After a quick introduction — where Joy acted as facilitator and prevented any awkwardness from arising — they all settled on the ground. Joy had called dibs on the bean bag and offered to share it with Youngsoon but the latter passed on the invitation to Jisoo, feeling that the guest should take the more comfortable seating arrangement.

It was decided that they were going to order Chinese takeaway and Youngjae was already anticipating the crunchy texture of tangsuyuk against his tongue but to his dismay, Joy was painfully indecisive on what to eat.

“Just go with jajangmyeon, you can never go wrong with that, it’s a classic,” Youngjae begged Joy.

“But I feel like something spicy…” Joy frowned.

“Then get jjamppong,” Jinyoung sighed with impatience.

“But I’ve been craving for seafood lately too.” Joy pouted. “So ulmyeon sounds nice as well.”

“Good grief woman decide!” Youngjae groaned, slamming his head against the ground.

“What are you getting Jisoo?” Joy turned to the girl next to her, ignoring Youngjae completely.

Jinyoung inhaled deeply, burying his hands under his legs so as to not punch Joy. Jaebum had his arms firmly wrapped around Youngjae to chain him down while Jisoo wore an apologetic smile. The only one who seemed unaffected and maintained her usual smile was no other than Youngsoon.

“Just order both,” Youngsoon hummed softly, taking the menu away from Joy. “I’ll eat the one you don’t want or we can do half-half.”

“You’re the best unnie,” Joy cheered.

“Are you sure?” Jaebum asked.

“Just order the food.” Jinyoung nudged Jaebum with his foot. “I’m starving.”

Jaebum gave Jinyoung a quick glance. Since it was his first time meeting Youngsoon, he was unfamiliar with her behaviour however Jinyoung could not bear going through a droned out conversation whereby Youngsoon tried to make Jaebum understand why it was okay. Eventually Jaebum gave in and made the call to the restaurant and Youngjae’s mood improved considerably at the prospect of having food soon. This was enough for him to perk up and unleash his inner curiosity towards the owner of the flat.

“Youngsoon where are you from?”

It was a very straightforward question, a basic one that is often asked, however Youngsoon still took her time selecting her words.

“I was born in Busan.”

Jinyoung raised an eyebrow, intrigued by Youngsoon’s wording. It would have sufficed just say Busan but she went out of her way to specify that she was born there. Somehow the sentence felt incomplete; that maybe she moved places and actually grew up elsewhere. However she said nothing further which prompted Youngjae to shoot more questions.

“Are your parents in Busan then?”

“No, they are in California,” Youngsoon answered, taking everyone by surprise. “But they have business in Taiwan as well, so they fly back and forth quite frequently and sometimes drop by Seoul for a quick visit.”

“Oh?” Youngjae’s mouth rounded in the shape of an ‘o’.

Joy had a similar expression and even Jinyoung was surprised at the unexpected information. Anticipating the question that was running through everyone’s mind, Youngsoon ran a hand through her hair as if to buy herself some time before offering a fleshed out explanation.

“My parents divorced when I was young and my mum remarried when I was in middle school. My step-father is based in California, so my mother and I relocated there and that’s where I attended high school. I came to Seoul for university and stayed here since.”

“Wait what? Seriously?” Joy gasped. “How come I never knew?”

Youngsoon