Chapter 5: Nova7 Tiny Dorm
1266 Words
JAE'S POV
The word cut through the room like glass.
“Jj.”
The air left my lungs.
I was stunned. Frozen.
My fingers curled at my sides because I didn’t know what to do with them.
How... how could Aram really be my childhood best friend, Ddukbol?
She was the only one who ever called me “Jj” when I was a kid. Soft. Teasing. Ours. And Jinwoo-hyung and Theo-hyung... they call her ‘Ddukbol’ too.
The hallway light buzzed above me.
This can’t all be a coincidence.
And then the ache hit. Low and heavy in my chest.
Why does it hurt so much to know she was going through this?
[BUSAN. 2009]
Saturday morning. Busan. Sunlight too bright.
I was already awake before the alarm.
I ran straight to Ddukbol's house. The gate creaked when I pushed it open.
I knocked. Once. Twice. Ten times.
“Ddukbol, let's go to the beach. Let's have a swim.”
My voice bounced off the door, too loud, too hopeful. I knew she would come out. She always did when she heard beach and swim.
But today, there was nothing.
No footsteps. No giggle from inside. Just silence.
My knocks got harder. My voice got louder. “DDUKBOL!” The word cracked.
I remembered then — her whisper last week. “We’re leaving Busan.” The world tilted. “No. No, it can't be true! I'm not ready yet.”
I kept knocking until my knuckles went red, then purple. Until my mom found me in the hallway, fists bruised, shoulders shaking. “Gukie, they've left already,” she whispered, voice breaking as she pulled me into her arms.
I screamed. “NO!”
And then — her phone rang.
My mom answered with trembling hands. Her eyes found mine and, for a second, they lit up. “Someone wants to talk to you.”
She pressed the phone into my palm. It was still warm.
“Jj?” Aram’s voice. On the other line. My heart slammed against my ribs.
“Did you miss me?” She was laughing, trying to tease me like always.
I swallowed. Lied. “You just left last night so how am I gonna missed you right away?”
She laughed again. Light, familiar. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my mom press her lips together, trying not to laugh too.
Starting that day, our phones never stopped. Messages. Calls. My mom would sigh, “I don’t even have my phone anymore. It lives in Gukie’s hand.”
So she bought me my own. That was when the video calls started.
I never told Ddukbol I was going to Seoul.
I had a plan. I was 13. I was going to audition for Superstar K3. I was going to become an idol. And then I would surprise her. I would bring her to Seoul. We’d hit every playground. Eat at every restaurant. We’d have all the time in the world.
I sang IU's Lost Child. I sang 2AM's This Song. I didn’t pass. But companies came. And one of them was BigHit.
During the company tour, I heard it first — a voice bouncing off the practice room walls. Fast. Sharp. Alive.
“That is RG, our Rap Genius.”
He was cool. And something about him felt like home. Then his phone rang. He grabbed it mid-verse.
“Hello there, my princess Ddukbol!” His whole face changed. Soft. “Yeah, I'll be home tonight.”
And that was it. I knew. I would be okay here. With him.
Two months later. Seoul. Night.
“Stay in the dorm with 5 other trainees.” My hands were sweating.
I stood in front of the door. Couldn’t knock.
I exhaled. Lifted my hand—
The door flew open.
Beer smell hit me first. Then a warm, wet splash across my shirt. “OH SORRY!”
I looked up. Into a man's laughing, drunk face. I blinked. Then forced myself to meet his eyes. He was handsome. And wasted.
“Yah! Theo, did you just....”
My heart jumped. Because behind him —
Rap Genius. “Hello Rap Genius! I'm Jaehyung from Busan.” I bowed 90 degrees. My voice didn’t shake. Much.
“Oh no, we're sorry Maknae,” he said, holding Theo up.
From inside: “The baby is here?”
Another tall guy appeared. Apron on.
When he saw my shirt, he didn’t hesitate. He took my luggage.
“We're sorry about that, please come in.... Junseo, show him our bathroom.”
Junseo was already dancing in the middle of the mess.
Beers on the floor. Fried chicken boxes. The smell of ramen in the air.
I followed Junseo. Bowed again.
“Hello Hyung, I'm Jae. I'm 13.”
To the luggage hyung. To the beer hyung. To the dancing hyung.
They all smiled. Apologized.
“No, it's fine. He didn't mean it.”
Before I reached the bathroom, someone stumbled out. Swaying. Laughing.
A girl.
She fell against me.
For one second I panicked — then I heard the voice drop lower.
A man.
He was pretty. But Aram was still the prettiest.
“Oh sorry!”
The two hyungs dragged him to the bed. But he cried out,
“Hyung, I wanna eat Yojin-hyung's ramen.”
So back to the table he went.
“It'll be alright. Mj gets drunk the fastest,” Junseo explained, eyes curious.
“Are you a low alcohol tolerance?”
Before I could answer—
“HE'S STILL A KID. He haven't tried it yet.”
RG’s voice. Firm.
I nodded and slipped into the bathroom.
Showered fast. Because I wanted to be out there. With them.
Two bedrooms. Other beds was piled with stuff. So MJ and I shared. We were both small.
I sat on the floor. Facing RG, Yuga, and Yojin. On the table, MJ and Theo were slurping ramen together.
“Aigoo so cute.” Junseo pinched my cheek, then spun away, dancing.
“He's the sunshine of the group. Dances everywhere.” RG told me.
“Also dances even when it's late and we're all sleeping,” Yuga added with a snort.
“I'm Yohan. But they call me Yuga. I rap.” Cool. Another rapper.
I turned to the guy in the apron. “No, it's alright! I'm fine being the worldwide handsome and the cook in this dorm.”
He smiled. RG laughed. “He's Yojin. We don't know why he's here. He don't rap. But yeah, I guess for visual.” Yuga nodded in agreement.
The fluorescent light hummed.
Ramen steam fogged the air.
And for the first time in Seoul, I didn’t feel alone.
- Writer
