Lost in your lens - NewJeans' Minji x M!Reader

Ch. 16 - Coming Home

Seoul's spring light painted everything in soft focus as we stepped out of Incheon Airport. The cherry blossoms were just beginning to fall, coating the ground in natural confetti that seemed perfectly timed for our return.

"THEY'RE HERE!" Hyein's voice carried across the arrival area, making several travelers jump. Some things hadn't changed.

"Inside-" Haerin started automatically, but she was already smiling.

"THIS IS OUTSIDE!" Hyein protested, bounding toward us with enough energy to power the entire airport. "AND IT'S A SPECIAL OCCASION!"

Our friends had assembled like a welcoming committee - Haerin elegant as always, Hanni already filming for her documentary's "triumphant return" segment, and Danielle looking sophisticated in architecture-chic despite having just flown in from Singapore herself.

"The prodigals return!" Hanni declared, her camera steady. "And just in time for move-in day!"

Minji squeezed my hand, her camera hanging quiet at her side for once. We'd both learned when to capture moments and when to simply live them.

"About that," Danielle stepped forward, tablet in hand. "I may have made some slight adjustments to your apartment layout..."

"Slight?" Haerin raised an eyebrow.

"She's been redesigning your entire space for weeks," Hanni stage-whispered. "Something about 'optimizing natural light for photography while maintaining study-friendly zones.'"

The ride to my new apartment - our new apartment - was a chaos of updates and explanations. Hyein, who had somehow become the most sought-after Korean tutor for exchange students at SNU, couldn't stop talking about her latest pupils.

"They're all SO EAGER!" she exclaimed, gesturing wildly. "And they keep asking about the 'legendary exchange student' who got a perfect TOPIK score. I tell them you're my PERSONAL SUCCESS STORY!"

"You mean our success story," Haerin corrected quietly. Her own news was delivered with characteristic understatement: her art installation had been selected for the National Museum's contemporary exhibition.

"Don't let her be modest," Hanni interrupted. "Her piece is the centerpiece of the whole show. Almost as impressive as my dance crew making it to the national championships!"

The apartment was on the fifteenth floor of a building near campus, its windows offering a view of Seoul that made Minji's fingers twitch toward her camera. Danielle had indeed been busy - the space was transformed into something that perfectly balanced both our needs.

"The living room gets the best morning light," she explained, walking us through her design. "I adjusted the angles to create natural light pools perfect for photography. The study nook has indirect lighting to prevent screen glare, and I installed adjustable panels to control the ambiance."

"You did all this from Singapore?" I asked, amazed at the attention to detail.

"Oh, this was nothing compared to my latest project," she waved off the compliment. "The Singapore Urban Planning Commission asked me to design an entire cultural district after they saw my light-responsive architecture concepts."

"EVERYONE'S GETTING FAMOUS!" Hyein declared proudly. "Our little family is TAKING OVER THE WORLD!"

"Speaking of taking over," Minji finally reached for her camera, unable to resist capturing our first moments in the new space, "the gallery wants to open my Seoul exhibition next week. They said something about 'striking while the international press is hot.'"

The next few days passed in a blur of unpacking and preparation. Our friends were constantly present, turning every task into an event. Hyein conducted impromptu Korean lessons while helping organize books. Haerin quietly arranged things with an artist's eye for composition. Hanni documented everything, her documentary project having evolved into something she called "Finding Home: A Love Story in Two Cities."