That Night It Rained | Yuta

30 | Newfound Power

Jina and Min-hyuk had agreed to live at Min-hyuk's apartment instead of moving into a new one rented by the company. The apartment was smaller than the house Jina and the members lived in, but it was warm and homely. Everything was organized properly; the kitchen was stacked which only meant that Min-hyuk liked to cook his own meals. There was a long hallway leading up to the living room which connected to the two bedrooms on either side.

'I know, it's not that big.' Min-hyuk kept one of Jina's boxes down in the middle of the living room, already stacked with suitcases.

'It's perfect, Min-hyuk. You don't need to worry,' Jina assured Min-hyuk.

Min-hyuk was still unsure how Jina and him landed in this situation but now was not the time to think about that and he wasn't going to meddle between Yuta and Jina. Despite the feeling in his gut that told him that all this is wrong, right now his only task was to make Jina feel comfortable here.

'This is my bedroom.' Min-hyuk pointed to the room at the end of the living room. 'You can take the other one.'

Jina followed Min-hyuk's finger pointing towards the door at the other end and nodded.

After bringing in the last of Jina's things, Min-hyuk helped Jina unpack and organize a few things in her room. It was already evening when they finished unpacking the last box and decided to continue to organizing later.

They ordered food that night given how exhausted both of them were and settled themselves around the table in the living room to eat.

'If you need anything, please do not hesitate,' Min-hyuk said to Jina.

Since the first time they spoke on the phone when Min-hyuk had contacted Jina and introduced himself as NCT127's managers, Min-hyuk had always been polite with Jina. His words carried with themselves a certain familiarity and assurance. However, today, even though Min-hyuk was polite, Jina felt awkward and disconnected with his words.

'All the important phone numbers are on the refrigerator,' Min-hyuk added. 'You don't have to worry about food, I usually cook but if you want to use anything from the refrigerator to cook, please feel free.'

Min-hyuk had been talking, or rather, giving an orientation for the past thirty minutes now. Jina kept quiet all this time, eating her food and nodding every time Min-hyuk said something.

'Anything you want to ask me?' Min-hyuk asked after he thought he had gone over everything he could about the house.

'Are you going to continue being their manager?' Jina asked.

Min-hyuk went silent. He had expected a question about the move or the house or the bus route from the house but not this. He hesitated but knowing that he can't hide it from her, said, 'Actually, I have been given a month-long break.' He looked at the food at the table. He looked at the plates, the spoons, the tablecloth, everywhere except at Jina.

'So, you're not their manager anymore?' Jina looked directly at Min-hyuk.

'Technically, I still am.' He looked up to see Jina's reaction. When none came, he continued, '...but given these new developments, the company has given me a paid break for a month and I'll resume work after that.'

'So, who is going to be their manager in your absence?' Jina asked despite knowing the answer to the question.

'Kyung-mi,' Min-hyuk said softly and by the look on Jina's face he understood her feelings towards this change.

~*~

With Jina gone, it seemed as though life had been sucked out of the house. Even though all of them were still at the house, it seemed emptier and bigger than usual. They tried to keep themselves busy with work but all of them missed Jina terribly. When Jungwoo saw a new show listed, his first instinct was to call Jina to start the show together. But he was asked not to by Doyoung so that Jina could move on from this place and the members and start her new life with Min-hyuk.