EXO Next Door: Ji Dae-Jin

Chapter 1

Nine years later

"Ugh..." I groaned out, trying to flip through the magazine, "this is almost impossible!"
I'd just painted my nails, and was struggling to not smudge the carefully painted on floral patterns. Carefully turning the page, I greedily read the stories, eager to read the reader written ones. Stopping at one, I glanced through it, my smile growing wider and wider as I read up all the details. Murder, despair, revenge; the key components of any story that interests me. I was like a sponge- absorbing the information.
Giggling, I quickly and carefully dog-eared the page so I could read it properly when my nails dried.
Just as I was about to turn the page again, a large slamming sound shocked me, and I fell off the bed I was lounging on. Pushing myself up, I sent a glare in the direction of Yeon-Hee, who ran to her bed and threw herself down.
"Hey," I hissed, "do you mind?!"
She didn't answer me, continuing to fan herself as she undone the buttons of her thick coat.
Suddenly, the door burst open again, once more shocking me, causing me to lose balance from where I was leaning on my arms. After face planting the ground, I sat on my haunches, sending a glare towards Kwang-soo, who was doing some weird 'martial arts ' moves in his red track suit. I rolled my eyes.
"What's wrong with you?!" Yeon-Hee cried out, looking embarrassed.
"Did you hear? Someone's moving in next door," Kwang-Soo said, waving his arms around.
"Moving in?" Yeon-Hee and I chorused, getting a 'yup' in confirmation.
"Mom says it's a bunch of good looking guys," Kwang-Soo explained.
"Good looking guys? Well now I'm interested," I said, sitting on my bed next to the window.
Yeon-Hee said nothing, only blushing and fanning herself gently.
"Hey, what are you thinking?" Kwang-Soo implored.
Snapping out of her stupor, Yeon-Hee kicked out at him, "Get out. You hear me!?" Before reaching over for her NERF gun and shooting at him, "Get out now!"
Kwang-Soo tried to block the foam bullets with his hands.
"I said get out! Go!"
Kwang-Soo gave up, running out of the room, with a shout of, "that's not fair!"
I yelled out to him, "Goodnight baby brother!"
I rolled my eyes, "Yeon-Hee, that was uncalled for," I snorted, glancing at my nails, "oh, damn it! The polish smudged!"
"Yeah, yeah..." Yeon-Hee fell back on her bed, whispering to herself, "good looking guys?"
Sighing, I grabbed my sleepwear, "Yeon-Hee, I'm going to change. You better be out of those street clothes and asleep by the time I get back in here, okay?"
Not waiting for a response, I exited the room, and went to the bathroom.

After locking the door, I quickly changed from my shorts and sweater to my black and blue silk shorts and black tank top. Tying my hair up, I quickly removed my makeup, and washed and exfoliated my face. I brushed my teeth and put my clothing in the clothes basket.
Entering Yeon-Hee's and I's room, I noticed my sister already under her covers, her dirty clothing in a pile on the floor, padded pink parka flung across the room. Shaking my head, I tiptoed across the room, before slipping under my own covers. Cuddling the quilts close to me, I closed my eyes and fell in to a dreamless sleep.

Snapping my eyes open, I gasped for breath. The nightmares were back, horrible tormentors of my mind. I quickly checked my phone. Four in the morning. Sighing, I ran a hand through my sweaty hair that managed to come loose through the night.
Shakily, I climbed out of bed, "I'm not going to be getting any sleep now."
Quickly dressing, I pulled on my white one-piece swimsuit with the cut-out back. Grabbing a pair of loose black trousers that tighten at the ankles, I pulled them on. Tying my hair in messy topknot, I grabbed a towel and silently left the room.
Creeping downstairs, I went outside to where the pool was in our backyard. Yanking the pants off, I dived quickly into the pool, starting to do laps. After a few laps, I just floated on my back, staring up at the sky, which was only just beginning to stain with the watery tones of dawn. Pulling myself out of the pool, I sat down on a lounging chair, which faced the sunrise. Tugging the towel around me, I stared out to dawn. Funnily enough, sunrise faced the neighbours - the late grandpa Chen's house- and I could see slight movement from inside the house.
Must be the new neighbors I thought, spotting someone looking out the window. Cheerily, I waved, before standing up and sliding the towel around my waist. With one last look to the shocked boy in the window, I crept back inside the house, the thoughts of the boy gone from my mind. Instead, the longing to get rid of the chlorine on me became unbearable, and I began my trek upstairs.