Stray Kids | Imagines

Cleaning, Cuddles, and Curry - Yang Jeongin

A loud, piercing sound of glass shattering was heard throughout the kitchen as the glass cup in your hand slipped from your fingers and crashed on the floor. 

'Sorry!' You apologized as you crouched down on the floor to pick up the large shards of glass. 

A pale, veined hand appeared and helped you clean up the pieces of glass that can be safely picked up.

'It's okay, sir,  I can clean it up on my own.' You said, looking up at the face of one wet-haired Yang Jeongin. 

Judging by his wet hair and the sweet scent of soap you can smell, he had came out of the shower not too long ago. And to your luck, he came into the kitchen to make some food at the same time you were putting away the clean dishes you had left to dry earlier. 

'Don't worry about it,' he said as he quickly grabbed the dustpan and swept up the remaining pieces of glass. 'You can keep working.'

Hesitantly, you stood up and continued putting away the other cups, careful not to drop any again. You vaguely realized a pain in your index finger, possibly from a small shard that made its way under your skin, but you ignored it and continued working.

It was one hour to midnight, and your cleaning shift had already ended two hours ago. However, due to the emergency call the hospital had given you, you had to stop cleaning not even ten minutes into your shift and run to the hospital. Fortunately, all was well and you returned to your shift, albeit two hours late. 

A month ago your mother had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a type of cancer that had a profound effect on people her age. Her illness caused her to become bedridden, and in an attempt to pay for her hospital bills you picked up a cleaning job after lectures. After her treatment, she had developed some heart problems, and so the hospital had called you informing you of your mother's sudden shift in heartrate that evening. After spending some time with her, she seemed back to normal and you went back to your shift. 

'Can I ask why you are still here so late?' Jeongin suddenly asked you as he poured water into a pot before placing it on the oven.

'I had an emergency so I had to pause my shift for two hours,' you replied, now picking up a few plates and carrying them to a cupboard. 'I'm sorry if I am bothering you.'

'No, it's alright.'

At first it wasn't difficult to find a cleaning company that would sign you, but once you did it was even more difficult to be assigned to actual cleaning. You are relatively good at cleaning considering the fact that you had helped your mother with many household chores growing up, however, since you were a new cleaner with zero experience no one wanted to take you up to cleaning their house. After some time though, you somehow found yourself cleaning the dorm of a popular boy group, and although you did not expect it, it was rather easy; they were very clean.

The people who hired you said that they usually clean their dorms on their own. However, due to their upcoming comeback they had not found the time and needed someone to clean for them. Their dorms were split into two and you were assigned one while another cleaner was assigned the other. You had a shift every two to three days and had only been working for a little over a week.

You hadn't been told much about the four boys you had been cleaning for, and you didn't know anything about them yourself. You were told you probably wont be seeing them often anyway, considering they were too busy at work and don't come home till after your shift is over. 

Not tonight, however. 

 'Do you come here to clean everyday?' Jeongin asked you again. He was standing by the oven seemingly waiting for the water to boil.