-we can't make any promises now, can we, babe?-

 "Hey."

 Sehun in a breath, weaving his way through the unopened boxes they had pushed into the balcony's route. Sehun cradled the device in his hand and said, “Hey.”

 Jennie chuckled, “How was the day?”

 Sehun smiled, reaching out for the dried clothes hanging on the wires. “It was alright. Uh...I had an exam--it was a surprise test. And then I was struggling with the new language all day long. They just speak too fast,” he sighed at the memory of him with the cashier at the bookstore. Jennie only laughed and that made Sehun beam, “How about you?”

 “I just woke up. Let’s see,” she replied. “I’m actually brushing my teeth. I have to fix the wardrobe today and clean my desk so you know...it’s gonna be a bad day. How is Yerim doing?”

 “Well, she got herself some mysterious friends,” Sehun shrugged, keeping the pile of clothes on his one arm and leaning against the railing of the balcony. “I don’t know...I feel like...it’s all a mistake. Now she is trying so hard to fit in with New York. I’m afraid she’ll get bullied for being different.”

 “It’s never too late to come back,” she was quick to say. “I-I mean...if it’s too hard, come back home, Sehun.”

 He remained silent. The aroma of dinner from his neighbors’ houses wafted across his nose, the cobblestone paths were livelier now, everyone was coming back home from a tiring day. Sehun couldn’t afford the big apartment and the view of the city through the large windows. And Yerim understood, she never wanted that in the first place. This neighborhood was friendly. But due to being away from home all day long, they still felt like outsiders.

 “I’m trying not to,” he said. “But if I send Yerim to you, will you please look after her?”

 “You don’t have to ask, Sehun,” Jennie replied in a bright manner. Sehun could imagine a pretty smile on her face. “She is my sister as much as yours.”

 “Thank you...I’ll ask her about it. I bet she’d be excited to go back to her best buddy.”

 “Jongin?”

 “Yeah. He wrote to her,” Sehun smiled, “That’s one pure kid.”

 “Yes, he is sweet. But he is sad,” Jennie sighed. “You know, tender heart.”

 Sehun hummed. “Did I...no, I didn’t. So, I got a date--I mean, sort of--”

 “Ah, someone already asked you out,” Jennie huffed into the phone. “Hmm. Good. So…tell me about her.”

 He thought for a while, going over the details he had the fortune to see. He didn’t know where to start. “Well, her name’s Irene...And she is pretty. Didn’t look all that American to me. I actually left my glasses in the bag and she found me in the park while I was just roaming around, waiting for Yerim. I...can’t say. But she was very beautiful. She reads. And likes yogurt...I hope--”

 “You hope?” Jennie laughed at his description. Sehun missed the melancholy in her tone, too caught up in his own thoughts. “You didn’t understand anything by hearing her voice when she was talking about yogurt?”

 “Uh…” Sehun didn’t know how to say this. He didn’t want this to be a huge part of his description of Irene but he knew if he spilled that detail, Jennie would forget everything else and remember this little feature the most. “Well...she can’t speak. Or hear.”

 “Are you...serious?”

 “Yes,” Sehun replied softly.

 “Oh...Sehun,” Jennie’s voice dropped. Sehun nodded, coming to terms with the fact that Irene’s disability didn’t matter. “So...how did she ask you out?”

 “Oh, she writes on her notepad, whatever she wants to say,” Sehun explained. “She smiles...a lot. And...I think she is a good person, Jennie. I don’t want to judge her for what she can’t do.”

 “Of course, Sehun,” Jennie replied, taking the hidden message in between his words. He didn’t want her to see this date of his as a disabled person. “When is the date?”

 “I’m meeting her at a park. She said she’ll treat me to some coffee.”

 “Do you like her?”

 Sehun shrugged, “You know, I want to make a friend too. This city can be too lonely. I miss you a lot.”

 “Yes Sehun, I miss you too,” Jennie chuckled. “But don’t worry. I love you a lot too so you’ll never feel too cold. My love will be your blanket.”

 Sehun smiled. “Thanks, Jen.”

 “Okay,” Jennie in a deep breath. “I have to clean my room now! I’ll call you later!”

 “Yeah, okay. Listen--” but she had hung up on him. Sehun stared at the dim screen of his phone. And then a smile crawled up on his lips at the thought of tomorrow.

 Yerim was humming a song while ironing the shirt on her bed. Sehun watched her with his drowsy eyes, brushing his teeth even though he couldn’t catch even a blink of sleep the night before. He stood at her door, swallowing in the sight of his kinda new shirt. With the toothbrush in his mouth, he couldn’t speak.

 So he rinsed his mouth first before running back to Yerim’s room. “What are you doing?”

 “I’m just ironing your stuff,” she replied in her big-sister voice.

 “That’s my job..?”

 Yerim groaned at his interruption. “You have to shave. And polish your shoes. The black ones. And gel your hair out of your freaking forehead--”

 “Why?” Sehun interrupted again, risking his ears again as he pushed aside the curtains in her room to let the sun in.

 “Why?” Yerim showed him her incredulous expression with the iron held in her hand. As if, one more dumb sentence from his mouth and that will land on his face. “Because you have a date today, dumbo.”

 Sehun chuckled. “I don’t remember telling you.”

 “Well...you can call it instincts--”

 “Or, I can also call it eavesdropping.”

 Yerim clicked her tongue, shrugging. Sehun smiled at his victory before walking out of her room. “Don’t waste your time, Rim. I can do this.”

 “I’m not wasting my time,” Yerim grumbled. “You need to get a wife.”

 “And you need to reply to Jongin’s letter..?”

 “Oh, shut up!” Sehun chuckled again at the shyness in her voice as she yelled at him from the other corner of the apartment. At an incredible speed, he spread the cream cheese on the slice of bread and mixed two spoons of Milo in her glass of milk. Sehun had taken notice of the size of the glass before buying it. It was good that the glass was big. He could always be sure that Yerim was getting her nutrients properly.