Chapter Text
Chaewon feels as if her body is about to combust.
She looks towards her phone. It’s midday, yet she hasn’t moved an inch since she got into bed the night before. She feels as if she’s dying. A little dramatic, yes, but that doesn’t stop her from sulking back into the spot she was in before the attempt to get out of bed was made. It’s just not happening today, she decides. Though, that doesn’t help her solve the problem of getting her medicine from the kitchen.
Internally, Chaewon curses herself. She only had herself to blame for the way she’s feeling. Heejin had been lecturing her about her late night gaming and television habits. Chaewon, however, didn’t see it as a cause for concern. She had her reasons, Park tells herself. Yet, those reasons were definitely too childish to say out loud, especially to any of her friends. The real reason is her roommate, Son Hyejoo. No, she hasn’t been staying up all night, playing games and watching television with her junior. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. She’s been avoiding her.
When Chaewon was looking for a roommate this year, Heejin’s roommate Hyunjin recommended her sister, Hyejoo. Chaewon didn’t think too much about it. She likes Hyunjin and felt that she would be better off with somebody that both Heejin and Hyunjin could vouch for. The only things that Park Chaewon knew about Son Hyejoo before they moved in together was that she was Hyunjin’s littlest sister, one of two twins, and she was the striker for their university’s football team. Apparently she’s amazing, though, Chaewon hasn’t ever had an inkling to watch like the rest of her friends do.
Even though she doesn’t know Hyejoo, if she was anything like her twin, Yerim, then she decided that she wouldn’t have any trouble. Yerim is the sunshine personified, surely Hyejoo wouldn’t be much different, right? They were twins and best friends, after all. What could go wrong?
Everything, apparently.
In the last three months of living together with Hyejoo, she has only learned a handful of more things more about her roommate. Hyejoo loves the colour black, she might be the prettiest girl on the planet and last but not least, she might also be the scariest girl on the planet. Chaewon gets intimidated by the sight of her and ends up scurrying back into her own room, as if she was a rat in uncharted territory. Her home-life was supposed to get better with a new roommate but this is arguably worse. At this point, Chaewon’s not sure if she has a crush or if it’s just her life flashing before her eyes whenever they come into contact with each other. She settles on both. It’s definitely both.
This is why the current situation is so awkward to be in. If she was to open up about it, Heejin would surely call her ‘pathetic’, or something along those lines. Sighing, Chaewon picks up her phone, hands beginning to tremble as she types in a message towards a contact called ‘If I’m dead, she is responsible’. With a deep breath, she hits send. It doesn’t take long for the regret to settle in. Chaewon’s really done it now.
Hyejoo is certain that her roommate hates her. To her, there’s no other logical explanation for it. Before moving in with Chaewon, Hyunjin and Yerim had both given the upmost praise of this girl. It was almost as if they were trying really, really hard to sell her on a scam. That’s what it feels like, anyway.
Anytime Hyejoo catches sight of Chaewon in their apartment, it’s almost as if she becomes the university’s track runner. She’s brought up the topic to both Hyunjin and Heejin multiple times. Though, each time, they always vouch that Chaewon is a functioning member of society. To this day, Hyejoo still has a hard time believing this. However, anytime the two are out in public with their mutual friends, Chaewon is able to keep up a facade of being a normal person. Even though those times are extremely limited, Hyejoo has noticed that her roommate is extremely funny, sassier than she looks and cute enough for Hyejoo to want to keep Chaewon in her pocket at all times. It’s a shame that she can’t see that side of Chaewon more often.
Is that the real Chaewon? Or is the bedroom dwelling gremlin the real Chaewon? At this point, it seems like she’ll never get her answer.
Hyejoo sits on their couch, watching her favourite football team on their television. Though, she would be lying if she said it didn’t feel like her own at this point. Part of the athlete feels a little guilty, considering they split the money on it and she’s only seen Chaewon use them a few times. Perhaps she uses them during the night, Hyejoo tells herself in order to make the guilt go away.
Just as the final whistle blows on the television screen, her phone lights up with a unique text sound; the sound being the one she set up for the contact known as ‘cutie basement dweller?’ It’s a rare occasion. In fact, it’s almost enough to call for a celebration. However, the subject matter of the text message was nothing to celebrate about.
Or was it?
[TEXT: cutie basement dweller?]
Hyejoo, can you bring me the medicine from the kitchen?
I’m sick and honestly too weak to get out of bed at the moment.
Sorry for bothering you if you’re busy.
At first, Hyejoo’s brows furrowed at the text. As much as they didn’t know each other, she didn’t necessarily want her roommate feeling ill. Despite certain rumours, ones that she’s starting to think Chaewon might believe, she wouldn’t wish this sort of thing on anyone. Just the ones who make her blood boil — and Park Chaewon isn’t one of them.
Yet, there was a good side to that text message. Hyejoo might be taking advantage of the situation a little bit. However, Son Hyejoo had just been invited into Chaewon’s room. This was considered a big deal to Hyejoo because she has yet to see even the slightest peep inside those walls; into Chaewon’s private life. What kind of girl is she? Right now, it feels as if Hyejoo is going to get her wish; to see the real Park Chaewon.
Without responding to the text, Hyejoo got up, sourced out the medicine and made her way to the gremlin’s lair.
Three knocks were placed on Chaewon’s door.
“Unnie, can I come in?” the younger questions from the other side.
In that moment, Chaewon’s heart sank into her stomach. It’s only dawned upon her now that she’ll be letting Hyejoo into her life, completely. After this, there’s nothing left to hide. It may not be a big deal to some. However, Chaewon’s room holds many secrets; secrets that even the ones she calls her best friends have yet to unravel.
With a deep breath, she decides that maybe, just maybe, getting closer to Hyejoo is worth the risk of everything coming crashing down.
“Mm. Come in,” she confirms.
And just like that, the door to Chaewon’s bedroom opens, leaving all of her secrets, passions and interests lying in its wake.
The first thing Hyejoo sees once she enters the room is the abundance of different paintings and canvasses spread out around the circumference of Chaewon’s room. She didn’t take the other to be an artist. However, the two didn’t know each other that much. The next thing Hyejoo spotted was Chaewon’s desk. To her surprise, it sported what seemed to be a competently built gaming computer with a Nintendo Switch beside it. Maybe she was right about the bedroom gremlin thing. She wouldn’t judge her too hard, though. Chaewon’s setup has nothing on Hyejoo’s, after all. Last but not least was the posters, albums and general Oh My Girl! merchandise that covers every space in the room that wasn’t a painting. She didn’t take Chaewon to be a massive K-Pop fan, either. This gremlin is full of surprises.
The athlete realises she’s been staring at Chaewon’s things for longer than she had anticipated. Then again, she didn’t expect Chaewon to be this kind of person. Though, none of that solves the current thought in her head.
“Unnie… where are you?” she asks, only for her head to shoot towards the bed whenever she hears a grown coming from that side of the room. Upon further inspection, she can see a slight hint of cyan peaking out from underneath her pink bedsheets. Is that her?
Hyejoo doesn’t waste any time in bringing herself to side of the other’s bed, slowly peeling back the covers to reveal the being known as Park Chaewon hiding behind her phone, almost using it as a shield.
“Hi,” the older replies, eyes peaking out from behind her phone to look up at Hyejoo. Immediately, she wants to hide from her roommate again. It’s hard to look at her without her stomach filling with enough butterflies to fund a reserve. Though, she’s still unsure if it’s out of fear or attraction. Again, she guesses on it being both. So, in the end, she covers her face with her phone again.
Hyejoo is mainly confused about the situation. Why was Chaewon hiding under her bedsheets? Was she cold? That doesn’t explain the fact that Chaewon was also hiding her face behind her phone. Again, that lead her down the usual thinking path; the one that told her that her roommate hates her. Though, the main question she had left her lips the moment she thought it.
“You dyed your hair?” Hyejoo asks, and immediately wants to take it back. Of course she did. Her hair isn’t blonde anymore. Stupid Hyejoo, she thinks to herself. She’s done a lot of that recently.
“Oh, yeah. I thought it was time for a change again,” Chaewon answers, finally gaining the courage to put her phone to the side and interact with the other. They don’t really do things like this unless other people are around. It’s awkward. Though, that’s to be expected.
“Oh... it looks really good on you.” Again, Hyejoo’s speaking without thinking. She wants to hit her head off of the door frame. The girl already hates her, she doesn’t want to make it any worse by weirding her out of anything along those lines.
A few seconds pass and Chaewon goes back to looking at her phone. As much as she wants to speak, she can’t. Not after that. If she does, she’s certain that she’s going to throw up the butterfly reservation that’s made a home in her stomach. Son Hyejoo said that something looked good on her. Really good, actually. She dyed it blue from a random artistic burst and has lived to reap the benefits of it. Though, as soon as she brings herself out of her thoughts, she see’s that Hyejoo has set down her medicine on the side of the bed, making her way towards the door. She supposed that was her chance of getting to know her roommate a little better falling right in front of her finger tips.
The silence was enough to tell Hyejoo that Chaewon wasn’t particularly interested in talking. She was too glued to her phone to realise she was leaving, anyway. Though, as Hyejoo turned to check on her roommate one last time, she catches Park Chaewon looking at her as if she was a puppy and Hyejoo was walking out of the room with her favourite toy. It’s this look that inspires Hyejoo to play off her attempt of leaving Chaewon’s sanctuary by closing the door and returning to the side of her bed; bold enough to take a seat next to Chaewon on the edge of it.
Now that Hyejoo has made her valiant return, she quickly realises that she still doesn’t have anything to talk about. However, the more she looks around, she notices that Chaewon’s entire room was a talking point on its own. Much the same as Hyejoo’s imagination of Chaewon’s room, most things are as bright and cutesy as she assumed. Most things are pink or a different pastel colour, including the Kirby plushie that the other was holding onto now instead of her phone, giving Hyejoo her attention for once. She couldn’t mess it up again. With that in mind, she chose a topic that Chaewon was personally interested in. Due to the sheer amount of it in her room, she assumed she would want to talk about it, too.
“I didn’t know you’re a painter?” It’s a simple question, one that Hyejoo hopes she won’t be too intimidated by. Son is often told she comes off a little too strong and the last thing she wants to do is back Chaewon into a corner like a trapped mouse.
Again, Chaewon blinks. For some reason, she wasn’t worried about the fact that Hyejoo would pick up on that. However, it would be rather impossible for her not to, considering that almost the entirety of her room is covered in her supplies. “I wouldn’t really call myself a painter. I like to paint sometimes… but I don’t think I’m good enough to be called a painter. Not yet, anyway.”
That statement brings a frown to Hyejoo’s lips; tugging from the usual triangle shape to something more expressive. “Are you sure? They look really good. Though, I’m not a painter, either.” Then, an idea strikes her. “Would you… Would you mind if I looked at them?”
Chaewon’s never had anyone look at her work before. Well, in person, at least. It’s always been behind a camera; behind an alias. Her paintings have never been tied to Park Chaewon, the person behind the screen, until this very moment. “Um, yeah, go ahead.” Understandably, she was nervous about the situation she’s found herself in. However, she didn’t have it in herself to say no to Son Hyejoo. She’s still frightened and intrigued and the combination is doing it’s most to upset her stomach even further.
Without any second thoughts, Hyejoo found herself standing in front of a sea of different canvasses. There’s one that grabs her interest more than any others. It’s a painting of a butterfly perched upon a crown that rested on a woman’s head. The girl had long, black hair, yet it stood out from the dark background, too. Nothing stands out more than the butterfly, though. It’s a gorgeous colour, strikingly similar to the hair colour Chaewon has now. She wonders if that’s why she chose it. However, Hyejoo can’t shake the feeling of familiarity with this piece of work. She scans the painting a little more before seeing the signature on it. OhMyGowon. That’s when it all hits her. Hyejoo follows Chaewon’s art account on one of her own. In fact, she’s almost certain that Chaewon follows her back, too. “Are you sure you’re not a painter? You’re really good. Better than you give yourself credit for, for sure.” Hyejoo has seen her account many times. She has thousands of followers. Chaewon is absolutely a painter.
The painter’s first thought is to hide her face behind her Kirby plushie. Of course she’s used to these kinds of comments from people behind a screen. Though, that’s because they don’t know who she is. They only see what she makes. Hyejoo is different in that respect. Still, she still isn’t ready to take on that challenge yet. “Mm. Yeah, not yet, anyway. Real painters make money off of their paintings, I don’t. They just kind of… sit here.” Chaewon wished she could sell them. However, something in her told her not to. Not until she was better, at least.
“I suppose so,” Hyejoo replies, taking note of what she said. It’s then that she gets a text on her phone. She takes it out and the sender is the one she expected; Son Hyunjin, her eldest sister. “Oh. Already?” For once, Hyejoo lost track of time leading up to football match. It’s unlike her, but then again, it’s not often she gets to interact with Chaewon like this.
“Football time,” Son says as she walks towards the door. “Text me if you need anything. I’ll try get it on the way home. Good luck,” the athlete says before exiting the room.
For the first time in half an hour, Chaewon unclenches her jaw and lets out a sigh. Poor Kirby was getting a hard time, too. Though, before she could even begin to process what had just happened, Hyejoo storms back into her room, lifting the painting she was eying up earlier and leaving without saying a word. Chaewon was too weak to get up and protest. Though, she’s not sure she would have if she could. Hyejoo was still Hyejoo. Just because she was nice a few minutes ago doesn’t mean she isn’t scary, because she is. There’s still nothing scarier than Hyejoo.
A few minutes pass. Chaewon’s laying down in bed again after taking her medicine. She’s feeling a little better now, thanks to Hyejoo. Chaewon can’t help but reflect on the situation with a smile pulling on either side of her lips. “She thinks I’m really great, huh? Really pretty, too.” Her eyes start to feel heavy again. She’s about to fall asleep again before —— bing! Her phone goes off; her body jolting upwards to see a notification from her banking app.
You have received £50.00 from: Son Hyejoo.
Chaewon’s eyes widen. How could she possibly be tired after that? Did Hyejoo break something when she was in her room while she wasn’t looking? Did she ruin something in the living room and this was her way of apologising for it? Before she could open her own messaging app, Hyejoo had already beaten her to it, sending Chaewon a text that read:
[TXT: If I’m dead, she is responsible’]
you're a painter now. good luck.
Oh. That’s why she sent the money. Chaewon had already forgot that Son Hyejoo had stormed into her room and stole her painting. Well, she supposed it isn’t stolen now, is it? It belongs to Hyejoo now. This sparks a whole new predicament for Chaewon, because it meant that Hyejoo was actually listening to her reason for not being a painter. Hyejoo was actually listening in general. Now, she has no other way to accept it. Without responding, Chaewon tosses her phone to the other side in frustration. She’s not mad. The painter’s just confused. “She’s so weird,” Chaewon sighs into her Kirby Plushie. “Weird and scary!” Although, those words do nothing to tame the war-zone the butterfly reservation inside her stomach. The feeling is wild; unpredictable. It’s just like Son Hyejoo.
Maybe she’s not so bad after all, Chaewon thinks as she goes to rest her eyes again. Today has been a long, interesting day.