Chapter Two
Turning a Blind Eye// [HIATUS]
Morning rises and although Haneul can't see it she gets up like clockwork, yawning slightly. Almost immediately she notices the strange feeling of weight being on her while warmth is being transmitted through it. Confused, she pats it. Skin. It's soft and warm like skin. She goes up along the arms. They seem long and well defined like they've worked out a lot. Finally she's gotten to the shoulders and then the face. Seems slightly babyish, but the jawline is strong, masculine yet soft. She moves up long the tall nose and lightly touches around the eyes. The puffyness that seems to be there around them intrigues her. The eyes themself seemingly slightly smaller but wide. When they're open, are they rigid? Sliding her hands upwards, she moves to check the forhead only to find hair and decides to move down instead to check the lips. They weren't big or necessarily full. The bottom lip was more full than the upper but the curvature to them was fairly intense. Who was in front of her?
She moves to the side to try and get up, sitting up but as she moves to stand gets held back by the visitor holding onto her. Sighing, Haneul sits there calmly. What is she supposed to do?
"Haneul." Baekhyun's voice filters into the room from the hall. She hears the pattering of his footsteps. "Are you up? Kyungsoo is about to make break....fast..."
The steps stopped as he finished talking, he must have been at the doorframe.
"B-baekhyun... Who is on me? I woke up to find them."
A soft laughter comes up from Baekhyun and he walks over, grabs a pillow and sildes it in the sleeping person's arms before grabbing Haneul's hand to guide her out.
"That... was Tao." She could hear the slight snicker in his voice.
"T-Tao? But he doesn't like me. W-why was he in my bed? That makes no sense?"
A harsh voice came out, she instantly placed it with Kris.
"Tao was in your bed?"
Haneul nods, fastening her hold onto Baekhyun. "I-I woke up... and h-he.. was there." She could here the sound of annoyance come from Kris. Great. I'm not making any friends here. "S-sorry? But I didn't do anything I swear!"
"Then why didn't you scream? A stranger is in your bed and you don't scream?"
His voice was harsh, interoggating. Kris himself was frustrated. Luckily the girl couldn't see and thus she couldn't see his harsh glare. It wasn't that he was angry at the girl but he was frustrated with the situation. Sure, he was irked that the situation was odd. She didn't scream, and that was odd but the look on the girl's face was hurt. quivered lightly before taking a deep breath.
"Because when you can't see, wouldn't you scream all the time? I've learned to take thing as they go. Feel them out and figure them out. I'm sorry that my instincts aren't to scream at the first thing I don't know and can't see. If that was the case. I'd be screaming so much you guys would wish I was mute and not deaf."
Kris watches as the girl pulls away from Baekhyun, who looks at him frustrated, to walk away using her arms as guides. The elder boy can only sigh and walk over to the room where Tao lays peacefully, sliding in next to the younger boy. He wraps his arms wround him, pulling him close, sighing once again before opening his mouth slightly, "Pabo..."
Over in the kitchen, Kyungsoo is starting to take out the ingredients he plans to use for cooking as the blind Haneul stumbles in. The wide eyed boy looks over to the girl in alarm as she holds onto the counter, a small smile on her lips but the looks of tear stains still are on her face.
"Haneul..." He walks over, placing his hand on hers. "Would you like some help?" She nods slightly. From around the corner a pair of soft eyes watch help his younger friend, guiding her around.
"S-sorry." Her voice comes out like porcelain. Smooth but frail, as if she was to break at any moment. "It's K-Kyungsoo, right? I... thought maybe I could help?" The boy pauses, still holding the girl. He didn't know how what she meant by helping him. A blind girl helping a man who can see?
"U-um... Sure. If you'd like. I was just about to make breakfast..."
"Ah! Do the members like eggs? I can make them really well. Omelets? Omurice?" A smile forms on Haneul's face, one that Kyungsoo finds hard to resist. Usually he just whips up something small but can be made in a large batch because 12 members are hard to feed, and now we're including a small girl. But, if she persisted that she knew how, he'd like to see this.
"Well, I usually don't go to such lengths... but... um... sure... We have a big day today so I don't see why not doing something like Omurice. What do you need me to do?"
"First... I need to get acquainted with the kitchen, can you guide me?"
The pair of eyes that watched them decided to head down the hall, heading into the room where his close friend was. The tall body was clumsily laying in his bed. Baekhyun laughed softly and poked him slightly.
"Yah." A small wiggle of the other's nose made Baekhyun hold back a laugh but ended up snorting instead. "Happy virus. Wake up."
"Mmph." Chanyeol plopped the pillow that managed to be in his arms onto his head as if to say 'Baekhyun, I am not ready for this.'.
"Yah..." The smaller boy pouts and leans in to whisper into the other's ear, making a smile form slightly. "But what if I want some fun...?"
"Baekkie! I can hear you, you know!" The voice of his elder ended up coming out of nowhere sending Baekhyun falling onto his in surprise.
"Gah. Minseok! Can't you just leave for a little... please?"
"No. Wake up normally. Aish. I was sleeping too!"
Baekhyun just pouted more. What was he supposed to do when Minseok was there to him? He needed to think of something, anything.
"What if I brought you Luhan?"
"Yah. You know he's with Sehun right now."
"Tch." Well there goes that idea. When in doubt Baekhyun learned to always say Luhan. There's a reason why the fans say he's the most shippable thing around. Because he is. He gets along with all the guys here, and he's quite attractive as well. Slightly discouraged, Baekhyun couldn't help but whine. "Hyung~"
"No."
A lightbulb went of in Baekhyun's head almost immediately afterwards. "What about... Jongdae?" The small amount of silence that had come from his senior was something Baekhyun took as him thinking, making his lips form into a smile. A smile which only grew when his elder said two words.
"Fine. Hurry."
He runs off in a blaze, taking off down the small hall before rushing into the other room only to stop dead in his tracks. The image in front of him was something he wasn't exactly expecting to see at this time in the morning. Or, at least this morning, on this day, at this time.
"Aw... man..." He sighs and stares at the bodies in front him, biting his lip to relieve the tension he feels inside. His eyes glide over the pure white skin of the three bodies in front of him, mangled together but still asleep in peace. The only thing covering any part of them is a small sheet that is strewn across them. He clicks his tongue in annoyance while walking over to the bed. "Yah! Get up!"
"Nngh...." The whines of the three men in front of him didn't help Baekhyun's situation right now, and he could feel it... in his pants. Frustrated, annoyed and angry he hits the back of Jongdae first, then moves to Yixing and finally Suho.
"YAH YAH YAH! We have a guest and you three are N-" He tones down his voice for only them to hear. ". You're ! What did you do last night!" Jongdae turns his head to look over at his angry fellow member.
"We had our own welcoming party..." The cheesy, sly and purposely teasing grin that appeared on his face only made Baekhyun angrier. "Looks like Baekkie needs to have his own right now though." This only made Baekhyun hits in frustration.
"Shut up."
"Yah... Baekkie why are you here? We're so comfortable." This time it was Yixing who spoke up, he stirs and sits up groggily. Lazily Suho follows until all three are sitting up in front of him.
"Well. I came here to take Jongdae to Xiumin but-"
"Why...?" The boy in question was rubbing his eyes as he looks up at Baekhyun, confused from the morning grogginess.
"Obviously it's a bootycall." Shocking it was Suho who spoke this time. The morning grogginess that he has is one of lacking a filter, and they all knew this.
That's when the whole room suddenly turned chilly, the small fragile voice of the new house member made the four boys jump suddenly. "Call? We're you guys trying to call someone? I'll go get them if you want..."
Everything any of them felt suddenly went down suddenly. ed. Baekhyun was ed for like the fifth time this morning and he was grouchy from it. However, as he turned and saw the the expression on his friends face he couldn't help but relax. Haneul stood there a slight worried look before smiling softly as Suho spoke up.
"Oh no. Don't worry. What did you come here to tell us Haneul?"
"Oh. Breakfast. Kyungsoo and I made breakfast for everyone." She flashes a bigger smile. She was proud and happy. It melted Baekhyun's heart, seeing her so happy. He hasn't seen his friend in so long, let alone smiling like that. But then it hit him. The three buffoons next to him were , and this is the only time that Baekhyun has ever been thankful that she was blind. That she couldn't see these men still slightly entangled with each other.
"We'll be right out then. Thanks Haneul." Suho gave a small nod as he told her this, perhaps out of habit when sending someone away and ironically, Haneul nodded before she left as if knowing. The three men got up quickly, a deep relieved sigh coming from each one of them as they quickly changed.
"Aish. You guys. That could have been bad."
"Could have. But wasn't. Let's go." Jongdae lets out a small cat smile before the loud rumble of his stomach comes out. "Heh... I'm hungry. Let's go!" And out he goes. Suho and Yixing follow suit while Baekhyun trails behind with mixed feelings, the fact that he was thankful his friend was blind made him think about the things that happen in the house and how he felt horrible for feeling thankful about it. Sighing he continues on, mentally yelling at himself while ruffling his hair in frustration when -bump.
He bumps into the back of Yixing who stands there in awe with the other members. All 12 members of EXO were gathered around the counter where a proud Haneul stood smiling. All of them shocked from the sight of individually plated omurices that laid there on the counter, a bottle of ketchup next to them. Even Tao and Kris had faces of disbelief as they looked upon the feast in front of them. The only thing coming out of their mouths was: "Wow..."
Haneul took this opportunity to speak up. "Um... well... I know we haven't really started off on a good foot but I hope we can get to know each other." She smiles softly and continues. "T-this meal was prepared by Kyungsoo with my help." Instantaenously everyone looked at Kyungsoo who just shook his head but pointed to Haneul, they all turned back to the beaming girl as she spoke. "I hope you all enjoy before you start a big day and if you'd like a personalized ketchup art work, I'd be glad to do so!" They all let out a small chuckle, nodding and walking forward to grab their plates eagerly filtering in a line to see what Haneul would do.
"Haneul. Can you do.... a snowflake?"
"Ah... It's... Minseok.. ani... Xiumin right? Sure." A snowflake." She picks up the bottle and bangs the bottom side a bit out of habit to make sure it doesn't sputter.
"Is there any reason for it?" She smiles as she begins, skillfully pulling off a large snowflake in the center with a few smaller ones around it. Minseok chuckles softly as he watches, listening to her. He liked how he attitude seemed. She was nice, hardworking, thoughtful, but scared and strong at the same time. She's not afraid to speak out at times, even though she is probably secretly afraid.
He answers once she finishes, taking his plate. "You can call me Minseok, Xiumin is just a stage name afterall. And... well... everyone in EXO has abilities."
"Wow.. Really?" Her eyes had widened up, her lower lip had dropped slightly in awe. Minseok held back a small chuckle at her reaction.
"Not for real silly." He taps her head with a smll laugh before noticing a small blush coming to her cheeks. Ba-dump. Feeling a little uneasy, he quicly explains. "It was for our first song MAMA... I... was frost... so I wanted a snowflake... Um.. Thank you."
Minseok pratically bolts from the girl, an odd feeling flaring up as he goes to sit at the table. What just happened? He was calm and collected but then suddenly ended that like a buffoon. Sighing, frustrated, he cuts into the omurice before taking a small piece and shoving it into his mouth. A burst of flavor emerged and before he could think about anything he moaned in food ecstacy.
Yes. Food ecstacy. It was so delicious he didn't know what to say or do but to get more and shove it into his mouth, another sound coming from him as soon as he did. The rest of the group turned their heads to look at him alarmed when the youngest spoke up. "Uh... hyung?"
Popping his head up, he looks at them, mouth full of this girl's delicious food. "Mmph?" The members stared, bursting into a laughter, the man swallowed the food before trying again. "What?"
"You were hyung. Is there something we don't know?"
Stunned, his mouth hung open as he played the sentence over again. "I... what? Really?" They all nodded in their own ways. From Kris' small, precise nod to Kyungsoo's overly anxious multiple nodded fury. "Ah... Well it's delicious! My regards to the chefs."
"Chef."
"Huh?!" Everyone's head snapped to Kyungsoo who had just spoken up.
"Chef, Haneul did it by herself. I just helped her around the kitchen. That's it."
In a split second the world seemed to change. The girl stood there, eyes wide, alarmed. She didn't want them to know that she had done it. Recognition isn't something she took well. What if they didn't want to eat it though since they didn't like her. But in a hurry, all the boys started to fight over who was going to get the next ketchup design and her worries were put to an end. Each individual asked for something different. Even Tao had came up to her asking for a design, even if he was a little rude in his execution. She smiles as they all start to eat, giving out praises of her food.
"Yah. Kyungsoo! You're off cooking duty. Haneul cooks better than you do."
"Hey! I cook fine." He pouts, eyeing Chanyeol who made the comment. The others laugh, even Haneul makes out a giggle. "I do!" His blubbered outputs made him sound overly eager to continue cooking.
"I'm sure you do Kyungsoo." Haneul felt a little bad for the teasing. "But since I don't really work, I could do the cooking and some cleaning. I'll just have to figure everything out. I-is that okay with you guys?"
Each of the boys nodded after thinking. "Looks like we're all in agreement. Sure thing Haneul."
"Thank yo-"
"Ah! We're going to be late. Sorry Haneul we have to go."
And as if they were never there to begin with the boys left the plates in the sink and ran off to change before leaving the apartment. Haneul sat there, the overwhelming feeling of loneliness taking a toll. She sighs and stands up.
I guess everything in this house takes some getting used to.
Time alone isn't something that Haneul necessarily liked. Sure, it was nice to get away from everything and everyone but when you can't see anything but you can hear almost everything, the tiniest sounds can spook you. A creak from the door from the apartment above them made a chill go down her spine. Reluctantly she moves over to the sink and starts to hum lightly to a lullaby her mother used to sing when she was a child while washing the piles of dishes. If she was going to be home alone, she might as well be productive.
Time passed and after going through the house, using her hands to get acquainted to the rooms and their belongings she made her way back to the main living area. Slowly, she moves to the couch taking a seat while yawning loudly. Where are these boys, huh? Alone, bored, slightly tired - Haneul lays down, thinking. Daydreaming. But daydreaming turns into real dreaming once she closes her eyes, drifting to sleep for a small nap.
The door creaks open. A figure walks in. His seemingly small framed creates a small shadow as he makes his way through the doorframe, closing the door behind him. He walks in farther, proceding into the main room trying not to disturb the sleeping girl figure that lays on the couch. Intrigued by the girl, he moves over, kneeling next to her - taking the strange sense of beauty she has. It wasn't anything outstanding to him, but natural and in that sense oddly alluring. He was intrigued by her. After his fellow member had gotten flustered over at breakfast this morning he wanted to find out why. They had worked with beautiful girls before so Minseok shouldn't have gotten flustered. Everything was intriguing to him.
Entranced in a strange way he notices a small shiver from her and suddenly he finds himself compelled to hold her. But after sifting through that desire he settles with grabbing a blanket, laying it over her, tucking her in.
His eyes linger for a while longer on the sleeping girl before he hears the click of the door. Alarmed, he runs off into his room, taking out his laptop and pops in his headphones acting as if he's been there the whole time.
Secretly though, his mind plays around with the thought of Haneul lying there. Silently sleeping, oddly alluring in some way. He wonders what she dreams of. What she wishes for.
And suddenly. He wants to know more about her.
Comments