Max-w0lf68 - Broken Melodies - Tumblr Blog

Chapter 4: Peanut Butter on Rainy Days

Word Count: ~2.5k

Please see Masterlist for warnings.

(For world reference, please see 106 Willow St and 113 Willow St)

- Jaemin's POV -

My eyes flutter open and I lift my head slightly to take in my surroundings, a tight grip preventing me from moving much. I feel warmth around me and a slow rise and fall from under me. As my vision focuses, I realize that I'm on the couch with Yechan.

He is laying under me, his large frame easily making me seem tiny, and he's holding onto me like a stuffed animal.

I gently try to free my hands, pushing away lightly, trying not to wake him in the process.

I feel his grip tighten, pulling me back to his chest as he stirs softly, and his eyes flutter open to meet mine. A mischievous smile appears on his face as he tightens his grip again, seemingly locking his arms together to prevent my escape.

"Morning~" He says in a deeper than normal groggy morning voice.

"Uh, mornin'..." I reply with a raised eyebrow, trying to push myself away again, not budging even slightly. "Umm...can you let me go now?"

He looks up as if he's thinking about it. "Hmmm, no I don't think I will." He smirks as he returns his gaze back down to meet mine. I roll my eyes and strain against his strong hold. "Let gooo.. HELP!" I call out playfully as he just laughs at my struggling.

I hear the front door open, and someone walk in. Looking towards the door, unable to see who it is, I call out. "Hey! Little help here?"

"Nah, not my problem." A smart-ass tone I don't recognize says and I hear his footsteps disappear up the stairs.

"Rude!" I yelled back as Yechan continued to laugh.

"Okay okay, I'll free you...on one condition." He says, loosening his grip slightly.

"And what's that?" I ask with a suspicious look, a hint of defeat in my voice.

"Oh, nothing much..." he looks around the room with his eyes, not moving his head, before looking back at me. "Just a little kiss?" He says and immediately purses his lips out towards me.

I roll my eyes and cover his mouth with my hand. "In your dreams, kitty." I tease and take advantage of his loosened grip to get away, jumping to my feet and throwing my hands up successfully. "IM FREE!!" I laugh as Yechan sits up with a pout.

"Don't give me that look. You'll get over it kitty cat." I playfully poke at him, turning to the table to gather up the invitations we had made last night.

"Now who's being rude?" He remarks sarcastically as he stands up to stretch.

I just shake my head as I finish picking up the invites and craft supplies. Yechan groggily walks to the kitchen, combing his fingers through his messy morning hair.

Supplies in hand I head upstairs to my room to put things up, shower, and get dressed for the day.

I decide to go with an Arctic Monkeys band shirt, ripped black skinny jeans, a black choker necklace, and my Vans high-tops. I did a darker neutral makeup and straightened my hair. Wearing contacts instead of my glasses. Casual and comfortable but fitting for everyday activities and meeting up with Jackson at the bar.

I do one last check in the mirror before heading out the door, meeting an unfamiliar face with Matthew at the top of the stairs.

"Oh, Jaemin. This is Jay, a friend of ours. He lives in the neighborhood too." Matthew starts to introduce. "Jay, this is Jaemin."

Jay smiles knowingly "I see you were able to free yourself." He chuckles as I give him a playful glare. "I've heard all about you from Matt and the other two. Nice to meet you." He finishes and holds out his hand.

Rolling my eyes a accept the handshake. "Likewise-" As I start to speak, the doorbell rings, cutting the conversation short. I turn to the door and make my way down the stairs to it.

- Heeyoung's POV -

I hear a knock on my bedroom door as I pace back and forth, lost in thought.

The door creeks open slowly and Taecyeon leans against the doorway, his arm crossed as he smiles at me.

"What's on your mind, pup?" He asks, snapping me out of my trance at the nickname.

"I can't stop thinking about the girl from yesterday! I wanna talk to her but I don't know what to say and I don't wanna just walk up to her house, that would be weird! But I wanna be friendsssss!" I mutter quickly, walking up to Teacyeon and looking up to him for advice.

He looks down and pats my head softly. "I figured you were stressing over something. I could hear you puppy pacing from my room." He teases with a laugh, flicking the small bell on my choker collar.

"Don't tease! I'm serious!! What do I dooo?" I pout, still flustered.

"Why don't you make her something like cookies or those peanut butter protein ball things?" He suggests.

My eyes widen excitedly at the idea. "That's perfect!!" I say and take off downstairs to the kitchen.

I had already made some of my famous peanut butter and honey protein balls the night before and had them setting up. I take them out of the fridge and start packaging them nicely into a small desert box. Daniel and Huening Kai look over at me with questioning looks.

"Where's the fire?" Kai laughs.

"She's excited because she wanted to do something to be able to talk to the new girl down the street." Taecyeon catches them up as he walks into the room.

"Oh, is that the same girl that you talked to at the mailbox yesterday?" Daniel perks up over the sofa.

"Yes her! Now!" I reply while closing the box of peanut butter balls, writing my number on the edge of the box lid.

I make my way to the door and pause once I step outside and look catty corner to her house, feeling myself grow shy again. I shake my head and turn around to go back inside but all three of my roommates are standing behind me.

"Don't back out puppy, I doubt she bites." Taecyeon laughs. I pout nervously and grumble under my breath before turning around and making my way down the street to her house.

The boys yell short cheers as I walk and I roll my eyes, giggling softly.

As I step up on the porch, I take a deep breath and ring the doorbell, waiting anxiously.

- Jaemin's POV -

I open the door to see Heeyoung, the girl I had met the day before, holding a small white box.

I lean against the doorway as I nod to her. "Hey. Heeyoung right? What's up?"

I can see her face turn pink as she stares and then quickly darts her gaze downward to her feet, holding the box straight out. "I made these for you!" Her voice is higher pitched and slightly shaky.

I smirk and accept the box. "Aww, how sweet. Thank you, doll." She nods and slowly looks back up to me.

"Don't be so nervous, I'm not going to bite you." I laugh softly as Jay and Matthew step behind me.

"You mean you won't bite YET." Matthew teases, and I reach over hitting his chest lightly with the back of my hand.

"You hush!" I lecture before looking back to the girl who was staring at Jay, her face even more red now. A quick glance at Jay says he didn't even notice as he was busy laughing at Matthew's reaction.

"Ah! My nipple!" Matthew gasped rubbing his chest dramatically.

When Jay looks back at the girl, she switches her glance to me and bows almost a full 90 degrees. "Enjoy the balls!" She says quickly before running off the porch, not stopping till she gets back to her door where 3 men that easily tower over her stand, laughing at her reaction. One patting her back as they walk inside.

"Okay, odd." Jay says with a shrug as him and Matthew make their way out to Matthew's car.

I look down at the small box then back at her house before closing the door and taking the box into the kitchen, setting it on the counter and taking a peek inside.

The smell of peanut butter and honey was strong, it smelled great.

"What's that? Did you order sweets?" Yechan asks walking over and looking over my shoulder.

"No, the sweet girl down the street, Heeyoung, brought them." I say, popping one in my mouth. "Ooo, their good too." "I look down to check the time on my phone.

"I gotta head out, I'm gunna drop all these invites off then go meet Jackson at the bar." I inform Yechan, waving as I walk out the door.

I slip each invite in the individual mailboxes, making my way down one side of the street and back up the other. All the invitations now delivered, I get in my car and make my way into town. I ran a few necessary errands like going to the post office to fill out an address change, going to the courthouse to get the address on my license and vehicle registrations fixed, etc. The normal adult stuff you should do after moving.

Leaving the last office, it was starting to get a little dark out due to the thick thunder clouds, you'd never guess it was only 4 o'clock.

Just as I get to my car the rain starts an almost immediate downpour. I jump in the car quickly and start it, pulling out of the parking lot to make my way to the bar for the meeting at 5:30.

"Wow, it's really coming down..." I mention as I drive. Seeing lights on in a corner book and coffee store, I decide to pull in quickly and grab a coffee since I had the time to spare.

When I pull over, I noticed something in the road. "Wait- is that?" My eyes widen as realization hits, and I jump out of the car.

- Daniel's POV -

It was a quiet night at the shop, not many people wanting to get out because of the rain. Heeyoung and I were wiping out glasses and taking inventory, enjoying the calm music with the rainy weather.

I hear the purr of a sports car engine over the rain and look up to see a blacked out Corvette pull up. "Looks like we might have a customer." I say to Heeyoung, watching as the girl gets out of the car and starts to dart to the middle of the road, and a car heading straight for her.

I immediately dart out the door, calling for the girl as she stands back up. I grab her arm and pull her back into me just in time for the car to pass.

Breathing heavily, I pull back with my hands holding each of her arms. "Are you crazy?! You can't just run into the road in dark clothes during a storm!" I lecture as I look down at the small, soaked, girl. She looked familiar. In her arms was a tiny black kitten, also soaked from the downpour.

"I couldn't just leave it!" She shouts back over the rain, trying her best to shield the kitten with her free hand.

I sigh and holding one of her arms turn to walk back into the shop.

- Jaemin's POV -

I look up as the man pulls me back into the coffee store I was going to originally. His apron pointing out that he was an employee here.

"Are you guys okay?!" I hear a familiar voice chime from behind the counter.

"Heeyoung?" I question as the guy releases me, making his way over to one of the couches and grabbing a blanket before coming back and wrapping it around me. "I'll go get a towel for the Kitten." He says before disappearing to the back.

"Aww, a kitty?" Heeyoung coos curiously. "Jaemin, is that why you ran in front of that car?"

"To be honest, I didn't even see the car. I was just shocked and worried that this poor baby might get hurt." I reply looking at the tiny kitten shaking in my hands. "I didn't mean to make him mad." I motion towards the back with a nod.

"Oh he's okay! He just worries a lot." She giggles, reaching over the counter to pet the kittens head. "He's always like that at home too. He's actually very sweet, just a bit over protective." She continues.

I look over to see him stopped at the door and he slowly walks over to me, holding out the towel. "Sorry if I seemed rude earlier, I was just worried because it looked like you were gunna be hit by that car..." He explains shyly.

I accept the towel, taking a seat to dry off the kitten. "It's okay, you shouldn't apologize. Actually, I should be thanking you." I say and look up at him with a greatfull smile. "So thank you, Daniel. For saving me."

I can see the smile and slight blush he tries to hide as he turns away slightly for a brief moment before taking a seat next to me, putting the other towel gently over my head, attempting to dry my hair. "N-No problem."

I laugh lightly at his shy but sweet behavior as I continue to try drying the kitten, who is purring softly in my lap.

"Are you gunna keep him?" Daniel asks after a moment of silence.

"I think so, but I can't take him with me at the moment, I have a meet-" I look at Daniel wide eyed with a gasp. "My meeting! I'm gunna be late!" I stand up and hand the kitten to him. "Please watch him for me? I'll come back by before you close to get him I swear!"

Daniel chuckles. "Don't worry, he's in good hands. Plus, we have other cats here too." He says pointing to a cat tower in the corner where an orange tabby and brown tabby cat were sleeping. "Thank you! I'll be back!" I thank them both again before running out the door and heading straight to the bar.

- Daniel's POV -

I watch as the strange girl runs out of the store, the tiny black kitten now mostly dry in my hands. I stand up and walk back over to the bar where Heeyoung was looking at me with a bright, mischievous smirk.

"What?" I raised an eye brow.

She perks up and holds out a napkin with poorly drawn stick figures, looking very proud of herself. "I drew you guys!! You look so cute together!"

I take the napkin, laughing and shaking my head. "Nope, but thanks." I hand Heeyoung the kitten and make my way to the back to finish inventory, stopping just inside the door to neatly fold the drawing and put it in my back pocket.

116 Willow Dr. - Yoongi (BTS/Soloist), Ten (WayV), Hwichan (Omega X), Jungwon (Enhypen)

(Check the neighborhood map here for location.)

Chapter 3 - Important Talks and Cardstock

Word Count: ~2.5k

Please see Masterlist for warnings.

(World view reference, 114 Willow Dr.)

- Jaemin's POV -

After leaving Sweet Venom, the Corner Cafe, I headed back down the street towards Jackson's place.

Making my way back down towards my house, I slow my run to a walk when I hit my driveway, giving myself the chance to catch my breath. As I walk past the house that sits between mine and Jackson's, I look over and mumble to myself. "Yunho huh?" I smile softly at the calm exterior as I pass by, thinking of the stranger from yesterday.

I make my way up Jackson's driveway and ring the front doorbell, to which an unfamiliar face answers.

"Can I help you?" His Australian accent was thick. He smiled as he leaned on the doorframe, a slight cheekiness radiating from him.

He was wearing all black in the form of a ball cap, sleeveless shirt, and sweatpants. No shoes, and a very confident smile.

"Hi. I'm looking for Jackson. Is he home?" I asked politely.

"Ah, he's actually out at the moment." He paused briefly. "Yeah...BUT he should be back any time now! You can come in and wait for him, if you'd like." He steps aside, opening the door the rest of the way and motions inward maintaining the cheeky smile.

The man seemed a little to friendly and it felt strange, but he had a rather comfortable atmosphere around him. Besides, if Jackson trusts this guy then it's probably fine.

Overthinking to myself, I shoot Jackson a text 'Im at your place. The Aussie let me in.' ...just in case.

My phone buzzed. "Cool. Be there soon."

I nodded to myself, feeling a bit more at ease and followed the broad Aussie man into the living room.

"Feel free to make yourself comfortable." He says in a chipper voice as he picks up a few miscellaneous dishes up off the table, taking them to the kitchen.

I take a seat in the corner of the large sectional, looking at party ideas on Pinterest while I wait.

The Aussie comes back into the living room sitting relatively close to me. "You must be Jaemin right? I'm Chan." His smile never wavering.

"Yep, that's me. Nice to meet you, Chan." I return the smile.

"Jaemin? As in the one Jackson always talks about?" A voice sounds from the stairway behind us and I turn to see 2 people. A guy leaning against the door way, and a woman standing slightly in front of him.

"Fawning over may be more accurate.." the guy smirks.

"Oh be nice guys. Come say hello." Chan waves them over. "The sarcastic dude is Hyuk, the shorties is Yeong-Ja." He informs as the 2 make their way to the couch to settle in, both giving a wave in their own ways, Yeong-Ja shooting an annoyed look at Chan who was grinning at his own joke.

As they take their seats the front door opens and Jackson walks in, arms full of bags.

"Jax!" I immediately stand up and run over to him, in turn he drops the bags and meets me with open arms.

"Hey!! It's so nice to see you back babygirl~" Jackson laughs as he catches me in a large bear hug.

"I missed you so much! It's been way to long!!" I reply excitedly as I wrap myself around him.

"Just friends huh?" A sarcastic Hyuk teases, the other two bickering in agreement as Jackson gently sets me back down.

I roll my eyes. "We've been friends since I was able to walk pretty much. And it's been 2 years since we've seen each other, so shut it." I stick my tongue out at them before picking up a few bags and taking them to the kitchen.

"Careful. She can be scary. You don't wanna get on her bad side." Jackson warns the others in a playful tone before gathering the rest of the bags and meeting me in the kitchen.

I take a seat at the bar as he unpacks the groceries. We catch up about things not talked about over call or text, and he updates me about the bar we had left to him and how things are going.

"So when are you wanting to start back?" He asks.

"That's one of the things I came to talk to you about. I may be the owner of that bar but you've been running it these past few years." I start. "I'm not just going to come back and run you out of it, I just figured I'd work there along side you and your other guy."

"Ah. I forget you haven't met Soobin yet." He replies. "But it would definitely be nice to have an extra hand. Plus I wanted to talk with you about making some renovations and updates. I've been putting a percentage of the profits in the bars savings for a while, like you asked. So I feel we have more than enough to make the changes."

"Okay, I'll come check it out with you tomorrow. This will also give me a  chance to meet your right hand as well." I agree.

After plans we're made for the bar, I brought up the welcome home party.

"I was thinking we needed to throw one of those too!" Jackson chimes.

"Any idea who would be good to invite and who wouldn't? I was thinking it'd just be a pool party esc barbeque type thing at my place." I respond.

"Sounds like a good idea. Everyone in this neighborhood has pros and cons but none of them are bad people per say. I'd just make an invitation per house and leave it in the mailboxes. Whoever wants to come will." He suggests and I agree.

We continue to go over other small details for planing before it's time for him to head out.

"I gotta get to the bar to help Soobin with the closing shift, but it was so nice catching up! And we'll go get the party supplies and inspect the bar tomorrow." He smiles, wrapping his arms around me for another tight hug.

"Sounds like a plan." I smile back before standing up and walking with him towards the door.

I say goodbye to the other three before bidding farewell to Jackson and heading back home.

From the end of Jackson's driveway I can clearly see Ni-Ki and Yechan standing in the window, staring in my direction. They duck out of the window quickly after realizing they had been spotted.

I shake my head with a large smile on my face as I make my way back to my home.

As I walk in the front door the 3 guys are all in the living room, Ni-Ki and Yechan acting "natural" while BM is laughing histarically at them.

"As soon as these two realized you were gone they have been watching for you to come back like puppies who's owner left without them!" He calls them out.

"I was not!" Yechan protests. "I was just trying to figure out what Ni-Ki was doing!" He attempts to defend himself, his face bright red as he runs up the stairs to his room.

Ni-Ki is hiding his face in his hoodie, embarrassed.

"Matthew be nice! They were just excited to meet me yesterday. The newness hasn't wore off yet." I laugh at the cute reactions of my 3 roomies. "I gotta run to the craft store to pick up invitation supplies. I'll be back." I continue, grabbing my leather jacket and bike keys from the hooks by the door.

Ni-Kis head shoots up at the sound of the keys and he looks as though he wants to say something, but no words leave his mouth.

"Bet! I'm always down for one of your parties!" Matthew says excitedly before getting up from the couch.

"They aren't that impressive." I shake my head and look back at Ni-Ki who's eyes are still trained on me. "You ever been on a bike, Duckling?"

His eyes light up as he shakes his head. "I haven't."

"Would you like to ride with me? I could use the company anyways." I offer.

"Really? That'd be awesome!" He exclaims as he excitedly makes his way over to me.

We wave goodbye to Matthew as we head out the door. I hand Ni-Ki an extra helmet I always keep around and help him adjust it to fit properly. I get on the bike first then motion for Ni-Ki to sit behind me. He follows, looking awkward trying to figure out what to do with his hands.

I roll my eyes playfully before grabbing his hands and wrapping them around me.

"Hold on to me so you don't fall off. And try not to move around to much or lean heavy to either side. Got it?" I instruct and he nods as I start the bike. "Got it!"

"Hold on tight duckling~" I say as I kick off and pull out of the driveway.

As soon as the bike started moving his once loose grip tightens drastically as he clings to me, making me laugh under my breath.

The whole drive to the store Ni-Ki held onto me like if he loosened his grip even slightly he'd fly off, and had his head/helmet pressed firmly against the back of my leather jacket. Not the most comfortable ride I must say.

After parking and turning off the bike, I tapped Ni-Ki's arms. "You can release me now."

He lifted his head and let go, quickly returning his arms back to his sides.

"S-sorry.." he studdered rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's fine. Yeri did the same thing the first time I took her for a ride... except..it took a bit more convincing to get her to let go. I thought I was gunna suffocate she was squeezing so tight." I laugh as I take my helmet off, securing it to the bike, and Ni-Ki follows.

We make our way into the craft store and start looking through cards, envelopes, different types of pens, etcetera. Ya know, the normal invitation making stuff.

Ni-Ki picks up a bright pink floral cardstock and holds it up towards me. "Oh yeah. This is so you." He says in a super 'serious' tone with an expression to match, nodding as he places his pointer finger and thumb to his chin.

I roll my eyes at his jest. "Absolutely not!" I shake my head as his expression drops to a fake pout and he defeatedly puts the cardstock back in its slot.

"Oh what about this set?" I suggest as I pick up a packaged kit. The kit held nice clean beige cardstock and matching envelopes, a stamp seal, a tube of dark copperish gold wax beads, and a set of brown calligraphy pens.

"Simple, but it works. Nice but not to Fancy." Ni-Ki replies with an approving nod.

"Awesome. Now... To the snacks!" I declare as I gently toss the kit into the cart, jumping onto the bar and the bottom. One hand on the handle of the cart and the other pointed straight as the cart rolls slightly forward.

I hear Ni-Ki's scoff of a laugh and can almost feel his head shake before two arms appear on either side of me, firmly on the handlebar and pushes forward.

"Hold on tight, kitten." He laughs almost mockingly as we make our way to the snack isles.

Picking out snacks we realized we had a lot of the same taste so that made things easier.

After checking out we loaded the bags into the compartment under the bike seat and secured our helmets. This time Ni-Ki seemed to need no reminder as he latched onto me as soon as he got on, making me giggle.

Getting back to the house, he had loosened his grip in comparison to the first ride, and had watched over my shoulder as we drove. It was nice to see he come to at least some what trust my driving.

When we walk in the door Yechan was in the living room. His curiosity seemingly peaked by the bags in our hands.

"What's all that?" He asked.

"Jae's throwing a party. We went to get the stuff for invitations." Ni-Ki responds.

"You're going to write them all by hand?" Yechan seems shocked. "You know technology exists right?"

I laughed at the boy's reaction. "I personally enjoy this kind of thing." I sit the bags down on the living room table and start pulling things out. "You can help if you want. We got snacks."

"Well, don't really have anything better to do." He sits up and moves to the floor around the coffee table as Ni-Ki and I also take seats.

"Where's Matthew?" I ask.

"Apparently Soobin and Jackson were having a pretty busy night so they called him to come help." Yechan informs.

As we all work on writing out the invitations, each one stating 'Hello. You are invited to a welcoming party at 113 Willow Drive. Start time is 6pm next Saturday, July 27th. Hope to see you there. ~ Jaemin', and the house numbers written on the envelope signifying that the invitations are for all residents at the stated address.

After writing and sleeving all the cards into the envelopes, I go up to my room to grab a tea light candle, a wax melter, and a lighter. I set it up on the coffee table and pour a few of the wax beads into the top before striking the lighter.

"You with fire? That's scary." Yechan mocks, making both him and Ni-Ki laugh. Letting the flame on the lighter go out i pick up a pillow off the floor next to me and throw it at him.

"I am perfectly capable of handling fire, thank you!" I protest then go back to lighting the candle.

After all invitations were sealed and ready to be delivered, we got the living room cleaned up and sat on the couch with our snacks to watch TV for the rest of the night.

-Matthew's POV-

After a long night at the bar I get home and kick my shoes off right as I walk in the front door, with a sigh of relief. Looking into the living room with the glow of a lamp and the TV still on, I see my three roommates all asleep on the couch.

"These kids.." I shake my head as I get closer, examining the situation. Yechan's arms are stretched out, one on the arm of the couch, the other around Jaemin who was leaned into his side, and Ni-Ki still barely holding onto the big bowl of popcorn was leaned against her.

I gently took the bowl out of his loose grip and sat it on the table before covering them up with one of the throw blankets.

I took this opportunity to take a picture of the 3 sleeping like rocks before turning lights off and heading up to bed myself.

Chapter 2 - Making Plans

Word count: ~1.1k

Please see Masterlist for warnings.

(World view reference: 101 Willow Dr.)

-The Next Morning-

I awake to the sound of my alarm, frantically shutting it off as it's sound is seemingly piercing in the morning silence.

As I lay my head back down on my pillow, the ceiling looks unfamiliar to me and I quickly sit up, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, and looking around the room.

As my eyes adjust and the morning brain fog clears, I remember where I am.

I take a deep breath, calming myself back down and stand up. I then head to the master bath to get dressed for my morning run.

As I run from the circle drive, past Yunhos house, and down the street, I take in the fresh air and light breeze. Enjoying the sunlight and beautiful neighborhood, I find myself somewhat lost in thought. That is until I almost run smack into someone, barely stopping in time.

"I'm so sorry! I was a bit lost in thought, that could've ended badly." I panicingly apologize to the girl standing in front of me with her hand over her chest and a shocked expression.

"Oh no! It's okay! I wasn't really paying much attention either!" She brushes off the apology with a frantic wave of her free hand. "I was coming to check the mail since I just woke up. I should have looked before just stepping onto the main walkway."

Her shy smile as she babbled matched her soft appearance. I couldn't help but think that she was absolutely adorable.

"Looks like it's both of our faults then." I laugh, trying to lure her mind away from blaming herself.

She giggled in return. "I don't think I've seen you around here before?" She stated very curiously, almost questioning as she tilted her head slightly.

"My family owns 113, I just moved back late yesterday afternoon." I explain, pointing in the direction of my home.

"Oh! Well, welcome back!" She smiles very sweetly, holding out her hand. "I'm Heeyoung!"

"My name's Jaemin, Nice to meet you." I return the smile shaking her hand gently.

"Okay, well I'll let you get back to your run. Don't be a stranger Jaemin." She says as she opens her mailbox, grabbing the mail, then starts back up her driveway, a slight skip in her step.

"Thanks." I reply, waving as she makes her way back to her porch, a man standing in the doorway with a confused look on his face. "Who is that?" I could hear him asking as I started back on my run, Heeyoung's soft voice fading as I gained distance.

I reach the end of the road and look both directions before crossing, walking up to the open blue coffee shop doors.

When I walk in, I immediately stop as I see 2 people bickering at eachother and chuckle under my breath, shaking my head.

"You two are at it already? You've only been back for a day and it's only 9am." I tease.

The brunette behind the counter looks over to me. "They have been at it since she walked in the door yesterday. Please help my poor ears." He half jokes with a very 'over it' expression.

"Look Sunoo, Yeri started it!" The blonde protests.

"I did not!" Yeri whines turning to me. "Jaeee, Key is being mean to me already.." she pouts, sticking out her bottom lip and attempting puppy eyes.

"Why, he wouldn't give you the babygirl treatment?" I tease at her.

Yeri and I have been friends since we were in diapers. When Mom and I moved away, she came with us. Leaving her shop in the care of our other friends we've known since our early school days…Key, Sunoo, and Minho. We have roomed together since, and when I moved back she followed.

Yeri stared at me with her jaw dropped, visibly appalled that I didn't automatically take her side.

"Have you even unpacked everything from your car yet?" I poked at her.

Just then Minho walks by the open entrance where I am standing. "This is the last box." He says, making his way to the open door leading to the upstairs apartment and I tisk at Yeri.

"Whatever. Minho is my favorite anyways!" Yeri huffs, plopping down into the closest chair to her.

Key and Sunoo both roll their eyes, as I just laugh and take the seat directly across from her, Key sitting to my right. Sunoo then walks out from behind the counter with a wooden tray holding 5 very different drinks, setting it down on the table and taking a seat in the open chair to my left.

He knew exactly what coffees to make for our group.

A chocolate chip mocha blended frappuccino with barley any espresso for Yeri.

A hot americano for Key.

An iced americano for Minho.

A mint chocolate blended frappuccino for himself.

And finally, an iced caramel white mocha with hazelnut syrup for me.

As he is passing the respective drinks to each person, Minho returns through the door, pulling up a chair from a separate table and placing himself between Yeri and Sunoo.

The group of us catch up, we make plans to host a welcome party at my place.

"Who would we invite? Most of the houses on the block have been bought out by the college and turned into dorm like estates, so we don't really know anyone here anymore." I point out, as Yeri and I haven't been home in a while.

"Well, everyone in the neighborhood are pretty friendly. And the estates don't belong to the college directly, the owner just prefers to rent out rooms in the houses to college students since it's close to the school." Minho informs.

"Exactly. So you could really invite whoever. You know we're all down and I'm sure Jackson and his group would be up for it too." Sunoo suggests.

"Yeah, we could just invite the neighborhood and whoever shows up, shows up." I state, open to meeting new people.

"You and being social." Yeri rolls her eyes.

"Well we can't all be hermits who stay inside and avoid people all day, like you." Key teases her.

"Ya know what?! Fine! Invite everyone! Let's have a party!" Yeri protests Key's accusations, standing up and making her way to the back counter.

The rest of us laugh at the way Key knows exactly how to get under Yeri's skin.

"Then it's decided. I'll work on the invitations tonight." I finish, standing up and helping the others carry empty glasses to the counter.

"Now, speaking of Jackson, I need to go talk to him anyways, so I'm gunna head out. I'll bring invitations by in the morning!" Waving goodbye to my close friends, I walk out the door and head towards Jackson's place.

Chapter 1 - Welcome Home

Warnings: Pet names, mentions of loss and death, fluff, light teasing, play fighting. (Sorry if I forgot anything!)

Word Count: ~1.8k

Please see Masterlist for all warnings.

(World view reference: 113 Willow Dr Residence, 115 Willow Dr Residence.)

- Jaemin's POV -

Today marks the first day back in my hometown.

As I make my way through the small town I know so well, I'm overcome with nostalgia. Flooded with memories of my Childhood.

Neither mom nor I had been back since dads passing. She had frequently talked about moving back into our old family home, but always hesitated and eventually backed out. After She passed she left the house to me, so I figured now would be a good time to go back to my roots.

Pulling into the house driveway I find myself even more anxious than I had anticipated. I take a deep breath as I step out of my car, wondering if I had made the right choice.

As I start to overthink my decisions, the front door swings open and a very happy face greets me. His almost fluffy, half styled and half messy, short hair bounced as he made his way over to me. Although he only had on slides, he still towered over my 154cm frame.

"Matthew~!" I cooed at him as he wrapped his big outstretched arms around me.

"Welcome home bunny!" He said as I stood on my toes to throw my arms over his shoulders.

Tightening his grip around my waist, he lifts me up and spins in a small circle before setting me back down.

"Here, pop the trunk. I'll help you with your bags." He says as he makes his way to the back of the car. I push the button on my keys and he opens it, grabbing 2 large bags and heading inside, using his foot to swing the already cracked door open.

"GUYS! JAEMIN'S HOME!" I'm sure the whole neighborhood heard him yell.

I chuckled softly, shaking my head as I turned to grab a stack of boxes about 3 high.

Making my way along the large stone path, I trip over one of the stone edges and fall forward, but to my surprise, I never hit the ground. I looked up to See a man with loose fluffy light brown hair and worried hazelnut eyes staring down at me.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his voice calm and smooth like honey.

I nodded as I quickly regained my footing, taking a step back. He was tall, taller than Matthew even, with a broad but slender build. His white button up shirt hung loosely off his shoulders but was messily tucked into his dark jeans.

"I'm okay. Thank you." I reply as I lightly readjust the boxes in my hands.

The sun setting behind him and the soft smile he held felt as if I had somehow entered a K-Drama.

"Let me help you with those." He suggested, taking a step forward.

Just then a hand appears on top of the boxes and another under them from beside me.

" I think we got it bro." Matthew says, giving the stranger a suspicious look as he completely takes the boxes out of my lose grip.

The man stops in his tracks, raising his hands.

"Whatever you say boss, just offering." He states with a slightly dropped expression toward Matthew before lazily lowering his hands to rest in his jean pockets.

He looks over at me, the sweet smile returning to his lips.

"Careful on the stones." He winks then turns around, making his way back to his house.

"What was that all about?" Matthew mutters under his breath, shaking his head as he takes the boxes inside.

I find myself in an almost trance like state as I watch the strange man walk away.

- Saebyeok's POV -

Mid conversation, Yunho glances out the window, his eyes light up and he darts out the door with that goofy smile he gets when he's excited about something.

"Bro where are you going?!" I yell before the door shuts lightly behind him.

I make my way over to the window and peer out to see him jogging towards the neighbors driveway, his fluffy brown hair bouncing like puppy ears, where a girl was getting boxes out of her car. She doesn't seem to notice him at first, the boxes slightly obstructing her view.

"She's tiny.." I mutter to myself.

Just as Yunho reaches her, she trips. Yunho doesn't hesitate, like he saw it coming, and catches her.

I can tell from the window just how red she was and the look of awe spoke louder than words.

"Well look at you Romeo." I chuckle, continuing to watch.

After a moment, a man close to Yunho's size walks out taking the boxes from her, almost immediately Yunho throws his hands up starting to back away then turns around and comes back.

I can see his eye roll when he notices me from the porch before coming inside.

"Wow you backed off that one real quick, brother." I jest.

"What was I supposed to do? Fight her roommate? That'd make a great first impression, I'm sure." He rolls his eyes again, crossing his arms.

"Oh, what happened to the suaveness of the 'Oh! I'm going to catch the damsel in distress!'" I laugh as he just drops his jaw slightly, pressing his tongue to his cheek.

Through my laughing I look to Kevin who had just walked into the room behind Yunho and in a deep mocking voice "Do you need any help ma'am?"

Yunho scoffs "I'm never going to live that down now.." He sighs as he turns and walks past Kevin into the kitchen.

Kevin looks at me with a confused expression. "Yunho saw the neighbor girl moving boxes and ran to help but got scared away by her roomie." I inform.

A gasp comes from the stairs. "They were roommates?!" Jin quotes dramatically, covering his mouth in pretend shock.

I laugh at the joke as Kevin rushes past me to look out the window.

"Simp!" I tease and he gives me a glare before wrapping an arm tightly around my shoulders and messing up my hair. "Shut it shorty!" he chuckles while I try to escape.

"I'm average height thank you!" I protest.

- Jaemin's POV -

"That's Yunho." A deep voice sounds by my ear, making me jump.

I quickly turn to see a face I recognize only from face time calls with Matthew, smirking at me.

"Ni-Ki! You can't just sneak up on me like that!" I scold, my face slightly red and flustered.

With his hands in his hoodie pocket, he narrows his eyes leaning forward.

"Is it really sneaking if I just walked up to you?" He remarks, his smirk not fading.

I roll my eyes at him, crossing my arms.

Without changing his stance, he throws his arms out to the sides. "Now, hug me."

I hesitate for just a moment before reluctantly accepting his hug.

" It's nice to finally meet you in person." He continues.

I smile at him as I pull away.

"Likewise…duckling~."

His once cocky smirk instantly disappears as his arms drop to his sides.

"I-" he starts to speak as I turn back towards the car and grab a large bag, placing it into his arms before grabbing one myself and heading inside. Ni-Ki right on my heels, protesting. "I'm not a duckling Jae- I- I'm a puma! Really!"

I can't help but smile wider at his pouty protest. "Okay, kitty~" I giggle slightly as he catches up to my side, looking shocked.

He continues to pout as he follows me upstairs and to my room at the end of the hall, Matthew chuckling at the scene as he passed by to get the last few boxes from the car.

Heading back down to the kitchen, Ni-Ki hadn't left my side, probably hoping I'd take back the baby like nicknames.

Yechan slides a drink across the island to me as I walk up, stifling a laugh.

"Bro you're like a lost puppy." He pokes at Ni-Ki. "Jaemin, you should have seen him. He's been looking out the windows and bugging BM all day about how much longer it'd be till you got here. He about fell down the stairs when Matthew called for us, trying to get outside." He laughs.

I looked over at Ni-Ki, his ears and face were as red as fresh strawberries.

"I-I did not! D-Don't exaggerate!" Ni-Ki studders as he denies the accusations.

"Uh-huh. Sure." Yechan jokes back, causing Ni-Ki to shrink down a bit.

Next thing I know, a large arm wraps around me pulling me into 2 bodies. Matthew had grabbed both Ni-Ki and I and pulled us into a group hug.

"It's okay pup. We were all excited for Jaemin to get here." He jests at Ni-Ki a bit, motioning with his hand for Yechan to join.

He reluctantly follows as BM suggests.

"Welcome home, Jaemin. It's nice to actually meet you face to face." Yechan's smile not fading from the moment we walked in the room.

After our greetings, I head up to my room to get everything unpacked.

Once done I stood by my open door, looking around at the master bedroom that once belonged to my parents. Now decorated in my own style, it was barely recognizable.

Memories start to come to mind and tears well up in my eyes.

"You okay bun?" Matthew peers over my shoulder at my face.

I nod lightly as I look away, trying to hold back the tears threatening to spill over.

He sighs softly, pulling me into his chest. "You don't have to deny it or hold it back bunny. I know it's hard right now, but I promise everything is going to be okay." He strokes my hair as he speaks.

Giving into my emotions, I burry my face in his hoodie and hold on to him tightly for a moment.

Once I am finally able to control my shaky breathing and compose myself a bit, I take a slight step back, looking up at him.

He gently pushes stray hairs out of my face before speaking. "Come on, foods here. I ordered your favorite honey chicken."

His attempt to make me feel better brings a smile to my face. "You should have started with that." I tease and weakly punch at his upper arm.

"Ow! She got me!" He dramatically grabs his arm, falling back against the doorway and starts to slowly slide downward. "Oh! It hurts!"

I can't help but laugh. "Oh yeah?! There's more where that came from!" I joke as I barley lay the smallest taps on him with my fists, mocking impact sounds between his dramatic "Ow!", "Stop!", "No more!", "Ah!", "You're to strong!", and "Help me!" pleas and laughs.

Matthew all of a sudden retaliates, tickling at my sides.

"AH!" I yelp and laugh as I struggle to get away. Once free I sprint straight down the stairs, Matthew hot on my tail.

Yechan is on the living room couch and Ni-Ki is standing in the middle of the room, facing us as we enter.

"Ni-Ki! Help me!" I shout as I dart behind him, using his large frame as cover.

Although seemingly confused by the expression on his face, he throws his arms out to his sides in a defending manner. Holding his ground between Matthew and I.

Both me and Yechan are laughing at the scene playing out, meanwhile Matthew had a slightly offended look directed at Ni-Ki as he laughed.

"Bro, it's not that deep." He jokes. "What do you think I'm gunna do? Eat her?!" He laughs as he steps forward.

"Knowing you? Maybe!" Ni-Ki pokes back, puffing up a bit before grabbing a pillow off the couch and throwing it at BM.

"Oh, it's on duck!" Matthew says as he picks the pillow up and darts towards Ni-Ki, who in turn runs like hell.

Yechan and I laugh hysterically as the boys chase each other.

Living with these three is definitely going to be interesting, that's for sure.

115 Willow Dr. - Jin (BTS), Yunho (Ateez), Kevin (Omega X), Saebyeok (OC)

(Check the neighborhood map here for location.)

114 Willow Dr. - Yeong-Ja (OX), Jackson (Solo/Got7), Chan (Stray Kids), Hyuk (Omega X)

(Check the neighborhood map here for location.)

113 Willow Dr. - Matthew (Kard), Jaemin (OC/Main Character), Yechan (Omega X), Ni-Ki (Enhypen)

(Check the neighborhood map here for location.)

112 Willow Dr. - Namjoon (BTS), Xaiojun (WayV), Jeongin (Stray Kids), Heeseung (Enhypen)

(Check the neighborhood map here for location.)

111 Willow Dr. - San (Ateez), Changbin (Stray Kidz), Taehyun (TxT), Sunghoon (Enhypen)

(Check the neighborhood map here for location.)

110 Willow Dr. - Taehyung (BTS), WinWin (WayV), Yeosang (Ateez), Hyunjin (Stray Kids)

(Check the neighborhood map here for location.)

109 Willow Dr. - J-Hope (BTS), Taedong (Omega X), Jongho (Ateez), Jiyoung (OC)

(Check the neighborhood map here for location.)

108 Willow Dr. - Seonghwa (Ateez), Jehyun (Omega X), Felix (Stray Kids), YangYang (WayV)

(Check the neighborhood map here for location.)

107 Willow Dr. - Jaehan (Omega X), Hendery (WayV), Seungmin (Stray Kids), Beomgyu (TxT)

(Check the neighborhood map here for location.)

106 Willow Dr. - Taecyeon (2PM), Heeyoung (OC), Kang Daniel (Soloist), Huening Kai (TxT)

(Check the neighborhood map here for location.)

105 Willow Dr. - Hongjoong (Ateez), Junghoon (Omega X), Han (Stray Kids), Jay (Enhypen)

(Check the neighborhood map here for location.)

104 Willow Dr. - Ryujin (OC), Jungkook (BTS), Sebin (Omega X), Soobin (TxT)

(Check the neighborhood map here for location.)

103 Willow Dr. - Jimin (BTS), Xen (Omega X), Yeonjun (TxT), Wooyoung (Ateez)

(Check the neighborhood map here for location.)

102 Willow Dr. - Kun (WayV), Hangyeom (Omega X), Mingi (Ateez), Jake (Enhypen)

(Check the neighborhood map here for location.)

Chapters:

Chapter 1 - Welcome Home

Chapter 2 - Making Plans

Chapter 3 - Important Talks and Cardstock

Chapter 4 - Peanut Butter on Rainy Days

World Building:

Willow Dr. - Layout Map

There are 3 OCs. Jaemin (Main Character), Yeong-Ja(114), Heeyoung, Ryujin(104), Yeri, Saebyeok, and Jiyoung.

101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116

(OC Birthdays: Jaemin 10/13, Yeong-Ja 5/14, Heeyoung 8/20, Ryujin 6/28, Yeri 9/25, Saebyeok 10/27, Jiyoung 3/27)

NOTE: This story is a work of fiction. It is just for fun and does not reflect the people used.

⚠️Warnings: May include- Fluff, Angst, Smut, Dangerous actions, Alcohol, Foul Language, Blood, Mentions of death, and Violence. (Please let me know if I missed anything!)

🔞 Minors do not interact‼️ Do NOT try stunts at home please! ⚠️

A/N: This story was edited to add another household after I had published chapter 3. That's why, when scrolling, you'll see 116 Willow Drive before you see the first 3 chapters. But don't worry, this doesn't effect what had already been written. ☺️

101 Willow Dr. - Key (SHINee), Yeri (OC), Minho (Stray Kids), Sunoo (Enhypen)

101 Willow Dr. is located on the corner of Willow Dr. and the main road. (Check the neighborhood map here for more detailed location.) This building is a small coffee shop owned by Yeri and run by her and her fellow house mates.

Above the coffee house is a large 4 bedroom apartment where the 4 of them live. There is a private seating area out back.

Willow Dr.

Neighborhood Map/Set-Up.