Inhye hasn’t even been in Busan for three hours and she already loves it. All of her concerns, problems and worries are left in Seoul. Or at least, an invisible barrier surrounding Busan holds them away from her. She doesn’t know what it is, but the atmosphere full of youth and carefreeness makes the thought of just dropping the murderer case tempting. She’s too young to be a lawyer, she wants to enjoy her life in Busan with other young people.

Hansol. Ji Hansol. Or Hyung, as they all call him. His constant Busan inside jokes, the stupidly foolish accent and his personality made him the meme of the group. He had showed them around in his farm (since that’s where they’ll be staying for the trip) and actually told them the names of his 40 sheep, 20 cows, 120 hens, 20 pigs, 17 cats and eight dogs! Truth to be told, Inhye is somewhat impressed by the fact that he actually can come up with so many names.

”New tractor?” Taeyong had asked as they walked by way too many vehicles that Inhye barely knew their functions and names of.

Hansol had patted the blue, big tractor. ”Oh, this old thingy? Yeah, her name is Matilda,” he even named his tractors God bless this dude. ”Yeah, no, kinda new. Super nice. Came here a week ago or so. Chosen as the best tractor of the year. Nothing special, shall we continue the tour?”

So while Hansol were a huge ing meme, Ten and Johnny were just ... Inhye can’t even describe them. They’re one of a kind, never before had Inhye met people like them. Ten for example. He is very playful and childish, but the complete opposite of innocent. Even though she’s actually younger than him, she forgets her real age around him. He’s extroverted, so so incredibly extroverted. Inhye has only known him for a few hours but she can already see him as someone who goes out every night, maybe hooks up with someone; his occupation as a bartender suits him perfectly. He is gorgeous. Straight up, objectively beautiful. His smile, oh God his smile. It has her breath caught every time.

Johnny, too, is extremely extroverted. The way he calls her some occasional pet names proves how comfortable around people he is; knowing that he can pull off almost anything. He is without doubt the guy that goes to a bar, sits in an empty booth and after a few minutes it’s suddenly full. His personality makes you want to be with him, get to know him. And , isn’t he good looking? Brown hair that falls over his eyes at times, but often swept to the side. Plump lips constantly smiling by his cattish, up-curved lips. Lets not mention his hands. Briefly, they are huge.

Last but not least. Taeyong. Lee Taeyong. Someone Inhye thought she knew but apparently didn’t. In Seoul, he was restricted, serious and never really changed his facial expressions. Here, he sneezes loudly, trips over his own feet, complains about stepping into something unidentifiable, but he’s also a scaredy cat that hid behind Johnny when a cow came to greet them. Somehow, at the same time, he’s organised and still very cautious. Inhye didn’t know about his mild OCD until Ten told her.

”He can’t sleep if something isn’t at it’s rightful place, and just look at his suitcase. Who organises a suitcase tidily like that?” Ten had scoffed and Inhye had raised an eyebrow. Then Ten patted her back. ”Good luck living with that and Ji Hansol these first days. Me and Johnny will join you after a few days, we’ll live in my lil’ house on the other side of the fence. I’m warning you; Taeyong is a nightmare to live with. Hansol too. I don’t know about you yet.”

Well, based on Taeyong’s stories; Ten and Johnny weren’t much better roommates.

”Where will we sleep? I mean, when the whole crew is gathered?” Inhye asks and looks around. The farm is indeed huge, but the rooms are mostly for the animals. That’s understanding, of course, but never did Inhye ever think that a pair of hens needed a miniature apartment house?

”Well, to begin with; Hansol’s room will fit the three of you these first days, or else Hansol’s older brother just moved out, that’s an option? And when we last were here all together, we slept in the barn,” he points one slender finger to a red barn, whose colour looks like it is about to blow off the wood. ”The party was in there, too. It was incredible, Hansol’s mom had no idea. Oh, and about that; Hyung! Where is your mom?”

Hansol stops his brand new tractor and throws his arms in opposite directions, expressing exaggerated happiness. ”Good news dudes! - and dudines?” Inhye knows he’s being considerate towards her. Or at least he tries. Gold star for effort. ”My parents will leave for a harvest-carnival tomorrow or the day after that, and it’s all the way in Daegu! My sister said she’d take care of the house but somehow I managed to persuade her to let us have the casa for ourselves; she’ll be with her boyfriend in Seoul as soon as my parents leave! How does that sound?”

Inhye doesn’t get the chance to even react before Johnny and Ten are screaming, fist pumping in the air while running around as if they’re stepping on charcoal.

While Inhye is busy giving them a somewhat judging look, Taeyong nudges her side a little, gives her some kind of grin. ”This isn’t even the real deed yet.”

•  •  •

Because of the very, way too long car ride (Inhye forgot to thank Johnny, she really should because that must’ve costed him a lot of gas) it’s already late at night and Ten and Johnny say their goodbye’s before walking their way to the house - that’s literally fence by fence with Hansol’s house.

”I’m so glad that we get at least some nights without them,” Taeyong speaks as soon as they’re alone (Hansol ran off somewhere after telling them to wait while he fed the cows). ”Seriously, and don’t give me that look Inhye I’m not being mean here! You will know just what I mean when you actually experience it!”

Inhye smiles, looks up at the Busan sky and almost passes out. ”Wow, would you look at the sky?”

Taeyong gives her a confused expression before glancing up at the sky. ”What? What is it? Is there an UFO or something? I don’t see anything?”

”The stars, Taeyong, look at them! You don’t see these many stars from Seoul,” Inhye points.  ”Wow, Regulus and Mercury are in a line with each other! Isn’t that amazing?”

Taeyong gives her a suspicious leer, somehow his guts turning into butterflies by watching her look so fascinated by something as simple as stars. Stars, that are on the sky every night. Stars, that will always come back every night. Stars, that never leaves you wondering if they’ll come back or not. Maybe there is something in that.

As soon as Taeyong wanted to ask about her obvious knowledge about outer space, Hansol runs back.

”Guys, you remember my cow Karla, right?” No. ”She looks so cute right now! She’s like, lying on her back with hay in the corners of .”

That’s a critical hint. He wants them to see badly. So this night’s conversation with Inhye took an end for Taeyong. He wanted to speak more, ask more. He really wanted to see that pure, innocent happiness in Inhye’s face by looking at the stars again, even though the butterflies in his stomach are still there.

•  •  •

”Everyone are waiting for the rooster, so be quiet,” Hansol hushes them as they enter his house, quietly taking of their shoes.

Waiting for the rooster? What?

As if Taeyong could read her mind, he carefully presses his lips to her hair to whisper his sentence into her ear. ”They’re asleep,” he translates.

That... Somehow makes sense? But still not enough sense to not make Inhye feel so frustrated that she almost threw her shoe at the blond head goddamnit.

With dead silent steps, they tip-toe up the stairs and then get into Hansol’s room. Inhye inspects it. Ribbons after horse competitions are hanging on the walls, many pictures of Hansol as a child until now, holding all kinds of trophies are framed and lies on top of the bureau. Aside from his messy bookshelf, the room is tidy. To Taeyong’s relief.

”Okay,” Hansol speaks. ”Inhye, my older brother’s room is empty from half a year back. You don’t have to sleep with us guys if you don’t want to.”

Somewhere in the back of Inhye’s mind, she remembers Soohyun telling Doyeon and Haeryung on a sleepover at their house that guys felt awkward by sleeping with girls, because the ”probability of waking up with a morning wood is still high”. Or guys are just simply unflattering when it’s still early and his explanation to why was just a pitiful excuse. That would be very typical of Soohyun.

Inhye tries to read Hansol’s mind, but comes to the conclusion that she should actually sleep in another room. Ji Hansol is after all a stranger to her, and right now Lee Taeyong is also someone she doesn’t know? Also, she wants to give the two of them some time alone, so that they can speak; since they’ve been apart for two whole years.

”Gotcha, can you show me to the room?” Inhye smiles gently.

After Hansol showed her to the room and also pointed out where the bathroom was, Taeyong and Hansol cooperate to place a mattress on the floor for Taeyong to sleep on.

”She’s not as boring as I thought?” Hansol comments, carefully watching how Taeyong will react to such a statement.

Taeyong just shrugs. ”I guess. I’ve never seen her drunk, though, so it’ll be fun to see how the midsummer-night will go. What if she accidentally sleeps with Johnny?”

”That’s not impossible, man. I mean, Johnny did get a lot of hens back there in America, he is some kind of cat-magnet. All the girls here in Busan swoon over him as well.”

”Luckily he’s already got Ten.”

Hansol grins. ”Why? Would you get upset by your girl sleeping with Johnny?”

”Yes, I would feel upset by my lawyer sleeping with my one of my closest friends what about you?”

”Rawr,” Hansol shakes his head, puts on his pyjamas with cows and pigs on before cuddling down into his sheets. ”We’ll see about the other guys though. You met Kun, right?”

Taeyong’s eyes widen. ”Don’t tell me... Will the Crazy Chinese come to another ing midsummer party?”

Hansol shrugs, laughs. ”Yeah, he’s a close friend of Ten, of course he’ll come. But anyways, last year he and Jaehyun seriously went crazy. They tried to compete in who could finish a whole bottle of soyou the quickest, that sounds absurd, doesn’t it? Fortunately Doyoung stopped them. It was horrifying, I was afraid they’d both die in my backyard by alcohol poisoning.”

Taeyong chuckles and also strips off his clothes, deciding to sleep in a white t-shirt and boxers only. The chill Busan air carefully caress the newly showed skin, it feels nice compared to Seoul’s too cramped air. ”Jaehyun and Doyoung huh? Was it tomorrow they’d come? Heard a lot about them and I really want to meet them.”

”Yeah, and Ten was kind of unsure of when his friends would arrive.”

”Why do I already have a bad feeling about this?”

”Because anything can happen in Busan.”

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