[ Seven]

The next few weeks were a blur of motion.

True to his word, TaeHyung hooked me up with a person who knew who had an apartment to rent at a price that almost seemed too good to be true. Apparently he knew the owner and had vouched for me, so they hadn't required rent up front or even a deposit. Close to $500 a month, fully furnished and not in a crappy area of town either, but actually close to my aunts studio and the coffee shop. Walking distance, in fact. Fully furnished and with a secure communal door and an operating lift. I hadn't believed my eyes as I was showed around, too awed that such a place could even exist in that price range. The reality hadn't hit until I'd signed the paper work and recieved the keys and suddenly found myself unpacking my meager belongings and officially moving in, all by the beginning of February!

"This place is amazing!" Shin-Hye gushed as I showed both her and Min-Hyuk around after I'd finished unpacking.

I smiled proudly as I looked around myself, unable to disagree. The apartment door opened into an entranceway, which fitted the shoe and coat cupboard. To the left was my bedroom, big enough for the double bed, a side table and a set of drawers which all my clothes were stored into. Opposite my bedroom was the bathroom with a walk in shower. The hall then opened up to the kitchen, living and dining room, all one space but it was gorgeous - and huge, by Myeong-dong standards, anyway. It also had a balcony, which fitted a table and two chairs overlooking Myeong-dongs towers and buildings. Honestly, it was beyond perfect and I really had lucked out. Even all the furniture was absolutely gorgeous. Blues, reds and yellows.

I couldn't have chosen anything better myself if I'd tried and I had TaeHyung to thank for all of it.

"And you're sure it's only ₩500,000?" She asked as she nosied through my bedroom.

"Yeah." I grinned as I brought them glasses of water. She made a humming noise as she returned and I didn't miss the look she shared with the equally awed MinHyuk. "What? You don't believe me? I have the contract if you need to-"

"No no, we believe you. It's just amazing, is all." MinHyuk quickly answered.

"I'm jealous." Shin-Hye sighed. "I wish I'd asked TaeHyung to hook me up with a place..."

"You want to move out?" MinHyuk asked in surprise.

"I've been thinking about it." Shin-Hye hinted as we all sat down on the sofas.

"But your brother-"

"Is getting better." She finished quickly. "I just... I want to want to spread my wings a bit, you know? I love my family, but I want this!" She gestured around my apartment with a sigh. "I want my own space."

"Then do it." I piped up.

"It's not that easy..."

"Of course it is. Save up and find your own apartment."

She sighed again. "There's a lot more to think about, I guess. My mum depends on me quite a bit and-" She looked away. "There's just a lot to think through."

I gave her a reassuring smile. "You'll figure it out."

We talked for an hour longer until Shin-Hye had to leave for her next class, leaving me alone with MinHyuk. He immediately turned the conversation to one we couldn't have around Shin-Hye.

"I've arranged the decorations." He told me the moment she was gone.

"I've spoken to the sandwich shop down the street and ordered some platters."

He nodded his head and I watched his eyes drift towards the hall. "And your Jimmy Choos...?"

I slapped his arm. "I still have them, thanks to TaeHyung."

"And you'll be wearing them, right?"

"Yes, I'll wear them, you shoe !"

He flashed me a triumphant grin. "Then everything’s perfect! Did you speak to TaeHyung about whether he could come to her party or not?"

"No, I've been too preoccupied with moving, but I'll ask him when I next see him." MinHyuk nodded, but I could see he wanted to ask something and rolled my eyes. "Spit it out."

"I'm really happy you and TaeHyung are friends..."

"But...?" I hedged.

"But... I'm worried about you. It's obvious to those of of us who know you that you really like him, JooHyun. Are you going to be ok just being his friend?"

It was like my talk with Shin-Hye that day all over again and I groaned, flopping back on my sofa and closing my eyes warily. Of course of the two of them had been talking.

"Why does everyone keep saying this to me? I swear you’re both following the same script. She believes I can't just be his friend, either.”

"Because just being friends with someone you like hurts."

I peeked over at him and realised he was speaking from experience.

I quickly sat up. "Wait... You and Shin-Hye...?"

His eyes widened in horror before he bust into laughter. "God no! We really are just friends." He chuckled, shaking his head as if amused by the mere thought of them being anything but friends.

“Then who?”

“Let’s just say I've been friends with people I've had a crush on before and it's never ended well."

"Why not?"

"Feelings complicate things. I'd get jealous over stupid things, or I'd find myself getting hurt by their words and actions."

I remembered all the times it had hurt me to hear TaeHyung refer to me as his friend and swallowed thickly. "Feelings . How do I get rid of them?"

He knocked his shoulder into mine. "They're not an illness you can just cure. It'll take time."

"Then until then, I'll make it work." I told him with conviction.

"I know you will. Just remember me and Shin-Hye are always here for you to talk or vent to if it hurts too much."

Hurt... It seemed no matter what, everyone assumed I would get hurt. Was I that weak looking? I may not have experience in friendships, but I had experience in rejection and hurt. My family... We had never been a normal one. I'd learned from a young age how to mask my emotions and keep the hurt I felt hidden. TaeHyung's kind of hurt wasn't intentional and in actuality, it was a double-ended kind of hurt because on one hand I loved being someone he called a friend. But on the other? I wanted to be more than that to him, even if I was 99% sure I wasn't even looking for a relationship.

It was natural to want the person you liked to like you back, though. And I supposed that's all my confused heart wanted. 

“Let’s make a promise.” He urged suddenly. “Whenever you feel down about TaeHyung or want to vent, you’ll text me or Shin-Hye. No matter what time.”

“That’s ridiculous. I’m not exactly going to break down and-”

“Just hear me out; I’m not saying you are, I’m not even saying you will text. What I am saying is if you ever feel yourself hurting - text us. If you bottle it up it’ll only fester into a wound. So promise me this one thing, please. It’ll make me feel better.”

I scoffed and promise him, though I doubt I’ll ever need to follow through with it.

I woke later that night to my mobile ringing. I stretched my hand groggily across the cool expanse of bedsheets to my side table, where I fumbled with my eyes still closed until I grasped it. Holding it to my ear, I realised I forgot to answer as it rings again and let out a huff to do just that, squinting at the bright display screen blearily.

"Hello?" I croaked.

Breathing sounded down the line - not the creepy, serial killer kind but simply someone staying silent with their mouth too close to the mouthpiece, followed by a girlish giggle. Then silence as the caller hung up. I blinked at the screen and went into my call history, noting the number was withheld. Groaning, I checked the time and noted it was only 6am. Leaning over to return my phone to my nightstand to get a few more hours, it suddenly began to ring in my hand again, once again flashing the unknown number.

"Hello?" I answered impatiently. Again the soft breathing and I scowled. "You've got the wrong number!" I snapped, hanging up.

I stared at the home screen, daring it to ring again. And it did.

"Listen, I-"

"I haven't got the wrong number." A quiet female voice spoke, interrupting me. "I know exactly who you are, Bae JooHyun."

I sat up.

"Excuse me?"

The person hung up. Now wide awake I the side lamp and I waited, urging them to ring again so I could get some answers, but they didn't. The whole thing was weird - I’d put it down to a prank, but very few people had my Korean number. There was my aunt, Minhyuk, Shin-Hye, Taehyung - and now my Landlady. No-one else. From that small list, I doubted any of them would prank call me like this, not when all of the above, sans my landlady, knew I hadn't finished work until 2am last night due to the open mic night we held.

Maybe someone had dialed the wrong number and called me accidentally. That was the only thing I could think of, but even that made little sense, since the person had said my same. My Korean name, too. I shivered, unnerved by the whole thing. Maybe I should change my number? I thought of how much hassle that would be and decided against it. A few prank calls I could endure and hopefully they wouldn't do it again.