After Chanyeol's loud declaration of Hunhan's return, the other boys started coming downstairs to greet them, all except Kris.

Later in the kitchen, Kyungsoo was making breakfast (technically brunch) with Xiumin's help. Chen had his head on the table, face unusually dark, eyes glaring at the back of Xiumin's head, presumably because the older boy had forced him to come downstairs. Kai was watching a music video on his laptop, too focused on the dance moves to pay the others any attention. Suho was reading the newspaper with Lay, who had his head on Suho's shoulder. Chanyeol and Baekhyun were happily chatting with Luhan.

 

“Kris hyung says welcome back,” Tao informed them as he entered the kitchen, joining the others.

 

“That doesn't sound like him,” Sehun said nonchalantly while finger combing Luhan's tangled hair. The fact that the ends of Luhan's hair were sticking out in different directions caused Sehun to wonder if his boyfriend forgot to comb his hair this morning.

 

“Knowing Kris hyung's affinity for sleeping in on the weekends, I'm surprised he said anything.” Lay looked at the younger boy as if he doesn't quite believe it.

 

Tao smiled sheepishly as he took a seat next to Lay. “Well, he didn't exactly say it. I'm just assuming that's what he'll say....if he was awake.”

 

“Ah. That's more like it.”

 

“Hyung, we really missed you. The house was too quiet without you here,” Baekhyun confessed to a smiling Luhan.

 

“Boring actually,” Chanyeol added.

 

“Heyyyy. Are you calling us boring?” Xiumin asked, pointing a spatula at the Baekyeol couple.

 

“Yes,” Baekyeol answered without batting an eye.

 

Luhan chuckled while Suho looked away from the page he was reading and stared at the couple. “You're only calling us boring because we don't put up with your outrageous ideas.”

 

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “Oh please. Name one of our ideas that was outrageous.”

 

“You suggested we film ourselves doing Psy's horse dance in the school's fountain,” Tao said.

 

“That would have been hilarious,” Chanyeol countered.

 

“At one in the morning? Really? Do the terms 'night guards' and 'jail' not mean anything to you?” Kyungsoo asked sarcastically.

 

“Okay. That's one. What else?” Baekhyun asked, though he didn't look like he wanted to know.

 

“Sneaking into a SNSD's concert,” Lay replied.

 

“Oh come on. You know you all wanted to see them.” Chanyeol stood up and started dancing to one of their songs. “Gee gee gee gee. Baby baby baby.”

 

Luhan laughed while Baekhyun came to his boyfriend's aid and started dancing along, both grinning like children.

 

Luhan was about to do the hand movements of the choreography when Sehun grabbed his hands to stop him. “Don't. You'll only encourage them and who knows when they'll stop.”

 

Luhan gave him a small pout in response, but it quickly disappeared when Sehun intertwine their fingers instead.

 

Chen groaned from his spot. “Stop dancing. Please. Spare us.” He looked like he desperately wanted to unsee what was happening before him. Sehun knew exactly how he felt.

 

“You're doing it all wrong,” Kai critiqued, finally looking away from his laptop. “Seriously, you two need dance lessons.”

 

The couple stopped dancing and Chanyeol looked at Kai. “And you know what you need?”

 

Baekhyun placed his hand on his boyfriend's shoulder, a grin making its way across his face – obviously aware of what was going to happen. “What does he need, Yeollie?”

 

“A genie,” Chanyeol chirped, winking at Kai.

 

“GENIE FOR YOUR WISH,” the Baekyeol couple sang as they proceed to dance to the song – or at least attempt to.

 

Luhan laughed and started clapping along. Lay looked amused while Suho went back to reading his news, trying his hardest to ignore them. Tao was clutching his cell phone, unsure as to whether he should record this or not. Chen looked ready to murder and Kai had his mouth open, dumbfounded and slightly insulted. Xiumin simply looked appalled.

 

“There will be no dancing in my kitchen. Now stop,” Kyungsoo ordered as he brought the dishes to the table.

 

Deciding that it was best not to go against Kyungsoo (because in the kitchen his word was law), Baekyeol stopped dancing and sat down, high-fiving Luhan as they did so.

 

When everyone started eating, Sehun took a quick look around and although he is unwilling to admit it, he missed this. He missed eating with his hyungs.

 

It was comfortable. Familiar. Home.

 

But of course, leave it to the Baekyeol couple to ruin this otherwise sweet moment.

 

“Well, we're happy to have you back Luhan hyung. It was weird not hearing noises from your room at night. We missed your adorable whimpers.” Baekhyun smiled at Luhan, who flushed at the words, while Sehun nearly choked on his toast.

 

“Baekhyun! Not at the breakfast table,” Suho said sternly. “We don't need to know that you listen in on their um intimate moments.”

 

Luhan's ears turned red at the mention of the word “intimate.” Sehun, on the other hand, groaned – wishing he was back at the lodge, away from these so called hyungs.

 

Baekhyun shrugged. “I say it like it is. Besides, it's not like you don't know how hard it is to keep quiet – considering how thin the walls are.”

 

Lay, who wasn't paying attention earlier, was now obviously avoiding eye contact, choosing instead to look at his bowl of rice. Suho blinked at Baekhyun, not understanding how the younger one could be so bold. He cleared his throat. “No. We don't know. We've never been loud.”

 

Chen scoffed. “I wouldn't be so sure about that, hyung.”

 

Suho snapped around to face Chen, his gaze suddenly sharper. Before he got the chance to reprimand the younger for saying such a thing, Chanyeol gave him a pat on the back, which sounded more like a smack considering his giant hands.

 

“Wow Suho hyung! Didn't know you had that in you!”

 

Baekhyun nodded. “Yeah, didn't know you were such a beast in bed. Lay hyung is a lucky guy.”

 

“Wha—Uh. No. Aishhh.” Suho shook his head, apparently at a loss. Lay was distinctively red in the face now.

 

“Can we stop talking about what goes on behind closed doors?” Xiumin suggested, clearly just as uncomfortable as the others (minus Baekyeol).

 

“We're all eating for goodness' sake,” Kai added while unnecessarily stabbing his scrambled eggs with his fork.

 

“Yes. Xiumin hyung and Kai are right. We should stop here,” Suho ordered, trying to salvage the situation.

 

Chanyeol grinned. “Oh come on. We are all adults here. Haven't you heard the phrase sharing is caring?”

 

“That doesn't mean we should talk about what you do in bed,” Kyungsoo quipped. “I prefer not to know. Thank you.”

 

Baekhyun chuckled. “Kyungsoo, are you perhaps envious?”

 

Kyungsoo, with eyes wide, spluttered, “W-what?! I am not!”

 

“Why not? Don't you get lonely sometimes?” Baekhyun asked, face dead serious.

 

And chaos ensues.

 

“Baekhyun!”

 

“What? I'm just curious!”

 

“We said we were going to stop talking about this.”

 

“It's a natural process hyung!”

 

“My ears!”

 

“Stop.”

 

“Why did I wake up for this?!”

 

“Everybody does it!”

 

“Chanyeol!”

 

“Tao cover your ears.”

 

“Kill me now.”

 

“Sehun-ah, are you okay?”

 

“It is a part of life. We find someone we love and we --”

 

“Chanyeol, finish that sentence and I will ban you from my kitchen.”

 

“WE MAKE LOVE!”

 

“LOUD AND PROUD!”

 

“That's it! Baekhyun, Chanyeol, you two are banned from eating at this table for a week!”

 

“That's fine with us! We can find better things to do.”

 

“Like having se--”

 

“Don't.”

 

“.”

 

“Whoa. Is this really what you guys talk about when I'm not here?” Kris asked when he entered, hair still wet from his morning shower. They all turned to look at him. “What? Is there something on my face?”

 

After a moment of silence, Chen answered, “Just a whole bunch of face cream.”

 

Everyone, except Kris, started laughing.

 

“Hahahaha!”

 

“Oh man. He does wear a lot of face cream.”

 

“Is that normal?”

 

“I don't think so.”

 

“Yahhh! It is perfectly normal!”

 

“Is that even his natural skin tone?”

 

“Who knows?”

 

“I peeked inside his makeup bag and it is no joke.”

 

“Really? What was in it?”

 

“Whoa whoa. Kris hyung has a makeup bag?”

 

“See? It was his makeup bag, Sehun-ah. I was right!”

 

“Is it that small leopard print bag he keeps in his backpack?”

 

“Hey! You went snooping in my backpack?!”

 

“I don't even have a makeup bag and I wear a ton of eyeliner.”

 

“There is nothing wrong with having a makeup bag! Where else would I put all my moisturizers?” Kris looked at them indignantly.

 

The other boys exchanged glances with one another and cracked up again. Chanyeol and Chen were practically tearing up from all the laughing.

 

“Fine. I'm going to just eat in my room.” Kris grabbed a bowl, a spoon, the milk carton, and the cereal box. “Don't bother me.”

 

“Wouldn't dream of it.”

 

“Yeah. We wouldn't want you to throw your bottles of manly cream at us.”

 

Kris gave them one last glare before turning on his heel to leave the room. As soon as he could be heard walking up the stairs, the boys all smiled and gave each other a round of high-fives.

 

Picking on Kris was something they all enjoy doing.

 

It doesn't happen often, considering Kris's stature and his usual “I will cut you if you cross me” glare, but whenever they can outnumber him, they take pleasure in ganging on him.

 

The rest of their time was spent finishing their food and chatting about what they were planning on doing today. All that happened before Kris's appearance seemed to be forgotten....at least until...

 

“Hey Kyungsoo, are we still banned from eating here?” Baekyeol asked, batting their lashes at Kyungsoo – trying to win his favor.

 

“Of course.”

 

Baekyeol frowned. “Dammit.”

 

******

“You got a job!?” Luhan nearly shrieked when Sehun had told him the news while they were having lunch in the cafeteria. Baekhyun and Chanyeol, who were busy feeding each other sushi rolls, turned their attention to the couple sitting in front of them.

 

“Yeah. I just got the call. I'm going to start working this weekend.” He looked at Luhan, who was still in a state of shock. This isn't going so well.....Ugh. I knew I should have bought him cake first.

 

Deciding that Luhan wasn't going to do anything except glare at Sehun, Baekhyun asked, “Where?”

 

“At a noraebang,” he answered, eyes still focused on Luhan.

 

Chanyeol's eyes widen and he leaned forward to grab Sehun's hands. “A noraebang?! Sehun, you're so lucky! I've always wanted to work there!”

 

Baekhyun chuckled. “You would get fired on the first day. Working while others are singing and having fun is not possible for you, Yeollie. You can never stop yourself from joining in.”

 

Chanyeol pinched Baekhyun's cheek and grinned. “You're right.”

 

“Where is it?” Luhan finally asked, and Sehun let out a mental whew.

 

“It's close to one of the subway stations. About ten minutes away by train. It's not that far.”

 

“I'll go with you,” Luhan said with such determination, it surprised Sehun (though he knew his boyfriend was going to say exactly that).

 

Sehun shook his head. “No. I don't need you to drop me off at work. It's fine.”

 

“Then I'll pick you up when you're done.”

 

“No. I get off at 11, and I don't want you riding the subway so late at night.”

 

Luhan crossed his arms across his chest and puffed. “I'm old enough to ride the train, Sehun-ah. Don't treat me like a child.”

 

“I'm not.”

 

“Well...Why can't I pick you up then? You always come pick me up at the cafe whenever I'm done.”

 

Sehun sighed. He really doesn't know how to explain to Luhan why he didn't want him riding the subway at night without sounding like a paranoid boyfriend. “Because.....”

 

“Because he doesn't want some creep to touch what's his. The possibility of some guy groping you is too much for him to handle,” Baekhyun stated with a smile. “You're welcome, Sehun.”

 

Sehun had the sudden urge to stuff Baekhyun's mouth with a roll because that definitely did not help the situation. He settled for giving Baekhyun the death glare, which the boy pointedly ignored while he feeds Chanyeol another roll.

 

Luhan glared at Sehun. “I'm 21. I can take care of myself just fine!”

 

“I know you can. It's just that you attract a lot of attention – unwanted attention.”

 

“So? That doesn't mean they'll do something to me.”

 

Baekhyun, deciding that it was once again time to step in, stated, “Listen, hyung, Sehun has a point. You're like a blossoming flower that brings all the bees to the yard.”

 

The Baekyeol couple started making buzzing noises, pretending to be bees heading straight for Luhan (who looked at them like they were crazy).

 

Sehun groaned because he knows they're trying to lighten the mood, but a headache was all his hyungs were giving him. It got worse when Chanyeol added a, “Heck, when we first saw you, we wanted to touch you inappropriately.”

 

Sehun gave him a swift kick in the knee. “OWW!”

 

Baekhyun immediately started massaging Chanyeol's injured knee, mumbling curses at Sehun for hurting his boyfriend. “He was just kidding!” (Sehun didn't catch the “Sort of” that followed afterwards)

 

“Well, it wasn't funny,” Sehun snarled back. “Back to the subject at hand. Lu, you're not picking me up.”

 

“But you'll be riding the train late at night and I don't want creeps touching you either!”

 

The Baekyeol duo stopped what they were doing and cackled. “Hyung, we know Sehun looks irresistible to you, but to the rest of us, he looks like someone that would beat a person to a pulp if they so much as look at him funny. You don't have to worry about people touching him. They won't.”

 

Sehun closed his eyes. “As much as I hate to say it,” he opens them to stare into Luhan's eyes, “but they're right. I'll be fine. Trust me.” He reached over to give Luhan's hand a gentle squeeze.

 

Luhan bites down on his lip, looking uncertain as to what he should do. Sehun could tell he was still uncomfortable with the idea, but he could also sense the fight in Luhan slowly giving in.

 

Finally, Luhan sighs and says, “Fine. I won't pick you up.”

 

“And?”

 

“And I won't ride the train at night,” Luhan mumbled.

 

Sehun smiled as he gave Luhan a piece of meat from his tray, hoping to appease the older boy. “Thanks.”

 

Instead of eating the meat, Luhan started poking it with his chopsticks. “I'm worried since this is your first real job.”

 

“Heyy. This isn't my first job.”

 

“Delivering milk in your neighborhood when you were 12 isn't considered a real job,” Luhan retorted.

 

“I got paid for it. It's a real job.”

 

“He's right hyung. According to the dictionary's definition of a job, he did something in exchange for money. That's a job,” Chanyeol piped in. “You're welcome, maknae.”

 

What is this? Help Sehun Even When He Doesn't Need It Day?

 

“Why do you need a job all of a sudden anyway?” Luhan asked.

 

“To buy you nice things,” Baekyeol chimed in.

 

Luhan blinks at Sehun. “Sehun-ah, is this true?”

 

“More or less.”

 

“Sehun! What kind of boyfriend do you think I am? I don't need nice things so you can just forget about working if that's the reason why.”

 

“I was kidding.”

 

“That wasn't funny.” Luhan proceeds to smack him on the arm, to which the Baekyeol couple took pleasure in witnessing. They whooped in celebration and gave Luhan some of their sushi rolls, as a prize for hitting the maknae. Luhan gladly accepted and the three of them enjoyed the rest of their lunch – not paying attention to the scowl that was plastered on Sehun's face.

 

 

It was 10 am on a Saturday morning when Sehun woke up and got dressed quietly, wary of possibly waking Luhan, who was thankfully still snoring away. He took a look at himself in the mirror and fixed the black bow tie he had on. It was part of the uniform the workers had to wear – white dress shirt with a plaid vest and black trousers. Sehun isn't one for uniforms, but since Luhan had told him that it looked good on him, he decided that maybe it wasn't too bad.

 

He grabbed his wallet and cellphone and was about to leave when he realized he forgot something. Sehun made his way over to the bed, and sat down next to Luhan. He leaned in, hoping to kiss the sleeping deer before he left --

 

“No,” Luhan opposed, abruptly turning the other way. “Don't kiss me.”

 

Sehun, trying his best not to laugh at how cute Luhan had said that, asked, “Why not?”

 

“Because you won't be able to leave without a kiss,” the older one murmured. Oh gosh.

 

Sehun started laughing, ruffling Luhan's mangled locks as the other buries his face in the pillow. “You really are cute 24/7. But come on, just one little kiss.”

 

Luhan, being as stubborn as ever, ignored him and pulled the covers over his head. Sehun stayed there, contemplating on how he should go about this. Ah. Got it. He stood up, walked over to the bedroom door while loudly jiggling the keys inside his pocket, and he waits. 1. 2. 3.

 

As if on cue, the bed covers was harshly thrown to the side, and Luhan immediately sat up, mouth hanging open. “Are you really going to leave without kissing me?!” He looked offended.

 

Too easy.

 

“Of course not.” Sehun walked over and pressed his lips against Luhan's before the older one could say anything else. He made sure to keep it short and simple because otherwise they'd be kissing until Luhan gets tired (which almost never happens).

 

“Mhm. Don't you feel better?”

 

Luhan scrunched his nose, disappointed in how short the kiss was. “Shut up.”

 

Sehun chuckled and brushed Luhan's bangs away from his eyes. “Don't call me every five minutes okay? If you do call and I don't pick up, it's not because something bad happened – it's because I'm working. Alright?”
 

Luhan rolled his eyes. “I got it. You told me this last night.”

 

Sehun smiled. “Just thought I remind you.” He got up and made his way to the door when he heard Luhan mumble a shy, “Have a great first day.”

 

“Yeah. I will.” Sehun smirked. “Don't miss me too much. Hang out with the others when you feel lonely.”

 

“Sehun-ah, if I can deal with you being away for ten days, I can handle 12 hours.”

 

Sehun scoffed. “You mean 7 days because last I checked, you hopped on a plane to come see me.”

 

“Ten days. Seven days. Same thing. I can handle it. Okay? Just don't pull a Chanyeol and get fired on your first day.” He gave Sehun a small smile.

 

Sehun felt better from the mere sight of it. “Yeah. I won't.” He turned the doorknob. “I'll see you later tonight.”

 

“See you,” was the last thing he heard before he left the room and made his way downstairs. They didn't say bye because it would only make things needlessly dramatic and frankly, they were going to see each other again soon.

 

Sehun's first day at Good Times Noraebang went smoothly. All he did was showed guests to their appointed rooms and took their orders, and occasionally he would be asked to come in and fix a technical glitch on the karaoke machines. His fellow employees, besides showing him where things are found and how things are done, didn't talk to him much – Sehun had a feeling they saw him as unapproachable. Though the other workers didn't try to socialize with him, the female customers did (especially the noonas).

 

His last group of the day was a party of middle age women, who apparently comes to the noraebang every Saturday to relax and have fun, to forget for those two hours they were there that they had husbands and kids waiting at home. They kept gawking at him, as if wondering how come they've never seen him before. Sehun had told them that he was new here and they all squealed, apparently pleased to have a new person serving them. However, Sehun thinks they're just happy to have someone as young as he is (he's the maknae here as well) to gush over. In fact, one of the ladies was looking at him as if wondering where she could buy one like him. Pretending that he doesn't notice them fanning themselves when he bends over to place their drinks on the table, Sehun thanks them and leaves before they could ask him anything else.

 

He found it funny that Luhan was worried about creeps on the train when it turns out the real predators were drunk ahjummas partying at a noraebang.

 

Speaking of Luhan, the boy didn't call him at all today, and Sehun would have been worried if it weren't for the text from Suho.

 

Luhan hyung is fine. He gave his phone to Chanyeol because he was worried that he would be tempted to call you. And Chanyeol thought it was clever to hide the battery somewhere, but he forgot where he hid it. They're still looking for it (-__-)

 

Throughout the day, the other hyungs also texted him to tell him how Luhan was holding up.

 

Lay: How's work? Don't worry about Luhan hyung. He's watching a movie with Suho and me.

 

Xiumin: Hey Sehun! Hope you're working hard :) Luhan is currently enjoying his cake. Everything is fine.

 

Baekhyun: Your blossoming flower is playing with Yeollie right now. Everything appears to be normal......Btw how much does a phone battery typically cost?

 

Tao: I hope you're having fun! Btw Luhan hyung is doing okay.

 

Chen: Luhan hyung is kind of bothering me right now. Can you call him to tell him to bother Kai instead?

 

Kai: Yo bro. Didn't know you were gone. Haha. Kidding :P Luhan hyung is bothering Chen hyung and it's funny as hell.

 

Chen: Never mind. Chanyeol lost his phone battery.

 

Kyungsoo: Luhan hyung is insisting on helping me with lunch, and since you're not here, I'll let him. Hope this goes well.

 

Kris: They're telling me to send you an encouraging text. Uhmm. Don't get fired?

 

Kyungsoo: OMG. NEVER AGAIN! Luhan hyung set off the smoke alarm! Burnt sandwiches! >:(

 

Chanyeol: Luhan hyung is alive and well. Kyungsoo isn't though. Whatever. Sehun hwaiting!

 

Baekhyun: He's taking a shower right now. Do you want us to go in and check on him? Promise we won't look down.

 

Kai: Luhan hyung is beating Chanyeol hyung and Baekhyun hyung with his towel. I'll send you the video.

 

Reading all those texts, Sehun's heart felt lighter because from the looks of it, Luhan was keeping himself occupied.

 

He was cleaning one of the rooms when he received 2 messages, one right after the other.

 

Suho: They found the battery :)

 

Luhan: Hey Sehun-ah. How's work? Are the others mean to you? Is it really loud there? Did you eat all of your meals? Do you miss me?

 

He's not supposed to be texting while working, but he couldn't help it – right now replying to Luhan's text was more important. I'll reply to one text. That's it.

 

Sehun: Work is good. No, they're not mean to me. Yes, it's extremely loud. Yes, I ate. Yes. I miss you a whole damn lot.

 

He placed his phone inside his pocket and finished cleaning. Only when he was done with his shift and was leaving the noraebang did he check his phone again.

 

Luhan: Oh okay. Good :) I know you're working, so I won't bother you anymore... Sehun-ah Hwaiting!

 

Luhan: Stay safe. See you when you get home.

 

Luhan: ♥

 

He smiled and sent his boyfriend a quick reply -

 

I'm coming home Bambi.

 

♥ you too.

 

 

 

 

~~~~~~ FLUFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!! LOL. I really like this chapter. It was a blast to write! EXO boys are hilarious :) BTW - In case you don't know, noraebang is korean for basically a karaoke place.

 

Since this part was longer than I'd planned, I decided to leave the new character for the next chapter. I didn't want you guys to scroll on forever! It would have been a really really long chapter! So promise - next chapter you will see more fluff and the new character will make an appearance :) 

 

What are your favorite parts of the chapter? Mine is the texting part. The boys are so sweet to text Sehun to keep him updated on his Lulu. Baekyeol being es is also extremely entertaining. Lol. Thanks for reading and commenting! Next chapter will be up very soon. I am on a roll :D