Anna frowned at the strange blond boy with a scarily-delighted grin. What the…? She turned to the boy—evidently named Bobby—with the question clearly written across her face: What is going on?

But he looked as if someone had smacked him across the face. “Wait. You all thought…?”

“I’d assumed your friend was a boy, seeing how this is an all-male sharehouse,” began the evident hostess of the house, still looking a bit blindsided by the unexpected turn of events. “Honey, I’m afraid we can’t have any couples in this house together; we’re a bit old-fashioned around here, you see.”

“Whoa, whoa,” Anna laughed in disbelief. “What is going on here? I only called in about the room because I found the ad posted outside this convenience shop. There are no couples here.” She eyed the six boys apologetically. “I mean…I can’t speak for them, but…”

“Why did it feel like she was looking at us?” Chanwoo muttered to Yunhyeong, who took a horrified step away from him.

“I’m more insulted that she’d think I’d go out with you, of all the guys here,” he hissed back.

“An ad?” The hostess looked baffled. “Bobby just told us that he had a friend in need of a place to live for the summer.”

“Well, he wasn’t wrong, but…we don’t even know each other,” Anna said. “The first time I spoke with him was two nights ago over the phone. I got his number from the flier advertising a room being let out.”

“But we never released an ad,” the hostess shook her head. “Until Bobby asked for the attic for a friend, we were completely full. I’m afraid there’s been a serious misunderstandi—”

“Mrs. Kim!” cut in the loud blond with widened eyes. “We should show her the room since she came all the way here to see it!”

“Well…” the hostess—Mrs. Kim—looked conflicted, “I suppose so. I’m very sorry, but this may take a bit more deliberation than I thought. We intended for this to be an all-male sharehouse, as you can see.”

Anna took a quick look around the room and nodded. “But I lived in a co-ed dorm for the past two years of college, so this isn’t really new for me.”

“Co-ed dorms in college?” The blond one—Anna quickly deduced that he was the most bothersome one—looked fascinated. “I didn’t know some universities had those. If I’d known, I would’ve tried harder for the admissions exa—”

“Just shut up, will you?” The rather quiet one with glasses next to him shuddered visibly. “I’m trying to read.” The blond one rolled his eyes.

“Yeah. I’m an up and coming junior at Berkeley.”

“California?” asked Mrs. Kim, who turned to Bobby. “Well, look at that! She’s from America too!”

Anna turned to look at Bobby. “Really? Where are you from?”

“ia,” Bobby answered. “Opposite end of the country.”

“Huh. Well, West Coast, best coast,” Anna said out of habit with a joking smile. Bobby’s expression suggested that he’d like to argue, but Mrs. Kim had begun walking up the stairs.

“Why did you need a place to live in Seoul if you go to university in America, Saerim?”

“I’m here for a research internship that my professor got for me, ma’am,” Anna replied, following at her heels. “It’s just for the summer, and my housing arrangements with a friend kinda…it didn’t work out.”

“Oh?” Mrs. Kim looked interested. “What kind of research are you interested in?”

“I’m a biochemistry and molecular biology student. The lab I’m joining next week focuses on cell signaling mechanisms that could play a part in cancer metastasis.”

As they disappeared up the stairs, Anna heard the blond one not-so-quietly ask the pretty boy, “Did you understand a word of that?”

“Metastasis is when the cancerous cells begin spreading to regions separate from the origin of the cancer,” explained Glasses knowledgably, and the guys all made various noises of understanding.

“Well, I’d love to have you join the sharehouse, Saerim,” Mrs. Kim said with an apologetic smile, “but I’m not sure if my husband will be okay with the idea of a girl living amongst us. I suppose it could work if he agrees, but…” Mrs. Kim turned to Anna with a questioning look, “are you sure you’d be comfortable living with so many boys?”

“I mean, it’s only seven of them, right?” Anna stuck her hands into the pockets of her faded jean shorts.

“Eight,” Mrs. Kim corrected. “Bobby’s roommate isn’t home at the moment.”

“Oh, well, my floor back at school had eighteen boys and six girls, so,” Anna shrugged, “this is no problem.”

“All right, then,” Mrs. Kim nodded. “Then all we need to do is show you the attic. Mind you, it hasn’t been cleaned out in over a decade. It’ll need a lot of work.”

Anna bit her bottom lip. Did I jinx my own luck when I said I’d prefer a dusty old attic over sharing an apartment with Matt and Lydia? She had to remind herself that she really was out of options at this point, and this was probably the best offer she’d get. “That’s okay. I can contribute too, of course.”

“All righty. Head on up and let us know what you think.”

Anna climbed the rickety ladder, feeling slightly uneasy, and poked her head up into the loft. It was large and spacious…and also teeming with dust particles, full to the brim with cobwebby cardboard boxes, and what appeared to be several families of spiders. She had to swallow a scream when a daddy long legs scampered by her face.

“It used to be a spare bedroom, so the fiberglass insulation was covered in the ceiling and walls. But over the years, we replaced it as an old storage space. It’s…a bit much, isn’t it?” Mrs. Kim sounded worried.

“I mean…it is now, but…” Anna trailed off, not knowing where to go with the rest of that sentence. “I’ll need a lot of help.”

“We’ll be happy to provide it,” Mrs. Kim nodded.

“It’s plenty spacious too,” Anna said, trying to find the silver linings, “and there are two windows to let in extra air through.” She climbed back down the stairs and gave Mrs. Kim a determined nod. “I’ll take it. If you’ll have me, of course.”

“I’ll have to discuss this with my son and husband, but I see no reason why they should have a problem with you joining our family. And living expenses will be the same as everybody else: 950 thousand won per month. That includes utilities, electricity, immediate emergency health insurance, and provisions for a guest for up to a week.”

It wasn’t out of the range of her budget, but it also wasn’t cheap. Would it be worth it for a dusty old attic? She took a quick look around the attic again and began picturing how it would look once it was in good shape. It’s okay. I could do some remodeling and decorating. “All right.” Anna landed back on the ground. “Bobby has my number. Please let me know as soon as possible if you’ll let me move in; it’s kind of urgent.”

“Don’t worry about it, Saerim.” Mrs. Kim smiled, patting her shoulder. “If it were up to me, I’d sign you on as a boarder immediately. It’d be nice to have another girl around when I’m surrounded by these boys all day.” She turned to Bobby, who’d been lurking by the top of the staircase silently. “Would you mind showing Saerim to the kitchen for lunch while I get things sorted out up here?”

“You don’t need to go through the trouble