The next morning, Nian and Xuanye woke up early and headed straight to Professor Xi's office. They submitted their project materials and stood nervously as he reviewed the contents.
Professor Xi took off his glasses and set them on the desk. "Girls..."
Both of them tensed.
He continued, "You've done a good job. But you could improve a little — just add more details about who the members are and their favorites."
They both sighed in relief.
Xuanye asked, half-joking, "Professor, you assigned us to a group of members who act like children. How are we supposed to ask them serious questions about their favorites?"
Professor Xi chuckled. "That's why I assigned them to you. I know exactly which students can handle which group. You two may be immature, but that makes you the perfect match for them. Finish your project and submit the final report by the end of the month."
Xuanye sighed.
Professor Xi narrowed his eyes. "What? Should I assign you to a different group instead?"
Before Xuanye could say more, Nian grabbed her hand. "No, no, professor! We'll leave now. Thank you, sir!"
They left in a rush while Professor Xi shook his head in amusement.
Outside, Nian and Xuanye groaned.
"Now we have to rush to their dorm or we'll fall behind," Xuanye said.
"What time is it?" Nian asked.
Xuanye glanced at her watch. Her eyes widened. "Nian! We're late already!"
She grabbed Nian's hand and they ran to the bus stand, trying to hail a cab.
Thirty minutes passed, all cabs booked.
Finally, one became available, and they rode it to SEVENTEEN's dorm.
They got out and looked around.
"It's so quiet… did they already leave?" Xuanye asked.
"I'm not sure. Let me knock."
Nian approached the door and raised her hand to knock — but just as she did, DK opened the door.
Instead of knocking the door, she knocked his face.
Frozen, she slowly looked up and gasped. "D-DK?!"
She hid her hand behind her back and stammered, "Sorry! I didn't know you'd open the door..."
DK laughed. "It's okay. Why are you here so early?"
Nian blinked. "DK… it's 9 a.m. That's not early."
He chuckled and stepped aside. "Come in."
They entered and noticed the dorm was silent.
Xuanye asked, "Where is everyone?"
"Sleeping," DK replied.
Then he handed them a glass of water and yawned.
"I'm going back to bed."
Nian and Xuanye watched in disbelief as DK disappeared into his room.
The dorm fell silent again.
Five minutes passed.
Suddenly — growl.
Xuanye's stomach growled.
Nian laughed. "Hungry?"
"Yeah… I skipped breakfast to finish the project."
Nian's stomach growled next.
Xuanye smirked. "See? Don't act innocent."
She stood up, grabbed Nian's hand, and dragged her to the kitchen.
"What are you doing?!" Nian hissed.
"We're going to cook!"
"Xuanye, this is SEVENTEEN's kitchen. You can't just—"
"We're hungry. You're hungry. Let's not pretend."
"Still! What are you even going to cook?"
Xuanye struck a dramatic pose with a knife like she was in a movie.
"You're the better cook. Just make something delicious."
Nian sighed and opened the fridge.
They found a few ingredients and started preparing a simple dish.
Nian cooked while Xuanye cut vegetables, humming.
At 11 a.m., Jun woke up.
He sniffed the air, confused. Something smelled… good?
Quietly, he tiptoed to the kitchen and peeked in — eyes widening at the sight of Nian and Xuanye.
Without a word, he shut the door and bolted back to the rooms.
He shook Vernon, Joshua, and Minghao awake.
"What's going on?" Vernon groaned.
"The girls… they're cooking. In the kitchen."
The three sat up instantly.
"Seriously?" Joshua blinked. "Do they know how to cook?"
"Would they be cooking if they didn't?" Vernon shot back.
The noise stirred the other members.
"Why are you all acting like you saw ghosts?" Wonwoo asked.
"Because… the girls are cooking," Vernon repeated.
"Oh? Great. Then we don't need to make breakfast," Wonwoo shrugged.
He and Vernon high-fived.
Minghao remained confused.
Jeonghan stood up. "Let's get ready for practice. Wake the others too. They'll sleep all day otherwise."
Joshua laughed and dragged Vernon and Jun back toward the kitchen.
Jeonghan shook his head.
The trio peeked into the kitchen like spies.
Just then, Scoups stumbled out, half-asleep, and flopped on the couch.
Boo, Woozi, Hoshi, DK, Mingyu, and Dino followed.
Boo noticed the three peeking. He wandered over with a drink in hand.
"What're you guys looking at?"
Vernon pointed.
Boo tilted his head, trying to see.
Then — WHAM.
Hoshi ran toward Boo and crashed into him in a hug.
Boo toppled into Vernon, spilling water on him. Vernon yelped, shoving Joshua, who fell into Jun.
Crash!
All five of them tumbled into the kitchen.
Nian and Xuanye screamed.
Scoups and Mingyu jumped up from their sleepy daze, trying to figure out what happened.
DK, Woozi, Dino, Wonwoo, and Jeonghan rushed in.
They found the five boys sprawled on the kitchen floor while Nian and Xuanye clutched each other in panic.
Everyone stood still.
The room erupted into laughter.
Morning at SEVENTEEN's dorm had officially begun.