Chapter Text
You stood in front of the house, staring at it and then at the paper in your hand. Was this really the place? You observed the picture from the newspaper article carefully. Where you 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 you 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 you dragged your suitcase through it whilst clutching the large golden key you’d received in the mail. All excitement you had about the new place had already disappeared but there was still a flicker of hope; perhaps the inside would be better.
You arrived at the porch. An old rocking chair stood guarding the door and some discarded plant pots lay knocked over near the stairs. You ignored them as you dragged your suitcase up and set it down. The boards creaked dangerously underneath your feet and for a moment, you wondered if the boards would give way. When nothing happened, you took a deep breath and looked at the antique key in your hand. Would it even work?
Sighing, you inserted the key into the lock and turned. Nothing. You wiggled it around a little bit. Nothing. You tried pushing on the door. Nothing. With a frustrated breath, you withdrew the key.
“Damn key. I should’ve realized it wouldn’t work.” You 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 you, sending goosebumps up your arms, you cursed at yourself and decided to give it a knock.
KNOCK KNOCK
You took a step back and waited. A few seconds passed by in silence. Nothing. You tried again.
KNOCK KNOCK
Again, you took a step back and waited. Nothing. This time, you huffed and tried again.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
You were growing impatient. What were you supposed to do if no one was home and your key did not work? You started reaching for your phone but stopped when you heard something behind you rustling in the grass.
Your eyes followed the movement, but nothing happened, so you slowly turned back, ready to knock again.
RUSTLE RUSTLE
You immediately turned again only to find nothing. This time, there was no movement. You looked around frantically, your 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 your right. Not caring for courtesy anymore, you quickly turned and frantically knocked on the door, banging your fists.
“Hello? Is anyone home? HELLO?!”
RUSTLE RUSTLE
The sound was closer and louder and there was something else…did you hear growling?
“Oh my god! Hello? Is anyone home? Please! Open the door!” You continued knocking and yelling.
Something was creeping up behind you, you could see a slight shadow from the little light the cloudy skies allowed that day. You dared to look behind you as you continued pounding on the door. You saw a blur of white rush past the porch and you screamed.
“AAAAAHHHH!”
“Oh for the love of god!” The door opened and without thinking, you rushed inside.
“Hurry! Hurry! Close it!” You 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!” You said, as you 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 you and turned you towards them.
For a moment, your breathing stopped. Deep brown eyes peered at you intensely.
“Who are you?” The angel said.
You ignored his words and gazed at his flawless, creamy skin. Your eyes trailed down from his orbs to his nose and then to his pinkish lips. You’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, you looked away, clearing your throat.
“Umm… sorry, what?”
“Who are you? Why are you here?” You took note that he was still holding your arm where he’d grabbed you. He followed your gaze and realized what he was doing and let you go, almost as if he’d been holding something disgusting. You couldn’t help but feel a little hurt.
“Umm… I live here.” You said stepping away from the boy and the door.
The man stared at you 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, you thought.
“Who gave you that idea? This house is a strict no girls zone. Get out.” He didn’t wait to hear you out and was already ushering you out the door.
“Wai-hey! Wait!” You 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 you. You 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 you hiding behind the banister. “Umm… Miss, who are you?”
“Hello,” You bowed politely, “my name is Y/N L/N, I’m your new tenant.” You smiled nervously, waiting for the pair to say something.
“I see. I’m sorry Y/Nsshi, but I sincerely believe you have the wrong place.” The second man tried to explain.
“But, this is 69 Youngchan Road, right? And this,” You took the picture out of your pocket to show the man. “This is this house, am I correct?” The man took the paper from your 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 you.
“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.” You 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 you. “Y/N-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 you to follow him with your bags into the living room. Through the confusion, you did not get a chance to see the inside of the house and your earlier excitement was revived as you 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! You mentally scolded yourself as you were 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.
You were left to yourself, peering into the fireplace that was ablaze. What was going on? Were you duped? Did someone mess with you? What would happen if the real landlord said you couldn’t stay?
“Oh? Who are you?” You jumped in your seat and looked behind you. A man stood there, this one also impossibly beautiful, cocking his head and staring at you with wide eyes.
“Hello,” You bowed politely, “I’m Y/N, I’m your new tenant…I think.” You trailed off.
“You think…?” The man asked confused. He walked around the sofa you were seated on and stood in front of you.
“Umm, yes. There seems to be some confusion regarding whether or not I’m supposed to be here…” Thinking about it was making your head hurt and waiting was becoming impossible.
“Wait, what did you say your name was?”
“Y/N.”
“Aah! Hold on!” He yelled excitedly and ran off. What was that about? Before you could think further, Jaebum walked in, followed by Jinyoung holding a tray full of tea and biscuits.
“Y/Nsshi, please sit.” You did as you were told. Jaebum took a seat on the armchair adjacent to you and Jinyoung set the tray down, arranging the teacups nicely for all three of you 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, you 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, you looked away and tried to take a sip of your own tea. Once you had regained your composure you looked up to see both men staring at you, both calmly composed. Feeling somewhat uneasy, you shifted your weight.
“I don’t have the documents yet. The landlord said he’d send them to me later…” You were realizing now just how stupid that seemed now.
“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 you.
“I…” What should you say? “Yes.”
“How much?” Jinyoung placed his cup down, trying to hide a wicked smile.
You looked him dead in the eye. “Six months.”
Jaebum’s eyes widened and Jinyoung just smiled and shook his head.
You wanted to cry. That was all the money you had. You ate instant ramen for the past two weeks to scrape that money together. You’d emptied your savings account and spent all your 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 you, a quirky smile plastered on his face.
I don’t like you…
“Y/N-sshi, I’m not sure what I should say to you. I really think you were scammed…” You could tell he was trying really hard not to pity you.
“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 you. “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.
You stared at Jaebum for a moment, unaware that a tear had rolled down your cheek.
“Hey, wait, why are you crying?” Jaebum looked at you uneasily, unsure of how he should react. This whole situation made him uncomfortable.
The gravity of the situation finally hit you and you realized you would get to stay. You wouldn’t be homeless. You weren’t scammed. The relief opened the gates for the tears to flow and suddenly, you were crying.
“Oh, oh, hey, it’s okay. You get to stay. Hey, umm…” Jin said trying to calm you down.
“Hey. Hey!” It was Jinyoung who got your attention. He’d gotten up and walked over to you. He knelt down so he could see you at eye-level and looked into your eyes. “Stop crying. You look ugly.”
For some reason, you stopped. Something about being intimidated by a handsome man maybe?
“Good.” Jinyoung stood up and walked away, without sparing a second glance at you.
“Aish, he can be so mean sometimes. Come Y/N-sshi, let me show you to your room.” Jin took your luggage, much to your protest and you quickly followed him as he walked out of the room. You looked back at Jaebum who still sat staring at you and smiled as you 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 you 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.” You admired the room as Jin looked at you.
“Yes, me too.” He said more to himself than to you.
“Hmm, what was that?” You 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?!” You didn’t mean for it to come out like that. Are they all as gorgeous as you? You’re glad that didn’t come out at all.
Jin laughed heartily, “Aah, yes it seems like a lot, right?”
“Oh no, I mean yes but, well…” You trailed off, what were you 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 your hair and your 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 Y/N-ah.”
“Call.” He said high fiving you. You laughed along and watched as he walked away before shutting the door.