DAHLIA - Xu Minghao

Chapter 2 - Adapting to Seventeen

     "So you should turn back to your rat pack,
Tell 'em I'm trash."

***

Once again, Meilin had thirteen curious faces filling her entire field of vision. She moved her eyes from one to another, trying her best to recall all their names. She searched for Seungcheol, and found him waiting off at the side, along with the other boy who had waited for her the previous night, Wonwoo. She was beyond thankful that they weren't all up in her business like the other boys, but she couldn't help but wonder why they weren't.

After the eleven boys were done examining her, Seungcheol walked up to her, sending her a reassuring smile. Meilin did not return it.

"Welcome to the dorm. We'll try our best to take care of you."  Meilin nodded, looking around. Now that everyone had scattered, she could finally take a good look around. It was small, definitely, especially considering the amount of people living in there. It was similar to her own apartment, in size, but the huge mess made it seem even smaller than it actually was. "Would you like to see your room?" Seungcheol asked, and Meilin nodded, catching herself before she could say the words 'yes please'. The boy took her through the hallway to a room in the very back. "You're with me, Mingyu, Junhui and Minghao. Come on, we tried our best to clean up for you." He opened the door, and Meilin looked around the room before she stepped inside. It was indeed clean. Not simply tidy, but actually clean. Clothes hung neatly from hangers, beds made, washed sheets, and the floor was clean. It smelled fresh and the window was open, allowing fresh air to come in.

Meilin resisted the urge to smile, relieved that her bedroom, at least, didn't feel like a warzone.

"You can pick whether you want top or bottom bunk. Me and Mingyu have bottom, and top belongs to Junhui and Minghao." Seungcheol said. "If you want to avoid talking, I suggest top bunk. Junhui and Minghao barely speak Korean." He winked at her before walking to the door. "Feel free to unpack, top drawer is all yours, and we made some space for your clothes." With that, he left, closing the door behind her. Barely a minute later, she heard him round up the boys, and he handed out chores to everyone. Meilin could nearly picture his face when she heard him being so strict, and stifled a laugh.

The girl did as she was told and unpacked her suitcase quickly. She hung up her clothes on the rack that was covering the entire back wall, and then filled her drawer with her toiletries and personal stuff, dumping her bookbag on the floor next to the clothing rack. One thing she didn't put in the drawer, however, was her phone.

She was not allowed to own one, but Chaeyoung had bought her one secretly so she could contact her family frequently. Living in an actual apartment rather than trainee dorms up until now, it was easy enough to hide that she owned one. But now? Where was she supposed to hide it to make sure the boys wouldn't find out anything?

Eventually, she settled for the inside pocket of her winter jacket, which she wouldn't need for another while, seeing as it was only early June. No one would think of looking there, especially since the jacket was completely off to the side of the clothing rack, squished between the rest of her clothes and the wall.

As she climbed into the top bunk, the door opened, and the skinny boy entered the room, followed by the other Chinese member. Meilin didn't spare them a look, but her ears stayed sharp, hoping that they would say something interesting. As she expected, they spoke about her.

"Do you think she'll talk, now that she lives with us?" The taller one asked.

"I hope so. I want to get to know her. Maybe she's nicer than she looks." The skinny one answered. Meilin resisted a scoff, pretending to fix the covers of her bed. She couldn't deny, though, that she had indeed not even tried to look nice.