Eunjae sighed, sounding defeated already. “It was better when she didn't.”
16
Eunjaeandhisbrothershadn't lived in such close quarters for a long while. At least four or five years had passed since any of them shared a dorm with more than one other member, and even then, the space was split into separate bedrooms. The older brothers were accustomed to living alone. Needless to say, co-existing in this cottage would take some adjustment.
Or a lot of adjustment, Eunjae thought to himself, waking to a maelstrom of noise. In the kitchen, Kazu had their sole hair dryer blasting like a jet engine. Max and Kei had revived an age-old argument about how many alarms a person should be allowed to have on their phone between 6:00 and 6:30. At what point did this practice go from precautionary measure to full-blown psychological warfare? And Jungwoo needed his toothbrush out of the bathroom, but Namgyu was still in the shower, warbling his way through a favorite ballad.
“Just go in,” Nicky bellowed from the patio. “Everybody's seen everybody naked by now. Who cares?”
Frostily, Kei reminded them that the place was rigged with cameras and all of these were rolling. Jungwoo shouted back that the door was locked.
“So pick the lock. Here, want me to do it?”
“Sorry, but why the hell do you know how to pick a lock? Why do I still have to keep asking this question?”
Kazu switched the dryer off. “Quit standing around, we’ve got less than an hour!”
“You're one to talk when you take forever to get ready.”
“Deadbeat dad.”
“The worst.”
It was enough to justify remaining horizontal for the rest of the day. Eunjae contemplated burrowing into his sleeping bag and waiting for the floor to swallow him whole. Then he wouldn't have to figure out which brother made off with his toothpaste. Nor would he be forced to referee the inevitable wrestling match when Max and Kei reached for the hair dryer at the same time.
He did sit up, though. Jiyeon might have texted him back. It wasn’t possible to have a proper conversation in person, not last night and not this morning either. Nor could he call her without being overheard. They’d resorted to messages instead. Eunjae hated communicating like this, as if they were still long distance when Jiyeon was no more than ten minutes away from him at most, but what choice did they have?
Your dad’s here too?she’d typed an hour ago.For how long?
Until this is over, I guess, Eunjae texted in reply. An airline pilot one year shy of retirement, his father had rearranged his work schedule to join Ezra in California. This was the news his mother brought with her last night.
Jiyeon’s response popped up right away.Is your brother staying with him or Leila?
Good question. Ezra’s riding with us today. I’ll have to ask.
The custody agreement between his parents was pretty clear-cut: for most of the year, Ezra lived with their mother in Singapore, where he attended Blackridge as a weekly boarder. He spent his term breaks with Simon in Brisbane and stayed at school or with friends when Leila had business in Sydney. She performed on stage with a theater company several times a year. Maybe his parents would stick to the same pattern here, Ezra shuttling back and forth between them. But did it matter? Was one option any better than the other?
Eunjae drew his legs in before Jungwoo could stumble over them. Waiting for his turn in the bathroom, he’d launched into a lightning round of cleaning. “Oh, you’re awake. What do you think of these?” His brother hummed two melodies, varying by a single note. “First or second?”
“Second,” said Eunjae.
“Max thinks so, too. And that’s not for our next album, by the way,” Jungwoo made a point of adding, for the benefit of every camera hidden in the living room. The rights to any songs they wrote during this period could be claimed by Emerald, according to the terms of their contract. But Zenith would expect a comeback from Apollo as soon as possible, ideally before Nicky and Namgyu announced enlistment dates. The group didn’t want to risk these new tracks reverting to their former company when the transfer went through.
His phone buzzed.Speaking of your dad, Jiyeon said,he just got here. And I think he’s scared of me?
Just doesn’t talk much. I had to get it from somebody
You talk to me a lot,she pointed out.You must be a fan, kinda.
Big fan, he typed back, smiling.So drastic
Don’t be like this when I can’t get you back for it
And then she had to go because Eric was calling again. Good timing; the scuffle over the hair dryer was underway, as if ordained by fate. He squeezed past Max and Kei in order to wash his face and brush his teeth at the kitchen sink. Then, while Kazu braved the task of rousting Jesse out of bed, Eunjae changed into the first few things he pulled out of his suitcase. It didn’t really matter what he wore. According to Denny’s schedule, they had stylists deciding the wardrobe again today. He added a jacket for the early morning chill and called it good.
“Hyung,” said Max, cornering him by the refrigerator. “We need to talk. Don’t worry about the cameras. They can’t catch anything we’re saying.”
Eunjae couldn’t really catch what Max was saying, either. That had to be the loudest hair dryer in existence. “What did we need to talk about?”
