My whole body tensed up at the abrupt meeting of Chanyeol's lips on mine. My heart was beating wildly against my chest while my mind struggled to calm the turmoil that was my thoughts. I was confused, bewildered, at a lost-- there wasn't a perfect word to describe how I was feeling at that exact moment. What was happening? Why was Chanyeol kissing me? And why wasn't I letting go?

When I finally straightened my thoughts, I tried pushing Chanyeol away, only to find that he had his large hand firmly secured behind my head. He fought my resistance, drawing me even closer as his kiss intensified on my mouth.

With his other hand, he brushed his fingers against my chin to tilt it upwards, allowing him better access. He moved his lips hungrily, not giving me time to breathe or recover from his touch. The faint taste of mint lingered in his mouth; the smell of his cologne invaded my nostrils and his dark hair tickled my forehead as he continued to stroke my lips with his. He used his hand to guide me towards him, his lips pushing against mine, a low growl rumbling at the back of his throat as he moaned. It sounded deep and sexy. I was melting against him, butterflies were fluttering in my stomach as he refused to let me escape his intoxicating embrace--

"Oppa!"

My breath hitched as Chanyeol finally pulled away, leaving me breathless and weak in the knees. His eyes locked on mine and I saw that they were shimmering with lust. He smiled at me. He looked like he was pleased with my reaction.

"What are you doing, oppa?!"

Chanyeol turned at the sound of a high-pitched voice. I did too. And when I did, I found that we were no longer alone in the dressing room. There, crowding in front of the door, was Suji and the EXO members. All their eyes were fixed on me and Chanyeol, the expressions they wore were of shock and surprise. Did they witness us kissing just now?

Suji was the only one who was vocal, "Oppa! What were you doing kissing her?" she asked angrily, her face scrunched up and her petite hands balled into fists.

Chanyeol wrapped his arm around my waist, drawing me closer to his hip. He smiled at her innocently, "What? I can't kiss my girlfriend?"

"What?!" Finally, EXO found their voices again.

"L-little Umma's y-your girlfriend?" Kai asked, still visibly shocked. "Since when?"

"Since just now" he replied. He glanced down at me and I looked at him, puzzled at what he was saying. Girlfriend? What? I never agreed to this! But before I could protest, I felt his hand squeeze me tighter against his hip. He looked at me as if he was warning me to be careful with what I say.

"Is this true, Nami-ah?" It was Xiumin. I looked at him and saw that he didn't wear an expression of shock like the others. Instead, he wore an expression of pain. He searched my eyes as if pleading me to say that Chanyeol was wrong-- that what he was saying wasn't true.

I opened my mouth and almost told him the truth, that it was all a hoax and, that Chanyeol was making it all up but, Chanyeol beat me to it. "It's true, hyung," he said to him. "We're dating now."

Xiumin looked from Chanyeol and then back to me. "I want it to hear it from you, Nami-ah." His voice sounded hurt, "Is this true? Are you and Chanyeol... dating?"

Again I opened my mouth but the words I wanted to say didn't come out. I looked at Chanyeol and saw that his eyes were urging me to go along with his lie. If you don't want me to expose your secret, you'll go along with it, his gaze said. I met eyes with Xiumin again. If Chanyeol exposed me now then, Xiumin and the others would find out that I was a reporter. They'd find out that I'd been lying to them all this time and they'll end up hating me. And the thought of Xiumin ever hating me was unbearable.

I had no choice. I had to lie.

"It's true, oppa." The words were out of my mouth before I realised. "I'm dating Chanyeol now. "

The light in Xiumin's eyes dulled in resignation. "Oh..." he managed to say. I watched as his mouth formed into a small smile as he forced himself to look at me once more. "Congratulations," he said. His words stung me like thorns. "Congratulations to both of you."

"This is unbelievable!" Suho remarked. "Yah! You shouldn't be dating. Our no-dating contract--"

"That's right!" Suji wailed. She had traces of tears in the corner of her eyes. "Oppa, you can't date her! She's-she's your housekeeper!"

Chanyeol shrugged it off. "I can't help how I feel." He looked at me lovingly, "And I know you guys are all shocked but I hope that you'll learn to accept us." He pulled me close and planted a kiss on my forehead.

I shot him a warning look, my face heating up with embarrassment.

"We're in love," Chanyeol declared.

Seeing Chanyeol kiss me again, an upset Suji grabbed hold of a stray shoe on the floor and threw it at Chanyeol. He dodged it just in time. "Chanyeol-oppa, you pabo!" she screamed, before running out of the dressing room, crying. The EXO members were too stunned to stop her.

"Wah, you sure are popular" Chen commented as he watched Suji leave.

"Maybe too popular" Baekhyun added.

The EXO members stood in silence for a moment as they continued to stare at Chanyeol and me.

Finally, Kai went over to us. "Well, if you guys are dating then, I'll just congratulate you."

Sehun followed suit. "Yeah. It's still quite a shock but, sometimes, love just happens."

D.O's expression was unreadable. "Take care of Nami-ah, Chanyeol-ah," he told him. "Don't you ever hurt her."

"I won't, D.O-ah."

D.O looked at me and gave me a small smile. His round eyes looked sorrowful, "I'm happy you're happy" he murmured.

Suho sighed, "Well, as long as you two don't cause any scandals, then I guess it's fine."

But as the EXO members all gathered around us, giving us their congratulations and asking Chanyeol how he had won my heart over, there was only one thing I was thinking the whole time.

And that was how I had hurt the one person I loved most with a deceitful kiss and cruel lie.

~*~

I put my hands on my face and sighed. It had been a long day, a draining day, and I just wanted to go to sleep and put everything that happened behind me. I was back at the dorm and it was already late in the evening. I collapsed onto my bed and buried my face in my pillow. It was all a bad dream, I told myself. It was all a bad dream. None of it was real. I'm just having a nightmare. I'm just having a night--

There was a knock on the door.

I turned my head and saw that someone had come in. "What are you doing?"

I frowned. It was the last person I wanted to see. "Piss off, Chanyeol," I told him.

Chanyeol was bemused, "Yah, that's not a very nice thing to say."

I shot him a look and threw my pillow at him. "Go away! Why are you even here? You've already tortured me enough!"

Chanyeol dodged my flying pillow and approached me on my bed. "I'm here because I need to talk to you."

"Oh yeah?" I spat. "Well, I don't want to talk so, leave" I ordered, pointing to the door.

Chanyeol pursed his lips. "Why are you being like this?" And then his lips curled into a smile. "I see. It's about the kiss earlier, isn't it?"

I blushed at the thought of it. I had worked so hard to forget that it ever happened and now, here, in front of me, was the biggest reminder of it all.

The perpetrator himself.

Chanyeol smiled smugly as he traced his finger along the bottom of his lip. His eyes were shiny with mischief. "I gotta say, you suck at kissing."

If my face was pink, then it must be red by now. I was flushed. I grabbed the nearest throwable object and launched it at him. It turned out to be my slipper. Chanyeol was quick to dodge again. "You're such a prick!" I yelled at him. I got up and started hitting him on the shoulder with closed fists. Chanyeol responded fast by catching my small wrists around his large hands.

"That was my first kiss!" I continued to shout, tears springing from my eyes. I was frustrated at how emotional I was getting. "You stole my first kiss, you arsehole!"

Chanyeol restrained my fists by lifting them above my head so I would stop hitting him. "That was your first kiss?" he sounded surprised. "You've never been kissed before?"

I met his eyes and saw that he was astonished. And then his expression changed into one of acknowledgement. "No wonder you weren't kissing me back."

"Why would I ever want to kiss you back?" I retorted, his arms still holding my wrists. "You forced that kiss on me!"

Chanyeol looked down at me. "I asked if you trusted me, right? And you said 'yes'. I'm here to explain to you why I kissed you in the first place." He loosened his grip on my wrists and let me go, stepping back warily in case I started hitting him again. He continued, "The reason why I had to kiss you was so that my lie would be more believable."

"What?" I said, rubbing my wrists, "Are you on about your lie about us dating?"

Chanyeol nodded. "As you know, Suji-ssi has been bothering me a lot" he sighed. "And the only way I could get her off my case was to show to her that I was already involved with someone else."

I fumed as I realised what he was getting at. "So you're using me as your shield?"

Chanyeol smirked, "I guess you can call it that." He sat down at the edge of my bed. "But that's not the only reason I'm here."

"What? There's more?"

Chanyeol eyed me closely. "Have you forgotten, Nami-ah? I know who you really are."

I clenched my jaw. Damn it. That's right. He knows I'm a reporter now.

"And if you want me to keep your little secret, you'll have to help keep Suji-ssi away from me from now onwards." He cocked his head, "it'll be our little secret now."

I thought for a moment. What Chanyeol was proposing was difficult but, nonetheless, doable. In exchange for keeping Suji away as his fake girlfriend, I could stay on as EXO's dorm mother. My cover hadn't been blown completely. And once my contract ends and I've completed my report, I would go back to the UK and hopefully get promoted. I was still on the right track but I just took a slightly different path. There was still hope left.

"Fine," I told him resolutely. "I'll go with it for now."

Chanyeol was pleased to hear it.

"But just tell me one thing," I began. He looked at me curiously. "Why can't we tell the other members? If it's only Suji-ssi that you're trying to deceive then, why can't the others know?"

Chanyeol's expression was unreadable. "It would be better if fewer people know. That way, there is less of a chance of Suji-ssi ever finding out."

I nodded. It was a good point.

He got up suddenly and started making his way towards the door. "For now, I want you to just pretend to be my girlfriend and act lovey-dovey whenever Suji-ssi is around. In exchange, I'll keep my word and not tell anyone about your secret."

I nodded again. It sounded like a fair deal.

But as Chanyeol was about to leave through the door, he turned around and gave me a smug look. "Oh. And before I forget, you need to work on your kissing skills."

I coloured once more and picked up my other slipper and threw it at him. Chanyeol stuck out his tongue before quickly closing the door. "Chanyeol, you twat!" I shouted.

How was I ever going to manage being this derp's fake girlfriend?

~*~

"How's Umin-hyung?" Baekhyun asked as Chen entered his room. It was late in the evening and the EXO members had also returned from the concert and the after party. While Chanyeol was away, Chen had snuck inside his and Baekhyun's room to discuss things with his fellow CBX member.

Chen shook his head. "He keeps saying he's okay but you can tell that he's not."

Baekhyun sighed. "He's heartbroken, isn't he?"

Chen nodded.

"I can't help feeling that this was all our fault" Baekhyun murmured. "We did tell him that Little Umma liked him and all and we made him think that he had a chance with her."

"And he did have a chance with her!" Chen replied. "I was so sure that Nami-ah liked Xiumin-hyung. I don't understand how Chanyeol managed to steal her away."

"Maybe we had it all wrong?" Baekhyun suggested. "I mean, how were we to know what Little Umma was feeling? It wasn't like she was predictable or anything."

Chen shook his head. "No. You're right. But now Xiumin-hyung is heartbroken and all our planning had come to nothing."

Baekhyun was silent.

The pair looked at each other solemnly as they remembered how much effort they had put in creating the perfect environment for Xiumin to tell Nami his feelings. Their plan was to have Xiumin and Nami separate from the rest of the group during the after party and lock them upstairs in the veranda of the club. There was a rooftop bar which they had booked in advance and had prepared wine, candle lights and even slow, romantic music. It was meant to set the mood for Xiumin's confession. They even went as far as getting Nami dressed up for the big occasion by buying her a feminine looking dress.

"It's such a shame" Chen moaned. "When we got to the after party, our plan was ruined."

"It was already ruined before that" Baekhyun muttered. "As soon as Umin-hyung found out Little Umma and Chanyeol were dating, he just shut down. He couldn't even talk to her."

Chen frowned. "What should we do now?" He looked questioningly at Baekhyun.

"We can't do anything now. Operation Cupid's Arrow was a fail."

The pair sighed glumly in unison.

But as if on cue, the door opened and in came Chanyeol, the happy virus. He looked at his fellow beagle line companions and smiled. He was in a very good mood. But that just ticked Chen and Baekhyun off even more.

"Hey guys" he greeted them. "Why the long faces?"

"Nothing" mumbled Chen.

"Yeah, nothing" Baekhyun muttered.

Chanyeol looked at the pair curiously but decided not to press further. He was too giddy with glee to be pulled down by the rain clouds looming above both Chen and Baekhyun's heads.

"Were you with Little Umma just now?" Baekhyun enquired.

Chanyeol's eyes lit up. He grinned, "Yep. I was just visiting her in her room."

Chen looked at him sheepishly, "You sly dog."

"We weren't doing anything" Chanyeol retorted. He knew what Chen was thinking about. "We were just talking."

Baekhyun's cheeky smile returned. "Sure you were" he teased. "So how did you do it?" he asked as he propped his chin on top of his palm. He was lying down on his bed.

"Do what?" Chanyeol asked as he took off his shirt to put on his pyjamas.

"Win her heart over" Baekhyun replied.

Chanyeol sighed. "I already told you so many times. I just asked her out and she said 'yes'."

"I call bull crap" Chen interjected. "There is no way Nami-ah would just say 'yes' to you so easily. I mean, you guys are like oil and water."

"Well, maybe you're wrong, Chen" Chanyeol snapped. "Maybe Nami-ah and I have much more in common than you think."

Baekhyun was unconvinced. "I bet you did something, didn't you?" He thought for a second. "Did you... blackmail her?"

Chanyeol froze for a bit but then continued with what he was doing. "I didn't. Why can't you just believe me?"

"Because we didn't even know you liked Nami-ah" Chen concluded.

Chanyeol turned to face him.

"You do like her, right?" Chen asked, his eyes studying Chanyeol's expression closely.

Chanyeol kept his guard up. "Of course I do" his voice was steady. "Why would I be dating her if I don't?"

But Chen was still doubtful. "Well, here's mine." He pulled out a ten thousand won bill and slapped it on top of Chanyeol's nightstand. "You won."

Baekhyun begrudgingly did the same.

Chanyeol saw the money on his desk and remembered the bet. He had been so absorbed in his thoughts about Nami that he had forgotten all about it. "Ah, yeah. Thanks."

"Argh!" Baekhyun groaned as he kicked his legs childishly, "This is so unfair. How come you get to date and get to win the bet too? You're so lucky!"

Chen agreed, "You're one lucky devil."

Chanyeol grinned at the pair of them. "I guess I am."

Chen stood up and started heading towards the door. "I'll leave you two now, then. Good night."

"Nighty night, Chen~" Baekhyun chimed.

"Sweet dreams, bro," Chanyeol replied. But Chanyeol knew that he was the one who was going to have sweet dreams that night.

~*~

As Chanyeol climbed onto his bed and tried to welcome sleep, his mind wouldn't stop racing with thoughts of Nami. Even though the lights were off, and the room was submerged in darkness, Chanyeol's smile was as radiant as the fluorescent lights outside. He was too excited. And when he was excited, he couldn't get to sleep, even when today's concert had left him initially exhausted. It was like he was bursting with energy and he didn't know where it came from or what to do with it. He rolled over to his side in a bid to find a more comfortable spot.

But it was no use.

He was wide awake and it was all because of Nami. Chanyeol rolled over to his back again and stared at the ceiling. It didn't matter whether he closed his eyes or if he left them open because he could still see Nami's face, etched in the eyes of his mind. Her almond-shaped eyes that encircled her dark brown orbs; the sweet scent of her raven black hair; the way her dimples showed when she smiled at him and; her soft, plump lips were as vivid as when she was physically in front of him.

He couldn't calm down. He couldn't forget about her even for a second. He couldn't forget about their kiss.

Chanyeol placed his hand across his eyes as if to cover himself in embarrassment. He didn't plan for their kiss to be so passionate. It was meant to be just a peck on the lips, just long enough for Suji to see and convince her that he was already dating someone. But as his lips lingered on hers, something in him had awoken. The addictive sensation of a pair of lips pressing against his own had awoken something inside him that he hadn't felt in so long.

The next thing he knew, he was kissing her more energetically, as if a powerful desire overwhelmed him. He couldn't forget the way her lips felt against his; how soft her hair felt against his hand as he guided her towards him; how his heart raced and how an anxious yet excited feeling was bubbling in his gut. Their kiss was electrifying. And he was afraid to admit that he made her feel that way.

Chanyeol kicked the covers in embarrassment. He was so stupid. What was going on with him? He shouldn't be thinking too much about Nami. She was just a bet and now that he had won it, he had proved both Chen and Baekhyun wrong.

And yet, why did he feel like he was the one that lost? Even though he had succeeded in conquering Nami, and they were dating now, he couldn't help feeling as though he had lost to her in terms of emotions. She had bewitched him and now, something was stirring in his heart and was affecting his actions too.

He sighed, I must be frustrated, he thought to himself. That's right, it's been a while since I last dated. That's why I'm feeling like this. He turned to his other side and told himself resolutely, I'm not in love with Nami-ah. I'm just confused at the moment, that's all. He closed his eyes at last and with the last image in his mind being of Nami, he fell asleep, content that Nami, for now, was his and his alone.

~*~

Author's Note:

Hi reader! Thank you for reading chapter 26 of Our Little Dorm Mother.

Gahhh. I don't know I feel about this chapter. So much emotion! Okay, so I had a bit of difficulty writing the kissing scene so please bear with me. But I hope that you were able to empathise with all the characters in the story so far.

Kudos goes to PG for helping me write that scene!

What do you think of the outcome? Will Xiumin come fighting back? Will Mirei and Chanyeol's fake relationship blossom into the real deal? Or will another contender snatch Mirei's heart from the shadows?

Find out in the upcoming chapters!

Next time on Our Little Dorm Mother...

P.S. Your votes and comments will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for those who have continuously been supporting this fanfic! I am so pleased to finally reach my first 100 votes! I will endeavour to keep writing to make you laugh, cry and squeal! (20/2/18).