It was a Saturday morning when Jezrhael “Jery” Adelair took the morning flight home for the start of her Christmas vacation. She was anticipating going home for Christmas, that year she turned 29. It was also in preparation for her transfer abroad – she had just quit her current work a week ago, and in the same day, she signed a five-year contract with an IT company based in South Korea. She was booked a flight there by the January 15th, so she was busy with the emergency move out of her old condo boardinghouse, not to mention catching up on the paperwork she’d need abroad.

 
It would be the first time for her to live overseas, so it was both an exhilarating, yet daunting feeling. She hadn’t much planned on living and working in a foreign country, even took the job application half-seriously, but things came to a head once she decided not to renew her current project contract. The project was pretty much done already, so she was confident enough to release the reins and let somebody else handle the job. So when the new company called, Jery answered with a resounding Yes.
 
Mama will sure be surprised, she mused, as she presented her plane ticket to the stewardess who was checking the passengers in. They exchanged genuine smiles, never mind if they were strangers, and she proceeded to board the plane. The flight was full, she noted, being one of the late arrivals. And as usual, her row was already filled, except for her window seat. She never quite got the knack for boarding the plane before everybody else did, and to think she usually requested for a window seat. Today, she was given seat 3F – the first three rows were already filled with the Korean superstars she recognized as SuJu.
 
After hoisting her backpack onto the vacant luggage rack, she apologized profusely to the two males seated with her, explaining in simple English that she had the window seat. The boys were kind enough to let her get to her seat, but in this small plane, cramped seating, and her big size, it took some creative maneuvering. She was thankful when she got to her seat, but it was with chagrin that she realized the rest of the SuJu members had taken an interest on the slight commotion, and so were looking at her. To diffuse the situation, and hoping they’d leave it at that, she gave a perky hi and bobbed her head in approximation of the Korean bow of greeting. The guys responded in turn.
 
The guy who had the aisle seat took the initiative. “Hello, we are visitors here in your country, from South Korea. I am Leeteuk."
 
Jery could tell he struggled speaking in English, but she lauded his effort. “Hi! I know, I actually recognize all of you – have been listening to your music since your debut.” That earned her a couple of amazed murmurs and thank yous from those who understood what she said. “Nice to meet you, I am Jery. Welcome to the country.”
 
The one who sat beside her, Kyuhyun, was merely quiet as Leeteuk continued the conversation. “Are you going on work travel?” he asked.
 
“No, actually, I’m going home for the holidays. I work here in Capitol City.”
 
“Oh,” Leeteuk seemed excited. “You are also going to Southqueen, then?”
 
Jery wondered how she could explain simply that the flight had a Southqueen stopover, but that its end destination is her home city Goldore. “No, I will not go down on Southqueen. This flight will continue to Goldore, where I live. I assume you are taking a flight to Korea via Southqueen International Airport?”
 
Leeteuk mulled over her statement. It must have been a super long sentence for him. Then his eyes brightened. “Ah, yes. Flights to Korea from Capitol City are full, due to holidays. Open schedule for all of us was flight via Southqueen International Airport, that’s why we go there.”
 
The cabin crew started takeoff preparations by then, so the conversation was cut off.
 
The flight to Southqueen would take about an hour. Jery inwardly cursed. If she had been able to get a flight schedule direct to Goldore, the whole trip would be an hour and a half tops. But with the stopover, Jery was looking into a three-hour trip. But travel peaked during the Christmas season, what with the myriad people flying home or flying out during vacation. It was just her luck that she worked in another city while what she considered home was in another city. It was the same for her brother and sister, though they had an advantage because Southqueen is much nearer to Goldore than Capitol City.

She was taken out of her reverie when Kyuhyun spoke up. “Uhm, Jery-noona?” She was momentarily confused by the question, until she recalled that noona was what Korean males respectfully called women older than they were.
 
“Yes, Kyuhyun. I think I am older than you, by around 8 years,” she replied. Leeteuk had a comical look, and he rapidly talked to Kyuhyun in Korean. Kyuhyun appeared slightly embarrassed with what Leeteuk said, even the rest of the guys were in on the fun. But since Jery could not understand a word they were saying, she waited for whatever it was Kyuhyun was trying to say.
 
“I apologize, my English not so good. I was not sure to call you noona – you do not look like noona.” The others hooted at that, but he continued, “But I am confused. You work in Capitol City, but you go home somewhere? You fly everyday?”
 
Jery wanted to laugh. “Oh, no, no, not like that. I work in Capitol, I also live in Capitol. But what I consider home is not Capitol, but rather Goldore, where my parents live. I fly home only during the Christmas vacation, to spend time with family before I go back to Capitol to work.”
 
His expression brightened as he understood. "Ah, you work hard, Jery-noona. Always be healthy.” Jery thanked him, understanding the words as the equivalent of Take Care used by her countrymen.
 
Unable to resist, she shared, “But actually, by January, I will be flying to your country to start work there.”
 
“Mwo?! (what?!)” Donghae suddenly exclaimed, startled. He had been listening as well. “Really, noona, you will be going to Korea by January?” he asked, craning his head to look back at her.
 
“Yes, Donghae, in Seoul City, actually.”
 
“Will you need a place to stay, Jery-noona?” Leeteuk asked. He figured out she was also older than him.
 
“Ah, no, my company already found a place for me to stay. Near the workplace, they say, and nice neighborhood, too. I have not seen pictures of the place, but I believe them.”
 
“Then we should meet again when you get to Seoul, noona. That is where we work and live, too. There is an apartment next-door to our place but the landlady said it’s been leased already.” Kyuhyun informed her.
 
Heechul said something that made Kyuhyun purse his lips, never mind if Heechul was his hyung. He was apparently displeased with Heechul.
 
“If in case you need help, you can call us,” Donghae offered.
 
“That’s sweet of you, thank you. I really have no idea yet what I’d need when I get there, but I’d definitely welcome suggestions.”
 
Shindong piped up from the aisle seat in front of Leeteuk. “Have you eaten Korean food? Ramen and Kimchi stew is a staple. We’ll have you try that.”
 
“Hmm, good point. No, I’m not familiar with Korean food yet, I’m not actually sure if those that offer Korean cuisine here are really authentic. But I will definitely try it when I get there.”
 
Heechul spoke up. “Winter clothes noona, you’ll need it. It is still cold there in January. Your weather here during Christmas is like summer, but there, it will still be snowing.”
 
“Oh, thanks for reminding me about that. I have near to zero tolerance to the cold, so I will definitely bring winter clothes, at least until I can buy proper Korean winter clothes.”
 
“How about language? Been starting to learn?” Kyuhyun asked.
 
Jery laughed this time. “I thought I did, until you started talking between yourselves, and I don’t seem to recognize the words. But I do admit my knowledge is still limited – I’ve only gone as far as learning how to address my superiors. My Korean boss is skilled with English, though, so he tells me communication between us will not be a problem, though I know I’d need to know Korean for my daily dealings with the people. I cannot be ignorant.”
 
“I teach you Korean, then, for the remainder of the flight. And you teach me some of your language as well.” Kyuhyun said.
 

It was her boss Choi HanKyul who fetched her at the airport, much to her embarrassment. She had expected at least a staff member would do that.
 
“Ah, Ms. Adelair,” he replied in English, “I wanted an excuse to get out of the office. Besides, nobody there is fluent enough with English, and you’re not fluent enough in Korean, so it was the best compromise I came up with. Is that all your luggage?”
 
“Yes, sir, just these two suitcases, clothes mostly and a couple boxes of stuff. Figured I can get here whatever else I’d need. And you did say the house is fully furnished, so I didn’t think I’d need to bring something for the house.”
 
“Yes, well, fully furnished in the Korean sense, anyway. We don’t worry too much over furniture. I do hope you don’t find the house too small.” They loaded her suitcases onto the back of the van he brought.
 
“You told me it’s a two-storey apartment – I think that’s big enough. Besides, I don’t want a place too large for me to clean – I’m kind of lazy in the household management department.”
 
The airport was far from where Jery would live, so she pretty saw much of Seoul, with Mr. Choi giving her a running update of the various sites and landmarks they passed.
 
It was with some trepidation when she noticed the hi-rises as they entered Seoul’s suburbs. The wide, tree-lined streets and high buildings reminded her of the Global City area adjacent to Capitol City where she used to live and work, but this of course, was much better.
 
They left the major highway by going into a quiet avenue that housed almost all of Korea’s IT companies. She couldn’t miss it, what with the buildings sporting colored ads of the myriad businesses housed in each, as well as the showrooms of the latest in technology. Jery could feel herself drool just watching through the windows before she realized something.
 
“That’s all the competition we have out there,” she said aloud to Mr. Choi.
 
“So you noticed, too. But some of those are partners, too. Depending on the need, we’ve had successful collaborations with our so-called competition. Ah, we’ll turn right here.”

They entered a relatively narrow side street, which sloped up. Seoul’s residential and commercial areas were intelligently planned. The main roads would showcase the hi-rises that housed business companies. But to preserve the surrounding space, plots behind the hi-rises were set aside for real-estate. They passed by a couple of houses, until they entered a turn again and Mr. Choi stopped the car in front of the fourth house.
 
“Well, here we are,” Mr. Choi announced, before alighting from the van.
 
From Jery’s vantage point in the car, she could see over the high wall that the house was divided into two apartments sharing a common lawn, but for purposes of division, a shrub hedge ran along the apartments’ imaginary boundary. There were two gates, but Mr. Choi went through the one on the left, carrying her suitcases. The left apartment was apparently hers. The one on the right had a bigger gate, evidently a bigger apartment and enough parking space for two cars.
 
It was still early afternoon, when she first stood on the porch of her new home. Mr. Choi, meanwhile, was talking to someone on the phone. “I called in your landlady,” he informed her as soon as he hung up. “She needs to give you the keys, as well as the codes for your alarm and door locks. She’ll be here in a while.”
 
“Ah, Mr. Choi!” a cheery old lady called from the gate. She was slightly smaller than Jery, fine-boned even, but there were fewer lines on her face than what Jery expected from a woman her age.
 
“Mrs. Lee, glad you could join us.” He introduced Jery in Korean. “This is Ms. Jery Adelair, your new tenant. Jery, Mrs. Lee JungSo, your landlady.”
 
Jery took the proffered hand for a handshake but she also bowed. “Good afternoon, ma’am, it’s nice to finally meet you,”
 
“Ah, me too,” the lady enthusiastically returned. “The place has been left vacant too long – there were not much takers since the group of boys transferred next door.” She chatted while they headed to the house.
 
“They’re lovely rascals, mind you, but I guess peace of mind was more important for those who looked into leasing an apartment.” Mrs. Lee stopped while she showed Jery how to open the double locks.
 
“The house is actually installed with biometrics, but I prefer using keys, as I opted not to have access. So, here are your keys, and I have a copy set back home. Oh, by the way, I live just down the street, the only house with the blue shingles, you wouldn’t miss it, so if you need anything, just drop by.” Mrs. Lee opened the door to show Jery her new house.
 
The door opened to a raised hardwood platform that made up her first floor. A staircase on the left led up to the second floor. The first floor arrangement was topsy-turvy but it indeed had everything she needed – two sets of longue sofas, a low coffee table, TV, component set, a small dining table/bar type and four high stools. Stainless steel kitchen equipment was also available, and a first floor bathroom.
 
“I’ll have the fridge sent over tomorrow morning – I’m currently using two as I was told the appliance would be damaged if not used for a long time. But I could use the savings in electricity, and the space, of course.”
 
“Would you have people to help you with that?” Mr. Choi asked.
 
“Well, actually, I was hoping you might have a couple of extra hands. And a truck to load the thing in.”
 
“I’ll send over the company truck and three maintenance men. How does 9 AM sound?”
 
“That will be fine.”
 
“I’ll send over the home PC you’d be using, too.” Mr. Choi addressed Jery by this time. She had been busy checking out the kitchen cabinets and the backdoor. She’d have to buy a couple of plates and utensils for eventual guests but other than that, everything she needed was there.
 
“Sure, Mr. Choi, will I need to accompany them tomorrow?”
 
“No need, I’ll be back here tomorrow. We’ll just knock when we have your stuff. I need to set up the protocols for your PC, that’s why I need to come back. Oh, by the way, the phone company will also come in by tomorrow to install your home phone and internet. How about cable, Mrs. Lee?”
 
“Hmm, the Americans who last used this house had cable installed. IKS Cable Company, I think – they’re the only one offering a number of foreign channels. The rest usually offer Korean, Chinese and Japanese channels. Shall we go up to the second floor?”
 
“There’s a swimming pool just outside the yard, is that for tenant’s use, too?” Jery asked as they went up. She had checked out the backyard and though small, the back gate led out to a wider area that sloped down, at the bottom of which was a swimming pool currently covered in snow and dead leaves.
 
“Yes, but I usually have it cleared up during spring, in time for the summer, which is the only time it could be used. Oh, now I remember, I’ll be installing a structure around it, make it an indoor pool, so it can be used year-round. I’ve had a couple of inquiries for using the space, let’s say, for a private party. That’s additional income, too. It shouldn’t bother the tenants as the pool is accessible via a little gate at the side of the house.”
 
The second floor had a spacious lounge area. Toward the front of the house was a study/office area, with a glass table and high office chair, as well as empty bookshelves. Jery wistfully remembered the boxes of books she left back home. She now wondered if she should have it shipped.
 
Adjacent to the office area was the second floor bath, and this time, she had her own tub.
 
“Wow, I’ve never had this many bathrooms before. Mrs. Lee, is there somewhere I can get cleaning services, say once a week? I can do brooms and laundry, but bathrooms and gardening are not my specialty.” She noticed that her part of the yard had a neglected look.
 
“I can send over my maid, I think she’d welcome the extra income. My staff work hard on weekdays but weekends are usually their own time. But my stay-in maid also putters around on weekends, as she usually doesn’t go out, so I’d think she’ll welcome a weekly task out of my home.”
 
They next went to check her bedroom. There was one queen-sized bed and cabinets on one side – large enough to hold in her stuff.
 
“So, you’ve thought of what else you’d need? We can go shopping tomorrow after we install the fridge,” Mr. Choi asked.
 
Jery looked worried. “Well. Mr. Choi, I just got here, and I didn’t exactly bring that much for shopping…”
 
Mr. Choi laughed. “I forgot. Part of your benefits is living expense. For our foreign employees, we usually release a big sum at the onset, with the intention of providing you a means to transfer here without worrying about where you’d live, or how to buy stuff before you get your first paycheck. You haven’t even used much of yours yet, as we got a good offer by leasing a fully-furnished house. The rent is slightly higher than if we rented an unfurnished one but if you factor in buying equipment and stuff, we still saved a lot.”
 
“The appliances are still pretty much in good order. Though if it gets broken during your stay here, you do have to replace it,” Mrs. Lee said.
 
“Ok then, I guess I’d need garden tools, a vacuum, and a washing machine and dryer. I presume people don’t sundry their laundry during winter.” Then she paused. “Or is there a Laundromat nearby where I can have clothes washed and dried?”
 
“There’s actually one in the same block as our office building. If you take that route, there should be no problem picking up your laundry.” Mr. Choi informed her.
 
“Isn’t that rather far?” she asked.
 
“Actually, no, the office is only two blocks from here, a fifteen-minute walking distance, actually. Knowing you don’t drive, you have everything you’d need within 15-minutes walking distance. If you need to go somewhere else, you can always call for a cab.”
 
“Wow, that’s pretty much convenient. Mrs. Lee, what else do I need to know?”
 
“Let’s get you started on the biometrics. Here are your alarm codes. I do recommend that you only use them when you are not in the house, let’s say during daytime, when you’re at work, or when you go somewhere for the weekend. The alarm, however, is set to recognize your biometrics, but not keys. If somebody managed to get your keys and used it to open your door, they’ll need to input the alarm codes to deactivate it. There are only two people here who can do that, which are you and I. If the codes are not put in within one minute, the signal will inform the local police station that the house has been breached, and that they’ll send someone to look things over.”
 
“Next is the thermostat. The default setting is a 20 degree Celsius room temperature. Regardless if it is cold or hot outside – this needs to be on all the time, as it eats more electricity when you are adjusting temperatures to cool a hot room or heat a cold room, not to mention straining the thermostat. This house was installed a model that should last thirty more years. Part of the tubes run under the wooden platforms here and on the ground floor, so if you think the floor is cold, we’ll have it checked.”
 
“It doesn’t need maintenance?” Jery wondered. She kept thinking environmental systems were similar to air conditioners in her country that continually take in dust and water.
 
“No, it’s a closed system. You’d need to take out the walls and ceiling to install new models. That is still more cost efficient. Houses which do not have thermostats usually have fireplaces to regulate the temperature during winter.” Mr. Choi informed her.
 
They finished registering her fingers and palm print for the biometrics. It was already getting dark outside.
 
“Thank you so much for your time, Mrs. Lee,” Jery thanked her profusely, presenting her a box of varied delicacies from her country.
 
“Oh, you didn’t have to,” Mrs. Lee said, though visibly touched by the gift.
 
“No, I really brought these for you, well, for everyone I had intended to thank for making my transfer here go smoothly. It isn’t much, but I do hope it gives you a taste of what we have back home. Thank you so much.” Jery gave a deep bow to show her appreciation.
 
She also sent Mr. Choi home with his own box of goodies, which he delightfully said would make his children happy. She declined an invitation to have her go see where she could get dinner as her mother had absurdly packed food for her. She was only thankful that the Korean customs officer let her have it, though it didn’t escape her attention that he was amused.
 
She placed her first overseas call to her mother, as she ate the heated rice and pork. Her mother was relieved she reached Korea safely, though she did get an earful for not informing them sooner. After the call, she dashed off a short message to Kyuhyun announcing her arrival in Seoul.
 

 It was late when Kyuhyun read her message. In his excitement, he tried calling her as he made his way to the van that would carry the SuJu members home.
 
“Ah, why is she not answering?” he said to no one in particular, causing Leeteuk and Donghae to look up at him from their seats, then look at each other with Kyuhyun's peculiar behavior.
 
“It’s 2 AM in the morning,” Leeteuk informed him. In true Kyuhyun fashion, he covered his face in embarrassment as soon as he realized it was too early in the morning to be calling.
 
“Which girl were you calling, and what time zone?” Donghae asked the pointed questions. They had just wrapped up filming of their latest music video. All around the van, various SuJu members were either yawning, or already asleep.
 
Kyuhyun merely rolled his eyes at Donghae before informing them that Jery had sent him a message telling him of her arrival in Seoul.
 
“Ah, Jery-noona!” they recalled the lady they shared the flight with back in December.
 
“Just call tomorrow and say hi. She’ll be asleep by now.” Leeteuk advised their maknae. For some reason, Kyuhyun had formed an attachment to her after that flight, even calling overseas since Christmas.
 
They reached home about an hour later, each sleepily getting off the van and lugging their stuff home. Shindong first noticed the next-door apartment’s porch lights were on.
 
“Oh, we have a new neighbor?” he asked unexpectedly. The rest of the guys stopped in their tracks as they also realized it.
 
Seven of the thirteen SuJu members shared the same house – the rest had opted to stay in the previous dormitory. But since the house also had a dance studio and mini-recording studio, it was also where the boys hang out and practice. Heechul had his own room while Sungmin shared the room with Shindong, Kyuhyun with Donghae and Leeteuk with Eunhyuk.
 
“Come on guys, it’s late. Let’s greet the new neighbor later. I’ll make ramen in kimchi stew to take next door when we greet him,” Sungmin offered.

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