Her mind still felt numb, how was she supposed to process that the life she thought she was coming back to had crumbled down while she was away? She hadn't even had the proper time to process everything, because Baekhyun had purposefully kept conversation going during the entire duration of the car ride. And then the second the door of her dad's new apartment opened, she was wrapped in a hug. It was her mom. Jinsol's mom fussed over her while her dad patted her shoulder and welcomed her home. She wants to be happy to see them--and of course she was--but how was she supposed to return their hugs when they'd been leaving her in the dark, for who knows how long. If this was the Jinsol before moving to California, she would absolutely be fuming, yelling, screaming, crying even, but she was a kid then. Now she was a different person and needed to handle everything in a mature way because that's just what she did now. So she put on her best smile, and gently pulled away from her mom's hug, trying to make sure it only seemed like she didn't want to be touched too long. Which is true, that's something about Jinsol that hasn't changed. 

"It's good to be back...here." Jinsol said, her eyes roaming around her dad's new place. The first place she walked into should have been her own house. 

Her parents had the decency to share a guilty look. Not to say Jinsol wanted her parents to feel guilty for choosing what makes them happy; but on a much more real note: she wanted them to feel guilty. 

Her dad cleared his throat, "About all this," he waved a hand to show off his flat, "I'm sorry we waited so long to tell you-"

Jinsol takes it back, she doesn't want to hear anything about the divorce. "Let's talk about all that later, I'm absolutely starving!" By this point her smile was completely fake, and by the looks of it they could all tell. But Jinsol wouldn't sit around and listen to them talk, and ruin her whole day. 

~~~~
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"I'll see you both at home!"  Jinsol's mother, Byun Hokyung--or maybe she was going by her maiden name, Jinsol didn't know--waved as she headed for her car after leaving the restaurant. 

Baek and Jinsol turned to their dad, Byun Jae-ho, "Well I should probably get home, I have a lot of paperwork to finish." He gave them both a head nod, told Jinsol he was happy she was home, then left. 

A couple of seconds of silence passed before Baekhyun couldn't keep his mouth shut any longer. "That was so freaking awkward." He said, pulling his car keys out of his pocket. "Hey, I have to stop by a friend's house on the way home. Is that fine?" Jinsol really just wanted to go home and shower, wash the airport air off of herself, but she nodded anyway because she also didn't want to be alone.

They were already on the main road when Baekhyun asked the question Jinsol knew would come eventually. "So, did you meet any guys in California?" He asked, and even without looking Jinsol knew he was wiggling his eyebrows. 

She rolled her eyes, "Actually no, surprising the entire population of California consists of just women." 

Baekhyun whistled, "Guess I need to make another trip out there. But seriously, Sol, answer the question." Her goal had been to make him laugh and change the subject, but of course it wouldn't go the way she wanted, because Baekhyun was nosy. 

She put her hands up in defeat, "Fine, fine." She thought for a second, how was it that she got away with never telling her brother or parents about her dating life? And why was it so much harder to avoid questions in person? "There were only three that I ever went on a date with, and only one that I actually dated." Her romantic life really wasn't anything interesting. 

Baekhyun did a giddy little laugh, "Tell me all about them!" 

Jinsol groaned, "You remember me talking about my friend Lee Yubi?" 

"Your fellow exchange student?" He asked. 

"Yeah," Jinsol nodded, "she set me up with the first guy back during freshman year, but the timing was...just not good...and he wasn't what I was looking for." She cleared , remembering just how horrible that date was--really it was more of a 'Byun Jinsol tells you all about her issues' get together, than a date. "Then I met the second guy during Junior year, and we went on a few dates before deciding it wasn't going to work out." Baekhyun had been humming along, letting her know that he was following. Which is good, because she knows what she's about to say is going to surprise him, and she doesn't want to repeat herself. "And then I started dating the third guy at the end of Junior year, and we dated for a year." 

"A year!?" Baekhyun shouted as soon as her words sank in. "You dated someone for a year and never mentioned it?" He asked, sending her a quick shocked look before turning back to look at the road. "Gosh, I updated you on all the girls I talked to, but you kept me in the dark?" 

Jinsol saw the opportunity to change the subject and took it. "Speaking of which, how's it going with Yoona?" If there was one thing that would make Baekhyun drop everything, it was talking about himself. 

Baekhyun's face screwed up, "We broke it off a couple weeks ago," she was about to try and comfort him, but he just had to keep talking, "but it's fine because I've been talking to one of Suho's sisters friends, she seems to be into me." 

Jinsol rolled her eye