Angel of Sanctuary [Block B]

Chapter 18

I unlocked the door before walking inside and switching on the light. Taeil's mouth fell open as he stared at the apartment and I stifled my laughs before waving him in. "Hey, why don't you call the boys over? I'll start getting dinner ready and we can all eat together," I said with a smile.

"Sure, I'm sure they're starving after rehearsal today," he agreed with a grin. He dialed a number on his phone and held up a finger while he took off his shoes. "Hello? Yo, Jiho, Hyorin invited you all over for dinner. Make sure you come by, alright? Yeah, I'll see you soon then." I stared at him and then walked into the kitchen to start dinner. Putting on an apron, I began preparing the brine for spicy fried chicken before felling my hair being gently pulled back.

My cheeks burned as a pair of warm lips brushed my skin. "Taeil?" I murmured in surprise. He sighed and pulled my hair into a ponytail before tying it up and resting his head on my shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he whispered contently. "I just realized something."

"What's that?" I asked curiously, unconsciously resting my head on his. He mumbled something I couldn't understand and I swallowed hard before mumbling for him to repeat.

"The Harabogee at the supermarket was right," he mumbled with a sigh. "I need to catch you before someone else does." I was quiet and continued to prepare the brine while Taeil slowly fell asleep on my shoulder.

"Taeil, why don't you go sleep on the couch, huh?" I suggested, gently shaking his head off of my shoulders and turning to face him. He hung his head and I smiled softly, gently touching his cheek. "Don't be a pouty boy. Go sleep and let me cook." He nodded with a sigh and then dragged his feet while he trudged to the couch before collapsing on it with a happy sigh.

The bell rang as I coated the chicken and put it into the oven and I brushed off my hands before rushing to the door and opening it with my elbow. "Hyorin!" Jaehyo cheered, walking in and giving me a hug with a grin. I hugged him awkwardly, not allowing my filthy hands to come in contact with him. Each member of Block B greeted me enthusiastically as they walked in and I gave all of them awkward hugs before retreating to the kitchen.

"Wow, it smells amazing in here!" Zico exclaimed excitedly while he and the others took off their shoes and dumped their jackets on the ground by the door. "What's for dinner Hyorin?"

"Does it matter if it's my cooking?" I called teasingly, earning laughs from the rest of the boys. "Make yourselves at home guys! Dinner is almost ready!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Minhyuk joked, plopping down in the living room. "This is a nice place you've got here Hyorin!"

"Thanks Minhyuk," I said with a chuckle. I heard the boys moving around in the living before settling down and put the water in the kettle for tea. The oven sounded and I opened the door and checked the chicken before dumping it into a giant bowl and checking the rice in the cooker. The kettle eventually whistled and I grabbed some cups out of the cupboard and set them on a tray before dumping tea leaves into the kettle and allowing it to soak.

"Hyorin, do you need any help?" Kyung called.

"No thanks, I'm fine!" I exclaimed with a flustered tone. Carefully, I filled each cup with tea and then set the kettle down before taking the tray out to the boys.

U-Kwon clapped and whistled with a grin as I set the tray down on the table with a smile. Jaehyo grabbed me around the waist and pulled men to his lap, causing the boys to burst into laughter. "Hey, why do you get Hyorin?" Jihoon complained with a pout.

"No dinner for any of you unless Jaehyo let's go of me!" I threatened as everyone leaned forward to take a cup of tea.

In terror, Minhyuk shouted, "Jaehyo, let go of her!"

"Never!" Jaehyo yelled, hugging me tightly with a grin. "I love Hyorin!" I elbowed him lightly in the stomach and scrambled away quickly before standing.

"Hyorin, you look so cute in this picture!" Taeil chuckled, pointing at a picture of me in one of my old photo albums. I gasped and tackled him only to have Jihoon take the album with a smile.

He flipped through several pages before gasping and staring at a page. "Hyorin, is this your brother?" I glanced at the photo of Hyojun and I grinning happily at the camera the day that I was getting ready to leave for New Zealand and then nodded slowly. "He's really handsome. I wonder what your parents looked like to give birth to such good-looking kids!"

"I'm nothing special," I chuckled with a smile, waving off his compliments. "My brother was a great person though and he was really loved in school." Kyung rested a hand on my shoulder as Jihoon flipped to the next page and pointed at the pictures in shock.

"Kyung, you're in these pictures!" he exclaimed, pointing out Kyung in all of the pictures. "Are these three your friends Hyorin?" He pointed at Jinyong, Kwangsu, and Daejung and I nodded with a chuckle. "They're handsome too! What happened to your luck Hyorin that made you fall for Kyung with all of these handsome people around you?"

The Block B members burst into hysterical laughter and Kyung fake weeped into my shoulder. I patted him on the back and and then stood. "Who wants spiced fried chicken?" I inquired energetically.

Zico squealed excitedly and U-Kwon slapped a finger onto a picture in shock. "It's Zico and Kyung!" The boys gathered around him curiously and stared at the picture with wide eyes. "Wow, you two were adorable as kids!"

"You're still adorable," we all muttered bluntly. He puffed out his cheeks and I pinched them and made a pouting face.

"Ah, you're right Zico! They do make the same faces!" Minhyuk exclaimed in shock. Zico pointed at him and then nodded at us with wide eyes, glad to have his point proved. "Anyway, not that I don't love sitting around with all of you, but could we maybe eat now?" I nodded and waved everyone over to the table before carrying out the bowl of chicken and setting a plate in front of each person. Returning to the kitchen, I grabbed several rice bowls and filled them each before sticking a spoon in all of them.

I grabbed my pot of curry off of the stove and took everything outside to the boys who were already digging into the chicken. "We saved you some chicken," Kyung managed to say through his stuffed mouth. I stifled my laughs before taking a seat.

"Curry!" Zico cheered upon opening the pot I had just set down. The boys all added to the cheers with huge grins and quickly shoveled through the chicken before moving onto the curry.

"Hyorin, could I have water?" Taeil mumbled through his rice and curry. I nodded and carried out glasses and a huge pitcher of water. The boys helped themselves eagerly, eating as if they hadn't seen food in an eternity.

Eventually, they finished every last bit of the food I had made them and sat rubbing their bellies with satisfied expressions. "That was so good," U-Kwon eventually said with a grin. "Thank you for the meal Hyorin!"

"Thank you for the meal!" each member echoed with an equally large grin.

Zico stood and stated, "As payment for a delicious dinner, we will clean up for you!" Before I could protest, the members each picked up their own plate and proceeded into the kitchen. Slowly, the table was cleaned and the dishwasher was loaded while I sat in the living room, forced to not help them.

"They're all such good people," I murmured to myself with a smile. "I should cook for them more often if they get that hungry after rehearsal."