Surprise, another chapter! =D Now I really can't update again for another week (I've got exams in the coming week)...

=========================

That morning, when breakfast was almost ready, there came a piercing high pitched voice from upstairs.
‘ANDWAEEEEEEEEE~!’ Max yelled.
The rest of you, all downstairs, exchanged looks.
What was going on with Max, the ever calm person, that he became so hysterical?
‘It CAN’T be the LAST BOX! OTTOKEEE~?!’ Max continued screaming. ‘Aigoo! Aigoo!’
‘Shall I go upstairs, to see what he needs?’ Xiah asked as you and a few others nodded.

When Xiah arrived upstairs, he saw Max was tearing out paper tissues from a box, apparently the last box there was.
Max was breathing heavily, nearly hyperventilating.
‘MAX! If that’s your last box, you shouldn’t waste it, you should use it wisely and buy new boxes!’ Xiah said, raising his voice so Max would listen.
Max did, he abruptly stopped pulling the paper and even tried to push the paper from his hands back into the box, with little success.
‘You’re right. I should buy more…’ Max said, his mind already fixed on the task at hand as he started mumbling to himself, while grabbing his car keys and covering his mouth and nose with a white mask.
With his gaze sternly fixed on the horizon he walked down the stairs, straight to the door.
Wonder-stricken Xiah joggled after Max, only to see him leave the dorm in a rush.
Since there was nothing he could do when Max was behaving like this, Xiah went back to the breakfast table.
‘Where did Max go?’ Micky asked.
‘He went to buy paper tissues… He even skipped breakfast for it!’ Xiah stated, still surprised Max would choose paper tissues over food.
‘That’s… typical…’ you said, thinking about what was more weird; his strong love for food or his attachment to everything bacteria-free.

‘Excuse me, Flower said you had an idea where the president and his family were? Maybe I can help. I know a few possible locations…’ TaeMin spoke up in the group.
‘That’s fantastic!’ you said energetic, doing your best to make sure someone sided with TaeMin.
You knew he was being looked upon with suspicious eyes, but in the short time you had gotten to know him, you had grown very affectionate towards him.
TaeMin was like a younger brother to you, a dear dongsaeng, just like JiYa had become like a little sister to you.
‘Well, do you know the location your people had locked up U-know and Xiah?’ Micky asked.
‘I think I’ll be able to bring you there, yes.’ TaeMin answered. ‘Is that where the president is kept?’
‘Yeah, that’s where…’ U-know said, his answer colder than his intentions were, due to the suspicion that held his grip on him.
‘Why don’t you bring U-know and Micky there to get the presidential family out of there?’ Hero said to TaeMin with a friendly smile. ‘Then Xiah, the girls and I can prepare room for them in the living room.’
‘Hey! Why can’t I go with them? I’m not weak!’ Xiah objected. ‘I much rather go outside than preparing a place, I’m a guy, you know…’
Hero, U-know and Micky all shook their heads, while you, JiYa and TaeMin raised your eyebrows.
‘Preparing a place for visitors isn’t anything that touches your masculinity, Xiah.’ Hero said.
‘Besides you just recovered from high fever, you shouldn’t go out into the woods immediately.’ U-know added.
‘Three will be enough. You may take care of Flower for me.’ Micky agreed.
And so it was decided, TaeMin would take U-know and Micky to the presidential family.

‘I’ll be back as soon as I can.’ Micky said in your ear when the three of them were ready to leave.
You smiled at him as both your foreheads touched, before he gave you a kiss and hugged you.
‘Are you going to decide to bring Flower with you in the end, or are you able to let her go for a tiny amount of time?’ U-know joked.
‘Araso, hyung. Get a girlfriend and you know how it feels to say goodbye, even if it’s just temporarily!’ Micky said and looked lovingly at you for the last time before going.

A few minutes later the four of you had gathered in the kitchen.
Hero’s idea of preparing a place for the president involved baking a chocolate cake too, apparently.
‘Max is taking too long, don’t you think?’ Xiah said, while taking a seat on one of the kitchen chairs.
Max had gone out to buy paper tissues over two hours ago already and the store was a five-minute walk from here.
‘I’m going out to look for him… He might just be in front of the store, doubting whether to enter or not, since these doors have air-conditioning above them. Air-conditioning supposedly blows bacteria at you, according to Max.’ Xiah explained and got up.
There was no doubt he also used this opportunity to get out of the dorm before the real preparation would begin.

‘Can I help you with the cake?’ JiYa asked Hero.
‘Yeah, sure. Can you hand me that cup?’ Hero answered, breaking bars of chocolate into pieces.
While JiYa handed him the cup, Hero put in all the pieces he had already broken.
‘I noticed you were the only one taking care of the household chores…’ JiYa continued her conversation with Hero.
‘He doesn’t let us do much. Instead he does all the hard work himself.’ you laughed.
‘What are you both talking about? I honestly don’t think I do much at all. What I do isn’t that tiring.’ Hero grinned amused.
‘I do think it’s hard work…’ JiYa said, while taking a bar of chocolate to break.
‘Oh, me too!’ you agreed, sitting down on the chair Xiah had left moved away from the table.
‘Well, my behavior must have its roots in my past, I guess.’ Hero said.
‘How come, did you always help your parents with the household chores?’ JiYa asked.
‘Something like that, instead that they weren’t my real parents. They were my foster parents, I've never known my biological parents. According to my foster parents, they died when I was still in diapers.’
You had heard Hero’s story a few times earlier, but he never said much more about his past, you didn’t know how he ended up at the PCF company, for instance.
‘Do you miss your foster parents, now that you are in this secluded company you all are in?’ JiYa asked.
To your surprise Hero scoffed. ‘Miss them?! No way, I’m glad I escaped them. They always made me do everything! I was just their personal slave, I wasn’t in the least like a son to them.’
‘So that’s how you got in PCF, to get away from your foster parents?’ you asked, surprised by this new piece of information that, without doubt, had influenced Hero’s personality to what it was today.
‘I did, they treated me like garbage, making me use every bit of my energy to do all their chores. They even punished me if I didn’t do something as good or as quickly as they wanted me to do it. I just had to get out of there.’ Hero said, his gaze focusing on his fingers that gripped tightly around a bar of chocolate.
You saw his struggle with the buried memories and you stood up from your chair.
‘Oppa…’ you said as you put your arms around his waist, laying your head onto his shoulder. ‘It’s okay now, you have us. We love you, you can depend on us, too.’
‘Thank you…’ Hero let out, his voice cracking with emotion.
You smiled as JiYa wrapped her arms around the both of you.

‘Wha?!’ Xiah shrieked with a high and hoarse voice. ‘Hyung, are you stealing Flower from Micky?!’
You chuckled as you let go of Hero.
‘All is safe Xiah, Hero just needed a little comfort.’ you said. ‘Where’s Max?’
You tried to look behind Xiah, but Max wasn’t with him.
‘Max?! I saw him, but I still can’t believe it was him!’ Xiah said, the surprise was readable in his eyes. ‘I think she corrupted him! AISH!’ Xiah spoke hoarsely.
‘Who? What did you see?’ you asked, not at all following him.
‘A girl, they were… they were doing the… the lip-on-lip thing!’ Xiah let out and rushed upstairs.
‘Max was kissing a girl? Oh, wow!’ Hero smiled. ‘About time he dropped that ridiculous bacteria-avoiding habit!’
If the person Xiah had seen was truly Max, you were glad for him.
You didn’t believe Max could have been corrupted by a girl, Max was much too controlled for that to happen.
That he had no trouble with kissing when he liked someone, wasn’t so shocking to you, you were after all kissed by him before.

________~END OF CHAPTER 53~________