Chapter One: Who's That
I stood in front of the house, staring at it and then at the paper in my hand. Was this really the place? I observed the picture from the newspaper article carefully. Where I saw a beautiful blue house resting against a sunny sky, complete with a perfectly mowed lawn and picket fence, stood a nightmare. The picket fence was broken in several places and the gated part stood ajar, creaking while I pushed it open further. The perfectly mowed lawn was long gone, replaced by a carpet of winding weeds and long grass. A narrow gravel walkway paved its way through the overgrowth and I dragged my suitcase through it whilst clutching the large golden key I'd received in the mail. All excitement I had about the new place had already disappeared but there was still a flicker of hope; perhaps the inside would be better.
I arrived at the porch. An old rocking chair stood guarding the door and some discarded plant pots lay knocked over near the stairs. I ignored them as I dragged my suitcase up and set it down. The boards creaked dangerously underneath my feet and for a moment, I wondered if the boards would give way. When nothing happened, I took a deep breath and looked at the antique key in my hand. Would it even work?
Sighing, I inserted the key into the lock and turned. Nothing. I wiggled it around a little bit. Nothing. I tried pushing on the door. Nothing. With a frustrated breath, I withdrew the key.
"Damn key. I should've realized it wouldn't work." I looked up at the door. Under the two large numbers screwed into the wood, was an ugly knocker. Would anyone be home?
Feeling the wind picking up around me, sending goosebumps up my arms, I cursed at myself and decided to give it a knock.
KNOCK KNOCK
I took a step back and waited. A few seconds passed by in silence. Nothing. I tried again.
KNOCK KNOCK
Again, I took a step back and waited. Nothing. This time, I huffed and tried again.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
I was growing impatient. What was I supposed to do if no one was home and my key did not work? I started reaching for my phone but stopped when I heard something behind me, rustling in the grass.
My eyes followed the movement, but nothing happened, so I slowly turned back, ready to knock again.
RUSTLE RUSTLE
I immediately turned again only to find nothing. This time, there was no movement. I looked around frantically, my heart beat beginning to rise. It could be anything. An animal? Perhaps a racoon? A wolf? Anything was possible, the grass was long enough to hide a tiger!
RUSTLE RUSTLE
This time the sound came from my right. Not caring for courtesy anymore, I quickly turned and frantically knocked on the door, banging my fists.
"Hello? Is anyone home? HELLO?!"
RUSTLE RUSTLE
The sound was closer and louder and there was something else…did I hear growling?
"Oh my god! Hello? Is anyone home? Please! Open the door!" I continued knocking and yelling.
Something was creeping up behind me, I could see a slight shadow from the little light the cloudy skies allowed that day. I dared to look behind me as I continued pounding on the door. I saw a blur of white rush past the porch and I screamed.
"AAAAAHHHH!"
"Oh for the love of god!" The door opened and without thinking, I rushed inside.
"Hurry! Hurry! Close it!" I pushed the person aside, much to their shock and quickly shut the door.
"Hey, excuse me! Wha-"
"Oh my god, thank you so much! Something was about to attack me out there!" I said, as I tried to peep through the peep hole to see if whatever it was, was still out there.
"What? What are you talking about? There is nothing out there. And you." A hand grabbed me and turned me towards them.
For a moment, my breathing stopped. Deep brown eyes peered at me intensely.
"Who are you?" The angel said.
I ignored his words and gazed at his flawless, creamy skin. My eyes trailed down from his orbs to his nose and then to his pinkish lips. I'd never seen a handsome man like him. Not in New York and certainly not here.
"Are you deaf?" The boy's eyes narrowed, looking for any sign of intelligence. "YAH!"
As if coming out of a trance, I looked away, clearing my throat.
"Umm… sorry, what?"
"Who are you? Why are you here?" I took note that he was still holding my arm where he'd grabbed me. He followed me gaze and realized what he was doing and let me go, almost as if he'd been holding something disgusting. I couldn't help but feel a little hurt.
"Umm… I live here." I said stepping away from the boy and the door.
The man stared at me for a moment, before scoffing and raising a brow. "I'm sorry, but what did you say?"
"I-I said I live here." He looks like a god but he's such a dick, I thought.
"Who gave you that idea? This house is a strict no girls zone. Get out." He didn't wait to hear me out and was already ushering me out the door.
"Wai-hey! Wait!" I managed to break free from his hold again and rushed past him.
"Hey! Wait! You can't just barge into someone's home and-"
"What the hell is going on here?!" A voice called from somewhere above me. I looked up to see another god descending the stairs. Shit, he's gorgeous too!
"Hyung, look! This girl just barged right in and won't leave." The first guy said.
"What are you talking about? Who-" He stopped when he noticed me hiding behind the banister. "Umm… Miss, who are you?"
"Hello," I bowed politely, "my name is Jiyeon Park, I'm your new tenant." I smiled nervously, waiting for the pair to say something.
"I see. I'm sorry Jiyeon-sshi, but I sincerely believe you have the wrong place." The second man tried to explain.
"But, this is 69 Youngchan Road, right? And this," I took the picture out of my pocket to show the man. "This is this house, am I correct?" The man took the paper from my hand and looked at it and then at the snobbish guy.
"That is true, but we were not told that we were receiving a new tenant and that still… a girl." He seemed uncomfortable as he said the last part and tried to avoid looking at me.
"That's exactly what I was telling her Jaebum-hyung, but she wouldn't listen."
"I'm sure she didn't mean any harm, Jinyoung, she's probably just confused." I know I am, Jaebum thought to himself.
"I don't understand, I spoke to the landlord because I saw an ad in the paper and he said it would be fine. I even sent him the rent and he gave me a key too." I showed the men the antique key.
"Hyung… there has to be a mistake. How come none of us were informed?" Jinyoung said as he eyed the key.
"I don't know." Jaebum looked at Jinyoung and then at me. "Jiyeon-sshi, please give me a moment, I need to talk to our landlord and see what is going on. In the meantime, Jinyoung, please show her to the living room. I'm sure she's exhausted."
Jinyoung looked displeased but told me to follow him with my bags into the living room. Through the confusion, I did not get a chance to see the inside of the house and my earlier excitement was revived as I stepped into the lavishly decorated living room.
Wow. This is the complete opposite of what the house looked like on the outside. Wait, that's not at all what I should be thinking about! Imentally scolded myself as I was told to take a seat by an annoyed Jinyoung.
"Jinyoung-sshi…"
"Wait here, I will go and get you some tea." If I don't, I'm sure Jin-hyung will have my head for not treating a stray properly.
I were left to myself, peering into the fireplace that was ablaze. What was going on? Was I duped? Did someone mess with me? What would happen if the real landlord said I couldn't stay?
"Oh? Who are you?" I jumped in my seat and looked behind me. A man stood there, this one also impossibly beautiful, cocking his head and staring at me with wide eyes.
"Hello," I bowed politely, "I'm Jiyeon, I'm your new tenant…I think." I trailed off.
"You think…?" The man asked confused. He walked around the sofa I was seated on and stood in front of me.
"Umm, yes. There seems to be some confusion regarding whether or not I'm supposed to be here…" Thinking about it was making my head hurt and waiting was becoming impossible.
"Wait, what did you say your name was?"
"Jiyeon Park."
"Aah! Hold on!" He yelled excitedly and ran off. What was that about? Before I could think further, Jaebum walked in, followed by Jinyoung holding a tray full of tea and biscuits.
"Jiyeon-sshi, please sit." I did as I was told. Jaebum took a seat on the armchair adjacent to me and Jinyoung set the tray down, arranging the teacups nicely for all three of us before taking a seat on the arm of the armchair, next to his hyung.
"I tried to get in touch with the landlord. Unfortunately, he is not picking up. Do you have any documentation from him, a letter perhaps, that would help verify your claim?" While he spoke, I noticed he had smooth, porcelain like skin and thin, reddish lips. So handsome…wait, what did he ask?
"If you're done staring at Jaebum-hyung, can you answer?" Jinyoung said as he raised his cup to his lips.
Blushing, I looked away and tried to take a sip of my own tea. Once I had regained my composure, I looked up to see both men staring at me, both calmly composed. Feeling somewhat uneasy, I shifted my weight.
"I don't have the documents yet. The landlord said he'd send them to me later…" I was realizing now just how stupid that seemed.
"This ad looks legit but it could easily be fraudulent too. Tell me, did you send this man any money?" Jaebum placed the ad on the table between them and looked up at me.
"I…" What should I say? "Yes."
"How much?" Jinyoung placed his cup down, trying to hide a wicked smile.
I looked him dead in the eye. "Six months."
Jaebum's eyes widened and Jinyoung just smiled and shook his head.
I wanted to cry. That was all the money I had. I ate instant ramen for the past two weeks to scrape that money together. I'd emptied my savings account and spent all my allowance.
"Jinyoung." Jaebum said sternly.
"Sorry, Jaebum-hyung." Jinyoung stopped shaking his head and moved to sit in his own armchair and went back to judging me, a quirky smile plastered on his face.
I don't like you…
"Jiyeon-sshi, I'm not sure what I should say to you. I really think you were scammed…" I could tell he was trying really hard not to pity me.
"Jaebum-ah! Here!" The excited man from earlier rushed into the living room with a paper flying in his hand.
"Hyung, what is this?" Jaebum took the paper from him and read it.
"Jin-hyung, what is that?" Jinyoung asked, somewhat impatient.
"It's a letter from our landlord." Jaebum seemed irritated as he looked at Jin. "Hyung, this letter is dated last week. Why didn't you tell us?"
"I did. Remember when we were having dinner on Sunday? I mentioned it."
*LAST SUNDAY*
"Everyone, we're going to have someone coming soon." Jin said, trying to speak over the younger men's chaos.
"Yah, Bambam, pass the sauce! Why are you hogging it all?!" Jin watched as Jackson and Bambam pulled the bowl of sauce back and forth.
"Guys, hyung is trying to say something!" An annoyed Namjoon tried to take the bowl away from them both.
"Namjoon don't-" But it was too late. All fourteen boys watched as the bowl slipped from Namjoon's hands and hit the floor.
"NAMJOON!"
*PRESENT*
"And I screamed Namjoon, because he broke my bowl! And then-"
"Okay hyung, thanks, we got it." Jaebum cut Jin off and looked at me. "It looks like you really are our new tenant." Though why our landlord would pick a single girl to live with fourteen men, I have no idea.
I stared at Jaebum for a moment, unaware that a tear had rolled down my cheek.
"Hey, wait, why are you crying?" Jaebum looked at me uneasily, unsure of how he should react. This whole situation made him uncomfortable.
The gravity of the situation finally hit me and I realized I would get to stay. I wouldn't be homeless. I wasn't scammed. The relief opened the gates for the tears to flow and suddenly, I was crying.
"Oh, oh, hey, it's okay. You get to stay. Hey, umm…" Jin said trying to calm me down.
"Hey. Hey!" It was Jinyoung who got my attention. He'd gotten up and walked over to me. He knelt down so he could see me at eye-level and looked into my eyes. "Stop crying. You look ugly."
For some reason, I stopped. Something about being intimidated by a handsome man maybe?
"Good." Jinyoung stood up and walked away, without sparing a second glance at me.
"Aish, he can be so mean sometimes. Come Jiyeon-sshi, let me show you to your room." Jin took my luggage, much to my protests and I quickly followed him as he walked out of the room. I looked back at Jaebum who still sat staring at me and smiled as I bowed before leaving.
Jin arrived at the last door on the second landing and opened it to reveal a rather large room, completely furnished with a queen-sized bed in the center.
"This is it. Home sweet home." He stepped aside to let me enter.
"Wow… this is way more than I expected."
"I'm glad you like it. Sorry it's not very clean…we, I mean I, kind of forgot you were coming."
"Oh that's fine. I'm just glad I get to stay." I admired the room as Jin looked at me.
"Yes, me too." He said more to himself than to me.
"Hmm, what was that?" I asked.
"Nothing. Don't worry about cleaning too much for now. Just freshen up and get ready for dinner. After dinner, the other boys and I will help you."
"Oh that's okay, I can… wait you said other boys? How many boys live here?"
"Hmm, let's see including me, Jaebum, and Jinyoung…there's fourteen of us. Oh and one more girl."
"FOURTEEN BOYS?!" I didn't mean for it to come out like that. Are they all as gorgeous as you? I was glad that I didn't say that out loud.
Jin laughed heartily, "Aah, yes it seems like a lot, right?"
"Oh no, I mean yes but, well…" I trailed off, what was I supposed to say exactly?
"Don't worry. They're mostly nice."
Mostly? Maybe he's referring to that Jinyoung guy from earlier.
"I'll come collect you for dinner, in the meantime, settle in."
"Oh, thank you…Jin-shhi, right?"
"Aigo, so cute." He ruffled my hair and my heartbeat rose slightly. "Since you're younger and you're a girl," and a very cute one at that, "call me Jin-oppa."
"Call, but only under one condition."
"Condition?"
"You must call me Jiyeon-ah."
"Call." He said high fiving me. I laughed along and watched as he walked away before shutting the door.