come back home || k.sj

[back] vii.

 Cheng opens her mouth only to shut it close.

 "Have you been there before?" you ask. Minhyuk shakes his head.

  "I've only seen it from pictures on Kakao. I dunno, I guess it looks big enough?" he shifts a hand over his stomach and the other stretches across for emphasis. "Looked okay to me."

 "Before we make any rash decisions," Yongsun starts--shooting Jihyo a look through the corner of her eyes--"we'll contact your aunt and discuss things. But I wish we could move out soon; it's getting crowded and bills are piling up unnecessarily."

 "No problem," Minhyuk pauses. "Except for a tiny one. My aunt's kind of an impatient old lady who wants to move in with her daughter by the end of the month, so she already threatened me with the replacement card and said she'd give away the place to someone else if we aren't fast enough. I always knew I was her least favorite."

  "We'd better get started then. Is the place nearby? Maybe I can drop by and check it out if you give me the address." You offer.

 "Yeah, I'll give you her number. It's literally across from Seoul Station and a few blocks away from Seoul National Uni. The location is a little busy on the other end but it'll bring more business."

 "Seoul National Uni, hm. Seokjin-ssi works there, doesn't he?" Yongsun peers at your startled expression. "Right?"

  "Yeah," you say numbly. "He does."

  Minhyuk looks lost. "Who's that?"

 "Unnie's husband. You've been with us for two years, dude, how can you not know this?" Jihyo rolls her eyes.

 "Typical. His gaydar would probably click if he ever saw him anyway," Cheng says.

 As the younger ones start arguing over Minhyuk's allegedly flexible sexuality with Nayeon attempting to calm them down, Yongsun glances over at you curiously.

 "Would Jin know about the place Min's talking about? Since he's based there and all," she asks.

You furrow your brows in response. Jin's never said anything about the one part in Seoul he works in, aside from the basics like which stores are available and how far the nearest subway is. He hasn't mentioned much about restaurants--that's the Bermuda Triangle's job--and overall, he hasn't disclosed much to you. "I'm not sure, I'd have to ask him. He may not pay much attention to things like available leases, but his colleagues might know."

"Remember how he helped move stuff out when we first started? He wouldn't be able to come again, would he? Minhyuk is not exactly buff. He's more on the puny side."

("Who are you calling puny?")

    "Only if he's on a day off, of course," she continues hastily. "I know surgeons have horrible schedules."

    There's a crack in your voice that you easily disguise as a difficult dry laugh. "He doesn't even have the time to take a train home for the night, but I'll see what I can do. If he's not available, I'll just hit up a few kids I know from Starbucks and the hospital."

    "M'kay, great. I'll try contacting my roommates about bringing any boyfriends over. The more men, the better," Yongsun flashes her signature eyesmile, but it falters after a second. "You okay?"

    "Yeah. I'm always okay," you grin back. "So--"

    "Oh shit." Cheng withdraws from the brawl, clumsily smacking her phone against her ear. "That's my biochem professor--I think she found out I plagiarized last night's essay. Can someone take over the register for me?"