The boys left shortly after Nari had fed them, and after they’d already reconstructed Corina’s bed frame. All that was left to move was a few bits of furniture and boxes that had been left in the apartment. Min Young had made sure to grab Corina’s makeup and a few of her work outfits so she wouldn’t have to worry about running back and forth between apartments, and he also took special care to grab a sock monkey that had been laying on the floor of Corina’s room. When Nari had questioned it, Min Young shrugged and continued about his business.

But now, as the two sat in the new apartment by themselves, he began to open up. “Her sock monkey’s name is Snuggles McCuddleson.”

“What?” Nari spat, sitting up straighter on the couch and laughing.

Min Young sighed. At the moment, he was standing on the other side of the coffee table, as he had just finished setting a few pictures on a shelf across the room, but he walked around the table and sat down beside Nari, grabbing her legs and draping them over his own. “Yeah, she’s attached to him. From what she’s said to me, her older brother gave him to her when she was eight.”

“I didn’t know she had an older brother.”

“She has like twelve siblings.” He said laying his head on Nari’s raised knees. “But she’s the only girl in the family. I also happen to know that only eight of her and her siblings are legitimate. Her father had an affair and divorced her mother to be with the other woman.” Nari’s eyes widened. “This all sounds really bad, I know, but she was pretty privileged in her life before she came here so she’s okay.”

Nari frowned. “That doesn’t mean she wasn’t hurt by it.”

“Oh she was hurt.” Min Young said, nodding his head. “Really, really hurt. In fact, she and her father no longer speak. Her mother hasn’t been seen or heard from since her father divorced her and was given custody of the younger kids, and she blames him.” He frowned. “She’s right of course. But her monkey was given to her by her eldest brother, Grigory. He joined the military and is a very high ranking general, but she doesn’t like to talk about it because he’s still in contact with his father.”

Nari nodded. “So Grigory was favored?”
 

“All the boys were favored. From what she’s told me, the first eight siblings, who were from the first wife, were pushed and pushed again, so they work for what they have, but the youngest four have everything handed to them. Her youngest brother is only two years younger than her, and he still lives with his family, he doesn’t have a job, and he doesn’t go to school. But he is her father’s favorite.”

Nari laughed at this. “Her dad is so backwards.”

“He seriously is.” Min Young laughed. “Listen to this. Her youngest brother’s name is German. But her family is Russian through and through. Her dad picks some weird names.” He said laughing again.

“They aren’t all that weird,” Came Corina’s voice, as she moved into the room. Both Nari and Min Young’s eyes widened. “German is a traditional name on his mother’s side of the family. Ivan, Lev and Makar were named after their uncles.” She shrugged her shoulders. “But their names aren’t the best, truth be told.”

“Are those… your youngest brothers?” Nari asked.

Corina nodded, placing the briefcase she had taken to work with her onto the floor as she ed her jacket. “And technically, German is legitimate. But only technically.”

“How could your dad have so many kids and not go crazy?” Nari asked.

Corina laughed loudly. “My father is as mad as they come. Multiples run in my family, so a couple of us are twins and triplets.” She walked towards the couch and sat on the coffee table across from them. “So there’s Grigory, the first born, but it’s just him. He’s a general now and has a wife. She’s pregnant with their first son. Grigory is two years older than Mikhail and Pyotr, who are the first set of twins, and the biggest trouble makes. Then there’s Oleg, Pavel and Sergei. They’re those weird twins that like finish each other’s sentences. It’s scary. Then there’s Roman and I.”

“You’re a twin?” Min Young asked.

Nari’s eyes narrowed at him. “You seriously didn’t know that, but you know everything else about her?”

Min Young shrugged, and Corina nodded. “I am. My brother teaches in China.”

“Was that planned?”

Corina laughed. “It might have been.”

“But Grigory is your favorite brother?” Min Young asked, his face twisting with a confused look.

Corina shrugged. “Well, Grigory moved out when Roman and I were really young, and when my dad was being… the way he is, Grigory was who would rescue us. So he’s definitely who I turn to in most situations, but Roman’s pretty much a second me-”

“Technically, you’re a second him.” Min Young pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Don’t start with me Min.” She said, sliding her phone out of her skirt pocket and unlocking it. “Besides, I’m the better looking twin,” She said, turning her phone and offering it to the other two.

Nari took it and held it so Min Young could look as well. It was a picture of Corina with her arms wrapped around the waist of a much taller boy. She was smiling very hard and her eyes were squinted shut. The boy, presumably Roman, had his hand on her back and smiled at the camera, his sapphire blue eyes bright and shining and his white smile bright. He was laughing, which was noticeable because his mouth was partly opened. His hair was a few shades darker than Corina’s almost black, and his skin was also more tanned than hers. He was incredibly handsome, and it was right at that moment that a message popped up on the top of her screen, from Roman himself, but it was in another language. “Uhm,” Nari said, handing her phone back. “Roman text you.”

Corina’s eyes widened and she took the phone. “Wow, uhm, that’s strange.”

“Is it really?” Min Young asked, turning to Nari. “He’s the cuter twin,” He said quietly, and Nari laughed.

Corina nodded her head. “Yeah he doesn’t really text. If he needs something he calls, and if he wants to just talk, we Skype.” She shook her head.

“Is everything okay then?” Nari asked.

Corina shook her head, staring down at her phone with her brow pulled together. “Something happened-” Her fingers moved so fast across the screen they were almost a blur. “Something happened in China.”

Nari’s brow tugged together. “What?”
 

“He… He lives in Tianjin. And there’s been an explosion.” Corina said slowly.

Min Young gasped. “Is he okay?”

“He wouldn’t be texting me if he wasn’t. But I guess his apartment is completely charred and he’s living in the school with a few others who-” She frowned. “How the hell am I only just learning about this! This happened days ago!”

Nari bit her lip. “Uhm, maybe… maybe you’ve been busy. You know, with moving in and work.”

Corina pursed her lips. “Maybe. I’m going to call him. I’ll be right back.” She said, standing and moving towards the hallway outside of the apartment.

Min Young frowned. “Man, I would be crying right now if that was my brother.”

“You have a brother as well?” Nari asked, smiling.

Min Young nodded. “Yes. I’m the oldest. And then there’s my brother Jihoon, and my sister Ye Jun.” He laughed lightly. “Jihoon is thirteen and Ye Jun is five.”

“Wow. And you’re like-”

“Twenty two. Yeah. My parents had me relatively young, and then wanted to wait to have my brother. Ye Jun was a surprise.” He said, shrugging his shoulders. “What about you?”

She shook her head. “Just me.” She said, shrugging her shoulders.

“Well, Chanyeol-”

“Is my cousin. But he’s basically the closest I have to a brother,” She said, her expression falling to dismal. “When I was little, my parents weren’t the best of people. My father was a drunk and my mother… well, my mother did what she had to in order to get money. So when my dad left, my mom kind of had a break down and… well, the social workers thought it’d be better for me to live with Chanyeol and his family.”

Min Young frowned. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m not.” She said blandly. “I had a way better life with my cousin. Chanyeol means the world to me, and his parents did a lot for me. Like a lot a lot.” She said, shrugging her shoulders. “I don’t think I would be where I am if I didn’t live with them. That’s why I’m not bitter, because it was a better place for me to be.”

Min Young smirked. “So how did Chanyeol end up becoming an idol and you became a cook?”

“Easy,” She said, rolling her eyes. “He was more vocal and outgoing than I was at a young age. I couldn’t do that and make it through trainee days.” She said shaking her head. “Besides, I would never want to be an idol. Associating with ten of them is enough, but to be one of them? Ew.”

“Ew?” Min Young asked, laughing.

Nari nodded. “Yeah ew! They’re ill treated and their fans aren’t always good fans. I don’t think I could last without wanting to beat my head against a wall.”

Min Young frowned. “Are there really that many bad fans?”

“A few fans rented a van and tried to use it to trick my cousin and his friends into leaving with them. A few fans shaved their heads and followed my cousin and his friends into a locker room, so they all thought that the girls were boys. One put a microphone in Tao’s hotel room to hear everything he said.” She frowned. “I don’t think I could handle this repeatedly.”

Min Young nodded. “I understand.”

“Do you?” Nari asked, laughing.

Min Young looked hurt. “I am not like that, Nariko!”

The door opened and Corina moved back inside. “He’s okay.” She said slowly. “But since he was in the middle of a transfer, he doesn’t have a job, and he can’t transfer because of the disaster just yet.” She sighed. “This day has been a handful.”