"I'm off to the animal shelter!" you declared, grabbing your brown rucksack from the counter.  

"Take care, Noona!" Tao and Se Hun said unison, waving from the couch; the maknaes were currently playing some video games while the rest of EXO scattered in the lobby, doing schoolwork, reading some books, or playing cards (Suho's doing, obviously).

"See you guys later!"

"Wait a minute!" Lu Han, dressed in a pink, Alice-styled apron, emerged from the kitchen, holding a small canvas bag, one hand still wearing an oven mitten. His hair was amok, teased in all directions--a sure sign that he didn't even bother fixing himself up after getting out of bed.

You had volunteer work at the animal shelter again, and when you awoke early this morning, you were shocked to see Lu Han's bed empty, his comforters already folded neatly and arranged. You didn't have time to ponder where he was, however, and quickly entered bathroom to get ready.

He handed you the bag, "Here: your breakfast and snacks."

You blinked, quite astonished as you realized why your roommate was up earlier than you were. Because the animal shelter was far from the university, you never ate breakfast at the dorm when you had volunteer work to do. You would always leave in a hurry and get something light to eat at the train station.

You smiled. It was cute of him to head straight into the kitchen immediately after waking up, just so that he could prepare something for you.

You took the lunch bag and peeked inside to see a thermos, two sandwiches, and a box of what seemed to be half a dozen of D.O.'s Special Red Velvet Cupcakes. Your eyes widened as you pulled the white box out. "Are these--?" You removed the cover, got one cupcake and took a small bite. "Whoah! It is! Lu Han, you..." For once, you were at a loss of words.

This was strange. This was really strange because Lu Han, albeit a pretty good cook himself, never baked. At all. You couldn't believe that he made these cupcakes, so you craned your neck, searching for D.O. through the opened kitchen door, hoping to see him still cooking breakfast. And when you couldn't find him, you scanned the lobby and saw him burying himself in a dozen of books, studying for his upcoming exams.

"It wasn't me, Noona," he said, noticing your curious eyes on him.

"But it tastes just like your cupcakes!" you exclaimed, causing the icing on your lips to spread out to your entire mouth.

Lu Han rolled his eyes, a bit sleepy, a bit annoyed that you couldn't just accept the truth that he was being such an awesome roommate right now. If you knew all the troubles he went through in order to perfectly replicate D.O.'s Special Red Velvet Cupcakes--the four dozens of failed cupcakes, the secret lessons with D.O. every Saturday and Sunday for the past two weeks, and the unending teases that would come out of D.O.'s mouth as he poked fun at Lu Han for being so head over heels-- you would throw yourself at his feet, and praise him to no end.

But who was he kidding? This was his roommate he was talking about; you would never do that.

He sighed, grabbed the cupcake you were holding, and replaced it in the box. He took the box and set it on the counter before wiping your cream-coated face with a piece of tissue paper he kept inside his apron's pocket.

"A 'thank you' would be nice. I don't do this very often," he told you. You did not reply; you were so out of it that you didn't even push his hand away when he dabbed tissue on your face. Your eyes stared blankly at him as he got the box and put it back in the bag.

Lu Han stepped backwards, and he crossed his arms, looking at you, creasing his eyebrows. "If you're not going to say anything anymore, just go already; you're going to be late."

You blinked rapidly, finally snapping out of your trance. You opened your mouth to say something, but nothing came out. You shook your head, slapping yourself for being so bewildered.

"No...that's not..." you cleared your throat, composing yourself. "Lu Han..." you grinned widely at him, genuine happiness painting your entire face.

"Lu Han, you're the best!" you cheered, and you shot him one last peace sign before heading out the door.

Lu Han stood there, dumbfounded and speechless as he felt his cheeks get hotter. Did you really just say that? He pinched his arm, and when he felt a bolt of pain strike up his veins, he knew that everything that transpired wasn't just a figment of his sleepy imagination.

Lu Han, you're the best!

The best!

The best!

Your words kept on repeating, your toothy grin still vividly displayed in his mind.

A small smile crept onto his face.

Take that, Tao.

Take that, Taemin.

"NICE ONE, HYUNG!" Chanyeol applauded, jumping up from his place on the floor, and wrapped his arm around Lu Han's neck, engaging the latter into a friendly, brotherly headlock. Se Hun, Tao, Baek Hyun, and Kai joined him, all of them taking turns to ruffle Lu Han's hair and noogie him. The older, more mature members, meanwhile, patted Lu Han's back, a stream of laughter and various banters escaping their mouths as they cheered for him.

Lu Han bent over and fell on his bottom, dragging everyone along. "Shut up, you guys," he mumbled, scratching his head and blushing madly. Despite the embarrassing predicament he was in, Lu Han smiled, thankful for having friends who always got his back no matter what.

Author's Note:

Hello again, everyone~! 

And omg, EXO is so cute; I just love their brotherhood. <3

I am so glad you guys enjoyed Media Intervention. I had a hard time writing it because I was worried that the interview might drag on for too long >A<

But I am so happy with the feedback I received <3 I also feel very grateful for those who said that this fic is one of their favorites. That really means a lot 8D

Again, thanks so much for reading, subscribing and commenting! I'm nearing 200 subscribers, but just the fact that I've reached over 150 has made me super ecstatic! 8D

If you guys have questions, feel free to ask; I will do my best to answer all of them! Also, if you have time, drop a comment or two; I always love reading your comments! 

Next chapter: It was a tense atmosphere as SHINee and EXO sat parallel to each other.

It to be in the middle.