Chapter Text
Jungeun had not expected that in her twenties, she’d be living with 4 other girls in one apartment.
Their group worked together somehow. Sooyoung handled all the papers and dealt with their shitty landlord. Haseul always made sure there was food in the fridge. Jiwoo always kept her from having a boring Saturday night and Heejin used up all the hot water. Their dynamic was something they fell into seamlessly, and Jungeun had grown to love them over the year and a half they’d lived together. Seoul wasn’t so intimidating with four other people to lean on.
But then over winter break, when Jungeun was enjoying her brief respite from the stress of college, Sooyoung informed them that her friend from Jangan-dong, where she’d spent a few years of high school, was moving to Seoul. And that she needed a place to stay.
“Think about it,” Sooyoung had sat them down on the couch. “You’ll be paying even less to stay here, and you’re making another friend! She’s great, you’re all going to love her,”
And to Jungeun’s surprise, almost everyone agreed. Heejin asked what they’d do about the bedroom situation, and then Sooyoung sheepishly explained that she and Haseul were going to share a bedroom. Jungeun wrinkled her nose. She was glad her room was the farthest from those two.
What Sooyoung was leaving out though, was the fact that another roommate made one more person to fit into their already dysfunctional shower schedule. One more person making noise when she wanted to sleep. Another set of shoes to somehow fit on the rack, another person to create messes that always seemed to end up being Jungeun’s problem. Hell, the other people in the apartment probably didn’t even know where the vacuum was kept.
Which Jungeun was okay with because she loved them. What she was not okay with was having another person to which she had to emotional attachment come into her home and turn it into a dumpster fire. When Jungeun said as much, she got a pout from Jiwoo and a slap on the arm from Haseul. She was outnumbered 4-1, and it was settled.
So, on January 10th, a girl around Sooyoung’s height and black hair showed up at their door. Jungeun and Heejin had been sitting in front of the TV playing an intense game of UNO - which Jungeun was about to win - when the doorbell rang and made Jungeun nearly jump out of her skin. Heejin rushed to the door like a puppy waiting for its owner. Jiwoo was close behind, and the girl they opened the door to looked surprised when both of her welcomers nearly screamed their hello at her. Jungeun watched from afar as this girl was nearly tackled by Jiwoo and then properly tackled by Sooyoung, who made a point of messing up her hair and then pulling her close. Jungeun heard them talk of things she didn’t understand, and then Jiwoo pulled her away to look at her room. Jungeun felt small and stayed with her knees tucked under her chin beside the couch. She heard Haseul saying hi to the new girl but didn’t move. Somehow, it was like she was out of place, awkward in her own home.
And Jungeun didn’t usually feel shy. She didn’t shy away from social interaction, but this girl-
Okay, Jungeun wasn’t blind. The new girl was beautiful. She could be straight out of Haseul’s dramas. Her eyes seemed thoughtful, even though Jiwoo was in the middle of making her laugh. Her smile was vibrant and infectious. Jungeun’s roommates were all pretty, but not like this. Sooyoung and Heejin were the type of people Jungeun would take home at a club - if she went to those - Jiwoo was cute, and Haseul was attractive but this girl, she was like a walking piece of art. Her hair fell perfectly around her shoulders, her baggy t-shirt and ripped jeans all felt chic when they should’ve seemed overly casual. Walking perfection, about to be spending 24/7 with Jungeun.
For fuck’s sake, be cool. Jungeun told herself when the girl cast her eyes in Jungeun’s direction. She smiled awkwardly as the black-haired girl approached, wiping her hands on her jeans and trying to subtly fix her posture. The girl was just tall enough to make Jungeun feel small, looking down slightly to meet Jungeun’s eyes.
“Hey,” She held out her hand. “I’m Jinsoul,”
Jungeun took it slowly. “Jungeun,”
Jinsoul smiled a little bigger and Jungeun could feel the tips of her ears burning. Jinsoul’s hair was tucked behind her ear as she bowed her head slightly in greeting, and Jungeun pursed her lips as she noticed the sharpness of this girl’s jawline. Wow. She wondered how a girl as pretty as this was such good friends with Ha Sooyoung.
“Jungeun’s got the room over there,” Haseul pointed to the farthest room, the one adjacent to the balcony and right next to Heejin’s. “Sooyoung and I are in the room over there,” She gestured to the door on the other side of the apartment. “Your room is my old one, right next to ours,”
“Sooyoung still snore?” Jinsoul asked with a smile.
“I’m not that bad,” Sooyoung shot her a playful glare. “You’ll like it here,”
“I’m sure I will,” Jinsoul agreed, turning back to Jungeun. “You didn’t mention your roommates being so pretty,”
Jungeun’s breath caught in her throat. Was that directed at her? She shot Jiwoo a questioning look, but Jiwoo seemed surprised too.
“Ew Jinsoul,” Sooyoung gagged. “Please don’t hit on them, you have every other girl on campus to choose from,”
Jinsoul winked at Heejin, who smiled back, and Haseul rolled her eyes at both of them. “Thank you all for letting me stay here,” Jinsoul said with a smile. “I really appreciate it,”
“Don’t thank us!” Jiwoo insisted. “Any friend of Sooyoung’s is welcome. This arrangement’ll be great,”
“FYI, Sooyoung does snore, Jiwoo does not possess the ability to whisper, Heejin uses all the hot water, and Jungeun is uptight about pretty much everything,” Haseul told Jinsoul.
“No way you just said an abbreviation,”
“Heejin you say LOL literally all the time,”
Jungeun felt like her heart was in her throat as Jinsoul turned back to her. “Are they always like this?” She asked Jungeun lowly. Her hair fell in her face.
“Pretty much,” Jungeun answered quickly.
“I thought you’d all be normal, but Sooyoung couldn’t have friends like that,”
“ I’m normal,”
“Are you?” Jinsoul laughed. “I thought you were uptight?”
Jungeun rolled her eyes. “I am not. I just don’t like mess,”
“Noted,” Jinsoul dipped her head. “You guys balance each other out then. Sooyoung isn’t exactly known for her cleanliness. Makes sense that she keeps someone around like you,”
Jungeun’s brow furrowed. “Sooyoung doesn’t keep me around. I rent the place with her,”
Jinsoul raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled. “Rent the place with her? You mean you’re not her friend?”
Jungeun balked a little, feeling slightly offended that Jinsoul was questioning her after insinuating Jungeun was akin to a maid. “Of course I’m her friend. And we split rent and utilities, but no one is being taken care of,”
“Geez,” Jinsoul laughed lightly. “I was just messing with you. I didn’t mean to be rude,”
By then, Jungeun could feel Jiwoo and Sooyoung watching them. She felt put on the spot by this interaction and it occurred to her how she looked; she was being an unwelcoming host to a perfectly nice new roommate. It’d be obvious to Sooyoung how much Jinsoul was starting to tick Jungeun off, and more obvious to Jiwoo that Jinsoul was…definitely Jungeun’s type.
“It’s fine,” Jungeun muttered under her breath, turning away toward her room. “I’ve got work to do, but I’ll see you around,”
Jungeun decided that the slight frown on Jinsoul’s face was not her problem and that Jinsoul herself was a nuisance Jungeun would learn to ignore.
○●○●○●○●○●
Jungeun couldn’t help it if she didn’t like Jinsoul.
Jungeun liked things a certain way. She liked order. She liked things clean and she liked quiet nights. Sharing a 5 bedroom apartment already caused enough drama, Jungeun clung desperately to a sense of routine and familiarity. She wanted to come home and feel at ease.
Jinsoul was a menace to that peace. She liked to party, her voice seemed to resonate in the smallest of spaces. She loved groups, she loved being loud, and she wasn’t the most…graceful person, per se.
In other words, Jungeun had seen her hit her head on the living room lamp, the fridge door, and the coffee table all in the span of about an hour. Part of her had been genuinely concerned with this woman’s ability to hurt herself, but another part of her felt too…wary of approaching her.
Not shy. Shy was definitely not the feeling she was dealing with. Jungeun did not care about Jinsoul’s charming smile or her hair that kept falling in her face. Her first impression of Jinsoul had left much to be desired, and other than the fact that Jinsoul didn’t seem to possess the ability to look bad, there wasn’t much that Jungeun saw to like about her.
Jungeun had often been told she had a habit of taking on too much, which was likely the reason she’d been trying to pursue work as an event photographer while simultaneously trying to keep up with school and have a social life. Needless to say, the third one often suffered at the former’s expense.
Event photography meant late nights and early mornings, and it meant that a lot of the time Jungeun was not home to be annoyed by her roommates. She wished she were the type of person who could become accustomed to their mess, but before she could plant herself on the couch and relax, she couldn’t help but make sure the kitchen was clean and the trash was taken out. She could relax when she knew everything was put away, because then her mind could be at ease.
One January Thursday, Jungeun got home to Jinsoul and Heejin splayed out on the couch, popcorn littering the general vicinity and “Too Hot To Handle” playing on the tv. Jungeun carefully set her coat on the rack and took off her shoes, itching to give Heejin a scolding.
She couldn’t, because she didn’t know Jinsoul like that. And after their first conversation, Jungeun didn’t want to prove her right about “taking care” of her fellow roommates. She shot Heejin a glare instead and then caught Jinsoul looking at her.
“Wanna watch with us?” She smiled welcomingly. Heejin jokingly offered her a handful of popcorn.
“I’m good,” Jungeun replied flatly, feeling off balance with Jinsoul’s attention. “Make sure you…” She made a vague gesture towards the couch. “Clean,”
“We’ll leave it spotless, captain,” Heejin blew air kisses at her and winked. Jungeun sighed a little.
“You’re drinking?”
Jinsoul chuckled. “That easy to tell?”
“Reality dating is so much funnier like this,” Piped up Heejin.
“Make her sober up before she sleeps,” Jungeun told them wearily. “I’m going to bed,”
“Now?” Jinsoul seemed surprised, checking her phone. “It’s only ten,”
Jungeun set her jaw. “I have classes tomorrow,”
“Oh, yeah, of course. Me too,” Jinsoul smiled. “That’s kind of your bad for choosing morning classes,”
Jungeun stared at her. Did she think they were this familiar with each other?
“Goodnight,” She murmured, striding the rest of the way to her room and shutting the door behind her. The darkness helped the headache she’d been developing, and she sat down by herself with a heavy exhale. Her muscles ached and her feet hurt. She just wanted to wash her face and close her eyes.
Reluctantly she stripped down to pajamas, saving showering for the morning, and resisted simply falling asleep with her makeup on. Right before she was about to step outside again, she heard the other girls speaking to each other.
“She doesn’t like me at all, does she?” Jinsoul’s voice slipped through the door, and Jungeun perked up a little. Jinsoul almost sounded…defeated.
“Nah man,” Heejin yawned. She spoke a bit louder than usual when she was intoxicated. “She does NOT. Lol,”
“Stop saying Lol aloud. It’s weird,”
Heejin mumbled something about being censored and Jungeun couldn’t make out the rest over the sound of Heejin maneuvering around on the couch.
“What do I do?” Jinsoul asked.
“Is it really so important that she likes you?” Drunken Heejin was exasperated.
“Shut up. Just tell me what I’m doing wrong. I’ve fucked up every conversation and we’ve only had like, three,”
“You’ve come to a local Jungeun whisperer,” Heejin yawned. “As her best friend since high school, I know all,”
Jinsoul was silent.
“1. You talk to her like you’re friends. You poke fun at her. You talk to her the way I talk to her. BIG no no,”
Jungeun snorted, then covered her mouth so she could keep eavesdropping. How did they expect her not to hear this? She still needed to leave her room and go brush her teeth.
“What’s so bad about that?”
“I am her best friend since high school, dumbass, I’m not trying to get in her pants-”
Even in the dark, Jungeun flushed bright pink right as Jinsoul protested “Neither am I!!” and Heejin continued.
“You have to be nice to her. And you can’t expect her to be friendly just because you live here. She’s busy all the time, she works hard,” Heejin’s whisper was somehow louder than her speaking voice. “And between you and me, she’s kind of MOODY,”
Jinsoul didn’t say anything, and Heejin continued. “Just give her some time, and stop saying stupid shit you’d say to me. Plus, Jungie’s never been good at talking to pretty girls anyway,”
Jungeun wanted to smother Heejin.
“Wha?” Jungeun could picture Jinsoul’s eyebrows upturning in confusion. She’d seen it when she’d watched Sooyoung cheat in Go Fish. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re a 10. Hottie. Totally would smash,”
Jinsoul snorted and Jungeun heard her stand up. “I think that’s my cue to cut off your alcohol and put you to bed,”
“Yes…let’s go to my room…” Heejin broke off into a fit of giggles and Jungeun rolled her eyes in the dark. Drunk Heejin hit on everyone. Jinsoul huffed under her breath and only when Jinsoul was sure that they were in Heejin’s room did she come out and head to the bathroom.
Absent-mindedly, she noticed that the popcorn had been picked up and the bowl set in the sink. It made her smile a bit.
○●○●○●○●○●
Friday night dinner was sacred - unless it was being exchanged for Friday night clubbing. Jungeun had had to miss it last week and she was still being berated about it, so attending the next one was without question. All Friday night dinner meant was the five - now six - roommates getting together and sharing time. Usually, it consisted of something Sooyoung made, but Sooyoung had decided she was too tired and they ordered Thai takeout.
Jungeun was sitting on the couch, Haseul partially on top of her to fit her and Jiwoo, when Sooyoung and Jinsoul entered the apartment with four plastic bags.
“My saviors!” Cried Heejin.
“Four bags?” Haseul asked.
“One is drinks,” Sooyoung came over and kissed her forehead. She ruffled Jungeun’s hair next and poked her cheek. “Miss us, Jungie? We were all lonely without you last week,”
“I feel so left out,” Jungeun shot her a playful glare. “I bet you all just sat around and talked about how much you love me,”
“Mhm,” Haseul was hanging onto her arm. “Come on, help me set the table,”
Sooyoung sat at the head of the table with Haseul by her side, and Heejin and Jiwoo sat at the other. It was a bit tight to get all of the chairs to fit around the table now, Jiwoo had been delegated to a stool, but Jungeun didn’t mind bumping elbows with Jiwoo and Sooyoung.
Even if she’d only missed a week, Jungeun had forgotten how much this helped her relax. Sooyoung said something to make them laugh and Jungeun and Jiwoo fell over themselves doing just that. Heejin made fun of her for screeching and Jungeun flipped her off, and then Haseul told them off like badly behaved children. Jungeun sighed, her arms around Jiwoo’s waist and her head on the younger’s shoulder as the rest of them continued to eat.
“Jinsoul and I must’ve gotten dozens of detentions that year,” Sooyoung was saying, referring to her high school years. “Jinsoul was my enabler, so I think she has more of the blame,”
Jinsoul rolled her eyes. “What did you guys do?” Heejin asked curiously.
“Skipping class mostly,” Jinsoul shrugged. “One time I may have punched a girl…”
“One time? Punched? No. Jinsoul beat the shit out of like three girls,”
“Jesus,” Haseul frowned. “Don’t tell me you guys were bullies,”
“No, no,” Jinsoul smiled sadly at her. “People gave us a lot of trouble in those days. Sooyoung had the worst of it, and I wasn’t going to let her get pushed around,”
“That was why we skipped class too, that and the fact that Jinsoul’s parents did not care-” Jinsoul shot her a warning look and Sooyoung corrected herself. “But yeah, not much love lost for the only two gay girls in the whole place,”
“Only out ones, that is,” Jinsoul murmured.
“I can’t picture Sooyoung needing anyone to protect her,” Jiwoo mused. “Usually, she’s the one who scares away the creepy guys when we go out,”
“I was much different then,” Sooyoung looked at her friend and then gave an awkward smile. “Also…we kind of dated at the time,”
“WHAT?” Jiwoo and Heejin exclaimed at the same time. Haseul didn’t seem surprised at this news. Jungeun watched Jinsoul and Sooyoung share a look.
“Yeah,” Jinsoul laughed. “We’re not a good match though, romantically speaking,”
“If either of you plays a role in breaking Haseul’s heart, I hope you know that we’ll all reign hellfire upon both of you,” Jiwoo pointed one chopstick at each of them.
Jinsoul held her hand up in mock surrender. “I’m far past my Sooyoung phase,” She assured them.
When dinner was finished, Jungeun and Sooyoung took out the plates while the rest of them made their way to the couch. Sooyoung was washing the dishes and humming a soft tune when Jungeun asked.
“You owe her? Jinsoul?”
“It’s different than simply owing her,” Sooyoung replied. “She means a lot to me. She did a lot for me. Even when we were dating, there was nothing I could give her that she didn’t already have. But since things are different now, I want to help,” She set the plates down and turned to face Jungeun. “I know you don’t like her. But give her some time, she may surprise you,”
Jungeun felt put on the spot by the smile on Sooyoung’s face, and she nodded stiffly. Sooyoung snorted and returned to the living room.
When she made it back, Jinsoul made eye contact with her from the couch and smiled hesitantly. “You can-” She moved to make more room. “If you want,”
Jungeun hesitated for a moment, but nodded and took her place next to the dark-haired woman. Haseul and Sooyoung sat on the floor while Heejin took the chair and the other three sat on the couch. Jiwoo passed Jungeun a glass of soju and Jungeun held it in both hands, bringing her knees to her chest and shooting Jinsoul a look out of the corner of her eye.
Jinsoul was already watching her. Jungeun looked away.
Jinsoul was nice. She was considerate. Junguen eventually downed her first glass and let Jiwoo pour her another one, and Jinsoul kept a respectful distance between the two of them. She asked Jungeun questions with genuine interest, but she didn’t pry. She’d drank enough that her face had turned pink, but she was still pretty. Jungeun finished her third glass. Liquid courage had allowed her to admire Jinsoul a little more openly now.
Originally they had been sitting in a circle, but then Jiwoo had run off to grab something from the kitchen and Sooyoung had gotten awfully close to Haseul on the floor, and Jinsoul had angled her shoulders to only face Jungeun. Had the lights been lowered?
“So what do you want to do?” Jungeun asked her, her hand brazenly finding Jinsoul’s arm. Jinsoul looked elated.
“I’m an artist,” She replied, and her voice was quiet enough for Jungeun to realize she was only speaking to Jungeun. “I paint,”
“What do you paint?” Jungeun asked.
“Everything,” Jinsoul replied. “How about you?”
“I’m a photographer,” Jungeun told her.
“What do you photograph?”
“People, mostly. I do event photography,”
“Is that what you want to do?”
“Should it not be?”
Jinsoul shook her head, amused. “I ask because you made a face as you said it,”
“Did I?”
“You’re tipsy,” Jinsoul took her cup and smiled. “It doesn’t take much for you, does it?”
“Your face is pink,” Without thinking, Jungeun let her palms cup Jinsoul’s face. “Like a flamingo,”
Jinsoul’s face got significantly pinker after she said so. “Jungeun…” She muttered weakly.
“Sorry,” Jungeun took her hands away.
“It’s alright,” The older replied. “You’re a mystery to me, that’s all,”
“You ask about me,”
“Do I?”
“You don’t deny it,”
“You’ve made yourself a hard person to know,” Jinsoul cocked her head. “The only reason you’re talking to me so much is that you’ve had alcohol,”
“That’s not true!” Even Jungeun knew it was a lie.
Jinsoul just laughed. “That was the first question you ever asked me,”
Jungeun’s brain stuttered a little. How would Jinsoul possibly remember that?
“Well…” She rolled her eyes. “Well you’ve got my attention now,”
“Not yet,” Jinsoul murmured, downing the rest of her glass. Jungeun was confused. What was that, her 4th?
“Second,” Jinsoul answered her unspoken question. “Trying to keep up with you, I guess?”
“But your face!” Jungeun pointed to it. “Why are you flushed?”
Jinsoul just smiled at her.
○●○●○●○●○●
“I have flour places no one should ever have flour,”
“What on earth is happening?”
Jungeun loved Hyeju, truly. Sooyoung’s family was practically her family. She enjoyed it when Hyeju came over, but Hyeju was also known for being a little… accident-prone. Sooyoung didn’t handle chaos well, so despite her best efforts, Jungeun (and sometimes Haseul) were often the ones cleaning up the mess her sister made.
Jungeun had come home to 3 girls in the house on a Saturday night. Sooyoung and Haseul were out on a date, according to their texts, and Jiwoo had taken Heejin with her to see a movie. This left Sooyoung’s 16-year-old sister Hyeju, Jinsoul, and a silver-haired girl Jungeun didn’t remember.
“So basically me and Chaewon - have you met Chaewon? She’s my girlfriend - wanted to see who could make a better cake, but we turned on the mixer too fast-”
Jungeun rubbed her temples, praying this wouldn’t start another headache. “Hyeju…I swear…”
“Jinsoul said we could!”
“Does Jinsoul also know Sooyoung has you banned from using the kitchen appliances?”
“...She didn’t ask?”
“Are you serious?”
Jungeun was often told she took things too hard, but she couldn’t do this right now. It was 8 in the evening, she hadn’t had dinner, and her client had chewed her out for disrupting the event because of the loud camera clicks - how could she control that???
Jungeun couldn’t control anything, she couldn’t handle anything, it was all too much and she felt like she was losing her grip.
“Why are we shouting?” Jinsoul appeared from the room behind Jungeun, yawning and absentmindedly picking at the paint on her arm. “What’s going on- Jungeun?”
“You told her she could use the kitchen?” Jungeun shot her a glare. “Were you even thinking?”
Jinsoul frowned. “She told me she could cook…” She cast a glance at Hyeju. “Oh,”
Jungeun didn’t know if she wanted to laugh, scream, or cry. “Hyeju, for once, can you please just do as your told and cause trouble for every-”
“Woah,” Jinsoul put a hand on her shoulder. “Jungeun lay off her,”
Jungeun’s vision got a little blurry and her chest felt tight. “I just…I had a shit day and I come home for more messes that I need to clean up-”
Hyeju looked upset. “Jungeun, I didn’t mean-”
“You don’t need to clean it up,” Jinsoul stood between her and Hyeju. “Hyeju and I will do it,”
“Don’t be stupid,” Jungeun sniffled. “You don’t even know where the cleaning supplies are,”
“Bottom left cabinet in the hall,” Jinsoul replied immediately. “Don’t worry about it,”
Jungeun cast a glance at the kitchen. There were globs of flour and egg on the wall.
“Hey,” Jinsoul was suddenly very close to her, and Jungeun wanted to push her away, feeling overwhelmed. Jinsoul searched her eyes, her face concerned. “I’ve got it handled here, go take a break, alright?”
Jungeun’s eyes were drawn to the faint scar on Jinsoul’s left eyebrow. It was more pronounced when her eyebrows were furrowed. Jinsoul’s hands were warm, placed gently on her shoulders, and Jungeun couldn’t help but feel small in comparison to her.
“But the flour-”
“Jungeun. I’ll vacuum it up. Don’t worry,”
Jungeun could only sniffle and wipe her eyes dumbly as she was led to her room and gently pushed inside before Jinsoul shut the door and left her alone.
She heard a vacuum turn power on and took a deep breath. She was being stupid.
“My camera didn’t click too loud,” She muttered as she pulled on a fresh shirt and wiped off her makeup. She drew the curtains and crawled underneath the sheets, trying to take deep breaths.
20 minutes or so later, her door was opened and there was Jinsoul, still dressed in a painter's apron and now with her hair tied up. She was holding a plate of rice and meat with kimchi, Saku namul, spicy radish, potatoes, and spinach. She smiled softly when she saw Jungeun, and came over to sit at the edge of the bed. There was an awkward pause when Jinsoul didn’t seem to be sure where to look. Jungeun realized it was probably her fault for the awkwardness, her coldness had made it hard for them to talk.
“I’m sorry,” She spoke first, sitting up and gingerly rubbing her face. “I was being self-important, and I probably hurt Hyeju’s feelings, and I made you clean,”
“You didn’t make me do anything,” Jinsoul smiled and handed her the plate of food. “The kitchen is spotless, and both the girls have rides home. Sooyoung and Haseul came back,” She nodded to the plate. “I saved you some from dinner. You like those dishes, don’t you? These are the ones you always eat,”
Jungeun blinked. Jinsoul noticed that?
“Thank you,” Jungeun told her softly.
“No problem,” Jinsoul stood up, looking something between proud and embarrassed, and dusted herself off. “Uh, I know you probably want to sleep, so I’ll excuse myself. Goodnight, Jungeun,”
She shut the door the very next moment.
“Goodnight, Jinsoul,”
○●○●○●○●○●
It was quite possibly the only quiet moment Jungeun experienced quietness when all the girls were home.
Which was to say, when Jungeun had to wake up at 4 am to start getting ready for a shoot at 6, she sat in her bed for a moment and just breathed it in. The stillness of the air. All she could hear was the hum of the fridge and the occasional car outside.
Her phone started to buzz with her alarm and she stopped it. Stretching and getting up, Jungeun leisurely slipped on the dress she’d set out the night before and took her hair out of her braid, leaving it wavy on her shoulders. She tip-toed quietly to the bathroom, putting on a bit of makeup and then going back to grab her jacket and camera.
She heard someone let out a breath and froze, looking around the dark apartment. Who on earth was awake at this hour?
A car down on the street honked loudly and heard something mutter a curse, followed by things falling and more muttering. Jungeun blinked. Was that Jinsoul?
She put down her things by the door and walked through the living room to the balcony, and to her surprise, she saw Jinsoul sitting on the bench outside, an easel in front of her and her gaze fixed on the sunrise.
“Jinsoul?” She asked timidly.
“Oh! Jungeun!” Jinsoul waved the air around her and Jungeun realized she was blowing away the smoke of the joint in her mouth. “Sorry, does it smell?”
“It’s masking Sooyoung,” Jungeun smiled. “It’s fine,”
Jinsoul grinned and made some space for Jungeun on the bench. “You’re up early,” She said. She was wearing shorts and a paint-stained t-shirt, and Jungeun felt overdressed.
She sat down beside Jinsoul and looked out at the city. It was so still. “I’ve got an event to photograph,” She explained. “This couple is eloping at the courthouse, but they still want a few good pictures,”
“I hope it goes better than last time,” Jinsoul studied her reaction. Jungeun shifted uncomfortably.
“Yeah…me too,” Jungeun agreed. “Sorry, again, for making you do all that,”
“Nah, it’s my fault. I should’ve remembered to be diligent about Hyeju and Chaewon. You didn’t need to be caught in the mess,” Jinsoul ran a hand through her hair and took a drag of the joint. Jungeun watched in fascination as she blew the smoke into the morning air. “I notice how much you do around the apartment, thought I’d figure out how to help you,”
Jungeun blinked. “Huh?”
“You told me I must not know where the cleaning supplies were. But I’ll remember. You don’t sit down or relax unless the apartment is clean. I think it’s taking a toll on you-” Jinsoul reached up and touched the apple of her cheek, and Jungeun knew even the makeup she’d put on couldn’t hide the circles under her eyes.
Jinsoul’s hands were rough. Jungeun flinched a little, not expecting it. Jinsoul noticed, and pulled back. “Sorry,” She muttered. “I didn’t mean to overstep-” She smothered her joint in the ashtray and sat up.
“Jinsoul,” Jungeun stopped her by grabbing a hold of her wrist, not expecting Jinsoul to wince. “Your hands are so rough,”
Jinsoul looked at her in surprise, and then down to their hands. “Oh,” She laughed breathily, smoke curling from her lips. “I’m a tortured artist, can you tell?”
“Well, you are up at sunrise,” Jungeun murmured.
Jinsoul’s hands were dry and calloused, which couldn’t have only been from painting, but certainly made sense. Her skin was paper-thin and cracked in some places, and Jungeun saw hints of blue from what she’d been painting before. Not the sunrise, something darker.
And down past her palm, Jungeun saw faint burn marks, only three or four, but enough that she swallowed thickly and ran her thumb over them impulsively.
“I didn’t do that,” Jinsoul offered in the silence, and Jungeun could feel herself being watched.
“I didn’t think you did,” Jungeun told her softly. “I’m sorry,”
Jinsoul pulled her hand away and cleared her throat. “I’m here now, aren’t I?” And she smiled again. Jungeun had a funny feeling in her chest. The space between them felt so large.
“What are you paint-”
“I should probably sleep-”
They both stopped awkwardly and Jungeun stood up. “Yeah. Yeah, you should sleep,”
Jinsoul took a careful breath. “Good luck today,”
“Thanks,”
Jungeun left her on the balcony and finally let herself cringe at how awkward she had been. Now she was the one acting too familiar, and the worst part was that she liked it. Why did she like Jinsoul looking at her so much? She’d only just begun to like her at all.
But at least Jinsoul would be helpful with the chores. Jinsoul had seen something in her that the others didn’t always seem to notice, how much Jungeun needed order. It made her feel a little calmer to know someone was on her side.
But it made her heart beat a little faster, too.
○●○●○●○●○●
Jinsoul woke up around 11:45 to Heejin and Haseul bickering in the kitchen, only adding to her headache, and stumbled to the bathroom to brush her hair and teeth.
On the counter was a bottle labeled “To Jinsoul” with the most adorable little smiley face next to it. Jinsoul looked at it closer and noticed the smiley face had been erased and redrawn at least twice.
She took a look at the bottle, which had the price tag peeled off, and smiled. Moisturing hand cream.
“She’s so cute…” Jinsoul muttered, smiling to herself. Oh, how dangerous it was to have this much of a crush on her roommate.