D.O leaned back from the window which overlooked the garden. He blinked. "So that's what she's been hiding..." he took one last peek and saw Nami walking away from a disgruntled Chanyeol. He turned away from the window quickly to avoid being detected.

D.O had passed by the window on his way downstairs and had spotted Nami doing the laundry. He was about to call out to her when he noticed she was on the phone with someone.

And that someone was speaking English with her.

D.O stood by the window and watched as Nami whispered into the receiver. But even though they were hushed whispers, D.O could make out snippets of their conversation.

"...Videos... I will send later..." he heard her say and, "I... my work as...reporter..."

His ears pricked up at that word. Reporter. He thought for a moment and recollected the other words he overheard a long time ago. Good footage and daily activities.

Now, it made sense. Nami was a reporter. How else could he explain why her English sounded better than her Korean?

She was a reporter from overseas.

D.O turned away from the window and stared blankly at the wall. What should he do now? Nami could potentially be a threat to EXO. After all, reporters had a bad reputation of invading celebrities' privacy and Nami was doing exactly that.

He thought deeply, should he expose her? Should he get her kicked out? That would be the right thing to do. And yet... why did he feel like it wasn't?

Ever since Nami came, he had been feeling a strange tightness in his chest. And he couldn't figure out why he was feeling that way. What was she to him? Wasn't she just a friend?

But I don't want to be just friends...

He shook his head violently. Snap out of it, D.O! he internally shouted. She's a reporter-- she can't be trusted!

But even though he knew this, he couldn't help being attracted to her. It was like Nami had bewitched him. And he knew he wasn't the only one under her spell.

It was subtle but, things had changed amongst the other members too. D.O noticed that they were more lively now. They laughed a lot more and he knew that Nami was the cause of it. He didn't want to be the one to ruin what they had now: it was like how things were when they were twelve instead of nine...

D.O nodded to himself resolutely, Nami may be a reporter but she didn't seem dangerous. Surely, things would be fine if he let everything stay as it was? If he just turned a blind eye to what he witnessed? If he just pretended that he didn't know?

He knew that Nami was only going to be with them for a year. After that, she would be gone.

"I could always intervene if she does something..." he pondered.

D.O took the first step down the stairs. He had decided. He will let Nami stay. But, he will be watching her closely from now onwards...

~*~

"Boring. Boring. Boring" Chen repeated monotonously as he flicked through the channels on the TV. He let out a frustrated sigh. "There's nothing good on!"

The other members let out sounds of agreement. It was late in the evening and the EXO members had gathered together after doing their individual activities. Everyone had congregated around the TV, expecting to watch a film but, nothing was deemed worthy of watching according to Chen.

He turned the TV off and leaned back into his beanbag. "What do you guys want to do now?" he asked, addressing the others.

Suho yawned. "We can just talk to each other."

"Talk about what, though?" Baekhyun replied. He was busy blowing his fringe to pass time.

"Well, we could talk about our upcoming variety show appearance" Suho suggested. "Y'know, practise a little or something."

"Wae? That's so boring" Chen complained.

"Wae? That's so boring" Suho mimicked him. Chen shot him a look.

The others sniggered.

"Actually, I think that's a good idea." Xiumin replied, sitting up. "I mean, we all get asked the same questions over and over but it gets difficult when they all ask us to give an answer to the same question. If we rehearse it, we could at least avoid repeating a similar answer."

Sehun tilted his head. "How so, hyung?"

"That sounds like effort" Kai complained.

"But wouldn't it be better if we just went with the flow?" Chanyeol argued. "I prefer to improvise."

Just then, Nami appeared. She had just taken a shower so her hair was damp and she was wearing an oversized sweatshirt. "Oh, everyone's here," she observed. But then she noticed someone was missing. "Where's D.O-ssi?"

The sound of cutlery jingling and glasses clinking from the kitchen caught everyone's attention. "He's cooking in the kitchen" Suho answered.

"What?" Nami was surprised. "Why?" she looked specifically at Suho, "Isn't that my job?"

"Er, of course it is" Suho replied evasively. He looked around at the other members who had averted their gaze. "But, er, D.O said that he'd like to cook today."

"It's because your cooking is inedible" Chanyeol coughed. He was still a bit annoyed that Nami had wrestled him to the ground earlier.

Nami pursed her lips.

Everyone glared at him. Especially Xiumin.

"What? Everyone was thinking it!" He defended himself. "I don't see why you guys can't just tell her the truth."

"At least say it nicely" Xiumin scowled.

"But there's no nice way of saying it" Chanyeol retorted. He looked at Nami. "I'm sorry Nami-ssi, but your cooking tastes bad."

Nami nodded. "I know." To everyone's surprise, Nami didn't lash back. "I'm going to see if D.O-ssi needs any help" she said as she walked away.

As soon as she disappeared, all eyes were on Chanyeol.

"You can be such an ass sometimes" Sehun commented.

"A jackass" Kai clarified.

Chanyeol was appalled. "What?"

Baekhyun raised a brow at him. Even he gave him a disapproving look. "There was no need to take it that far."

But Chanyeol could only smile at him.

Baekhyun gave him a questioning glance and something transpired between them unbeknownst to the rest of the EXO members. At last, Baekhyun understood Chanyeol's charade. It was all part of his plan to make Nami fall for him.

Baekhyun shook his head slightly in disbelief, still doubtful about Chanyeol's dubious plan. There was no way Nami was going to fall for such an obvious plan like that, he inwardly told himself, there was just absolutely no way.

~*~

As soon as I entered the kitchen, I was greeted by the delicious aroma that wafted from where D.O stood, hunched over. He was wearing his square glasses and was busy whisking eggs with a pair of chopsticks.

"Need any help?"

He looked up and as soon as he did, his eyes softened. "Hello, Nami-ssi." He returned back to what he was doing. "It's okay. I'll be done soon."

I stood there, awkwardly. "Are you sure? I mean, it is my job to cook for you all..." my voice trailed off as I thought about what Chanyeol said. As much as I didn't care about what EXO thought of me, I still felt a little hurt. And it annoyed me more that I was letting what Chanyeol said affect me.

D.O answered, "Don't worry about it. You deserve a day off." He paused as he looked me in the eye, "we can share the cooking duties. I like to cook anyway."

I smiled at him warmly. "Okay." I was thankful that at least the other EXO members were kind. "But you'll only be cooking on your days off" I told him. "I can't have you cooking all the time or they'll sack me."

D.O grinned. "I won't, I promise."

We stood smiling at each other for a few moments. I hadn't noticed before but, D.O's large, round eyes and full lips made him look like an innocent child when he smiled. He looked so lovable that he gave me the maternal urge to protect him. Since when did he start looking so cuddly?

"You look so cute when you smile..."

D.O blinked at me. His eyes widened in surprise.

Shit. Did I just say that out loud?

I rushed to explain, "Er, I mean, your smile! It-it's so..." I fumbled for my words. "It's so adorable. Erm, I mean, the way your eyes sparkle when you smile is really pretty. Er, if you had a kid I bet they'd be adorable too."

What the hell was I saying?

D.O averted his gaze, his cheeks were a little rosy. "Erm, thank you, Nami-ssi" D.O mumbled shyly as he quickly returned to what he was doing. "I guess I should take that as a compliment?" he asked, peering up at me.

"Of course!" I said enthusiastically. Somehow, I had recovered. "I'd love to have a kid as adorable and as squishy as you!"

D.O chuckled quietly. "Are you saying you'd like to adopt me?"

"Er, maybe if you were still a kid," I joked. I imagined a small D.O smiling up at me and my maternal instincts sky-rocketed. Oh, the aegyo!

D.O was amused.

"But," I began, "if you ever do have a child, you gotta promise me something, okay?"

"Oh? What is it?" he asked curiously.

I went up to him and put both my hands on either side of his cheeks. D.O's eyes widened at my sudden closeness. We were so close that I could feel his breath against my face.

"That you'd let me do this to them at least once." I pinched both his cheeks together for a few seconds so that he was making an octopus face with his lips. His skin felt smooth and soft and definitely squishy. I laughed at the face he was making.

I let go after a few seconds. "I can just imagine it! They'd be so adorable! I'm already excited to meet them!"

D.O stood rigidly on the spot. I watched as his cheeks turned from rosy to crimson. "Y-you should go and join the others" he said as he energetically went back to cooking. "I'll call you all when dinner is ready."

I nodded, smiling slightly at his reaction. "Okay, let me know if you need any help" I told him as I headed back to the living room.

D.O gave me a brief answer, "I will" but he refused to meet my eye.

I chuckled to myself. He really is adorable!

~*~

As soon as Nami had left the kitchen, D.O breathed out a sigh of relief. He put a hand to his chest and felt the rapid palpitations of his excited heart. What was that just now?

D.O turned around towards the living room where, he saw Nami join the rest of the EXO members. He watched as she sat herself next to Sehun and Kai and opposite Chanyeol and Xiumin. He observed how she laughed along with the members over some joke that Baekhyun had made and noticed how his heart wouldn't stop beating frantically the longer he stared at her.

D.O slapped himself on the cheek. Get a grip, D.O!

But as much as he wanted to, he was already aware that he was developing feelings towards her. They were only small, maybe a crush or even just an infatuation but, they were there.

And they were growing every minute.

D.O groaned, I'm so stupid. Why did it have to be her? He would have accepted his feelings more openly if, he didn't know Nami's secret. He felt that it was going to end badly the more his feelings grew for her. He sighed. I'll get over this. It was just a fleeting crush. Nothing more.

"Then, I'll ask about your dating life" D.O heard Nami say.

He looked up immediately. What? Who's dating life? Who was she talking to? D.O drew closer to the door so that he could hear better.

"Aish," Baekhyun moaned, "why do we have to talk about this again?"

"Because it's one of the most popular questions" Nami reasoned. "Yah, I thought you wanted me to help you out with your variety show questions?"

"We do but--"

"Then, let me be the interviewer," Nami snapped.

Baekhyun pouted, "Fine, but I'm not going first. I'm pretty sensitive about these things."

Nami looked at him curiously.

"C'mon hyung, it's been a month since you broke up. You gotta let go already" Kai spoke.

"Easy for you to say" Baekhyun huffed. "You're still with Krystal, right?"

Kai nodded.

"Then shut up until you know what heartbreak feels like."

"Okay kids" Suho interrupted. "That's enough." He stared at both Baekhyun and Kai, daring them to continue. "You know what, Nami-ssi, I'll go first."

D.O listened as Suho, Chen, Sehun, Kai and Baekhyun talked about their preferences on women. They were all vague responses that he'd already heard before so he didn't pay much attention. He continued cooking, letting the food simmer while he tended to the side dishes.

His ears tuned in to Xiumin's response. "Well, I haven't dated in a long time but, I do have an ideal type of woman."

"Really? What is it?" D.O looked up at the sound of Nami's voice again. It may have been his imagination but he thought Nami sounded really interested.

"Although she's already married, actress Lee Boyoung was my ideal type since a long time ago."

D.O watched Nami's reaction closely. "Ah, a sweet, announcer style?" Nami asked. Her voice seemed to go up a notch. "And do you believe in love at first sight?"

D.O watched as Xiumin shrugged. "I guess so. But, for me, I would want to get to know a person better before I can say if I love her or not."

Nami smiled at Xiumin which made D.O feel a tinge of jealousy. It was the same smile he grew to love.

"Okay, thank you, Xiumin-ssi. I'll interview Chanyeol-ssi next." She turned to Chanyeol, "So, can you tell me about what you generally look for in a woman?"

Chanyeol replied, "Personally, I prefer girls who can cook well." He eyed Nami's face for a reaction and saw that her eyes flickered. He felt pleased with himself. "I like girls who share the same interests as me. Things to do with music and songwriting."

"And what about age?" Nami asked, unfazed by Chanyeol's earlier comment. She didn't seem as interested in Chanyeol's answers as she was with Xiumin's.

Chanyeol shrugged. "Age is just a number. I don't mind if she's older or younger than me."

Nami nodded. "Then, is there a specific trait in a girl that you are looking for? Like a personality trait or a physical trait?"

Chanyeol didn't hesitate. "Now that you mention it, yes." He grinned at Nami. "I like girls who are feminine and pretty." He smiled slyly and muttered under his breath, "Unlike a certain somebody."

Nami glared at him. "Okay, well, that concludes our interview."

"Yah, wait a sec! We haven't heard about your preference!" Baekhyun pointed out before Nami could escape.

Nami frowned. "That's because I'm not into women."

Baekhyun gave her a chided look. "You know what I mean."

"He has a point, though" Chen added. "We all talked about our preferences. Now, we want to hear yours."

The EXO members all looked at Nami expectantly. Even D.O was listening attentively from the kitchen.

Chanyeol smirked, "Do we even need to ask? I bet she's just gonna talk about BTS again."

"Yah, I have a life outside BTS you know" Nami rebuked.

"Oh?" Chanyeol prompted, "Then tell us."

Nami's brows knitted in thought. "Well... I like guys who are thoughtful and responsible."

D.O smiled to himself, I'm thoughtful and responsible.

"...Someone who's mature and hardworking."

I'm mature and hardworking.

"Someone who thinks about others and will make me smile every day."

I think about others and... I'll make you smile every day.

D.O couldn't help his smile from widening. Could Nami be talking about him? He peered towards her direction and saw that she was sneaking glances towards him. He averted his gaze immediately, trying to calm his animated heart. Was this for real? Could Nami actually like him?

He peeked towards her direction again and saw that she was stealing glances again. But she wasn't looking at him. She was looking at someone sitting in front of him. And that was Xiumin and Chanyeol.

His heart sank.

He knew that Nami was very close to Xiumin. She would often visit him and Chen in their room and they would have lively conversations. Nami was also close with Kai and Sehun because they would often play games together and she was strangely close to Baekhyun and Chanyeol as they would often tease and play pranks on one another. D.O couldn't even say he was on the same level as Suho as Nami would often talk to Suho with matters regarding the daily running of the dorm. That left him on the same level as Lay. And Lay wasn't even here.

His heart sank even further.

Did that mean that the only person Nami wasn't close with...was him?

"Wait, doesn't that mean your ideal type is Chanyeol?" Baekhyun teased.

D.O recovered from his wallowing immediately.

Nami exclaimed, "What? Him? No way!"

"Oh? Did you fall in love with me at first sight?" Chanyeol's voice sounded smug. He leaned in and gave Nami a flirtatious smile.

D.O watched as Nami grimaced but then, her face softened into a smoulder. She replied seductively, "Are you sure it isn't the other way around? You've been chasing me since day one."

The other EXO members burst into laughter as Chanyeol covered his flustered face in embarrassment. His flirting attempt had backfired.

"Omo, it's true as well!"

"Chanyeol's been all over Nami-ssi since she first came!"

"So it was love at first sight!"

The other EXO members continued to tease Chanyeol while Nami watched and enjoyed the spectacle before her.

Once Chanyeol finally uncovered his face, Nami saw that he was flushed. He locked eyes with her. "Touché, Nami-ssi."

She smiled smugly. "Serves you right."

~*~

Chanyeol watched as D.O sat down opposite Nami. Nami was sitting at the end of the long, rectangular dining table with Xiumin at her left side. He frowned as he sat next to D.O. I wanted to sit there, he thought.

Oblivious to Chanyeol's stares, D.O picked up one of his beautifully cooked masterpieces and offered it to Nami. "Try some of this, Nami-ah."

Nami was startled as she took the plate. Chanyeol paused, Nami-ah? Everyone turned to look at D.O and shared the same expression as Chanyeol, did D.O just call Nami-ssi, Nami-ah?

D.O realised everyone was gaping at him. "What?" he asked the group and then he addressed Nami, "I can't call you that?"

"It's not that," Nami replied, "it's just, you surprised me that's all."

"You surprised all of us!" Chen interrupted. "Since when were you two so close that you've stopped referring to each other with the formal honorific?"

D.O exchanged looks with Nami who was equally as puzzled as Chen.

"I think it's strange that we still refer to each other formally" he stated. "Nami-ah has been living with us for some time now that she's become a close member to our EXO family." He glanced at her, "I just wanted to address you more comfortably."

Nami smiled. "Okay. Well, it doesn't bother me at all."

D.O grinned, "Then, you can call me D.O-ah instead of D.O-ssi."

"Wait up!" Baekhyun disrupted D.O, "if you guys are doing that then, we should start calling you Nami-ah too."

There were murmurs of agreement from the rest of the EXO members. Nami laughed, "Sure. I'll call you all informally from now onwards too."

But Chanyeol shook his head. "Nope, not me."

Nami turned to face him.

Chanyeol met her eyes. "Say, how old are you Nami-ah?" he said, practising her newfound status.

Xiumin shot him a look. "Yah, Chanyeol, don't you know it's rude to ask a lady's age?"

"It's fine" Nami reassured Xiumin. She frowned at Chanyeol. "I was born in '94"

Chanyeol grinned.

"Omo! So was I!" Kai chimed.

"Me too!" Sehun piped.

Kai asked, "Which month?"

"November."

"Wah, that's pretty soon" Sehun stated. He cocked his head to the side. "But wait a minute. I was born in April. And since you were born in November, that makes you younger than me."

Kai snorted, "Haha Sehunnie, you're not the maknae anymore!"

"And since you're younger than us, you should address us as 'oppa'" Chanyeol declared.

Nami raised her brow. She didn't really care about age hierarchy since she had grown up in a society where titles related to age didn't exist. If Chanyeol thinks that it's going to bother me, she thought, then he's gravely mistaken.

"Fine" she simply answered. "I will."

"This is pretty exciting!" Kai mentioned, "I feel like we've grown closer as a family."

Sehun agreed, "You're right. Now we have three mothers. Aren't we a lucky group?"

The others turned to Sehun with a confused expression. "Three mothers?" Suho voiced out what everyone else had in their mind.

"Yeah, Suho-hyung, you're our leader" Sehun pointed out, "D.O-hyung is your wifey" he said gesturing to an unimpressed D.O, "and Nami-ah is the mother that takes care of us as a whole."

Kai laughed as he pointed to the trio, "Umma one, umma two and umma three."

"Even their heights are proportional!" Chanyeol pointed out. "Big umma, medium umma and little umma" he said, doing the same thing as Kai.

"Nami, the little umma," Baekhyun said staring up at the wall as if he was imagining it written in bold. "Nami, EXO's dorm umma" he continued, "Nami, our little dorm mother" he said with a satisfying nod. "I like it. It's better than being called our housekeeper."

The other EXO members nodded to Baekhyun's suggestion.

"Calling her our little dorm mother is way too long for a nickname" Xiumin said. "But Little Umma sounds just right." He turned to Nami, "You don't mind if we start calling you Little Umma from now on?"

Nami shook her head. "No, it has a nice ring to it."

But Nami couldn't help feeling a little displeased. Even though they came up with her nickname out of affection, she didn't like the fact that they emphasised her height nor the fact that she will be known as EXO's dorm mother. After all, her true fandom was still BTS.

"Well, now that's settled-- let's get on with dinner!" Suho concluded. "D.O-ah, will you pass me the--"

Suddenly, 4Men's 'Baby baby' started playing. Suho looked around for his phone. He got up to go answer it, "Hello? Manager-nim?"

While Suho was busy answering his phone, D.O asked, "What do you think of the kimchi, Nami-ah?"

Nami nodded appreciatively. "It's delicious. You should be a chef, D.O-ssi-- I mean D.O-oppa." She scratched her head, "I'll have to get used to calling you all 'oppa' from now on."

D.O smiled. "Well, you don't have to call me 'oppa', you can call me D.O-ah like the others."

Chanyeol sneaked a glance at him. He didn't like how D.O was trying to get closer to Nami. But before he could say anything, Suho had returned to the table.

"We have a problem," he said, catching everyone's attention.

All eyes focused on Suho.

He continued, "I was just on the phone with Manager-nim. He says that the model that we were meant to work with tomorrow can no longer make it."

"How's that a problem?" Baekhyun asked. "Can't they just get another one?"

Suho shook his head. "Unfortunately not. She was the only model willing to work with us."

"Then, can't we just re-schedule?" Chen asked.

Suho shook his head again. "We don't have time. Our schedules are packed as it is."

"How come we can't get another model?" Chanyeol questioned. "It can't just be one model who's willing to work with us."

Xiumin replied, "It's because of the fans." He glanced at Suho who nodded.

Chanyeol looked at Xiumin questioningly, "The fans?"

"Models tend to reject working with us because they get bashed by obsessed EXO-L's" Xiumin explained, "It's quite sad really."

The members stared at their plates solemnly. How could they fix this problem?

Chen suddenly perked up, "What if" he began, "we get someone who isn't afraid of EXO-L?"

This piqued everyone's interest.

"What do you mean?" Suho asked.

Chen grinned mischievously. "What if we get a model that belongs to another fandom and disguise her with a mask?"

The EXO members exchanged looks as they realised what Chen was hinting at.

"You don't mean...?" Baekhyun started.

Chen nodded slowly.

Everyone turned to an oblivious Nami, who was busy chewing food. She stopped what she was doing once she realised everyone was staring at her. "What?"

Nami... is going to model with EXO?

~*~

Author's Note:

Hi reader! Thanks for reading chapter 13 of Our Little Dorm Mother.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter because I certainly enjoyed writing it. This is, by far, the longest chapter I've written so I apologise if it was a lot more to take in than usual. Just to clue you in on the development of this fanfic, it has reached the start of the second arc so I am guessing the chapters will only get longer from here (it may be good news for you but more work for me!)

I hope you will stick around for the rest of the story. Also, shout out to CL who helped with some fact checking!

If you enjoyed this chapter, please vote, comment or share.

Happy reading!

Next time...

P.S. I know that I spelled eomma wrong. I did that on purpose. It's for the sake of my non-k-pop friends who are reading this fanfic. Plus, seeing it spelled as 'umma' kind of makes more phonetic sense to me, even though I hate getting spellings wrong!