Dust danced in the sunlight as the members of Zero gathered in front of their new "base."
The old wooden house looked like it hadn't seen life in years broken fence, cracked windows, and grass growing wild through the path.
Jaehyuk clapped his hands once, loud and confident.
"Alright! Before anything else today's cleaning day!"
A unified groan erupted from the group.
"What are we, janitors?" Nayeon muttered, glaring at the broom Jaehyuk handed her.
Jaehyuk only grinned. "Janitors of destiny."
After a few minutes of bickering and reluctant sweeping, Jaehyuk cleared his throat.
"Ah before I forget. Everyone, this is Kim Hyunjae. He's officially part of our guild now. You didn't get to meet him yesterday since I recruited him myself outside the club."
Hyunjae, a tall guy with messy hair and a cautious smile, bowed slightly.
"Nice to meet you all! I'll be in your care."
Nayeon's eyes lit up. "Ooh, so you're the guy who bumped into Jaehyuk, huh?"
Hyunjae rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah… sorry about that. Guess fate really wanted me here."
Jaehyuk chuckled. "Fate or debt either way, you're stuck with us now."
One by one, everyone introduced themselves, laughter echoing through the dusty house as they worked together sweeping, wiping, fixing broken furniture, and arguing over who got stuck cleaning the bathroom.
By sunset, the once-abandoned house looked alive again messy but full of warmth and noise.
And for the first time, it felt like a home.
All of them collapsed onto the floor the moment Jaehyuk announced, "Alright, we're done!"
The wooden floor creaked beneath them, the scent of dust and detergent mixing in the air.
"Ahhh… we haven't eaten all day," Minjae groaned, sprawled out like a corpse. "My body's aching everywhere. But hey, at least we finished everything within a day."
"Barely," Nayeon said, tossing a rag at him. "You whined half the time."
"Whining boosts stamina, didn't you know?" Minjae muttered without opening his eyes.
"No," Joohe deadpanned. "It just lowers everyone else's morale."
"You guys sound like an old couple already," Hyunjae said from the couch, sipping water.
"Says the guy who just joined and almost broke the mop in half," Seo Kyun replied from the corner, voice calm but teasing.
"It was a defective mop," Hyunjae shot back defensively.
The room erupted with laughter. Even Jaehyuk, sitting against the wall with tired eyes, cracked a grin.
"Not bad for day one," he said. "The place actually looks livable now. We might survive after all."
"Livable?" Nayeon glanced around at the scattered cleaning tools. "You call this livable?"
"For broke adventurers? Absolutely," Jaehyuk replied.
There was a small silence as they all stared at the sunset filtering through the dusty windows.
"You know…" Joohe murmured, "it kinda feels like a home now."
Everyone went quiet for a second until Minjae's stomach growled loud enough to echo.
"Alright, home or not, I'm starving. Someone order food before I start gnawing on Kyun's boots."
"You touch my boots, you die," Seo Kyun said flatly.
"I'll pay for the food," Jaehyuk sighed, standing up. "Just this once."
"OUR LEADER IS AN ANGEL!" Nayeon shouted, throwing both arms up dramatically.
Everyone laughed again. The sound was chaotic, warm, and loud for the first time, their guild Zero didn't just sound like a name.
It felt like a beginning.