The following few weeks had been hectic as the EXO members rehearsed tirelessly for the upcoming Gayo Daejun Concert. It was only a week away and even though D.O knew that he had learned the choreography and the lyrics by heart, he couldn't remove the anxiousness which swirled around in the pit of his gut. Why did he always have to get so nervous?

As he climbed down the stairs to fetch some water, late in the evening, he spotted that the light in the kitchen was on. From the bottom of the stairs, he could see someone busy working away as their casted shadow danced on the tiled floor of the common area. D.O took a peek from the edge of the door frame.

Inside he saw Nami, wearing her red apron, making some sort of snack with her deft fingers. Her face was screwed up in concentration with the tip of her tongue just barely visible from the corner of her mouth. D.O watched as she carefully sliced what looked like a sushi roll into equal pieces. She smiled at what she had accomplished.

"Why are you still up, Nami-ah?" D.O asked and Nami jumped.

"You scared me!" she shouted as she clutched her heart. "You need to stop doing that, D.O-ah. I could have dropped this knife!"

D.O gave her a weak smile as he apologised. He walked over to the workstation and found that Nami had made sushi as well as other snacks. He looked at her curiously. "What's with all the food?"

Nami replied shyly, "I wanted to surprise everyone by bringing snacks over tomorrow while you practised" she scratched her head, "but I guess you found out."

D.O smiled at her. Why was Nami always doing things that made his heart beat fast? He glanced at the food and saw that they were poorly done but was filled with thought. Nami saw his expression and quickly said, "I know they don't look good but I'm pretty sure they taste fine" she picked up a small piece of sushi with chopsticks and offered it to him, "do you want to try one?"

Nami hovered the sushi piece in front of D.O's face. It had a lot of rice and barely anything else. He knew that Nami wasn't good at cooking so if he ate this now, who knows what he'd be feeling the next day. But, with the image of Nami offering to feed him and her almond eyes shining, he couldn't refuse opening his mouth to take a bite. At least he would die a happy man.

D.O chewed on the sushi and forced himself to smile. "It's...good," he said forcibly.

Nami could tell that D.O was faking it. She set down her chopsticks and sighed. "I'm so hopeless, D.O-ah."

D.O quickly swallowed the sushi and replied, "You shouldn't get so down, I'm sure the members will appreciate your hard work into making these snacks for us."

"How can I serve this to them if it tastes bad?" she asked despondently.

D.O met her eyes and reassured her, "I can help you practise."

Nami's spirits lifted. "You would do that?"

D.O saw how Nami's eyes glittered with hope. If it's one way of getting close to you, I would do anything, he thought inwardly. "Of course."

Nami's mouth stretched into a smile that showed her dimples. D.O had to remind himself to breathe whenever she did that. "Thank you, D.O-ah! You're the best!" she cleared away the workstation so that she could start again.

D.O watched a happy Nami get back to work. He liked the way she was so cheerfully motivated and how she didn't hide her flaws. He had decided long ago that, even though she was a reporter, he would disregard that fact and accept her as herself. Surely, she wasn't faking her sincerity in making snacks for them? Why would she go through all the trouble of practising how to make sushi if she didn't care about them at all?

He glanced at the other snacks that she made and noticed something odd about all of them. They were all snacks that Xiumin liked. When he voiced out his observation, Nami froze. "Ah, r-really?" her voice wavered slightly, "must be a coincidence."

D.O tucked away the edginess he was feeling in the back of his mind. He was aware he had competition but he wasn't going to back down from the race. He had already accepted his feelings for Nami and now all that was left was to reach out to her. And he hoped, one day, she would reciprocate his feelings back.

He just hoped that that day will come soon.

~*~

It's three days before the concert and I have been coming to EXO's rehearsals almost every day to feed them lunch. At first, they were reluctant to try my food but, after some encouragement from D.O, they eventually started eating heartily upon discovering how much my cooking skills had improved.

"This tastes great, Little Umma!" Kai said as he munched on my home-made snacks appreciatively.

I thanked him, "It was all because of D.O-ah. He helped teach me how to cook properly."

"No wonder it's edible" Chanyeol murmured, thinking that I wouldn't hear. I ignored him.

"Once we're done eating, let's practise from the top again" commanded Suho. "We still have to get the timings right--"

The door burst open and the familiar clop-clopping of platform boots echoed around the dance studio. "Hi, oppa!" Everyone knew who it was without having to turn around. It was none other than the prissy princess, Lee Suji.

She strode over to where we were gathered in a circle, the sound of rustling plastic filling the dance studio along with the clopping of her boots. She was carrying two plastic bags filled with cans of energy drinks and high-end protein bars. She had been coming in almost every day with the same expensive snacks.

Chanyeol groaned from across the circle as Suji headed straight for him. "Hello Suji-ssi" he greeted her monotonously.

Suji had the widest smile on her face as she approached Chanyeol with the bag of snacks in her hand. "I bought these for you, oppa," she told him in that sickly sweet voice. "Oh and for everyone else" she added as an afterthought.

The EXO members exchanged looks with each other as Suji gave Chanyeol the goo-goo eyes. Kai and Sehun sniggered under their breaths.

Suji dug her hand into the plastic bag, "Oh and I also bought this for you, oppa." She pulled out her hand to show that she had bought Chanyeol a silk tie and cufflinks set. She smiled at him sweetly. "You can wear it during the concert."

Chanyeol accepted her gift hesitantly, "Thank you, Suji-ssi. But you really shouldn't have--"

"No worries, oppa," she said cutting him off. "It's just a small token of my appreciation for saving me before."

"More like a small token of torture" mumbled Baekhyun to Chen. Chen chuckled.

Chanyeol looked uncomfortable. "You don't have to keep doing things like this. I get it. You're thankful but it's burdensome if you keep showering me with gifts."

"But you deserve it, oppa! If you hadn't saved me, I would have gotten into deep trouble with appa."

I rolled my eyes. Suji was putting on the drama again.

"You're my knight in shining armour, oppa--my saviour-- and I don't know how I'll ever repay you," she said it so sweetly that I thought my ears would start bleeding.

"You've repaid me enough times, Suji-ssi" Chanyeol replied, edging backwards as Suji had started to close the distance between them. "And anyway, you don't need to come in every day to buy us food. Nami-ah has been feeding us just fine."

Suji scowled at the mention of my name. She darted a look at me and the food that I made. "Those cheap snacks?" she spat contemptuously. "You're satisfied with those cheap and tasteless snacks? Ha! You're better off eating premium dog food compared to what she's capable of making."

I gritted my teeth at her insult. If it weren't for the fact that she was Lee Sooman's daughter, I would have already clobbered her teeth in the second she had stopped speaking. Suji eyed my immobile reaction and gave a triumphant smile. She knew I was powerless against her.

"Well, oppa. I will leave you now" she told him. "I have to talk to appa about the concert to make sure EXO gets the best coverage possible." She blew him a kiss before sauntering out of the dance studio.

As soon as she was out of sight, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"You've got it tough, hyung" Sehun addressed Chanyeol as he patted him on the shoulder. "Suji-ssi's been at you ever since that incident."

"Yeah, she's always up your ass" Baekhyun muttered. "And, because she's always around you, she's also up our asses too."

"Don't be so crude, Baek" Chen told him off. "What if she hears?"

"I don't care" Baekhyun replied confidently. "But more importantly, Chanyeol, what are you going to do?"

Chanyeol sighed. "I've been trying to tell her to go away in the nicest way possible but she won't take a hint. In her mind I'm her prince and that I'll sweep her off her feet and go live happily ever after! She's stuck in her own little fantasy world."

Baekhyun smirked, "Well, you did say she was your type before."

Chanyeol glowered at him, "If I knew she was this annoying I would have said otherwise."

I watched as Chanyeol, Chen and Baekhyun got into a heated conversation about Suji. I really despised that girl. Just seeing her face constantly reminded me of how I injured my leg and how Chanyeol had chosen to save her instead of me. I knew he had a perfect explanation for that but, I couldn't help feeling sore over it. Suji was a constant reminder of how I didn't belong in the same world as EXO. I was a nobody; a commoner; a reporter; a fraud.

"Are you okay, Nami-ah?"

I turned to my right and saw that D.O was peering at me. "Y-yeah, I'm fine."

"Don't let what Suji-ssi said bother you" he said kindly. "I think your cooking has improved a lot and I prefer it more compared to what Suji-ssi brings." He smiled as he asked, "and do you know why I like it more?"

I shook my head.

"It's because I know you made it from the heart."

I felt my mouth stretch into a smile at D.O's words. Sometimes, it was surprising that D.O knew exactly what to say to make me feel better. "Thanks, D.O-ah."

"Okay, everyone," Suho said trying to catch everyone's attention. "Let's just finish eating so that we can get back to rehearsing."

Kai had a curious expression on his face as he picked up a kimbap and put it in his mouth. "Kinda think of it, hyung. Does it bother you that Suji-ssi's all over Chanyeol now?"

Suho arched his brow. "Why would that bother me?"

Kai continued, "Well, originally she was always fawning over you. Now, all her attention is going to Chanyeol."

"If you want all her attention, Suho-hyung, I'll gladly trade places" Chanyeol offered to him with a hint of desperation.

Suho laughed. "You can have it. I'm glad to be rid of her."

While the EXO members chatted happily while finishing off their snacks, I noticed that Xiumin hadn't said anything for a while. He had been sitting down quietly, barely touching the food I made. I turned to him, "Are you not hungry, oppa?"

Xiumin broke away from his reverie, "Oh, Nami-ah" he picked at his food. "No, I'm not too hungry. I'm actually quite full."

I gave him a doubtful look. "Is it the food? Does it taste bad? Is that why you aren't eating?"

"No, no. Don't worry. The food tastes fine" he looked at the food in front of him. "I'm really not hungry, that's all."

Once the EXO members had finally finished eating, they started practising again. I watched from the sidelines as the EXO members got into formation to start dancing to their latest single, 'Monster'. It was the same song they had been dancing to when I first bumped into Xiumin a long time ago.

I was in awe of how well they coordinated with one another, the oppressive beat of the soundtrack was addictive and hypnotising. I watched as every member's expressions grew dark but in a charismatic and sexy way as their bodies twisted and turned from each and every dance position. Their moves were slick and in sync-- almost perfect. Sometimes I wondered why they even practised so frequently when they were already so well-rehearsed. Their moves were so fluid that it made you believe it was easy to do. But in reality, it was difficult to execute perfectly without making yourself look like a total idiot.

I eyed each and every EXO member closely, never taking my eyes away from them. Some of them were wearing baseball caps so it was difficult identifying who was who sometimes. But there was one person who stood out the most. And that was Xiumin. Amongst the sea of black, that was the rest of the EXO members in their all-black attire, was Xiumin and his bright auburn hair. My eyes refused to leave his silhouette as he danced and sang at the same time. I watched as he focused all his energy on performing but I couldn't help feeling that there was something wrong.

As Xiumin continued to dance, I started to notice that he was slightly off-beat with the rest of the members. As they neared the end of the song, and Xiumin was positioned towards the back, I noticed how his movements started to look sluggish. Xiumin continued to dance but the expression on his face signalled to me that he wasn't himself. He started swaying a little and that was when I knew that something was definitely wrong.

"Oppa?" I rose to my feet in worry. And as I did so, Xiumin fell to the floor with a light thud. It took the EXO members a few moments to notice that someone was missing from their ending position, as the song finished without Xiumin kneeling down at the front, next to Suho. Once they noticed, they rushed to his side and I followed suit.

"Hyung! Hyung!" Chen called out to Xiumin as he cradled him.

"What happened?" Suho asked worriedly.

"I think he fainted" Baekhyun replied.

"Everyone get back and give him some air" D.O ordered. "I've read about things like this before. I think Xiumin-hyung fainted from low blood-sugar."

"But we just ate a while ago" Kai mentioned.

"He didn't eat a lot," I told them.

Sehun sighed. "It must be that damn diet again."

"What diet?" I asked feeling concerned that Xiumin was still unconscious on the floor.

"We were recently told to watch our weight by the higher-ups" Sehun explained. "Hyung must have taken it to heart."

"What? Why?" I asked, confused.

"Umin-hyung is sensitive about his weight" Baekhyun informed me. "And he recently got whiff of what the fans were saying about him and his chubby cheeks."

"They said that he was the chubbiest out of all of EXO," Chen said bitterly, still cradling Xiumin in his arms. "It was such an insensitive thing to say considering Xiumin-hyung's history with weight loss."

I looked worriedly at Xiumin's sleeping profile. It was unfair for fans to target idols on their appearances, making them conform to their ideals, without considering their feelings and how it would affect their health.

"For now, we should move him to somewhere quiet so that he can rest," D.O said, taking charge.

"We can move him to the empty practice room" Sehun suggested. "There are mats there that he can use as a bed."

"Are you sure we should move him?" I asked worriedly. "I mean, he hasn't woken up. What if there's something else that's wrong?"

"Don't worry, Nami-ah" D.O replied. "This isn't the first time this has happened."

I looked at the rest of the EXO members and saw them nod accordingly. So Xiumin had fainted like this before...

"Hyung is tougher than this" Baekhyun reassured me, "he'll wake up soon."

"We should probably go get him something with high sugars" Suho suggested. "He will need it to restore his sugar levels."

"We still have some of Suji-ssi's protein bars" Chanyeol suggested. "And energy drinks too."

"I'll help Chen lift Umin-hyung to the practice room" Baekhyun offered.

"Okay," Suho replied. "While you guys do that, I'll notify the staff just in case something is wrong with Xiumin-hyung. Everyone else, continue with practice."

As Chen and Baekhyun carefully shared Xiumin's weight between them, and the rest of the EXO members carried out the tasks assigned by Suho, I followed Chen and Baekhyun. "I want to go with you. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"You can help us by being there for him when he wakes up," Chen told me.

"Nurse him back to health" Baekhyun added.

I nodded enthusiastically, "Okay."

But little did I know that Chen and Baekhyun were plotting something behind my back.

~*~

Xiumin groaned as his eyes fluttered open. He had a headache and his body felt numb and heavy. It took him a few moments to realise where he was. He was in the other dance studio. He knew that because he recognised the patterns on the ceiling. He turned his head to his side and found Nami, curled into a ball next to him. She was sleeping soundly.

What was she doing here? He thought to himself. Then, what was I doing here?

As he sat up hastily, blood rushed to his head, causing him to feel momentarily dizzy. The sound of him shuffling woke Nami up.

"Xiumin-oppa?" her voice was silky from just waking up. She sat up and saw that he was awake, "Oppa! How are you feeling?"

Xiumin blinked a couple of times, "I-I'm feeling a little woozy" he said as he struggled to stay upright. Nami sat next to him on the foam mat to provide him with support. "Lean on me, oppa," she told him as she offered her shoulder. Xiumin gladly took it and used Nami as a solid foundation as he sat up and then transferred his weight to the wall next to him. Once his back was against the wall, Nami crossed her legs in front of him as she sat.

She quickly grabbed the energy drink and protein bars that were next to her. "You need to eat" she told him firmly as she offered them to him.

Obediently, Xiumin took the drink from her and took a sip. "What happened?" he asked, his voice was barely a whisper.

"You fainted during the dance rehearsal" she replied. "The others brought you here to rest. Honestly oppa, you really scared me!" she pouted at Xiumin. "You should eat properly and don't mind what those fans tell you!"

Xiumin smiled weakly. "They told you about it, huh?"

"I wish they told me sooner!" Nami huffed. "I better go tell them that you've woken up. They would want to check up on you too."

Xiumin watched as Nami got up and quickly rushed to the door. But when she tried opening it, she found that it wouldn't budge. "Huh?" Xiumin heard her say as she tried twisting the knob harder. "Why won't it open?"

"Did someone lock it?" Xiumin asked from the other side.

Nami turned to face him, "It seems like it. But why would they? Chen-oppa and Baekhyun-oppa knew we were here."

Xiumin groaned internally. Of course, he thought to himself, Chen. "Do you have your phone with you? We can call one of the others."

Nami searched her pockets and shook her head in dismay, "I must have left it in the dance studio."

Xiumin sighed, "I guess we'll just have to wait until they come back to check on us."

Nami joined Xiumin on the mat again. "But as I was saying oppa, please eat properly from now onwards. I don't want you fainting like that again."

Xiumin nodded. "I know. I know. I will."

But Nami wasn't convinced. She approached Xiumin and slapped both her hands on either side of his cheeks. Xiumin's almond-shaped eyes widened at the sudden contact. He was startled, "W-what are you--?"

"Oppa!" Nami said sternly, her gaze fixated on his. "You have to eat properly. You'll get sick if you don't" her expression softened as she said, "and you made me so worried. Don't do that to me, okay?"

Xiumin watched as Nami's face grew riddled with concern. Normally he would lash out at anyone who touched his face but, surprisingly, he didn't mind it when Nami did it. As he searched her eyes, he felt the warmth and concern emanating from her presence. He knew she cared deeply about him.

What if she had feelings for you?

Chen's words rung in his ears again. He had been thinking about Nami a lot ever since Chen had pointed out the possibility that she might harbour romantic feelings towards him. And seeing her now, showing signs of affection, only confused his feelings for her. What did he feel for her?

Xiumin placed his hands on top of hers for a few moments as he stared deeply into her eyes. Her hands were soft against both his cheeks and his palms. He watched as Nami's face reddened at the additional physical contact. Slowly, Xiumin pried her hands away from his face and released them from his clasp. "I will eat properly from now onwards, Nami-ah," he said finally, "I'll do that for you."

Nami was still a little flustered, "G-good, oppa. I-I'm glad."

Xiumin chuckled at her reaction, "Were you really that worried about me?" He wanted to tease her a little bit.

"Of course!" she responded almost immediately. "I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I saw you lying on the ground unconscious!"

Xiumin smiled. Hearing Nami fussing over him was like music to his ears. As he watched her rant on about how worried he made her, he noticed that there was a grain of rice stuck in her hair. It must have got caught there while they were eating kimbap earlier. Xiumin leaned closer towards Nami as he reached out for the grain of rice. He was so fixated on getting it out of her hair that he became unaware of how close his face was to her's.

"...Oppa?"

Suddenly, Xiumin's eyes met with Nami's. Their faces were only inches apart from each other. Xiumin could feel her hot breath against his lips; the smell of her strawberry-scented shampoo tickled his nostrils and the sound of his heart thumping against his chest overwhelmed him as he locked his gaze on hers. Inadvertently, his eyes trailed down and remained on her lips. They were soft, moist and kissable.

He was being drawn towards them.

Xiumin didn't know whether it was because he was groggy or whether because he had hit his head hard when he fainted but, he couldn't restrain himself from being attracted to Nami. The way her dark brown eyes glimmered in the dim light; the way her skin felt warm against his cool touch...It was like all his senses were confused and every reservation he had, had flown out of the window along with his rationality. And without all that, all that was left was Xiumin the man. The man who needed to satisfy his needs.

"Nami-ah..." he murmured as he leaned in closer. He watched as she sat still, her eyes flickering before she closed them. Xiumin took it as a signal to proceed. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. He leaned in, slowly closing the distance between his lips and hers. His senses were heightened now, he could hear her breathing; he could smell the sweetness of her shampoo; he could feel the strands of her hair tickling his face and his heart was racing like he was on a rollercoaster. His lips itched to touch hers and as he reached in, his heart leapt at the thought of their mouths connecting into one, long and passionate kiss--

"Nami-ah! Are you in there?"

Xiumin stopped. Nami opened her eyes and Xiumin pulled away from her personal space. The moment was lost.

The door opened and in came D.O, "Nami-ah, there you are."

"I told you there was no need to worry, D.O-ah," Baekhyun said from behind him. "See, she was taking care of Umin-hyung."

"Hyung!" Chen called out to him, "You're awake!"

As D.O, Baekhyun and Chen approached Xiumin, Nami quickly got up. Her face was flushed pink, "I-I'm gonna go to the bathroom" she said hurriedly as she scuttled out of the dance studio without giving the others a second glance.

The trio glanced from Nami's direction to Xiumin's.

"Did something happen?" D.O asked.

Baekhyun and Chen exchanged mischievous glances as they looked at Xiumin's flushed expression.

"No. N-nothing" Xiumin replied evasively. But Baekhyun and Chen knew that something had. Now all that was left was to find out what.

~*~

"And you didn't kiss her?!" Chen exclaimed, exasperated at hearing Xiumin's account of what happened.

Baekhyun sighed. "What a pity. If only we had kept an eye on D.O-ah..."

The pair sighed in unison at the missed opportunity. The trio had gathered in Chen and Xiumin's room in the dorm. They had finished practice and under Nami's strict instruction, Xiumin was sent to get more rest.

"I'm still annoyed at you both for locking us in" Xiumin complained from his bed.

"But if we didn't do that, you wouldn't have had the chance to get some solo time with her" Baekhyun teased.

"You know what it means though, right?" Chen said excitedly, "You two nearly kissed. You nearly kissed her. And she was letting you do so!" He clicked his fingers, "Your feelings are mutual!"

"Stop it, Chen. Nami-ah's like a--"

"Sister to you. I know, I know" Chen finished Xiumin's sentence dismissively. "But if that was really true then, why did you try to kiss her?"

"The answer's simple, really" Baekhyun added, "Umin-hyung, listen to the love doctor-- you're in love."

Xiumin shook his head in denial. "That-that's not true. I just got carried away by the moment--"

"Minseok-ah" Chen said firmly. Xiumin knew that Chen had reached the end of his tether. "I'm telling you. You like Nami-ah. And Nami-ah likes you too. You should just tell her how you feel already," Chen complained. "Why are you still hesitating?"

"It's because I don't want to ruin what we have now. What if you're wrong? What if she doesn't feel that way about me?"

"If you keep hesitating hyung, someone else is gonna snatch her up" Baekhyun warned. "And you'll regret it."

Xiumin went quiet as he thought about Baekhyun's words. His dongsaengs were right. He had been thinking about how he felt about Nami and he was sure that he liked her as more than a friend. He enjoyed her company and he always looked forward to when he hears a knock on their door and Nami coming in for a chat. He felt really comfortable around her. And maybe, it was time he admitted that he saw her as someone he'd like to go on a marathon with. It was time for him to start chasing her. Or maybe, it was time for him to stop being so chaste. All he knew was that he didn't want anyone else to have her.

"You're right" he murmured to them both.

Chen and Baekhyun perked up at his words.

"I like Nami-ah."

The pair celebrated at their hyung's conclusion by giving each other a high-five. Chen spoke, "Great, now go and tell her--"

"What? No. Not yet."

"When, then?" Baekhyun asked.

Xiumin was pensive. "After the concert" he decided. "I will tell Nami-ah my feelings after the concert."

Chen and Baekhyun nodded. But inside, they prayed that Xiumin's confession won't be too late.

~*~

Author's Note:

Hi reader. Thanks for reading chapter 23 of Our Little Dorm Mother.

Phew. I got carried away writing this chapter so I apologise if it dragged on. I know that I've been constantly blaming the fans for my characters' demise but, these events do happen in real life so I tried to keep it as realistic as possible. Other than that, I hope you are enjoying the story so far!

Tee hee. I dedicate this chapter to CL once more, who provided me with some awesome intel. Thank you for your constant support!

What do you think will happen next? Will Xiumin and Nami end up together? Find out soon!

Please vote, comment and share.

Next time...