A/N: Sorry this is a day late!!!!

Both boys awoke to knocking at the door. “Boys? I’m not going to come in, but I wanted you to know that there is breakfast on the stove if you want it. Just place your dishes in the sink when you’re done. I’m off, I’ll be back around 1.”

“Xie xie ni, Xi-ma,” Sehun said sleepily.

Apparently she heard him because she giggled. “You’re a charmer. I’ll see you both later!”

Sehun sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He straightened his legs and flexed his toes, feet, knees, and rubbed them before attempting to stand. He managed to stand with only a little assistance from the wall and then he looked over to see how Joonmyeon did in his first night. His heart dropped as he saw Joonmyeon half sitting up, his head lolling onto the wall and a journal opened on his (surprisingly) bare chest. He hadn’t heard the knock on the door at all.

Sehun went ahead and put the journal down with the other ones and shook his hyung on the shoulder to wake him. “Hyung, it’s morning.”

Immediately Joonmyeon’s eyes snapped open from years of conditioning himself to wake ‘at the sound of royalty’. He attempted to get up quickly but Sehun pushed him back down. “Slowly hyung, you slept in a weird position last night.” He groaned as he slowly sat up. His hair was a little messy in the back but he otherwise looked fine.

“What time is it?”

“7:13. Xi-eomma knocked to wake us up but you didn’t wake up. C’mon, let’s get breakfast.” He slowly helped the other up and they made it down the stairs slowly. Their feet felt sore from the walking yesterday, but the ground felt more solid today and they trusted it more to bear their weight.

Sehun led Joonmyeon into the kitchen and began explaining the appliances as he dished up some soup and eggs for them both. There was also rice, kimchi, and some banchan from last night. This time, Sehun sat down next to Joonmyeon to help him out. He noticed he was much more vocal during this meal than before.

“So the spoon is for rice and soup?”

“Yeah, it scoops things, kind of like a spade.”

“Ah, I see. And is kimchi and rice usually eaten during all meals?”

“Usually. Luhan said it was the staple of the Korean diet.”

“I see. I read your journal last night and you noted a knife and fork were similar to the utensils we use.”

“Yeah, but those are typically used when people eat food from the Americas or Europe.” Joonmyeon nodded, recognizing those regions. He sipped the soup, then asked “what’s in it?”

“Based on the scraps of the vegetable on the counter, I would say there is radish in this mainly, but the broth I can’t quite tell.”

“What’s kimchi made out of?”

“Fermented cabbage, radish, cucumber, peppers, and a bunch of spices. Did you get to the part where I wrote about vegetables?”

“The food that grows from the ground?”

“Yes. So basically it’s a bunch of fermented vegetables and spices.”

Joonmyeon wrinkled his nose as he finished chewing. This time he had managed to get some rice and kimchi on his spoon and transfer it to his mouth. He looked thoughtful as he chewed and swallowed. “You know, had you just explained it to me in words I would have found it rather unpalatable. But this is actually amazing.”

“Agreed.”

“How did you get so good with those…er…chopsticks?”

“Luhan-hyung gave me a spare set his mom did so I could practice. The bottom one remains immobile while the top one moves,” he said as he showed him. “It’s easiest with noodles.” Joonmyeon nodded, knowing what that was since they did eat anemone 'noodle' salad down below. “Hold it like you would a pen.”

“Ah, that I am good at.” By the end of the meal he managed to pick up several pieces of egg without dropping them, slowly figuring out how to balance them so they wouldn’t slip against the food.

“Hey, he’s getting pretty good at that.” Both boys jumped as they saw a sweaty and breathless Luhan come back from his jog.

“Ah Hyung, you’re back. Did you eat?”

“I’ll eat after I shower. How’s it going? Easier when we’re not staring at you,” Luhan teased.

“Yes. But I think I’ll need a lot of practice,” Joonmyeon said.

“You have all morning to look around, although I can tell you now if you wash your dishes you’ll get on Xi-eomma’s good side.”

“Do you have a moment to show us before you shower,” Sehun asked, standing slowly.

Luhan nodded, offering his shoulder for Joonmyeon to lean on. “How’d you two sleep?”

“…Not well actually,” Joonmyeon said sadly. He was more upset that he wasn’t acclimating fast enough rather than his lack of sleep.

“Don’t worry about it, many people don’t sleep well in a new bed. It’ll take a while to get used to,” Luhan said kindly. Joonmyeon smiled as he let go of Luhan to lean against the counter. Washing the dishes turned out to be rather easy after Luhan showed them, but they both took a lot longer than necessary because they were determined not to break anything. By the time they were done, Luhan came down to eat his own breakfast and he briefly taught them both how to turn on and off the burners and how the refrigerator worked.

“You guys don’t have to wait for me to finish,” he said as he ate his breakfast.

“We’re still trying to get on Xi-eomma’s good side,” Joonmyeon said factually.

“Well then when I’m done, I’ll show you how to put away the breakfast food in tuperware and you can do the rest of the dishes.” They did so and once they were done (Luhan truly didn’t help, he just ‘supervised’) they headed back upstairs to brush their teeth.

“Is this teeth brushing routine a daily occurance?”

“Yup, we brush our teeth after every meal because we don’t want our teeth to go bad, we don’t want bad breath, and because we don’t have cleaner fish to do it for us.”

“Oh. You know about that?”

“Yup. You know, you’re much easier to teach than Sehun.”

“Hey!”

Luhan stuck his tongue out at him and Joonmyeon smiled at that, head bowed. “Oh, another thing. You can smile if you want, you know. No one’s going to yell out you.”

“But how will I know when it’s appropriate to smile?”

“Um…well usually you smile when you feel like it. Or when other people are smiling too. You just…I dunno, your expression seemed almost miserable at dinner so I just wanted you to know that it’s okay to smile.”

Joonmyeon smiled at that. “Thank you…I’ll bear that in mind.”

Luhan smiled and then checked his watch. “I have to leave around 9:15 to catch the bus for my class at 10, so I’ll get going now,” he said. “Sehun-ah, there’s a house phone downstairs next to the sliding door leading outside. I wrote my cell number beneath it in case you need to ask me about anything. When you save up enough, I’ll help you get a cell phone so you can text me.”

Sehun nodded. Luhan went into his room and the other two made their way to the bathroom to ‘complete their business’ as Sehun called it. There was a knock at the door and Luhan spoke from outside. “I’ll get going. I suggest practicing outside since there’s grass. I left you two some clothes on the bed. I’ll be back close to 9 ok?”

“Okay, have a good day,” Sehun called out.

“You too!”

When they both heard the door close Joonmyeon turned to him, toothpaste lining his mouth. “Sehun-ah?”

“Yup.”

“What is a ‘house phone’, a ‘cell number’ and what is this text he told you about?”

*          *          *

Their first morning as humans was spent practicing how to walk. Joonmyeon and Sehun had both observed how Luhan and Yixing walked so they tried their hardest to replicate it. By noon they could cross the length of the yard without stumbling, tripping or leaning awkwardly. Joonmyeon still walked with a bit of a limp, but if either of them noticed, neither of them commented about it. The rest of their time was spent learning about the technology and furniture in the house, Sehun explaining what each thing did. “This is a lot easier since you have a visual to see what it is.”

“I agree. Although I feel like I’ll be tested on it.”

Sehun shook his head. “You won’t, we just have to get used to it and know the basics about it.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to understand the point of the man in the box.”

“It’s a television. It’s for entertainment and…” This conversation on the couch lasted them until Xi-eomma came back.

“Hello boys, I’m back!” She shrugged off a light coat and her shoes and put down two bags, stretching out her back.

“Oh, you’re here,” Sehun stood up and bowed and Joonmyeon attempted to do the same, but was only able to bow his head.

Xi-eomma was curious about his awkward bow, but said nothing. “Wah, I see you both cleaned up the kitchen.”

“Yeah, Luhan taught us where everything…er…went,” Sehun said stumbling over his words in attempt to act natural.

“I see. Well, I was telling my last client about you boys and she sent over some bibimbap for you, have you eaten?”

“N-no. Is that okay?”

Xi-eomma waved her hand. “It’s fine. Besides, she said she was trying out a new recipe and wanted as many opinions on it as she could get.”

“Oh. Well, can we help with anything?” They both stood to help, Joonmyeon just a bit slower than his ‘cousin’.

“I can carry my personal bag if you’ll grab the other one for me, Sehun-ah.” Sehun immediately grabbed it and put it on the counter. Xi-eomma went to place her bag in her room and Joonmyeon followed Sehun into the kitchen.

“What is bibimbap?”

“It’s like a mash of all vegetables plus some sesame oil and hot pepper paste or something. It’s pretty good. You eat it with a spoon.” He nodded at the explanation and both of them were shooed away to the table while she prepared the food. She came back out with three spoons and the big plastic pink bowl of bibimbap.

“Dig in boys!”

“Thank you for the food!”

They all dug in and Joonmyeon chewed thoughtfully. “This is good. What’s in it?” He froze at his question, wondering if it was wrong for him to ask, but was immediately pacified with a smile from Xi-eomma.

“I’m not quite sure, namul, gochujang, soy sause, egg, cucumber, sesame oil, gim is the usual stuff…oh I think she added some sort of fish, see here?” She pointed at a small chunk in her spoon. “She told me she had a lot of fish this time, I guess she put some in. You aren’t allergic are you,” she asked worriedly.

Joonmyeon’s eyes were wide since he hadn’t the faintest clue what ‘allergic’ meant. Luckily Sehun swallowed. “Nope, we’re both lucky. We don’t have food allergies or seasonal allergies.”

“Oh, that is lucky. I myself will get all sorts of watery eyes and stuffed nose around too much pollen.” So allergies are afflictions that differ by person?

They kept the conversation light over lunch, asking about her job and clients, of which she was very eager to talk about. By the time they were done, she had convinced them both to let her ‘work’ on their feet. “I promise you’ll feel like new, although it can be a bit painful sometimes.”

“I’ll take my chances,” Sehun said teasingly after they finished the dishes. Xi-eomma sat down at the edge of the couch, allowing Sehun to stretch out the length of it. She wiped both his feet first with disposable wipes. “Don’t mind this, I do this for all my clients,” she said with a smile.

A second after she started Sehun snorted, then he grinned, then he wiggled a bit before bursting out in laughter. Joonmyeon was startled. “What’s going on?”

“M-my feet are ticklish,” he snorted out. Joonmyeon nodded. Mermaids could be ticklish too, but he never thought that legs could be so sensitive…

“Ah, you’re just like Luhan,” Xi-eomma said, grappling his feet with both her arms. “Don’t move or I’ll find the rest of your ticklish spots,” she threatened with a smile. Sehun fought to keep a straight face and attempted to keep as still as possible. Xi-eomma was definitely skilled and she gave a commentary as she was rubbing Sehun’s right foot. “Here is where your back is, here’s your hips, and here’s your brain,” she said, digging her thumb nail into the side of his big toe.

“Oww, it hurts,” he said.

She laughed and finished up both his feet. She started on Joonmyeon’s, but noticed how he gingerly laid down. He looked worried and he was fiddling with his hands on his lap. She smiled at his reaction. “Joonmyeon-ah I’ll be gentle, ok?” He nodded. “Just let me know if I’m being too rough and I’ll stop.” He nodded again and she started. She was particularly careful with the area that represented his back on his foot. He jolted once when she got a little close to the area but otherwise she was sure that she helped relax him a bit. “You’re all done,” she said after a bit. She looked up and Joonmyeon had fallen asleep on the couch. She glanced over to Sehun to see if he had also fallen asleep, but was surprised to find him staring at his cousin with a worried look on his face. She carefully moved his foot from her lap and nodded her head at Sehun to follow her into the kitchen as she washed her hands.

“Poor boy still must be tired from yesterday,” she said quietly.

Sehun shook his head. “No, hyung didn’t sleep well last night. He thinks I don’t know, but he kept tossing and turning most of the night and he woke up this morning in an awful position.” Xi-eomma’s frown deepened as she dried her hands.

“Why didn’t he sleep well?”

Sehun glanced over to Joonmyeon and asked, “Promise not to tell?” She nodded. “His back. He’s super self-conscious about it so we try not to bring it up if we can avoid it.”

“But aren’t you here to try to improve that?”

“We are…but there’s no guarantee the doctor can.” She nodded in understanding, then Sehun changed the subject. “Do you have a map of the area? I was thinking about exploring a bit tomorrow.”

“Would your cousin be up to that?”

“I don’t know, but exercising his legs can’t be too bad…I think…” She nodded and handed him an old fold out map. She circled the hostel, saying “This is us!”

“Do you also have a dictionary I could borrow,” he asked.

“Luhan should have one you can borrow in the bookcase in his room.”

“Would he mind? Since he’s not here?”

She smiled. So polite and thoughtful. “No, if you like I’ll text him to let him know you’re borrowing his books, but I’m sure he won’t mind.”

Sehun nodded and they heard shuffling from the living room. Joonmyeon was awake and he looked positively mortified that he had fallen asleep.

A/N: Sorry if it ended oddly but I try to keep the chapters at about 2,000 words so it doesn't take forever and a half to read. Also, any thoughts about me writing a Taoris oneshot?