Chapter Text
A beautiful house stands alone, surrounded by nature in the hills of Nagano, Japan. On a breezy afternoon in late September, it stands tall, however still well hidden by the forestry around. The light from the sun bounces off of it, making anyone who sets their gaze on it stop and hold their breath, waiting for something more glorious to happen. Floor to ceiling windows expand the whole back side of the house, which can see outside into the large backyard, fit with a large in-ground pool as well. If you look closely, you can see the starting memories of the soon-to-be boys who will occupy this house, playing catch in the grass, building bonfires and camping in the backyard, as well as creating snowmen while sledding down the makeshift hills. Looking inside the house, there is a modernized dining room and living area, furnished with top of the line furniture and kitchen supplies for comfortable living, along with an endless spiraling staircase to the floor above. Soon, the house will be filled with rowdy and cheery young adults, all hoping to find friendship and new experiences.
The first person to arrive at the house is a young man with dashing good looks. His hair flops just above his eyes as he steps out of the car that brought him to the enormous house, his tall stature extending once he was fully out. He smiles as if he already knew what would go down inside the house, and how it would change his life forever.
Grabbing his luggage from the trunk, he thanked the driver and wished him a safe drive away as he watched him leave. Afterwards, he completely forgot to ask if the house was unlocked, but he wasted no time in trying the handle anyway (though not before ringing the doorbell. There was no answer). Thankfully, the knob turned, and he sighed in relief to be able to get out of the heat and into the new house after his long journey.
“Hello? Anyone else here?” He called out tentatively, as he hoped not to scare anyone if they were to arrive. The house didn’t respond. As he walked further into the house, he got to the living room, and assumed he was alone, as there was no sign of life from anyone else in the house. He sighed, in what was either relief or anxiety even he didn’t know, and set his luggage aside. The first arrival decided to walk around and explore the house, as his nerves wouldn’t let him sit still.
About 20 minutes passed, when a sharp ‘ding’ sounded throughout the house, signaling another arrival. The male got excited, enough to smile wide and almost jump up and down, when he then realized that he should probably answer the doorbell. From looking around the house earlier, he quickly remembered where the intercom was and answered with a “hello?” and a “come in,” when the other answered.
Happy to finally not be alone, he kept sitting down and standing up, waiting until the other person appeared around the corner. Within a minute, the other male shyly stepped into the room, immediately bowing to the other once he noticed him.
“Oh, hello” the soft voice of the new tenant stated once he saw the first. Although he knew the first arrival was in house by him answering the doorbell, the new comer was still surprised by his appearance.
“Hello there. My name is Yonashiro Sho, nice to meet you,” the first smiled widely at the new person, and helped him move his luggage off to the side. It was awkward at first, them not knowing each other and how to interact. Maybe that’s why they decided to come to terrace house, to improve themselves.
After setting his luggage aside, the new male bowed deeply again and introduced himself, “Hello, Yonashiro-san. I’m Kawarishi Ren. Nice to meet you too. I hope we have fun together,” he smiled, his eyes disappearing into crescents. Sho chuckled at seeing his expression, thinking it was cute. He was always a sucker for smiles.
“Please, let’s sit down. I am so excited now that someone new is here, I thought I was going out of my mind being alone. I couldn’t sit down,” Sho confessed, his feelings spilling over slowly as he started talking. He wanted to get as comfortable as possible with all the new housemates so there were no awkward interactions at all during their stay, and they can create a lively atmosphere.
Doing as he was told, Ren sat on the edge, still not sure on how to act. Usually friendly, he was now on the shyer side taking in the new experience all at once.
“Ah, I am quite excited too. This is all new for me, living away from home and with more people. It will be good for me, though. I hope we can become friendly,” Ren showed his gummy smile again, crooked canines poking out. Sho thought it was charming. Just as he was about to ask a question, the doorbell rang once again.
Both the males looked at each other, surprised at how soon another was arriving, but excited at the same time to be with new people. Sho smiled and got up, saying he would answer the doorbell. Not 2 minutes later, another head peeked around the corner, eyes hidden behind a curtain of hair scanning the room. He shyly stepped out into the living room area, bowing at the other two housemates. He stood tall in his dark outfit, intimidating the others until he speaks up with his shy voice.
They all exchanged hellos, the new tenant introducing himself as “Kimata Syoya,” who loves to eat and hopes to learn cooking for his overeating habits, as not to rely on others’ cooking. The other members laughed at him, giddy about this new and seemingly younger member. So far, they haven't said their ages yet, so they are all still tip-toeing around each other so as not to offend.
Ren complimented Syoya, reacting to his little comment and saying he was cute. “Oh, you’re so cute! How old are you, by the way?”
Syoya spoke quietly, saying, “I was born in April of 2000. I just turned 20 a couple of months ago.”
The other housemates started cooing, calling Syoya a baby. They then revealed their ages, Ren being born in March of 1997, a 23 year old, and Sho a being born in 1995, soon to turn 25.
“As being the oldest so far, I promise to do my best to take care of you,” Sho smiles at the others, feeling content with caring for them. He’s had experience caring for his younger siblings, so he already feels at home with these new housemates.
They leisurely talk about this new experience, sharing little facts with each other but waiting for more tenants to arrive when the doorbell rings once again. Now more giddy than nervous, Sho immediately reacts to the sound, bounding over to the intercom and saying hello.
Another tall figure walks in, seeming like he just walked out of a magazine. The others couldn’t help but gawk at his beauty, feeling out of place in their own shoes while this new person stands up straight with confidence in his clearly expensive outfit. Curly black hair laid neatly over his eyes as if it belonged there, a long tan coat hung just past his knees. He walks in awkwardly, contrary to the other's previous thoughts, as these 3 pairs of eyes on him seem more important than any of the ones looking at him as he walked the runway for his job.
“Good afternoon, I am Sato Keigo. Nice to meet you,” Keigo bows deeply as he sets his luggage aside when the others have placed theirs. He stands up straight again, as he was taught, though if someone looked hard enough they could tell that he was nervous by the way his eyes didn’t shine, and his mouth moved slightly. He hoped this was the right decision, and that he could find what he was looking for.
The oldest greeted him first, bowing slightly and gesturing for him to sit down and make himself comfortable on the sofa.
After going around with introductions yet again, the three previous boys learned that Keigo was 22 years old and loves to draw. Now that there were four of them, it became easier to open up and feel comfortable. Sure enough, two more tenants arrived.
The first one, Kono Junki, came in louder than the other ones with the biggest smile on his face. With his bright outfit, the others can't help but smile along with him. The 22 year old was quick to make friends with the others in the house. Everyone could tell that he loved making jokes and keeping the atmosphere lively. He easily bonded with Syoya over food, and promised him that he will teach the younger how to make his specialty italian dish, while getting close to Keigo as well because of their close age.
Unfortunately for the last, his car encountered a malfunction while they were on the road so he came in later than expected, hours after Junki arrived and past the acceptable time for eating dinner. The other housemates, as expected, became worried and stayed up to wait for the new arrival. He came around 10 o’clock at night, frustrated and embarrassed. He felt like crying as he watched the driver leave, left alone on the front steps of the house he will be living in for the time being. And he did, just for a second though. He couldn’t have his first impression to his house mates that they have a crybaby on their hands.
So he turned around and faced the door, wiping furiously at his eyes and taking a deep breath.
“You can do it. It’s not your fault,” he whispered encouragement to himself as he stood in front of the door for a full 5 minutes, still scared to ring the bell. But eventually, he decided that the faster he enters the house, the better. So he pressed forward and lifted his finger to the button, pushing it lightly.
Inside the house, the other housemates were getting anxious. Junki arrived last, but that was hours ago. Every 10 minutes, Sho glanced at the intercom that just wouldn’t ring. No one was telling them anything, and they wondered if the new housemate would just arrive tomorrow instead. The boys didn’t even eat dinner yet, waiting for their new member to arrive to have with him.
Ren wanted to go to the front of the house, look out the window, anything to see if someone was there. If not, then he would wait, but he didn’t like this feeling in his stomach.
“Yonashiro-san, when is the new roommate coming? I am starting to get really worried, he should be here by now,” Syoya said quietly, his voice cutting sharply through the thick silence. Being the eldest, Sho was getting asked a lot of questions that he simply couldn’t answer. He felt terrible, feeling helpless like this he wanted to crawl into bed and never leave. Then, like a miracle happened, the hoped for but alo dreaded doorbell sound rang throughout the house.
“H-hello? I am moving in today. Sorry for being so late,” an obviously stressed voice sounded through the intercom.
It felt like forever before anyone made any attempt to move. It broke their hearts, hearing the voice of the man, how it sounded so broken and upset. Everyone was looking at Sho, waiting for him to make the next move. After an eternity, Sho crept towards the intercom, pressing the button and breathing out a greeting, inviting the last tenant inside. He then sat down on the sofa, gathering the younger boys as well as they waited.
No one was expecting bright pink hair to peak out from behind the corner of the wall a minute later. The young, 21-year-old got startled by the 5 pairs of eyes that locked on him in an instant, as he stayed slightly hidden behind the corner. It wasn’t until almost immediately Junki grinned at the newcomer, and got up to help him with his luggage, as if he came only moments after Junki did himself. The new boy was grateful for the distraction from Junki, and shyly introduced himself as everyone waited for him to make the first move.
“Hello everyone. My name is Kawanishi Takumi. Please excuse my lateness. Nice to meet you all,” he swallowed hard, looking down at the ground as he felt his face get hot. He played with his hair, making it fall over his face as much as possible. Whenever he got embarrassed, his face would flush a bright red, it wasn’t hard to miss. Maybe the pink would drown out the redness in his face, and they wouldn’t know the difference. He fidddled with his fingers, pulling the sleeves of his pink sweatshirt just over his fingertips, a habit since he was young. It held for a good distraction.
“I’m Kono Junki, 22 and very happy to meet you Kawanishi-san! I’m sure it’s been a long trip for you, are you hungry? We haven’t eaten yet,” Junki started to talk first, hoping to clear the awkward air. He hated silence, and especially with tension in that air that can choke you, he cannot stand it. With no choice, he spoke to Takumi first, hoping to make him feel more at home, especially with this new experience that he doesn’t think ANY other season had before. This was an obstacle the group had to overcome together, and the best way was to make Takumi feel even more comfortable and at home, as if nothing different ever happened. Junki was determined to become his first and best friend.
Confused, yet grateful, Takumi looked up and smiled slightly, fiddling with his fingers. His throat closed up and wouldn’t let him speak, so he nodded instead, grateful for the distraction.
As Sho and Junki lead Takumi into the kitchen, he didn’t notice the stares of the other members, or one to be specific, that had become captivated by Takumi, and hoped that it was him who rescued Takumi from being embarrassed and not Junki.