Chapter 1

“Just eat it and go already!” Yoori complained as she shoved a spoonful of scrambled eggs in .

“Yeah, it’s not like you would’ve cooked for us anyway.” Taeyong scooped up a cup of rice and sat down across Yoori on the table. “Stop whining if you don’t want to go to school on an empty stomach, Yuta.”

“Fighting so early in the morning again, are you?” Jaehyun snickered as he emerged from the bathroom, already dressed.

“Not my fault she made scrambled when I really like sunny side eggs.” Yuta bitterly pouted and plopped himself on the small kitchen table with his glass of orange juice. He took a sip and sighed.

“We’re about to be late for school. If you don’t eat, we’re leaving without you.” Jaehyun reiterated and went back inside his room.

“They’re really good, Yoori.” Taeyong said, “You even made kimchi soup! Thanks!” he added. “I usually cook for everyone. It’s nice to have someone else do it.” He giggled shyly.

So, how did Lee Yoori end up living in one apartment with Taeyong, Yuta, and Jaehyun?

Well for starters, Yoori and Taeyong are cousins, their mothers are sisters. They’ve been friends since childhood and Taeyong treats her as his own sister since he already grew up with his own older sister. When they were about to go to college, Yoori had trouble looking for her place because it was too expensive to live alone and she didn’t have friends with whom she could room with in the city. Luckily Taeyong was going to the same university. The only hitch was Taeyong also had other friends who lived with him; namely Nakamoto Yuta and Jeong Jaehyun.

Yoori’s mom was very hesitant at letting her daughter live with 2 other strange boys but when Taeyong’s mom reaffirmed that she would be okay with them and Taeyong would look out for her, Yoori was allowed to live in the same apartment.

The apartment has 4 rooms for each of them, a small livingroom and an even smaller kitchen, but it had its charms. Taeyong and Yoori shared a hallway and the other two shared the other side.

Nakamoto Yuta majors in foreign affairs and is Yoori’s constant enemy in the house. It’s not that they can’t get along, Yuta just likes getting on her nerves and testing her limits.

FLASHBACK

“Who would’ve thought I’d be living with a girl even before I get married.” Yuta thought to himself as they waited for Yoori to come up with her boxes.

They lived on the 5^th floor so thank God there was an elevator. Taeyong had gone down to help her out too.

Once they came in, Yuta noticed how pretty she looked despite the disheveled hairstyle she was sporting. She was only wearing a white t-shirt and baggy denim jeans too.

Jaehyun helped Taeyong as the latter was obviously carrying the heavier box while Yuta just looked at Yoori.

Noticing that Yuta was staring, Yoori decided to introduce herself, “Hi, I’m Lee Yoori!” she smiled kindly even as she huffed with the box in her arms.

Yuta was brought back to reality and spoke, “Hey, I’m Yuta.”

“We have the same syllable name!” Yoori smiled even wider “YooYu!” she emphasized.

Yuta on the other hand just rolled his eyes, shoved his hands in his pockets and shuffled to his room.

END

The boys were relatively nice to her but Yoori didn’t really mind because she felt that they did get along in a way. At least that’s what she tells herself.

Taeyong had been Yoori’s friend and brother since she was an only child. They’d always have each other’s back if one of them gets in trouble; which is more often than one would think. They knew each other’s secrets and always trusted each other. They were both brought up in strict households so they knew their way to avoid rules and trouble whenever they could. They’ve already devised plans which would let them have their way.

FLASHBACK

“You do it! You’re the girl! Ladies first, remember?!” Taeyong insisted as he was egging Yoori to jump off the ledge of her window so they could sneak out to go to a party.

Yoori clicked her tongue and jumped blindly, landing on the soft bushes below. Taeyong followed not long after and they ran for two blocks where the party was being held.

“Back before 2AM, got it?” Taeyong repeated as they went their separate ways to meet their friends at the party. He had always been protective of Yoori because it was his neck on the line if she gets into trouble and their moms find out. He didn’t really mind, but he did have his weird ways of showing he cared.

Sneaking out was the easy part, but coming back inside the house was tricky because it made a lot of unnecessary noise.

Both Taeyong and Yoori are light drinkers so they didn’t really ever come home too drunk. They could handle their alcohol though.

“Shh! Didn’t I tell you to take off your shoes?!” Yoori whispered screamed to her cousin right behind her.

“Shut up! I told you it would take too long!” he whispered back as the duo was trying to make their way up the stairs and back into Yoori’s room. “Just move it!”

Once the two of them were back inside the room, they immediately closed the window and took turns cleaning themselves up in the bathroom to remove any traces of the fact that they were at a party.

END