Chapter 8

Kim Jongin

His ears had not been properly prepared for the squealing of three girls in a rather spacious house.

First, he'd never been inside Aisha's house, and when he pictured it, it was small and cozy. When he saw the outside of it the second time he thought to himself did it really look that modern? He assumed it was too long ago to actually remember it. It was very modern-looking, especially for the suburbs of Seoul. When he stepped inside with Aisha, he was floored by the modernism most likely taken from the Western World. The first floor was open, the kitchen and dining area seamlessly shifting into the living room with a window that reached floor to ceiling. He noticed one bathroom near the foyer and the open spiral staircase in the corner that lead up to four rooms which he saw through the open hallway. The big lighting fixture in the center of it all was something that demanded attention.

"We're here!" he called out and immediately. HeeYoung and SunJung came out of one of the rooms. He smelled rice cooking as well. They must've been home longer than Aisha expressed.

"Hello!" HeeYoung waved down at them. "We've been waiting. We couldn't get much done without Aisha. Sooyoung told us to eat something and come back. We left some rice for you in the cooker."

"How'd it go?" SunJung asked.

Aisha signed something to them.

"Oh, Sage is texting Luuuuuuhaaaaaaaan!" HeeYoung teased. 

"Hey, I can hear you!" he heard Sage say. He chuckled to himself and watched Aisha communicate with both of them from downstairs. Then she made a motion for them to go down stairs. Sage eventually came out and they all went down the stairs together.

"So, what was the results?" Sage asked eagerly.

"Well," Kai started, making the girls wait for extra effect,"Aisha's chords are significantly better than they were a few years ago, so now she can start talking again!"

The squeals were deafening in the open house and Kai covered his ears as they squealed and hugged their best friend. He did find the sight rather touching and smiled. Most of all he loved how happy Aisha looked. His heart did a little dance when he saw her looking at him from the group hug shyly. There was no denying that even though she hadn't spoken one word to him, he liked her more and more everyday. Actions spoke louder than any word she'd probably ever say and he knew she was a diamond among stones, or in this case, the rare black pearl among normal pearls.

"Oh my gosh, I got to tell Luhan!" Sage exclaimed as the girls rolled their eyes. Ever since the dreaded 'thou-shall-not-speak-of-it' bathroom dilemma, Luhan had yet to stop texting Sage. It was kind of cute to see Luhan's face light up whenever he got a text from her in the studio, but he was insanely shy when it came to expressing feelings to girls. Especially Sage.

"You tell Luhan everything." SunJung said, poking Sage's cheek. Sage blushed and adjusted her glasses.

"Anyway, we got to tell Minha and Sooyoung!" HeeYoung said. Aisha smiled brightly, but signed something to them. I've got to learn at least a little bit of sign language. He thought to himself.

"Are you sure you want to tell them by yourself?" Sage asked. Oh, so that's what she said. Aisha nodded, and untangled herself from the huddle. She walked over to him and took his hand and began to write.

So, how about those speech lessons?

Kai nodded as the two girls exclaimed "Oh gosh we're going to be late!" and off they went to the studio. Sage went to the kitchen and helped Aisha make something to eat. He couldn't really tell what they were doing, but it smelled really good. He walked over to the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" he asked curiously.

"Making something to eat, duh!" Sage said in English. "Oh...sorry. Uh...did you understand that?"

Kai raised his eyebrows and answered in English, "Yes. I do know enough to have a small conversation."

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. I...I just..." she stammered. "It's been a