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Waking up to a blood-curdling scream hadn't been the plan. Seonghwa rubbed his eyes irritatedly. Why was someone screaming bloody murder at - he looked at the time on his phone - 6.47AM?
He had wanted to sleep in considering that he didn't have classes until noon. There goes his fabulous plan. If his roommate wasn't being killed or abducted there was absolutely no justification for this sort of behaviour. Actually, if there was no killer he might just take matters into his own hands and end Yeosang himself for disrupting his well-deserved rest like that.
It was too early for this, he thought, and put his head beneath the pillow. There was another scream which sounded a lot like Seonghwa's name. Sighing, he removed the pillow from his face and got up slowly.
Seonghwa trudged out of his room while Yeosang maniacally chanted Seonghwa's name in their kitchen.
Seonghwa squinted at the offendingly bright area. He spotted his roommate crouching on a chair. "Why are you screaming? Have you finally lost your marbles?"
Glaring, Yeosang stated, "Well, if you're gonna be like this then I don't want your help. Just go back to bed you heartless bastard."
Yeah, it was definitely too early for this sort of drama. Rolling his eyes, Songhwa replied, "You sure you don't want my help? There must be a reason you're hiding on a chair."
"Excuse me, officer, this is a free country. I can hide wherever I want," Yeosang explained stubbornly.
"Okay, I'm going back to bed now," Seonghwa threatened and was about to turn to leave.
Yeosang looked at him with big eyes. "No, no, Seonghwa, please don't abandon me!"
Sighing, Seonghwa stepped closer to Yeosang. The boy whose hair was still messed up from sleep glanced at the floor fearfully. "Where's the spider?" Seonghwa carefully asked.
Yeosang pointed in the direction of the offending animal and said, "There, in the corner. Please be careful. It's huge."
How could someone be this scared of something as harmless as a spider? Those little creatures were probably more scared of humans than the other way around. Seonghwa would never understand.
Yeosang watched him cautiously as he took an empty cup from the counter and a random sheet filled with notes. Seonghwa simply lured the tiny spider into the mug and then opened a window to let it crawl outside.
"Take care, buddy," Seonghwa said as he watched the creature crawl up the wall happily. He waved at it and closed the window again.
He glanced over his shoulder. "You're safe now," Seonghwa explained as he started making coffee. He needed an absurd amount of caffeine if he wanted to make it through this day.
"You're my hero," Yeosang shouted after he had jumped from the chair and gave Seonghwa a quick hug to express his gratitude. To top it off, he kissed Seonghwa's cheek.
"Don't do that again," Seonghwa shouted at Yeosang without any real bite as he watched the boy run out of the room.
"I don't have time for your negativity, I have to get ready now!"
"Who's gonna wash your dishes?" Seonghwa yelled.
"Sorry, can't hear you," Yeosang replied before the bathroom door closed behind him. Seonghwa sighed.
He had moved into this apartment two months ago, right before the new semester at university had started. Seonghwa had hoped life here would be more quiet compared to the dorms. Seriously, you didn't want to know about all the shit he'd had to see during his time there.
A shiver went through his body as he remembered dirty community kitchens, pubic hair in the washing machines and weird encounters with scantily dressed students. Yeosang might be a little bit of an oddball sometimes, but he was a clean person. At least most of the time. He regretfully glanced at the table where the boy's dirty plate and cup were making fun of Seonghwa.
*
When he first got to know Yeosang he had thought the boy was quiet and introverted, which proved to be wrong. His initial shyness had disappeared after the hula hoop incident.
Seonghwa glanced at the neon green hoop leaning against the wall of the living room as he sauntered to the bathroom. He was planning on bleaching his roots. After he had gotten all the stuff he needed ready, he put on his gloves and started applying the bleach carefully.
After he was done putting the chemicals that were ruining his hair (pretty hurts!) into his roots he started applying shaving cream to his face. There was literally nothing better he could think of doing as he was waiting. He could clean the apartment after shaving, he thought.
There was suddenly a knock on the locked bathroom door.
"Occupied," Seonghwa said matter-of-factly.
"I know, but I need to go in," Yeosang said. His voice sounded more urgent than usual so Seonghwa washed the remains of the shaving cream off his hands and went to unlock the door.
"What happened to you?" Seonghwa asked curiously while he took in Yeosang's shaken appearance. He had a couple scratches on his face and his hands, but what stood out the most was the huge hole in his jeans which exposed a bloody knee.
"Ah, don't worry. I fell off my skateboard. There was this huge stone lying around in the middle of the sidewalk and I was too busy bopping to this new Rammstein song. The rest is history," Yeosang explained.
Seonghwa sighed and closed the toilet seat before he sat Yeosang down on it. "Remove your pants," he ordered.
Yeosang gave him a lopsided grin. "You're telling me to undress while you literally look like Santa Claus?"
"Don't act like good hygiene is a crime. Wanting to look nice is nothing to be ashamed of. Now show me your knee, I'm gonna take care of it."
The boy sighed exasperatedly, but got rid of his pants nonetheless. Seonghwa bit his lip in order to suppress a laugh when he saw the fruity boxer shorts Yeosang was wearing. The boy shot him a glare. "Hey, I see that, but you literally have no right to judge me, Santa."
Seonghwa threw his hands in the air defensively. "I won't say anything, don't worry."
"But you're thinking it," Yeosang stated while Seonghwa was looking for the first aid kit.
"Yeah, I have freedom of thought, deal with it."
"Stop thinking before I steal your kneecaps," Yeosang huffed.
"You should worry about your own kneecaps," Seonghwa retaliated as he started disinfecting Yeosang's wound. The boy hissed, but at least he stayed quiet until Seonghwa was done wrapping it up.
Yeosang threaded his fingers through Seonghwa's hair. "What were you doing? You smell like a wet dog."
"I'm just dyeing my hair," he replied and got up, making Yeosang's hand drop into his lap again. Seonghwa's scalp tingled. Stupid bleach. "You should leave if you don't want to watch me shave and shower."
The cheeky grin was back again. "What if I wanted to watch?"
Seonghwa slapped the boy with a towel. "Leave or I'm calling the cops. I didn't sign up to live with a voyeur."
Rolling his eyes, Yeosang replied, "Fine, but if you change your mind you know where to find me." With that he got up and strutted out of the bathroom. For a terrible milli-second, Seonghwa's eyes followed the movement of Yeosang's butt. He couldn't help it, the fruit print was just too ridiculous.
*
What a day. What a horrible day. Seonghwa had had an exam and he was absolutely positive he had flunked it.
That's how he ended up making a whole pot of coffee to cheer himself up. Then he washed some fruit and made a fruit salad. Considering how passive aggressively he cubed the fruit it was a miracle that he didn't cut any of his fingers off in the process.
After he had plopped down on the couch in the living room, he turned on a random series on Netflix and got high on caffeine and vitamins as he pondered the meaning of life. What did he need a degree for anyway? The world was going to go up in flames or something, soon. He sighed and emptied his coffee cup like it was a shot.
When Yeosang came home he stopped in his tracks as he noticed Seonghwa's condition.
"What's up?" he asked carefully.
"Uni sucks," Seonghwa explained helpfully.
Sighing, Yeosang replied, "Relatable. I thought I was going to uni for all the right reasons. I mean, there will never be a better time to try out random shit and to make mistakes. Man, we'll never have this much free time again in our lives."
Seonghwa looked at him wordlessly. Then, he offered, "Do you also want some fruit salad?"
"Thanks, but I'm not really hungry right now. Wait, I know something that will help," Yeosang replied and disappeared into his room for a minute.
"No way," Seonghwa said incredulously when he saw what Yeosang was holding in his hands.
"Yes way."
Yeosang put the bag of tabacco, a tiny bag with green contents, some paper and filters on their table.
Seonghwa watched incredulously as the boy expertly rolled a joint. "I didn't even know you smoke."
Shrugging, Yeosang said, "Well, I don't do it a lot. Mostly on special occasions with my friends."
"How did you know I'm not gonna call the cops?" Seonghwa asked as Yeosang handed him the joint and a lighter.
"Are you kidding?" Yeosang laughed. "We're students."
"Right," Seonghwa agreed and inhaled the smoke, releasing it slowly after holding it for a couple seconds.
"May I?" Yeosang asked and looked at him expectantly.
"Yeah, of course," Seonghwa said and handed Yeosang the spliff. The boy happily took a drag. "Anything for my friends," Seonghwa added as he watched the way Yeosang's lips closed around the joint.
"Oh, please," Yeosang retorted, "We aren't friends."
Shocked, Seonghwa clutched his chest as if he was about to experience a heart attack. "You wound me. Then what are we, in your opinion?"
Yeosang leaned into Seonghwa's side and conspiratorially whispered, "We're roommates." Then, he took another drag and blew the smoke directly into Seonghwa's still shocked face.
Seonghwa had no clue what that was supposed to mean, but he wasn't going to question it. Yeosang put the joint between Seonghwa's parted lips without another word and cuddled up next to the boy instead.
"So, tell me, why is Blair mad at Serena?"
The consumption of marijuana left him a little bit light-headed, which is why Seonghwa decided to put his head on top of Yeosang's, which was resting on his shoulder, before he started filling his roommate in.
*
This was probably the first time ever that Seonghwa found a Monday morning quite this nice. Seonghwa was usually among the part of the population that hated those, but his morning class had been cancelled due to his professor being sick.
Happily, he listened to the tweeting birds as he opened the window and enjoyed the first rays of sunlight on this fine morning. After stretching a little bit and ignoring the way several bones in his shoulders and back cracked, he made his way to the kitchen.
A day as nice as this one called for a breakfast just as amazing. He had previously bought blueberries even though those were expensive as fuck, just to make some blueberry pancakes.
Seonghwa was whistling a tune while he made coffee and prepared all the ingredients he needed. Except he couldn't find the blueberries. He was sure he had put them in the fridge, so where had they gone? Slightly frustrated, he closed the fridge.
Had he not put them in the refrigerator after all? He was way too young to be this forgetful, he thought and frustratedly ran a hand through his hair. That's when he noticed a pink sticky note on the door of the fridge, one that hadn't been there before.
I have taken
the blueberries
that were in
the fridge
and which
you were probably
saving for something
forgive me
they were perfect
for my smoothie
-Y
"I'm going to strangle him," Seonghwa muttered under his breath as he stomped towards Yeosang's room. He knocked twice, but didn't wait for a reply as he slammed the door open. Yeosang almost fell out of his desk chair.
Seonghwa glared at the offensive glass filled with purplish liquid as he confidently announced, "I'm going to strangle you."
Fear settled on Yeosang's face. "But-"
"No, Yeosang, your shitty homage to This Is Just To Say won't make me change my mind," Seonghwa interrupted him sharply as he closed in on his victim with a calculated calmness.
Yeosang jumped from the chair like a ninja and ran over to his bed, where he grabbed a pillow and held it in front of his body protectively. "What about my children?" he wanted to know.
"Oh, don't worry," Seonghwa said, voice sinister. "I will sell every single one of your metal albums on ebay."
Gasping, Yeosang exclaimed, "You wouldn't."
"Watch me," Seonghwa replied and quickly stepped forward to rip the pillow out of Yeosang's hands before he started hitting the boy with it mercilessly. However, Yeosang hurriedly turned around and got another pillow for himself, which he used to counter his roommate's feral attack.
When Seonghwa unceremoniously smacked him in the face Yeosang fell onto his bed dramatically, groaninig in faux pain, before he let his tongue hang out of the corner of his mouth, limbs going limp, pretending to be dead.
Seonghwa snorted at his roommate's ridiculous behaviour and Yeosang opened one eye. Both of them burst out laughing and didn't stop until they were wheezing. In order to catch his breath, Seonghwa dropped to the floor and lay down, hoping that his diaphragm would stop cramping.
Yeosang cautiously put his head over the edge of the bed to ask, "Say, did you really find my homage shitty?" His hair resembled a bird's nest and Seonghwa had to resist the urge to reach up and fix it.
"You don't want me to answer that," Seonghwa replied. His facial muscles and his abs still hurt from all the laughter.
Pouting, Yeosang said, "You know, I wanted to go grocery shopping and I was gonna get you new blueberries today."
"Sounds good. But now I'm gonna make normal pancakes anyway." Seonghwa sat up. "Do you also want some?"
Yeosang rolled out of his bed and plopped down next to Seonghwa. "Thanks, babe, you're the best," the boy exclaimed excitedly and glued himself to his side like a leech.
"Babe?" Seonghwa repeated, confused. His heart was beating faster and he suddenly didn't know how to breathe like a normal person.
"Shh, don't ruin the moment," Yeosang scolded him, got up, dusted off his pants (i.e. his ass that Seonghwa totally didn't look at) and reached out to help his roommate up. When their hands touched, Seonghwa's palms tingled as if ants were crawling under his skin.
Apparently he had forgotten how to function like a human being, because he tripped over his own feet more times than was socially acceptable and almost burned the pancakes, which was ridiculous considering that Seonghwa was an impeccable cook.
He pretended that his hands weren't shaking nervously because he was hyper-aware of Yeosang's presence all of a sudden. He was just hungry and his body needed food, that's why he was suffering from this awful tremor.
*
This assignment was so unnecessary, Seonghwa thought as he sighed for the 34th time that evening. Again, he wondered why he was even doing this to himself to begin with. To top his existential crisis off, Yeosang was blasting EDM - which seemed untypical - and singing along to (i.e. screeching) the basic lyrics in a way that was starting to give Seonghwa a brutal headache.
He wasn't going to complain, though. It was Friday night and most people were enoying themselves or at least resting. Yeosang deserved to have some fun. It's not like everyone tortured themselves with assignments like that was their only hobby.
Suddenly, there was a knock on his door, right after Seonghwa had planted his face on his notes that were spread out in an unusually messy way. "Come in," he exclaimed, voice coming out muffled.
"Seonghwa," Yeosang chirped as he jumped into the room, conducting an award-worthy flying change of leg. "I'm going out with some friends and you should totally come with us!"
Seonghwa lifted his head at his roommate's enthusiastic words, disgruntledly pulled the sheet that had gotten stuck to his cheek off and let it fall back onto the desk. When he saw the way Yeosang was dressed he breathed in so sharply he thought his lungs might burst.
He was wearing all black; ripped skinny jeans, a sheer button down and, the thing that had caught Seonghwa's attention in the first place, a choker. His hair was styled in a way that revealed most of his forehead.
That is not how casual skater boy Yeosang usually looked, Seonghwa's mind provided helpfully as he tried his best to silence his internal screams. He had planned on burning his notes after his exams were over. Maybe he was just going to throw himself to the flames as well.
Yeosang smiled cheekily. "Can I take that as a yes?" he asked, feigning innocence.
"I haven't said anything yet," Seonghwa muttered, sounding peculiarly hoarse.
"I know," Yeosang agreed, walked over to Seonghwa's desk, took the pencil out of his roommate's hands and put it in the cup that served as a pen holder. He turned around and looked at Seonghwa expectantly. "But you look like you want to say yes."
Swallowing dryly, Seonghwa couldn't help but nod. "Just give me a couple minutes to get ready."
Yeosang smiled victoriously and gave Seonghwa a thumbs up before he sauntered out of the room, leaving Seonghwa feeling breathless and faint.
*
Seonghwa didn't really know what he had expected when he had agreed to going out with Yeosang, but he hadn't thought they'd end up at a bar that played rock and metal music. Perhaps it had been the club music Yeosang had played earlier that had led him to believe that's where they were headed.
Honestly, Seonghwa was surprised he liked it as much as he did. It was definitely less sweaty and less crowded than the clubs he'd been to. Yeosang's friends were fun to be around when they weren't busy eating each other's faces.
"Wooyoung and San are insufferable," Yeosang had explained with a roll of his eyes. Seonghwa understood where he was coming from. Third-wheeling wasn't exactly pleasant. He was glad he had decided to keep his roommate company. Friends needed to be there for each other, after all.
On their way home, Yeosang suddenly said, "My hand is cold, can you hold it?"
Wordlessly and without a second thought, Seonghwa reached for the boy's hand. "Damn, your hand is actually cold," he muttered, surprised.
"Did you think I'd lie to you in order to hold hands with you?" Yeosang asked incredulously.
Seonghwa side-eyed him. "You never know," he replied conversationally.
Huffing, Yeosang tried to take his hand back, but Seonghwa didn't let him, so he gave up his admittedly half-assed struggle and Seonghwa took the chance to link their fingers instead. Yeosang let him and Seonghwa thought their hands fit together perfectly, like pieces of a puzzle. "I just don't want you to die from hypothermia," he explained innocently.
"Of course. You're such a gentleman," Yeosang retorted and the corner of his mouth twitched as if he had to suppress a smile.
Seonghwa was actually glad they had decided to go home - he was about to fall asleep on his feet.
When they arrived, he changed into some comfy pyjamas in zombie-mode and fell into his bed like a stone, eyes closing immediately. He was too old to be going out, he figured. Immediately, he fell asleep.
That is, until an urgent hand shook him awake again. "Hmm," he said, still half-asleep.
"Seonghwa, you can't leave me now, there is a whole fucking bug family camping on my bed," his roommate whispered sharply. "I'm never leaving the window open again when I go out," he added as an afterthought.
"Iss' okay jus' sleep in my bed," Seonghwa slurred, drunk on sleep deprivation, and scooted over to support his statement. There was a hesitant break where neither of them said or did anything, and Seonghwa was already drifting off again as he felt the mattress dip beside him.
*
When Seonghwa first woke up the next morning, he was confused. Why was he holding an armful of cute boy? Slowly, he remembered what had happened the previous night.
Yeosang was such a baby for being scared of insects and spiders, Seonghwa thought. Well. That's not exactly the truth. His first thought was that he enjoyed being Yeosang's knight in shining armor and would do anything to keep him safe from all the scary bugs in the world.
For Yeosang, Seonghwa would go to all the metal bars in this city. He'd let the boy steal all of his fruit for his weird smoothies and he would always hold his hand if he felt cold.
Seonghwa was blushing at his own thoughts. Where was all that suddenly coming from? When had he become this sappy? Curiously, Seonghwa's gaze trailed over the sleeping boy's closed eyes, the slope of his nose, the curve of his small mouth. Even with half of his face buried in the pillow he managed to look surprisingly cute.
Some of his hair was sticking up and Seonghwa couldn't resist fixing it. That was the perfect excuse to keep running his fingers through the boy's silky hair. Damn, he had to ask Yeosang which conditioner he used. Or he could stop torturing his hair with bleach, that would probably also help.
Petting an animal's fur was calming and could lower one's blood pressure, Seonghwa had read somewhere. Perhaps stroking someone's hair had the same effect, because his eyelids started feeling heavy again. Yeosang radiated so much warmth and Seonghwa snuggled into his side comfortably before he fell asleep again.
*
Humming a song, Seonghwa unlocked the door of the apartment. He was lost in his thoughts. Recently, he'd had a lot on his mind. His courses, assignments and Yeosang. Especially Yeosang.
He kept imagining walking around holding the boy's hand, stroking his dumb, messy hair, kissing every inch of his stupid, beautiful face, falling asleep in a cocoon made of blankets and Yeosang's arms.
Seonghwa heard music from the living room, so naturally he followed the sound of Yeosang passionately singing along to a Muse song. He snorted when he found the boy doing karaoke wearing the alarmingly bright hula hoop as some sort of makeshift sash.
That didn't deter Yeosang in the slightest. He simply turned around to make grabby hands at Seonghwa and sang, "Our love will be foreeever." Seonghwa didn't know whether his roommate purposely did shit like that to drive him crazy.
To make everything worse, Seonghwa's brain chose that exact moment to register the fact that Yeosang was wearing a horrendous pair of cycling pants that left nothing to the imagination. He wanted to smash his head into the nearest wall.
Yeosang finished the song, completely unaware of Seonghwa's internal breakdown. "You do realize that you're staring, right?" the boy asked, slightly out of breath. Before Seonghwa could come up with a reply, he continued, "I know those pants ain't it, don't look at me with your certified judging face. I'm doing laundry and this is literally the only clean pair of pants I could find. Good thing I don't have to go outside today. I have a reputation to lose," Yeosang said with a slight shudder.
"I'm not judging you," Seonghwa stammered once he got his mouth to work again.
Matter-of-factly, Yeosang stated, "But you're staring."
Honestly, Seonghwa felt as if his brain was going to give up on him. Please come back, he mentally begged his remaining brain cells, which were currently running away one by one. Oh no, they couldn't hear him - they were wearing airpods.
"Sir, I am only staring for research purposes," he retorted.
Yeosang pouted. "And here I was, hoping that you would stare because you like my sweet ass."
Seonghwa almost choked on his own spit at the bold statement. What was he even supposed to say to that? Did Yeosang want him to like his butt? Or was he just joking?
"You know," Yeosang said and stepped closer. "Considering that you're a huge nerd you're really stupid."
That wasn't news, Seonghwa thought and shuddered when Yeosang licked his lips. His eyes ate the movement up and saved it to a file in his brain to replay a hundred more times when he was in private.
Yeosang grinned and Seonghwa didn't like it one bit. It was as if the boy had looked right through him. "You do realize that I've been trying to get your attention, right?" he asked casually and removed the hoop, letting it fall to the ground.
"You certainly have my attention now," Seonghwa managed to stammer. Yeosang was standing dangerously close and Seonghwa's heart was doing somersaults out of excitement.
"For being so infuriatingly dumb I want to punch you. On your mouth. With my lips," Yeosang said with a serious expression and let his hand wander across Seonghwa's wrist, leaving a trail of goosebumps.
He didn't do anything else, had just thrown this information at Seonghwa and was waiting for him to decide what to do with it. Seonghwa had literally imagined kissing the boy so many times he didn't hesitate to take this opportunity; he closed the remaining distance between them.
Seonghwa lightly cupped Yeosang's cheek and wrapped his free arm around his back to pull him closer before he kissed the boy softly. Yeosang sighed into his mouth and linked his fingers behind Seonghwa's neck. Seonghwa saw literal fireworks go off behind his eyelids as his lips slid against the other boy's sweetly.
After a while, he got more daring and licked Yeosang's bottom lip. The boy pulled back for a moment and Seonghwa already started thinking that he had maybe crossed a line, but Yeosang just took a breath before he put his lips on Seonghwa's again in a more open-mouthed kiss.
Seonghwa felt faint as his and Yeosang's tongues met experimentally and he could feel his roommate melting into his touch as well, twisting his fingers into the hair at the back of his neck.
When they finally broke apart for air, Seonghwa took in Yeosang's slightly disheveled condition. His cheeks were rosy and his lips were plump. God, Seonghwa wanted to kiss him over and over again.
Yeosang gave him a sweet smile. "So, what do you think about making out some more and then singing sappy love songs until our neighbours scream at us to shut up?"