The Manager: A TWICE Story

25: Live From Seoul (Part 1)

"Is that how you've been using them?" I asked.

"...Maybe."

"It works for punch bowls," Jihyo offered.

"Nope," Nayeon said as I reached for the platter of eggs. She slapped my hand away. "You go sit. I'll bring you food when it's ready."

"So it's like that, huh," I muttered, reluctantly following her order. I was tempted to try and protest that they shouldn't be exerting themselves in order to stay fresh for the concert, but I knew my words would be met with group dissent. "Can I at least know what you're making?"

"You'll see," Mina said. "If this works. Otherwise, scrambled eggs."

Of course, I already knew what they were trying to make. I'd noticed a little metal rice mold on a plate in the corner, and that paired with the saucepan of demi-glace was a dead giveaway that Mina was trying to perfect omurice. It also handily explained the mountain of eggs, given that the girls normally ate the equivalent of a single egg along with some other things for breakfast. I looked like today was just going to be an egg day.

Sorry vegans.

"Isn't this a bit too heavy for today?" I asked.

"It's fine," Jihyo said, sitting down across from me at the table. "We're not eating another meal today."

"And where's Kim?"

"She's off making some preparations at the venue. They're getting the equipment set up for the sound check and unnie wanted to make sure they had all of the files necessary."

"And you all don't need to attend?" I questioned, surprised. Even at smaller events like music banks, the girls always had a sound check to ensure that all of the mics were working properly.

"No, we don't. This is just a prelim, not the actual sound check. Plus, BigHit's all fancy now, they've got adaptive microphones." Jihyo waved her hands around. "Money changes people."

"I'd say," I said, lowering my house. "You thought you could keep it from me that you'd bought a flat?"

Jihyo hissed at me like a cat, looking around furtively. "Don't! The others don't know yet!"

"Why?"

"I don't want to... pressure them into splitting up." Jihyo sighed. "Though it seems like we don't have much of a choice at this point."

"Yeah, I figured that PD-nim was talking about the future plans yesterday. And he'd also mentioned that Nayeon was seriously thinking about it?" I added, lilting my voice a bit to sound unassuming.

Jihyo saw right through it. "Go ask her yourself, you big baby."

"Ask her what?"

"If you two can move in together."

"What? No!" I held up my hands. That definitely wasn't what I was alluding to. "Look, our relationship might have started suddenly, but that doesn't mean we're going to start living together after two months."

"You sure about that?"

"Ask Nayeon, I'm sure she'd agree."

"Agree with what?" Nayeon asked, drying her hands with a kitchen towel that she threw over her shoulder. "Are you two conspiring to elope and leave me alone and heartbroken?"

"Something's wrong with you," Jihyo mumbled.

"We were talking about... apartments," I said vaguely, raising an eyebrow.

Nayeon looked at me quizzically for a moment, reading my expression, but her face lit up in recognition. She turned to Jihyo. "We're not moving in together yet! Slow your roll!"