Small Worlds

04 Two-nights stand

"EWWWW! Disgusting!" Kim Minji exclaimed.

"No way!" Kang Haerin replied.

Little did they know that tonight, by pure coincidence, they had spoken similar words in different locations.

Kim Minji, forced to vacate her hotel, had settled into her new home and initiated a video call with her parents.

Kim Minjae joined the chat a bit later.

"You've already moved in?" The camera revealed Minji's new house, and Kim Minjae expressed his satisfaction.

"Great! You can't live in hotels forever! Ryan said that this neighborhood is quiet, and it can help you find some peace and stop messing around," Mr. Kim commented.

"Since when did I mess around..." Clearly her dad wasn't on her side, so Minji turned to her mom.

"Omma!" Minji exclaimed, "There's no parking spot and I had to leave the car by the entrance. It's dangerous!"

"My assistant will move the car later," Kim Minjae reassured. "Let him handle the parking thing. Tomorrow you take a taxi to the office."

Mrs. Kim, who had always favored the little daughter more, asked, "Why the hurry to move, then?"

Kim Minjae, for once, had a slightly bashful smile as he explained, "There's someone I like, and I want to be closer to her. But I'm a grown man and it might not be appropriate..."

Then he went into detail about Kang Haerin.

A Seoul native, beautiful, five years into her idol career, a loving family, a younger sister...

With the prospect of their eldest son finally showing interest in someone, Mr. and Mrs. Kim put their concern for Kim Minji aside and listened intently.

Kim Minji couldn't hold any longer, "EWWWW! Disgusting!"

"Minji! Mind your manners!" scolded Mrs. Kim. "Don't be like that!"

"Omma! Do you even know how old Kang Haerin is?" Kim Minji rolled her eyes dramatically. "Ryan's ten years older than her! He could be her uncle! Isn't that gross?"

"It's not appropriate for a guy like him to move here, so it's appropriate for his little sister to live downstairs? Isn't that too creepy?" she continued.

Mr. Kim totally ignored Minji's words and said, "It's not about age. What matters is a clean background and a gentle, virtuous personality..."

"Are we living in the 60s or what? Gentle and virtuous? Seriously?" Kim Minji scoffed. "Kang Haerin is an idol and she's got thirty million followers on social media! Thirty million! She's a top tier! Do you know how many people in Toronto? Three million! Her commercial value is worth millions, at the very least! I'm not talking about Korean won, but in dollars! "

"If her fans knew that Dad's biggest expectation for their Goddess was to get married and become a housewife, trust me, they'd march all the way from Seoul to Toronto, locate us, and toss the whole Kim family into Lake Ontario..."

Mrs. Kim coughed.

Kim Minji wisely stopped talking.

Mr. Kim said, "Now that you've moved, settle in, work hard, and stop messing around!"

"Ryan, don't forget the meeting with Mr. Zhao tomorrow," Mr. Kim reminded before signing off.

Kim Minjae nodded and instructed Kim Minji, "I bought a gift for Miss Haerin. It should arrive in ten minutes. You go and give it to her."