‘Home sweet Homeeeee.’ Jong Dae called out in an almost sarcastic town as he dropped his bags to the floor.

Your eyebrows furrowed, your fingers clenched, tensing around the handle of your carry-on.

This place felt unfamiliar but…

‘Your room is over there.’ Kevin’s large hand lightly patted your shoulder, directing you left to the first door down a corridor.

‘Manager Shang used to stay in there, but he’s moved out now hasn’t he?’ Yixing asked as he rolled up his earphones into a netted mess before tucking them into his pocket.

‘EEEEEEeeeeeeeee.’ Tao hummed, stretching his limbs out into the air, his hands almost touched the ceiling before recoiling, dropping to his sides.

‘I’m hungry.’ Minseok pouted, walking off to the kitchen, Luhan followed him while silently stretching.

Your eyes scanned the corridor as you walked a few steps down it, stopping in front of the door to your new bedroom.

You weren’t nervous, and you weren’t disappointed…it was just fatigue that kept you from being livelier.

Perhaps it was the sudden fear of having to begin manager duties in a foreign place, in a foreign country?

The signs had been extremely hard to read compared to the Korean Hangul symbols you were used to. So much of your Mandarin had been lost to the other boys over the last few months spent with them. Picking up Korean slang had pushed out important characters you needed to get by in this city.

You twisted the doorknob and walked into the room with your breath slightly held:

It was small and slightly boxy; there were windows on the opposite wall and a bed to your left. A small bedside table with drawers stood right next to it. There was a desk and a modest brown cupboard right beside it near the window where the road in front of the complex could be seen.

You dropped your carry on onto the bed and flung your backpack on top of it.

The two gifts chained to your backpack thudded against the bag. The sudden noise reminded you;

I should tell them I landed safely.

Are they ok?

These thoughts whirled through your head, already causing you to stress unnecessarily but-

‘____-ah.’

Your head snapped around before you could erase the anxiety in y our eyes-

Or maybe Tao could see through it already.

‘Yeah Tao?’ You replied, scratching your back to look nonchalant.

His lips fell and his dark eyes felt as if they had pierced right through you; between the cracks.

You looked back at him expectantly, even giving him a small smile of encouragement…

‘It’s ok to miss them.’