Maeri groggily walked over to the kitchen, rubbing her eyes with one finger- the oversized hoodie she borrowed from Minho reaching up to her mid thighs while she walked in mindlessly, immediately going to the fridge to look for something to make.
Suddenly a figure walks up to her. "Welcome to....... Chan's kitchen!" Chan cheerfully exclaimed while he had a box wrapped in a pink cloth.
She laughed at this and felt her day get brighter than it was. "Seriously, was that even necessary?" she scrunched her nose slightly at the silliness.
The eldest joined in laughing. "Just wanted to make ya laugh. Good morning."
Maeri chuckled and shook her head. "Good morning indeed." taking a tupperware of cold rice from the fridge.
"I like americano, i really like it!" Hyunjin happily sings while walking in the kitchen, doing his baby dance with a cup of iced americano in his hand.
Han on the other hand was testing Changbin's patience for the upteenth time already and it had the elder balling his fists to hold him back for whooping the younger's ass.
Felix, Seungmin and Jeongin suddenly walks in with cats in their hands as they were giving it a pet.
With this, Maeri's eyes lit up, leaving her work aside, she ran to the three. "Sooni, Doongi, Dori!!" she patted each cat, giving them a purr before walking over to the sink and do her work.
"No good morning to us?" Felix asked, pouting and giving her puppy eyes.
She turned and stuck her tongue out at them like a child.
"You seem to be in a good mood today." Minho stood beside her by the sink, rolling his sleeves up and washing his hands. "Something good happened?" sparing her a quick glance before turning away and helping Chan with making food.
She shrugged. "I dunno, I just feel good today." happily skipping to help the two boys to prepare breakfast.
Chan and Minho stood on either side of the counter, giving each other a quick glance and a knowing look before a chuckle left their lips in the same time.
Han had started playing with the cats and it had Changbin sighing in relief, heading over to the kitchen to help as well.
"Yeet!" they heard Felix exclaim from the living room and Seungmin and Jeongin had started laughing aloud with probably something the latter said or did.
Hyunjin kept on approaching them and kept on saying how the meat smelled good and how it would be good with ssamjjang and lettuce or how it would be good for some stir fry or maybe some samgyeopsal.
Continuing to bug them, he whined. "When will you guys finish? I'm hungryyy!" he pouted, watching as the four made food.
"Maybe if you sit and wait for a while, hm?" Maeri looked up at him with pleading eyes.
This caused the male to whine more. "Whyyy?" pouting and furrowing his brows. "Ah whyyy!?" he fake sobbed while throwing small tantrums.
"Hyunjin please just do it?" Changbin muttered, giving the younger a warning look.
He stopped and hung his head low, slumping his shoulders as he sulked- heading over to the living room where the others were.
"You're meeting up with Chenle tonight?" Chan asks, starting up the stove and filling the cauldron with water.
Maeri shrugged. "I might."
Chenle just finished going to the gym, drenched in sweat as he chugged down the bottle of water to quench his thirst, the excess liquid running down from the corner of his lip and down to his neck.
A sigh of satisfaction followed after he swallowed the liquid down, hydrating his once dried throat.
He draped the towel over his shoulder as he made his way out the boxing gym.
Chest heaved up and down while his rapid heart slowly beat into its original beating pace, the beating infiltrating his hearing senses with every breath he made.
Before turning to the hall that led to his room, Jaemin had suddenly appeared in front of him with a stoic expression on his face.
This had Chenle to halt in his tracks and furrow his brows at the elder who was giving him an unknown look.
"We need to talk." Jaemin blurted out and turned on his heel to head to the hall where the library was.
Instead of the younger complaining of having to get changed into a fresh pair of clothes, he just followed the blonde latter for it looked so important.
Chenle was confused but didn't dare say a word not until the elder spoke up first.
Passing the dull walls with every step he made, the more the tension in the air thickened and the more it felt like the walls closed in on him.
He got nervous for some random reason.
"Close the door." Jaemin halted in the middle of the huge dim library, back facing the younger as he peeked at the boy over his own shoulder, his posture stiff and perfect.
Chenle does as he was told, slowly taking small strides towards the elder in the room.
The smell of the books in every shelf lingered in the huge room, their only source of light was the desk lamp and the lantern by the corner of the shelf.
A comfortable silence hung with them for a few seconds before the younger decided to break up. "So what is it that you wanted to talk about?"
Jaemin let out a light sigh, turning around to fully face the younger. "Don't think of meeting up with her tonight." he muttered, tone laced of sternness and warning.
This had Chenle confused. "Meet up with who?"
The elder scoffed in disbelief, a sarcastic smile grazed over his lips as he bit his inner cheek. "Don't act dumb with me, Chenle. You know who I'm talking about." his eyes roaming the younger's face as if he was looking for some answer written in them.
"I'm not meeting up with anyone, who are you talking about?"
Jaemin sighed. "You think I don't know about you and Sungchan meeting up with Maeri last week? Or the night she appeared out of nowhere and joined the chaos we goddamn caused? You definitely knew she was coming." he bursted.
Chenle's face contorted into a weird frown, nose scrunching and eyes crinkling when he squinted them but he surely tensed at the mention of her name. "How did you- I didn't even know she was there." he defended.
This had the elder smiling to himself. He just caught him red handed. "We have eyes everywhere, Le. Don't think of meeting up with her tonight."
The brown haired raised a brow, crossing his arms over his chest. "And what makes you think that's going to stop me?" a blunt look on his face as he looked at the elder, eye to eye.
The tension between them growing thicker once again.
Jaemin ran a hand through his hair frustratedly.
Honestly, he didn't know what to feel at this point.... but this odd feeling in his gut had him feel uneasy and anxious.
"Chenle please just listen to me for once?" he blurted out, the sternness of his voice still there but somehow it was still laced with a pleading tone.
"What's it to you if we did meet up and if we're going to meet up?" the brown haired boy's tone taunting the elder.
Jaemin didn't know how to put but he just let his mind speak. "Can't you see? It's not safe for you and for her and even for Chan's team."
Chenle squinted his eyes in suspicion, his orbs raking over his figure in doubt. "You've been keeping close tabs on us this whole time?" he let out an airy laugh.
The young teenager didn't exactly know what he felt but it suffocated him that he was realizing what was right in front of them.
It felt like he was in a dog leash with no owner but anyone could pick up when lost.
"Because......" Jaemin pursed his mouth tightly before letting his mouth say more for he couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Because what?" Chenle took a step closer to the elder, eyes still raking over his face.
The look on the elder's face made the younger nervous.
It had him starting to worry when those words left Jaemin's mouth.
The pit of his stomach churning in an odd feeling as he stood there with the elder in the middle of the room.
"She's in danger and it's because of us."
Pretty shit chapter but I'm alive yey!!
just needed a break for my mental health. but don't worry it's not that serious yet :))
hope y'all liked it. Love y'all.