Suho jumped up the sound of the front door opening. "They're back!" he shouted. Kai and Sehun jolted up from their napping positions on the sofa.

Suho watched expectantly as Chanyeol and D.O sauntered into the common area, their heads hanging low. He looked behind Chanyeol who had come in last. "Where's Nami-ah?" he asked, half-expecting her to jump out from her hiding place.

D.O shook his head. "We didn't find her."

Chanyeol sat down on the sofa and covered his face with his hands. "We looked for her everywhere. We even asked Suji's driver to ask around for her but, no one said they'd seen her."

Suho watched as D.O sat down gloomily on the sofa. His brows were knitted so tightly together that it made deep creases on his forehead. "Nami-ah could be anywhere. I just hope that she's okay."

"Did you manage to get hold of Xiumin-hyung?" Chanyeol asked, his hopes lifting for a minute.

Suho shook his head. "It went straight to voicemail again."

Chanyeol sighed.

"They'll be back home soon though, hyung," Sehun said, trying to stay optimistic. "Maybe Little Umma might have contacted him? Or maybe she's with them right now?"

"Yeah, that could be a possibility," Kai said, supporting Sehun.

Suho was unsure. "But in case she hadn't, I think that we should file a missing person's report."

All the members in the room turned to Suho. Hearing him say those words made the fear in their gut feel more real.

"We can't file one of those unless Little Umma's been missing for at least twenty-four hours" Sehun informed him.

"How long has it been since she was missing?" Suho asked Chanyeol.

Chanyeol murmured, "Almost five hours."

D.O looked at the clock. It was turning ten in the evening. He stood up abruptly and started pacing around to calm his nerves. With each step he took, he prayed that Nami was safe somewhere as if by engaging in this strange ritual, he would be able to conjure her back safely to the dorm.

Unable to sit still, Chanyeol got up and joined D.O in his pacing.

"Will you two quit it?" Kai complained to them both. "Seeing you two do that is making me anxious."

"I just can't keep still and do nothing" D.O replied, his pace quickening.

Suho looked at the pair sympathetically. "Look. It's already late. Pacing around here isn't going to bring her back. We should all get some rest now and maybe she will turn up in the morning."

"How can you go to sleep knowing Nami-ah is still missing?" D.O retorted.

Suho was startled at D.O's sudden outburst. "I know you're upset D.O-ah but we have to stay calm. All of us have had a long day and we all need to get some rest for tomorrow."

D.O glanced at the others and saw that Sehun and Kai had worn expressions on their faces. "You guys can go to sleep. I'll wait up for Xiumin-hyung and the others."

"I'll wait for them too" Chanyeol added.

Suho sighed at them both. "Okay, then. Suit yourselves."

Chanyeol watched as Suho made his way upstairs along with Sehun and Kai. He glanced at D.O who continued to pace around the common room like a possessed monk as he was muttering something under his breath with each step. He turned his attention to the window and glanced at the pitch-black sky outside.

Their dorm was a high building that overlooked the city of Seoul. He would have appreciated the scenery more if it weren't for that anxious feeling that he was harbouring in his chest. Chanyeol looked down on the street below and saw how peaceful it looked. He prayed to God, prayed to Buddha, prayed to Allah--anyone-- to bring Nami back safely to them. Willing whatever celestial being that existed to grant his wish so that he could remove the guilt that was slowly eating him up. If anything happened to Nami... he kept thinking. It took him all the strength he had to banish the wild thoughts which entered his mind. Most of which were negative and gruesome.

Chanyeol closed his eyes as he prayed. But as soon as he did, he noticed a car driving down the street below and stopping outside their dorm. It was a taxi. Chanyeol watched in curiosity as a man with a white scarf climbed out of the taxi only to open the door on the other side. As he did so, a young woman with a black cap climbed out. Chanyeol's eyes widened as he recognised who it was. His prayers had been answered. It was Nami.

"She's here!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

D.O stopped his pacing and ran over to the window to join him. "Nami-ah's here?" he asked, searching the street below, "Where? Where is she?"

Chanyeol pointed at the young woman who was limping towards the front entrance. D.O ran from the window straight to the front door. As he did so, he called up the stairs for Suho, Kai and Sehun to come down. But Chanyeol stayed where he was. He didn't want to move from his spot since he feared that Nami would disappear from his sight again: he couldn't risk it a second time.

As he watched her approach the front door with the help of the man with the white scarf, he couldn't help noticing how familiar they were with each other. Nami looked like she was having a conversation with him and he didn't like how, even though it was dark and he couldn't see his face well, he was smiling at her radiantly.

Eventually, the man with the white scarf left in the taxi he came in and Nami entered the dorm. D.O was the first to greet her.

"Nami-ah!" he exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. This surprised the other EXO members, who were watching from behind him.

"D.O-ah" her voice was muffled as she just about reached his shoulders. "You're suffocating me."

"Omo!" he let go of her immediately and he blushed as he realised what he'd done. "I-I'm sorry Nami-ah, I don't know what came over me." He took in her appearance and how she leaned on her right leg for support. "What happened to you? Why are you hurt?"

Nami glanced down. "It's a long story." She peered from behind him and saw that the others were staring at her. She met eyes with Chanyeol briefly and averted her gaze back to D.O. "If you don't mind D.O-ah, I'd like to get some rest now. Maybe we can talk more in the morning?"

D.O looked like he wanted to protest but, silently, he obeyed. He offered his arm as support as he helped her walk to her room.

"Little Umma..." Kai muttered, gazing at her as she walked by.

She smiled at him weakly.

Suho stopped her from going any further. "Can you at least tell us why you didn't call? We were so worried about you."

Nami took out her phone and showed it to them. "My phone is broken. I couldn't contact anyone even if I wanted to."

D.O took a look at her phone and inspected the damage with his hand. "It might be beyond repair" he mumbled.

Satisfied with her answer, Suho let her pass. "We'll talk more about it tomorrow" he concluded.

Nami bowed to him thankfully.

As she passed Chanyeol, he asked her, "Who was that guy that helped you earlier?"

She stared at him and weakly answered, "He was a kind stranger that helped me get back home." She looked away, "I'm glad that you got back home safely, Chanyeol-ssi." Chanyeol's eyes flickered at her tone. Chanyeol-ssi? She locked eyes with him and he saw the haggardness in her eyes, "Did Suji-ssi get back home safely too?"

Chanyeol nodded. "Yeah. But listen, about earlier, I'm really sorry--"

"It's okay," she said cutting him off. "I understand. I'm just a housekeeper, right?" She turned to D.O, "D.O-ah, let's go."

Chanyeol watched as Nami left. Her words were like splinters in his heart.

As much as he was happy that she was back home safely, he couldn't help feeling that something between them had changed. Because even though she was so near, he felt as though she was so far away. It was like they had drawn closer and drifted further apart in one day. And he didn't know what he should do to make it right again.

~*~

"She seems beat up pretty bad" Xiumin notified the others, as he joined them on the sofa. It was late in the evening and Xiumin, Chen and Baekhyun had finally arrived back home from their CBX promotion. "How did she hurt her leg?"

Suho gave Chanyeol a sideward glance. "It turns out that Chanyeol had snuck out with Nami-ah to meet up with BTS."

Xiumin raised his brow. "You were with Nami-ah all day?"

Chanyeol nodded. He couldn't look Xiumin in the eye. "Yes, hyung."

Xiumin's demeanour changed. His lip formed a thin line as he looked at Chanyeol disapprovingly.

"But that's not all" Suho added.

Xiumin listened as Suho repeated what Chanyeol had told him before the others had arrived. The more he listened, the more his face contorted to reveal a look of utter disappointment and displeasure. "So that's what happened" Xiumin replied. He eyed Chanyeol from opposite him and saw that he had shrunk lower into himself as if in guilt.

"I hate to say it but, what Chanyeol did was right," Xiumin murmured.

"Hyung?" It was Chen who was sitting beside him. He looked at Xiumin curiously.

Xiumin explained, "Suji-ssi is Lee Sooman's daughter. When it boils down to it, protecting her from scandals is the bigger priority compared to saving Nami-ah. But if what you said is true," he said eyeing Chanyeol, "then by hugging her, you may have still implicated her in a scandal."

Suho frowned. "And there were loads of witnesses too. You said that they took pictures and videoed you both?"

Chanyeol nodded.

"We'll have to give the media an explanation as soon as possible to avoid the scandal from escalating" Xiumin suggested.

"What scandal? All I did was hug her" Chanyeol spoke up.

Chen replied, "That's the thing. You hugged her."

"What?"

"It may have just been an innocent hug to avoid revealing her identity" Chen began, "but that's not how the fangirls or the media will see it."

"They'll start speculating your relationship with Suji-ssi" Suho joined in. "They may even think that you two are dating."

"And we all know what happens when they find out" Xiumin sighed. The members instinctively glanced at Baekhyun who was quietly fiddling with the drawstrings of his hoodie, not saying anything.

Chanyeol murmured, "She'll get bashed."

"Precisely" Xiumin concluded.

Chanyeol ran both his hands through his hair. He sat up. "Then I'll speak to the media tomorrow. I'll ask Manager-nim to arrange something and I'll even speak to the Big Boss too if Suji-ssi does get implicated." He looked at the members determinedly, "I'll take full responsibility."

Xiumin matched his stare. "You better."

~*~

Baekhyun rubbed his eye as he walked down the corridor sleepily. It must have been early in the morning as he saw that it was still dark out.

"Omo, my throat is so sore" he croaked as he rubbed his neck. "I think I overdid it yesterday by screaming too much." He headed for the bathroom so that he could relieve himself. After he did his business, he opened the door to find a white, pasty figure with long black hair, standing right in front of him.

He screamed, "Omo! Aigoo! Kkaebsong!" He pounced backwards as he clutched his heart from the shock. He dared to look at the pasty figure in front of him and relaxed a little when he saw who it was. "Aigoo, Little Umma! You scared me! What were you doing hovering outside the bathroom like that? Aish!"

Baekhyun watched as Nami swayed slightly from side to side. Her black hair was plastered to her skin with sweat and her lips were an alarmingly pale colour despite her cheeks being flushed. "Little Umma?" he said as he approached her.

Nami opened her eyes slightly and he saw that she had a hazy look about her. He placed his hand on her forehead and felt her temperature. She was as hot as a furnace. "You're burning up!"

Suddenly, Nami collapsed onto him and he grabbed hold of her to keep her steady. "Little Umma!" he shouted, shaking her awake, "yah!"

~*~

"She's got a fever" Xiumin declared as he gently wiped away the sweat from Nami's face. He was in her room with three of the other EXO members. Everyone else was still asleep.

"Maybe it's because of her leg injury?" Chen suggested from the end of the bed. He looked at Xiumin who was on the opposite end, still wiping the sweat away from her.

"Do you think it might be infected?" Baekhyun asked worriedly.

Xiumin shook his head. "I doubt it. She told me she had it checked out and she said it was just a bruise underneath the bandage."

"She wasn't feeling well earlier when she was with me" Chanyeol murmured as he watched Xiumin brush away strands of Nami's black hair away from her face.

All four watched as Nami slept peacefully in her bed.

"Well, since she's sick, we can't leave her here alone in case she needs something" Chen mentioned. He looked at Xiumin. "Do you want to look after her? We can take it in turns."

Chanyeol watched as Xiumin gazed at Nami sleeping. It must have been his imagination but, he felt as though there was more than concern in Xiumin's eyes.

"It's okay, I can do it" he quickly offered.

The CBX trio looked at him.

"It was my fault that she got hurt in the first place, so it's only right that I look after her."

Xiumin looked unsure.

Chanyeol insisted, "You guys must be tired from your performance today. And we have a lot to do tomorrow" he blurted. "I skipped rehearsals so I have more energy left than usual."

Chen glanced back at Xiumin and saw that he was still hesitating. He knew that Xiumin was the most tired out of the three of them but he also knew that he didn't want Chanyeol to get too close to Nami. He quietly chuckled to himself at the drama unfolding. "Okay, Chanyeol. You can look after her" he replied in Xiumin's stead.

Xiumin shot him a look.

"He's right. We're all really tired from today" Baekhyun croaked. His voice was going. "So, if you ladies don't mind, I'm going to get my beauty sleep."

"We should go too," Chen beckoned at Xiumin. "We can check up on Nami-ah in the morning."

Xiumin got up reluctantly. "Keep a close eye on her, Chanyeol," he said, before leaving the room with the others.

Chanyeol walked over to Nami's side and sat on a chair nearby. He leaned his elbows on her bed and watched her sleep, her chest heaving with every breath. While he did this, he started talking to her in whispers.

"I'm sorry about what happened, Nami-ah" he began, "I really didn't mean to leave you behind. The truth is, I wanted to go back and search for you but, Suji-ssi wouldn't let me." He frowned. "But to be honest," he sighed, "it's all my fault. I know it is. I should have protected you" he laughed softly, "even if you're a macho woman."

He watched her sleep peacefully and waited as if expecting her to wake up and reply. He didn't like leaving things open-ended. He wanted to know if she forgave him. But alas, she was asleep.

Chanyeol sighed as he observed her face. Her cheeks were flushed and she had beads of sweat forming on her nose. With the same cloth, Xiumin was using, he gently dabbed her face to get rid of the sweat. As he did so, he ended up leaning in closer. His heart started thumping against his chest as he took in her appearance. The curvature of her nose, the straightness of her lashes, the exotic hue of her skin...

Chanyeol leaned back abruptly as he tried to calm his heart down. What was that just now? He shook his head violently. Maybe he was developing a fever too?

As he proceeded with wiping away her sweat, his eyes couldn't help resting on her forehead. He looked at it intently and remembered how it felt when he kissed the same spot a few days ago. He remembered the expression she wore when he pulled his lips away, how her almond-shaped eyes widened and how her lips had formed a perfect O-shape to express her surprise.

Her lips...

His eyes unavoidably trailed down to her plump lips and they lingered there.

What would it feel like if I kissed her there?

Chanyeol's face reddened at the thought. What the hell was he thinking? He buried his face in his arms out of embarrassment. When he looked back up, he tried frowning at her, as if by doing so, he will remove that strange feeling that lurked in the deep depths of his chest. He had been keeping it at bay for so long. Like a plant, he had been denying it sunlight so that it wouldn't grow. But somehow, sunlight found a chink in his armour and, now it was starting to thrive more faster than he had the chance to stop it.

He couldn't stay in denial for much longer.

She's not your type, Chanyeol! He told himself repeatedly. She's just a bet. She's just a play-thing. Get a hold of yourself!

But as much as he wanted to believe it, he knew that something in him had changed. She had changed him.

And he was scared of finally acknowledging it.

~*~

Author's Note:

Hi reader! Thanks for reading chapter 19 of Our Little Dorm Mother.

This chapter is slightly shorter since I had to split my plan up to make sure I don't bombard you with too much info.

I hope that you found Chanyeol's perspective insightful because it will come handy in the upcoming chapters *hint hint*

Also, please hit me up with some votes and comments. Your support is always appreciated :)

So next time...