"Hello neighb-"  the stranger at Xiening's door stopped mid-sentence to stare at her.

It was a bit unnerving.

Xiening shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She hadn't had the time to get settled into the building complex and greet her new neighbors yet. In her defense she landed in Korea a mere week ago and despite studying to the best of her ability, Xiening was still self-conscious about her language skills. The girl in front of her door did not seem to catch wind of Xiening's nervousness however, and instead kept staring with open.

Eyes scanning Xiening up and down so quickly she was not even certain it had happened, unsure if she should feel flattered or worried about the action, before closing their mouth and seemingly regaining their senses.

"As I was saying," the stranger reiterated while shoving a furry ball into Xiening's hands, "please hide this rodent from our landlord. It'll be worth your while!" Xiening looked down with eyes wide open to the animal in her hands, unable to make heads or tails of what the stranger had been saying. The animal was sound asleep with long pointy ears and the softest of fur, looking like a mix of a small dog and a fox.

"I don't under-" Xiening started to explain but when she lifted her gaze to the spot where the stranger had been standing she found it empty. She heard a door down the hall close but wasn't quick enough to catch which one.

A bead of sweat traveled down her back.

'What in the world just happened?'

Closing the door and placing the sleeping animal on a pile of blankets on her sofa, Xiening tried to wrap her head around what just transpired.

Knock, knock, knock.

Turning her head towards the door once more that morning, Xiening contemplated not opening it for fear she might be handed another endangered animal to care for.

Knock, knOCK, SLAM!

The distinct sound of a foot getting acquainted with her door snapped her into action. As she opened the door this time she was greeted with two new faces accompanying the same stranger from before.

A moment of quiet stretched out between the four and Xiening was once again regretting her decision to wake up that day. She had the most enticing dream about a tall dark-haired stranger as well, and for such thoughts she was now undoubtedly being punished. The group standing outside her door shot some quick looks to each other, almost as if having a psychic conversation over Xiening's head and frankly it did not feel anything but rude at that time. Luckily, the strange girl from before stepped up and cleared .

"I apologize for not introducing myself earlier, my name is Jung Mimi and these two are Hyeyeon and Mina," the strange girl, Mimi, said while gesturing to the other two behind her who bowed to greet Xiening without loosing eye-contact.

Xiening bowed back and as another silence set in she realised they were expecting her to introduce herself too.

"I a-am Liu Xiening," the two new girls, Mina and Hyeyeon, exchanged a few whispers  and she hoped her pronunciation was understandable, "are you here for y-your dog?"

"Our dog?" One of the new girls with long dark hair and a black hoodie questioned with a puzzled look.

"Does she mean Ggyu?" Said the other one, sporting two auburn braids and a flowery dress.

"Ah, no," Mimi said, waving her hands dismissively, "mr. Kwang haven't showed up yet. Can we come in?"

It had clearly been worded as a question but the tone of her light voice made Xiening move over instantaneously. This Mimi person was used to getting what she wanted, when she wanted it, no doubt. And Xiening did not feel like being the person to see what would happen if you refused her. The three girls walked into her flat and in swift motions took off their shoes. Xiening didn't have any slippers to offer them but they didn't seem to mind and instead barged into her small living area as if they already new the layout of the place.

"Xiening sounds Chinese, where are you from? You look young as well, are you a '99-liner like Mina here? Oh wait, in that case you wouldn't be living alone. Unless you were really rich, I suppose, but in that case I doubt you'd chose this neighborhood. I see you haven't finished unpacking, which isn't surprising seeing as you just arrived recently, right? I have been busy all week so haven't had the chance to scout you out, so to say, but you are much cuter than mr. Kwang made you out to be. But then again, it is mr. Kwang we are talking about. He has something against dyed hair, thinks only delinquents dye their hair, which is so old-fashioned, am I right? Of course I am," Mimi's bombardment of questions got Xiening scrambling to follow them into the other room, still she wasn't sure she even got half of what was escaping the girl's lips.

'For someone as small as her she has a very big set of lungs,' Xiening thought to herself.

"Y-yes, from Guangzhou, Guangdong. I arrived this Tuesday, a-and I was born '96," Xiening answered to the best of her ability while Mimi nodded as she walked around the place.

"Good, good. Now where is that little-, oh!" Mimi exclaimed as she found the animal she had previously handed over still sleeping soundly on the sofa. She gathered the furball in her arms, bringing a blanket or two along with her, and turned to face Xiening again. Hoping this meant their odd encounter would come to an end, Xiening met Mimi's eyes with a smile.

"Now, I clearly said 'hide' the thing, don't you have an empty closet we could borrow?"

Xiening's smile faltered, and shook her head vehemently.

"I'll look anyway," Mimi concluded and started walking towards the closet area, and before Xiening could stop her the other two girls took her hands in theirs.

"I bet you two snacks Mimi forgot to tell her what this is about," the girl with the long dark hair said to the other one.

"I am not inclined to take a bet I know I'll loose," braid-girl said with a pout before turning to Xiening and giving her a pout, "We are so thankful you are helping us, Xiening unnie!"

"Yes, it is so kind of you! Mr. Kwang already has a past with Nayoung, if he were to find Ggyu at their place. Mina, and the others would..." hoodie-girl was channeling her best puppy-eyes and Xiening somehow felt it difficult to look away.

"We would definitely be kicked out!" the other girl exclaimed, who Xiening now realised was the one named Mina, visibly upset by the thought, "you see mr. Kwang has been out for our flat for weeks. He has nothing against Sejeong, but then no-one ever has a complaint against her, but Nayoung on the other hand."

"Nayoung on the other hand," Hyeyeon echoed with a sigh, "he acts like he's her father really. I am sure she resembles his own daughter or something, but that doesn't excuse the fact that he keeps giving her unreasonably ultimatums."

"Dye your hair back to black, Kim Nayoung," Mina said, lowering the tone of her voice to resemble a man's voice and scrunching up her face in a scornful expression.

"Stop ordering so much take-away, Kim Nayoung!" Hyeyeon exclaimed with her own impression of their landlord.

"Go to college, Kim Nayoung!"

"Or else I'll find a reason to terminate your contract, Kim Nayoung!"

The two girls dropped their acts and dropped their shoulders in resignation.

"It is so unfair," said Mina in a quieter tone this time, "Nayoung has been under so much stress lately too. A proper adult shouldn't act this way."

"And now that Nayoung agreed to help watch Ggyu for a relative, if mr. Kwang finds out he would have the perfect excuse to end her contract prematurely."

"I am scared of what he might use it to blackmail her into."

Before Xiening knew it she was clenching their hands tighter in hers. She was starting to understand the girls worries and sincerely wished she could help them out, maybe this situation wasn't as bad as it first seemed to be. Doing them this one favour might make her new friends, and her family would finally stop pestering her about moving back home and marrying her off so she wouldn't be lonely.

"You see, we are not allowed to have pets in the flats."

A shiver ran down Xiening's back.

"Oh, but don't worry! I highly doubt mr. Kwang will come looking for Ggyu in your flat," Hyeyeon exclaimed, "he knows you are new here so would have no reason to help us!"

"Exactly, and you can play the foreigner card if he asks you any questions!"

The two girls, albeit sweet, was rapidly failing at reassuring Xiening that getting to know them was somehow in her favour.

"Perfect!" Mimi called out from behind them, having found an empty cupboard Xiening was planning on housing her linen in but who unpacks linen the first thing they do when moving into a new flat? (You did? Oh well, congratulations on being a more mature human being. I'd give you a medal, but I'm all out of medals at this moment!)

"I'll stuff Ggyu in here, and you can just close the door if mr. Kwang comes looking!"

"But he won't!" Hyeyeon said while sending Mimi a pointed look.

"Yeah, he won't," Mina agreed, still holding Xiening's hand tightly, "so you will help us, right?"

Xiening looked from the sweet girls in front of her, with their pleading eyes, to the older girl by the cupboard with a firm hand on her hips and a satisfied smirk on her small face, to the sleeping ball of fluffy fur snugly resting on a shelf in the cupboard with only their small black nose sticking out from the blankets they had settled into.

Despite their story tugging at her heartstring, something in their expressions put Xiening on guard. But to make enemies with the first neighbors who had approached her since she left to fulfill her dream in Seoul, now what would that make of her?

"I think-" Xiening started to say, before two rapid knocks on her front door interrupted her thoughts once again.

"I'll get it," Mimi said in a hurry, slamming the cupboard door closed and walking briskly towards the entrance, "it must be Nayoung coming to make sure things are going well."

As Mimi walked past them Hyeyeon and Mina pulled Xiening towards her own sofa and sitting down with her on either side, reassuringly patting her hands or her hair. However, the husky voice greeting Mimi at the door made Xiening's heart leap out of her chest.

"Oh, are you doing in this flat, ms. Jung? Your unit is across the hall, if my memory serves me right. I am here to have a word with our new tenant."

She had heard that voice before.

"G-good day, mr. Kwang."

A/N: This chapter was actually supposed to introduce all of the girls but the story just kept on growing and expanding and I wanted to publish it before Monday, so here you go! If you enjoyed reading it, please leave comment and I'll work hard to bring more chapters soon! Also if you find any mistakes send me a dm as I currently don't have a beta-reader for this story, and I'll mention and thank you! :)