The time between Hannah’s announcement of her new plans and the day of her arrival passes quickly. Communication between the two is sparse, but informational, with occasional messages from Hannah relaying information about her new apartment, her flight arrival times, and her schedule. Jong Kook kept his responses short, easily sensing that she was incredibly busy. She continually made an effort to touch base, however, and he appreciated it, enjoying knowing he was in her mind at least a little when her life was so hectic.

The day of her arrival, Wednesday morning after an overnight flight, starts early for Jong Kook. His eyes shot open long before his alarm, body practically vibrating with excitement. He stares at the ceiling, willing himself to calm down. Unsuccessful, he leaps from bed an hour before he optimistically planned. He’s momentarily disoriented by his surroundings before he remembers that he let himself in to Charity’s apartment the night before. He’s carefully choosing an outfit from the giant duffle bag he lugged along with him when he hears a shriek coming from the main rooms of the apartment.

“AAAAAAIIIIIIEEE!! KWANG SOO! KWANG SOO! HELP ME! KWANG SOO HELP ME!”

He bolts from his bedroom, reacting instantly to the sound. Nearly tripping into the living room, he sees Charity in the kitchen, backed into a corner formed by the intersecting countertops.

“KWANG SOOOOOOO!,” she shrieks again, staring wide-eyed down at the floor.

Jong Kook crosses the distance between his bedroom and the kitchen in an instant.

“What? What? What is it?,” he demands of Charity. She extends a single shaking finger, pointing to the opposite counter.

“A BIRD! A BIRD! A BIRD IN MY HOUSE. IT ALMOST GOT ME”

Jong Kook’s brow furrows at the normally taciturn Charity’s sudden display of heightened emotion, but he moves to investigate the indicated area anyway. Sure enough, a small bird is sitting brazenly in the center of the countertop, right near the coffeemaker that is now dripping all over the counter, a mug on it’s side nearby.

“Omo! It’s a bird!”

“I KNOW! I SAID THAT! IT’S A BIRD!”

Jong Kook approaches the bird slowly. “What should I do?,” he asks, half to himself.

“GET IT! GET THE BIRD!”

“How do I -- aaghh!” Both he and Charity duck as the bird, apparently uncomfortable with Jong Kook’s approach, flaps off the counter and into the living room.

Charity instantly pops back up to track the bird’s path with her eyes. “OVER THERE! OVER THERE! IT’S ON THE LAMP! IT’S A BIRD!”

“I know it’s a bird!,” Jong Kook replies, trying to formulate a plan over Charity’s apparent need to remain at top volume. As different options fly through his mind, the bird takes off again, circling the room a couple of times before landing on the same lamp. Charity lets out an obscene string of cursing in English and Jong Kook cuts his eyes toward her. She scowls back and points emphatically at the bird.

“BIRD! BIRD IN MY HOUSE!”

“I KNOW IT’S A BIRD!,” Jong Kook bellows back. Making a quick decision, he ducks to rummage in the cabinets beneath the counter, emerging with a large pot and lid. He creeps forward slowly, eyes focused on the bird now walking sedately along the back of the couch, as if it’s about to grab the remote and flip on the nature channel, perfectly comfortable in its inappropriate surroundings.

“GET IT!,” Charity yells from her perch in the kitchen, having climbed up on a stool for who knows what reason.

“I’m getting it!,” he hisses, edging ever closer, pot extended upside down in front of him. With surprisingly little fuss, he drops the large pot over the bird, hearing frightened flapping against the metal as he eases the lid underneath it. He can feel the bird bouncing around inside as he gently turns the pot right side up, careful to keep the lid tightly in place. His heart is thumping with excess adrenaline brought on by Charity’s shrieking and the bird’s sudden movements and he momentarily blanks out on what to do next. He almost shrieks himself as he feels Charity hurry past, brushing against him slightly in her path to the balcony door.

“Over here! Over here, bring it over here,” she directs, sliding the glass door open.

He rushes across the living room at her words, stepping out onto the high rise balcony and gingerly setting the pot down. He leans down to keep one hand on the lid as he steps backward back into the apartment, then yanks off the lid and pulls the door closed in one swift movement. He leans against the door to catch his breath, assessing the minor destruction in the apartment as he does so. A few feathers are scattered here and there, the pillows on the couch’s back slightly flattened from his bird-nabbing. A lampshade is askew and Charity is already wiping up the coffee on the counter and setting a fresh mug under the brewer.

He walks over to the kitchen, finally taking in Charity’s appearance. Her hair is up in its customary messy bun, somewhat less messy than usual. Her eyes are bright and clear and she wears full makeup and is dressed neatly in skinny jeans and a tailored white button down. She clearly hasn’t just stumbled in with the sun.

“What happened?,” he asks as he approaches the kitchen.

She’s doctoring her coffee now, adding an amount of cream and sugar that makes Jong Kook wince, though he now knows better than to comment on her choices.

“I had just put my coffee on when I heard a thud over at the balcony,” she says, gesturing toward the sliding door with her head, her back to Jong Kook as she stirs her coffee. “I went over to look and there was a bird just lying there on the cement. I thought it was dead. I opened the door to check, and the bad bastard flew right into the house.” She turns to face him, coffee in hand. “And it almost got me,” she adds.

Jong Kook stifles a snort and is about to answer when a door flies open on the other side of the apartment and Kwang Soo stumbles out, wild-haired and sleepy-eyed, an enormous shoe clutched in one hand. Jong Kook bursts into flat out laughter at the sight of a half-asleep Kwang Soo ready to do battle.

“What? What is it?,” Kwang Soo mumbles tiredly, brandishing his shoe.

“It was a bird,” Jong Kook says after a moment to gather himself.

“A bird? In the house?” Kwang Soo is incredulous.

“Yes!” Charity nods. “And it almost GOT ME.”

Jong Kook bursts into fresh laughter. “It almost got you? Tell me, what was the bird going to do when it caught you?”

She glowers at him over the rim of her mug.

“Some help you were,” she directs to Kwang Soo. “If I had to rely on you, it definitely would have gotten me. Instead I had to wait for Muscles over here to come save me.”

Jong Kook bristles at her apparent disdain for his rescue skills. “I did save you,” he interjects indignantly, getting himself a glass of water as Kwang Soo flops onto a stool at the counter.

“Coffee?,” Charity asks and he nods gratefully, slowly coming awake.

“You didn’t offer me coffee,” Jong Kook huffs, pricked by Charity’s attitude after his dramatic heroics.

She rolls her eyes. “Would you have accepted?”

“No, but you could have asked.”

She shakes her head and turns to Kwang Soo, still clutching a shoe close to his chest as he waits for his coffee. “You busy tonight, Kwang Soo?”

“Mmm, no,” he replies. “I have an early day tomorrow so I was planning to stay in. You want to watch more of that show?”

Charity nods eagerly in response. “Yes, let’s. I’ll order in and meet you here tonight.”

“What do you have going on today, Cherry? You look nice.” He nods approvingly.

“Meetings at KBS all day.”

“Oh?,” Jong Kook questions. “I didn’t know Ji Hyo was doing anything with KBS right now.”

“She’s not.” Charity turns away to fill her coffee cup again. “I’m not with Ji Hyo today, it’s meetings about a piece of software I developed. KBS is interested in licensing it for the accounting departments.”

“I… oh.” Jong Kook trails off, not really understanding.

“It’s a big deal, hyung,” Kwang Soo supplies helpfully.

“Oh. Oh, of course. Well, congratulations. What does it… do?”

Charity nods, acknowledging his congratulations. “This product is actually a software suite with a number of functional modules operating within a pretty sleek framework, written in the… I’ve lost you already, huh?,” she smirks.

Jong Kook scowls at her accurate assessment of his glazed-over confusion. “Well. Well… “

“Well?”

“Well, your lipstick is too dark,” he jabs.

“Your face is too stupid,” she replies instantly, dropping her coffee cup into the sink. “Have a good day, boys!” She smiles at them widely, the expression not suiting her well at all, as she swings a minimalist messenger-style briefcase over her shoulder and heads for the door. “Kwang Soo, see you later! Other guy, thanks for the bird.” And she’s gone.

“Other guy!,” Jong Kook sputters at the now closed door. “Other guy!” He turns to Kwang Soo. “She called me ‘Other guy!’ You know she knows my name.”

“Mmm.” Kwang Soo nods in agreement. “She definitely does know your name.”

“Seriously, Kwang Soo, how do you get along with her so easily?” Jong Kook shakes his head and moves to the fridge, pulling out ingredients to make a light breakfast.

Kwang Soo shrugs. “She’s pretty easy to get along with, hyung. What do you have going on today?”

Jong Kook grins as he mixes egg whites and vegetables together in a small bowl. “Hannah arrives today.”

“Oh, yeah! I can’t believe I forgot for a second. Are you guys going out? To the gym?” Kwang Soo cracks a goofy smile.

“No, no, not today. She’s arriving today after an overnight flight, so she’ll be tired, I’m sure. I’m just going to welcome her and help her get settled in her apartment. I won’t stay long, but I’m excited to see her.”

It’s obvious Jong Kook is excited to see Hannah. His face is practically glowing with happiness.

“When do I get to meet her, hyung?”

“Oh, hm.” Jong Kook sets a light omelette in front of each of them as he takes the stool next to Kwang Soo. “I don’t know. I mean, soon, I hope. But I need some time, you know?”

Kwang Soo nods, as usual understanding pretty well what is hyung is trying to say. “Of course. Take your time. She needs to settle in, you need to get to know each other. But I’m really looki