INTERLUDE. 6 | 1-800-hot-n-fun

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Nervous was not exactly the word you would have used for that moment, since some time ago you had developed a certain degree of cold-bloodedness regarding those kinds of events, especially when it came to the Aespa girls’ apartment, a place you had already frequented dozens of times.

What ran through your body was adrenaline in its purest state, a state of euphoria that, as you walked down the hallway, had you playing with your own fingers and biting your lower lip. If someone had seen you like this they would have thought you were under the influence of an extra strong energy drink, but the truth is that you were simply too enthusiastic.

You forced yourself to breathe deeply and lower your heart rate when you stood in front of the door. You immediately heard feminine laughter from the other side, then a jovial and noisy conversation that you couldn’t decipher because of how the voices overlapped each other.

You raised your hand confidently and knocked on the door four times, your way of letting the girls know it was you. The conversation died down on the other side.

One of the four, whoever it was, hurried toward the door, her footsteps echoing.

To your surprise, it was neither Minjeong nor Aeri who opened the door.

Huh Yunjin peeked under the doorway, one hand on the frame and the other on the knob. The first thing you noticed was that there wasn’t even a hint of makeup on her face, and yet, you found yourself impressed by how pretty she was naturally, one of the rare cases in which the idol looked better in person than in photographs. She was wearing entirely gray pajamas, with baggy pants and a hoodie, her red hair down.

“Oh hi!” she greeted, with a friendly smile and a slight bow of her head.

You and Yunjin introduced each other. She opened the door a little more. Behind her, on one of the wide white linen sofas, you spotted three more beauties, all in comfortable pajamas and, like Yunjin, without makeup, talking and giggling among themselves.

“Wait, are you American too?” Yunjin asked in fluent, charming English, right after you had introduced yourself.

“Yeah! I moved here four years ago now, I think. What gave me away?”

“Your pronunciation, of course,” she replied. “If you didn’t grow up here it’s always going to sound a little weird. Eunchae teases me about it all the time.”

You clicked your tongue.

“And here I thought I had improved.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong,” Yunjin laughed. “It’s almost impeccable. Better than mine a few years ago to be honest. But anyway, come in! come in!”

Yunjin stepped aside and let you pass. Not even four steps in, Minjeong stood up from the couch and rushed with quick little steps towards you. Aeri stood up too, but stayed on the sidelines as Minjeong crawled into your arms, her head buried in your chest.

“Hello, Minjeong-ah,” you said, pulling her into a warm hug. You looked at Aeri, who winked at you, and then at Somi, who did not hide the way she checked you out from head to toe.

“All good?” Minjeong asked in her usual adorable tone, looking up at you from very close up. “Did you have dinner yet?”

You nodded.

“Two chicken sandwiches. Lovely meal.”

After giving Minjeong a kiss on the head and letting her go, you went to Aeri so she could give you a kiss on the cheek and rub your back as a greeting. Yunjin had returned to the couch with Somi, who put one leg up on the seat and crossed her arms over the backrest, looking at the girls with a playful face.

“Are you going to introduce him to me, or what?” she asked.

The girls quickly introduced you to Somi, who you shook hands with.

“Hmm, you’re American right?” Somi asked, also in English; since she was of Canadian origin, it was of course different from Yunjin’s, even yours. “Your pronunciation…”

“It gives me away, yeah,” you cut her off with a chuckle. “Someone mention it.”

“From where?”

“Seattle,” you responded. Minjeong hugging you from behind, her arms around your waist and her chin on your shoulder. “Straight from Pioneer Square.”

“Is the weather as depressing as they make it?”

You shrugged.

“A little,” you acknowledged. “It never bothered me too much, tho, You’d be surprised at the emotional intelligence you develop being in a city where it rains constantly.”

“Yeah well, you haven’t put it into practice these last few months,” Aeri mentioned as a rather intentional tease, crossing her arms, sitting on the back of the sofa. She also spoke in English, which made Minjeong frown.

“I already said I’m sorry, woman.”

“You never got on your knees before me and begged me, so the apology was never complete on my side.”

“Hey, hey!” Minjeong chimed in. “You’re not going to be speaking English all night, are you?” she asked in her own language.

“You understand English perfectly, Minjeong,” you muttered under your breath.

“What did he do?” Yunjin asked, looking at Aeri, eager for the juicy gossip.

“We don’t want to talk about it,” you said quickly, just as Aeri seemed thrilled to spill the beans.

Aeri glared at you.

“I’ll tell her later anyway,” she said, stepping away from the group toward the dining room.

“Oh, and me too, please,” Somi added.

“Great, but I don’t want to be here when that happens,” you sighed. “What did I miss? You guys didn’t start drinking without me, did you?”

“We were waiting for you,” Minjeong said. “The idea is that we’re all equally drunk by the end of the night.”

“So you’re already assuming we’re going to get drunk?” you asked.

“What kind of sleepover would it be otherwise?”

Music at a moderate volume began to play from the dining room. Aeri had turned on her Bluetooth speaker, which was bigger than necessary for the occasion. Björk’s “Army of Me” filled the silence of the immense apartment.

“Just a normal one, I’d say.”

“Do you think we’re girls who settle for normal?” Yunjin asked, grabbing some chips from a bowl on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

“Not at all. But it doesn’t matter, these devils have got me used to it.”

Minjeong playfully punched you in the thigh with her closed fist, making you hiss.