Empty rooms filled with the echo Joohyun had started to detest so much lay bright in her vision as she continued to move about while on the phone, tiptoeing to open windows for some afternoon breeze after her busy day moving boxes here and there.

This had started as a fun project, moving houses. It was exciting to search for apartments as she had never done it before, something she had always been attracted to do but never gave it a shot because living with her members had been comfortable so far. However, after having spent the last 10 years living in dorms, 8 of those with all the members and the last two with only Seulgi and Yeri after Joy moved out first and then Wendy followed up when she left to Canada, her opinion had changed and was now ready to find the perfect house.

This had been an interesting time she enjoyed while getting to know new places she hadn't heard of during her many years in the city and her method was the best to make it continue being just as entertaining as it was; her lack of knowledge in the real estate sector allowed her to view houses which had caught her attention on the first look, so by the rooms' lay out or wall colour.

Obviously, money wasn't a problem however having no specific preferences or despise to any area could only let her rely on first impressions, clients' reviews and her instinct, and she was liking the challenge so far. The only problem she had encountered was the girls' passion to rush her from agency to house, asking around too because they wanted to at least help with something even when she had already told them it was okay. She appreciated it, but it was exhausting.

So after a long, hectic month of research and a short wait for approval from the previous houseowners, (apparently they accepted very quickly after finding out Bae Joohyun was interested) Irene was finally the official key holder (well code holder) of a modern, white tiled apartment in the heart of Seoul.

The place had three gleaming rooms, two accompanied with a bathroom each and the other one with an extended walk in closet right on the side to clear up a big enough space for two, centred queen-sized beds to fit. Also had a generous island kitchen she planned to strictly use to finally learn cooking proper dishes, because after the last incident with the bad delivery food place and then having Yeri stay in the hospital for days, she became assertive to not let anyone else get poisoned. Though now that everyone lived alone, she wasn't sure how she would make that happen, so inviting them for dinner when Wendy came back would do for sure.

She came to love the house as she imagined what kind of furniture would go in every corner. One was obviously going to be her room, the biggest one because she wanted it similar to her dorm room, with a big bed and a desk for her relaxing colouring afternoons. The other two she wanted to make for guests, similar designs though she thought of making the smallest a 'storage' room in case more space was needed for her big pile of clothes, and shoes, and bags, and jewellery... we're talking about Irene after all. She also bought a big sofa with its own coffee table and some other drawers and plants to fill up the spacious living room as well as a TV, and obviously a second one for her room too.

With no rush, in two weeks she had placed all furniture, necessities and equipment in a specialised shop's cart a colleague had recommended, and was ready to pay it all online as the good homebody she is, but that only marked the beginning of a frustrating month.

On one of her many days after work, she met up with Seulgi and Joy for some much-needed tea break. It had been a while since she last saw her other maknae so the afternoon had been pleasant and fun before it was time to go back to what now had become 'Seulgi's home' since everyone else had moved out and Seulgi had decided to stay at the house that had been welcoming them all for so long. SM was going to let go of the dorm anyway so she was proud to stay, especially now that she had so much privacy. Not that they didn't have it before but when it comes to comparing having one room for herself to a whole 5 room flat for herself, it was obvious which one won.

Arriving home, Irene quickly kicked her shoes off and threw herself to the sofa with Seulgi joining her when she got some snacks before rushing into the shop's cart, excited and happy to finally order her future home's furniture. She took a deep breath and pressed the button, letting the phone drop onto her lap and then clapping along with Seulgi at the small step she had taken further into a bright future with a well-designed house.

Yet, the message she received just a minute after had all her hopes dragging on the floor.

For some random error, the payment never went through after buying her things, so it got on hold, for a week. She was okay with it, errors happen all the time but after trying again when they had clearly told her it was okay to do so, the damned web dropped because of some updates, so she had to wait another week until they fixed it.

All this standby had her eager to finally move because of the immense sense of irresponsibility the shop manager possessed to have her waiting again at home a week later but then tell her the delivery was cancelled, 3 hours after the time set. Irene was ready to storm into the shop and strangle the guy herself but Seulgi, like the angel she is, calmed her down and got her a session at their favourite masseuse downtown just to have her a bit more relaxed before the big moving day, but especially because she couldn't have Irene throwing fits and then judging ''The Mess" she was going to clean up when everyone took all their things from the dorm... obviously after Wendy came back someday because she had the most out of them all.

Even Yeri who had proposed the idea of getting apartments nearby each other went ahead and rented first as she couldn't hold back the excitement of living alone anymore, though she knew she got easily homesick and there came the idea to have her second mother living close by. She was already all settled down with no problems caused by unreliable shops and so Irene was happy for her, maybe just a tiny bit jealous too because she was once again waiting at home for the stupid delivery, and her conversation with Yeri could only make it better.

''YOU GOT A WHAT?!!'' Irene paced into her room with a big box between her hands and a boiling phone pressed hard against her ear.

''a kitten-''

''you're joking'' she dropped the box labelled 'more clothes' on the floor and snatched the phone away from her own shoulder before sliding her back down against the wall to sit on the cool floor beneath her feet.

''...this is why I was scared to tell you''

''why be scared of me when you have a cat at home?! you know you fear animals just as much as I do!

''technicallyyy, I still don't have it. I'm picking it up on Friday''

''okay... that's not the point Yeri, the point is that 1) you have never had a cat before and 2) how are you supposed to take care of it when you forgot where your house was the other day?!'' Joohyun sighed as she remembered the fright when they told her, her beloved youngest member was lost and uncontactable ''I don't think you can do it, at least not now'' might've sounded harsh but she just wanted to make sure Yeri was making the right decision.

''but I want to challenge myself and get over my phobia, you know what Unnie... you should do the same-''

''we're not talking about me right now...'' she groaned, sliding her back further down until she was facing the ceiling ''Yeri you can't do this'' she said after a short pause.

''I'm sure I can''

''you scream every time you see one!''

''now Unnie, I think you're talking about yourself. I've changed, I'm not as scared anymore, and I really really want it''

''you know it's not just about wanting it; you need to know they take a lot more effort than most people think, especially the young ones''

''yes, and I know. I've been thinking this for a while and even asked vets and professionals for advice before visiting the adoption centres''

(always adopt you guys)

''you moved a few weeks ago, don't you think you're rushing things?''

''I'm settled already, everything is moved to its place and the house is clean, what could go wrong?'' Joohyun became especially quiet as she got things through. By the tone on the youngest's voice and what she had told her she could tell it wasn't just a sudden thought Yeri had woken up with. She did her research and right then had the time to raise it with the attention it needed so yeah, what could go wrong? She sighed one last time and a smile appeared right away.

''if you're sure about this... I trust you''

''O.M.G!!! THANK YOOOUU!!!'' Yerim continued to squeal on the phone while Irene waited for her to calm down holding it far away from her ear ''you're my favourite parent!''

''I've never had a daughter like you'' she chuckled as she rolled over to the next set of cold tiles a few centimetres away from where she was laying ''but don't you dare ask me for help'' a motherly smile appeared on her lips as she knew Yeri would be calling her back for aid and advice Irene couldn't probably even offer her.

''I LOVE YOU SO MUCH~~~''

''yes, yes... just stop screaming''

''you know, I'm practically saving a life as well. The poor cat is only 5 months old and they found him thrown next to this mountain road. The boy was infested with parasites, but they luckily saved him on time and now he's a small ball of energy. The problem was that they needed an owner as soon as possible and that's when I came into contact with the centre and told me he would be ready in 3 days when I showed interest''

''if that's the case how can I disagree? besides, you live alone now you can decide on what to do without asking''

''for some reason I still feel the need to get your approval, and I needed someone to tell me I was doing the right thing''

''I'm proud of you Yerim, you know I am''

''please don't get me started'' Irene heard her sniffle and laughed as she rolled over again ''let's change the topic before I start crying... how's the whole deal going?''

''still the same, they were meant to come 10 minutes ago and there's no sign of them''

''what the heck, why didn't you just get your money back and bought the things from somewhere else?!''

''you know I was busy with the last episode of the drama and I didn't have the time to fight them, but now that I'm free I'll go strangle the life out of the guy who keeps lying at me over the phone''

''count me in'' they both laughed as Yeri continued telling her about the house and how her little sisters were even more excited than her about the new kitten moving in.

''thank you Yerim and make sure to have everything ready for the little one''

''yes ma'am~~~ oh right! Unnie if they don't show up in the next thirty minutes come stay the night here, I miss you already''

''okay I'll be there in a bit. I know these guys will not come today, It's always like this...''

''see you now then~''

''yesss'' and with that they both hanged up, Irene finding herself rolled all the way over to the opposite corner to which she had sat at the beginning.

Just then she quickly picked up her stuff and made one last tour around the house to close windows before going out the house and walking a few blocks to get to her maknae's house.

Spoiler Alert: Yeri does ask for help... too soon.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

surpriseee

soooo this will probably be a short story though I'm not sure, it was a quick idea I had and wanted to try it out while I finish fate.
I really don't know how this will come up but I hope you do enjoy because I had fun writing this ᕙ(＠°▽°＠)ᕗ

∆What breed do you think Yeri's cat will be?

a) a Sphynx

b) a Persian

c) a Himalayan