Chapter 15: The Bell Tolls

Jae-hyun, having been the first to rise, sat on the ground-floor living room sofa, absorbed in his tablet PC. He felt a presence descending the stairs and promptly set the device aside.

“Good morning.”

It was still early. Woo Sori, dressed in simple attire, descended the stairs slowly, his hand resting on the railing. When his gaze met Jae-hyun’s, a soft smile graced his lips.

“Did you sleep well?”

“I slept incredibly soundly.”

They were the only two among the Alphas and Omegas who had already dropped formalities with each other.

Upon reaching the ground floor, Woo Sori turned towards the kitchen, intent on getting a glass of water. Seeing this, Jae-hyun rose from his seat and followed him inside.

“Would you like some coffee?”

“Hmm, a light brew? Thank you.”

While Woo Sori poured himself a glass of water, Jae-hyun began brewing coffee beside him.

“Are the others awake yet?”

“Won-ho is still asleep, but Hae-il is awake. What about your group?”

“One of us is still sleeping, and the other is getting ready. Chaeyeon-woo will likely be down soon.”

Unaware that the sleeping pair had stayed up late reading until dawn, Jae-hyun and Woo Sori settled at the dining table, engaging in a quiet, comfortable conversation.

Shortly after Jae-hyun passed the coffee, Chaeyeon-woo and Kang Hae-il, both already awake, converged on the ground floor.

“Did everyone sleep well?”

Radiating bright energy from the early morning, Chaeyeon-woo moved about the kitchen. Having just finished preparing, he wore a touch of light makeup.

Kang Hae-il, standing with his arms crossed before the coffee machine, appeared much the same as he had the previous day.

“Shall we have a simple breakfast?”

“Anyone want toast?”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

Having waited for everyone else to awaken for breakfast, Jae-hyun rose from his seat and stepped into the kitchen.

Chaeyeon-woo retrieved a bag of bread, and just as Kang Hae-il’s coffee finished brewing, he cast a quick glance over everyone before heading into the living room.

Observing Kang Hae-il on the sofa, meticulously flipping through the stack of papers he had brought, Woo Sori decided he was not easily approachable and joined the others in the kitchen.

“Oh, you’re quite good at cooking!”

“All I know how to make are fried eggs and instant ramen.”

Recalling Dohwa, who had mentioned not eating breakfast, and Ma Won-ho, who had said he would, Jae-hyun simultaneously fried five eggs at once.

Having helped clean up last night, Woo Sori knew Jae-hyun had claimed not to be a good cook, so he playfully teased him.

As Jae-hyun, with a slightly embarrassed expression, neatly flipped all the eggs, Chaeyeon-woo, who had been listening to their banter, finally spoke.

“Did you two drop formalities?”

“Ah, yes, we did. We dropped them yesterday when we went grocery shopping. We Alphas had agreed to drop formalities before going to bed last night.”

Since their ages had already been revealed, adjusting their forms of address was a simple, natural progression.

At Jae-hyun’s words, Chaeyeon-woo immediately placed his hand over Woo Sori’s, asking in a bright voice.

“How about we drop formalities between us too? If you’re uncomfortable, we can put it off for later…. ”

“I don’t mind such things, so feel free to be comfortable.”

“Wow, then I can call you hyung, right? Sori hyung!”

Chaeyeon-woo had already been subtly using the ‘hyung’ honorific even before receiving permission, but now, with full approval, he bounced with unbridled joy.

Then, recalling Dohwa, who was still asleep, he brought the chopsticks he was holding to his lips.

“I’ll have to ask Dohwa later too. We’re friends, after all!”

“You’re not leaving me out, are you?”

“You, hyung? I like you the best—”

As Woo Sori retrieved the toast from the machine, squinting at him, Chaeyeon-woo slipped behind him and wrapped his arms around him.

As if a single day had softened his demeanor, a stream of playful affection dripped from his words and actions, even this early in the morning.

Jae-hyun placed fried eggs and lightly grilled ham onto the toast, then retrieved the cabbage he had sliced the day before.

“I’ll put the sauce on for you. What kind does everyone want?”

“A moderate amount of both?”

“Just mayonnaise for me, please.”

Chaeyeon-woo, holding only mustard and ketchup, tilted his head in confusion.

“You like mayonnaise?”

“Only when I’m eating toast. I don’t particularly love it otherwise.”

“That’s a special toast then!”

Retrieving the mayonnaise from the refrigerator, Chaeyeon-woo, with a look of intense concentration, drizzled the sauce over the toast Jae-hyun was assembling.

By the time everything was prepared, it was already past ten in the morning. The portion of toast designated for Ma Won-ho remained covered.

As they settled at the dining table and began to eat, Chaeyeon-woo aggressively bit into his toast, his cheeks puffing out. Jae-hyun, who inadvertently caught sight of this, choked on his milk.

With crumbs dusting his mouth and an utterly innocent expression, Chaeyeon-woo continued to chew diligently.

“Are you alright?”

“Ah, cough, yes.”

Woo Sori expressed concern from beside him, but Jae-hyun quickly composed himself and resumed eating his own toast.

Despite starting the latest, Jae-hyun’s swift eating pace allowed him to finish first, surpassing both Woo Sori and Chaeyeon-woo, before placing his empty plate in the sink.

They decided who would do the dishes with a game of rock-paper-scissors, but Woo Sori suffered a string of defeats.

As Jae-hyun tidied up the kitchen and Woo Sori began washing dishes, Chaeyeon-woo seized the opportunity to slip into the living room. He approached Kang Hae-il, who was sitting alone, and leaned in close.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing important. Just checking something quickly.”

He then flopped down onto the seat beside him.

Kang Hae-il closed his papers, lifted his head, and met Chaeyeon-woo’s gaze, resting his chin on one of the sofa’s armrests.

It was as if a predator was observing its prey.

Despite Kang Hae-il’s sharp gaze, Chaeyeon-woo, looking back with an innocent face, continued to pepper him with questions.

“Hae-il, you don’t need to eat breakfast?”

“I’m fine, having already had coffee. However, it seems you have something on your clothes.”

As Kang Hae-il answered in his usual earnest manner, his gaze drifted to the hem of Chaeyeon-woo’s T-shirt. Following his line of sight, Chaeyeon-woo noticed a faint smudge of ketchup himself.

“You have a keen eye! I hadn’t even noticed it.”

“Not at all. It’s a shame, given it’s a white shirt.”

“This much will probably come right off with a wash.”

Just then, the two who had finished tidying the kitchen entered the living room, and soon all four were seated around the sofa.

Kang Hae-il subtly moved the papers from his lap to behind his back, then turned his gaze to Woo Sori and asked.

“Did you enjoy your meal?”

“It’s been a long time since I had breakfast, and I feel incredibly full. Is this all thanks to Chef Joo?”

“I’d have to apologize to chefs worldwide then.”

A soft chuckle escaped him, and soon they were engrossed in casual conversation, which eventually drifted to those who were not present.

“Are both of them still asleep?”

“Won-ho should probably eat now, or his meal schedule will clash with lunchtime later.”

“Should we wake him?”

“No, they must be tired. There’s no need to force them awake.”

This was from the perspective of those who hadn’t the slightest idea what time the other two had actually gone to sleep last night.

Kang Hae-il, who had been observing the conversation, covered his mouth with the hand that had been propping up his chin.

“I wonder what we’ll be doing today.”

“…A date?”

As the conversation shifted to their plans for the day, Chaeyeon-woo, his expression alight with excitement, softly murmured to himself.

“We’ll know when the bell rings.”

Kang Hae-il uttered this obvious statement so casually that it was almost lost.

The very next moment, a presence was felt on the stairs, and all four heads simultaneously turned in that direction.

Despite having only seen them for a day, some guessed who it was by the sound of the descending footsteps and turned their heads back to normal.

“Good morning, everyone.”

Ma Won-ho’s face peeked from the stairs, and he tidied his disheveled hair, a faint smile playing on his lips. Still dressed as he was when last seen yesterday, he clearly looked like he had just woken up, unlike the neatly dressed group.

“We had toast, and we saved some for you, Won-ho!”

“Really?”

Upon fully descending to the ground floor, Ma Won-ho paused to survey the people sitting in the living room before heading towards the kitchen.

“I’ll go with him.”

Chaeyeon-woo rose from his seat and quickly followed him into the kitchen. A brief exchange of words was heard, and then the two returned to the living room, each carrying a sandwich and coffee.

Ma Won-ho, who had come down around 11:30 AM, exchanged quick greetings and began eating his sandwich.

It was a late morning, with everyone gathered except one, and they found themselves inadvertently observing one person’s hearty meal while conversing.

“Jae-hyun hyung made that.”

“It’s delicious. Will hyung make dinner tonight too?”

“That’s asking too much.”

A chorus of laughter erupted at Jae-hyun’s gentle yet firm refusal.

“We had Western food yesterday, so if we’re eating at home again today, I’ll focus on Korean dishes.”

As Ma Won-ho said this in passing, Woo Sori quietly gave him a thumbs-up. Everyone else chimed in, offering to help.

Having devoured his sandwich in the blink of an eye, Ma Won-ho looked around and spoke.

“Is Dohwa still asleep, by the way?”

“It seems so, given he hasn’t come down yet.”

“Hmm, he probably went to sleep around the same time as me, so he must be a heavy sleeper.”

Ma Won-ho’s casual remark, upon hearing Chaeyeon-woo say Dohwa hadn’t woken up, caused the atmosphere among the others to suddenly become peculiar.

“What time did you go to bed?”

“We parted ways around 5:30 AM, so he probably went to sleep around sunrise.”

In that case, it seemed perfectly normal for him to still be asleep.

Just as Chaeyeon-woo, having learned this new information, was about to ask what the two had been doing until dawn, a bell jingled.

Ding-dong—

The bell rang precisely at noon.

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