American Casual

Julia wished she had been brave enough to refuse Chanyeol's offer to stay with the members, but she couldn't bear to be alone any longer and agreed to stay for a day or two. “But only until the apartment's been cleaned and gotten new locks,” she said firmly.

Chanyeol drove her back to the building alone while the others followed in Junmyeon's car. The sun was just beginning to come up over the edge of the city, spilling yellow light like a can of paint onto a canvas, but Julia couldn't enjoy it. Her injuries throbbed and she put a hand on her side as unobtrusively as possible.

“Are you in pain?” Chanyeol asked concernedly. “We can stop somewhere and pick up whatever you need.”

“I'm only tired,” she lied. “Let's just get home, please.”

They pulled up to the building and Chanyeol quickly shepherded her up to their apartment. “I can make you some breakfast if you're hungry, or coffee, or-”

“Chanyeol,” she interrupted, waving a hand at him.

“Sorry,” he whispered. “Do you want to sleep, watch TV?”

The door suddenly rattled and Julia gave a violent start.

“It's okay, it's just Jun and the others,” Chanyeol said soothingly as the other members came in. Julia released her death grip on the couch and tried to steady her breath. “I knew that,” she whispered.

“Where's Baek and Min?” Chanyeol asked.

“Still at SM,” Kyungsoo replied.

“You're bleeding,” Jongdae said, pointing at a red stain on Julia's shirt.

“I must've pulled a few stitches,” she muttered, kicking herself. “I'll have to change the bandage later, but my shirt-”

“We'll get your stuff,” Jongin volunteered.

“Yeah, just make a list and we'll bring it here,” Sehun chimed in.

Julia pushed aside the pain for the moment and drew herself up as tall as she could. “I want to say something, then never speak of it again,” she began. “You were right about Shindo. You were right, and I was wrong. I should have paid more attention to you, but I was proud and stubborn, and it cost me. I… I'm grateful for what you did this morning, especially Baekhyun and Minseok.” She wobbled suddenly and grabbed the couch for support. “You may have to thank them for me,” she murmured.

Junmyeon took a step forward. “I think I speak for all of us when I say how sorry we are,” he said quietly. “No man should ever treat a woman this way, and you deserve so much better.” His voice broke on the last word and he turned away to compose himself.

“You're a part of our family now,” Jongin said, putting a hand on Junmyeon's shoulder, “and we're going to take care of you.”

Julia felt a rush of emotion and didn't even know she was fainting until Chanyeol caught her. “It's okay, I've got you,” he grunted, lifting her up carefully.

“You should rest,” Sehun suggested. “Take my bed, it's the biggest.”

Chanyeol carried her into Sehun's room and laid her gently on the bed. “Tell me what you want from downstairs,” he whispered.

“Clothes, toiletries, pain meds…” she was already starting to drift off, but she shook herself awake. “And my work files,” she added.

“Work?” Chanyeol echoed. “Are you sure?”

“I can't just sit here and laze around,” she replied drowsily.

“Sure you can,” Kyungsoo said cheerfully, coming into the room. He handed her a towel and helped lay it under her wounded side. “You don't have to do anything until the tour leaves next month.”

“You guys performed through a stomach flu,” she murmured, “and I'm not about to be shown up by a boy band.”

“This boy band is gonna take care of you whether you like it or not,” Chanyeol teased.

Kyungsoo draped a blanket over her and the last thing she saw was their faces before she finally passed out.


******


Sehun and Jongin walked down the hallway to Julia's door while Sehun sorted through her keys. It's gotta be this one, he thought, selecting one that looked just like his own apartment key.

“Should we have brought a bag or something?” Jongin wondered.

“Nah, she's probably got one somewhere,” Sehun shrugged. He unlocked the door and they stepped into the apartment cautiously.

“It feels weird, being here when Julia's gone,” Jongin whispered.

“Why are you whispering?” Sehun asked incredulously.

“I don't know, just seems appropriate,” Jongin replied.

Sehun rolled his eyes and shoved the keys into his pocket. “Okay, so she wants clothes, toiletries, her meds and work stuff,” he recited. “I'll get the toiletries, you look for the medicine.”

They separated and Sehun grabbed a grocery tote bag from the kitchen before heading to the bathroom. He cleared out the medicine cabinet first, then he saw the skin care kit from Minseok open on the counter and smiled to himself as he added it to the bag.

After grabbing her shower supplies he went back into the kitchen where Jongin was sorting through Julia's medicine bag. “I found the pain meds on her nightstand, but I thought I'd go through this just in case,” he explained.

They added the medicines to the tote, then went and stood in her bedroom doorway uncertainly. “This feels wrong,” Jongin murmured.

“Agreed,” Sehun said, eyeing her dresser. “We can't just go through her clothes, that's creepy!”

“But she asked us to,” Jongin reminded us.

“Okay, then you do it,” Sehun said.

“What?! No, I'm older and-”

“By a few months, and this isn't a normal situation!” Sehun retorted. “Girls’ clothing is private, especially-”

“Just relax,” Jongin interrupted. “We've both had girlfriends, so it's not like we've never seen female underwear before.”

“That's different,” Sehun reminded him. “This isn't a girlfriend, this is Julia. It's like going through your sister's underwear drawer.”

They stood there uncomfortably as this image grew in their minds, then Jongin shook himself. “Okay, we'll do this randomly,” he decided. “Rock paper scissors?”

Sehun set the bag down and they each held a fist out. “One, two, three!”

Sehun's paper beat Jongin's rock and he did a silent victory dance as Jongin groaned loudly. “Best two out of three?” he suggested.

“Have fun,” Sehun called over his shoulder. “I'll find her work files.”

He looked through the bedroom, then the living room and kitchen, but couldn't find the box of files anywhere. Usually it's always underfoot, but now it's like she doesn't want it to be found, he thought exasperatedly, so he went back down the hallway to the bedroom. “Hey, I can't find the - whoa!”

He covered his eyes as Jongin pulled out a pair of silky pink panties from one of the drawers. “Just put it in the bag, Jongin!” he hissed.

Jongin dropped the panties gingerly into the bag and shuddered. “Did you check the swag room?”

“The 'swag room’?” Sehun repeated.

“Yeah, you know, the room where she keeps her KPOP stuff,” he said, going to another drawer. “Maybe she stuck the box in there.”

Sehun didn't want to disturb her admittedly awesome merch room, but it was the only place he hadn't looked yet. “Fine,” he relented, crossing the hall to the other door.

He went in slowly, as if some great beast lay sleeping inside, and couldn't help staring at everything. He remembered Julia showing it to them, her ears slightly pink from embarrassment, and he was impressed all over again by how neat and orderly everything was. The box of files was sitting against the far wall and he went to retrieve it, but a black photo album with her name on it caught his eye. This must be Jin’s birthday gift, he realized. He flicked through the pictures rapidly until he got to the last one, their selfie on the set of the Power video. Julia seemed to be partially hiding behind Chanyeol, but the smile on her face was sweet and genuine.

The more he looked at her, the angrier he became at Shindo. What kind of monster would hurt such a wonderful person? he thought savagely. He remembered the way Julia clutched the couch as she tried not to faint, and the contrast to her joyous expression in the picture made his eyes well up.

“Did you find it?”

Sehun wiped his cheeks roughly and closed the album. “Yeah, it's here,” he said. “You should grab her laptop too, it's on the table.”

He heard Jongin's footsteps recede and he sighed quietly before lifting the box and carrying it out of the room, being careful to close the door behind him.


******


“What are you doing?” Junmyeon called from the kitchen.

“Keeping watch,” Baekhyun called back, barely turning away from the living room window.

“For what, Santa?” Kyungsoo muttered.

“For Shindo,” Baekhyun retorted, dropping his voice on Shindo's name as if that alone might summon him.

“What, like he's gonna come back for round two or something?” Jongdae commented.

“This isn't a joke, Jongdae!” Baekhyun snapped.

“I didn't say it was!”

“Shut up!” Chanyeol hissed, emerging from Sehun's room and closing the door behind him. “Julia's finally asleep and you are all going to be quiet!”

The others simmered down and Junmyeon released a sigh of relief. Thank goodness for that, he thought, turning his attention back to the dishes.

The door opened and Jongin and Sehun came in, each bearing an armload of Julia's belongings. “Did you get everything?” Junmyeon asked.

“I think so,” Jongin grunted, “though I'm officially scarred for life.”

Junmyeon decided not to address that. “What's in the box?” he asked, rinsing another plate.

“Her work stuff,” Sehun replied. “Chanyeol said she wanted it.”

“She can't work now!” Baekhyun exclaimed.

“Shh!” the others hissed.

“Sorry,” he whispered.

“She can work if she feels like it,” Minseok said, “but with the way her side looked she probably shouldn't be out of bed for a while.”

“Yes,” Junmyeon agreed, “but just because Julia's recovering doesn't mean we don't have to work. We've only got a month to prep for this tour, remember?”

“What's to prep?” Jongdae shrugged. “We know the important stuff already, though I wouldn't mind some extra English lessons.”

Junmyeon rinsed the sink out and picked up a dish towel. “There's plenty still to do,” he reminded them. “We're due for a photoshoot and a ton of interviews, and Youngjun said he's in the process of booking a few of us for variety shows.”

“Who?” Baekhyun said interestedly, peeking at them over his shoulder.

“You, Jongin and Minseok, last I heard,” Junmyeon replied.

“Thank goodness, I can't deal with a variety show right now,” Kyungsoo breathed.

“And I can get in some well-deserved video game time,” Chanyeol said happily.

“Actually you need to hit the studio,” Junmyeon corrected, stacking the now-dry plates neatly. “That song you played at dinner the other night was really good, and you should try to produce a finished version before we leave. It would make an awesome single.”

Chanyeol groaned and collapsed dramatically onto the couch. “Why am I the only one who has to work?” he groaned.

“Stop whining,” Baekhyun said, giving him a kick as he turned back to the window.

“Yeah, you're not the only one,” Kyungsoo added. “I've got three episodes to wrap up before we leave, which means I'm probably flying out tomorrow.” He grimaced and went over to the coffee maker. “What do we do with Julia?” he wondered aloud.

“Yeah, we can't just leave her alone,” Jongin said.

Junmyeon opened his mouth to say she can look after herself, but he couldn't make the words come out. “We'll work out a schedule,” he found himself saying. “I'm sure we can take turns being here with her, at least until her apartment's ready.”

Everyone immediately pulled out their phones and Junmyeon smiled slightly. At least that'll get them to look at their schedules, he thought. This break made them pretty lazy.

Kyungsoo, Chanyeol and Minseok were quickly eliminated for the first shift, so it was eventually decided that Junmyeon would take the first day and Jongdae the second.

“Hang on, it says here that Yixing gets back tomorrow,” Jongin said suddenly.

Junmyeon had forgotten about that. “I'm sure he'll be glad to get back,” he said after a moment.

“What do we tell him about Julia?” Sehun asked.

“Do you think he signed an agreement?” Baekhyun wondered.

“Of course, they would've had to tell him,” Jongdae mused.

“Then let's not bring it up unnecessarily,” Junmyeon cut in. “It will only be harder on Julia to rehash everything.”


******


Yixing left the conference room and tried to organize his swirling thoughts. Out of everything his manager had told him, all he could think about was how sorry he was for Julia. No one should have to go through that circus after such an ordeal, he thought.

He pulled his phone out and dialed Junmyeon's number.

“Yixing! How's filming going?”

“Yoon Hee told me what happened,” he said without preamble, “but I want to hear it from you guys.”

A uncomfortable silence, then he heard Baekhyun call, “Put it on speaker!”

There was a beep and Junmyeon sighed. “I'm really not sure we should-”

“All I want to know is how she’s doing,” Yixing said quickly.

“She's recovering,” Sehun said, “but she's weak and really scared.”

“She's staying with us until she gets new locks,” Chanyeol chimed in.

Yixing raised his eyebrows. “A girl in the apartment? Youngjun wouldn't care for that.”

“He doesn't have to know,” Jongin sniffed.

“Are you excited to come back tomorrow?” Minseok said quickly.

“Yeah, I just wish it was under better circumstances,” Yixing muttered. “How bad are the injuries? Yoon Hee said her face was bad.”

Another silence confirmed this. “Okay, so don't mention her face,” he said, making a mental note.

“You should've heard her, Yixing,” Jongin said. “She kept saying how we were right all along and how being stubborn about it cost her. As if she deserved this somehow.”

“She said that?” Baekhyun whispered.

A painful pause, then he said, “I'm gonna kill this guy.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow, Yixing!” Junmyeon called, and the call ended abruptly.

Guess the drama continues after the cameras shut off, Yixing thought grimly.

Notes