Sunhwa didn’t see Key anymore after that. She stayed a few more days at the dorm – in which most of the time was taken up sleeping and the other parts eating and sometimes playing videogames with Minho and Taemin – and then was declared healed enough to go buy an apartment.

One Monday morning when she could have been practicing, Sunhwa was climbing up the stairs to an apartment complex with Hyun Jin right behind her, inspecting everything in sight.

“These stairs look a bit rickety,” she remarked, rapping her knuckles on the stairwell.

Sunhwa rolled her eyes. “Relax, unnie. There’s nothing wrong with them.”

“We’ve lived here two years, Hyun Jin,” Sulli said, laughing, “and we haven’t had one accident with the stairs.”

Luna added with a grin, “And you know how clumsy Sulli is.”

“Hmpf,” Hyun Jin grumbled. “I still think it would be better for Sunhwa to stay with me, or buy an apartment farther downtown.”
 

“How many times do we have to go over this?” Sunhwa pushed Hyun Jin down the hallway. “Staying at the same complex as Sulli unnie and Luna unnie is most convenient. Plus,” she added, turning Hyun Jin around a corner, “I like this place.”

“Are you sure you’re not just saying that?” Hyun Jin eyed the walls. “It looks unstable.”
 

Sunhwa threw up her hands in exasperation. “There is no use reasoning with you.”

“Come on, Sunhwa yah, let’s go see the renter halmeoni,” Luna said, tugging on her sleeve. “Hyun Jin will come around eventually!”

“Or I’ll make her,” Sulli said, cracking her knuckles playfully.

Sunhwa heard the sounds of Hyun Jin objecting loudly and Sulli’s retort as Luna took her into the main office of the apartment complex.

-

“Nice to meet you, Sunhwa yah,” the renter halmeoni stood up from her desk with a gentle smile. She looked surprisingly agile for someone her age and nodded her head as Sunhwa bowed to her. “Luna has told me about you.”

“Neh…”
 

“So you would like to rent an apartment here….what type and size? We have many.”

Sunhwa knew exactly what to say. She had been dreaming about having her own apartment since she was little, and now she was going to get it. “Small sized, but not cramped. I only need one bedroom, a small kitchen, and a bathroom. There just needs to be empty space for me to practice.”

The halmeoni smiled, deep wrinkle lines appearing around her eyes and mouth. “So you’re a dancer too, eh? Fine. I think I have exactly what you want.” She stood up and selected a key off of a rack, and then gestured. “Follow me.”

With a look at Luna, who nodded her head encouragingly, Sunhwa followed the halmeoni outside the office and up a flight of stairs and down a few hallways. Finally, they arrived in front of a door marked 305. The halmeoni inserted the key into the lock and turned it, swinging the door open. They all walked inside and took a small tour of the rooms.

After a moment, Luna asked, “What do you think?”

It was small, like Sunhwa had asked for, but not cramped. Cabinets lined the walls to utilize the space, a yellow wood color. There was a small kitchen area with a sink, stove, and fridge. Next to it was a small alcove with a washer/dryer machine and a clothing rack. A screened door opened from the kitchen to a small bedroom, with space for a dresser, a closet, and windows overlooking the Seoul cityscape. A bathroom connected to the bedroom. Lastly, there was a dining/living room area. Sunhwa liked this room the best, because it was just a big empty space. She could already picture a giant mirror on one wall and maybe a couch on the side for practicing her dancing.

Sunhwa turned to Luna and took a deep breath. “I…love it.”

“Really?” Luna grinned at her friend’s eagerness.

“Yeah…really.” Sunhwa breathed in again, and turned a slow circle to look at all of the living room. “I can definitely see myself living here.”

“Very good,” the halmeoni smiled, too. “I’m glad that you like it. Let’s go back to the office and discuss logistics.”

As the door of apartment 305 closed, Sunhwa ran her fingers over the numbers and promised herself that next time she came back, she would be moving in.

-

“Jeez, Sunhwa, what’s all this stuff you have?” Sulli panted as she climbed up the stairs with a box labeled “books”.

Sunhwa shrugged. “A little bit of everything,” she said vaguely.

“Are these your high school exam preparation books?” Luna asked, examining the box she was carrying.

“Oh yeah!” Sunhwa smiled the tiniest bit. “I remember buying those in high school.”

“Which was maybe last year, maknae,” Sulli reminded her as they deposited the boxes in Sunhwa’s new apartment (305) and headed back down the stairs to get more.

“I don’t remember having this many, though,” Luna mused as they walked.

“Yeah,” Sunhwa admitted sheepishly. “I was a bit of a study freak in high school.”
 

Sulli laughed. “We knew that already, remember? Our smartie maknae.” She ruffled said maknae’s hair affectionately, but Sunhwa stuck her tongue out and ran away to set her box on top of the small stack.

“I think that’s about it,” Sunhwa said, surveying the – hers, now – apartment. Sulli and Luna had helped her box up things from her room (Sunhwa had snuck them in when Jung Hee was at school and her mother was sure to be at work). The small pile of boxes now stood in the center of the dining room/soon-to-be practice space. The walls were still bare and so were the floors, but it was okay for now. Sunhwa had bought a futon with her first paycheck that she had placed in the bedroom.

“It’s got a lot of potential,” Sulli said, clapping Sunhwa on the back.

“I know, Sulli unnie,” Sunhwa said, smiling.

Luna laughed and nudged Sunhwa. “That may be the biggest we’ve seen you smile yet.”

Sunhwa shrugged, still grinning. “This place just makes me happy.”

“Good,” Sulli nodded. “A home should.”

“Yeah…” Sunhwa agreed, realizing for the first time that she would be sleeping alone tonight. The apartment was cozy and small and everything, but the first night by herself was a bit of a daunting prospect.

Seemingly reading her mind, Luna said, “Do you want to have dinner with us tonight, Sunhwa?”

“Really?” Sunhwa stared at her unnie, unknowingly displaying one of the best aegyos ever.

“Aigoo, Sunhwa,” Sulli cooed, pinching her cheeks, “when you give us that look, how could we refuse?”

“Unnie,” Sunhwa warned, but there was a slight whine and a pout to it.

“Well, all the food you have right now is ramen, right?” Sulli pointed out.

Sunhwa thought for a moment, and admitted, “Maybe…I haven’t had time to go grocery shopping yet.”
 

“Perfect! We can take you after practice tomorrow then,” Luna said. “Today you can eat with us.”

“I can go to practice tomorrow?” Sunhwa’s eyes lit up like a child’s on Christmas morning.

“Yeah, manager oppa said – ” Luna was cut off by Sulli slapping a hand on .

“Forget everything she just said! Uh…it was a dream?”

“Ani,” Sunhwa glared at Sulli, rivaling Minho’s famous “flaming charisma” eyes. “Unnie, what did manager oppa say?”

Sighing in defeat, Sulli removed her hand from Luna’s mouth. “He said you could come to practice tomorrow…if you were feeling up to it.”

“Great! I’ll definitely be there, then,” Sunhwa said cheerfully, switching from the glare to a smile with frightening speed.

“Wonderful! Now can we go to ours now or not?” Luna asked. “I have some nice ribs in the fridge that are just begging to be cooked.”

“Well, when Luna offers to cook, you don’t refuse,” Sulli said with a wink, opening the apartment door and gesturing.

As Sunhwa stepped out to the hallway, Sulli added, “You do realize we’re going to have to have a housewarming party for you sometime, right?”

“UNNIE!”

Behind Sunhwa’s back, Sulli and Luna exchanged grins.

Sorry this is late! :(

I promise I'll try and be more productive with my writing schedule; it's just summer has gotten to me and I've been lazy, haha. Hope you are all doing well :D

You guys should know the routine by now: read and review, please! Hugs and kisses to you all. Muah! <3

- tigress

P.S. I'm pretty sure that's not how you go about renting an apartment, but please go along with me - haha. <3