There was no one in the large common room area when Baekhyun came into the house through the kitchen door.

He set the basket down on the kitchen counter and leaned over with his head against the countertop, trying to get his thoughts together. He could still feel the ghost of the boss’s strong hands gently gripping his sides, and his heart refused to stop its excited fluttering. “What the hell am I thinking.. He’s the boss. My hands were full and he was just helping me down off the cart. That’s all..” 

Baekhyun shook his head at himself as he straightened up and turned to the sink, sliding the basket over near the sink with one hand as he began to pump the handle with his other. He had become used to operating the water faucets in the house and was aware of tricks and shortcuts to get just the amount of water that he needed from each one. Two pumps of the kitchen handle brought a steady trickle of water that would last for a couple of minutes. The orphan quickly grabbed a bowl from the shelf below the counter and positioned it under the thin stream. Then he began transferring the berries from the basket into the slowly filling bowl. 

Sounds of footsteps told him that others in the house would probably be coming into the room soon. His assumption was correct and soon a few men came in from the hallway. They all headed over to sit on the sofas. Kyungsoo and Luhan were talking and laughing with them, but when the friends saw the orphan in the kitchen area the two left the group and walked over to see what Baekhyun was doing. The other three men in the sofa area started a card game as the three in the kitchen washed the fruit together and talked about how it should be stored. 

Kyungsoo showed the orphan a hidden door in the middle of the kitchen floor. When the door was lifted it revealed a large storage box. The temperature inside the box was extremely cold. There were several wrapped packages inside, and some towards the bottom even had ice crystals on them. Baekhyun learned that the area around the box was made of carefully designed compartments with ice blocks stored in them and the melted ice was replenished once a week all year around. Kyungsoo explained that the ice was delivered by specially insulated carriages that came out to the estate every Sunday evening, and the area where the ice was placed could be accessed by going under the porch. This special set-up made it possible for the workers to always have fresh food available to eat, even if the fresh food had been on ice for a little while. 

The orphan was amazed at the concept of the icebox and was still excitedly asking questions when the sound of several horse hooves thudded outside. Then new voices were suddenly heard outside on the front porch and Luhan rolled his eyes. “Oh dear..” he said with a sigh.

Baekhyun didn’t get a chance to ask what the normally chatty man meant. The front door burst open, making everyone jump, and within seconds five noisy men poured into the house all at the same time. The orphan was sure he had never seen these men before. The one that came in last was a very tall ruggedly handsome man and he stopped just inside the doorway and closed it behind him. 

“HONEY I’M HOOO~OOME!” the stranger bellowed in a sarcastic tone as he spread his arms outward. 

Kyungsoo and Luhan exchanged a quick look then Kyungsoo grabbed Baekhyun’s wrist and stealthily pulled the orphan to stand behind him. Baekhyun stumbled a little but for some reason felt it was wise to keep quiet about the sudden move. 

Luhan took a wide step to the side before he casually cocked his hip and leaned against the counter. “What do you want, Kris?” he said with disgust. Baekhyun was used to Luhan sounding warm and friendly, so the cold tone made it very obvious that Luhan didn’t like this rude stranger.

The tall man whipped his head towards the kitchen with a lecherous grin on his face. “What I always want.. Come and get me, baby!” 

The man’s tone made a shiver run up Baekhyun’s spine. This was the same tone the erts at the river used to use when they leered at him as he tried to take a bath. Kyungsoo still had a careful grip on his wrist and the little one bent down further to hide himself more behind the part-time chef.

Luhan sighed in exasperation. “You know it’s never gonna happen, so why the hell do you keep trying?”

The tall man chuckled. “The kiss you gave me when you were drunk last month tells me otherwise, Sweetheart. You’ll give in to me some day…”

The men that had come in with the tall man were all now making themselves comfortable sitting in the dining chairs and on the table, and they hooted with catcalls. The men at the sofa stopped their card game.

Luhan spoke through gritted teeth. “Go.Home.Kris.”

One of the rowdy men had his feet propped up on the table and he spoke up. “Hey Kris! If Lu won’t have you, maybe the cook and his cute little friend might wanna play..!”

The tall man at the front door took a couple of steps towards the kitchen area. “Oh? What have we here? New.. meat?” he asked pointedly. The men at the table laughed and the men that had been playing cards now all stood up. 

Luhan and Kyungsoo