after practice, everyone had settled on the floor, some engrossed in their phones or catching quick naps, while dino diligently went through his performance team dance choreography.
jeonghan who sits next to her had his head laid on the floor, using his towel to support his head as a pillow.
in the midst of this, sunmi's phone rang—it was her mother, awakening jeonghan in the process
"oh, eomma?" sunmi answered, while mouthing a 'sorry' to jeonghan, he shook his head and went back to sleep.
sunmi stood up and was about to exit the practice room when hoshi called her.
"is that eomma?" hoshi asked eagerly, and sunmi nodded in response.
"speaker, please!" mouthed mingyu who stood next to hoshi, hoping to join the conversation, approaching the two boys and panning her phone towards them.
"eomma, seventeen is here with me right now, and they wanted to say hello," sunmi explained as she activated the speaker.
"hello, eomoni, how are you?" mingyu asked warmly.
mingyu's gentle voice woke the other members who were asleep (jeonghan, cheol, and the8)
"is that mingyu? hehe, eomma is doing great, how about you?" sunmi's mother replied cheerfully.
"yes, eomoni, it's mingyu. i was so tired, but now that eomoni has called, i feel much better," mingyu said with a slight aegyo in his tone
sunmi shot him a playful look of disbelief, and mingyu responded by sticking his tongue out.
seungcheol, who just woke up from
his nap sat next to mingyu and subtly covered his mouth, preventing him from saying anything too cringeworthy.
"luckily you're with the boys, sunmi-yaa, because i cooked a lot tonight. it would be nice to have the boys come over," her mother suggested.
"oh no, eomma! what are we gonna do? the boys won't be able to eat because they're currently on a diet," sunmi said, faking concern.
the boys widened their eyes. "shut up!" hoshi whispered loudly at her, playfully covering sunmi's mouth with his hands, now silencing her instead. mingyu shook his head at her.
"please ignore what sunmi has said! of course, we'll come, eomoni! we're on our way!" seungkwan exclaimed enthusiastically, side-eyeing sunmi in the process. she scoffed at the duality of boo seungkwan.
"okay, see you all later. sunmi-ya, take good care of them, alright?" her mother added warmly.
"eomma, i'm the one who needs to be taken care of," sunmi protested jokingly, but her mother just chuckled in response.
upon arrival at sunmi's house, all thirteen boys lined up in front of the yard, hidden from the neighbors' view by high walls.
"eomma, appa, i'm home," sunmi announced as she entered the front door, followed by the thirteen boys.
"eomoni, abeoji, hello," seungcheol greeted from behind her.
"oh my, you boys have come! please make yourselves at home," her mother welcomed warmly. her parents always loved seeing people gather at the house—it was a sight they'd want to see every day.
her father, in the kitchen helping her mother carry utensils, exclaimed in excitement upon seeing the boys.
the rest of the boys enthusiastically greeted her mother and father.
"please, sit," her father said, motioning towards the dining area. the tables were long, with enough chairs for everyone.
"wah, eomoni, what did you cook? it smells really good," dk exclaimed, with dino nodding in agreement.
