Chapter 44 #2
"We have a room." Jae-won replied without looking away from me, his lips twitching with amusement even as his dark eyes stayed locked on mine. "Several, in fact. Though not enough."
The comment hung in the air, and I felt a shift in the atmosphere — something more serious beneath the morning banter.
Jae-won straightened, his hand sliding from my face to rest on my shoulder, his expression turning thoughtful as he looked around the kitchen.
The playful energy dimmed slightly, replaced by something more intentional.
"Actually, that's something we should discuss.
" He said, his pack alpha tone sliding into place like a well-worn coat.
The others stilled, attention focusing on him with an immediacy that spoke to years of following his lead.
Even Hwan's sunshine smile faded into something more attentive.
"This apartment isn't big enough anymore. Not with six of us."
He was right. The company apartment had been designed for five — five bedrooms, one shared living space, a kitchen that felt cramped when all of us tried to occupy it at once.
Since I'd moved in after the heat, we'd been making it work, but "making it work" meant constantly tripping over each other in the hallways, meant never having space to breathe when we needed solitude, meant a nest that was technically in Jae-won's room but had slowly consumed half the living room as well.
"We've been talking." Jin-ho said quietly from beside me, his amber eyes meeting mine with careful intensity. His hand tightened slightly on my knee, grounding and reassuring. "The five of us. About finding somewhere new."
"Somewhere that's actually ours." Hwan added, his sunshine smile softening into something more genuine, more vulnerable, his warm brown eyes uncharacteristically serious. "Not company housing. Not temporary. A real home."
My heart stuttered in my chest, something caught between hope and disbelief. "You've been planning this?"
"Since the bonds settled." Min-jun admitted, sliding onto a stool across from me, abandoning the stove now that everyone was served.
His soft brown eyes were warm as they found mine, his rose-pink thread pulsing with gentle encouragement.
"We wanted to wait until you were feeling stronger to bring it up.
But... we want a place that's ours. All of ours. Yours included."
Ours, my omega breathed, something fierce and wanting stirring in my chest like a creature waking from a long sleep.Real home. Pack home. OURS.
"We've been looking at houses." Tae-min said, lifting his head from my shoulder for the first time since he'd sat down, his dark chocolate eyes bright with barely contained excitement.
His whole body was practically vibrating with it, his crimson thread blazing warm and eager.
"Actual houses. With yards and multiple floors and enough bedrooms that Hwan can't steal my shirts because he'll have his own closet on a different floor. "
"I'll still steal your shirts." Hwan said cheerfully, some of his usual brightness returning, his warm brown eyes dancing again. "But I'll have to work harder for it."
"A house." I repeated, the word feeling foreign on my tongue, too big and too real.
I'd spent my adult life in small apartments, in temporary spaces, in places I never let myself get attached to because I knew I'd have to leave eventually.
Moving was easier when you didn't have roots.
Running was simpler when you traveled light.
The idea of a house — a permanent home, a place that was truly ours — felt almost too big to comprehend.
"With a proper nest room." Jae-won's voice was soft, his dark eyes watching my face intently, reading every flicker of emotion that crossed my features.
"A real room, just for us. Big enough for all six of us to be comfortable.
With a door that locks and walls thick enough that we won't hear the neighbors. "
"And a studio space for Jin-ho." Hwan added eagerly, leaning forward on his stool. "So he can compose at three in the morning without us complaining about the noise."
"I don't compose at three in the morning." Jin-ho said, but there was a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"You absolutely do." Tae-min countered. "I've heard you."
"And a kitchen that doesn't feel like a shoebox." Min-jun said, a hint of longing creeping into his soft voice. His eyes drifted toward the cramped cooking space behind him. "One where I can actually move without bumping into the refrigerator."
"And a yard." Tae-min's eyes were dreamy, his dark chocolate gaze going unfocused as he imagined it. "I've always wanted a yard. With grass and trees and maybe a little garden. We could get a dog."
"We're not getting a dog." Jae-won said, but his tone was fond rather than firm, his dark eyes softening at the edges.
"We're absolutely getting a dog." Tae-min countered, his chin lifting stubbornly. "Keira, tell him we're getting a dog."
"I'm not getting involved in the dog debate either.
" I said, but I was laughing, something warm and bright bubbling up in my chest like champagne fizz.
Through the bonds, I could feel all of them — their excitement, their hope, their desperate wanting for this future they'd been building in their heads.
A future that included me.
"We found a place." Jin-ho said quietly, pulling his phone from his pocket and sliding it across the counter to me. His amber eyes were steady on my face, watching for my reaction. "We wanted to show you. See what you think."
I picked up the phone with trembling fingers, my heart pounding against my ribs, and looked at the screen.
It was a listing for a house — a beautiful modern hanok-style home with clean lines and warm wood accents.
The architecture blended traditional Korean elements with contemporary design, creating something that felt both timeless and new.
Multiple floors. Six bedrooms. A spacious kitchen with an island and actual counter space.
A room that was labeled "bonus room" but could easily be converted into a nest. A small private garden in the back, surrounded by high walls that would shield it from prying eyes.
It was perfect. It was everything I'd never let myself want.
"It's outside the city center." Jae-won explained, his voice careful, watching my reaction like he was trying to memorize every micro-expression. "Quieter. More private. Harder for fans and media to find us. We'd have actual privacy for the first time in years."
"The commute to the company would be longer." Min-jun added, his soft brown eyes earnest. "About forty-five minutes on a good day. But we think it's worth it. For a real home."
"We'd need to talk to management." Hwan's voice was uncharacteristically serious, his sunshine smile completely absent now, replaced by something more mature, more determined. "Get approval to move out of company housing. But Jae-won thinks they'll agree, given... everything."
Given that we were bonded now. Given that hiding an omega in company apartments wasn't sustainable long-term. Given that eventually, inevitably, the world would find out about us.
But that was a problem for another day.
"What do you think?" Tae-min asked, his voice small and hopeful, his dark chocolate eyes searching my face with barely concealed anxiety. His crimson thread was practically vibrating with nervous energy. "Do you like it?"
I scrolled through the photos slowly, taking in each image. The master bedroom with its large windows. The garden with its stone path. The room that could be our nest, big enough to fit all six of us with space to spare. The kitchen where Min-jun could actually cook without bumping into cabinets.
I looked up from the phone, my vision blurring with tears I couldn't quite hold back.
Five faces watched me — Jae-won's intense and patient, his jaw tight with barely contained hope; Jin-ho's quiet and hopeful, his amber eyes soft; Hwan's bright and anxious, his sunshine smile nowhere to be seen; Min-jun's soft and encouraging, his hands clasped tightly on the counter; Tae-min's young and eager, practically bouncing on his stool.
Five alphas who wanted to build a home with me.
"I love it." I whispered, my voice cracking on the words, tears spilling down my cheeks. "I love it so much."
The tension broke like a wave crashing on shore, and suddenly I was surrounded — Tae-min throwing his arms around me from one side, nearly knocking me off my stool, Hwan from the other, his laughter bright and relieved.
Min-jun's hand found mine across the counter, squeezing tight enough to hurt in the best way.
Jin-ho's forehead pressed against my shoulder, his breath shaky with emotion.
And Jae-won's hand settled warm and steady on the back of my neck, his thumb stroking over my pulse point.
"So that's a yes?" Hwan asked against my hair, his voice thick with emotion, wobbling in a way I'd never heard from him before.
"That's a yes." I laughed through my tears, the sound wet and broken and happier than I'd ever heard myself. "That's absolutely a yes."
The morning continued in a haze of happiness — breakfast eaten amidst excited chatter about the house, about room arrangements, about furniture and decorations and all the little details of building a home together.
Tae-min lobbied hard for the dog, enlisting Hwan as an ally, while Jae-won maintained his position that they absolutely weren't getting a dog even as his dark eyes softened every time Tae-min described the hypothetical puppy.
Min-jun made a list of things they'd need for the new kitchen, his soft brown eyes lighting up as he described the meals he could make with proper counter space.
Jin-ho was quiet but present, his hand finding mine under the table, his violet thread humming with a contentment so deep it made my chest ache.