A Rose Between Thorns

Chapter 6: The Eldest's Gift

I walk alone in an open field, the sun beginning to set beyond the horizon. My white sundress flows in the gentle breeze, and I can feel the soft earth beneath my bare feet.

A beautiful red fox prances in the distance, chasing after a pretty blue butterfly. It dives and reappears, popping up out of nowhere in it's futile attempt to catch its prey.

The butterfly flies just out of the fox's reach, toying with it as the fox becomes visibly more upset. Eventually the fox stops and sits down in defeat, reaching a small paw towards it's friend, who simply flutters away.

The fox's ears droop in sadness, lying down with it's head in its paws as the wheat field slowly begins to die.

I feel warm. Really warm. Still sleepy and tired, I try to roll over and bury my face into my pillow only to find I can hardly move. Wait, this isn't what a pillow feels like.

I open my eyes with a groan, exhausted beyond belief. I feel someone's arms around my figure, and notice I'm laying on someone. Not just someone, but a man's chest.

I jolt up in a panic as the memories of last night flood back to me. I look over to find Namjoon sleeping peacefully, arms loosely around my waist. Oh, so I fell asleep on him last night. Totally normal.

Most of the other guys are passed out in chairs save for Taehyung who was on the other side of me, hugging a pillow tightly. I only count four of the guys, meaning the rest must already be awake. Good job Taylor, your first night here and you literally slept with them. Clearly not in the sexual way but like what the fuck.

I make sure to take extreme caution as I ease my way around Namjoon and out of his arms. The last thing I need is to wake them up, so I quietly head out of the room, closing the door softly behind me.

A wondrous aroma wafts in from the kitchen, assaulting my senses like a steak to a dog. My stomach grumbles but I do my best to silence it, attempting to pull my hair into a messy bun as I walk out to the kitchen.

"Good morning, beautiful!" Jin calls, wearing a pink apron that says 'Please Do Nothing To The Cook'. I feel my face heat up as I take a seat at the island counter.

"Do you tell that to all the girls that wake up in your house after an intense night of gaming?" I ask sarcastically, earning a grin from the eldest.

"No, just you. And maybe Jimin," he says as he flips a pancake on the stove.

"Aye, hyung you don't have to be so mean!" Calls a voice from another part of the kitchen, holding a mug of coffee.

A smiling mochi greets me along with a tired-looking Hoseok. "Good morning!" He says as they both take a seat beside me, Hoseok sleepily sipping on his own coffee.

"Good morning, oppas," I say, but I guess this surprised them as they gave me shocked expressions. "I'm supposed to call you that since you are all older, right?" I ask hesitantly. Oh god, I hope I didn't fuck up just now.

Jimin's eyes light up as he jumps out of his chair, hugging me excitedly. "Yah, our rose called us oppa!" he cries happily.

"Jimin, let me breathe!" I manage to gasp out, feeling a bit suffocated.

"The disrespect!" Jimin gasps in mock offense. "I'm your oppa, so you must call me Jimin-oppa!" he complains before being whacked in the face with a paper plate.

"Jimin, remember they don't have those honorifics in America, we can't force her to use them right away," Jin says with a frown, but his gaze softens as I shake my head.