Eunjae- Resources
Denny- Actually, you left the laptop open while you were VERY BUSY helping my sister get more popcorn the other night.
Denny- Rookie mistake.
Eunjae- I have a lot to learn
Denny- Nothing that can't be fixed with six weeks of rigorous mental and physical conditioning in high-stress environments.
Eunjae- Will this help me qualify for the contest to be your next brother-in-law
Denny- Are you testing me, Ryan Kim? Cause I’ll play ball.
Eunjae- Batter up
Denny- LOL.
Denny- HAHAHAHA.
Denny- Man, you're hilarious.
Denny- See you when you get back.
Denny- DON’T FORGET TO CHECK IF YOU'RE BEING FOLLOWED.
37
Asheledhisbrothers across the tiny parking lot at the Ivy Lane Apartments, Eunjae realized that he'd arrived without a camera again. His favorite Nikon had been left behind in Seoul for a second time. Using one of his phones was fine, but insufficient. He didn't trust either device to adequately capture what was here: the evening shadows that softened every angle, the lights in the windows and the wisps of cloud reflected in puddles. It had rained again while he was away.
He'd been away forever. He'd never left, not really. Magic worked in strange ways. And it was still here, despite everything, unsullied and unchanged.
It didn't matter so much about the camera, Eunjae concluded. It wasn't possible to fully preserve everything he felt so deeply about this return, and no photograph could convey the scent of dinner cooking in multiple kitchens at once, or the sound of the wind chimes as they seemed to be welcoming him home. A picture couldn't record the comfort of having his brothers at his back, bickering and laughing amongst themselves. And a video couldn’t replace the sensation of just being here, either.
A picture would've been nice to have, though, if only so Eunjae could memorialize the look on Denny Han’s face when he opened the door.
“Am I drunk?” he muttered, studying Eunjae's face and then the figures behind him. Louder, he repeated the question. “Yeonnie! Am I drunk?”
Jiyeon’s voice floated over to them from further inside the apartment, bemused. “How? You don't even drink.”
“Then why am I looking at like, fifty copies of Ryan Kim? This can't be real.”
There was a thump of crockery against the kitchen counter, set down with a bit more force than intended. The Han parents both doled out admonishments for being heavy-handed with the dishes. Eunjae listened with bated breath as Jiyeon’s footsteps approached the front door, closer and closer.
“It’s too early for it to be Ryan already,” he heard her say. “I checked. Traffic was terrible, as usual.”
“Yeah, well, this is definitely Ryan Kim. Plus six other Ryan Kims, which makes it a grand total of too many Ryans.”
“Who’s Ryan Kim?” Jesse whispered to no one in particular. Eunjae didn’t respond because by then he was face to face with Jiyeon, the brief history of their relationship replaying before his eyes. There she was again, standing behind her brother, staring at him from the threshold. Here he was again, in need of a place to stay.
Jiyeon slipped past Denny to stand on the doormat in her bare feet. “Eunjae,” she said, smiling, and it was only another thing he couldn't take a picture of: that sense of being exactly where he should be, and the sound of his name imbued with such wonder, with tenuous joy. The way the rest of the world seemed to fall away so that nothing existed beyond the pool of light where they stood.
This didn’t last very long. Denny soon came to his senses and launched into a full scale interrogation. He did this after commanding everyone to get inside the apartmentright now. Eunjae hadn’t witnessed his brothers obey orders with this much alacrity in months. Not since Jaehwan left for basic training.
Initial discussions revealed that no one had informed Denny of the size of Eunjae’s entourage. “I thought it was just you coming back! Not eleven billion clones of you.”
Eunjae bowed an apology. “I thought I mentioned it. Didn’t I?”
“Probably! To my sister!” There was some mumbling about ‘Ryan’s freaking priorities’ which certainly piqued the interest of every Apollo member within earshot. Eunjae squirmed inwardly. Why was he still in this jacket? It was much too warm for long sleeves.
