TARGET

마흔 여섯

"What the actual fuck, Joshua."

The aforementioned pursed his lips, sheepishly tracing the pleat of his trousers with his eyes. Thickly swallowing, for his mouth was parched, Joshua rolled his ankles and incessantly fidgeted under the scrutiny of the five other Ursula Minor seniors:

"Look, I did a background check, the guy got evicted while working at a convenience store, homeless for a few days before he decided to consult a loan-"

"-But you found that out after he stepped foot under our roof," Jeonghan deadpanned, searing his gaze at his companion, boring holes into the top of his upturned scalp.

Joshua stuffed his palms under his thighs, sighing, "I know, it was a bit rash, but it was an easy recruit. He has some potential-"

"He nearly cried when he found a spider on the wall," Wonwoo remarked monotonously, pushing his spectacles up the slope of his nose bridge, his index finger lingering,

"...potential, hidden potential," Joshua muttered diffidently.

The six sat in a deliberate reticence, Wonwoo's console militia crooning with soft mechanical whirs, indistinguishable with the intermittent hum of its counterparts, concocting a symphony of white noise. 

Jeonghan perched his elbows on the creme tabletop, his golden locks sweeping over his folded arms as he hung his head, "Joshua, it's still really sensitive, a new addition was not the best move,"

"I know, but it's better now than later. If we were to recruit anyone deeper into the pursuit, then it's an exploitation risk," Joshua craned his head to the commune, observing the sets of eyes glazed in a dazed rumination. 

Seungkwan reclined in his office chair, the leather squelching under the redistributing of weight, "Either way, It's getting crowded as fuck in here,"

"5 bedrooms and 13 boys, we need to either share rooms or move," Jeonghan modulated, orating the group's collective thoughts.

Wonwoo exasperatedly gestured around the room they resided in, "Well, we can't move, what about all my equipment?"

"Just re-install it when we move," Soonyoung languidly chimed,

"It's not an app on your phone, Soonyoung, you can't just download and re-install whenever you want," 

"Oh, I think I would know, Wonwoo- think back to who even built this room," Soonyoung jeered, 

Minghao waved his palm, gesturing for silence, "Alright calm down shitbrains, either way, we need more space, even if we were to start sharing rooms, it's still crowded,"

Jeonghan laced his fingers together, eyebrows furrowed in a definitive resolve,
"Okay, I want everyone to look for possible solutions and/or places we can move too- then we'll reconvene,"

As soon as Joshua stepped foot through the door frame, he clutched his chest, suspiring a breath he inadvertently had held captive in his lungs. Joshua rolled back his tensed shoulders, jolting when he felt a palm daintily rest on his right, his shoulder blades relapsing to their tensed state:

"Wonwoo, you scared me,"

Wonwoo inquisitively gazed into Joshua's obscure orbs, "Sorry hyung, just...be careful."

Joshua internalized the abbreviated remark, canting his head as he watched the younger walk off and start to bicker with Soonyoung about negligible trivialities.

His gaze strayed over to Jeonghan, who sat in solemnity as he pondered matters cryptic to all but Yoon Jeonghan himself, an esoteric emote cast over his brow.

Joshua ran a few digits through his tannum mane, turning on his heel to head to his room.

A knock on his door echoed through the enclosure, his eyes pried from the luminescence of his laptop amidst the room submerging into nightfall,

"Come in,"

"Joshua sunbaemin?" Peering through the ajar door, the brunette sheepishly bowed his head, excusing his intrusion, 

"For lord's sake, Dokyeom, you don't have to call me sunbaemin," Joshua winced, hoisting his weight on his palms as he pushed himself off his stomach, 

Dokyeom sauntered to the foot of Joshua's bed, perching at the edge, inciting a soft dip in the comforter, "Okay...."

"-Hyung," Joshua finished, "I'm older than you."

Dokyeom cocked his head to the side, presumably to hide the blush that crept across the apples of his cheeks,

Amused at the younger's antics, Joshua subdued a grin, "Are you usually this shy?"

"Only with new people, I think..."

The corner's of Joshua's lips curled, "Well, then I hope we can become comfortable soon, Dokyeom,"

The bashful younger reciprocated the emote, fiddling with his lanky fingers in the cradle of his thighs.

An awkward silence stretched between the two, Joshua helplessly attempting to immerse himself in his task, house hunting, but the conventionally feasible assignment attitudinizing as uncannily difficult due to the suffocating atmosphere he had to work in.

Dokyeom cleared his throat, "So, hyung, um...you need help- or... you seem busy, I'm not-"

Joshua halted the stammering with the wave of his palm, "I'm house hunting, you can help if you want to, it would be appreciated,"

"You guys are moving?"

"We're moving," Joshua corrected, catching Dokyeom's features subliminally brightening.

The younger perked up, gingerly recomposing his posture so he could lean over to view the contents of Joshua's laptop, which he had cocked to let Dokyeom see.

"Right now we live in a 5 bed 2 bath basement complex, roughly 270 square meters in dimension, we need a new place in Seoul with ideally 350 square meters of space or more," Joshua elucidated, showcasing the apartments he had been contemplated.

Dokyeom unabatingly lent his ears, using his cellphone to aid the elder in search for a new residence. The antecedent atmosphere dissipated as they sat at comfortable proximity with their nerves allayed.

As they deduced the viable candidates for new homes, night fell upon the city of Seoul, and the boys discoursed into the eventide in each other's company.