Chapter Fourteen

When they had arrived home, the first thing Yoomi did was excitedly tell everyone about the vision, or perhaps flashback was a better term, that she had had. Junmyeon had been the most supportive and ecstatic of the bunch at the news— even if he wasn’t one to express his joy as plainly or over the top as some of the other boys, notably Baekhyun came to mind, Yoomi was still able to tell that he was truly happy from the look in his eyes. She could understand why as well, since she was hoping for the same thing he was: that the memories of her past would soon return, meaning that she would remember her childhood spent with him as well. Given how long it took for even a brief flash to come through though and the apparent slowness of spell fading on her ring, it was obvious that she couldn’t expect her memories to return all at once or anytime in the imminent future.

Unfortunately, some of the other boys had not been as supportive, namely Sehun who had stormed off once the others had begun congratulating her. Frowning at his disappearing back, Yoomi decided that it was finally time to clear up whatever misunderstanding or negative feelings existed between them. Sure, they had gotten off on the wrong foot, but since then, he had saved her and she had made multiple efforts to befriend him. She saw no reason for his bad attitude to continue and to be honest, it was really beginning to get on her nerves and piss her off.

That was what led to her current situation where she was wandering the halls of the house, looking for Sehun’s room. She was glad that they all had name tags on their doors because that made it a lot easier to find. Her plan was simple, maybe even too simple. The idea was to finally give him a new shirt to apologize and thank him properly, just like she had tried to before, only this time she would force it on him if she had to— there was no way that she was going to take no for an answer.

Yoomi got no response when she knocked on his door, not that she had really expected one. Determined and not really caring if the stubborn boy wanted to see her or not, she carefully took hold of the nob and creaked open the door herself— even if she was technically barging in, she still didn’t want to make him angry and get kicked out immediately so it was in her best interests to be cautious and quiet about it.

The lights in the room were off, so she stumbled a little, almost tripping over something on his floor, which looked a lot like his gym bag. Was he taking a nap? Yoomi let her eyes adjust to the dark and then looked around the room for Sehun. He was sleeping in the bed that was placed against the left wall in the corner and didn’t even stir at the sound of her footsteps.

Stepping closer, she couldn’t help but notice how peaceful he looked, much like a baby. The expression on his face was completely relaxed and calm and he looked a lot better now than when he was glaring or scowling like usual. He was super attractive, even for a vaeli, and she could finally admire his looks without him getting mad at her for even looking his way or somehow annoying her by saying something stupid.

The girl quickly shook her head to clear it and tried hard not to blush at her thoughts. Get yourself together, Lee Yoomi! She was here for a reason, and that wasn’t to stare at Sehun’s face while he was sleeping like some kind of creep. To get Sehun his gift this time, one he would have no excuse to refuse, she would have to do everything properly, starting from getting the right measurements so she could get the right size dress shirt for him instead of just buying out the whole store.

As quietly as she could, she snuck over to his closet on the opposite side of the room from where he was sleeping. She gently opened the sliding doors and began to rummage around for his dress shirts. Unfortunately, it seemed luck wasn’t on her side, as there was not a single one of those shirts clean in the closet. Yoomi stood there thinking about where his shirts could’ve gone for a while when she remembered something. When she first moved in, Junmyeon had told her that laundry days are on Mondays and Thursdays and that everyone took turns doing the laundry. It was Yixing's and Xiumin's turn this week and seeing as it was a Thursday today, they must already be in the wash by now. She hadn’t thought ahead this far, her plan more impulsively thrown together than anything else. She supposed she had only one option left if she really was determined to go through with her actions: measuring Sehun himself. She had a feeling this wasn’t going to end well, but she was already there, so she might as well finish the job she came to do.

Yoomi tiptoed over to the bed with the fast asleep boy and stood by the side while pulling out the measuring tape she brought from her skirt pocket, something she had quickly grabbed from her room before setting out on her quest. Sehun was sleeping too far in the middle of the bed for her short arms to just reach out to measure him. But if she got on the bed, wouldn’t that cause too much movement and possibly wake him up? But the boys had mentioned before that he was a heavy sleeper…

Oh, to hell with it! Yoomi thought to herself. She couldn’t just keep standing here arguing with herself forever, so let’s just get it over with!

She climbed up onto his bed as gently as she could, extra careful to not make the bed dip too much on one side or exert too much pressure. She slowly crawled over so that she was sitting on her knees next to Sehun’s sleeping figure, leaning over him.

Trying not to make any noise or lean in too close to him, Yoomi reached out with her measuring tape, measuring the easy part first, which was his arm length. Once she had gotten the easy part done, measured, and memorized it, she moved on to his shoulders. With her hands being so shaky— as she didn’t want to face the boy’s rage if she were to wake him up—, she accidentally dropped the measuring tape. It slipped from between her fingers and fell on his chest with a soft thud. Sehun moved, wiggling his body, and her breath hitched. So as to not alert him to her presence, she stayed rock still, praying in her head that he wouldn’t wake up. He was still again after that, seemingly only changing his position in his sleep, and Yoomi heaved out a quiet sigh of relief.

She reached out for the measuring tape once again and held it up to get his shoulder measurement. The sleeping boy had moved even further away from her when he moved earlier, so she had to stretch her short arms out even further in order to reach his other side. Yoomi was even closer to him this way, and the scent that wafted into her nose was embarrassingly pleasant. Sehun smelled like baby powder— a scent which Yoomi, surprisingly, thought suited him terribly well—, and the clean scent only made her want to bury her nose into his chest to smell more of it. Although the girl mentally slapped that thought out of her head as soon as she realized what she had been thinking.

Yoomi had always known she wasn’t very gifted in the luck area, but today really was not her day. In her effort to get to his other side, she had bent over too far and lost her balance, causing her to topple over. Before she could fall on Sehun and crush him, her hands stopped her fall by placing themselves on his chest, which probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do to avoid waking someone up, but it was something she did on instinct. Sehun may be a heavy sleeper, but anyone would wake up if you fell on top of them.

His eyes were open the next second and before she knew it, he had flipped the both of them over so that she was now at the bottom and he was hovering above her on all fours.

“I’m only going to ask you once. What are you doing here?” Sehun growled out in a warning tone, his voice slightly deeper and still husky from sleep.

“Ummm, I-um, I…” When Yoomi couldn’t answer, her mind having gone blank, Sehun let out another little growl and leaned closer to her, their faces only inches apart.

“You really do have a death wish, don’t you Latte girl?”

“Uh, S-sehun, let me go,” she pushed lightly at his chest, uncomfortable and beyond flustered from their close proximity, but all he did was scoff at her and pin her hands to the bed. Yoomi gulped harshly, sputtering every curse word she knew in her head. The position they were in was very much scandalous and she couldn’t even imagine the amount of shame and embarrassment she would be in if anyone were to open the door and find them in that position right that moment.

“Then why did you come in here in the first place, huh?”

“I-i can’t tell you that. But I didn’t do anything bad, I promise!” Yoomi squeaked towards the end, still wiggling in his tight hold.

“Heh, you sure about that?” Sehun snorted with sarcastic laughter.

“Alright, Caffé boy,” Yoomi felt herself snap a little, lashing out as she tried to cover up her embarrassment with anger as her desperation to get out of the situation grew, “let go now or, or, uh—” She fumbled for some type of threat, unable to come up with anything in the heat of the moment. Sehun caught onto this easily, seeing through her act.

“Or what?” He squeezed her wrists lightly, but then his expression softened back into his usual neutral look when he noticed her wince. He released her and rolled onto his back on the bed beside her with a long sigh, scowling up at the ceiling.

“I was an orphan. I stayed in an orphanage until Junmyeon hyung’s family adopted me when I was thirteen. I had been with Junmyeon hyung and all the other hyungs since then, and my life was good. The hyungs practically brought me up. With them, I wasn’t lonely anymore. They all love me, and they take good care of me, and I had their undivided attention...until you came along.”

Yoomi slowly and hesitantly sat up, frowning down at him. His voice was less harsh now, and he sounded more frustrated than angry. She didn’t expect him to tell her something like that. And she definitely hadn’t expected for Sehun to be an orphan.

“You cause problems, and you seduced my hyungs, and now all they talk about is you. Ever since you came nothing has been the same again. It’s always Yoomi this, Yoomi that. It’s like I’m not even in their eyes anymore!” Sehun gave a hollow laugh and he looked like he genuinely couldn’t understand how things had come to this. Yoomi froze up, unsure what to say to him or if there was even anything that she should or could say to make it better. She had no idea he felt that way. He was actually worrying her a little now, and she was afraid that anything she dared to say would just make it worse. At least she understood now why Sehun was so possessive of his hyungs, scowling every time she was around any of the boys. It must’ve been hard on him to have his hyung’s undivided attention be taken away after he had all of them to himself for so many years. The boys must’ve spoiled him like crazy ever since he was young, and now that they weren’t giving him so much attention anymore, he was upset at her for it.

The atmosphere got so awkward and stifling that Yoomi had to close her eyes to block it all out, wishing somebody would come to her rescue.

“Sehun-ah! Wake up, we’re going out for dinner!” At that moment, they heard Yixing’s voice, followed by a few knocks on the door. Sehun also turned his head to look at the door. Taking that chance, Yoomi scrambled off the bed, accidentally kneeing Sehun in the stomach as she climbed over him. It was cowardly and she instantly felt guilty for leaving him after he had just opened up, especially since she hadn’t given him a response or truly acknowledged his feelings, but her fight-or-flight instinct had kicked in and her body was moving on its own before she even realized it. She would have to make it up to him later, though how she still didn’t know.

Yoomi ran out of the room like her life depended on it without looking back and smacked right into Yixing, who was still waiting outside the door.

“Woah there, kitten. What’s the rush? And what were you doing inside Sehunnie’s room? He doesn’t like people disturbing his sleep, you know.” Yixing steadied the unusually dazed girl by placing his hands on her shoulders, and she tried not to pant like she had just ran a marathon. Her mind was still spinning and her thoughts far away from whatever Yixing was trying to say to her.

“O-oppa. Ah, um, nothing, we were just talking. Sehun heard you, so let’s just go.” Yoomi stuttered and began pulling Yixing away with her, motions stiff as though afraid Sehun was going to burst out any second and kill her on the spot.

“And did you just call me kitten?” she questioned in both confusion and an attempt to change the subject and distract him from Sehun.

“Ah, it’s Jongdae’s nickname for you. I guess it just stuck.” He shrugged with a sheepish smile. “Now, let’s go meet the others.”

***

Yoomi had told Junmyeon earlier that she had to get something at the mall, and so he suggested they all eat out that day. They left as soon as everyone was changed into comfortable clothes and now all thirteen of the housemates were walking to the mall together, everyone looking like models, excluding Yoomi, who hadn’t bothered to dress nicely for the quick and simple trip unlike some of the boys.

By the time they got there, at least half of the boys were already complaining about how hungry they were, and so everyone mutually decided that the first stop would be to eat. They walked straight to a Korean BBQ place, which Yoomi assumed they were regulars at, because the moment they walked in, the waiters all greeted them and began preparing a table for their party immediately. The thirteen of them sat down at a private booth big enough for all of them, and when a waitress came to get their orders, Yifan just said ‘the usual’.

Dinner went by smoothly and Yoomi learned several new things about the guys. The first was that they ate a lot. Yoomi had known that guys naturally eat more, but even so, they still ate a lot even for guys. Each one of them had a stack of empty bowls of rice, no less than five, while she had only eaten two. Baekhyun noticed that and kept piling more food onto her plate, urging the petite girl to eat more.

They talked about anything and everything, and during that time was when Yoomi found out some interesting things about them. One, Xiumin always cried at sad, cheesy romance movies, so they always have to have a full box of tissues on hand when they watch one together. He didn’t strike Yoomi as the type of person who even watched romantic movies at all, so this was quite a big shock to her. To her greater surprise, Yifan and Tao, both of which Yoomi had deemed to be the coldest and most intimidating out of all the boys, also had their own embarrassing stories. Apparently, Yifan sings and raps in the shower and all the other boys make fun of him for it, and Tao's terrified of bugs and can't watch horror movies without crying his eyeballs out and staying up all night afterward because he’s too scared to fall asleep.

Conversations flowed peacefully around the table, with the exception of a few squabbles between the loud ones, but was interrupted when Junmyeon’s phone dinged with a notification. The leader’s face darkened as he read whatever text he received, and everyone tensed a tiny bit once they noticed the darkening aura surrounding their leader.

“Kim Jongin,” Junmyeon called in his stern voice, and the entire table stilled and stopped talking to give him all their attention. “You got into a fight in class today?” It sounded more like a statement than a question, but Yoomi immediately stiffened up when she realized what he was talking about. Before she could tell him what exactly happened, Jongin spoke up.

“I’m sorry, hyung. But somebody had to teach that —” Yoomi cut him off before he could finish, having a feeling that Jongin talking without context was only going to anger his hyungs more.

“It was my fault, oppa. Choi Jihoon was bothering me again, and Jongin only wanted to help me. He didn’t do it because he wanted to-”

“Hell yeah, I wanted to! That bastard—”

“Jongin, language,” Yifan quickly intercepted in his usual scolding tone.

“Who the cares? That bastard had the nerve to drop Yoomi from the sky, and then he also decides to drop a ten-pound tent on her. You guys would’ve punched him too!” Jongin ranted, ignoring Junmyeon’s glare on his choice of words, which disappeared as soon as he heard what Jihoon did to Yoomi and was replaced with a look of worry.

Immediately after Jongin finished talking, a hundred voices muttering ‘Yoomi, are you okay’s burst out, and she had to lean back from all the faces invading her personal space. She appreciated their concern, but it was hard not to feel overwhelmed with how many of them there are.

“Yoomi-ah! What did that guy do?! Were you hurt?” Baekhyun screamed out, hands coming up to squeeze her face between his palms. Yoomi whined at that, but before she could get him to stop, another pair of hands— these ones noticeably larger— grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her around to face him. Chanyeol’s eyes were opened wide as he turned her body around in her seat to check for any injuries.

“That kid! If I find even a little bruise on you, he’s gonna get it from me!” Yoomi unconsciously winced at his naturally loud volume, wondering how she always ended up sitting between the two loudest ones and getting her eardrums blasted. Then Yixing, her angel, came in to save the day once again. His observant eyes had caught the girl’s little wince, and he gently reached over from Chanyeol’s other side to pry the giant’s hands off of her.

“Yoomi-ah, if you are ever hurt just come to me, okay?” Yixing smiled at her sweetly then reached a hand out to rest on her head before patting it gently. Yoomi realized her ears weren’t ringing anymore and smiled gratefully at the healer.

“I’m fine, guys. No need to be worried. It was just hard to breathe for a while,” she reassured, leaving out the part where she had very nearly had a panic attack. Thankfully, the faces backed off a little, though Jongin shot her a subtle glare as if calling her out on her lie.

“Choi Jihoon… I will need to go have a talk with that kid.” Junmyeon sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair and looking stressed. “If it happens again, try to tell the professor or something instead of getting into a fist fight, okay? And always report to me.”

“ that, that deserves a beating,” Jongin scoffed, aggressively stuffing another large spoonful of rice in his mouth. Junmyeon shook his head at his stubborn attitude, while Yifan once again warned him about his language.

The group walked around after they finished dinner, and Yoomi smoothly lied, telling the boys she had personal female products to buy. With red ears, they all nodded and left her alone. She went straight to a clothing store after that and looked around the place for anything she thought might look good on Sehun. It was a little difficult, actually, because Sehun would look good in anything. She spent ten minutes picking the perfect shirt for him, and another five to find the right size, using the rough measurements she took of Sehun before, and then another three simply staring off into space and letting her mind wander with a frown on her face.

A shirt was a nice gift, especially since she had promised him one what seemed like forever ago at their first meeting, but after their conversation in his room and the unexpected turn it took, she knew it was going to take more than that to fix everything. She still didn’t know what to say to him or how to bring it up again, which was the reason she had been not-so-subtly avoiding him ever since then. She simply didn’t know how to talk to him anymore. However, Yoomi was stubborn by nature and no matter what it took, she had already decided she was going to be Sehun’s friend. Buying him a present was the first step in the right direction.

Once it was purchased and wrapped in a nice little bag, she left the store to go look for the boys.

***

After they got back to the house, everyone once again split and went their separate ways, most of the boys either heading to their bedrooms or one of the various rooms in the house that housed their favorite hobbies. Baekhyun offered to watch a movie with Yoomi and she gave him an apologetic smile, making up an excuse on the spot. As much as she hated seeing the disappointed expression on his face when she told him she was too tired and going to head to bed early after she took a shower, Yoomi was on a mission and she couldn’t let herself be distracted by his big, brown puppy dog eyes. Instead of going to the extra bathroom she was allowed to use though, the determined girl headed to the door with Sehun’s name on, shopping bag in hand. However, after she reached his room, her body froze and she ended up just standing there for a few agonizing minutes while her anxiety grew. She was still at a loss as to how she was supposed to address the situation, especially with what he had revealed to her about himself.

Should she knock? What if he opened the door and then didn’t let her in once he noticed it was her? But it was rude to just barge into someone’s room— something a few of the boys seemed to have a habit of doing—, especially after she had already gotten caught in there without permission just a couple of hours ago. Deciding to be brave and not take no for an answer, even if he didn’t want to see her, Yoomi raised her hand to knock on the wood. It was better to be safe than cause more issues by walking in unannounced and be sorry about it later.

Luck didn’t seem to be on her side though— again—, but then, with the day she had been having, that didn’t surprise her.

The door swung open before she had any time to mentally prepare herself for what she was going to say to him. It didn’t matter though, because the second his eyes landed on her, he scoffed and attempted to close the door again. Having already thought of that as a very real possibility, one of Yoomi’s hands shot out instinctively to push the door back and she struggled to wedge a foot in between it and the doorframe as an extra precaution.

“What do you want?” Sehun asked lazily, not seeming to care at all. That took Yoomi quite aback, but she figured with how much of a baby Sehun was, maybe he was just feeling too tired to be hostile.

“Sehun, can I come in?” Yoomi asked in a hushed whisper, unsure of why she was saying it so quietly. Maybe it was because the boy looked so sleepy that she unconsciously lowered her voice as to not alarm him or maybe it was because she was nervous.

Sehun’s face suddenly contorted into a frown, and foreseeing another harsh refusal, she impulsively blurted out a shaky “I’m sorry” and stormed into his room anyway, ducking under his outstretched arm and slipping right past him.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing, Latte girl?” Sehun grits out between his teeth, slamming his door shut mildly for emphasis.

“I brought a peace offering!” Yoomi panicked and winced at herself directly afterward, raising up her little gift bag awkwardly so that it blocked her face and he could no longer stare at her like he wanted to kill her. She hated it. Usually, she was so confident and could generally talk to people well, and she had never had a problem when it came to dealing with Sehun before, even if it was just the two snapping at each other and bickering. However, after their almost heart-to-heart earlier, she didn’t know how to approach him; she felt awkward and shy, out of place and not at ease in her own skin while she was trapped under his gaze. It was uncomfortable and all she wanted was to fix things and somehow become Sehun’s friend so things could go back to normal. However, she didn’t regret hearing him out earlier or learning his true feelings. In fact, she was glad because it mean