DAHLIA - Xu Minghao

Chapter 5 - Birthday Surprises

"But baby, you're never fully dressed without a smile."

***

Meilin entered the dorm silently, and picked up on several things immediately.
- One; she wasn't alone, like she thought she would be.
- Two; all the windows were wide open.
- Three; there was a burning smell hanging around the house, and traces of smoke were coming from the oven.
- Four; a boy with half-long hair was running around the kitchen, visibly stressed.

It was three in the afternoon, and Meilin had left the company after getting her period. She had vomited all she ate that morning in between classes. The girl expected to be home alone until at least nine or ten in the evening, but instead, she found Hansol in the kitchen, looking between a blackened cake on the counter and the smoke coming from the oven.

Panicking slightly, Meilin kicked off her shoes and ran to the kitchen, taking in the full damage. Hansol's face was smeared with black streaks, as were his clothes. The kitchen itself, save from the oven, seemed in a relatively okay state. The boy who had caused the mess had not yet noticed her, and was sulking over his ruined cake. Until Meilin cleared her throat.

"Noona! hi!" Hansol panicked, trying to hide the oven behind his small body. "What are you doing home?" Meilin just shook her head, looking around.

"What happened, kid?"

Hansol's eyes widened when she spoke, since she had never spoken to him before, but he sighed and lowered his head. "Well, you see, it's Seungcheol-hyung's birthday today, and I wanted to surprise him and make him a cake, but I'm not a very good baker." He pointed at the blackened cake on the counter, and smiled sheepishly.

"Fucker didn't even tell me it was his birthday." Meilin murmured softly, but she wrapped an arm around Hansol's shoulder and smiled. "Go wash up, I'll clean up here. We'll go grocery shopping, and make the boys a feast, with cake for dessert, alright?" Hansol nodded and disappeared into the bathroom to wash the soot of his face, while Meilin quickly cleaned up the kitchen. She threw out the ruined cake, but not before taking a photo as a memory. Then she went to her room and changed her outfit. She put black joggings and a gray hoodie, that probably belonged to Mingyu, since she was practically drowning in it. The girl put her dirty jeans in a bucket of lukewarm water, reminding herself to wash out the stain when she got back. She was just swallowing a painkiller when Hansol appeared again.

"Are you okay, noona?" He asked, looking between the box of painkillers on the counter and her outfit. Her outfit threw him off even more than the painkillers, because who in their right mind wears a hoodie when it's thirty degrees outside?

Meilin nodded, putting her cup in the sink. "Time of the month. I'm okay, don't worry." She grabbed her wallet and phone from her room, and Hansol gasped. Meilin's eyes widened in realization, but she quickly shushed him. "Don't tell the others, none of them know I have a phone. Even Wonwoo doesn't know." Hansol nodded, and followed her out the door. The two of them nearly ran to the nearest store, knowing damn well they didn't have much time.

"I don't know what everyone likes, though." Meilin said hesitantly, as they entered the store and grabbed a cart. Hansol's eyes lit up and he smiled widely. Immediately, Meilin felt lighter, as if the world had become brighter.

"Well, the hyungs like meat, all sorts of meat, but mostly beef. But beef is so expensive, though, that's why we don't eat it often. It doesn't fit in the company's budget." He frowned, but Meilin smiled.

"Well then I guess it's a good thing I just got my first paycheck this week, no?" The two of them smiled at each other, before making their way over to the meat section. Slowly but surely, they made their way through the store, making sure to grab everything they needed at once to avoid having to go back later. An hour and a half and 200,000 Won later, they left the store, hands filled with boxes of groceries.