You stepped off the elevator into the lobby, stopping short at the ringing sound of the service bell.  At the front desk, Baekhyun and Jongdae were grinning mischievously.

"You've got to be kidding me.  This is how you call guests over now?"

"Ha!  It worked, didn't it?  Where are you headed to, Miss?" Jongdae wanted to know.

"Well, since my plans for the evening have changed again, I thought I'd go check out the movie under the stars thing tonight."

"Really?  That's awesome!"  You shot Jongdae a look, and he quickly coughed.  "Uh... I meant it's awesome you're here now because you can help me with something.  Could you deliver this to Chef?  Please? Baek and I have to go talk to Manager Kim.  I'll owe you one!  Thank you!" he sang out before pushing a basket full of folded linens into your arms, and rushing off with his co-hort.

With a sigh and a shrug, you made your way to the stainless steel realm of the darkly glowering chef.

"Where did Jongdae go?" he demanded after seeing you and taking possession of the basket.  "Did he ditch me again?"

"Not sure.  He said he had to meet Manager Kim right away, and left me with those."

Kyungsoo's swearing was interrupted by the ringing of the kitchen phone. 

"Soo-yah!  We got permission to use Bertha tonight!  So you're gonna have to come up with some more good stuff to fill it--"

"I'm not moving a finger unless you get back here and help me like you promised you would, Kim Jongdae."

"I will... I am, I swear!  Hey, is Y/N still there?"

"Mhmph," Kyungsoo grunted, glancing in your direction.  "I'm NOT asking her to help--"

"No!  She can't!  Send her to Taeminnie.  He's working poolside now.  He knows what to do."

"Good to know some people have an idea of what's going on... wish I were one of them.  Hurry up and get back here, Dae, before I drown you in the hot tub."

Hanging the receiver up none too gently, Kyungsoo rubbed his furrowed brow, then turned to face you.  "I'm sorry.  My maître has just dumped twice the amount of work on me than I had anticipated."

"Come on, Chef... I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle."  He scoffed at your optimism.  "Do you want me to lend a hand?  Prep pro in the house, remember?"

"Thanks, but no thanks.  You shouldn't be toiling away in the kitchen on your vacation.  Jongdae said he waylaid you on the way to the pool?  If you go out those doors and turn left, you won't have to double back through the building.  Ask for Taemin.  He'll take care of you."

"If you're sure...?"  The flustered chef gave you a small smile, then waved you off and hurried away, leaving you to make your own way outside.

You found the pool easily enough, and parked yourself at the end of the accompanying bar.  The tall, sweet-natured blonde with the angelic smile who was on duty kept your drink topped off, and kept you company when his attention wasn't required elsewhere.

"Hey, Tae?  Where would you go if you were gonna have dinner around here?"

"The place that sent you to me.  Are you hungry?" he asked, setting a bowl of cubed mango down by your glass.  "I could call the kitchen and order you something?"

"No, don't do that.  They're crazy busy, and I don't want to bother them.  Who delivers?"

"No one has better food than this place.  Let me just see what's going on..."  Before you could stop him, he was on the phone.  One minute later, a familiar face appeared, bowing in front of you.

"Miss Y/N," Jongdae said, straightening up and sweeping one arm out in front.  "I hear you are ready for dinner.  If you would be so kind as to follow me please..."

"But--"

"This way please," he insisted.  With a shrug, you waved goodbye to Taemin, and followed him to a distant area of the pool.  It was remote enough that you had to wonder how anyone could watch the movie from there.

But your unasked question was answered when you were led into a huge cabana.  "Welcome to Big Bertha!" Jongdae cheered.

"What in the--"

"It's a special double cabana that we get to use sometimes!  See, we've got it set up so you can watch the movie up here, or whatever's playing on the TV in the back... probably some sports thing.  Although I heard there might be singing later."

"Y'all hang out together here?"

Baekhyun materialized from the back section.  "Junnie doesn't mind if we join movie night, as long as we don't cause any trouble.  We keep to our own space."

You whistled, impressed.  "Nice job perk.  But Jongdae, I was just gonna have dinner at the bar like a loner... I didn't expect all this."

"Hey now," the waiter scolded.  "We don't allow losers in our midst... do we, Baek?"

"Uh, I don't think I said 'loser.'"

"Potato, potahto.  Where is the food anyway?"

"Right here, you loser," Kyungsoo said with a slap to the side of Jongdae's head.  "You were supposed to help me bring this stuff out.  The maknaes had to help me."

"No losers allowed in Bertha," Baekhyun declared, shaking his head while wolfing down a brownie the size of his fist.  "We're very particular about the company we keep."

Kyungsoo swiped the heavy basket away in disgust, wanting to make sure the supply of goodies lasted until you had your fill.  "Sorry about them.  Those two idiots might have questionable personalities of their own, but they're surprisingly good judges of character.  I don't know how it works out like that.  Please join us if you don't have any other plans.  You have to keep me company so I can ignore them for the rest of the night."

"All right," you smiled shyly, claiming a spot on the cushioned platform that was piled high with pillows and blankets.  The boys scattered, pulling an assortment of food out of the baskets Kyungsoo had brought, and arranging them throughout the cabana.  Drinks followed, set up in a similar manner by the bartenders.  Once everything was in place, Kyungsoo took a seat beside you, and turned the huge TV on.

Your presence caught the attention of the three towering youngest employees.  Taemin gave you a warm smile and a wave, Sehun muttered something aside to his friends with a wink, setting Jongin off in a fit of giggles.

A fourth skyscraping pillar of male flesh dove headfirst onto the pillow covered surface, tumbling squarely into Kyungsoo's shoulder, which caused him to pitch into you.  "Ow," you winced.

"Watch out, you menace," your disgruntled, protective neighbor shoved back.

"Yah, you made it!  Got the best seat in the tent too, I see... right next to the basket."

"And you get nothing," Kyungsoo snapped the lid shut on the tall boy's hand, causing him to yelp in anguish.

"How'd you get this grump to show?" Chanyeol muttered around the fingers in his mouth.  "He never comes to these."

Kyungsoo glared at him.  "I heard someone talked Junmyeon into showing a decent movie for once.  Tonight it's Ratatouille."

"Not Zootopia?!  Awww, man!  I'm going to the back then... see ya."

"Thank you," Kyungsoo exhaled in relief to you.  You giggled.

"For what?"

"SO many things... I wouldn't even know where to begin.  But saving us from yet another viewing of Zootopia would be a start."

"I'm glad I could help then."

The opening scene of the movie passed when Kyungsoo's shoulder nudged yours.  "Jongdae said you were hungry... here."  A warm bao found its way into your palm.  He rested his hand on your forearm, and you jerked back quickly, as if you had been scorched.

"Th-thank you, Chef."

"Mhmnh."

He got up to get drinks for you both.  While he dug through the cooler, Jongdae pounced.

"How's it going, Soo?  You making new friends over there?"

Kyungsoo's doubts clouded his brain, his unease causing him to ask in a deadly serious tone, "You'd tell me the truth, wouldn't you, Dae?  Level with me... do I stink or anything?"

"Uhhh... not that I can tell.  Why?"

Baekhyun, having approached the conversation from behind, shoved his nose against the chef's neck and snuffled heartily, like a pig rooting for acorns.  "Mmmm... you smell the same as always, like fresh garlic and bitterness."

"Get off me," Kyungsoo objected.

"But Kyungja, I smell because I love!"

"I hate you," he snarled at Baekhyun's grinning face.

"Soo... c'mon.  Tell us what the deal is."

"Maybe it's my imagination, but ever since Chanyeol bulldozed us, it feels like she's been... I don't know... jumpy?  Skittish?  It just doesn't seem the same."

"I think you're overthinking things, Kyungja," Baekhyun reassured his friend in a moment of sincerity.  He could be someone to lean on when needed, like now.  "You two have been extremely chummy all night.  Nothing looks off to me."  Jongdae nodded in agreement.

"Thanks.  I'm just not... this isn't familiar territory."

"It's never easy, Soo-yah.  Even when you think it will be, it's not.  Now get back to your friend, and tell her hi for us."  They pushed him back to the front of the cabana, where you sat, waiting patiently for him to return.

"Hey, Chef..." you said quietly to him when he sat down.

"Hmm?"

"You said the paler one of those boys is the lifeguard?  Not the tanned one?"

"Yeah.  Backwards, isn't it?"

You laughed.  And to his great relief, things seemed to return to normal after that.

Kyungsoo did his best to stay on his side, but there were still times when he brushed against a part of you.  He was as gentle as he could be, and you never reacted negatively, which helped ease his mind a bit, but he wasn't able to completely relax when you did things like curl towards him underneath the large blanket you shared, or rest your head on his shoulder.

After the movie, the two halves of the cabana merged into one large gathering, with everyone mingling... drinking, dancing or singing, and generally having a good time.

Your portion of the evening ended with an impromptu physics lesson.  After a lengthy round of teasing about height (or lack of it), you sprung to the defense of the less vertically gifted, and proved to a soaked Chanyeol that having a lower center of gravity is a good thing around open bodies of water, to Kyungsoo's great delight. The chef quickly whisked you away to hide in his kitchen before the bobbing boy could swim over to exact his revenge.

"In here," Kyungsoo gasped, steering you into his office and locking the door behind him.  He froze for a second, straining to hear if you were being followed, then promptly doubled over with laughter.  His deep chuckles tickled your eardrums, making you smile, and something inside you vibrated with warmth.

"That was fantastic!  I don't think Yeol will be making fun of anyone's height for a while," he wheezed.

It had been such a lovely night, he thought to himself, after he had calmed down and caught his breath.  He could have stayed beside you, ignoring five... no, ten more movies, just enjoying the time spent together, exchanging opinions on everything and nothing in particular.  The worst part about it all was his hunch that you might feel the same.  You seemed to be having a nice time too, not being in any rush to leave, volunteering to help them clean up...

He didn't want you to go back to your room yet, but he didn't know how to get you to stay.

In the dimly lit area, he felt a need to see your face.  Maybe he could figure out how you were feeling too... or what you were thinking... if only he could look into your eyes.  He moved closer to you.  You stumbled back, somewhat dazed, and collided solidly against the door.  The quick hiss of pain, followed by some softly spoken swear words tipped him off that something was amiss.

"Y/N?"

"It's nothing," you replied quickly.  Too quickly.

He hadn't noticed until that moment that in your mad dash to escape, the force of him dragging you by the hand had caused your hoodie to slip halfway off, leaving your arm and shoulder exposed.  And it was that moment he could see the ugly purple splotches that mottled your skin.  Without saying a word, he turned you, only to see more discoloration on the parts of you that wasn't covered by cloth.  There was a spasm of pain in the center of his chest when his thumb gently followed the edges of the marks.

"I-- I fell," you offered weakly.

"On someone's fists?" he spat back in disbelief.

Guilt rushed through him when he saw you flinch at his harsh tone.  You heard the tremor as he exhaled.  You felt a damp heat press your shoulder blade tenderly, once... then again.  He sighed.

"Chef... I--"  You struggled to pull the jacket back up, zipped it, then faced him.  "It's not what you think.  He didn't hit me.  The argument just got a little out of hand."

"Don't--"  The syllable slipped out before he realized it had happened.  His eyes squeezed closed, giving the impression that he was in pain.  He took a deep breath, but didn't look up.  "Anyone who would hurt you doesn't deserve to live."

"What about when Chanyeol flattened us?" you cracked, trying to lighten his mood.

"That's precisely why I'm going to murder him later."

"You shouldn't do that.  Junmyeon-ssi needs all the help he can get in this place."

Kyungsoo's dark head shook, trying not to let you distract him from the matter at hand.  "Don't go back up there... to him.  Stay?" he whispered.

You lifted his face so he could see your equally anguished expression.  "Don't worry, Soo.  He got just as bad as he gave.  I'll be okay.  Thank you for tonight."

Kyungsoo nodded, clearing his throat softly.  Taking something from a tiny fridge in the corner, he placed a small bundled napkin in your hand, folding your fingers over it slowly, carefully.

"Don't tell Chanyeol about this," he warned, his voice low and intense, the tone making you shiver a bit.  "Or else we'll both never hear the end of it."

He stood, motionless.  The warmth from his long fingers clasped around your own was melting your brain, honestly.  The longer you were across from him, the harder it became to function.

The tips of his fingers traced lightly over the ridges of each of your knuckles, and down every one of the dips in between.  His breathing seemed to deepen, while yours had already failed entirely.

"You did well tonight.  Try to get some rest.  Maybe those will help you have sweet dreams."

"Yes Chef," you whispered.