only thing I got.”

At his mysterious tone and knowing smile, s turned to look at him in curiosity and wonder, and Chen let out a smirk before tilting his head to the direction he had walked in, and everyone turned to look.

Silence.

“Chen, are you trolling us again?” Xiumin asked, narrowing his eyes at the younger.

Chen looked surprised and offended at the claim, and he turned to where he thought Ga Young was and made a double take. “What the hell? Where did she go? She was right behind me!”

“Who?” Tao asked, looking around.

Chen gawked, looked around again and let out a groan.

***

Ga Young let out a yelp once her wrist was released, and she turned around to face the man who had basically ‘captured’ her just a second ago. She had been watching the EXO boys from afar when, out of a sudden, someone had grabbed her and made sure to place his palm over to stop her from making any sound, and before she could comprehend the situation, she had been dragged out of the room and to a garden out back.

She turned to her kidnapper and parted her lips to scold him, only she ended up speechless and wide-eyed at the sight before her. Chanyeol stood tall and dashing in his black turtleneck and deep blue suit with his hair combed back into perfection. He even had makeup put on his face, making him look handsome and somewhat ethereal. Ga Young looked away for a bit when she realized she was staring before turning to him again.

“Why did you bring me out here?”

“You should be thanking me instead of frowning at me right now,” was Chanyeol’s respond. She gave him a blank look at that. “You were about to enter a room full of hormonal teenage wolves. They would’ve pranced on you the moment they saw you there.”

“Okay, you’re seriously taking your wolf comeback concept too seriously,” she snorted, unable to hide her amusement. “Anyway, I doubt they’d do that. Why’d they want to prance at me anyway? I’m just your cleaning lady.”

Chanyeol felt slightly offended at that although he knew it was a fact. But to him Ga Young was more than that; she was his childhood friend, someone who used to know him best. She meant a lot to him and she’s definitely not just a cleaning lady for the rest of the EXO members as well. With Sehun, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo (mostly the first two) who wouldn’t stop talking about her, the rest of the members had grown very, very interested in her as well and it doesn’t really suit Chanyeol’s liking.

He sighed and shook his head. “Whatever. Just trust me. Did you bring what I asked for?”

“Ah!” Ga Young quickly dug through her purse and pulled out a small hard drive with a grin. “Here it is!”

Chanyeol smiled at the proud look on her face and took the device from her. “Thanks. You did well. Sorry you had to come all the way here for this though.”

“It’s fine. I was bored at home anyway.” She then looked around absentmindedly before turning back to him. She took one appreciative glance at his outfit and asked, “Why are you dressed so well?”

“We have a photoshoot. Didn’t you see the staffs running around with all those lights and cameras flashing around when you came in?” She blinked and shrugged. He sighed. “Still ignorant to your surroundings, I see.”

“Come again?” Chanyeol froze at that. Did I just say that out loud!? “Chanyeol, you were mumbling something. What did you say?”

“Nothing,” he quickly lied, inwardly sighing in relief. “It’s nothing.”

Ga Young narrowed her eyes at him but chose not to push it before letting out a sigh. “So I guess my job here is done. That was all you needed, right?”

“…not really.”

“Huh?”

“Ga Young, do you want to stay and watch me work?”