In the laundry room, Junmyeon handed Baekhyun a folded cloth. “Here’s the cleaned fabric that used to be your bag.”

The orphan smiled as he inspected the laundered material. “I think it will work for the pouches I plan to make.”

Junmyeon smiled back. “I’m going to the market tomorrow so I can get you some other fabric too if you want...” 

“That’s very kind of you!" Baekhyun said earnestly. "But please don’t get anything expensive. I don’t have any money yet, and I already owe so much for staying here and the food I’ve been eating, so I don’t want to be too much in debt before I can begin paying everything back!” 

The older man chuckled. “I don’t think you understand how this works. You’re already earning your keep by helping around the house and fixing the clothes. And you barely eat enough to even put a dent in the food budget. So you don’t need to pay back anything on the material. Just let me know what color you want.”

The orphan blinked in surprise. “Oh… I.. um.” he said slowly. “Maybe.. a gray? Or a light brown color? But not a thick fabric. It needs to be thin enough that the smell of the fruit peelings can come through..”

Junmyeon nodded. “I agree. I’ll remember that tomorrow. Now, let’s see what everyone’s done to their clothes..” He reached down to the two laundry baskets at his feet and began pulling out clothing that had been washed and dried earlier in the day. One shirt showed signs of getting thin at the elbows and Baekhyun offered to go ahead and patch the spots before they could have a chance to tear. There was also another shirt with a ripped seam on the side, and the orphan was confident he could simply restitch the separated fabric back together. 

Junmyeon made a silly joke about the owner of the shirt getting too fat for his clothing, and the two were giggling together when the boss walked into the room. Baekhyun’s giggles died down quickly as he realized he was standing where the tall man had been standing earlier that day. Their positions were exactly opposite, giving Baekhyun the view of where he had been before he ran out of the steamy room. The room wasn’t steamy now, but the orphan still felt his mouth dry up as his mind reminded him of the well-built torso that he now knew was hiding under the boss’s shirt.

Baekhyun didn’t realize he had zoned out until Junmyeon touched his shoulder in concern. “Baekhyun? Are you alright?” 

The orphan blinked and turned to look at the kind man, nodding. “Yes. I’m fine.. Why?” 

“You act like you didn’t hear Mr. Park..” Junmyeon indicated the tall man as he explained to the orphan.

Baekhyun’s eyes grew wide in panic. “Oh I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to ignore you sir!” 

The boss smiled in a reassuring manner. “It’s ok if you were distracted, Baekhyun. I was just curious what you two were laughing about..” 

“Oh! Um.. Well we- I mean- I didn’t mean to- um.. “ The orphan stumbled to explain and Junmyeon gave a good natured huff of mock annoyance as well, but the boss’s chuckle cut them both off. 

“It’s ok.. You two can have your secrets.” The tall man grinned in amusement then paused. “But, I did have something to ask Baekhyun.” 

Junmyeon raised an eyebrow and the orphan looked up in surprise at the boss. The tall man cleared his throat as though embarrassed, and Baekhyun was confused as Junmyeon stifled his chuckle of amusement. Neither one said anything, waiting for the boss to continue.

“I um.. I plan to go for a ride around the grove tomorrow to check on things and thought maybe.. you would like to go with me? I’m sure you haven’t seen how big the grove actually is, so… this would be the perfect chance.” The tall man tried to not be obvious as he watched the orphan for a reaction. 

Baekhyun froze for a moment but quickly came to his senses. “Sir..I appreciate the offer but.. I don’t know how to ride a horse..” 

The boss chuckled as he explained. “No no.. You won’t have to ride a horse. We’ll take a cart.” 

“Oh..” Baekhyun glanced over at Junmyeon who nodded encouragingly. “Well, then.. I think I would like to see how big the grove is.”

The tall man nodded . “OK. We’ll go tomorrow after breakfast. Jun, make sure he has a hat.” One last smile and the boss left the room, leaving both men to stare after him for two totally different reasons.

The next morning a sleeping Baekhyun stirred as he felt someone shaking his shoulder lightly. The orphan curled into himself with a small whine, but when he heard chuckles from two voices he opened his eyes quickly and whipped his head towards the sound. Sehun and Junmyeon stood nearby, both dressed and obviously ready for the day. 

Still half asleep, Baekhyun sat up in the bed. “Did I miss the pounding?” he mumbled as he rubbed his eyes to wake up completely. 

Sehun snickered but Junmyeon elbowed the taller man then explained. “They don’t pound the floors on Sundays. We let you sleep in but I thought you might want to get up so you can have breakfast before the morning is completely gone.”

Baekhyun gasped and jumped out of bed. “Oh no! I’m being so rude to Mr. Park!” He scampered out the door and down the hallway to the bathroom. 

Sehun’s amused laughter could still be heard as Junmyeon called down the hallway. “I left a hat for you on my bed and there’s fresh fruit on the kitchen counter..” 

The orphan popped his head out of the bathroom door. “Thank you!” Then he disappeared back into the bathroom.

Sehun shook his head with a grin. ”Such a cute fruit mouse..” 

Junmyeon grinned back at him in agreement as they walked down the stairs.

Less than 10 minutes later a fresh-faced Baekhyun hurried down the stairs. Through the big front windows he could see the boss, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, propped against the mid-sized cart with his arms crossed. The orphan ran out the front door of the house with an apple in one hand and the borrowed floppy hat in the other, yelling his apologies about making the tall man wait. 

The boss shushed him good naturedly then unceremoniously grabbed him and lifted the orphan up onto the bench seat of the cart. Baekhyun