As soon as he hit the cooler air outside, Jin felt some of the tension ease. He didn’t know if it was the mass of people making him feel panicky or the pressure of performance, or just having Abeoji leaning over his shoulder like a ghostly Jeoseung Saja— but whatever it was, it felt like pressure tugging on the noose already around his neck. He let out a soft breath and turned to lean on the banister as Ki-Se followed him outside.

It was more difficult than Jin had imagined to keep his hands to himself now that he was out here and had his brother by his side. He knew it would be silly and needy of him to actually pull the other into a hug and Ki-Se was doing so well from what he’d seen. But he wanted to.

Jin laced his hands together and gave a small nod at the comment. “Gwenchana,” he mumbled dismissively as to the inquiry on how he was doing. “It’s a strange culture,” he added, leaning forward a bit. The English did enjoy talking about themselves but it was useful for gathering information in his experience. People who were too guarded usually had secrets to hide and were much more difficult to decipher. “I wonder how we will all get on a year from now,” he mused, turning a small smile in Ki-Se’s direction. Would one of them be engaged? Would all of them be safe? Would anything truly terrible have happened and if so, would they all come out of it relatively unscathed? The panic built up again at the base of Jin’s throat and he ducked his gaze, smile faltering.

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