The next morning started with the usual banging on the kitchen ceiling waking up everyone in the house. 

Unlike before, when he lived above the weaver’s shop, the little orphan just stayed on his bed, blinking sleepily as he listened to the noise levels increasing in the hallway and rooms around his own. He knew he didn’t need to be in too much of a rush. 

Baekhyun had learned that a lot of the men woke up and rushed to the bathroom as soon as the loud banging began each day, so he had found it easier to wait a little bit before going down the hallway to take his turn in the bathroom. Everyone had their own quick morning routine, so by the time the little one made it into the large tiled room there was always a space opening somewhere for him to take care of his own morning needs. And he didn’t eat a lot for breakfast, so he wasn’t worried about being one of the last in line to get whatever was left to eat.  

This morning was no different, although when Baekhyun got to the kitchen countertop he noticed individual bowls of oatmeal had already been dished out and one was waiting for him with strawberries and blueberries sitting prettily in the center. The orphan’s eyes lit up at the fruit and he happily carried the bowl over to the table. 

He was surprised to see his usual seat was taken, but he quickly noticed there was a seat closer to the head of the table, next to Minseok. The older man greeted Baekhyun warmly when he sat down, then put an empty cup in front of him. Minseok lifted a chilled pitcher off the table from where it sat in front of them. “Say when!” he chirped, then began pouring cold milk into the cup. 

Baekhyun lifted his hands in protest. “Oh I don’t- Th-that’s enough, thank you!” he said rapidly. The cup was only about half full as the older man stopped pouring.

“Are you sure? You drink a lot more than that when you’re having water…” Minseok said.

The orphan nodded but his chance to speak was interrupted by Jongdae who was sitting on the other side of the older man. “You need a lot more milk than that to keep growing!” the loud man said with a grin. “You’ll thank me later when you’re strong and healthy long into your older years!”

“Dae is right.” Minseok began pouring again. “You can always add some of this to your oatmeal and make it creamier if you don’t want to drink it from the cup.” He stopped pouring just below the lip of the cup and put the pitcher down, then leaned in as though telling the orphan a secret. “Look at him puff his chest out. I don’t tell my boyfriend he’s right very often ‘cuz it always goes to his head.” he snickered and leaned back enough for Baekhyun to see around him. Sure enough the loud man had a satisfied grin on his face and was wiggling his eyebrows a little at the two of them. Minseok snorted and Baekhyun couldn’t hold back a little giggle at the silliness. 

Jongdae made a fake hurt look. “What?” 

Minseok leaned over quickly and pecked his boyfriend's lips. “Nothing. Eat your breakfast.”

Baekhyun openly watched the exchange. He hadn’t watched a lot of romantic interaction between couples before, so seeing the kiss given and received so easily was something new for him. And the older man had said the word boyfriend so easily. The orphan bit his lower lip slightly in thought as he looked back down at his oatmeal. The fruit in the top was starting to sink a little into the gruel so he snatched a strawberry off the top. Distracted and chewing happily, he took his spoon and stirred the rest of the fruit into his breakfast. 

“That’s a good idea.” The warm voice two seats away at the end of the table made the little one look up with wide eyes, meeting almond-shaped ones. The boss smiled and raised his coffee cup in greeting. 

Baekhyun gave a small smile back and ducked his head in a shallow bow then looked back down at his bowl. The steam from the mixed oatmeal wafted up, reminding him of the warmth. Instead of taking a bite, he opted to take a cautious drink of milk instead. He had only had it once before when Tao had given him some and he had liked it so much that it took a lot of willpower to not drink the whole cup at one time. The day that Baekhyun learned about the icebox in the kitchen floor, Kyungsoo had explained that the milk was bought every two days from a nearby farm. So the orphan knew the creamy white drink wasn’t a free commodity. He carefully put the cup back down and reached for his spoon, not noticing the soft chuckle from the man at the head of the table.

Breakfast was quickly over, with the men all pouring out of the house and into three carts all hooked up to horses, waiting to take them to the grove. Baekhyun stayed back with Kyungsoo and the two of them washed the breakfast dishes as they chatted together. The boss stood on the front porch, giving orders and making sure everything was getting off to a good start. Junmyeon stood to the boss’s side, watching everything carefully and occasionally adding a comment here and there. As the carts full of workers and empty baskets finally rumbled away, the last of the dishes were also finished. 

Baekhyun saw the boss and his cousin talking as they came back into the house. Their height was different, but their faces and body structure was just similar enough to remind the orphan of the conversation he had with Luhan a few days before. Luhan told him that the cousins were close in age. So that meant that the boss was in his thirties as well. Another reason he would never