I heard crashes last night, this is the first time since I've come to stay at the house and it surprised me out of my sleep. But...I was too scared to check it out. Maybe I will next time, or maybe I won't. There's something strange going on here, and I plan to figure it out.
- [redacted]
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The crown molding around the edges of the ceiling had cracks in it.
It wasn't enough to make Jisung so uncomfortable that he would go out to the store and get tools to fix it himself, but it still made him scrunch his nose in dissatisfaction.
Shifting in his older-styled bed, Jisung pulled the covers up to his chin, breathing in deeply and looking around the room with interest. He hadn't gotten the best sleep last night, after all it was his first night in a strange place across the seas. But he would have to make do with the new environment.
"That's the whole reason I came here," Jisung murmured under his breath, eyeing his typewriter that was sitting on the small brown desk that was directly across from his four-banister bed. The room was bathed in what he could only decided was a tacky remake of an old victorian inspried bedroom.
The walls were a dark brown with a red wall paper over them, the brown of the walls only seen through the areas where the wallpaper had ripped. The crown molding was brown as well, and much of the furniture in the room also matched this light and dark brown theme. The floor was carpeted with a red, gold, beige, and brown pattern outlined in black. It certainly gave off a homey feel, and Jisung could just hope that he would be feeling this homey aura soon enough.
Sitting up, the covers falling onto his lap, Jisung ruffled his hair. His eyes then went to look out the window to his right, feeling a bit of euphoria rise in his chest as he caught sight of the beach and the ocean. He could see a couple of people milling about, walking their dogs and such -- he looked extra long at an adorable black labrador.
A delicious smell of coffee and some other enticing smell of food - Jisung thought maybe eggs...possibly bacons as well - filtered into the room and took Jisung by surprise. Perking up at the smell, Jisung's stomach rumbled and he tossed the covers off of his body, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Standing up, Jisung rubbed his feet over the soft fabric of the carpet and tugged at his loose t-shirt, fitting it correctly over his lean body.
Tugging on the loose door knob, Jisung opened his cracking and creaking door, poking his head out of the doorway. Met with emptiness on either side except for the dozens of randomly placed plants and pictures and small tables, Jisung stepped out of his door, flicking off the light and closing it behind him.
Walking down the hallway, Jisung paused in front of the mirror that was just past Chenle's room. He looked into it for a moment, wondering why exactly this mirror was so special that he had to snap three times in front of it. It was vintage looking with a black frame around it, setting it apart from the other brown furniture in the hallway, even the red and yellow themed wallpaper.
But nothing came to mind and Jisung just snapped his fingers before continuing down the hallway. It wouldn't hurt him to just followed the rules anyways, they were generally simple. So far, the rules were the only strange thing about the house -- but it still was certainly a strange thing indeed.
Walking down the staircase, Jisung trailed his hand over the banister before stepping into the foyer, his eyes looking around curiously at what would be his living space for quite an extended period of time. It looked a bit different than when he had walked in yesterday, but he just pegged it to be fresh eyes and lighting.
Turning into the living room, Jisung walked down the doorway that he had seen Jaemin walk into the other day, pausing nervously in the doorway when he saw said pink-haired individual wandering back and forth by the stove.
The kitchen was green, which was a surprise in itself from the change of more normalized colors. In the center of the large kitchen space was an island surrounded by tall, light-colored wood stools, the cushions a dark green to match the rest of the kitchen. The island was a light-colored wood as well, the perfect match to the stools.
The rest of the kitchen had plants placed haphazardly all of the space. Hanging from the ceiling, on top of the fridge, on the island, in the corners, on the other counter space, hanging from the tops of the cupboards. It was quite pretty, especially with the light coming in from the windows over the sink and off to Jisung's direct right.
Jaemin was standing over the stove, grabbing various spices from jars that were stacked and labeled on the counter, a dark green and circular patterned title covering the bottom half of the exposed wall.
"Are you just going to stand in the doorway," Jaemin suddenly spoke up and turned, Jisung a bit taken aback by the words and then the stunning smile that Jaemin threw his way. The older boy pointed at one of the empty stools with the spatula in his hand, "Don't be shy. Take a seat."
"Oh, uh, thank you," Jisung said, albeit a bit awkwardly as he sat down on one of the stools, clasping his hands together on the wooden surface in front of him. "Um I hope you had a good sleep."
"Aren't you just the cutest," Jaemin cooed, shooting Jisung a bright look before looking back at the food he was cooking -- eggs and bacon just as Jisung had suspected. "I did have a good sleep thanks for asking, I hope you did as well. Now, do you want just eggs and bacon or some pancakes?"
"Oh," Jisung's mouth started to water as Jaemin took out a plate and began to place the cooked breakfast on to it with a sort of detailed precision, "Just the eggs and bacon please. I don't like pancakes."
"Hmm maybe that'll change once you taste some of mine," Jaemin smiled, his pink hair unstyled and falling to rest just above his eyebrows. The older moved and placed the plate in front of Jisung, quick to grab utensils and a napkin. "You know, I don't think Mark and Renjun like pancakes either."
Jisung's curiosity perked up at the unfamiliar people's names and he found himself wishing he could have a face to match the name. They all sounded like such interesting people. "Thanks for making breakfast Jaemin," Jisung gave the owner's son a soft and hesitant smile, Jaemin just returning a bigger smile as he slid a towel off of his shoulder and wiped his hands on it.
"Of course~" the boy said in a strange tone and voice and Jisung felt himself briefly wonder if this would be one of those people that would end up being weird after getting to know them.
Halfway through his eggs Chenle waltzed into the room, dressed in black slacks and a tight t-shirt. He was quick to sit on the adjacent side of the counter by Jisung, leaning forward onto his crossed forearms.
"I'll have the same thing Nana," Chenle smiled brightly and Jisung was surprised to see Jaemin rolled his eyes before throwing the towel in hand at Chenle, the green-haired boy laughing infectiously as the balled up towel hit his chest.
"Make it yourself you lazy bum," Jaemin pointed his finger at Chenle and Jisung just sat back, slowly placing a piece of bacon into his mouth as he looked back and forth between the two residents.
"Aw come on Minnie," Chenle whinned and Jaemin huffed as he turned back to the stove, pulling out two eggs from the cartoon and cracking them onto the cast-iron skillet. "You know I love you and I'm just a tired college student."
"You go to college?" Jisung asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise. Chenle nodded and briefly looked over at the clock hanging on the wall across from Jisung.
"University of Chicago, they have a Marine Biology building out on Woodshole and I go there," Chenle smiled, his bare face and messy bed-head illuminating the boy's natural beauty. "I'm guessing you don't go to college despite your young apperance."
"Ah no, I'm an author," Jisung said, briefly thinking about how he could use some orange juice. Not even a second passed before a tall glass of orange juice was placed in front of him, his empty breakfast plate disappearing as Jaemin picked it up. He looked up, surprised that the older knew that he wanted orange juice.
"Intuition," Jaemin winked at Jisung before he placed his plate in the sink and went back to cooking Chenle's breakfast. Jisung just nodded, tilting his head slightly in curiosity. Intuition?
"He's a bit strange like that," Chenle seemed to be reading Jisung's thoughts and Jisung looked at the younger, suspiciously wondering if they were all mind-readers. "He knows a lot of things without anyone having to say anything, or he'll guess something before it happens. It's just the way he is."
"Huh," was all Jisung had to say and he picked up the glass of juice, downing most of it in one go.
"So you're an author?" Chenle prompted and Jisung nodded.
"What's this about an author?" a voice questioned from the doorway and Jisung's gaze moved to rest on a new face looking around sleepily in the doorway.
He was gorgeous, and Jisung felt himself grow somewhat red at the thought, watching with curiosity as the boy wandering a bit further into the kitchen, rubbing his face while yawning. His skin was tan and seemed to glow even more when the morning sun hit it from the windows. The boy's hair was curly and a light brown, grown out into a small mullet that just touched the base of his neck. He was wearing what looked like his pjs, an oversized pale yellow hoodie and black sweatpants.
Jaemin placed Chenle's plate of food in front of the college student and he laughed slightly while looking at the other resident. "Nice of you to get up this early Hyuck."
"Yeah, yeah I know," the boy - Hyuck? - responded and his tired eyes moved to rest on Jisung with a bit of unrestrained curiosity in them. "This the new resident?"
"Yep," Chenle responded, popping the 'p' sound, and jabbing in Jisung's direction with his thumb, "We were just talking about how he's an author."
"The name's Haechan," the boy moved to sit next to Chenle and stuck his hand out over the table with a sluggish way of moving, Jisung reaching out to shake the boy's hand in return, "But Donghyuck or Hyuck works just fine."
"Jisung. Park Jisung," he responded and smiled. There was something intriguing about this boy, but Jisung couldn't but his finger on it. But then again, Jisung was interested about everything in this new place. "It's nice to meet you."
"Likewise," Haechan's smile was easy and laid-back, perfectly complimenting his slightly puffy cheeks and tired way of moving. With a 'clink' an empty bowl was placed in front of Donghyuck before a container of ceral and some almond milk was placed next to it.
"Big spoon or little spoon?" Jaemin asked Donghyuck and Jisung watched their interactions.
"Hmm, I'm thinking little spoon," Donghyuck said and Jaemin nodded, pulling open a drawer and picking out a small-looking spoon, placing it in front of the sun-kissed boy, "Have you eaten yet Na?"
"I'll eat after everyone else does," Jaemin smoothly responded and Jisung felt himself grow worried for a moment. Was Jaemin taking care of himself?
And with a simple question like that popping into his mind Jisung felt a bit surprised with himself. He hadn't even been at the house for 24 hours and he was already worried about the residents as if he had known them for weeks. It felt a bit strange that he had just fit into their day-to-day routine so quickly.
It made him a bit curious.
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