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The clock read 2:19am and Jae-ha could feel himself reaching his limit. His hand reached for his coffee mug, draining its contents as he pored over music history notes. This was his fate at the end of every semester - party a little too hard, study a little too little and finally lose precious beauty sleep cramming for finals and projects. He hated the concepts of deadlines and ultimatums but such was the path to his degree. With a degree, he could get a job and get the money to sustain his lifestyle…
Work hard get money, huh, Jae-ha thought as he rubbed his eyes. Easy enough to say when you’re not so sleepy Mozart’s face is turning into Beethoven’s.
It was hard not to succumb to the comforting haze of the warm room, the blanket he had thrown over himself for comfort, the soft light of a single desk lamp. He undid his hair ribbon and rested his head on the desk, curling his arms around to shield his eyes.
“Haha, what kind of job would I even get with a Music degree…” he murmured before closing his eyes.
It was not even a minute later a piercing scream rang through his room.
“EEYYYAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”
Jae-ha shot up so suddenly his chair toppled backwards and he crashed onto the floor. The panic left his body quickly as he rubbed the back of his head, cursing out of pain. He yawned loudly but his mind was now wide awake and alert. That scream was definitely Ki-ja and it also definitely came out of Ki-ja’s room. He stood and grabbed a pair of scissors, just as a precaution. There was no way to know what was going on at this moment but it was better to be prepared for the worst.
“GET AWAY FROM ME! DON’T COME CLOSER!”
His heart tightened and sweat prickled his forehead as he heard this. It sounded like Ki-ja was about to be murdered – what was happening? Jae-ha ran a hand through his hair, pushing it out of his eyes and hurried towards the sound. He gripped the scissors forcefully as he pounded on the door.
“Ki-ja?” he called, “Hey Ki-ja, open up, are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“J-Jae-ha?” Ki-ja gave a quivering reply, “Oh God, help…I don’t think I can move to open the door…”
Jae-ha bit his lip and thought. He knew Ki-ja was a pedantic person; someone like him would not leave his door unlocked at this time of night.
“I’ll call the police, just hang on!” he said, turning to go back for his phone.
“What? No!” Ki-ja interjected. The confusion was evident. “There’s no need to go that far, I know you can pick the lock! Just hurry!”
Jae-ha furrowed his brow but he was already reaching for the bobby pin in his hair, inserting the end into the lock. It was the fastest he had worked, and the door swung open in five seconds. He kept the scissors in front of him as he charged in, eyes scanning wildly for an intruder.
There was no such assailant. There was just Ki-ja standing on his bed - resplendent in white and blue matching pyjamas and fluffy socks - pressing his back in the corner of the room, fearfully glancing at the floor. Jae-ha followed his gaze and saw a spider sitting still on the carpet. Now it all made sense. He sighed and grabbed the empty glass and a paper from Ki-ja’s desk, quickly scooped up the offending arachnid (ignoring Ki-ja’s squeak as it tried to run from the trap) and threw it out of the window. He could feel the tension in the air lift as Ki-ja exhaled in relief.
“I honestly thought you were being killed,” Jae-ha said, flicking Ki-ja’s forehead lightly. He smiled amusedly, making sure the other didn’t think he was being serious.
Ki-ja pouted slightly, touching the spot that was flicked. “And what? You were planning on stabbing my murderer with scissors first and calling the police was an afterthought? How wild can you be?”
“Well you know authority and I don’t get on well.”
“This is my life on the line you’re talking about!”
“Anyway,” Jae-ha said as he settled his arm around Ki-ja’s shoulders, “Next time don’t scream bloody murder when you see a bug, it’s not becoming of you.”
Even with the meagre light of the streetlamp streaming through the window, Ki-ja’s bright blush was visible. He stared at Jae-ha obstinately before speaking.
“Are you going to just stand here and continue to be unpleasant?”
Jae-ha only smiled coyly, retracted his arm and blew a small kiss goodnight before turning around to leave.
It’s always a pleasure seeing Ki-ja’s cute face, he mused.
His hand was gripped from behind out of the blue and he was stopped in his tracks. Eyes wide, Jae-ha turned his head to the side to look at Ki-ja hanging onto him. Ki-ja was looking away, gaze set firmly at the adjacent wall. His signature blush was painted liberally on his face.
“I don’t know if there might be more in this room,” he said, still staring at the wall. “I’ll call up the building maintenance later today. But tonight, it would be bothersome for everyone if I have to alert someone every time I see a bug so…”
He let go of Jae-ha’s hand as quickly as he grabbed it, gathered up his duvet and pillow and headed out of the open door towards the latter’s room. Jae-ha followed slowly after closing Ki-ja’s door, blinking in confusion. He found him rolled in his duvet like a caterpillar at the foot of his bed, looking up with a sparkle in his eyes.
“This way I can be far away from any potential bugs and you’ll be nearby if I encounter one in your room!”
“Ki-ja, you…” Jae-ha started, and then chuckled. “You are one of a kind. I have a test to study for you know.”
“Are you actually going to study though?”
“…You got me there.”
Jae-ha crouched to Ki-ja’s level. “My bed’s a double since I’m a final year. You don’t have to sleep on the floor.”
He tugged at the duvet cocoon to coax the flustered Ki-ja out, indicating which side he could take. They lied down, backs barely touching, before Ki-ja rolled over, mumbling about how he couldn’t sleep when lying on his right shoulder. His breath tickled Jae-ha’s back through his thin t-shirt, sending warm shivers through him. He smiled to himself.
Well my test is fucked. But tonight’s a good night. I never thought I’d be thankful towards a spider.