Seohyun stares at her phone, fingers flying furiously over the keypad, as she texts a reply to Myungsoo. Her lips are curled up into a small smile as she laughs at what he said. Her eyes are bright like the stars she so loves, and her skin seems to glow.

Her father narrows his eyes.

Sidling over, he asks, “What are you doing?”

She jumps slightly, letting out a soft, “oh!”, before composing herself and locking her phone. “My friend,” she says.

Her father raises an eyebrow. Seohyun doesn’t have many friends, not ones that she texts, anyway.

“Someone new in school?”

Seohyun cringes. “No.”

“A classmate?”

“… No.”

She can feel her father’s eyes boring into her as she stares downwards, taking a sudden interest in her study table.

“Well.” Her father moves to stand right next to her. “Who is it, then?”

“Someone I met around the neighbourhood.” She said slowly.

“A neighbour?”

Seohyun wants to scream at how persistent her father is.

“No.” She breathed out. “The boy who sells ice cream.”

Her father’s eyes narrow once more. “That delinquent?”

“He’s not a delinquent,” she protests softly.

“He sure isn’t a role model child, either.” Her father in a breath, then lets it our slowly through his nose. “Seohyun,” he begins. “You don’t know what kind of person he is.”

“I-“

“He could be a cheat or a thief!”

Seohyun sighed. “Daddy, he’s-“

“I don’t approve of you making friends with that boy. I want you to keep your distance from him.”

She opens in protest, but then decides against it as her father exits her room, flustered from his findings. Her lips set into a thin line. Anger, an emotion she rarely feels, boils beneath the surface of her skin. She defiantly picks up her phone again and continues texting Myungsoo.

She never agreed to her father’s wishes.

--

XXVII

“What’s it like in the boy’s home?”

He doesn’t need to think about it. “Noisy, rowdy, crowded.” She laughs.

“But warm,” he muses. “Like family.”

--

“I’m going out after school today,” Seohyun says to her mother as she puts on her shoes. Her mother is too preoccupied with her phone to hear her. Her father is away on a business trip; the house will be even emptier for the next two weeks. Seohyun will be left alone, seeing as her mother is even busier than her father is.

“Mom,” she calls softly, and her mother lifts her head to look at her. Seohyun catches a look of the eyebags and the wrinkles under the powder and gloss, and her heart squeezes painfully.

“Yes, dear.”

“I’m going out after school today,” she repeats. “I’ll have dinner outside, too.”

“Okay,” her mom calls, slipping into her heels and joining Seohyun at the front door. Her mother is clueless about the fact that Seohyun barely has friends in school; she wouldn’t find it weird that Seohyun was staying out until late. Her mother is busier, less strict, and Seohyun doesn’t know if her dad has told her about Myungsoo. She is not about to ask.

Her mom reaches out to smoothen her hair, smiling proudly. For a moment, her tired eyes sparkle with warmth.

“My beautiful daughter.”

Seohyun smiles back in return.

--

XXVIII

She rushes through school, overly-eager for it to end. When the bell rings, she lets out an almost audible laugh, one that catches the attention of the classmates around her, and quickly stows everything in her bag before running out.

She passes the classrooms, walking down the hallway to the main gate of the school. Students are streaming out, determined to enjoy the cool breeze and fresh air that a sudden bout of rain in the morning had brought on. She walks down the road that leads out of the school, trying to contain her excitement. She looks around, biting her lips in anticipation. Everyone around her is wearing her school uniform, but she looks around for someone who is n-

“Seohyun.”

She spins around, almost falling down, to come face to face with him. She breaks out into an uncharacteristic grin.

“Hi,” she breathes. “Did you wait long?”

He smiles ruefully. “No.”

He takes in her appearance, navy blue school skirt and white blouse, with a small tie around her neck and a badge pinned to the collar. Cream coloured socks and black buckle shoes. Her hair is loose and frames her face beautifully. His hand yearns to reach out and play with it.

“Should we go?”

“Yes,” she nods eagerly. Her heart beats joyously; she doesn’t even know why she is so excited. But she is. The prospect of getting to know more about Myungsoo makes her happy beyond imagination.

“May I hold your hand?” He knows he doesn’t need to ask, she loves it when he holds her hand. But they are surrounded by people who are giving them weird stares as they walk past, and he thought it was best to ask for permission.

She smiles again, and looks up at him, her eyes sparkling. She holds out her hand, and nods slightly.

“Yes, please.”

He grins his feline grin, and takes her hand in his, wrapping his fingers around hers, pulling her close to him.

They set off. She is excited at what she is about to see, and he is excited to show it to her.

--

“Careful.” He holds her hand as she slips out of her shoes. He doesn’t let go as he leads her towards the inside of the large house.

“There are about twenty of us living here at one time,” he says. “Add in the mentors and some of their families, and that’s close to forty people.”

She looks around in awe. For something that has been described as noisy and rowdy and crowded, the space is immaculately neat.

“We get assigned to a buddy, and we’re completely responsible for that person. And if that person doesn’t do his chores, we get the punishment.” He laughs. “It’s a bit complicated.” She just nods, looking around and trying to take in everything.

The living area is spacious, partly because there is not much furniture in it. There is a couch pushed against a wall, with a small television opposite it. Beanbags are stacked neatly in the far corner of the room. An entire wall is filled with photographs, both hanging in frames or stuck on with tape, along with a few birthday cards. Seohyun trails up to that wall, her eyes seeking Myungsoo’s face.

She sees a photograph of Myungsoo hugging Dasom. The little girl was dressed in a pretty frock, with a princess crown on her head. There was cake all over her face, and she was smiling the widest smile Seohyun had ever seen her smiling. Myungsoo looked like a proud parent.

“That’s beautiful,” she says softly, reaching out to touch the photograph. Myungsoo smiles as he gazes at her. Her gaze travels to another photograph, this one framed nicely and placed in the centre of the wall. It seems to be a family shot; everyone in the photo is sitting or standing in a very formal manner.

He bends over her shoulder, pointing to a boy in the second row.

“That’s my buddy,” he says. “The one I’m in charge of. His name is Jae Joon.” The boy in question looks young, with tan skin and a wide grin.

“He looks nice,” she muses, and he nods in agreement.

She spends a few more minutes staring at the wall, before Myungsoo takes her hand.

“Come on, I’ll show you my room.” He leads her up a flight of stairs, and turns left on the landing, to a room with a blue door and a wooden sign that reads: “Myung, Taek and Jinnie.” Several hearts had been drawn beside the names, and coloured in with pink crayon.

“Myungsoo, Taekwoon, and Jinseok,” he explains, opening the door to the room. “The hearts were a gift by Dasom.” Seohyun giggles.

Her smile turns into chuckles as she sees the plaid blanket that lays at the foot of his bed. He smiles shyly. For some reason, he really wants her to like his room, going as far as to nag at his roommates to clean up the night before.

“It’s nice,” she says. There is a sort of simplicity and warmth to the place that she cannot describe. He sits on his bed, and pats the space beside him, Joining him, she fiddles with her fingers before asking, “Where’s everyone?”

“Taek is still at school. Jinnie should be in Baekhyun’s room.” He glanced at her, a soft smile playing on his lips. “The rest are either at school or somewhere around here. Do you want to meet them?”

Her eyes shine, then dull. She wants to meet Myungsoo’s family, but she is afraid of all the new faces. He reaches out to take her hand. “I’ll be with you,” he says encouragingly. She nods.

Suddenly there is the sound of the door slamming, two sets of footsteps bounding down the hallway. The door flings open, and Seohyun’s eyes widen in shock.

“Hyung!” A boy whines. “Baek ate all of my pocky!”

“Jinseok-“ Myungsoo starts, only to be interrupted when another head appears in the doorway.

“Because he drank my milk!”

“Guys-“

“We could have shared, you know, then we wouldn’t have-“

“Boys,” Myungsoo says louder. Seohyun watches with a small smile on her lips as he exerts his authority. The two young ones turn to face him, finally noticing that there is a girl sitting on his bed.

“Oh,” they let out simultaneously. Then, “Hello.”

“Hi,” Seohyun says shyly.

“Is she the one you kicked me out of the room for, hyung?” Myungsoo’s face colours a light pink.

“The girl with the pretty hair and the nice laugh right?” Baekhyun’s eyes are bright. “Right?”

“Stop talking,” Myungsoo says, suddenly feeling a headache coming on. The boys just laugh, and Seohyun cannot help but smile.

“This is Seohyun,” Myungsoo says, standing up and helping her to her feet. Seohyun gives the boys a small wave.

“And this is Jinseok, and Baekhyun.”

“Noona,” Jinseok coos. Bakehyun immediately comes in to grab her hands. She lets out a soft yelp and looks at Myungsoo. Myungsoo lets of a disgruntled growl.

“Hey, I didn’t say you could touch her.”

Baekhyun just laughs and lets go, putting his palms up in a surrendering motion.

“Let’s bring you to meet everyone else!” Jinseok bounces up and down like an enthusiastic bunny. She nods again shyly, and starts to follow them out of the room. Her heart beats in anticipation and in slight fear, but Myungsoo catches her hand, lifting it up and pressing his lips against the back of her palm, and she feels more confident than ever.

___________________

And introducing Maru/ Jae Joon from C-Clown, Leo/ Taek Woon from VIXX, Chaejin/ Jinseok from MyName, and Baekhyun from EXO!

Just a question, are you guys starting to find this fic too fluffly? Does it seem like it's missing an actual plot? Please do tell me!

Thank you for reading :)