Chapter 6

Kyungsoo adjusted quite well to his new school life, although mentally, he was still painfully in the I-am-poor-and-I-am-not-ashamed-of-it-a-bit-oooh-can-we-get-that-for-free state. Nothing that could not be covered by Sehun though, so everything was good. The innards drama could be avoided as well, simply by stating,

"We get all the foods for free here, anything you want within the school. Pretty much everything has been included in our tuition fee, or in your case: your scholarship."

And of course, Sehun put all the tabs on his own account. He would do anything to avoid Kyungsoo's so-called food. Anything. Sehun had made sure the school sent Kyungsoo the notification soon after that market incident.

That day Sehun got an email from the school that made him furrow his eyebrows:

Dear Mr. Oh Sehun,

We have received your request regarding Mr. Do Kyungsoo's expenses. The arrangement has been managed instantly and was processed shortly after that; starting effectively from the day the request was made. And so any of Mr. Do Kyungsoo expenses will be deducted from your account.

We would like to inform you that until today, there is no expenditure Mr. Do Kyungsoo made regarding the matter. Mr. Do did ask us for a few things, such as; an eggplant, in total of 7 chicken eggs Mr. Do requested on three different occasions (not the special kind of eggs such as Paolo Parisi's eggs or Simingjinfeng's eggs), two kilos of rice (without any particular or special kind of variety or brand), and a few other small requests.

We did have a little difficulty in finding some of the requests, such as orange peels; we got some confusion over the variety of the orange as well as the origin or brand, the shape of the peels, and whether if we should include the oranges as well or not, but all had been settled down once we re-confirm Mr. Do's request.

We would like to emphasize that we are more than happy to fulfill the requests, and we consider them as a part of Exo International School hospitality; hence no expense will be charged regarding such matters above.

Thank you for your attention. We would be delighted to receive any further questions or concerns.

Respectfully yours,

Head Manager of Service Department

Lee Ki Bum

So, he did get the foods for free after all. Sehun chuckled.

Uh. What about orange peels?

I wonder if they eventually gave him the orange peels with the oranges included, after the re-confirming thing. Sehun swallowed hard to restrain from laughter, and immediately clamped his palms over his mouth. He was in class for God's sake. Wrong time to check on emails.

Sehun intended to ask Kyungsoo as soon as he got the chance.

Aside from Kyungsoo's commoner wisdom Sehun couldn't comprehend yet, things were going along smoothly. More than once, Sehun did have to cover up the fact that the boy was a pauper -- even in commoner's term, but nothing he couldn't take care of. Most of the students were obnoxious, anyway.

There was one time that they found out that Kyungsoo were wearing socks with patches at a gym lesson. The boy definitely mended them himself; his socks were sewn neatly, but unfortunately different colors of threads were used. The socks looked like a subway map of Seoul. Before Sehun could offer any comment to cover it up, his classmates were already looking at the socks in awe.

"Oooohhh, look! The patches! I KNEW IT. He comes from a yangban family, maybe from Pyeongsan Do clan! In traditional times their sewing skill showed their devotion and caring to the family, it's an aristocratic-noble thing."

"Wait, isn't it only applied for the women? I heard that they sew their own embroideries on clothing, for their wedding and all."

"I don't know, but time has changed, maybe nowadays the men need to be able to sew as well. Socks are definitely parts of clothing right? And the cute patches are definitely embroideries."

"Oooohhh you're right! No wonder you got full marks in History!"

Sehun decided to skip his class that day.

 After a month, Kyungsoo was able to ace all the lessons he took stunningly well, so then he followed Sehun's step by not attending his lessons most of the time, except for the lessons he loved the most, such as music and math. Sehun didn't quite know where the boy went after skipping his classes.

Maybe he takes another lesson, probably advanced chemistry or biotechnology, or some other geek stuff, Sehun thought.

***

It was a boring Monday noon. Sehun decided to skip his class and went back to his dorm. He put his fingerprint on the scanner machine and walked out of the elevator lazily. A little bit thirsty, he went straight to the kitchen, dropping his bag carelessly on the floor. Sehun opened the refrigerator, and his face contorted in in distaste when he saw that it was filled with different shapes of plastic containers only God knows what horrible things were stored inside.

Better not risking myself peeking, he decided. Sehun reached for a bottle of cold water and closed the fridge, taking a big gulp as he went outside.

'...........'

Sehun froze with his lips still enclosed around the top of the bottle. He sensed some kind of suspicious noise faintly; it sounded like someone's giggling, probably a child. He finished his drink in one gulp, hoping that it would be suffice enough to calm himself down. Maybe it's just his mind playing tricks on him.

Hi hi hi

It was definitely a giggle. Sehun's mind began to shriek in nervousness he refused to admit as fear. That was not even possible; no one else could enter his dorm. Sehun tightened his grip on the bottle until his fingers turned white.

Hi hi

The voice could be heard more clearly as he was walking toward it, half-heartedly trying to find the source. Sehun cleared his throat. Dread crept up from the pits of his stomach. He felt cold all of a sudden.

Hair rose on the back of his neck.

I love to play all day
Come join me all my friends
Always happy, as can be
Porong, Porong, Porong, Porong, Po Ro Ro

Suddenly something rolled toward his feet through a slightly opened door. He gulped. It felt like a small ball, but it was kind of fury. Sehun tensed. He could feel his pulse beating wildly. Although he was unwilling to admit it; never in his life had he felt this scared before.

I love to play all day

Come join me all my friends

Sehun swallowed hard. His curiosity won. Slowly, he forced himself to look at the thing by his feet. He tilted down, but keeping his eyes tightly shut. After building up the courage, he took a peek.

A clown head was looking at him, smiling all smugly and sickly.

Sehun gasped with a weak shriek. He steered away from the head, causing the thing to roll toward his direction. that thing tilted his face at him; its round, beads eyes moved to the opposite, staring at him mockingly.

That was when Sehun finally lost it.

"KYYYAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"

Sehun let out a not so manly scream. His hands clutched both sides of his cheeks hard, his eyes clenched like a clam.

"What what what what happened!" In haste Kyungsoo came out of his room, apparently from which the clown head had rolled away from.

"KYUNGSOO WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" Sehun yelled, unable to overcome his shock. He clutched his hands on his chest, gasping for breath. His empty water bottle was long time forgotten, thrown somewhere he couldn't care less.

"What...?  This is my room. I live here, remember?" Kyungsoo cocked his head to one side questioningly. He looked downwards, and his face lightened up at what he saw.

"Ah! Here you are! I've been looking for you everywhere, let's attach you to your body, you poor little thing," Kyungsoo cooed soothingly, bending down to pick the creepy clown head. Sehun cringed. He went a few steps backward.

"I.... I mean that thing. What... what on earth is that!" Sehun pointed to the head while snapping his head away. He refused to see that ugly thing.

"Oh, this!" Kyungsoo flapped the thing's head happily, holding it by its pointy hat. The thing's malicious beads eyes spinned wildly.

"It's a doll's head," he stated, matter-of-factly.

"I KNOW ITS A DOLL HEAD BUT WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH IT AND I HEARD SOMEONE'S SINGING A CREEPY SONG AND GIGGLING WHAT THE HELL KYUNGSOO!"  Finally Sehun snapped; he rarely -if not never- swore but he just could not take it anymore.

Kyungsoo pouted. "What do you mean by creepy song? It's my favorite song, The Pororo. And making doll is so much fun." Kyungsoo puffed his cheeks disapprovingly.

Sehun swept his glance inside the room; that was the first time Sehun took a look at Kyungsoo's room.

There were clown dolls everywhere, dozens of them. All wearing grotesquely costume with different patterns and tacky colors; ruffle collars, clown hats, baggy pants, large foot wears and red noses. They were wearing makeup, faces were decorated with bright colors with a wide painted smile. The more horrible thing was that not all were attached to their bodies yet. Sehun shivered. He quickly shifted his eyes away and stepped back.

"I don't care if making dolls is fun or not, what I would like to know is what are you doing, making tons of these creepy things!" Sehun retorted the boy.

"Not creepy!" Kyungsoo protested.

"Children love them, they are cute. And to answer your question, making dolls is my part time job. The company sent me the material and patterns, and I simply followed their requests. I have sent them my first work, and they said that I was so good that not a single doll was rejected." Kyungsoo grinned proudly, eyes turning into crescent shape.

"The pay is good too," he continued with a mischievous smile.

"So this is what you're doing everytime you skip your class?"

Kyungsoo nodded cheerfully. "I want to save some money, so that once I graduate from here I can afford my own place to live," he beamed at Sehun.

Sehun turned his head to look at Kyungsoo. Before he could say anything, he accidentally looked at the creepy head in Kyungsoo's hand. He turned ghastly pale, and hurriedly said, "Okay okay I understand, just continue your work fast and get rid all those creepy things!”

"Not creepy!" Kyungsoo yelled as Sehun walked away.

***

The next morning, they had breakfast together before going to their first class. Sehun ate his breakfast in ease (he had specifically ordered the ingredients and toppings for the pancake, so Kyungsoo got no chance to poison him).

He admitted that he enjoyed his breakfast quite much; it was not bad to have the warm, buttery texture of the pancake, topped with soft butter that quickly melted away on its surface inside his mouth. Kyungsoo had a special talent in cooking.

His phone rang, disturbing his blissful time. Sehun checked the caller id and answered the phone. It was from his grandfather.

“What's the matter grandpa? Nah, I'm just having my breakfast.” Sehun stole a glance at Kyungsoo who was flipping his pancake expertly, catching it with frying pan.

“Oh, why did the person take a leave that long?" Sehun heard the answer from the other side, flicking his eyes toward Kyungsoo who was untying his apron, bringing more freshly made pancakes to the table.
 

An idea began to form inside Sehun’s head. He smiled subtlety.

“I know just the right person, grandpa. I will bring the person soon." He paused to listen to the response and ended their conversation.

Sehun eyed the boy who was munching his pancakes happily, cheeks puffed like a hamster storing food for winter. "Kyungsoo, I got a great job for you," he said.

Kyungsoo raised his head from his pancake and stared at Sehun with a hopeful look. "Wha wok?" He responded in mouthful.

"My grandfather is looking for a temporary maid. The person he trusts the most takes a leave for a quite long time, so he needs to find a replacement. We will have our summer vacation soon, right? How about you work there to earn some extra income."

Kyungsoo's face brightened up. He swallowed his food fast and agreed immediately,

"I would love to!"

Sehun looked at Kyungsoo, feigning a troubled look. "But the thing is, my grandfather only hires female workers," he spoke slowly.

"Ah, that's a pity." Kyungsoo's face saddened upon hearing the unfortunate news.

"...so we have to dress you like a girl so grandpa won't notice." Sehun made the suggestion like it was normal to dress as a girl to get a job.

"What??? Ah. No! No! I'm a man, your grandfather will find out right away, I don't want to!" Kyungsoo shook his head repeatedly.

"That’s so unfortunate then," Sehun said, pretending to look sad. He shrugged his shoulders.

"The pay is quite good, a bit more than what you earn from your creepy dolls part time job. Ten times the salary you get from making those things, at least." Sehun let out his ultimate weapon, nonchalantly giving the offer he knew Kyungsoo would not refuse.

"I'll take it! I can be a girl, don't worry!” Kyungsoo said right away. “AND THE DOLLS ARE NOT CREEPY!"

Sehun smiled inwardly. The fish had taken the bait.

Otherwise it would not be fun.

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