You knew it would take some time to get used to the M boys’ absence, let alone calling them ‘the M boys’. However, the one upside to all that had happened was the fact the company had moved you and the rest of the boys to larger dorms that were a few minutes closer to headquarters.

-----------------

After lugging the last bit of suitcases in, you looked around with wide eyes-

 ‘Wahh it’s so much bigger!’ Baekhyun exclaimed whilst he slapped his hands together, walking around and down the corridors to the rooms.

‘Oh man, this room is huge!’ You heard Baekhyun’s voice yell across the hall.

‘I’m bunking with you!’ Chanyeol shouted as he rushed to throw his bag on top of his new bed in the first room on the right.

‘Well of course you are.’ You heard Baekhyun almost cackle in victory.

‘Sehun you don’t seem that impressed?’ You said watching him more intent on his phone rather than his surroundings.

Sehun looked up through his brown bangs that covered his eyes;

‘Ah, well to be honest I’m not picky when it comes to where I sleep – a bed is still a bed wherever.’  He replied looking down as he continued to text.

‘The kitchen’s big.’ Kyungsoo stated with his usual large eyed expression while he entered the living room after inspecting the kitchen.

‘That’s good, finally we’ll have some space to cook bigger dishes.’ You smiled at him.

‘Hyung are we bunking?’ Jongin asked while he picked up his bag, already knowing the answer.

‘I don’t mind.’ Kyungsoo replied slowly blinking.

‘Ok.’ Jongin replied strutting to their new room.

Junmyeon caught your attention; he looked a little deflated for some reason but you didn’t understand why. He stood idly and awkwardly alone as usual; thinking up ways to be helpful and intriguing…

‘Hyung I’ll bunk with you then.’ Sehun mumbled since he stood next to Junmyeon, eyes fixed on his phone, completely oblivious to Junmyeon’s elated reaction.

‘OH REALLY – UM THAT’S GREAT! I mean, ok Sehun-ah! Shall I bring your bag in with mine?’ Junmyeon exclaimed, he patted Sehun on the back merrily before bending over and picking up his bags as well as Sehun’s.

‘Yeah ok then.’ Sehun shrugged his shoulders before amusedly watching Junmyeon struggle with both their bags, waddling to their room that was furthest down the corridor, past the bathroom.

‘I guess I’ll check my room.’ You said to yourself while you walked past the loud noise already being emitted from ChanBaek’s room.

It was pretty standard but you weren’t complaining, however you knew it was going to get annoying as Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s room was right next to yours and you could already hear Chanyeol’s laughter through the walls….

You wondered about the other boys and how they were; did they move into large dorms as well?

Were they eating alright? Was Yixing getting enough sleep? Was Jong Dae still being hard on himself?

Was Luhan…

‘Aigoo calm down _____-ah.’ You thought to yourself, smacking your cheeks lightly to get a grip.

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

‘Inkigayo’s soon, don’t we have to record on Thursday?’ Baekhyun asked over breakfast the next day.

‘Uhh.’ Kyungsoo gulped nervously upon the realisation of performing to a live audience.

‘Aigoo Kyungsoo’s nervous~’ Baekhyun pinched Kyungsoo’s cheek just to annoy the boy further.

‘Go away.’ Kyungsoo clicked, wafting Baekhyun’s hand away.

‘You’ll be fine, we’re all in it together, we’ll all be nervous.’ Chanyeol slapped Kyungsoo’s back, trying to comfort him instead of knocking Kyungsoo’s glass from his lips, causing him to choke slightly on his milk.

You were pretty much unphased at this point by the exposure of man flesh seeing as it was flaunted in front of you so often. Jongin sat back, combing his fingers through his hair, his golden skin glistened in the sunlight, clear for all to see seeing as he was wearing a thin white vest and baggy trousers. More examples consisted of Junmyeon wearing baggy boxer shorts and a dark shirt while Chanyeol sat in a sleeveless hoodie; incredibly defined arms completely on show – your eyebrows furrowed as he sat down shoving noodles into his mouth – how on earth was someone who looked so lanky, have such toned arms?

‘Something on my face?’ Chanyeol asked since his eyes caught yours mid-stuffing noodles into his mouth.

You recoiled in embarrassment from being caught before realising yeah, he did have food all over his cheeks.

‘Mm, yep.’ You nodded already past that point of friendship where you could be honest.

Chanyeol’s ears evidently turned pink, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, eyes sliding down to his bowl as he slowed down, continuing to wipe his lips clean. You didn’t notice Baekhyun poke him subtly.  

Of course you felt a little flustered when these little viewings made you realise that you were actually living with men instead of boys, but most of the time these males’ actions made you see them as the latter rather than the former the majority of the time. 

‘Yep, you do have Inkigayo which means you have a dance practice scheduled tomorrow…’ You said checking your phone for the information sent by one of the managers again.

‘Ah so that means we’re free today?’ Baekhyun asked; his ears pricked up excitedly.

‘Here.’ Kyungsoo interrupted, completely ignoring Baekhyun as he offered you the last piece of sweet pickle before it got completely devoured by the boys.

‘Ah.’

You continued to flick through your phone while you opened your mouth and leaned in, allowing Kyungsoo to feed you while you continued to work, almost forgetting it was really nice of him since sweet pickle was your favourite. Sehun made a sort of ‘ooh’ noise next to a silently giggling Baekhyun while Kyungsoo politely fed you.

‘-Ummmm nope; I have to drop you guys off at headquarters – well Kyungsoo and Baekhyun – you have some vocal stuff to take care of with the producers – I think you need to make a backing track for the performance, oh and Jongin and Sehun you both need to practice your teaser dance again; don’t know why, it just says here andddd….Junmyeon and Chanyeol – oh you’re the only free ones!’ You said flicking through your phone shocked.

Baekhyun grimaced while Chanyeol nodded in his direction; enjoying this rare victory.

‘Well I’m going straight to my room and relaxing.’ Chanyeol skipped away. Junmyeon seemed just as pleased but at least tried to hide it –

‘Don’t worry about it guys, I’m sure it’ll only be a few hours and you’ll be back in no time-’

‘Yeah yeah.’ Baekhyun sighed walking off to get ready for the day.

----------------------------------------

It was a busy day supervising the boys at the studio, then you had to leave them at headquarters to buy ingredients for dinner as well as run a few other errands. You got home by about 6:00pm which meant it was time for dinner.

However Kyungsoo wasn’t back from the studio, neither were any of the boys in fact.

You were a bit lost without your cooking buddy – who would help you with stock-making and food tasting?

You looked at the clock biting your lip before deciding if you would start cooking without Kyungsoo seeing as he wasn’t replying to your texts which probably meant he was recording vocals.  

A big sigh escaped your lips while you grabbed one of two aprons and tied it around your neck and waist.

You laid out all the vegetables on the kitchen counter, taking a knife out to begin chopping until-

‘Do you need help?’

You nearly jumped out of your skin forgetting there were other occupants in the apartment.

‘WAH!’ You yelped turning round to see Chanyeol stood at the doorway, balancing on one foot while he watched you. You hardly noticed he was wearing a tank top with loose trousers and ridiculous bed head.

‘HAHA’ Chanyeol couldn’t help but laugh as you clutched your chest for a few seconds.

‘Sorry, sorry I scared you.’ He said in-between laughs, combing out his bangs.  

‘Chanyeol, oh my gosh – sorry I forgot anyone was here – um help? Well I guess I could use a hand but-‘

‘Ok, I can help.’ Chanyeol nodded politely before flicking his hair and tying Kyungsoo’s apron around his long and thin torso, making his way towards you.

‘U-um ok-‘ You were a little dumbfounded by how helpful Chanyeol wanted to be, you found yourself a little lost for words.

‘Are you just really bored?’ You asked still confused.

‘Haha, maybe just a little, I finished watching my drama, played some guitar, then played some star craft…kind of ran out of things to do. But also I figured you’d be making dinner, and seeing as Kyungsoo isn’t back – I don’t mind helping.’ Chanyeol said stretching his limbs and getting ready to cook while he flicked his bangs once more.

You nodded, shrugging your shoulders slightly in an A-ok expression.

‘What are we making?’ He asked, looking at the ingredients laid out on the countertop.

‘Kimchi-jiggae.’ You muttered while Chanyeol comfortably familiarised himself with the kitchen before getting a big pot out of one of the cupboards.

‘Ok cool.’ He replied with a concentrated expression, looking around for red pepper paste.

‘Oh it’s up there.’ You said standing on your tip toes, about to open the cupboard above you, remembering you had unpacked all your groceries in almost the same sort of arrangement as your last place.

‘I’ve got it.’ Chanyeol replied trying to be helpful, he easily towered over you, grabbing the paste without a problem. He didn’t realise how dangerously close his chest was to your face. You stood with wide eyes.

‘Uh thanks.’ You mumbled taking the paste from him and opening the packet.

‘No problem.’ Chanyeol replied rubbing his hands together and moving to boil water in the pot. Thankfully Chanyeol didn’t notice how ridiculous you were being; why were you so…embarrassed? Maybe it was because although Kyungsoo was a boy, he wasn’t the tallest so it felt more like you were cooking with a brother rather than….a tall…man child?

A few moments went by and the soup was well on its way. Your eyes occasionally flickered to Chanyeol who was so focused on cooking, there was little room for any conversation. But you were sort of used to that since Kyungsoo didn’t talk so much either. Chanyeol chopped so comfortably; stirring the mixture in the pot as if you weren’t even there he was so focused.

For the first time ever, you began to notice Chanyeol’s appearance.

You couldn’t help and stare seeing as you had little else to do…

Boy was this kid tall. You hardly noticed how tall Chanyeol was seeing as Kevin was always around.

But it wasn’t just that that amazed you about Chanyeol; of course he wore vests in the past but it was only now (and this morning) when you realised just how toned and defined his arm muscles were – they protruded out of his pale flesh accentuating the smoothness of his taught skin…and his face was…regardless of the sometimes creepy and over the top expressions Chanyeol made when he laughed or reacted to stuff…he looked so…young? His round eyes looked soft as he continued to cook and his permed, curled orangey-brown hair rested softly on his head, it almost made you want to reach out and feel how soft those curls really were…

You spoke up to try and stop yourself from thinking these stupid thoughts, tapping your chest hard to stop it accelerating in beats.

‘Oh um Chanyeol; we usually put some garlic in-‘

‘-mm yeah, I already put some in.’ He nodded while he tasted the spoon and offered you a taste too, taking a step closer towards you, closing the gap between you both slightly.

‘Here, try it.’ The spoon he had just pressed his lips against was now pressed against yours delicately. Chanyeol watched intently at your reaction;

‘Woah – no, Chanyeol…this is delicious!’ You marvelled at the taste of the soup.

‘Thank you.’ He sheepishly smiled in surprise over your reaction.

‘Chanyeol how on earth did you learn to cook so well?’ You gasped enjoying the spoonful too much.

‘Because of my mum; I used to help her cook when I was younger.’ He shrugged looking nonchalant.

‘Why didn’t you ever tell me?!’ You asked in shock.

‘You never asked, and besides…you and Kyungsoo-hyung make such delicious food I figured another cook would spoil the broth.’ Chanyeol shrugged while he tested out another spoon of soup, his loud slurp meant he was thoroughly satisfied.

‘Ha ha that makes sense, if Kyungsoo can’t make it, you can deffo be a replacement.’ You smiled offering him a novel position as a substitute chef.

‘Wow, ok, I’d love to cook with just you, I mean with you if of course Kyungsoo can’t make it.’ Chanyeol stuttered on his words and began to stir the pot of soup faster before offering you another spoon to distract you.

‘Mmm thanks.’ You smiled leaning in to try.

‘AH!’ You yelped. The soup was still hot.

‘Oh, woops sorry! Aish are you ok, here.’ Chanyeol blew on the spoon delicately while you stuck your tongue out to try and cool it.

‘Yeh, ifs haine.’ You muttered before leaning in and sipping another spoon of soup. You looked up at the wrong time. You didn’t realise how close Chanyeol was, his eyes looked straight into yours while he waited for your reaction to the soup.

‘Oh you guys are here?’

Both of you immediately jumped two steps away from each other and twirled around to the entrance of the kitchen.

Junmyeon stood with inquisitive eyes watching the two of you, thankfully he didn’t look suspicious.

‘Oh Junmyeon!’ You exclaimed smiling at him while you straightened out your apron.

‘Oh sorry to disturb, I didn’t know anyone was here-‘

‘-No no it’s fine, we’re just cooking dinner, Chanyeol’s helping me.’ You smiled, patting Chanyeols back while he shoved his head into the fridge to cool down, pretending to find something.

‘Oh ok I won’t disturb then, I’ll just order some-‘

 ‘No Junmyeon you can eat with us, this is dinner for everyone so it’s no problem!’ You offered smiling.

‘Oh, ok thank you well I’ll be out for an hour – is that ok with you?’

‘Yeah an hour is all we need.’ Chanyeol said while he stood up straight from bending over the fridge.

‘Ah hyung can you please buy us some cokes?’ Chanyeol added.

‘We’ll pay you back of course-‘

‘No it’s fine, sure I’ll get some, and some for the others; they’ll probably be thirsty when they come back.’ Junmyeon said checking his pockets.

‘Speaking of; when are they coming back…’ You muttered looking at the clock, it was almost 7:00.

‘Are you bored of me already?’ Chanyeol playfully pretended to be hurt.

‘N-no! Although I feel useless since you’re doing all the work…’ You shyly replied. Chanyeol nudged you lightly, you almost forgot Junmyeon was still watching you with raised eyebrows.

‘I’ll see you later.’ He said softly slipping away.

‘You can chop the onions.’ Chanyeol suggested pointing at the onions.

‘Mm now that is something I can do.’ You smiled rolling your sleeves up properly.

A few minutes rolled by, you couldn’t help but exclaim;

‘Finally we’re almost done, I’m so hungry!’

‘Yeah me too haha, are you almost done with the onions?’ Chanyeol asked, stirring the stew comfortably.

‘Mm yeah, just, gosh my eyes keep crying and I just at cutting it.’ You hissed angrily at your workmanship. The onions were cut in completely different piece sizes, it was your one job you couldn’t even do properly.

‘Ah it’s ok, I