The plane was safely on the ground and I stretched with a yawn. I fell asleep about four hours prior but I still felt tired when I woke up. I folded up my small blanket and pressed it into my tote bag then took my phone off of airplane mode and waited for any messages or notifications to come through.

I sat in my seat comfortably waiting for all the eager people to bypass. I hate when everyone stands up and just crowds the aisle at the same time, like just stay seated until they connect the damn tunnel and open the door but that's my opinion. Once half the passengers had gotten off I stood up and retrieved my carryon from the overhead compartment. I shuffled off the plane and checked the board to see what carousel my checked luggage was coming in on.

With all of my belongings I stood near the exit looking for the car being sent for me. I tested my sister and let her know I landed and everything was good with me, we made plans to see each other within the next few days. I couldn't wait to get inside, it was exceptionally cold and I was tired of being in the weather so I was excited to see Taehyung's text that the driver arrived.

"Choi Ma-ri?" the driver asked looking up from his phone, I peeked at his screen to see a photo of me

"Yes" I nodded. He bowed slightly then loaded my stiff into the trunk after opening the back door for me to climb inside. The ride to the guy's shared home was faster than I remembered and I found myself being a little excited to see them.

Namjoon and Yoongi met me at the door and took my luggage in. The rest of the guys were all waiting in the foyer to greet me as well. Jimin, Jungkook, and Taehyung gave me hugs, which I reciprocated.

"Jungkook smiled, pulling away from me. I couldn't help smiling too, he was such a sweetheart

"I missed you too" I spoke truthfully. Him and Yoongi mostly, I guess because they've been clinging to me the most

"Hey Ma-ri, glad you made it back safely" Hoseok smiled then gave me an awkward hug. I appreciated his willingness.

"Thank you Hoseok, me too"

"Hi," Jin said dryly. I guess I was still on his shit list, nothing I can't do much but hope that with time he would get over whatever he has against me.

"Hey Jin"

"Are you hungry? Most of us were waiting on you to get here before making dinner" Yoongi asked taking my coat from my arms

"I am, last time I ate was during a layover which was almost nine hours ago. What's on the menu?"

"Japchae"

"Sounds good to me. I would like to freshen up first"

"Sure, we have your room set up already. Anything you don't like you can change" Namjoon explained, leading me to my bedroom which was on the first floor with his and Taehyung's

"Thank you, you guys didn't have to do that"

"We wanted to," Taehyung said, following us. When they opened the door I was in awe of the space they'd created for me. It was simple but pretty, it was a little modern for my taste but comforting.

I checked the large walk-in closet to see all of my clothing hanging up or folded in the drawers. The closet was huge, I thought I had a lot of clothes until then, there was a wall and a half that was empty. My perfumes, jewelry and skincare products were neatly lined and stacked on the vanity in the middle of the room. Everything looked great and I saw no need to change up anything for the time being

"It looks really good here and I have no complaints. Thank you so much for doing this" The desk set up diagonal from my bed had a cute succulent on it

"Glad you like it. I'm really happy you are back Ma-ri and hopefully you'll warm up to us more soon" Namjoon said with blushed cheeks

"I will" I assured him. He opened his arms and I gave him a hug, making sure I gave him a good squeeze "I'm going to get cleaned up I'll be out shortly"

"Okay, take your time" Taehyung said closing the door behind him and Namjoon

I pulled out a pair of flannel lounge bottoms and a red tank top to put on after I washed up. I stripped out of my travel clothes and put on the fluffy robe hanging on the closet door. Grabbing underwear and a wire free bra as well as my rose and lavender nighttime body wash I went to the bathroom which was right across the wide hallway from my room. It was huge; it had two sinks, a stand alone shower, a jacuzzi bathtub and a urinal in addition to the standard toilet. I was in awe of how clean and nice it was.

I spent almost five minutes trying to get the shower started, in retrospect I could have just asked someone but we all know I wasn't going to stop being completely independent overnight. That water felt like comfort, the warmth and pressure released the tension in my muscles. I lathered up and rinsed twice before stepping out and drying myself with a fresh towel. Back in my room I moisturized and slipped on my underwear then clothes and put on a pair of socks.

"It smells really good in here" I said entering the kitchen when Yoongi, Jungkook and Hoseok were

"Hey noona" Jungkook smiled at me. I leaned on the counter, opposite to where they were working, on my forearms

Hoseok turned to scoop some chopped vegetables in his hands, his eyes raked over me while he made a frowning face "What's that?" he asked using his head to point at me

"What's what...?" I asked feeling over my skin, thinking I'd got gotten something on my face

"On your chest" I stood up quick, lifting my tank top to cover the long scar

"Nothing, it happened a long time ago" Yoongi turned the fire on low and wiped his hands on a towel before coming to my side of the counter. He rubbed my shoulders then kissed my forehead, settling me before I got riled up

"It's okay"

"Sorry" I said, exhaling the deep breath I took. Jungkook wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and kissed my shoulder. "I was bullied really badly when I was growing up here. I was in all-girl schools the whole time I lived here with my mom. When I was thirteen a group of girls from my classes jumped me after school one day, I was walking alone, and one of the girls had a box cutter and cut me across my chest" I wanted to cry but I didn't.

"Oh my god" Hoseok expressed with a sad look on his face

"Why would she do that?" Jungkook asked

"Because "I didn't belong there" according to them. They picked on me because I'm only half Korean. They would say my dad left because he was ashamed of me and my mom"

"I'm so sorry" Yoongi apologized "I hate that you had such a hard time growing up"

"That's the pain I feel in my chest, whenever your scar aches I feel it" Jungkook confessed turning me around to face him, he grabbed the bottom of my tank top "Can I see it?"

I nodded and looked down "Yeah"

He pulled it just enough to reveal the long healed gash that laid atop my left breast. He grazed it with his thumb and sighed, "What happened afterwards?"

"Nothing, they didn't get in trouble because it was my word against hers and her friends lied, they said I attacked her first. When I got home and told my mom what happened she took me to the hospital because I needed stitches but nothing happened to those girls. My mom did confront the main girl's mother and since she didn't do anything about it my mother keyed the lady's car and stabbed all her tires"

"That's fucked up but your mom sounds like a badass, I love it" Yoongi said removing the noodles from the pot

"I got a little revenge on one of them too" I smiled

"How?" Hoseok inquired

"When I was here that week for the funeral I stopped at a bar in Itaewon and she approached me acting like we used to be friends. I ignored her and was about to leave the bar until she mentioned my mom so I smacked her as hard as I could and poured a drink on her head" I answered turning back around so that Jungkook was hugging me from behind again.

"I love that for you" Jungkook said, loosening his grip but I held his hands in place

"I can't lie it felt good until I started to panic thinking the police were coming for me" I chuckled.

They finished up the dish then called everyone in to eat. With A big bowl full of japcahe I sat down next to Jimin and Hoseok sat on the other side of me. I can tell he was really putting in the effort to warm up to me and that was enough for the time being. He asked me to be patient so I was. All of us were seated and slurping on our noodles and talking in between.

"How was your time in America? I didn't feel any emotional distress from you" Jimin asked

"Good actually, it was kind of sad to leave home but after several conversations with my grandmother I came around to the fact that this is my home, again, so I needed to accept that"

"That's good to hear. I'm happy that you're getting more comfortable with us so quickly"

"Like I said before, I'm not going to fight it. I may not have been on board in the beginning but y'all are being really supportive and encouraging so thank you for making this easier on me"

"You are so damn cute" Namjoon cooed making me blush

"Awww is our little newbie blushing?" Yoongi teased

"Shut up" I said stuffing my mouth full of food "Mm this is delicious Yoongi"

"Thank you. I love cooking for y'all"

"And we appreciate you for it, you are such husband material" Taehyung chimed making googly eyes are his elder

"I know, yet none of you teases have put a ring on my finger" Yoongi held up his left hand. I couldn't help laughing loudly at the exchange which made Jungkook, Namjoon and even Jin smile

"I'm sorry but you guys are funny"

"Don't laugh I expect a ring from you too"

"I just got here boo, lower those expectations a little bit. Besides you haven't even taken me on a proper date yet"

"Hmm you're right. We all need to take you on proper dates, individually to get to know you one on one" Jungkook added "I call first!"

"Second" Taehyung shouted

"Third" Jimin screeched

"Shit, fourth" Yoongi scoffed

"Fifth" Namjoon laughed after swallowing his gulp of beer. The merriment ended abruptly as the last Hoseok and Jin remained quiet but I didn't want them to feel pressure to do anything they weren't ready for or simply didn't want to do

"Well I look forward to each of my dates with you" I said quickly to mask the awkward silence that was about to fall over us

After we finished eating I helped Hoseok and Namjoon clean up and wash the dishes. We worked together in a comfortable silence with Namjoon asking my trivial questions every now and then.

"Do you like museums or art galleries?" he asked drying up the last bowl

"I've never been to an art gallery before so I can't say if I like them or not. I do enjoy museums, especially history and science ones.

"Good to know"

"What about plants and nature, do you like either?"

"I like looking at pretty floral arrangements but I don't know anything about plants. I'm not much of an outdoors person because I have really bad allergies but I still like going to parks once in a while"

"Cool, cool. Well I am going to turn in now, I've got an early schedule tomorrow. Ma-ri I'm glad you made it back safely and that you like your room. Goodnight" He gave me a kiss on the cheek before exiting the kitchen. I think I was enjoying the affection.

"Night Hope" they shared a quick kiss on the lips

"Goodnight Namjoonie" he rung out the dish rag and laid it over the divider in the sink "Thanks for helping with the clean up tonight"

"No problem. I live here too now so I have to contribute like everyone else" the silence was killing me "I guess I'm going to hang out in my room until I fall asleep so goodnight"

"Okay, goodnight" I started to walked away when he called my name halting my movements, I turned around to face him "Sixth"

"What?"

"Sixth. I-I would also like to take you on a date, if you want me to" he expressed

I could not resist the smile that perched on my lips "I would like that Hoseok"

"Hobi, call me Hobi"

"Okay Hobi, thank you"

"Sleep well"