Call Me Noona

Chapter 56 - Cake (Mature)

I FaceTimed Nikki a couple of days later and she started crying when I told her what had happened with the adoption. Seeing her cry made me cry again. Once we settled down, I was able to share my thoughts on the subject.

"I think maybe she doesn't like the fact that I am American. Min doesn't think that is it, but I can't figure out what else it would be. I mean, she practically ignored me during the interview. I did not get a warm fuzzy feeling from her."

"Well, that is possible. You said she is older, maybe she is very 'traditional'."

"It isn't the first time I have experienced it. I am an outsider. It doesn't matter how well I speak the language or how respectful I am, I am still obviously not from around here."

"I didn't realize it had been that bad."

"It isn't, overall. It is only certain people that I have encountered, and not all the time. Most are fine... even friendly sometimes. The Ahjumma's can be rude sometimes, but that is pretty normal. It isn't directed at me."

I felt a little better after talking to her. It felt cathartic. I made sure to let her know that we were not giving up and that we were already looking into other agencies. AgencIES, plural. This was too important, and we were too scarred from this experience to count on a single one.

Later in the week, the guys came over to work on their company business. Our apartment was a neutral space not owned by SSE, so they met there often. The topic this time was housing. They had decided where they were going to live.

They surprised me by all saying they would be getting separate apartments. I thought at least a couple of them would be roomies. They all planned to stay close to the new company though, maybe even in the same building. But they were all grown men who wanted to start lives of their own, just like Minhyuk had done.

They had also decided to get a shared property for vacations and being able to still be together. That house would probably be on Jejudo, and would have an ocean view. They were not going to get it right away, but it was in the very near future. Right now they were focusing on starting the business. The beach house would be a reward.

Minhyuk and I had been working with a realtor and we had found a house near Halmeoni. It was a traditional home that had been renovated into a modern style. It had all the comforts we would need, and 4 bedrooms. One for us, a nursery or toddler room, an office/studio that we would share, and a guest bedroom. The best part was that, like Halmeoni's, it had a pool.

With housing now settled, the conversation moved on to company updates and the new building. Their target opening date was January 14. They had to wait until after the end of the year to do anything officially and they wanted to keep the 14th. It is a significant number to them, plus that would give them 6 weeks from the time renovations were complete to get everything perfect, which was expected to be the beginning of December. That is when they would begin moving in and setting everything up. They had already met with designers about the interior and now they just had to make their final choices. They had also ordered all the equipment. We were going to do photos in a few days. Things were moving forward nicely.

I had suggested that we eat on the patio since they had taken over the table. I got everything together while the food was on its way. I flipped on the fairy lights and lit the torches to help ward off the mosquitoes. The area instantly transformed and brought back memories of our wedding night. I felt a flutter in my tummy and smiled to myself.

I heard the door buzz just as I was putting out the last plate. Min answered the doorman and told him to send the delivery person up. Moments later, 7 gorgeous men converged on me... or the table more specifically. They were hungry. We talked and laughed. Hyungwon and Kihyun picked on each other. Shownu just ate happily.