Chen and Baekhyun were grinning from ear to ear at Chanyeol. They were alone in the changing rooms at the moment as the others were still back at the dance studio.

Chen began, "It looks like it's been decided, then."

Baekhyun joined in, "Yep. We all saw it. Nami-ssi's your gal. She was the one who walked through the doors."

Chanyeol tried to suppress his renewed irritation. He didn't like the fact that the pair had such smug expressions on their faces. No one anticipated Nami to walk through the doors. When Chanyeol saw Xiumin arrive with Nami trailing behind him, his face fell. Chanyeol was confident in his ability to read girls like a book. And Nami was a girl. The only problem was, Nami wasn't easy to read.

Chanyeol scoffed, "I can make her fall for me. You'll see."

Baekhyun let out a high-pitched laugh. "Yeah, good luck handling Nami-ssi!"

"She seems like a feisty one." Chen added, "She might even end up handling you."

"Hold on a sec," Chanyeol replied, frowning at the pair, "you don't know that. And you know what," he said while putting on his shirt, "I'm gonna make you eat your words."

The pair let out a long 'oooooh'.

"Still," Chen considered, "you might have lucked out. If Nami-ssi didn't come in when she did, you would have had to seduce Suji-ssi."

Chanyeol was pensive. "But Suji-ssi is more of my type, though."

"You like 'em bratty, huh?" Baekhyun joked.

Chanyeol glared at him.

The sound of the others coming into the changing rooms forced the beagle line to stop discussing about their bet. But with quick glances at one another, the trio agreed to reconvene later on that evening.

~*~

"Is it just me, or can anyone else smell something burning?" Kai sniffed the air as he and the other members entered the dorm.

Sehun was behind him. "No, I can smell it too."

The members rushed to the common area where they saw a soft stream of smoke coming from the kitchen.

"Is there a fire?" Suho shouted, searching around.

"Nami-ssi!" Xiumin called.

The members started coughing as the smoke drifted towards their direction. A wave of panic overwhelmed them as they searched the kitchen area for any sign of Nami. A few moments later, Nami appeared through the wall of smoke, wearing a plain red apron and holding a wooden spoon. "Omo. You're all here?"

Suho breathed a sigh of relief while Chen and Baekhyun hurried to open some windows to get rid of the smoke.

Xiumin ran up to Nami, "Are you okay, Nami-ssi? You're not hurt?"

Nami shook her head, "I'm fine." She turned to the others who were inspecting the origins of the smoke. "I was just making dinner."

D.O's eyes rounded when he reached the hob. "Nami-ssi, what were you trying to make?" He peered inside the large pot and saw a brownish sauce with chunky bits of raw carrot and potato and charred beef.

"I was making Japanese curry" she replied. She walked over to him, "But it's my first time making it so, I had a bit of trouble."

"A bit of trouble?" repeated Kai sarcastically. "Smells like you were about to burn the whole dorm down!"

"Well, I'm just glad there wasn't a fire." Suho sounded relieved. The smoke finally started to dissipate so that he could see the others clearly.

"You're just in time," Nami chimed as she started setting out the dining table. "The rice will be ready soon and the curry is just simmering."

The members glanced at each other as they took their seats at the dining table. It had been a couple of hours since they had last eaten so having dinner soon was a godsend to them. It was also the first time they were trying Nami's cooking. To Baekhyun, Chen and Chanyeol, it was the moment of truth--how will Nami's cooking compare to Mrs. Park's?

~*~

Kai scrutinised the messy slop on his plate. Nami had served each member a large portion of her so-called 'Japanese curry' with rice but, instead of chowing down like Kai normally did, he took a moment to inspect the food in front of him. He was sceptical: it didn't look like curry at all.

"Dig in!" Nami encouraged the members.

Sehun picked up his fork and tried to pierce a chunk of potato but, found that it was still too hard.

Chen took a bite of his rice and found that it was really crispy.

Suho tasted the sauce and found that it was too salty.

D.O tried a piece of beef and found that it was too chewy.

Chanyeol tried a piece of carrot and found it was still crunchy.

Kai took a bite of everything and nearly fainted from the taste.

But Baekhyun was the only one to spit out the food as soon as it entered his mouth. "Yah!" he shouted while reaching for a glass of water. "What kind of housekeeper doesn't know how to cook?"

Nami's face turned red. "It's my first time, okay?" she replied defensively.

"You should have warned me before I took a bite" Kai said while covering his mouth. He looked like he was about to puke. "That" he signalled to his plate, "is not made for human consumption."

"I tried my best, alright? If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it."

"Thank God for that!" Baekhyun exclaimed, pushing away his plate.

Nami pouted. "By the way," she said, suddenly remembering something, "who was the last one to use the bathroom this morning?"

At this, Baekhyun answered, "It was me."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "You didn't flush the toilet after you used it."

"Uh-oh" Chanyeol suddenly joined in, "did Baekhyun leave you a cheeky surprise?"

"Let's just say it clogged up the toilet."

"Yah, do you have to talk about that right now?" asked Sehun. "It's putting me off."

"Yeah, stop talking about it!" Baekhyun ordered. He glanced at Sehun's plate. "But I don't know why you guys would want to eat that. It looks the thing I forgot to flush."

"Yah, Baekhyun!"

"Baek--you pabo."

"Aish, you're disgusting."

The rest of the members moaned at Baekhyun for revealing too much information. In unison, they quit eating and had pushed their plates away from them. All but, one of them. While they did this, Xiumin continued eating.

"Hyung" Sehun says in amazement. "You're still eating it?"

Xiumin looked up from his plate. "What? You're not gonna eat your portion?" He grabbed Sehun's plate and placed it next to his. "I think it tastes just fine." He addressed Nami, "It's delicious, Nami-ssi."

Nami's face beamed. "Thank you, Xiumin-ssi." She couldn't hide how happy she felt. "There's more in the pot. Just let me know if you want seconds!" She scurried away to the kitchen.

The other members stared at Xiumin, completely dumbfounded.

"Hyung, is there something wrong with your taste buds?" Kai enquired.

"Or your hearing?" queried Chen.

But Xiumin ignored both of them and just kept eating.

Chanyeol checked his surroundings before saying in a low voice, "Hyung, you can stop eating now, Nami-ssi's gone. You don't have to pretend it tastes good."

Xiumin peered up at him, "But it really does taste good. I don't know why you guys think it doesn't."

~*~

I hummed along to BTS' 'Dope' while I cleared away the mess I made in the kitchen. I was in a good mood after hearing Xiumin compliment my cooking. Even if it did taste bad, I was just glad to be appreciated. I wasn't used to cooking at all. I had lived with my parents while attending university so, I had never had to cook a single day in my life. So, when I saw Xiumin eating the food I made for the first time, it made me happier than I anticipated. Maybe living in the dorm with EXO wouldn't be too bad if, all the members were as kind as Xiumin? If only that was the case.

While I cleared away the surfaces, the sound of approaching footsteps caught my attention.

"I brought the dishes over" I heard a deep voice say. I turned around. It was Chanyeol.

"Ah, thanks. Just leave them there." I gestured towards the sink. Chanyeol did what he was told but then stayed standing behind me. I peeped up at him. "Is there something else?"

"Er..." his voice trailed off, "I-er, just wanted to erm, ask how you were doing and apologise about Suji-ssi's behaviour." He looked at me apologetically. "And I'm sorry too."

"For what?"

"For not being able to help out earlier. We couldn't really do much because Suji-ssi's the big man's daughter."

I nodded. "I understand. And you needn't worry about it. I can handle my own battles." I turned around to continue with cleaning, expecting Chanyeol to take the hint that I was busy but, he didn't budge.

"You know," he began, "Suji-ssi's gonna run SM Entertainment one day." He moved from behind me to my left, where he leaned against the counter as I busied myself with the dishes in the sink. "So you should try to get along with her."

"I don't think that'll be necessary" I told him. It's not like I was going to be here long enough to need to make friends anyway. "I'm just a housekeeper. I doubt I'd run into her a lot."

I continued washing the dishes while Chanyeol observed me. I didn't know why he was sticking so close to me all of a sudden.

"It's a shame you know" he said as he watched me, "if Suji-ssi wasn't so spoiled, she would've been the perfect woman: rich, beautiful and talented. She's actually quite smart. She studied abroad and everything."

I rolled my eyes.

"She even did some modelling too" Chanyeol continued. "And she was going to debut with Girls Generation until the big boss pulled her out and told her to focus on running the business instead."

I let out an audible sigh. "Listen," I told him, "it's nice of you to tell me but," I looked at him in the eye, "I really don't care."

The corners of Chanyeol's mouth spread into a smile. "That's good. Most girls who hear about Suji-ssi tend to get intimidated by her."

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not like most girls."

Chanyeol smirked, "No, you're clearly not."

He folded his arms across his body as he leaned against the counter, still standing close to me. "I find you quite intriguing Nami-ssi" he says in a low, dreamy voice.

I continued with washing the dishes, "Oh really?" I was too preoccupied with trying to get rid of a stubborn stain that was stuck at the bottom of the pot.

Chanyeol continued, "Yeah, I'm curious to know how many hearts you've broken with that cute smile of yours."

I stopped what I was doing. What did he just say? Cute? What?

I turned to his direction in bewilderment and saw that his eyes were locked onto mine. They were twinkling. "I think that you're really cute."

My jaw dropped. What was this guy saying? We've barely talked and suddenly he thinks I'm cute?

"I think you've got the wrong person" I told him slowly. "Or maybe you've worked too hard today and now you don't even know what you're saying."

Chanyeol maintained his smile. "No, I'm pretty aware of what I'm saying" He got up from where he was leaning and inched closer towards me. "And I think you're cute."

I took a step backwards to create some space between us. It was already bad enough that I had met a prissy princess earlier today. Now, I had to deal with a delusional derp too. I gaped at Chanyeol from a safe distance and tried to assess the situation I was in. I may be inexperienced in love but, I wasn't completely without knowledge. After all, I did watch a lot of K-dramas and in these situations, what normally would come next is--

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Chanyeol asked.

I blinked. I wasn't expecting that question but then again, this was real life, not a K-drama.

"N-no" I told him, still keeping distance between us.

Chanyeol smiled. "Good."

The sound of footsteps caused both of us to turn around. "You can take a shower now, Chanyeol. One of the bathrooms are free" Xiumin said as he rubbed his wet hair with a towel. He glanced at both of us, "Did I interrupt something?"

"Er, no" I replied as I got back to work.

Chanyeol smirked at me and turned to Xiumin, "Thanks, hyung. I'll go now." He turned to me one last time before he left. "And good night, Nami-ssi."

"G-good night" I told him back. I was still flustered from our earlier conversation.

Xiumin watched as Chanyeol left and then turned to me. "You okay? Your face is all red."

I put my hands to my cheeks and felt how hot they were. Damn it! I must look like a tomato right now! "I-I'm fine" I blurted.

Xiumin looked doubtful. "Did Chanyeol say something weird again?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

Xiumin hung his towel around his neck. "I don't like talking about any of the members like this but, since you're a young woman living with a bunch of guys, I think that it's best that I tell you," he paused. "Chanyeol has a habit of flirting."

I blinked. "A habit of flirting?" I repeated.

Xiumin nodded. "I don't think he does it intentionally but since we're on a no dating contract, he tends to flirt to compensate for the loneliness."

I nodded slowly. It all made sense now.

"So that's why I want you to be on your guard when you're around Chanyeol" Xiumin finally finished. "And with the other members too." He gave a small laugh. "They're not bad guys but you're like a lamb sent to live with a pack of wolves."

I laughed along with him. "Thank you, Xiumin-ssi. And don't worry, I'll be careful from now onwards."

He gave me a soft smile before patting my head affectionately. "That's a good girl."

I flinched at his sudden touch and my heart started beating faster for some unknown reason. Xiumin was so close to me that I could smell his shampoo: it was a minty scent.

When he finally stopped, he told me, "Oh and be especially careful of Sehun. Make sure you barricade the door when you're taking a shower." He had a disapproving look on his face. "That maknae has got some raging hormones at the moment so, who knows what he'll end up doing."

I watched as Xiumin waved me good night as he headed upstairs.

So Chanyeol has a habit of flirting? I facepalmed myself for acting so stupidly in front of him. I was being played and I fell for it! I took a deep breath. Well, if it's a flirting game he wants, it's a flirting game he's gonna get, I told myself resolutely. Two can play at that!

I took off the pink rubber gloves that I had been wearing to wash the dishes with and, winced at the pain in my left hand. I had rubbed some liniment on it and wrapped it around a bandage but, the pain hadn't subsided. While I busied myself with drying some plates, I'd failed to notice someone walk into the kitchen.

I dropped a plate in surprise when I suddenly saw a black-hooded figure hovering in front of the fridge. The plate shattered.

"Aish! You scared the living daylights out of me!" I told the person in front of me.

He pulled his hood down. "I'm sorry, Nami-ssi." It was D.O wearing all black again. He had a water bottle in one hand.

I stared at the floor and at the shards around my feet. I pulled the sleeves of my grey hoodie further up my arm.

"What happened to your hand?" I heard D.O ask. He must have seen the bandage.

"Oh, this? I got hurt when I fell earlier today." I crouched down to get closer to the shards.

"Don't touch it!" I heard D.O shout. A few seconds later, he was crouching next to me. "You'll cut your fingers. Here, let me--"

"Don't worry," I reassured him. "I wasn't going to." I turned around and reached for a dustpan and brush that was next to me. "This isn't a K-drama" I told him, as I brushed the shards away. "I wasn't going to pick up the shards with my hands. I'm not like those girls in the dramas."

D.O watched me in surprise. And then he laughed too. "No, you're not like them at all."

~*~

Author's Note:

Hi everyone! Thanks for reading chapter 9 of Our Little Dorm Mother.

What do you think of the story so far? Would you have fallen for flirty Chanyeol?

Let me know by posting some comments!

Also, vote and share! It will be much appreciated. 

Here's a sneak peek of next week's chapter...

P.S The next update will be on 4/2/18