Angry shouts roused me from my sleep. Startled, I bolted upright, the comforter falling away from my body. Wait, what? Comforter?

Ignoring the angry tones for a moment, I observed my surroundings. Somehow, I had been moved from the comfy loveseat to a room with two beds in it, with me lying down in the corner opposite of both of them. One half of the room was covered in posters of Korean boys and decorated with panda paraphernalia, and the other half was covered in posters of different Korean boys and piles upon piles of clothes. Okay. My two suitcases were in the opposite corner from me, next to the bed of panda-person, and I was lying on what appeared to be a mattress crammed in a corner, with only a comforter covering me. Don’t they have bed sheets here in Korea? I wondered, slowly rolling off of my mattress and onto the floor. Standing up and stretching, I marveled at how refreshed I felt, and wondered how long I had been out. Usually I am a pretty light sleeper, and I would have awoken if someone touched me or spoken to me.

I looked at the two beds again. They appeared like they had been recently slept in. Kind of creeped out, I was wondering who I was sharing a room with when the loud voices from beyond the door rose to an unbearable level. Groaning, I fished a pair of socks out of my backpack, which had been conveniently placed at the head of my mattress, and pulled them onto my bare feet before heading out of the room.

Taking a right towards the voices, I walked out into the ‘living room’ only to see Henry arguing with an older guy in heated Korean. I stopped in my tracks for a moment, cocking my head, watching the two of them go at it with an amused smile on my face. The older guy, who couldn’t be older than maybe six to eight years older than Henry, was making wild hand gestures, pointing to the kitchen of all things, and shouting in Korean at the top of his lungs. Henry responded with a slightly calmer tone, but just as many gestures, motioning towards the door. What the heck were they talking about? It sounded serious, but it looked so funny!

Suddenly, one high pitched voice rose above Henry’s and the other guy’s and made them both fall silent. Looking towards the kitchen, I saw a tall, chubby-cheeked girl holding a knife in one hand and some vegetables in the other, and a short, huge-busted girl glowering at the two boys with one hand on her hip. This short girl started to talk as rapidly as physically possible to my brother and this other guy, and within a minute they were both looking down at their socks, nodding with shame written all over their faces. Then she returned to the kitchen to help chubby-cheeked girl with the vegetables and a big pot of something else that I couldn’t identify.

Henry and the other guy looked at each other and resumed talking, but in a much more civilized tone this time around. I leaned against the wall, my arms crossed, as I watched them. Henry seemed to be explaining something, and the older guy was nodding, which I guess was a good sign. Henry held up one finger, and the other guy just sighed and nodded. Then they both started to move towards the hallway I was in, still talking.

Hmmm, I wonder when they’ll notice me standing here, I thought, watching them come closer. Then, Henry raised his head away from the other guy and stopped in his tracks, staring at me. The older guy did the same, stopping and frowning at me. What? Did I do something illegal?

Henry asked me something in Korean, still staring at me. I sighed. “Henry, you know I don’t speak Korean,” I gently chided my idiot brother, letting my gaze flit in between him and the mysterious older guy. This guy seemed a bit confused at my statement, looking towards Henry for help. Hmmm, I guess he can’t understand English, I mused.

Henry shook his head slightly. “Sorry, Ryn. I was just asking you how long you had been standing there.”
I smiled. “For a little bit. Long enough to see you guys get it from Miss Midget over in the kitchen. What were you arguing about, anyway? And who is this?” I motioned to the guy standing next to Henry.

I heard a shout from the kitchen. “Hey! Don’t make fun of my height!”

My eyebrows raised as I looked back and saw the midget girl staring deadly lasers through my head, one hand on her pot. “You can understand me?” I asked, excitement tinting my voice.

The taller girl answered this time, gesturing with the knife still held in her hand. “Both of us can,” she said nonchalantly.

I couldn’t hold back my excitement, and I felt a huge smile spread across my face. “There are people in this country who can understand me! Oh my gosh, that’s the best thing that’s happened here!” I squealed, bouncing on my heels. Taking a quick peek at the older guy standing beside Henry, I was gratified by the look of sheer confusion on his face. Hmmm, maybe this could be fun, confusing the Koreans with English, I thought. Looking back at the short girl, I did a small wave and tried to look apologetic. “Sorry about calling you a midget. I’m not trying to make fun of you,” I apologized.

She relaxed her death grip on the lid of the pot. “It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” she said, grabbing a spoon to stir the contents. Hmmm, is she favoring her right shoulder a bit? “By the way, I’m Uki, and this is Alex,” she continued, motioning to the taller girl, who bowed her head a little bit towards me. “We have brothers here too. You’ll meet them soon.”

“I’m Taryn, but you can call me Ryn. It’s what Henry calls me,” I replied. They both nodded and refocused on their cooking, ending our conversation somewhat abruptly.

Turning back to Henry, who was looking between me and Uki and Alex, I asked him, “So, care to introduce your friend here?” I motioned to the older guy, who still looked a bit confused.

“Oh yeah.” He pulled his gaze back to me, and motioned towards the older guy. “Ryn, meet Leeteuk, the leader of Super Junior.”

~~~~~~

Hey guys! Introducing: Uki, Alex, and Leeteuk!! Yay! :) Oh, do you guys like the new poster and background? All-Stars Creations did an amazing job with them, and I'm really pleased with how they turned out. You can find their shop here. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! It's a bit rushed, and I only read it through once, so I hope it's acceptable. Please comment and tell me what you think of the story so far!!