Airplanes

"Okay, so maybe you don't have a schedule today. So what?"

"You lied to me!" Kikwang exclaimed.

"Yes, but it was to get you to wake up!" I retorted. "You're so lazy there's just no other way."

He scoffed, looking offended.

"Oh you know it's true." I sneered, returning to my work in the kitchen; lunch, for when the boys came back.

"Well." Kikwang shrugged from his place on the couch.

I rolled my eyes. If he was going to admit it, why all the fussing over it? "Why are you so difficult."

"Because it annoys you." He grunted, heaving himself up from the couch. Still shirtless, of course.

"I knew it." I laughed lightly, but wasn't sure if he was actually serious. He did seem to try and annoy on a quite regular basis.

"I'm excited about our bet." He suddenly said, peering at me from across the kitchen counter that separated the living room and said room.

I shook my head. "Of course you are." I didn't want to judge, but even before I started working as their "maid," I had taken Kikwang for a ladies' man type. He was good-looking, a smooth talker, and being an idol with chocolate abs does help a bit.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing." I smiled innocently at him, then quickly changed the subject. "So you said I was going on the trip to America. How is that even possible? I'm just the cleaning lady."

"I might have mentioned to the manager that you speak English when we were talking about it. He said it would save us a lot of money instead of hiring a professional translator considering you're already employed by us." Kikwang said quickly, not taking a breath until he was done.

I dropped the knife I was using on the counter with a loud clatter, and in the process managed to slice my finger. "Ow!" I jumped, seething as I looked at my finger, discovering where it was cut after seeing blood start to seep from the wound. "Why would you do that?! And how did you know?!" I yelled at him, bouncing on my feet slightly since I didn't know what to do in order to stop the pain in my finger.

"Good job, you got worked up and cut yourself." Kikwang said sarcastically, reaching for a paper towel and pressing it to the cut.

"Shut up." I muttered. I didn't need to be reminded of my own clumsiness.

"I was kidding." He said seriously, looking at me through his long, black bangs. I could feel the blood pulsing towards my cut, matching the pounding of my heart as I stared back into Kikwang's serious stare.

I cleared my throat, cutting the thick silence. "S-so, he actually allowed it? For me to go?"

Kikwang let go of my hand, making sure I was still applying pressure to the wound. "Yeah; is there a problem?"

"No, I just..." I hesitated. How was I supposed to ask this without sounding greedy or ungrateful? I really needed to bring in some extra cash right now, more than what I was just making cleaning these dorms. I had been thinking of getting a second job for the weekends strictly. My father was having no luck finding a job as of late.

"What is it?" Kikwang asked again, starting to look concerned.

"Well, the thing is that I really need extra money right now so I was wondering if I would be getting paid extra for this trip." I hurriedly said, wanting to just get it out.

Kikwang stared back at me, with wide eyes this time. He broke out into a grin a few seconds after. "Of course." He laughed, showing off his adorable eye smile. "We aren't that stingy." He smiled, moving to the hallway to grab a bandage out of the first aid kit.

"Thanks." I took the bandage from him, removing the paper towel from my cut and quickly replacing it with the bandage.

"Can I ask why you need extra money?" Kikwang asked a little shyly, not looking at me directly.

My stomach twisted a little at that. I hadn't told anyone of my family's financial situation, and I hadn't even told my parents about my job. I just tell them I'm going to hang out with friends every time I go to work, then deposit my paychecks in the bank without telling them, and they don't question it. They think they're living off of a miracle. But... It was just Kikwang. Who would he tell? "Well... You have to promise not to tell anyone, okay? Not even the other members."

He nodded.

"Promise." I held out my pinky, and he immediately linked his own with mine and we connected our thumbs, sealing the agreement. "My parents are both out of jobs."

"Oh." He sounded sad. I didn't expect him to say much; I mean, I knew it would be awkward if I told someone, which is the reason I never did. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." I smiled. "It's not anybody's fault. I just have to keep this up until they find jobs."

"Well you're doing a good job, so I'm sure you won't be losing your job any time soon." Kikwang winked at me, and I just rolled my eyes.

"You're so greasy." I scrunched up my nose, pretending like I saw something gross.

"Oh you know I'm y." Kikwang stuck out his tongue, running a hand down his defined abs.

I shook my head at him, turning to get a new knife (but really to not stare at his exposed upper body). "You just think you are. Fatty."

"Yah! I am not fat!"

Lunch was chaos. Well, slow chaos. Junhyung got home first, ranting and raving about his music video shoot with Kim Wan Seon. Next came Doojoon and Hyunseung, complaining about all the make up they had to put on for their photoshoot. Last but not least, Yoseob and Dongwoon came about a half hour after everyone else had already arrived, exhausted from the variety show they were recording for.

"So... who wants lunch?" I asked, already separating six servings of rice into separate bowls.

Everyone just moaned or mumbled out a "I'm too tired to eat."

"Oh come on guys. I know you're hungry. It's not good if you don't eat."

"We're too tiiiiired." Yoseob whined, waving a dismissive hand at me from his spot on the floor, leaning his back against Dongwoon's shoulder.

"You have to eat at least a little bit." I walked over to them with a tray full of kimchi and rice side dishes. "I didn't make that much anyway."

Six pairs of eyes stared at me, then the six bodies started slowly moving towards the tray. Finally, they all grabbed some kimchi and a bowl of rice, eating most if not all of their lunch.

"Okay, go sleep." I said while I picked up their used dishes. That's the fastest I'd seen them move all day.

"I feel bad for them." I mumbled, cleaning the dishes before another pile was started in the sink.

"You work hard, too." I jumped at the voice behind me.

"Don't scare me like that." Doojoon just laughed. "And I thought you were sleeping. Aren't you tired?" He looked pretty worn out when he got back home.

"Nahh, I'll let the kids sleep. Plus you always need help with something around here. I know we're pretty untidy."

"No, it's fine. This is my job."

"Okay, if you want." He held up his hands, surrendering. "Speaking of, you really do work hard. We appreciate it."

"It's nothing." I smiled. He was really a great leader for the boys. After everything that all of them went through before debut, they needed someone responsible to lead them. And Doojoon definitely fits that requirement. "I know you guys are busy and don't really have time for housework anyway."

"I guess. Plus I think it helps that the guys get to come home to a cute girl everyday to keep them going, even when they are tired."

I almost dropped the bowl I was scrubbing. "Excuse me?"

Doojoon laughed. "What? You can't tell me you don't think you're attractive." He leaned up against the counter next to me.

"W-well I mean... No, not really." I stuttered.

"Oh please."

"Seriously! You guys are surrounded by super cute and pretty girls all the time. I don't really compare to, say, A Pink or Sistar." I scoffed; I didn't need pity, especially if it wasn't true.

"Stop comparing yourself to them. Who cares. You're still pretty."

"But--"

"Ah ah ah! Technically I'm your boss, and if I say you're pretty, you're pretty. Your argument is invalid." Doojoon smirked at me, then patted my shoulder and returned to the bedroom to catch up on some sleep.

I let a puff of air out of my already puffed up cheeks. "Jerk."

"Ready? Got all your bags? Did you finish breakfast? What about packing everything? Did you go through a checklist?" I rattled off everything I could think of; I was not forgetting anything, and I wasn't going to let the boys either. Going to America was a long trip, and if you forgot something, too bad.

"Yes, Mom." Hyunseung rolled his eyes then returned them to his phone's screen, probably updating twitter or something of the like.

I glared at him from behind but didn't say anything.

"Ignore him. He didn't get enough sleep." Kikwang appeared beside me, clad in jeans, a grey t-shirt, black leather jacket with a black hat to match and big sunglasses.

"Yeah, that's what happens when you stay up playing video games all night." I raised my voice just so the other members would hear me.

Kikwang laughed, but the others didn't think it was too funny.

"Okay, everyone ready to go?" The manager asked, herding us all into the van that would take us to the airport.

We arrived at the airport about an hour before our flight was to take off, hoping that it would be enough time to get through the sea of fans, then security, then the rest of the airport to our gate. Surely enough, it was, and we even had some downtime before actually boarding the plane. Granted, the thing that took the longest was getting through the fans. Wow, that was a lot of people.

"In shock?" Yoseob asked me, smiling slightly as he sat down in the seat beside me.

"I didn't know so many people would come. I mean... You guys are coming back." I said, thinking back to the sea of people crowding, just close enough to get a good picture or be seen by the boys.

"Well they don't get to see us in person a lot, so it means something to them. You're just used to it."

"No, I just know how you really are." I laughed at his shocked expression. "Just kidding... Sort of."

Surprise, surprise. I got seated next to Kikwang on the plane. I just prayed to God that there weren't any fans on the plane. I especially asked the manager to keep an eye out for any wandering eyes, cameras, or cell phones. I didn't need to be wanted dead by the female Korean population for sitting on a plane next to Lee Kikwang of B2ST.

Soon enough, everyone on the plane was asleep, and I was able to take a breath of relief. I pulled out the book that I had planned on reading at the bookstore the other day, until Yoseob tricked me into movie night, and opened to the page I had marked. I read without disturbance for a good, solid hour before I heard someone shuffling around. It was Kikwang.

"What are you doing?" He asked me in a sleepy voice, which I noted was very cute, with a sleepy face to match.

"Reading." I replied quietly, aware that we were the only ones speaking.

"How can you not be sleeping?" He questioned through small, sleepy eyes and mussed hair.

I closed my book with the bookmark on the page I had left off on. "I don't know; I love reading. Plus, someone didn't let me having my reading time on Sunday."

Kikwang sat up more and stretched out his stiff muscles. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay, I still had fun."

"Really? I thought you said we were annoying and loud and obnoxious and--"

"Yeah, yeah, but I still had fun playing in the snow." I laughed quietly.

Kikwang looked at me with a confused face. "I don't understand girls." He shook his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Don't do that, your face with get oily." I swatted his hand away.

Kikwang swiftly grabbed by wrist with the same hand. We had a short, melodramatic moment of looking into each other's eyes before I shook his grip off and opened my book again. I swear, I can't seem to avoid moments like those with him.

"What are you reading?" He asked, making an effort to keep our conversation going.

"Romeo and Juliet." I showed him the inside. He made a disgruntled sound and scrunched up his nose.

"It's all in English."

"Yes, good job. You're so smart." I .

He hit my arm playfully. "Shut up. But anyway, why are you reading that? Everyone knows the story of Romeo and Juliet."

"Yeah, but it's still fun to read. It's so much better than knowing that they fell in love then both died." I explained, closing my book once again, knowing I probably wouldn't be getting anymore reading done for the time being.

"How so?" He asked, turning to look at me more.

"Well, I mean, you meet characters like Mercutio, Juliet's nurse, and Tybalt. You learn more than 'they died.' You get to see the feud between their families fester, see how rash their love was, how stupid it was, in essence." I shut my mouth immediately, realizing that I had been rambling. "Sorry."

Kikwang smiled, revealing his eye smile again. "You don't have to apologize. I get it now. Maybe I'll try reading it, too."

I gave him a look.

"In Korean." He finished.

"How are we dividing up rooms?" Dongwoon asked as we strolled down the New York sidewalks, thankful that fans weren't aware of when our flight had arrived.

"I don't know..." The manager looked puzzled for a moment. "I could only book four rooms, which means two people to a room." Everyone exchanged glances, and they all ended up on me.

"We can squeeze three in a room, right? So Jieun can have her own room?" Junhyung asked.

"There's only one bed per room." Manager replied, looking a bit worried now. "I know for sure that I'm not rooming with her; too many liabilities with the company."

"We'll just figure it out when we get there, okay?" I said, trying to not make the mood go down. Everyone was already jetlagged as it was.

We did just that; once we checked into our rooms, everyone divided up. Doojoon and Yoseob, Junhyung and Dongwoon, Hyunseung and the manager.

"Can you tell me why I always get stuck with you?" I asked Kikwang as we unpacked our clothes for the week.

"I wish I could."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, I'm officially the worst author ever. I haven't updated this in pretty much forever. Since the beginning of December. Which was last year. OMG I'M SO SORRY SCHOOL GOT TO BE TOO MUCH AND I OVERWHELMED MYSELF AND THEN EXO ME IN AND I REALLY DON'T HAVE AN EXCUSE JUST PLEASE DON'T KILL ME D:

But now I'm on summer break so expect more updates! \o/

Some gifs as an apology~