Chapter 2 – First Flutter

The next morning, the sky was still cloudy and rain still dropped from the sky, but thankfully lighter than before. The boys woke up around eight in the morning, coming out of their room looking like they’ve just survived war. There were dry drools on some of their chins up to their cheek, bed hair taken to the max and the cracking sound they made after twisting their bodies and necks could make you shiver. “You guys look like trash,” Sehun chuckled at his friends. “You don’t seem like a decent sight for sore eyes either, blockhead,” Baekhyun barked at him, raking his locks with his dainty fingers to fix his bed hair. “Is Ji Eun still asleep?” Kyungsoo looked around. The sound of a hot kettle alerted them, catching their attention downstairs. They all head to the stairs and went straight down.

Chanyeol was the first to land a foot on the first floor, so he quickly went to the kitchen after scanning the empty shop. When he heard the sounds of plates softly clattering in the kitchen, he smiled to himself and head over there with the others by his tail, the others looking somewhat lost due to sleep deprivation. He popped his head through the curtains and saw her pouring hot water into a tea pot. Chanyeol stopped breathing for a moment. She looks so pretty…

The others frowned, moving inside to see Chanyeol’s frozen state, eyeing his expression before glancing at the still oblivious girl of them being inside the kitchen. Jongin was the first to notice the blush on his hyung’s face and smirked. He stood up straight as he ruffled his platinum bleached hair, and approached her, noticing Chanyeol’s sudden change in expression when he saw Jongin in the picture.

“Good morning,” Jongin cooed to the little owner, startling her as she lets out a cute meep. She almost dropped the tea cup she was holding, almost, because prince charming Jongin was there to catch it before it dropped. She sighed in relief, “G-good morning, did you all have a nice sleep?” she took the cup back and put it back on the tray. Jongin was stunned. Oddly, there was no blush detected. Not even a smile of gratefulness either. Hmm, a little dull.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” Jongin blurts out his thought loudly as he runs his fingers through his hair with a smirk, earning looks from his friends.

“Morning!” Baekhyun stepped in the picture. “We had a great sleep, thanks for letting us stay for the night,” Baekhyun stood by her side, a smile on his face. “I-I’m glad you did,” Ji Eun stuttered, putting her hands on the handle of the tray.  

“You… Uhh—Need help?” Chanyeol nod his head to the full tray. “Oh,” Ji Eun turned around to look at the tray she filled. “Uh—If you’re okay with it I-I’ll help… I mean—It looks a bit—Uhh, you know, heavy. B-but if you’re okay with it! I—Haha—I’m free over here. B-but not in relationship terms! I mean—I am single b-but I—“ Chanyeol stuttered like hell, blushing and even starting to sweat. The giant tried to calm himself as he rubs the back of his neck, “I—So—Uhh… Need help?”

Before Ji Eun could even say anything, Suho was already holding the tray in his hands. “I’ll help you with that,” he mentions flatly before bringing it out of the kitchen counter and placed it on the dining table inside the big kitchen, earning a surprised gasp from Ji Eun followed by a thankful smile. Baekhyun narrowed his eyes when he saw Suho smirk at them, and glanced at the seemingly defeated Chanyeol. “You’re not fooling me,” Baekhyun muttered at Suho. “What do you mean?” Suho said without looking at him, keeping himself perfectly composed.

“I’m used to light breakfast… B-but if you guys want something else I can make it for you,” Ji Eun rubbed her cold arm, averting her gaze down when she noticed that the boys were all looking at her. Not being used to crowds, Ji Eun looked away. The boys were holding their grin. They dig shy girls so bad, they curled up their toes to hold themselves from expressing whatever it is that’s confined in them. It’s not every day they meet shy girls in their area, since all of the girls there are prideful with their makeup and hairdo, not to mention the popularity they’ve earned in the reality world and social media, causing an overload of self-confidence. No, the six of them didn’t like it. They prefer quiet girls. Shy little ladies. Cute girls who don’t bat their fake eyelashes at them.

“No, no, a light breakfast is fine,” Jongin shook his head, sitting on the dining chair. Ji Eun nodded, heading to the pantry and grabbed some bread, handing it to the boys. “How does this thing works?” Sehun scratched his eyebrow, looking at the toaster on the table. Ji Eun stares at Sehun who was trying to figure out how the toaster works while the others were impatiently waiting for him. “Uhm… Here, let me help you,” Ji Eun smiles a bit, taking the Sehun’s bread before placing them inside the toaster and pressed down the button, inserting the bread fully inside as it starts to warm up. Sehun froze, watching her delicate moves. The brunette blushes. Baekhyun who noticed this flashed a grin. The little one had always liked girls who can take care of him, and he wasn’t someone who was hard to woo.

Sehun watched the toaster work with an awed look. Ji Eun giggles lightly, catching Chanyeol’s attention. Ji Eun starts to serve the boys as she pours them their drinks, toasting their breads for them. Sehun was of course awed, but Chanyeol was in too much of a daze. The red haired giant watched as she moves back to the kitchen, reaching for the top cupboard where she placed jams in. Ji Eun wonders why she even put them inside in the first place, it is too high for her to reach. “Just a little bit more…” she stood on her toes, reaching her hand out. Chanyeol gulped, standing up and slowly approached her. “I’ll—“

“Here you go,”

Chanyeol stopped on his tracks when he saw Jongin standing beside Ji Eun, handing her the jar of blueberry jam she was reaching for. “Thank you,” Ji Eun bowed. “No need to be so polite,” Jongin chuckles, but replied her bow anyway. Ji Eun just stared at him, not knowing how to react. “You don’t look older than I do, are you still a student?” Jongin asked, leaning on the counter. Ji Eun shook her head, “I graduated college last year,” she answered. “Oh? Same here? What year were you born in?” Jongin cracked a smile. “I was born in 1994,” she rubbed the back of her neck. “No way! You and I are in the same age!” Jongin exclaimed. Ji Eun smiled along, glancing at him. “Then let’s drop the formalities, is that okay with you?” Jongin offered with a grin. “W-why?” Ji Eun looks up by surprise. Jongin sighs softly, “Can’t you tell? I want to be good friends with you,” he smiled, taking another jar for her.

Good friends, ya right. Chanyeol face palms. Great, Kim  Jongin is doing one of his moves again.

Kyungsoo and Sehun who were paying attention to this shook their heads. “He’s never gonna lure her,” Suho blurted to them, as if he knew what they were thinking. “How could you tell?” Sehun asked him. Suho just smirked, nodding his head at Ji Eun and Jongin. Kyungsoo and Sehun stared at the two again. “I’ve never made friends from outside my neighborhood before…” Ji Eun mumbles, smiling a bit from just the thought of having a new friend, accepting the jar from Jongin as she looks down again. “Really? Good thing we met,” Jongin widens his eyes, genuinely surprised. Ji Eun just gently smiled, before drifting her eyes back down. Jongin saw this and rubbed the back of his neck, “Hey, no need to be so shy,” he tapped on her chin to look up. Ji Eun’s eyes doubled in size, slightly blushing. “Oh,” Jongin smirked. “I guess you’re not so dull after all,”

“Kim Jongin!” Chanyeol shouted. Jongin turned his head and smirked when he saw the fruits of his labor. “I knew you’d get jealous!” Jongin pointed at the giant, laughing with a hint of mockery. Chanyeol who was blushing widened his eyes, mouth agape. “I—I was just--! It’s not what you think!” Chanyeol waved his hands to Ji Eun in panic. “… Huh?” Ji Eun lightly frowns, not understanding the situation. “What are you talking about? He got her to blush!” Kyungsoo frowns at Suho. “I was talking about Chanyeol,” Suho said flatly, nibbling on his toast. “Oh,” Sehun blinked, glancing at Chanyeol who looked like a bursting tomato, blur