3 Months ago

This was a bad idea, you think to yourself. How in the hell am I going to pull this off? 4 weeks ago it had seemed like a much better idea. You had just finished your college degree and there were no job opportunities back home that excited you. You were starting to feel stuck, like everything around you was holding you back from something.  Most people would have moved to the big city to try their luck there but you had gone a few steps further than that. You had put your resume online and applied for jobs in other countries thinking, why not get a holiday in whilst working? You had always wanted to travel but that had been put on hold until your student loans were paid off. So you applied to jobs in France, Germany, Italy, England, USA, Korea, Japan, China & countless others.  You never thought you’d actually get a response though.

Mr. Kim from a private tutoring school in Seoul had responded to your expression of interest and interviewed you. You were certain that he’d never contact you again since the interview was your  downfall in the job application process. You always got nervous, and tripped over your words or spoke too quietly. Apparently not this time. Somehow, you had landed the job and now you found yourself in a taxi from the airport with the reality of the situation settling in. You were a long way from home in a country where you knew no one and you didn’t really speak the language. Problems for another day, right now you just wanted to reach your apartment and pass out. The flight had been 10hrs of hell and you needed a shower and a good night’s rest.

You were to be teaching English to a group of Koreans, you had never taught anyone before so you had no idea how you were going to pull this off but you were contracted in for a year. Mr Kim hadn’t even told you how many people you’d be tutoring or how old they were. You stared work in a week and had no schedule yet either. Problems for tomorrow you reminded yourself. Shower & sleep. Those were the current priorities. You spoke very little Korean so you had spent every waking hour since landing this insane job studying but 3 weeks isn’t much time to get a sufficient grip on the language. Needless to say, this was going to be an interesting experience. You just hoped it wouldn’t turn into the most stressful year of your life.

There were perks to this job. Since you had to up and leave the country the job came with an apartment which was in a pretty nice area, one you could tell you would not be able to afford to live in. All you had to pay for was your internet and groceries. All the bills were taken care of. Even if this turned into a year from hell, your student loans would be paid out in no time. The taxi came to a stop and you looked up, finally seeing your new home for the next 12 months. Out of your window you saw an apartment building, not like the tiny brick blocks you had back home. No, this apartment building was expensive…and exclusive. There was a security door blocking access into the building, cameras and CCTV at various points of the building and out the front stood 2 guards. The building had 6 floors but only 4 floors were apartments. One floor was the laundry and one was a gym. You could see that you were pretty close to the Han River and a small array of restaurants and shops. As hungry as you were, all you wanted to do was get inside your apartment and sleep. The jet lag was seriously starting to kick in. You turned, making a note to come down and appreciate the view later on, and entered the building. The guards let you through the front door after checking your passport and giving you a key and code to gain access in the future. Then they got into a black SUV and left. Weird… At least the building seemed a little less ominous now that the guards were gone.

Your apartment was up on the 4th floor so you jumped in the lift and pressed the button for your floor. Just as the doors were closing a hand shot in, preventing you from having the lift to yourself.  Please don’t look at me… I’ve been on a plane for 10hrs. You were hoping and praying that the hand belonged to a completely boring person so that you wouldn’t care if they saw your dishevelled appearance - no one looks good after 10 hours of no sleep on a plane, no one. Apparently the universe wasn’t listening to you because an extremely handsome young man stepped in. You could not help but stare at him, he was prettier than any of the guys in your town by a country mile. He smiled at you and greeted you. His face lit up when he smiled, and the dimples nearly killed you. You stumbled over your response in part because you were flustered and in part because you actually had to put your poor Korean skills to use.

'Have you just moved in?’ His smooth and quiet voice asked.

'Yes, I just flew in a couple of hours ago’ His eyes widened at your response, you could see he was thinking something over in his head.

'Have you been to Korea before?’

'No, this is my first time’ You hoped he was just being polite and that your first interaction in Korea wasn’t some serial killer sussing you out.

His face broke into that smile again and put you at ease 'How exciting!’

'It’s a little overwhelming but I’m looking forward to my time here’

'Well if you need any help, or just have questions about anything I’m on the 5th & 6th floors’

'Both floors?’ How could one person need both floors? He must be filthy rich to have 2 whole floors to himself.

'Yeah, I have 8 roommates’ Your eyes widened at the thought of having to share your space with that many people.

'Wow! Um, Thank you, I’ll pop up when I’m better rested to introduce myself to everyone - I’m sure I’ll wake up with a list of questions’

'Haha ok, someone should be home. By the way, I’m Yixing’

'I’m Y/N’ The elevator dinged and opened to the 4th floor so you said your goodbyes for now and wandered off you your new home.

You slept for 15 hours. When you finally woke up and freshened up you decided to start unpacking and making the space feel a bit more like home. 4 hours later you had to stop. Hunger was taking over and you realised that you hadn’t eaten in almost a day. You hastily threw your coat on and grabbed your keys, door code, wallet and phone and headed out. Surely there was something fast and delicious nearby you could eat. As you stepped back in the lift you spotted Yixing and another gorgeous man. Don’ tell me all 9 of them are stunning because that would just be so unfair. You collected your thoughts and greeted Yixing and the other man.  'Hi Y/N, you look much brighter today. Sleep did you wonders’ You smiled 'Thanks, I feel a lot better now that I’ve had a decent rest.’ You turned to the other male and smiled, about to introduce yourself but Yixing interjected

'Y/N, this is Jongin. Jongin, this is Y/N. She moved in yesterday from overseas.’

Yixing looked back to you 'and Jongin here is one of my roommates and friend.’

Jongin smiled at you and you were pretty sure your heart stopped. What was it with these guys and having smiles that completely light up their features.

'Nice to meet you. Have you had a chance to look around the neighbourhood yet?’

You shake your head 'No, this will be my first time outside…actually can you help me with something?’

Both men look at you and nod 'What do you need help with? We’ll help you if we can’

You can’t believe how polite and willing to help they are. 'Um, I realised that I hadn’t eaten since I arrived -’

'You shouldn’t skip meals’ Yixing interrupts 

’- uh, I know…I was just so tired yesterday that I fell asleep as soon as I entered my apartment and when I woke up I just wanted to unpack and make it feel more like home. Then I realised how hungry I was. Can you please tell me where a good place to get food is? I’m starving!' 

Jongin’s face lights up 'YES! You need some chicken! You like chicken don’t you?’ You giggle

'Yeah, I like chicken’ You didn’t realise that smile could get bigger but it does.

'Excellent! We’ll take you there’

'Oh, no you don’t have to do that… I’d hate to interfere with your day’

Yixing laughs 'No it’s fine, we are actually on our way out to pick up lunch for the dorm so it will be on the way. Jongin lost the vote today so we aren’t having chicken but I’ll bet he’ll try to sneak some of yours.’ You look at Jongin who is grinning like a kid on Christmas morning. Maybe I made the right choice moving halfway across the world

Over the next 2 months your friendship with Yixing and Jongin grows. You find out that Yixing is from China so he can relate whenever you feel homesick or stuck on your Korean studies. You learn that the two of them and their 7 other roommates are in an idol group called EXO which is why they keep such strange hours. You find out that they are both excellent dancers. You still haven’t been up to the apartment to introduce yourself because they had a comeback so they were hardly home. When you looked their group up online you were shocked at just how famous your neighbours were. Holy crap, they are celebrities! No wonder this building is so secure and they hardly all go out at the same time. It has to be difficult to not be able to just walk outside and wander about freely. You had wondered why whenever you saw them leaving the building they had hats, facemasks and sunglasses on. You hadn’t realised it was to hide their identity.  

A week after your arrival you headed over to Mr. Kim’s office for your induction. You were genuinely worried and excited to find out what your job actually entailed. When you arrived at his office he came out to greet you and took you inside. He was a lovely and warm man but you could tell he was also a tough boss. You were going to make sure not to get on his bad side.

'I bet you are wondering about the finer details of the job Miss Y/LN?’ You nodded

'Yes Mr Kim, I cannot lie, I am very curious about it.’

He sits forward on his chair and starts speaking in English 'I won’t lie, it is not your average job. You won’t start for another month. During that time you will be studying Korean and having more conversations both informal and formal so that you can broaden your knowledge of the language. Then we will put you in with a group of up to 12 people between the ages of 15 and 30 for you to teach English to. All of these people will have had some very basic learning already but they will need help with pronunciation and conversational answers, and any extra learning they want to acquire. Discretion is a must which is why we put you up in such a secure building. We facilitate to the entertainment companies so that they don’t have to background check and hire the staff. Especially since you will rotate through a few groups in the year. The groups travel so you may be required to travel with them at times. You will also have to work around their schedules, meaning if the only time they have free for you to teach them is 2am, then you teach them at 2am. Obviously all costs associated with their schedules will be covered by us. Do you have any questions so far?’

You think for a moment, processing all of the information. You would be teaching English to entertainment groups for teens - late twenties, you’d have to work around their schedules and potentially travel with them.  This was going to be demanding. And difficult. And potentially the best thing to have ever happened to you. Nothing about this job seemed boring or stagnant. You looked at Mr Kim and asked 'When will I know which group I’m assigned to first? How often do rotations happen? Do I continue my Korean study at my apartment or do I come here as well?’

'We will assign you to a small group first to see how you go, you’ll know which group in about a month. Rotations depend of the group, smaller groups have quicker rotations whereas larger ones may keep you for a longer period of time. For your Korean studies, continue them at your apartment but every Monday, Wednesday & Friday come into this building for further study and to assess your progress.’ about 10 minutes later you left the office feeling rather optimistic about your new job. You rushed home to study some more.  

About 3 weeks after your neighbours had left to start their comeback tour you heard a knock at your door. Who in the hell could that be? I only know 2 guys and they are currently on tour. I’m not due to meet Mr Kim again until tomorrow but even then I always meet at his office… The knock grows louder and more impatient. Curiosity wins so you walk over to the door and check the peephole. It’s Minseok. You open the door just as he’s about to knock again and you see relief register on his face.

'Oh good, you’re here. Look, I know we haven’t met properly yet but I have to ask a favour of you.’ He sees the hesitation on your face and starts speaking again

'Nothing strange, I promise.’ You think for a moment and remember all the times Jongin and Yixing helped you without question so you decide to put the same faith back in them and you nod. Minseok releases a breath you hadn’t realised he was holding in.

'How can I help you?’

'Jongin hurt his ankle on tour so he has to come back home. He isn’t taking it very well so I’m hoping you can visit him each day that we are gone. Just so that he doesn’t think he’s been forgotten?’

'What?! What happened to him? Is he ok!?’ Minseok grabs your shoulders and brings himself down to your eye level

'He will be fine, we just know if he stays on tour he will try to dance on it and it will make his recovery worse. We need him to get better, ok? I’m trusting you with lifting his spirits, can you do that?’ Those eyes, you are pretty sure you would agree to anything he says as long as he is staring at you with those eyes. They are mesmerising. The slight uptilt of them distinguishes him from other people and you cannot help but admit that he has the nicest eyes you have ever seen.

'Ok Minseok, I’ll do my best. But, how will I know his schedule and how will I get in contact with you guys to update you and how do I even get into the apartment?!’ Minseok laughs at your sudden outburst of questions and motions into your apartment, making you realise you’ve had this entire conversation in the doorway. You blush.

'Oh my, how rude of me! Please come in’ He smiles at you again and enters your apartment.

About a half hour after that he leaves to rush back to the tour. You are left with phone numbers for the members, a key to the apartment and their schedule plus Jongin’s personal schedule so that you know when he will be home.