August had officially come and gone, the warm heat of summer dissipating faster and faster into the crisp air and warm tones of autumn. With it came the marking of one month spent in the Bangtan House, and Soah had finally begun to feel at home. 

She worked now at Jin's side, the older having a rare day off for once. Soah greatly enjoyed his company, feeling free to be herself as she let him carry their often one-sided conversations. On this particular morning, Jin had woken with a desperate need to stock the house with every kind of fall sweet they could think of. Taehyung had run like the devil chased his tail, desperation b in his eyes as he begged her to replace him as Jin's baking companion, or slave as he'd put it. Evidently, he wasn't fond of the idea of spending his own day off slaving away in the kitchen. 

Soah had been easy enough to convince, though it would have been impossible to resist Taehyung's pleading anyway. No one was safe from the boy's puppy eyes, save Yoongi and occasionally Jin. It would appear today had been one of those days Jin was impervious to the deadly weapon. When determined, Jin had all the power of a (very organized and kitchen loving) hurricane.

At any rate, they had been at it for hours already. The dining room had been designated for the finished treats, the lengthy table already laden with batches upon batches of cookies, as well as streusels, cakes, pastries of every kind, and loaves of sugary breads. They had since moved on to pies, three apple pies cooling on the dining table while two berry pies sat in the oven. Soah was stirring together the contents of the next set of pies, which were to be pumpkin. Jin was rolling out the crusts, his voice melding smoothly with the music sounding from the Bluetooth, a little wiggle in his movements as if unable to keep from dancing along in some small way. Soah kept a barely contained giggle, her own tail flickering to the beat behind her as she worked. 

Another hour passed, the pumpkin pies baking happily away in the oven as Jin finally declared himself satisfied. Soah sighed wearily as she gazed upon the mess that had lain waste to the usually pristine kitchen. Cleanup had never been her favorite thing to do. 

"Let's get this place cleaned up!" Jin exclaimed energetically as if he hadn't just spent a literal day exerting himself. He looked at the mess with distaste. "What a pigsty. Well, Soah, let's get crackin'!"

Despite feeling dead on her feet, Soah complied. She started putting the now nearly empty containers of ingredients back in their places, slowly but surely restoring the kitchen to its former glory while Jin worked on the dishes. Halfway through the mess, Soah's ear flickered at the sound of footsteps approaching the kitchen door. Even before the door swung open to reveal the intruder, keys jingling in their lock, she knew from the sound of his footsteps that it was Jungkook. She looked at the clock. It was just after six, the sky already darkening with the onset of autumn. 

"Rather late isn't it Kook-ah? Where have you been?" Jin asked before she could while giving his customary headlock greeting.

"Aish, Hyung, let me go!" Jungkook struggled beneath Jin's tough love, smiling all the same as he finally escaped the elder's grasp. "I forgot to tell you I had extra practice today. The competition is on Saturday, remember? We have practice until six for the rest of the week."

He reached for one of the last pieces of fruit still left after their baking spree, a lone banana amongst a few oranges. He peeled the banana absently, wide eyes taking in the destruction of the kitchen. "What happened in here?"

Soah smirked at his cute expression. Kookie, for all his muscles and Taekwondo skills, reminded Soah of nothing less than a cute, sweet little bunny. Though physically larger than her, he was almost delicate in her eyes, sparking something almost sadistic in her. While he had no problem using his strength on his hyungs, constantly tousling with Jin or his fellow maknaes, he acted completely different in her presence. He became awkward and quiet, rarely meeting her eyes and flushing when under her direct attention. His hyungs had noticed this and for being scared of girls, but Soah secretly enjoyed the power she seemed to wield over the boy. To her predator's eyes, he was submitting himself as the weaker between them.

She was delighted by this behavior, struggling between her desire to protect and devour. She found herself standing taller around him, turning her fierce gaze on him just to see him squirm, finding opportunities to show off her fangs and claws. She did so now, yawning widely and letting a slight growl into it, as was her habit. The effect was instantaneous, Kook's eyes widening, his breath stuttering ever so quietly, his head lowering in a subconscious show of submission. She grinned wolfishly, satisfied by the display as she listened to his heart double its pace inside his chest. 

Jin, oblivious, returned to cleaning his kitchen. "Soah and I have just finished baking a few treats," he gestured absently to the dining room where Jungkook then turned his attention.

"A few," he scoffed incredulously, "that's not a few, Hyung. What are you going to do with all this? We can't possibly eat everything!"

It was something Soah had been wondering herself, and she waited curiously for Jin to explain.

Jin snorted. "Can't you? Well, it's not all for you anyways. It's Seohyun's birthday tomorrow, so of course one of the cakes is for him, the noodle Ajumma's knee is acting up again so I thought I'd bring her something to cheer her up, Hitoshi mentioned his studio was doing well, so naturally, we have to celebrate..."

Soah listened as he listed several more people he knew from work and elsewhere, her heart softening as she picked up the caring tone of his voice. It amazed her that someone could be as selfless as Jin, always concerned about others, willing to spend his time off just to find a way to encourage them. Jungkook must have been thinking something similar, his smile growing as he listened to his hyung. 

"Aigoo, Hyung," he cooed as Jin finished, "are you sure you aren't an angel?"

"Hmph. As if this handsome face could be human." Jin joked, a genuine smile blooming across his face at his dongsaeng's praise. 

"Wuahhh, Daebak Hyung!" Taehyung's deep voice interrupted from the dining room, Soah following behind the other two as they joined the boy.

Taehyung was standing over the table, googly-eyed as he all but drooled over the deserts. "It looks and smells so good!"

"Yah, you slacker, get away from our hard work!" Jin manhandled the boy away from the table, ignoring Tae's desperate whines. 

"Hyung, just one cookie, please!!!"

"Not until you finish cleaning the kitchen! I want it spotless! And don't think I don't know Soah didn't just volunteer to help. I know your tricks, you video-gaming slacker!"

Taehyung protested as he was unceremoniously shoved into the kitchen, the loud groan of horror when he saw his daunting task bringing a snicker to Soah's lips. She had no sympathy for the boy in the face of her own pleasure at being able to skip out on the dreadful chore.

"Well," Jin sighed upon his return to the dining room, "since we spent all day baking, I don't have anything for dinner. Why don't you guys find the others and decide on something for takeout."

Both Soah and Jungkook cheered, for once meeting each other's eyes without anything more than excitement shining between them. While they all enjoyed Jin's cooking tremendously, takeout was a rare treat. With a nod of understanding, the two took off to find the others.

Soah immediately ran for the stairs, knowing exactly where to find her first target. Dashing up them two at a time, she emerged on the second floor and darted across the living area to the black painted door on the other side. Without waiting to hear a response after knocking to signal her entrance, she twisted the knob and flew through the door. 

It was an unspoken rule that no one was to disrupt Yoongi while he was working, but for some reason that rule had never applied to Soah. The first time she'd barged in, the others had been behind her with terrified shouts of warning, not daring