jiae finished packing the rest of her things into her car and slammed the trunk. she turned around to face her aunt and smiled sadly.

her aunt, jisoo, was still so young that she felt more like a roommate than an aunt. she ran a hand through her dark blue hair before holding her arms out for jiae to walk into.

"i'm gonna miss you, kid." she mumbled into jiae's hair, and jiae squeezed her aunt. "i'll still visit when i can..!" she sighed. "but i'm gonna miss you, too."

it was bittersweet. jiae had been bouncing off the walls in excitement ever since donghyuck asked her to move in, but she'd been living with her aunt for months. even though she was gone due to work most of the time, they always had fun when they were together.

haechan was on his last show before the tour ended, but jiae assured him that she'd be fine starting the move without him. he backed down once she let him know that hyeyeong's boyfriend and her two brothers would be doing the heavy lifting.

jiae gave jisoo's hand one last squeeze. "you got that security camera outside your door, right?"

rolling her eyes, her aunt smiled and squeezed her hand back. "i can take down three grown man on my own, you know." jiae frowned. "but, since it makes you feel better, i installed the camera."

with one last hug goodbye, jiae threw the rest of her items into her car. once she was alone, she allowed herself a second to breathe. her hands gripped the steering wheel as she sat there and let everything sink in.

her car was packed. her goodbyes were said. she was really moving in with lee donghyuck.

a ding from her phone grabbed her attention, and jiae pulled the emergency break before pulling her device out. a smile graces her lips as she read the message.

haechan
babeeeeee

haechan
are you on your way?

jiae
about to leave now 😌

haechan
i miss you

haechan
i can't wait to be home and see you

jiae
yesss i'm so excited. your house
is gonna be even cooler with my
presence 24/7 😍

haechan
our house

jiae
hm?

haechan
you said my house but it's
OUR house now ❤️
read

haechan
pinkie pie?

jiae
yes i'm here

jiae
hi

haechan
did that fluster you 😭

jiae
of course no i'm so awesome
i never get flustered !!!

haechan
awwwwww you're blushingggg

jiae
SHUT UP

jiae
i'll fight u

haechan
you love meeeee 🥰

jiae
🤺🤺

haechan
so cute

jiae
no
u
you
bye

haechan
😭😭 bye bye jerry

haechan
text me when you get home

jiae
home|

jiae
i will 💗💗
haechan reacted: ❤

jiae sat there for a moment, smiling at her phone, before collecting herself. she put the car in drive and started making her way to haechan—their house. she didn't need directions, the destination engraved in her memory after visiting the idol on his hiatus.

she wondered how his family was, and then wondered if she should mention to them that she was officially moving in today. she'd exchanged some messages with sunghyun earlier than day, and the girl offered to help her move in, but jiae didn't want to distract her from her school work.

as she drove, she thought about how it would feel to see her boyfriend again. he'd been on tour for what felt like forever, and though they facetimed frequently, it wasn't the same as being with him in person.

yearning aside, jiae signed and turned on some music to listen to. he didn't live too far away, but it was still a drive.

a little while later, the girl arrived at his complex and was met with the sight of hyeyeong's brother's car parked out front. she smiled to herself and parked beside them, hopping out to greet the oh triplets (and daniel).

"hye!" jiae called to her friend, jumping over to greet her with a hug. hyeyeong quickly reciprocated the action, squeezing the younger girl before releasing her.

"ready to move in?" hyeyeong asked before stepping aside for jiae to open her trunk.

the younger nodded and finally acknowledged the three boys waiting patiently for instructions. she offered them a friendly wave, which they politely reciprocated. 

seongyeol, hyeyeong's brother, shoved his hand back into his pocket and quietly admired how so many boxes fit in such a small car. "where do you want us to start, ji?"

it took a little while for them to get into the groove of things, but the apartment was full of boxes less than two hours later.

huffing, jiae dropped down on the couch between hyeyeong and her other brother wooseong.

"i owe you all a drink." she began as she rested her head on the older girl's shoulder. "my treat tomorrow?"

beside her, wooseong scoffed out a chuckle and ran a hand through his thick mop of wavy hair. "i'll hold you to that."

jiae spent the next few minutes scrolling through social media and liking posts from nct dream. a small frown fell upon her lips when she noticed a message in her requests from a picture-less account, knowing it was from someone she didn't want any contact with. luckily, her "step-family" couldn't approach her without getting arrested thanks to the updated restraining order.

hyeyeong quickly noticed the shift in the girl's demeanor, because she rose from the couch and wiped her hands on her pants before turning to the group and saying, "gentlemen. i think it's time we give our girl some space to adjust." jiae sent her a smile, and hye gave her knee a gentle squeeze.

with a soft sound of effort, the two oh brothers rose from the couch and bid farewell to jiae. "don't forget you promised us drinks," seongyeol teased, and jiae threw a pillow at him as they left.

jiae
boxes are in

jiae
now i just have to unpack and organize

jiae
question:
how attached are you to these white walls?

•
i feeeeeel like jihae's story is coming to a bit of an end !! do you guys want me to continue this book with heavier focus on other couple(s) or start something new??