Chapter Text
"Yeah, I'm almost finished unpacking my things." Jungwon says to the phone tucked between his shoulder and ear. "You?"
"I've been living here since last year, Jungwon-ah." The person on the other side of the call dead-pans. Jungwon chuckles before holding the phone with his hand. "Right. I'll see you later then, Sunoo-hyung." They exchange their good-byes before hanging up.
Jungwon recently moved in to an apartment complex near his new university. His bestfriend, Sunoo, recommended the said apartment to him. It's cozy and the rent is cheap! He says. He's not wrong though, it is indeed cozy. It is suspiciously cheap for such a nice place, so you can't blame him if he doubted it at first. Maybe there are bugs hidden in the corners, maybe the water system is bad, maybe there's a ghost wandering around. But the reviews of the place says otherwise, so he thinks that the owner just decided to make it university-student-friendly (considering most of the tenants are students from the nearby university).
He takes a look around his new place. It's a bit big for one, so obviously he would be sharing it with another person – hopefully a student like him.
When you enter the apartment, the living area welcomes you. If he remembers correctly, all of the apartments are provided with a smart flat screen tv (one of the reasons why he doubted the cheap rent). The kitchen area is small, yet big enough to fit two people at once. It has a kitchen island with tall chairs and a sink. The bathroom can be found between the two bedrooms, where Jungwon decided which room he should call dibs on. He brought some of the unopened boxes to the room he picked and continues to unpack his personal belongings.
While unpacking, he notices a small box that he doesn't remember packing. Jungwon concludes that the package got lost and plans to give it back later. The more he inspects the box, he finally notices the 'Yang' on the top left of the box written in big letters. Since he's a curious individual, he opened it.
When he saw what was inside, he felt his eyes twitch. It was the gift from his boyfriend back then, a small stuffed bear you will usually receive on valentine's day. If Jungwon's eyes could shoot lasers, there would be holes burning through the bear right now. "I don't remember bringing you with me." He mutters before (unconsciously) knitting his brows together. He rummages through the box again and finds a note with his mother's handwriting.
Jungwonnie! I don't know if you forgot to pack him or purposely left him here but here's Chulsoo! You should bring him with you because I know this stuffed toy means a lot to you and he's here to bring you comfort when me and your dad are not beside you physically. Anyways, good luck with school! Fighting!!!
- Mom ♡
First of all, Jungwon loves his mom very much for looking after him. Second, what the fuck.
This bear did not bring him comfort, at all. He still doesn't get why he can't just throw it out in the trash, maybe he felt bad for the bear. Still, it can be useful, especially once classes start. Back when he was fresh out of the break up, he would relieve stress by squeezing the shit out of the bear then hugging it right after — again, he felt bad for the bear. But he realized he might develop a bad habit of being aggressive whenever he's mad or upset so he stopped doing that.
Why did this bear not bring him comfort, you ask?
Like he said, this is the gift he got from his boyfriend. His first boyfriend. His boyfriend that he liked very much.
His boyfriend that left without saying anything.
His boyfriend that ghosted him.
It doesn't help that he named the bear after his boyfriend (it was the korean nickname Jungwon gave him).
So, the bear did not bring him comfort. If it does bring something to him, its bittersweet memories.
But it's all good now. He already moved on from his first boyfriend. Definitely. 100%.
"Hey, Jungwon!" A loud voice from the living room snaps him out of his thoughts.
"Ever heard of knocking, hyung?" Another voice follows.
He turns his head towards the voice and grins. "Jay-hyung! Jake-hyung!" Both of them smiled back at Jungwon before walking up to him to give him a hug. "We came as soon as we heard from Sunoo you arrived!" Jay says as he slings his arms around Jungwon and ruffles the younger's hair. "Heeseung-hyung already left to continue his studies in a profession school so Jay's been pestering me for the last 2 weeks. Now that you're here, it's your turn." Jay looks at Jake in disbelief and puts his hand over his chest as if he was offended by what he said. "I'm your hyung too! Show some respect!" The two continue to bicker while the youngest of the three just watched them with a fond look on his face.
Jungwon met the two of them through Sunoo. He's been friends with Sunoo for almost 5 years so he knows Sunoo would attract all kinds of people towards him, yet only keeps good people close to him —Therefore, when Sunoo introduced Jake and Jay to him last year, he knew he wouldn't regret befriending them, too. As for Heeseung, him and Jungwon are not that close. They would only meet occasionally when they bump to each other in a school-hosted event, since Sunoo always invites Jungwon. He would love to know the older more, but their (mostly Heeseung's) busy schedules makes it hard to do that.
"Anyways, how's the apartment? Have you gone to the campus to look around?" Jay asks and sits down on the couch besides Jake who was already making himself comfortable. Jungwon walks to the kitchen to prepare them some drinks. Unfortunately, there aren't any options for drinks, he only packed a couple of sachets of orange juice powder. He'll need to go get some groceries soon.
"The apartment is nice. Better than I expected, actually. And hyung, I'm still not done unpacking my things. I haven't gotten the chance to look around the campus yet." Jungwon replies as he prepares the drinks. After stirring the juice enough, he went to the living area and placed down the drinks on the table in front of the two. Both of them say their thanks as he puts down the glasses.
"Hmm... then should we have a look around together?" Jay proposes while reaching for a glass and handing one to Jake. The other nods in agreement but Jungwon declines.
"It's fine, I made plans with Sunoo-hyung already."
"Ah yes, of course. Bestfriend always comes first." Jake pouts as he jokes. "Hey, it's not like that! I consider you guys as my bestfriend too, you know." Jungwon quickly answers and the two just laughs. "We're just teasing you, Jungwon-ah."
The three of them continue to have a long conversation, mostly catching up with each other and talking about their university. After half an hour of chatting, Jake and Jay stands up to take their leave. "We need to go now, Jungwon. We still have errands to run." Jay says. "Yeah, roommate duties." Jake adds. "Call us if you need anything. See you around, Jungwon-ah!" They bid their farewells and closes the door on their way out. Jungwon stands to take and wash the glasses that previously had juice in them. While drying his hands with a tissue, his phone dings indicating he has a notification. Not even five minutes after they left, Jungwon receives a text message from Jake.
Jake-hyung
- speaking of roommates
- do you know who's your roommate?
- i had one when i was living there as a freshman
Right, he is yet to meet his own roommate. The lady in the front desk told him that his roommate will arrive sooner or later. He just hopes it's someone who is clean and responsible enough to not set the apartment on fire.
Jungwon just responds to Jake's message with an 'idk' and turns his phone off. He looks around and spots the forgotten teddy bear on the edge of his bed. He scowls at it like its gonna intimidate the stuffed animal. He glances at the wall clock to check how much free time he has before meeting with Sunoo later. 1:27P.M. Jungwon then sighs while pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'll deal with you later, let me rest first." He mumbles to the bear before setting it on top of the nightstand, plopping down the bed with a soft thud and closing his eyes.
Bzzt.
Bzzt.
Bzzt.
Jungwon wakes up to his phone vibrating beside him on the bed. With his eyes still half-closed, he reaches out to it — not even bothering to check the caller ID before answering.
"Hello?" He answers groggily.
"Jungwon! I've been calling you for the past minute or two!" He immediately distances the phone from his ear because of the obnoxiously loud voice Sunoo was using. "Where are you? Don't tell me you got lost. It's literally a walking distance from there!"
In result of what Sunoo said, Jungwon opens his eyes fully. Shit, how long has he been napping? He shoots up from his bed to change into clean clothes while his best friend continues to scold him on the phone.
"Wait... Are you hurt?! Is that why your voice was like that when you answered my call?! Did you trip on the way here?! You're not even responding to my scolding right now! God, Jungwon—" Before Sunoo could continue his rants, Jungwon cuts in, "Hyung! I'm not hurt, I was just sleeping! Calm down." He hears his bestfriend sigh in relief through the phone and muttering a small okay. "Besides, why would I trip on the way there? I'm not stupid." Jungwon scoffs then looks in front of a mirror to fix his hair. Judging by how disheveled his hair is, he definitely had a good nap.
"Are you implying only stupid people trip on sidewalks?"
"Yes, that's why you always trip on nothing when we were walking to school."
"Shut up, we're still waiting at the coffee shop near the campus. You know your directions, right?" He replies with a 'yup' before saying bye and ending the call.
Jungwon is now wearing a black hoodie paired with faded denim pants. He quickly walked to the bathroom to wash his face to look more presentable. He checks his phone again and sees the time.
4:13 P.M.
He slept for almost 3 hours, he must've felt exhausted from the trip and unpacking. Right, he's still not done. Only a few boxes left so he figures he'll finish before dinner.
He was supposed to meet with Sunoo at a nearby coffee shop at exactly 4 o'clock; Jungwon is never late, probably the reason Sunoo was so worried about him. He shoves his phone and wallet in his pockets before hurrying out of his apartment. He makes sure to lock the door and speed walked to the place where Sunoo was waiting for him.
It only took 5 minutes of speed walking to arrive at the designated meet up place. Jungwon opens the door causing the bells attached to chime. He looks around and spots the familiar pink haired boy wearing a big grin already waving at him. He lets a wide smile creep up to his face before jogging towards the table.
"Jungwon-ah!" The pink haired opens his arms to engulf the younger in a hug. "Sunoo-hyung!" The other immediately hugged back.
"Long time no see, Jungwon-ssi." Both their heads turn to the voice that interrupted their moment. "Have you been treating my bestfriend right, Sunghoon-ah?" Jungwon smiles at him.
Park Sunghoon, Sunoo's boyfriend, Sunoo's honeybunch.
Jungwon hated his guts.
And that's another story, they're cool now.
"Now why so formal with each other, hm?" Sunoo cuts their staring contest (they weren't aware about that) and ushers Jungwon to sit on the other side of the table while he sits beside Sunghoon. "We all knew each other back in highschool, don't be so awkward." With the word 'highschool', Jungwon can't help but roll his eyes.
"You should know best what happened back then, you were in the front row witnessing it all."
"Heh, right." Sunoo laughs softly as he recalls the memories from highschool.
Jungwon takes a look around the cafe. It definitely looks like your friendly-neighborhood coffee shop. Some fairy lights hanging from the ceiling and books you can borrow. Small plants placed around the shop and hanging polaroids on the wall. Booths placed right by the windows and small tables in the middle. There are also seats right by the counter. Like a bar, different types coffee is displayed for customers. Beside where the cashier stands, a dessert case is located. They sell kinds of sweets like cheesecakes and muffins. The sound of soft jazz resonating in the air accompanied with the aroma of freshly made coffee to complete the vibe.
"Anyways, I work part-time in this cafe. So if you ever need to earn extra cash, I can recommend you to our manager," his pink haired friend says as he throws a wink at Jungwon. "Beware though, there are a lot of stressed people around here so they could come off as a rude costumer," Sunghoon adds in.
Jungwon thinks about it. His parents insisted on helping him pay for the tuition and apartment but he suggested he'll pay for the apartment himself, since he's the one who will be living there. And obviously, he didn't want to burden his parents even more. He's an adult now so he needs to learn how to live without relying everything on others.
"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks Sunoo-hyung, Sunghoon-ssi."
"Don't mention it!"
"Also, drop the formalities, Jungwon. Sunoo's right, let's be casual around each other."
Jungwon laughs whole-heartedly, a genuine smile forming in his face. "Alright, hyung. I'm surprised you didn't call Sunoo-hyung a pet name like babe or something."
"Oh! I forgot to tell you, me and Sunghoon-hyung broke up."
"What?! How, when—"
"I'm just kidding," the two snickers at his reaction.
Jungwon was ready to beat their ass that afternoon.
The three of them spent their time in the cafe chatting like Jungwon did a while ago with Jay and Jake. After that, they went to the university so Sunoo and Sunghoon could help Jungwon familiarize himself with the place. Since both of them are sophomores and he's a freshman, they would have different schedules and less time to meet inside the campus.
Around 6 P.M., they all went back to their respective homes. Sunoo lives just below Jungwon's floor, so both of them went together while Sunghoon went the other way.
"Ah, room 472! Yang, isn't it? And Kim! Welcome back, boys." A lady in her mid-30s greets them from the front desk. "Dashing as ever, Mrs. Cheon!" Sunoo cheerily greets back. Jungwon also greets her with a small wave. "Don't flatter me, now." Mrs. Cheon laughs. "Anyway, your roommate just called saying that he will be arriving tomorrow morning, Yang. So finish unpacking if you still haven't," she smiles at Jungwon. "Will do, Mrs. Cheon. Thank you."
Jungwon and Sunoo went on the elevator together. Jungwon presses the button to his floor and was about to press Sunoo's floor too when he stopped him. "I'll help you unpack some boxes, Jungwonie." Sunoo smiles at him. "What a great friend you are," Jungwon bumps his shoulder with Sunoo. "I know." The other wiggles his eyebrows playfully.
"Phew! We're all done!" Sunoo slops down Jungwon's couch. They finished unpacking and cleaning everything a few minutes after seven. "It would take much longer without your help. Thanks again, hyung." Jungwon sits beside him and hands him a glass of water. Sunoo mutters a 'thanks' before drinking what's handed to him.
"Do you have any information about your roommate?" Sunoo asks. "Nope, no idea at all," Jungwon replies with a shrug.
"You should've asked Mrs. Cheon downstairs. I kept asking her last year until she gave in."
"Wow, why would you do that to her? You're a bad tenant."
"I was joking! She just told me."
They both fall into a comfortable silence after a while, only the sound of their breathing heard. Jungwon actually missed this, being in each other's presence in silence. After being away for a year with his best and closest friend, he finally reunited with him. One year might not be that long for some people – but for Jungwon having to spend a school year without Sunoo, a year felt like a decade.
"By the way," Sunoo blurts after a few minutes of silence, "Is the teddy bear in your nightstand the same bear your ex gave to you back then?"
Jungwon releases a groan and face palms himself, "Oh my god..... I forgot about that bear." That damn teddy bear. "So...? Is it?" The older asks with a teasing tone. Jungwon keeps his hand on his face like he was waiting for Sunoo to disappear, or maybe he was waiting for himself to disappear. Unfortunately, no one disappears. So slowly he nods his head, his face getting red out of embarrassment. He can already feel Sunoo holding in his laugh beside him. He also gets ready for the playful hits that will be coming for him once Sunoo lets out the biggest laugh in history.
"Oh my god, no way you kept that bear! After he ghosted you like that!" Sunoo didn't let out the biggest laugh in history, but it was still loud. "Are you not over him yet?!" By this time, Sunoo is fully laying down on the couch with his hands on his stomach.
"Oh, please! I'm totally over him! I only kept that stupid bear because I felt bad for it. Not him!" Jungwon quickly defends himself. "And I didn't mean to bring it with me! My mom packed and loaded it with my boxes without me knowing!" Jungwon takes a pillow to hit Sunoo while Sunoo tries to block it but failing since he's still laughing.
After a good minute of laughing, Sunoo finally calms down and wipes the tear from the corner of his eyes. "In all seriousness though, it was an asshole move to leave you hanging like that. If I were you, I would've thrown that bear in a fire," the older sighs then rests his head on the younger's shoulder. "You can always talk to me if you have stuff in your mind. Don't suffer alone, let's talk shit about him together," he smiles reassuringly.
This is exactly why Jungwon appreciates Sunoo, aside from the banters and joking with each other, he's someone you can rely on. No matter how shitty Jungwon's situation will be, Sunoo is by his side and is always ready to lend an ear. "Thank you, hyung. But really, I'm over him."
"Fine, fine. Imagine if your roommate turns out to be your ex though, that would be so funny." He giggles. "God, please no. Anything but that." Jungwon once again, face palms. Sunoo laughs again but more lightly this time. "It's getting late, I better head back now. If you need anything, I'm just a floor below you!" Sunoo stands up and leaves to his own apartment.
Once Sunoo leaves his apartment, Jungwon went in his room to rest. He washed up and changed into his pajamas before he lies comfortably on the bed. He scrolls through his instagram feed and likes the pictures Sunoo took and posted earlier when the three were together. He puts his phone on the nightstand just beside the bear and stares blankly at the ceiling. He felt tiredness slowly creep onto him so he lets his eyes rest.
First thing that Jungwon feels when he opens his eyes is the grumbling of his stomach. He takes his phone and checks the time, it's three o'clock in the morning. Good Lord.
It's a bit early (or late?) to order anything from the outside, most food stores definitely don't open at three in the morning. Jungwon gets up from bed and drags his feet into the kitchen, turns the lights on, boils water and opens up a cup of noodles. He waits impatiently for the water to completely boil then pours a good amount in the cup of noodles. He stirs and drains once the noodles are fully cooked before adding the seasoning and stirring again.
"I'm bored," he mutters to himself as he mindlessly feeds himself noodles. He can't bother Sunoo right now, he's probably sleeping or doing something important – same with Jay and Jake. As for Sunghoon, he really can't say if they're close enough for Jungwon to call randomly at three in the morning – besides, Sunghoon will probably mention it to Sunoo. So instead of doing any of that, he decides to search some cat videos to watch while eating. He's allergic to cats, yet many people say that he looked like one, the irony.
"You look like a cat."
He sighs before he slurps all remaining noodles then tossing it in the trash. Now that his sleep is disturbed and he ate his 'dinner', all his weariness slipped away. Jungwon heads straight to the couch and uses the remote to open the (smart flat screen) tv. He scrolls through the Netflix catalog before finally picking a show to binge watch. After two (or three? he's not really sure) hours, he once again feels his eyelids getting heavy and loses consciousness somewhere in the beginning of the fourth episode.
Jungwon wakes up with some rustling around him. He cracks one of his eyes to look around the living room. When he spots a tall man with black hair in his kitchen area, he sits up from the couch he was previously sleeping in and scans the tall man from head to toe. His back is facing Jungwon while (possibly) making a sandwich for himself, so he really can't make out what he actually looked like. He has nice hair and shoulders though. Beside the tall man are reasonable amount of bags, boxes, and a suitcase. His eyes still blurry from sleep cannot read the letters written on the boxes. By the way the tall man is completely unbothered and humming into a tune of a song, he definitely didn't notice Jungwon sleeping on the couch – or the fact that the (smart flat screen) tv is flashing a paused episode from the show he was watching the night before.
So, like any friendly roommate does, he calls out to him with a polite tone.
"Hi! Are you my roommate?" When the tall man hastily turns around with a shocked expression slowly forming in his facial features, Jungwon can't help but do the same. "Oh," oh indeed.
Low and behold, the man standing in his kitchen area is the infamous Riki. The one and only Nishimura Riki. Curse you, Kim Sunoo. Curse himself too, did he manifest his ex into his own apartment?
Jungwon feels the way his expression go from shocked to a frown. He looks him up and down (not checking him out but he's judging him) then looks him back in the eyes. Riki still sporting that surprised with a hint of fear expression on his face, remains unmoving – his half made sandwich already forgotten.
No way. No fucking way. Just what are the chances of him being roomies with Yang Jungwon? Out of all the tenants here, why does it have to be him?!
Maybe he can request the lady downstairs to switch rooms. Maybe it's not too late to get out and rent a different apartment. Maybe it's not too late to pull his university application back and enroll to an another university. Maybe–
"Holy shit, it's really you." Jungwon scoffs as a smug smile forms in his face. "I thought you died or something." This is gonna be bad.