I Became a Member of My Favorite Group! - Chapter 39

After filling the borrowed basin from the neighbor’s grandmother to the brim and placing it on the floor, Da-jeong quickly left the house and took a taxi to the address the CEO had given her.

“Thank you!”

As soon as she arrived in front of the café, she quickly paid the driver and got out of the car.

Unfortunately, the car had stopped in an awkward spot, so she had to walk through the rain to get to the café. If only her old umbrella hadn’t broken, this wouldn’t have happened.

“Huff…!”

While trying her best to avoid the rain, she let out a small yelp.

With her short legs, she took big strides, hopping and skipping her way to the café. Once she arrived, she opened the door and stepped inside, noticing that behind the counter there were a few rooms with grey doors.

The CEO had said it was the room on the far left, right?

Knock knock-

“Oh, come in.”

Just in case she got the wrong room, she knocked first.

Soon, the familiar voice of the CEO called out from inside.

“S-sorry I’m late. I had to clean up the water on the floor…”

As she entered the room, she saw the company members gathered together.

She quickly apologized and carefully closed the door behind her.

“It’s fine. Come sit down, Da-jeong.”

“It’s cold outside, right? Have some hot chocolate.”

“Y-yes.”

Hearing the CEO’s kind voice and Yuna’s cheerful tone, Da-jeong walked over to an empty seat and sat down. In front of her sat a white mug filled with brown hot chocolate. They must have ordered it in advance, knowing she had a sweet tooth.

“You’ve been through a lot, Da-jeong. You must’ve been so shocked.”

“Seriously, how does a ceiling just collapse like that?”

“I saw the photos, and it looked like a disaster. Are you hurt?”

“N-no, I’m fine… Thankfully, I was in the living room moving the computer when it collapsed…”

While listening to the members’ endless stream of concern, Da-jeong forced herself to nod.

It was a big deal, but it wasn’t the worst-case scenario.

If the computer had been destroyed, she would’ve been truly devastated.

“B-but if I call a repairman tomorrow, they’ll fix it quickly. I just have to hold out until then…”

She wasn’t sure how much the repair would cost, but she had some savings, so she thought she could manage. In the meantime, she’d have to buy a small desk and stream from the living room.

The CEO had offered to find her a new place to live, but that was out of the question. She had already caused enough trouble for the CEO, and she couldn’t burden them further.

Besides…

• Is he here again?

• Seriously, it hasn’t been long since he last took supplies…

• Didn’t we tell him it’s every four months?

• We did, but he keeps coming back, being a nuisance.

…Yeah.

She couldn’t just rely on others’ kindness.

She had to find a way to solve things on her own.

That was the lesson she had learned over ten years ago.

“Um… Da-jeong? About what the CEO said earlier, about moving…”

“Oh, no. It’s really fine. If I just fix the ceiling, I can keep living there. You don’t have to help me, CEO. Don’t worry.”

As expected, the CEO brought up the topic of moving again.

Da-jeong waved her hands vigorously to dismiss the idea. Sure, the ceiling had collapsed, but the house was still livable; she had lived there for five years in her previous life, after all.

There was no need to burden the CEO by moving.

“No, listen to me first. I think you’re misunderstanding something.”

“Misunderstanding…?”

“Yes.”

However, the CEO stopped her from waving her hands and nodded, as if there was more to say.

For a moment, Da-jeong thought she saw the members exchange glances, but maybe it was her imagination.

“The thing about moving… I was actually planning to bring this up even before this happened.”

“Before this?”

“Yes. And not just for you, but for the other members too.”

Huh?

What did that mean?

It wasn’t hard to understand why the CEO would suggest it to her.

They knew she lived in an old house, and their kind offer to help her move to a better place was understandable, but why involve the other members?

Tilting her head in confusion, the CEO cleared their throat and continued.

“The thing is, you all live pretty far apart, especially you, Da-jeong.”

“Yes…”

“I thought that was a bit of a shame. You’ll be doing more offline collaborations and meeting up more often in the future, and distance can be a hindrance.”

That made sense.

As a group, offline collaborations were bound to happen sooner or later.

Whether it was sooner or later was just a matter of time.

And living far apart would naturally cause some difficulties.

“So, I was planning to rent five apartments near the company soon. One for each of you.”

“Five apartments…?”

Da-jeong let out a surprised sound at the unexpected plan.

The CEO nodded and glanced at So-eun, who was sitting nearby.

“Right, So-eun?”

“Yes. The CEO actually asked me to look into it. We haven’t found the right properties yet, but it should be soon.”

I see.

So-eun spoke so calmly that it must be true.

“Besides, I’ve already asked the other members about it. Depending on their circumstances, they’ll be moving into those five apartments eventually.”

“R-really?”

Surprised that the CEO had already discussed this with the others, Da-jeong looked around for confirmation.

Each member nodded calmly when their eyes met hers.

Jia added, “It’s true. The CEO said that except for you and Chae-yoon, the rest of us live with our families, so they wanted to get their families’ approval first.”

“I see… I didn’t know.”

That made sense.

Chae-yoon and I live alone, so we have more freedom to change where we live, but the other three live with their families.

Especially Ra-hee, who lives with a huge extended family.

“Anyway, that’s why I’d really like you to move, Da-jeong. It’ll be easier to gather for meetings or collaborations, and you can hang out more easily.”

“Right, Da-jeong. Or do you not want to live in the same building as your unnies?”

At Ra-hee’s teasing question, Da-jeong snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head.

There was no way she’d dislike that.

Being able to live close to the people she loved most, even if not under the same roof, and seeing them every day?

“N-no way…! I’d love that. I just thought the CEO was going out of their way for me…”

Realizing how short-sighted she had been, her voice trailed off.

Even if the timing was good, she had almost refused without fully understanding the CEO’s intentions.

This was an important matter related to Blue Love’s activities, after all.

She felt like such a fool.

“Anyway, now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, we can go ahead with the move, right?”

“Y-yes… I’m sorry. I was just rambling without knowing the full story…”

“Ugh, don’t apologize so much.”

Ruffle ruffle-

The CEO roughly patted her head and gave a wry smile.

It was a smile that showed relief, as if a big problem had been solved.

They must’ve been really worried about her.

She felt even more apologetic.

“But we haven’t found a place yet, so you’ll have to stay somewhere else for a while… That’s the issue.”

“Oh, it’s fine. I have a blanket, so I can just sleep in the living room…”

If she was going to move anyway, there was no need to fix the ceiling.

She thought she could just grab her blanket and somehow manage to sleep in the living room, but the CEO didn’t seem to agree.

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

“Oh, is it… not?”

Hmph.

She thought it was a decent plan, but the CEO’s cold rebuttal made her deflate instantly.

She fiddled nervously with her hands and looked up at the CEO, who was deep in thought, glancing around the room.

“What if she stays at my house? We have a spare room for Da-jeong.”

Just then, Ra-hee raised her hand and suggested.

Da-jeong, who didn’t want to cause any more trouble, tried to stop her, but…

“That could work… but Ra-hee, didn’t you say your family is huge?”

The CEO asked with a hint of doubt.

The answer was shocking.

“Yes. My grandfather, grandmother, parents, younger sister, and me—six people in total.”

“Eek…!”

Oh no!

Living in a house like that would be a disaster!

What did the rest of the family do to deserve that?

The guilt might even give her an ulcer.

“C-CEO! What about my house? She can stay in my room…!”

“That would be uncomfortable for both of you. No.”

“Hiiing…”

Yuna’s suggestion, which followed, was also mercilessly rejected.

“What about my house? My mom met Da-jeong recently, so it might be comfortable for her.”

“Did you get permission?”

“Oh, no…”

“Then let’s put that on hold.”

At least Jia’s suggestion wasn’t outright rejected, but put on hold…

Wait, why isn’t anyone asking for my opinion?

I don’t want to burden someone else’s family by living with them…!

“What about the CEO’s house?”

“The people at my house wouldn’t mind, but I think Da-jeong would feel uncomfortable living with me.”

“N-no, absolutely not!”

It’s not that I dislike the CEO! However, living under the same roof as my boss is a bit much!

Just thinking about eating breakfast together every morning makes me nervous about how to hold my chopsticks!

“Oh, by the way, Chae-yoon, you live alone, right?”

“Yes.”

Just as the CEO was shaking their head, unsatisfied with all the suggestions, they suddenly remembered Chae-yoon, who lived alone, and asked her.

The answer was affirmative.

“Do you have a spare room?”

“I have one. It’s a two-room apartment, so…”

“Can Da-jeong stay there for a while?”

C-CEO?

That’s impossible.

Chae-yoon unnie is living alone because she wants to, right? Why would you disrupt that?

No way…!

“I was actually going to suggest that. Since other houses have families living together, Da-jeong might feel uncomfortable, but at my place, it’s just me, so she might feel more at ease.”

…It’s not impossible?!

“Okay, decision made. Da-jeong will stay at Chae-yoon’s place for now.”

“C-CEO? I’m really fine…”

She tried to grab the CEO’s sleeve and plead, but they were already stamping the approval document without her input.

“Wow… Da-jeong, do you hate living with me that much? I thought we were pretty close…”

“…I’ll be in your care.”

“Good. It might be a short time, but let’s get along well.”

Under Chae-yoon’s teasing, Da-jeong had no choice but to give in.

Ugh.

Somehow, it feels like the members are getting better at handling me.

I’m not a dog or a cat, you know.