“Annyeong, Da Eun!” Tony greeted his tenant. “Who’s this?”

“Tony, I have to move out. I have a job at the Heights as a housekeeper,” she explained.

“That’s great! Congratulations!” He beamed, then looked worried. “I’m sorry, but the rent…”

Da Eun paled, but before she could even try to speak, Dongwoon interjected smoothly. “I’ll take care of that.” He slid his wallet out of his pocket and casually flipped it open. “How much is due?”

Tony was a little confused. The boy looked barely Da Eun’s age; what was he doing, paying her rent? Was this her employer?

Da Eun couldn’t argue. The rent was due and she had no other way to get it to Tony. All she could do was drop her gaze as Tony said incredulously: “You’re paying?”

“Yeah. You got a problem with that?”

Da Eun was a little shocked, but at the same time, a little pleased at his defensiveness. She’d never heard anyone speak with formalities quite so viciously before… It was a new and educational experience. She felt a bit guilty though; after all, Tony was a rather nice landlord.

Despite the drastic age difference, it was obvious that Tony felt a little uncomfortable. “No, none at all,” he muttered. He pulled out a paper from his pocket. “Here’s what’s due.”

Dongwoon wrote out a check, taking his time. The silence didn’t seem to bother him as much as it did the older man. “There you go,” he said, holding the check out. “Come on Da Eun, let’s go.”

As he locked the car and the two walked off, Tony was left speechless.

***

“Wheeeeee BRAIN FREEZE!” Yoseob giggled, sprawled on the couch in Gikwang’s living room, as the others rolled their eyes. The high was a side effect of the caramel laced in his iced latte, and the freeze was, well, the ice.

The four boys had just barely remembered to place Dongwoon’s iced mint chocolate and Junhyung’s iced Americano in the fridge, but they’d been at a loss as to where Da Eun’s hot drink would go. In the end, Doojoon had authoritatively and disgustedly washed a thermos Gikwang had lying in the sink, into which he poured the chocolate.

Reclining in the armchair, Doojoon pulled on his black coffee, also iced. He needed the kick to deal with this lot, and plus, milk and sugar were not to be ingested by the likes of him. He wouldn’t give up his muscles for the world. Suddenly sitting up, he thought of something.

“Yah, we gotta get Da Eun’s room ready,” he reminded them.

Gikwang groaned and dropped his head, nursing his protein shake. He used to get an iced vanilla smoothie every week, until recently when he’d started seriously working out. “Not the extra room…”

“Kwangie, it’s ‘extra’, so what would you care? Plus it’s more like a guest room, which makes it perfect for Da Eun, ‘cause it has a bed.”

“What’s there to get ready, then?”

“Kwangie! You babo, when was the last time you were in that room?” Doojoon demanded, exasperated.

“Um…”

While Gikwang stalled for time, Hyunseung abruptly placed his orange vitamin smoothie on the table and got up, heading towards the hallway.

Yoseob watched him go, slurping the last of his drink. When the dregs were gone, he bounded up and after his hyung.

“Seungie, whatcha doin’?” He popped his head into the extra room.

“Getting Da Eun’s room ready like hyung said.” Hyunseung was matter-of-fact as he un-tucked the blanket and flapped it a few times, airing it. Dust flew and he wrinkled his nose in distaste.

“Seobie, get me the vacuum cleaner,” he ordered.

“’Kay!” Yoseob chirped. “YAH! KWANGIE!” He shouted into the living room.

“WHAT?” Gikwang shouted back.

“Where’s the vacuum cleaner?” Yoseob dropped his voice, having successfully caught his attention.

“I don’t have one,” came the answer.

“What?”

“I DON’T HAVE ONE,” Gikwang raised his voice.

“No, I heard. I just can’t believe it,” Yoseob shook his head in amazement.

“Why not? When have you ever seen him with a cleaning appliance?” Hyunseung asked reasonably.

“… True.” Yoseob admitted.

His hyung sighed. “I’ll go get mine from downstairs. Keep on airing out the blanket, and drag the fan in from Kwangie’s room to circulate the air,” he instructed as he left.

“Yes, umma…”

Hyunseung’s voice blared. “Hyung! You’re the one who said to get her room ready, why aren’t you helping?”

“Yeah, well, Gikwang’s the one who hired her, why isn’t he helping?” Doojoon protested righteously.

“Get him to help too, then!” Hyunseung called back over his shoulder as the door closed behind him.

***

“This is your flat?”

Da Eun nodded silently, rummaging in her bag for her key. Having found it, she unlocked the door and stepped inside. “I’m renting this flat, so none of the furniture is mine.” She told him, then led the way into the bedroom. “These first,” she said, crouching to pull the shoeboxes out from under the bed.

Dongwoon raised an eyebrow.

“I splurged on these,” she blushed. “They’re my babies.”

For an absurd moment, Dongwoon wished he was a pair of shoes. He knelt and lifted the tops of the boxes gently off, hiding the shock he felt when he saw them. A pair of Uggs and a pair of Converse; that was splurging? In that moment, he knew just how grave Da Eun’s situation had been, and he was glad that she’d gone to the Heights.

“They’re nice,” he said sincerely, admiring them. “Let’s just put these by the door, araso? So we don’t have to make as many trips down.”

“Araso.”

The recently acquainted pair moved in sync like a married couple, working quickly and efficiently. Dongwoon grabbed the few books Da Eun owned off the shelf and stacked them next to the shoeboxes, while she took down and folded the few clothes she had hanging on the rack.

“Da Eun, why don’t you change into something warmer and more comfortable? I’ll fold the rest, if you’ll trust me to do it,” he teased.

“Um… It’s okay-“

“Go change. I can tell you’re uncomfortable,” he prodded.

“Fine, fine, I’ll change! Whaa… You’re such an umma, Dongwoon-ah,” Da Eun muttered as she retreated into the bathroom clutching a bundle of clothes. “I’m supposed to be taking care of you!”

Dongwoon laughed, but inside he was torn. Da Eun felt more like a friend than like his hyung’s housekeeper. He couldn’t imagine what the future would be like, with her living in the penthouse (he felt a pang of jealousy) and taking care of hyung. He tried to dismiss the thought for the time being and concentrated on trying to fold the clothes. He’d never seen himself as a pampered child, but he’d also never folded his own clothes. Now that he lived alone though, they were just haphazardly tossed into the closet. His lips pursed as he concentrated.

“Omo, Dongwoon-ah, you said you would fold them, not… do whatever it is that you’re doing,” Da Eun came up from behind and smacked him playfully.

“Ah… Mianhae,” he flushed and moved out of the way. It seemed that the clothes Da Eun had worn, the blouse and the skirt, really were her best. She’d changed, as Dongwoon had told her to, but it was into a worn black hoodie and a pair of frayed jeans that did nothing to complement her figure, though it could scarcely mask her natural beauty.

Folding her clothes took barely five minutes, after which Da Eun retrieved her toiletries from the bathroom. She sighed, looking around. “That’s all, except for Panda Ahjussi.”

“The panda? But how about the sheets? The blankets?”

“They belong to Tony and his wife, along with all the kitchen utensils,” Da Eun admitted shamefully. “I must seem pathetic.”

“No, noona.”

Da Eun looked up when Dongwoon affectionately used the honorific-turned-endearment. “You’ve probably never… Seen this kind of thing before,” she muttered, gesturing around her. “But it’s been my life since I was born. This is the most I’ve ever had.” She couldn’t help but blurt out.

“Even so, noona, from now on you won’t live like that,” he said firmly. Impulsively, he added: “Me and the hyungs, we’ll take care of you.”

A tear leaked from Da Eun’s eyes. “That’s a nice thing to say, but you know that won’t happen. Today has been really fun, but in the end, I’m just your hyung’s housekeeper. That’s all.” She could barely stop herself from choking on the words. “No matter how much I wish I could just be your friend, I can’t forget, you can’t forget, I’m entirely dependent on you, and that’s not how friends are.”

“Friends take care of each other,” Dongwoon said. “And you’re my friend, Da Eun.”

“How? It’s only been a day,” Da Eun cried helplessly. It was all too good to be true. Any second now she would wake up and find that her life had reverted back to the hell it had been.

“Don’t question something that’s good, noona. Whether you believe it or not, I do, and that counts for something. And even if the hyung’s don’t, I will take care of you. I won’t let you down.”

When Da Eun broke down and sobbed, Dongwoon let go of all the rules of polite society and just comforted her. Her head against his chest, he held her and instinctively began to rock back and forth, lulling her to sleep. It was too soon; the emotional trauma that the doctor had specifically said to avoid had fatigued her. When the little hiccups finally stopped and her breathing came deep and even, he lay her down on the bed, tucked the panda into the crook of her arm, and began to ready the rest of her belongings.