The second-floor spare bedroom had not seen this much activity in years.
Cardboard packing boxes littered the hardwood floor, surrounded by rolls of packing tape, dust rags, and stacks of old books. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, illuminating the motes of dust floating through the warm late-August air.
"Ha-neul-ah, please," Mrs. Lee said gently, setting down a stack of freshly laundered towels on the edge of a bare dress drawer. "When he gets here, try to be friendly. He's coming all the way from Ukraine, completely alone, to a country where he doesn't know a single soul. Imagine how intimidating that must be."
Ha-neul scoffed, wiping a streak of dust from her cheek with the back of her sleeve.
"Why do I have to be friendly? I don't even know him, Omma. For all we know, he's going to be completely insufferable. And stupid."
Despite her grumbling, Ha-neul reached up to the wall beside the closet.
Her fingers lingered over a framed family photograph hanging from a brass nail—a shot taken four years ago, showing a younger, laughing version of their family during a summer trip to the mountains. Right beside it hung an old acoustic concert poster with faded edges.
She stared at the glass frame for a long, quiet second, a small, somber sigh escaping her lips.
Without another word, she unhooked the frame from the wall and carefully laid it face-down inside one of the open storage boxes, wrapping it in bubble wrap.
"Madam!" Mrs. Kang's loud voice echoed up the stairwell from the first floor. "The delivery team from the department store is here with the new bed frame and mattress!"
"Already?" Mrs. Lee turned toward the hallway. "Ji-hoon! Ha-neul! Clear those top shelves into the corner. I'm coming, Mrs. Kang! Send them up!"
Her frantic footsteps clattered down the wooden stairs, leaving Ji-hoon and Ha-neul alone amidst the clutter.
At the hospital down the few districts in the middle of Seoul, Dr. Lee was currently knee-deep in back-to-back consultations, entirely blissfully unaware of the absolute whirlwind of spring cleaning and interior remodeling currently consuming the second floor of his home.
In the Golden Triangle neighbourhood, up a few dozens of houses from Lee's house, Kang Min-ah sat cross-legged on the sofa, her laptop balanced on her knees.
She typed rapidly, approving and deleting threads on the anonymous feed of Kirin's Secret.
Her eyes sparkled with mischievous satisfaction as her fingers flew across the keyboard. Her network of informants within the Student Council was paying massive dividends today.
Park Jin-hyun walked out of the kitchen with a glass of iced water.
He leaned over the back of the sofa, peering at her screen.
"What are you smiling at?" Jin-hyun asked.
"Gossip, obviously," Min-ah replied without looking up, a triumphant smirk tugging at her lips. "The official exchange student rumors just leaked onto the campus forums. Han Leo is going, and... some other guy. Some Ukrainian exchange student."
Jin-hyun paused, his glass halfway to his mouth.
"A Ukrainian guy? You got a photo of him?"
Min-ah shook her head, taking a sip of her cold coffee from the side table.
"No photo yet, unfortunately. But my Student Council source sent a description.—apparently he has long, messy black hair, freckles across his face, and eyes as dark as the deepest hues of oak wood."
Jin-hyun blinked, an amused chuckle escaping his throat.
"Why didn't you just ask Jun-seo directly? The Student Council President probably has his entire file"
Min-ah waved her hand dismissively, rolling her eyes.
"Absolutely not. Nobody in their right mind wants to bother him or Myung-dae after the whole W-naut situation... it's still a complete minefield." She paused, resting her chin in her hand as she stared at the glowing forum dashboard. "Speaking of which... what about the Kim brothers? Are they actually transferring to Hanyeong High?"
Jin-hyun nodded casually, taking another drink of water.
"Yeah. It's done. They're already enrolled in my class."
Min-ah's wrist swayed subtly as her fingers hovered over the trackpad, mentally debating whether to drop an exclusive breaking-news thread about the transfer on Kirin's Secret before the weekend ended.
"By the way," Min-ah added, tilting her head toward the hallway, "where's your father? Is the Uncle around?"
"Father?" Jin-hyun shrugged, turning back toward the kitchen. "He went on a long business trip overseas this morning. Won't be back until somewhere... around November."
Min-ah hummed thoughtfully, her eyes returning to the screen as she began drafting her next post under the glowing banner of Kirin's official forum.