Finally home for a a couple of days at the end of January, Hoon was eating an extremely late dinner with Serin. “You know,” he mentioned, “when I was on the US tour, I felt like I really need to seriously learn more English. Part of me thinks it would be nice to live in the United States when I finally retire.”

“Well,” Serin considered, “I can help you learn English. I’m not really the best tutor, but I can help some. And moving to the US would probably make it easier to open that sports complex you’ve mentioned a few times. It’ll be easier to get land.”

He thought for a moment. “That is probably true. But even if I never live in the US, I do still want to learn English. I want to communicate to the overseas fans as easily as Kevin, Eli, and Jaeseop do.”

“I understand. I’m kind of surprised you never asked before.”

“Before… it didn’t matter to me as much. I felt comfortable enough just letting the other three translate for me. But I want to connect with them personally, as well. I want to read and understand their tweets and be able to message them back. I want to learn English, Serin. Kevin and Eli joked around when I said it, telling me to pay them for lessons.”

“Don’t worry, Hoonie,” she said, smiling across the table at him. “I’ll teach you as best as I can. But you’re going to have to put time in on your own, as well.”

“I know,” he stated. “You are busy. I’m busy. There won’t be much time to study together. But my memory is good. I shouldn’t have too much trouble.”

“I have faith in you. Just getting the pronunciation right might take more work. That’s what a lot of people struggle with.”

“You’ll help me, though, right?”

She nodded.

“Thank you. I’ll have Kevin and Eli be sure they correct me whenever I’m wrong. And about moving to the US…” Hoon started. “You wouldn’t mind it, would you?”

She pondered because the phrasing of this question had more ramifications than him just asking if she thought it was a good idea. This was him asking her if she’d go with him if the time ever came. “I wouldn’t mind,” she told him finally. “If it is what you think you want to do, it’s what you should do.”

Dinner was finished, and it was getting even later. Hoon was keenly aware that he needed to leave. He had, so far, been keeping his promise to Soohyun, mostly because Serin had fully agreed with Soohyun’s decision and would kick him out before it got too late, and the fact that he wasn't in the country enough to have to worry about it. “I guess I should go,” Hoon said then. “Tomorrow will start pretty early. Have to catch a flight first thing.”

“Ah yes,” she said, standing up suddenly and walking to the fridge. She pulled something out and walked up to him. “I know it’s early, but here’s your chocolate for Valentine’s Day. I wanted to give them to you in person this year. Since I keep missing big holidays, I wanted to at least give you one gift in person.”

Hoon accepted the box of chocolates she held out. “Thank you very much. If you want, I’ll save them until the actual day.”

“No no. It’s okay. You can eat them now. They’ll taste better,” she insisted.

She walked with him to the door, and he slid on his shoes, preparing to leave. She grabbed him by the wrist as he turned to walk away, and he turned to look at her. Quickly and firmly she embraced him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his lips. “Goodnight, Hoonie,” she said as she stepped away from him. “I’ll see you again later.”

--

Soohyun griped at Hoon for telling Serin she could bring over her cousin to the apartment. “You don’t make me clean like this when it’s just Serin.”

“We’re celebrating her birthday since we missed it. This has nothing to do with her cousin."

“This was Serin’s idea. You should have made her clean.”

Hoon ignored him and proceeded vacuuming the living room. Soohyun cleaned, as well, just with decidedly less determination. He’d have rather slept. After a bit, the door buzzer rang, and Hoon went to answer it. The two entered and Serin introduced her cousin to them. “Hoon and Soohyun, this is Amanda, my cousin from the US.”

“Hi, it’s very nice to meet you. I apologize in advance for my lacking Korean,” she told them.

Hoon bowed and introduced himself to her, while Soohyun made his way from the kitchen to do the same. “When’s Hoonbi getting back?” Serin asked Hoon.

“Soon, I think. He was getting extra soju and picking up the cake.”

“We can’t start until he gets here,” Serin told him.

“I know.”

“Amanda,” Serin said, capturing her cousin’s attention, which seemed to be stuck on Soohyun, “we have to wait for Hoonmin’s brother to get back.”

“Ah. Okay,” she said. “Um… Soohyun-ssi, are you okay?”

Soohyun looked at her, curious. “Yes?” he said, unsure.

“No, you’re not,” Amanda insisted. She looked at Serin and asked, “How he walked over here… there’s something off. Does he have back problems?”

Serin frowned, aware that her cousin knew enough about the group to know that Soohyun had back issues. But Serin was polite anyway, and answered her. “Yes. His back bothers him quite a bit, actually.”

“I could look at it for him,” she offered.

“You’re being too pushy,” Serin told her quietly.

Amanda quieted down then, embarrassed. Soohyun looked confused. “What did she say to you?” he asked Serin.

“She’s a doctor,” Serin told him. “She’s a massage therapist and chiropractor. So when you walked over, she immediately noticed that there’s something wrong with your back. She’s very good at what she does, but she’s overstepping her bounds.”

“Oh. Okay. Is she older than you?” Soohyun then asked, surprised to find out that someone who looked so young would be a doctor.

Serin nodded. “Yes, but not by much. She’s 26, your noona. Just be familiar with her,” Serin told both Hoon and Soohyun. “As she’s from the US and only half Korean, she didn’t really grow up with our very formal culture. It’ll work easier that way.”

“Okay,” Hoon agreed.

Soohyun nodded and asked Amanda in particular, “Do you think you could give me a massage later? After dinner? I’ll pay you. I am feeling pretty stiff right now and we've been preparing hard for a comeback in the next few weeks.”

“Sure, but you don’t have to pay. You’re one of my little cousin’s friends, so just this once, I’ll do it for free,” she told him.

He smiled at her, thankfu that she'd do him such a kind favor, and it was then that the buzzer went off, so Serin quickly went over to let Hoonbi in, as his hands occupied with a boxed cake and a bag filled with soju bottles draped around his arm. “Happy birthday,” he said flatly as he entered, clearly not happy with having had to run for things.

Serin thanked him anyway, and he carried the stuff to the table. She helped him set everything up, Hoon walking over to light the candles and call Soohyun over. The five in the room sang happily, and they all ate cake before sitting down in the living room to have a bit to drink. The other members had been invited, but had declined, preferring to get more sleep over staying up longer, especially when they knew they had to wake up early to begin the grueling task of preparing for a comeback.

They watched an anime movie, and none of them really paid super close attention to what was going on. Hoonbi texted the whole time, while Hoon encouraged Serin to take more and more shots. She was slurring her words and getting worked up, professing her love for all of them ceaselessly. Hoon was also getting fairly drunk, clinging to her, kissing her wrists, cheek, and shoulders, and snuggling up to her, which made Soohyun think it wouldn’t be long until they disappeared for a bit.

He wasn’t wrong, of course. Movie unfinished, they had stood up and, without a word, slinked down the hallway to his room. Soohyun shook his head, meeting eyes with Hoonbi, who just shrugged. “Sorry, about them, Amanda,” he said.

She just smiled and nodded at him. He wasn’t entirely sure she understood what he was saying, but she said, “It’s okay. I understand. It’s nice to be in love. And making love for your birthday is one of the best gifts.”

Soohyun flushed a bit at the open way she'd said it. There was no question that she was from the US. “Do you have a boyfriend?” he asked her.

“No. I haven’t for a while. I’m too busy now.”

“Ah,” Soohyun said. He found the news a bit surprising because he thought she was beautiful. “Oh… since they’re occupied for the time being, and Hoonbi seems busy, as well, would you mind working on my back for me?”

“Sure,” she said eagerly, standing up, ready to move to wherever he picked.

“I can lay on the floor, if that’s easiest for you,” he suggested.

She thought for a second, before saying, “Honestly, your bed might be easiest.”

So with Hoonbi giving him a raised eyebrow, he and Amanda went to his room, and she asked him to take his shirt off. He did so, embarrassed, and laid face down in his bed. She felt down the curvature of his spin, before gently working out kinks in his muscles he wasn’t aware that he had. Pressing on certain places on his back, she popped the joints in his back, and as she continued, he told her many of his worries about s, carefully avoiding Hoon’s whole wanting to get married deal. That wasn’t something he was going to discuss with anyone yet. She listened as she worked, and when she was finally finished, his back felt an awful lot better than it had felt in a long time.

“You’re very talented at this,” he said, sitting up. “Thank you very much for giving me your service for free.”

“It’s nothing,” she assured him. “Serin said many good things about you. From listening to you, I can tell that you’re a very kind and amazing person.”

He felt his face flush at the praise, and as he stood up to walk back to the living area with her, he was very thankful that he’d met her. “I wasn’t lying though. I’ll pay you to work on my back while you’re here. We’ll be around off an on the next month or so. I don’t know how long you'll be around, but I’d really appreciate it. I’ve been to plenty of back specialists, but there seems to be a prevailing opinion that unless it hurts, it's not effective. I really liked your style. My back hasn't felt this great in quite some time.”

“I should still be around until the end of May,” she explained. “My brother and I came over to visit our cousins. It's been a few years since I'd seen Serin. Since she graduated from college, actually. And I really missed her.”

“I'm glad you got the opportunity. And I suppose you'll get to see some of our comeback,” he told her.

“Oh, cool. I look forward to it. Both your comeback and working on your back again.”

As they walked out into the living room area, Serin was sitting on the couch waiting for them. She flushed as she explained, “Hoon’s asleep, but we’ll head out. I left you some cake, and took the box with me.”

Soohyun nodded, and escorted them out. 

--

“Soohyun’s movements have gotten crisper,” Kevin commented offhandedly. “It’s like his back isn’t bothering him as much as usual.”

“I noticed that, too,” Eli added.

Hoon nodded, knowing exactly why. “Ah. Serin’s cousin has been working on him.”

“Working on him?” Eli asked, finding that to be an odd way of saying something.

“Ah yeah. She’s a chiropractor and has been doing a few adjustments on him recently,” Hoon explained.

“She must be good,” Kevin said. “It’s been years so he’s been so loose in his movements.”

Hoon made a face, well aware there was just a bit more than chiropractics occurring between the two, but that wasn’t something he was bringing up. “I guess. She’s going home soon, which is probably too bad because she’s really helped Soohyun out a lot. Having her around for the comeback would be a good idea.”

"Couldn't we all use some massage therapy though?" Eli suggested.

"I think I just need straight up therapy," Kevin admitted. "I'm worried sick over this comeback."

"Aren't we all?" Kiseop said, walking in. "We're trying a completely different style and we're debuting a brand new member. There's a lot to be worried about for this comeback."

Soohyun walked in, Jun beside him, almost as if on cue. "We've got to get back to work, guys."