The cab pulled up to the familiar sharehouse, which seemed slightly more intimidating now that it was set in stone that Anna would be living here for the next two and a half months. Was it really the right decision to move into a house with seven boys I’ve never met before? The knot of trepidation in her stomach was vaguely reminiscent of her first day of college, and she found mild comfort in the thought that she’d eventually become very close friends with everyone living in her hall, despite not knowing anybody prior to move-in day. Who knows? I might end up becoming best friends with the boys living here too.

After half a knock, the door was flung open, and Anna found herself blinking at the beaming blondie, who yelled, “She’s here!”

“You don’t need to shout, Junhoe. I can hear you well enough,” Mrs. Kim called from around the corner, her footsteps growing louder as she approached the open door. She smiled warmly at Anna. “Welcome home! We’ve assessed how much work the attic will need before you move in, and I think after some dusting, scrubbing, and a good polishing, it’ll be good to go.”

“Sounds great,” Anna replied, hauling her bags into the house. “Just let me know what I can do.”

“Have you had breakfast, Saerim?” Mrs. Kim asked, returning to the kitchen. “I just made some seafood porridge. You don’t have any allergies, do you?”

“Porridge sounds awesome, ma’am, and no, I don’t have any allergies.”

“Okay, well, tuck in and I’ll show you where we keep our medication in case you need anything,” Mrs. Kim said, pouring her a generous ration. “And take your time; it’s a bit hot.”

Anna picked up her spoon and couldn’t help but muse that in the solid five and a half minutes she’d been in this house, it already felt more like home than Lydia’s apartment did. Really hoping that this is a good sign.

When she was nearly done with her bowl of breakfast, three boys—one of whom Anna recognized as Bobby—appeared in her line of vision, hauling a relatively heavy-looking box that was covered in a thick layer of dust and old spider webs. Wow. Grunting with beads of sweat running down the sides of their necks, they placed it at the base of the staircase before one of them noticed her presence. “Oh, she’s here.”

The other two turned around and wheezed their greetings. Anna got to her feet. “Do you guys need any help? That looks really heavy.”

“We’re fine,” Bobby grunted, taking an unsteady step towards the patio door.

“Are you sure?” Anna felt like all of them would collapse with the cabinet on top of them.

“They’re stronger than they look,” Junhoe grinned, appearing beside Anna and crossing his arms across his chest. “They’ll manage.”

“I’m sure they could do with some assistance though.” She shot him a meaningful look.

“Nah, if I jumped in there to help, it would wound their pride. Besides, do you see these noodles?” He flexed his very thin arms. “I’m no help whatsoever.”

Well, at least you own up to it. Anna scoffed and rolled her sleeves up to help. “Are you guys cleaning out the attic?” she asked, positioning herself between Bobby and the boy she vaguely recalled was named Donghyuk.

“Yeah,” Donghyuk said. “It’s like a landmine of forgotten memories up there.”

“And dust.” The third boy hacked, sounding like he had a decently-sized hairball stuck in the back of his throat. “I’m not sure if it’ll even be sanitary to have someone sleeping up there.”

“I can always open the windows,” Anna said, feeling her muscles strain to keep the cabinet up. Damn, this is heavier than I thought it would be.

But with the four of them heaving it, they managed to get it to the patio, where they found two more boys hosing furniture down on the grass to rid them of dust. Jinhwan nodded once in acknowledgment at Anna, which she returned. Praying we don’t just stay mute around each other while I’m here either.

After finishing her porridge, Anna washed her bowls and immediately headed up the stairs to help her new housemates prepare her living space. Mr. Kim was redoing the paint across some areas of splintered wood while Mrs. Kim was dusting the walls and ceiling. Anna made herself useful by helping move some of the heavier furniture around. She took some rags and disinfectant wipes to clear them of dust while another unfamiliar boy wiped away at the windows. From outside, she saw Jinhwan on a ladder, using a hose and rags to clean the grime from the windows outside.

By the time the sun was low in the sky, they’d made significant progress in cleaning but were far from being done. “I suppose you could stay in the living room for tonight, if that’s okay with you,” Mrs. Kim suggested. “I don’t feel comfortable with you staying up here with so much dust left.”

“I’d be okay with that.”

Mrs. Kim squeezed Anna’s shoulder. “I promise we’ll have this place ready for you by tomorrow.”

“Really, you don’t have to rush; as long as I have a roof to stay under, I’ll be fine.”

Everybody regrouped in the kitchen, where Mrs. Kim whipped up a quick dinner of rice and curry. It looked like it was going to be another silent meal—something that Anna had come to expect—but Mrs. Kim apparently wasn’t going to have it anymore. “Now, since we have a new boarder, I think this is as great a time as any to reacquaint everybody with each other,” she said while dishing out plates of food. “Saerim, why don’t you start us off as the rookie? Say your name, age, and why you came to our sharehouse.”

Anna blinked and looked around at the table full of eyes that were now on her. Swallowing her surprise from the sudden influx of attention, she began, “Hi, uh…I’m Anna Heo…or Saerim, which is probably more comfortable for you. I’m nineteen years old and go to school in America. I have a summer research internship with a university hospital In Seoul.” She looked at Bobby, who was seated to her left.

“Bobby Kim, twenty, from America and studying abroad starting this summer.” He concluded his brief introduction with some weird hand gesture that resembled a gang sign, and Anna inwardly rolled her eyes.

The elementary icebreaker continued around the table:

Kim Donghyuk, nineteen, a college student attending school for a computer science degree. He came from the countryside in search of a place to stay in Seoul, which was how he came to the sharehouse.

Song Yunhyeong, twenty, university student majoring in Ecological Biology who couldn’t afford to stay in the dorms.

Goo Junhoe, nineteen, free spirited wacko who wanted to take a year off before officially trying to get into college and now works multiple part-time jobs to pay for rent because his