Boss ~Taeten~

Chapter 22

*I'm so sorry everyone ㅜㅜ I got all swept up in my new schoolwork that I completely forgot that I was still keeping you all waiting.. I'll try harder next time to bring you the content I promised on timeㅜㅜ

Well I think this is one of the longer chapters, so enjoy!*

17

4

Ten stood within the kitchen, before him on the counter there were a few of the very ingredients used within the first meal Taeyong had made for the members of the gang. The ingredients for the potato and pork dumplings accompanied by the ingredients for a fresh vegetable ramyeon surrounded a small stack of fresh fruits and at its forefront laid a single kiwi, of which Ten could not keep his steel eyes from watching.

There was a gentle knock on the white trimmed frame of the unique frosted glass doored entrance to the kitchen and not long after, a small, nearly silent creak sounded from the wall beside it as the wall sagged ever so slightly as Taeil's form rested against it.

Taeil smiles softly with sad eyes at his distracted leader "Our Taeyongie was quite a funny boy you know" he says gently as he raises himself from against the door frame and goes to his leader's side and placing his hand lightly upon his nearby shoulder "Did you know... Numbers are scared of fruits" the eldest quotes with a soft, airy chuckle.

Ten shrugs the hand off from his shoulder and his iris' harden slightly against Taeil's words "Taeyong is a funny boy" he snarls softly, he steps forward and tosses the central kiwi over his shoulder into the hands of the shocked Taeil "Peel and slice the fruits for dinner" he sighs, his back was to the eldest as he sectioned up the ingredients of the ramyeon and dumplings.

The leader began to prepare the ingredients silently, following the steps ingrained in his memory through watching the fluid movements of his missing prize, as the surprised eldest takes the rest of the fruits to a cutting board and begins to follow his leader's orders.

The pair worked in silence to prepare the nostalgic meal for the gang of melancholy young men they cared for. The noodles and handmade dumplings boiled softly within their pot of broth, the fruits carefully piled up and placed out on ceramic plates, prepared decoratively to hopefully bring at least a small hint of joy and color to the gloomy men for whom they were prepared for.

The boiled food soon found its way in generous portions into large bowls in hopes of enticing the distressed members into fully supplying their shriveled appetites with ample food.

The distress and lack of appetite of the gang members was odd but not unimaginable, after all for weeks after losing their dear eldest their appetites had decreased to merely one meal per day, if that, and their idle, joyful chattering had descended into only a scattered, near silent murmur, hardly heard over the soft whirring of the AC system and the misplaced cheer of the crackling of the hearth fire.

Their behavior didn't quite match the extreme of losing their eldest member currently though it was still peculiarly severe, after all Taeyong had only been an associative face among them for a few sparse weeks.

The gracious leader and the recovered eldest worked their hardest to stave off the unhealthy grieving habits of the other members, though the habits of the leader did not go entirely unnoticed.

It was noticed when the mob boss was nowhere to be found for hours on end, only to appear outside of his rooms when a member went to check his office and rooms for the umpteenth time.

It was noticed that the steel eyed man's plush lips were sealed for such long amounts of time that he would have to clear his throat every time he wished to speak, no matter the occasion, if he wished to release a sound from between his chapped pink lips.