Part I

PLEASE READ THIS: Hi! So this note originally said I would still include Kris in this story. However, given certain events that have happened, I will be removing him. I don't really know what the truth is at this point, as I'm sure most of us don't, but I do know that I feel more comfortable just removing him, so please understand my decision. Thanks!

Baekhyun

I woke up to my alarm clock going off. I blinked few times, hoping it was a dream, but it kept beeping, so I knew I my luck had run out. I groaned loudly and rubbed my tired eyes. When I finally sat up, I grabbed my alarm clock and threw it on the floor. 

"I heard you the first time," I said, glaring at it as it laid on the floor. I finally got up from the bed, leaving the clock on the floor, and began my usual morning routine. 

It started off with a search through my drawers for a clean school uniform. Once I found one, I grabbed my backpack off my desk chair along with everything else I would need for the school day, exiting my room afterward. I stopped off in the bathroom to change, clean my face a little, and brush my teeth quick. When I was done in there, I went into the kitchen to make myself a quick breakfast. I grabbed the almost empty cereal box from the cupboard, a bowl, and a spoon. My dad came out of his room all dressed for work a few minutes after I started eating.

"Morning," he said, pouring himself some coffee.

"Mm, mornin'," I replied sleepily, finishing my last few chews of cereal.

"Still not eating cereal with milk I see," he said as he rested his back on the counter, now looking at me with an amused grin.

"I'm sorry if I don't enjoy soggy cereal," I replied.

He chuckled before raising his portable mug to his mouth for another drink. "How did I get stuck with such an odd son?" he asked.

"I think what you meant to ask was how did you get so blessed as to end up with a totally unique son," I said, earning another laugh from him. 

"You remind me more and more of your mother every day," he commented as he stood up straight again, his head shaking ever so faintly. 

"I'll take that as a compliment, thank you." He chuckled again at me. It had been a long time since my mom died, so we were able to celebrate her life now more than we mourned the loss of it.

"I should get going," he said after briefly glancing down at his watch. "The boss needed me to come in early today. Have a good day at school and I will see you later for dinner. And please, for the love of god, make your bed before you leave." 

I rolled my eyes and pouted. He just chuckled and ruffled the top of my head as he walked out of the kitchen, double and tripe checking to make sure he had everything before leaving the apartment. He worked for one of the richest CEOs in the entire country as a maintenance man/lawn care person (I guess rich people can still be pretty stingy with money). From what he told me, though, he seemed like a nice enough man to work for. Plus, he paid him very generously for his work.

Figuring it was almost time for me to leave as well, I finished up my cereal, laying the bowl and spoon in the sink after I stood up. I obeyed his earlier words and I went back and made my bed quickly before I left the apartment, too. I usually walked to school because my dad could only afford the car he had and riding the bus alone did not interest me at all. Plus, the walk wasn't that long and on days when the weather decided to cooperate, it was nice. Only a few minutes into my walk, I felt someone jump on me briefly, which almost made me jump out of my own skin from surprise.

"Morning, hyung!" It was Sehun, with Kai and Xiumin only few steps behind him.

"Hey, guys," I said, my heart still trying to calm back down, waving to Xiumin and Kai. They caught up with us a few seconds later

" did not want to get up today," Xiumin said as he let out a loud yawn.

"Me neither. I would have gotten to sleep in if it wasn't for this brat waking me up," Kai said, sending a death glare to Sehun.

"I told you I was a morning person when we moved in. You had a fair warning," Sehun replied in his defense, causing Kai to just roll his eyes. Kai and Sehun were step brothers: Sehun's mom married Kai's dad so they, naturally, argued on a daily basis. But they seemed to get along better than most step siblings did, I suppose.

We walked and chatted for a few more minutes before we reached campus. Most students were still hanging out outside before the first bell of the day, but we all went inside anyway. When we walked in, I automatically saw Luhan standing by some lockers talking to Taemin, so we headed over to join them.

"Hey, guys," Luhan said. "You all look like you got a wonderful night's sleep."

"Have I ever told you how funny you are?" Xiumin shot back, earning a chuckle from us.

"Heads up, I heard Mr. Cha was giving a pop quiz in history today," Taemin said. "I overheard him when I stopped into the teacher's office yesterday."

"Fucking figures, the one class I hate," Sehun groaned in annoyance. "Do any of you have the notes from last class? I mostly scribbled and tried not to fall asleep."

"Yeah, you can copy mine when we get to the classroom," I said.

Sehun sighed in relief. "Thank you. I owe you one," he responded.

After that, we said our goodbyes to Taemin since he was technically a year above us, and then we all walked to class together.

Chanyeol

I woke up to my alarm clock screaming in my ear. Without removing my head from under the covers, I reached over to my nightstand, feeling around for the snooze button. I did that a couple more times before the door to my room opened up.

"Time to wake up, Chanyeol," the housekeeper said, the sound of her voice immediately making my eyes open. I rolled over and put the pillow over my head.

"You say that like I should care or something," I said, voice kind of muffled by the pillow.

"You should care. You must go to school, so you'll have lots of opportunities after you graduate," she said pulling the pillow off my head and the covers of my body.

I scoffed and made myself sit up. "Lots of opportunities as in take over for my father, right?" I replied.

"If that's what you want to do," she said. "But I know it would greatly comfort your father if he knew he had someone competent taking over for him, and I'm sure your mother would have wanted you to also," she said as she put my fresh, folded-up uniform on my bed.

My mom passed away about a year ago, but it still felt surreal to me. I guess the wounds her death left behind were still fresh. It also didn't help that any time I talked about following my own dreams, my father used a dead woman's dead wishes against me.

I sighed, rolled my eyes, and went into the bathroom to change clothes. Once I finished getting dressed, I put some gel in my hair and slicked it back with a comb. My bed was neatly made when I got done in the bathroom and the housekeeper was now gone, only the light scent of her floral air freshener left behind. I grabbed my bag and jacket off my desk, then finished putting on my tie as I was walking down the long stair case.

I made it down and went into the dining room for breakfast, which was just being put on the table by our chef. I put on my jacket before sitting down at the table. Shortly after sitting, the waiter brought out my breakfast. Then, my dad came into the room and sat at his usual spot diagonal from me.

"Good morning, Chanyeol," he said sounding like his usual happy self.

"Morning," I said, checking my phone to see if I had gotten any texts overnight.

"No phones at the table please. You know the rule," he said. I sighed and put my phone in my bag. "Thank you," he said.

"Is it alright if I walk home after school today?" I asked, before taking a bite of my food.

"With who?" he asked, glancing at me.

"Just my usual crowd. You know Tao, Suho, Chen, and them," I said.

"I guess so. As long as you think you can manage to find your way back," he responded after thinking for a moment.

"No, I think I can manage on my own," I answered. He nodded and wiped his mouth with his napkin. I finished what I felt like eating and got up from the table. "Well, I'm off," I said, bending over to pick up my bag. He hummed and waved at me, now distracted by the newspaper he was reading.

I shut the front door after I walked out and got in the car that usually takes me to school. The driver started the car and pulled out of the driveway. I usually gave Suho and his younger half brother, Kyungsoo, a ride to school. We stopped in front of their house and they walked out of the house toward the car. Suho got in first, leaving the door cracked open for Kyungsoo.

"Hey," he said shortly, and I returned his greeting with a small smile. Next, Kyungsoo got in but didn't say hello because he had his ear buds in and never usually said anything anyway. The driver pulled away and dropped us off at the school about 15 minutes later. We all got out and I shut the door before the driver drove away. We started to make our way towards the entrance when I saw Lay, Tao, and Chen approach us.

"Hi, guys" Lay said with his hands in his pocket and a smile on his lips.

"Morning," Suho said as we both came to a stop in front of them. Kyungsoo didn't bother saying hi to them, opting for heading straight to his classroom instead.

"Good to see he's as social as ever," Chen commented, widening his eyes a little and chuckling as we watched him walk past. "Hey, did you get the clear to walk after school today?" he asked after nudging me gently.

"Yeah, my dad said it's cool," I replied.

"Awesome. It'll be worth your time, I promise," he said, laughing a little mischievously. The others looked at him and laughed as I shook my head.

"Let's get to class," Tao said. "We don't want a repeat of last time we were late. My aunt is still pissed at me for it." We chuckled at that and then all headed toward our classroom, hoping we'd arrive before the morning bell chimed. 

A/N

I only have 4 more stories to edit and honestly, I'm hella proud of myself for managing to get this far lol. I'm hoping this story won't be as cringey as I remember it being, but I guess we'll see.