“So my Tía Isabella knows a landlord for an apartment in Chicago,” Nora tells Jessica, “and she told me that he’d be willing to rent out the apartment for a cheaper price! It’s a nice, affordable apartment with two bedrooms and a sofa bed. Rory and I were thinking about moving in together over the summer. He could be closer to his grad school and I could be closer to my internship. We can pay the first few months of rent with my stipend from my internship and money from a part-time job at a bank Rory’s taking over the summer. And our apartment has room for one more person. So what do you say? Want to move in with us?”

“Of course!” Jessica exclaims. “I’d love to move in with you guys. As long as I’m not a burden to you two.”

“Of course not,” Rory assures. “We’d be happy to take you in as long as you’re willing to move to Chicago. Don’t feel forced to move there if you don’t want to. It’s a big decision to move from Oregon all the way to Illinois.”

“I’m moving,” she affirms. “I’ve already discussed it with my parents, and they’re okay with it. It is the highest paying job I’ve gotten so far, so I’d be a fool not to accept it. And since I’d get to live with my friends, how could I refuse?”

“Well, since you’re so sure,” Nora says before squealing in delight. “Eek, I’m so excited now! I’ve been itching to move out of my crowded home for so long! Now I get to live with you guys.”

“It’s going to be so much fun!” Jessica agrees. “Ooh, Nora. We could paint each other’s nails and watch cheesy rom-coms together! With a single father and three brothers, I’ve never really had another girl in my household. Now I do!”

“Ah, I hope I won’t become the third wheel,” Rory chuckles, rubbing the side of his neck.

“No worries, Rory,” Nora assures. “We promise we won’t leave you out.”

“But are you sure you want us to paint your nails?” Jessica asks, placing a hand over her lips as she laughs.

“No, leave me out of that,” Rory grimaces, turning his head away.

“Hey, why are you guys leaving me out of this conversation?” Bryden pouts when he finds them, crossing his arms. “I’m hurt, you know. I thought we were friends.”

Nora scoffs, shaking her head. “This has nothing to do with you, Bryden.”

“What do you mean this has nothing to do with me?” He places a hand over his chest, as if offended. “Since you three are moving in together, why don’t I also move in with you—”

“No,” she answers before he even finishes his sentence. “Absolutely not.”

“Why not? Best friends living together—wouldn’t that be fun? I’m sure my parents would be okay with it.”

“It would be fun—without you, that is,” Rory retorts. “There’s no room for you, anyways.”

“And you wouldn’t help pay the rent either,” Nora adds. “Are you even planning on getting a job anytime soon?”

Bryden places a finger against his chin, taking a second to think. “Well…”

“And that confirms it,” she states. “Just stay with your parents for the time being before you finally get your lazy ass up and save up for your own apartment.”

He simply shrugs at that. “Well, I’d save money if I stay with my parents. The mortgage is already paid, and I wouldn’t have rent to pay.”

“Just say that you’re broke,” Rory says bluntly.

“Alright, alright,” Jessica butts in, bringing peace back to the atmosphere. “Stop bullying him. As long as we’re able to see each other since we’re all going to live in the same city, it’s going to be great.”

Bryden blushes, spellbound by her smile and beauty. Of course, Jessica is always sweet to everyone. He grins at Nora. “Text me your address, okay? I’m going to visit you guys every day. So often that you should grow tired of me, but you won’t because I’m just that lovable.”

Nora smirks. “You wish.”

Jessica laughs, turning to him when she gets reminded of a thought. “Oh, right. You said that you had something to tell me, Bryden?”

All eyes are on him. Nora and Rory both eye him weirdly while Jessica patiently waits for his answer.

“Uh…” Bryden blushes, his heart pounding. He doesn’t enjoy the rapt attention and widened eyes the three of them are currently giving him. “It’s nothing.”

“Are you sure? You said that it was important.”

“No, it’s nothing,” he insists, giving her a reassuring grin. 

“Well, if you say so.”

“Bryden?” Petrova taps on his shoulder. “Come on, we have to go now.”

“Alright, I’m coming,” he replies before waving to the others. “Well, bye for now, guys. Don’t miss me too much.”

“We won’t,” Nora shouts with a hand cupping her mouth as he leaves. She can’t help but chuckle before turning back to the other two. “Well, I’d better get going now. I’m going to talk to my Tía Isabella about the apartment and hopefully we’ll be able to move in in the next couple of weeks.”

“Alright, we’ll see you then,” Jessica says. “Bye, Nora.”

“Bye, guys,” she waves, turning and leaving.

Rory sighs, glancing at Jessica beside him. “So it’s confirmed that you’re taking the job in Chicago? They already accepted you?”

She plugs in her earbuds, but doesn’t play anything on her phone yet. “Oh, not yet. My interview’s in two weeks. If I ace that, then I’ll get the job. If not, it won’t be a big deal. I’ll apply to other positions.”

“I’m sure you’ll ace it,” he assures, smiling.

Jessica smiles back, which is in stark contrast to the loud and abrupt music that comes out of her phone. Her eyes widen and her cheeks flush as she hastens to shut it off. “Ah, sorry about that. I thought it was already connected to my AirPods.”

“It’s alright.” Rory adjusts his glasses. “Hey, wasn’t that a song from Blackpink?”

“Yeah, it was. You know I’m a huge fan of K-pop, remember?”

His eyes brighten. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that! Blackpink is one of my favorite bands.”

Jessica grins. “If you didn’t say otherwise, I would never have taken you as someone who enjoys K-pop.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot.” Rory chuckles, rubbing the side of his neck. “It’s hard to find guys who are fans of K-pop like me when the majority are girls going nuts over hot Korean guys. Bryden always teases me about it, even though I know he fangirls over them as well.”

“Hey, I do not ‘go nuts over hot Korean guys,’” she denies.

“Really?” He cocks his head, sizing her up. “Then what’s your favorite band again?”

She blushes, pursing her lips. “Uh, BTS.”

He rolls his eyes, holding out his hands. “See, now what did I say?”

“Wh-What’s wrong with that?” Jessica stutters, turning her reddened face away.

“Nothing. It just validates my main point. Since most K-pop fans are girls, people find it weird that I’m a fan of it, even though I don’t go nuts like those crazy fangirls. I’m proud of it, unlike Bryden, but I still can’t help but feel embarrassed sometimes.”

“Hey, it’s not weird,” she assures. “I’m the weird one. You’re a much more tame fan than me. In fact, I have over thirty hours worth of music in my Spotify playlist.”

Rory chokes on his own saliva. “Thirty hours? Damn, even mine is only around a few hours long.”

“Pfft. And you call yourself a fan?”

“I am a fan, just not the type to obsess over Korean dudes.”

“I do not ‘obsess’ over them! I merely admire them from afar. And didn’t Bryden say that you had a poster of BTS over your bed? Is that not obsessing over them?”

Rory blushes. “Hey, I-I was only… admiring their beauty. There’s a difference.” 

Jessica raises a brow with skepticism. “Uh huh. Now who’s the one denying it?”

He coughs. “Since your playlist is so long, you should share it with me.”

Jessica’s grin widens, her eyes gleaming with joy. “I thought you’d never ask. I can finally expose you to the wonders of the K-pop world that you’ve barely touched upon with that basic short playlist of yours. Only then will you become a true fan like me.”

“Wow, so poetic,” he grimaces. “You must be such a big fan.”

“Give me your number,” she demands, holding out a hand. “I don’t have it.”

“Alright, alright.” Rory takes his time pulling his phone out of his pocket.

“Give it to me!” Jessica snatches the phone from his hands.

“Geez, you really are a crazy fangirl. I haven’t even unlocked my phone yet!”

After exchanging phone numbers, the two chat about song recommendations and preferences for so long that they’ve forgotten where they are.

“Jessica!” Her father comes over and reprimands her in Mandarin.

She apologizes to him, twirling a lock of her hair awkwardly.

Not long after, Rory’s phone rings. When he picks it up, his mother shouts at him from the other side of the screen.

Before leaving with her father, Jessica turns to Rory. “So I’ll see you later?”

He nods, smiling. “See you.”

Bryden inwardly groans. Ugh, I didn’t get a chance to tell Jessica how I feel. I mean, I couldn’t have told her with Nora and Rory around, so what else could I do?

“Your friends seem nice,” Ryan comments.

“Yep, they’re going to miss having me around all the time,” Bryden says, grinning. “I should’ve told them our address. Then they would come to visit every day.”

“Wasn’t that girl from before Nora?” Petrova asks.

“Yep, that’s her,” he confirms.

“You already broke up with her?” She raises an eyebrow.

Bryden shrugs. “I only dated her for a month, and that was months ago. It wasn’t anything serious.”

Ryan sighs, moving his glasses. “Will you ever commit to a relationship one day?”

“Meh, I don’t know,” Bryden answers, pulling out his phone. “Probably not. You know me, I’m not the type to commit to any one girl. That’s why I haven’t dated anyone new over the past few months. I didn’t want to hurt anyone else anymore.”

“That’s a relief,” Petrova says.

Ryan pulls out his car keys and unlocks the car, starting the engine. The three of them head inside and take their seats before he starts driving.

The genie sits in the seat beside Bryden. “So, Mr. Stalling, are we headed to your house now?”

“Yep,” he replies, placing his palms behind his head. “It’s going to be a long ride, about three hours before we get there.”

“Hmm? What’d you say?” Petrova glances at her son behind her and nods. “Yes, it’ll take at least three hours to get home, and that’s without any traffic. It’ll likely take a little longer, give or take.”

Bryden flushes, forgetting that his parents can hear him speaking to the genie. He pulls out his phone to type some words. When he finishes, he shows the words on his screen to the genie. DON’T SPEAK TO ME RIGHT NOW. MY PARENTS ARE AROUND.

The genie narrows his brows before laughing like nothing is amiss. “It’s you who shouldn’t speak to me. I’m invisible to your parents, so I can talk all I want.”

Bryden smirks, gently shaking his head.

After a little over three hours, Ryan finally announces, “We’re finally back in Chicago. How does it feel to be back home, Bryden?”

Bryden gazes out of the window with a wide smile. “Yes! I never have to go back to that suffocating college ever again!”

Petrova laughs lightly. “Oh, Bryden. Adult life is no easier than youth. You’re going to miss attending school when you start working.”

The genie looks out of the window as well, scrutinizing the city. “This is the city where you live?”

Bryden turns to him and nods.

“Ah, so many advancements in construction and technology,” the genie remarks in awe. “The fashion choices and styles of these residents are quite different now as well. Even this automobile is much more advanced than that of fifty years ago.”

Bryden sighs, propping his head up with his hand. It’s good to be back home.