Mr. Lee and Mrs. Lee sat side-by-side on the sofa, their faces uncharacteristically tense as they began sorting through the crisp sheets of paper. Down on the floor, Ji-hoon and Ha-neul were crouching on their knees, craning their necks like two eager meerkats trying to catch a glimpse of the documents spread across the glass coffee table.
"Ji-hoon. Ha-neul," Mrs. Lee commanded, her sharp broadcast voice cutting through the living room with absolute authority. "Go to the dining table and finish your dinner. We will join you shortly."
"But Omma, what is—" Ji-hoon started to retort.
Before he could finish his sentence, Mr. Lee snapped his head toward them, delivering a stern, terrifying fatherly glare that instantly sealed both of their mouths shut.
The two siblings exchanged a quick look, held up their hands in surrender, and scurried off toward the dining table.
"Wow," Ji-hoon whispered as soon as they sat down, picking up his chopsticks. "Appa didn't look nearly that fierce when he was running away from Omma's green onion three minutes ago."
Ha-neul let out a quiet, stifled giggle into her rice bowl.
Ji-hoon smirked, nudging her arm with his elbow.
"Look at you—not so sad anymore, huh? By the way, what actually happened on your date with Jae-min?"
"Mind your own business," Ha-neul muttered back, though the sulky shadow on her face had completely evaporated, replaced by burning curiosity about what was unfolding in the main hall.
Back at the coffee table, the atmosphere had turned deadly quiet.
Mr. Lee and Mrs. Lee were reading through an official cover letter bearing the personal crest of Yoo Jae-man—the Chairman of Kirin Arts High's Board of Directors and the father of Yoo Chae-rin. The letter formally confirmed that, as per their prior mutual agreement, the Lee household had been officially designated as the host family for Kirin's upcoming international exchange program.
Tucked behind the letter was a glossy student profile, along with a compact USB flash drive containing digital copies of the student's complete medical history, physical measurements, legal releases, and a video presentation.
Mr. Lee hurriedly reached into the courier sleeve, pulled out the sleek metallic USB drive, and looked up at his wife.
"Eun-seok-ah, go grab my laptop from the bedroom suite. Quick."
Mrs. Lee hurried down the hall and returned moments later with his open laptop.
Mr. Lee slotted the drive into the USB port.
A window popped up on the screen showing three neatly organized folders: [dossier files], [contract], and [presentation].
Mr. Lee double-clicked on [contract].
A formal, five-page legal agreement filled the screen.
As Mrs. Lee leaned over his shoulder, her eyes scanned down the first page, stopping dead at the bottom clause. Her breath hitched.
"Min-hyuk..." Mrs. Lee whispered, her voice trembling in sheer disbelief. "That's... that's impossible. What is this?!"
Mr. Lee's forehead broke into a cold sweat as he stared at the screen.
"Jagiya... I-I don't know! That must be some kind of mistake—"
"What mistake?!" Mrs. Lee yelled, her composure completely shattering. "Look right there! That is your signature! That is your official personal seal stamp! If this is some kind of sick joke or surprise, it is a terrible one! How could you sign this without telling me?!"
Hearing the shouting, Ji-hoon and Ha-neul abandoned their dinner plates and hurried back into the living room.
"What happened?" Ji-hoon asked, stepping between them. "Omma, Appa, what's wrong?"
Mr. Lee looked at his eldest son as if he were a drowning man offered a lifeline.
"Ji-hoon-ah! Come look at this! Look through this legal file and tell me if there's an error! Jagiya, just give me a minute—I'm going to call Jae-man right now. I am sure there is some kind of error!"
Mr. Lee snatched his phone off the table and bolted toward his private study to dial the Chairman.
"What error?!" Mrs. Lee shouted after his retreating back. "There is literally your name, your signature, and your legal stamp right on page five!"
"Omma, please calm down," Ha-neul pleaded, gently taking her mother's arm and guiding her to sit on the couch.
Ji-hoon took his father's spot in front of the laptop. He pulled his wire-rimmed reading glasses out of his t-shirt collar, slipped them onto his bridge, and began meticulously scrolling through the five-page contract.
For three full minutes, the only sound in the living room was the soft, rapid clicking of the laptop trackpad and the muffled, frantic tone of Mr. Lee's voice speaking on the phone in the distant study.
Mrs. Lee couldn't take the suspense any longer.
She stood up, her face pale, and marched down the hallway to demand answers directly from her husband's phone call.
Ha-neul slid onto the couch right beside Ji-hoon, leaning her head onto his shoulder as he reached the final page.
"Oppa... what does it actually say?"
Ji-hoon slowly stopped scrolling.
He raised his hands, took off his reading glasses, and rubbed his exhausted, bloodshot eyes with a long, heavy sigh.
"Well..." Ji-hoon murmured, looking at the glowing screen. "It looks like... we are officially going to be the host family for Kirin Arts High's new international exchange student. Appa signed an exclusive, legally binding contract confirming our family's full readiness and legal obligation to house and board him for the upcoming year."
"Wait... seriously?!"
Ha-neul's eyes widened.
Ji-hoon picked up the printed paper dossier that had been left lying on the glass coffee table and turned it toward his sister.
Ha-neul took the paper, her eyes dropping to the high-resolution student photograph at the top, before her lips slowly mouthed the foreign, unfamiliar name printed underneath:
"...Oleksandr... Motuzenko?"