Breakfast with Mom was nice. Home-cooked meals are always welcome. She looked tired. Long hours at the office can do that. Ever since Dad left us, she’s had to work extra hard to keep the bills paid and food on the table. Thankfully lawyers are in high demand nowadays.

 

  “Your final exams are coming up, aren’t they?” She asked while standing at the kitchen sink putting dishes away.

 

  “Yes, next weekend actually. Then I’m off for summer break.” Clearing off the table, I helped her put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.

 

  “Well, I have a big caseload coming up. My defendant will get twenty years in prison if it falls through.” She rubbed her temples and sighed. “Why am I even defending a jerk like him? ….Sometimes I hate my job.”

 

  I frowned and hugged her from behind. “Gwenchanayo Eomma.”

 

  “Huh?” She looked at me funny over her shoulder.

 

  “Oh. I forgot. You don’t know Korean...mianhae…..I mean sorry…It’ll be ok, I promise.” I chuckled lightly.

 

 She laughed and shook her head. “You and your Kdramas.” After cleaning up the rest of the kitchen, she said, “Arasso, I’m going to go finish my nap.”

 

  I paused and looked at her before bursting out laughing. “You just said arasso.”

 

  “Ahahaha! I did, didn’t I?”

 

  Watching her retreating form disappear into her bedroom; I chuckled, running back up the stairs to the bathroom. Hurriedly getting dressed, I made sure my face and hair were presentable before heading back to my bedroom, which was now somehow the most exciting place on the planet.

 

  I climbed up on my bed and stood facing the wall where my posters were hanging. I stared intently at them.

 

  “Yah, stop staring. You’re creeping us out.” I heard Youngjae say.

 

 I blushed with a laugh, but before I got the chance to run through the wall, Taehyung stuck his head out and grinned at me cheekily. “What’s the password?”

 

  Confused, I stared at him in annoyance. “I didn’t know you had one.”

 

  “Yes.” He continued to grin.

 

  Pouting, I called out. “Namjoon-ah….helppp!”

 

  Taehyung frowned. “That’s not the password.”

 

  “I don’t know.” I plopped down in a pile in the middle of my bed and crossed my arms, looking up at him.

 

  “That’s not it either.” He whined. “Guess again.”

 

  I let out a frustrated sigh. “I give up. What is it?”

 

  “The password is Taehyungie is cute!” His grin stretched from ear to ear.

 

  I heard Yoongi in the background. “Yah! How was she supposed to know that?”

 

  Taehyung’s face disappeared inside the wall and Namjoon appeared. “Passcode reset. You may enter.” He winked down at me.

 

  “Yay!” I grinned and jumped up, following him through the portal.

 

  Some of the guys had already shed their animal onesies, Yoongi especially. He can’t stand ridiculousness longer than absolutely necessary. But Jackson, Mark, Seongho, and Jin were still wearing theirs.

 

  Youngjae, Hoseok and Youngjo were huddled around their big screen TV playing Little Big Planet that they had snagged from my room. Hoseok and Youngjae’s sack boys were having a dance battle. BamBam, Jaebum, and Yoonhoo were sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee and chatting about crazy fans that come to fansign events.Jinyoung had just come from down the hall with a towel over his head. I’m guessing he took a shower.

 

   “How was breakfast?” Jin asked. “It feels weird saying that, seeing how it’s 10:30 at night here.” He chuckled.

 

  “Delicious. Mom made us sausage and eggs!” I could tell he was jealous.

 

  “Waaah. Jinjja?” He pouted, rubbing his tummy.

 

  “I know what to buy you for Christmas!”

 

  “What?!” His eyes lit up.

 

  “Food!” I said jokingly, but not really, because it would make an awesome gift.

 

  He yelled happily, jumping up and down, his pink cat ears flopping into his eyes.

 

  Jinyoung sauntered over, rubbing his wet hair with the towel. “What happened?”

 

  “Oh, just talking about future Christmas presents!” I smiled.

 

  “Did somebody say Christmas?!” An excited Jimin and Jungkook appeared beside us.

 

  “Do you want a tour of the dorm?” Jackson asked from his perch on the sofa.

 

  “Only if you take off that ridiculous outfit.” I joked.

 

 He pouted, puffing his cheeks out like a chipmunk. It made me laugh.

 

  “Aniyo….” But before I could finish the rest of my sentence he was already ping his Eeyore hoodie and pulling it off to reveal he was shirtless underneath.

 

  “Omo...I was just joking….” I cried, covering my eyes in shock.

 

 He laughed, flexing his muscles dramatically, gaining the audience of the whole room.

 

  “Waaaah!” Mark clapped.

 

  “Yah! Nobody wants to see that.” Namjoon joked.

 

  BamBam just stood there with a stank face, appalled by the cringiness of the whole situation.

 

  Jackson giggled, hiding behind his Eeyore costume again and disappeared again down the hall.

 

  BamBam took one look at my shocked expression and snorted. “You get used to his weirdness.”

 

  Somewhere down the hall, “I heard that!”

 

  “Anyway, Jackson is right. Would you like a tour?” Jinyoung offered.

 

  “Sure.” I smiled. “If it’s not inconvenient.”

 

  “Ani.” He led the way down the hall. “This is our workout room. We have to stay in shape for our performances. I’ve been working out a lot lately because Jaebum and I are having a comeback!”

 

  “Omo! JJ Project???”

 

  “You’re a fan?”

 

  “Of course! My favorite subunit!” I grinned.

 

  “Waaah! Thank you!” He grinned. Walking past an open door, he pointed, “That’s my room. This one is Jaebum’s, and Yugyeom and BamBam share this one.” The crudely hand-written sign on the door saying KEEP OUT made me chuckle. “Jackson the hoarder lives here.” He pointed to a closed door, which promptly opened to show a disgruntled Jackson.

 

  “I heard that.”

 

  “Yea well, it’s true.” Jinyoung shrugged with a chuckle, moving on. “And this was Youngjae’s room, but now Jaebum’s cats live here.” He laughed, then pointed to the bathroom. “And the bathroom...but that’s boring.”

 

  “I’m glad you got new dorms. The fans were worried about you.”

 

  “Jinjja? Yea, I guess it was pretty bad. Jackson had bugs in his old room. He hates bugs. Barely slept at night for fear they would crawl into his ears and lay eggs in his hair.” Jinyoung doubled over with laughter.

 

  Jackson walked passed us with a look of deadpan annoyance on his way back to the kitchen.

 

  Jaebum appeared. “Now that Chanel is here, we can introduce my girls!” He opened the bedroom door proudly, letting free three hyper felines to run loose in the dorm.

 

  You could hear Youngjae’s screams from the living room. “Yah! I haven’t put on my mask yet! I’m allergic remember??”

 

  “Yea yea...quit complaining and put your mask on.”

 

  I followed them back into the living room to find Youngjae hyperventilating, scrambling to put his face mask on so as not to breathe in fur. Nora, a beautiful Siamese with crystal blue eyes, Odd, a little white stray, and Kunta, an all black one, crowded around to meet the new kitten.

 

  It was endearing really. To see the curious gray kitten test out the situation, becoming more and more brave to the point of rolling around playfully with the other cats. Coco wanted in on the excitement and bounded through the middle of them, scattering the cats like bowling pins.

 

   “Looks like she found friends.” Jaebum smiled like a happy father.

 

  Just then, my cell phone rang in my back pocket. I pulled it out and looked at the screen. It was a number I didn’t recognize, but it had a local area code.

 

  “Hello?” I asked uncertainly.

 

  “Hey, it's Micah.”

 

  The guys crowded around me trying to hear. “Who is it?” Jimin asked. There was some pushing and shoving.

 

  “It’s my crush…” I whispered.

 

   A chorus of oohs and teasing glances greeted me.

 

  Micah continued. “I got your number from the principle's office. I was wondering if you could help me with one of my projects?”

 

  My crush is calling my phone and he needs my help for a project??? Am I dreaming?

 

  Trying to calm my racing heart, I didn’t want to sound too eager. “What's your project about?”

 

  “I have to write a paper on the cultural influence of music, so I picked South Korea. And since you said you were learning Korean and stuff, I decided to ask you.”

 

   I almost dropped the phone. A half squeal snuck out of me before I had a chance to stop it. I slapped a hand over my mouth. The guys gave me a funny look.

 

  “So...will you help me?” Micah asked.

 

  I had forgot to answer. “Oh, um...sure... I will do my best.” My throat was dry. Why was my heart beating so fast?

 

  “Daebak!” He exclaimed, making me giggle.

 

  Wow, we have so much in common!

 

  Namjoon and Jaebum were smirking at me from across the room.

 

  What? I mouthed.

 

  They shrugged nonchalantly and smirked some more, making me all the more nervous.

 

  “Alright! See you at school tomorrow!” Micah said happily.

 

  “Ok…” And he hung up. I stared down at my cell phone for an small eternity.

 

  BamBam nudged my shoulder and giggled. “Gwenchana? Are you still breathing?”

 

  “So what did your crush want?” Youngjo asked.

 

  Yugyeom grinned. “Did he ask you out?”

 

  “He needs my help writing a paper for school.”

 

  Jimin rolled his eyes. “Lame.” Then he smirked and put an arm around my shoulders. “I'd take you on a real date and make you feel like a princess.”

 

  I blushed hard.

 

  Taehyung shoved his arm out of the way. “Yah, she likes me better!”

 

  “Says who?” Yoongi gawked. More scuffling.

 

  “Namjoon, control your children.” Jin tsked.

 

  “So he hasn't asked you out yet?” Seongho asked curiously.

 

  I shook my head. “Up until last week, I didn't think he knew I existed.”

 

  “Well girl! We're gonna have to make you look irresistible!” Jackson exclaimed, clapping his hands together.

 

  “Yes! Makeover time!” The boys yelled.

 

  I turned to Jin who was standing beside me. "I should be worried, right?"

 

  He chuckled.

 

  A little while later, Namjoon rounded up the BTS gang to go back to their dorm. “We have promotions in the morning. See you later.”

 

  “Aww, do we have to?” Jungkook pouted.

 

  “Yes we have to.” Namjoon replied, pushing the maknaes towards the mirror.

 

  “Jaljayo!” I called after them.

 

  Taehyung waved goodbye as they disappeared through the mirror.

 

 “We better get going, too. We’re working on our comeback, and the manager likes us at practice bright and early.” Sunhyeok gave me an apologetic gaze.

 

  “Ani! It’s fine!” I assured them. “Hwaiting!” Cheering them on brought a smile to their faces.

 

  “See you later.” Jungha winked as he disappeared into the mirror behind Yoonhoo.

 

  Sunhyeok waited for the maknae, who was saying goodbye to the cats. “Come on, Seongho. We still have to take showers.”

 

  “Arasso...I’m coming.” He looked back sadly at the kitten playing on the floor with Kunta. “Bye bye Chanel.”

 

 “Later.” They waved to me.

 

 “Good night guys.”

 

  I was left standing beside the mirror in GOT7’s dorm. Gazing around at their sleepy yawning faces, I chuckled. “I have homework to do so I guess I will let you guys rest. Have a good night.”

 

  After a few crushing bear hugs from the maknaes and farewell high fives, I stepped back through the mirror into my quiet bedroom. It was 4 in the afternoon. Mom was probably still asleep downstairs.

 

  Sitting down at my desk, I opened up my history textbook and started studying for my finals until dinnertime.