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Sakura never thought that living with someone could change her life in so many different ways, but the past few months living with Yunjin have proved it can happen.
It all started 4 months ago when they moved in together, or maybe a year ago when they became friends. The way one event led to another up until now keeps running through her head.
Sakura had been working at the office for a few months and was already familiar with the workflow, so when a new hire needed to be supervised she was tasked with it. They hit off well from the start and with the amount of time they spent together increasing as time went on, it was inevitable that the two would become close friends. Then, on a busy but otherwise uneventful day of July, they started the path that brought Sakura to her current situation.
“Unnie?” Yunjin says quietly as she approaches Sakura during lunch.
Sakura looks up, immediately noticing the unusual expression on the younger woman's face. “Hey, is there something wrong?”
Yunjin sits across from her, squeezing her hands and looking down. “My roommate’s girlfriend is moving in.” She looks up before continuing, “He asked me to move out because she works from home and will need the room, my room.”
“Oh, that sucks. Any chance he’ll change his mind?”
“I doubt it, it's only his name on the lease, so I don't have a say on it.” She bites her lip and squeezes her hands harder, “I was thinking we could try to rent that apartment you showed me last week.”
Sakura is confused for a moment, but looking at Yunjin’s pleading eyes she finally understands. “You mean rent it together?”
“I know you don't like sharing your space, but I promise I'll be good. I remember everything you told me about your roommates and I can also make a list of things that would annoy you so that I can avoid doing them.” She replies in a word per minute count that makes it difficult to even follow.
“Yunjin, I-” Sakura tries to interject, but it’s impossible to get a word in.
“I can even do all the chores you don't like. I promise to clean the fridge every week. Please accept me, unnie. I don't know what else to do. Any place in my budget is way too far from work and I don't want to get another random roommate that will kick me out without much of a warning. I know that apartment is over budget for you alone, but if we share it will be cheaper than anything else you could find. I know how much you liked the apartment and-” She makes eye contact with Sakura who is wide eyed in front of her, “Sorry, I was rambling.”
Sakura’s lips turn up slightly, “It's okay, I can see you're stressed and with good reason.” She reached into her bag for a pack of gummy bears and offered it to Yunjin. “I think we can make it work.”
Yunjin looks at her, a gummy bear halfway to her mouth, in absolute shock. “Really? Are you not just saying that?”
“Yeah, sure. I don't think we'll be that different living together from what we're like now and you haven't gotten me annoyed thus far.”
After that it was all just a case of bureaucracy, lots of paperwork, a couple of visits to the apartment for inspection, but at the end of it all they have a lease for one year with possible contract extension. Most importantly, the lease has both of their names on it, so no risk of getting sucker punched into finding a new place.
It’s weird for Sakura how easily they settle into a shared routine. She had always been quite independent and when she had roommates in the past they never really did things together. Maybe it’s because she has been friends with Yunjin since before living together and her old roommates were just random people sharing student accommodations, but the way things became domestic between them so fast is unsettling.
At first she didn’t think much of it. They would leave for work at the same time, save for the 3 days a week when Yunjin went to the gym an hour before work while Sakura was still asleep, but they would always go back home together which made sense with both going to the same apartment.
Then came the first time Yunjin wanted to do something after work.
“Would you mind if we pass by the supermarket before going home?” Yunjin asks as they walk out of the office. Sakura nods, but she wasn’t sure of why she would go with Yunjin. “I was thinking of making dinner for us. I noticed how many instant ramens you’ve been eating.”
That night, barely two weeks after moving in together, Yunjin made dinner. A pasta dish so delicious that made Sakura wish this could happen more often.
Then it did happen more often.
By the time they got to a month of living together Yunjin was meal prepping for the both of them and cooking dinner whenever she could. It was the first time since moving out of her parents home for university that someone cooked for her this often.
Yunjin was always a considerate friend, she would notice the smallest things bothering Sakura and try to make it better, so it made sense she would be a great roommate. At the time it made sense, there was no reason to dig deeper into it.
Things were uneventful for the next month or so, they started watching anime together in the evenings, but everything else stayed the same. Having a close friend as a roommate is fun because you get to hang out together all the time without the nightmare of trying to schedule something with friends as an adult.
Speaking of which, it was around this time that Sakura finally managed to meet with her friend Chaewon.
“Are you sure she is your roommate and not your girlfriend?” Chaewon asks after hearing Sakura describe the perks of living with Yunjin.
“What are you talking about?”
“Kkura, I swear I dated some people who did everything to make me happy, but hearing you talk about Yunjin she makes them sound like slackers. Damn, not even my own family treated me like this when I lived with them.”
“You’re exaggerating, she is just nice.”
“So you have a roommate who is tall, pretty, and nice, but you’re not dating her.” She says, staring at Sakura, “What is wrong with you?”
Sakura couldn’t help, but think about what Chaewon had said. She could see her point, but because she is the one living with Yunjin she knows that not everything about her friend is perfect and knowing her bad traits made it harder to see her that way.
Yunjin could be careless around the house and cause problems for the both of them. Like how she dropped an extra large iced americano on her bed while playing guitar and it soaked through the mattress because she didn’t notice until the ice melted. This evolved into Sakura’s problem when she had no better option than letting Yunjin sleep on her bed.
Even after living with Yunjin for a while, the idea of sleeping on the same bed felt weird. It's something intimate and usually she would feel uncomfortable with the idea of it, but then, she wakes up with her face pressed against Yunjin's nape. Maybe, if she was fully awake, this would seem inappropriate, but right now in her sleepy state she can only bring herself to nuzzle closer before going back to sleep.
When she wakes up again it is because of the sharp pain on her lower stomach. Her period cramps decided to start early this month. Yunjin is turned to the wall so she probably won’t notice if Sakura gets up, or at least that’s what she thought.
“Sakura?” A sleepy Yunjin was now looking at her, “Are you okay?”
She is sitting in bed, ready to get up, “Cramps, I’ll go get a painkiller.”
“Don’t get up, I’ll get it for you.” And before Sakura could say anything else Yunjin was running out of bed.
Five minutes later she had a hot water bottle, painkillers, and Yunjin looking at her like a worried puppy.
“I’m okay, you can go back to sleep.” She tries to reason with her overprotective friend.
“Okay,” She climbs back under the covers, “but can I try something else to help?”
“You did enough.”
“Please?” She pleads and Sakura doesn’t have the heart to say no again, so she just nods. This is all Yunjin needs to immediately hug her holding the hot water bottle in place, effectively making Sakura the little spoon. Sakura could almost hear what Chaewon would say if she saw this.
After that night, it seemed like Yunjin had acquired a need for physical contact with Sakura, which she wasn’t opposed to. It was kind of cute really. Like the time they were watching something together and Yunjin brought a blanket from her bedroom to share with her and then took the opportunity to hold her hand underneath it. Or when she pulled Sakura into her lap to show her a funny video on her phone.
She was happy that living together worked out well for them, no matter how much Chaewon insisted they were basically dating any time Sakura mentioned Yunjin to her.
When Autumn arrived, bringing Yunjin’s birthday with it, Sakura decided to make the younger woman’s day a special one. She bought her a cake decorated with jellyfish because she knows how much Yunjin loves jellyfish and got it delivered in the morning after she left for the gym. Once they left work she ordered Yunjin’s favorite food so they could eat as soon as they got home while watching anything she wanted.
Sakura brought out the cake once they finished eating dinner and she had never seen Yunjin smile so brightly. “Make a wish.” She said after lighting up the candles.
Yunjin closes her eyes for a few seconds and then blows up the candles. When she opens them up again her gaze goes straight into Sakura.
“Can I kiss you?” Yunjin asks, taking Sakura by surprise.
“What?” Her voice is so high pitched when she answers that it would be embarrassing if she wasn’t so taken aback.
“Oh my god, Chaweon was right..”
“What are you talking about?”
“Your friend, Chaewon. She told me I had to be more direct if I wanted you to understand.”
“Since when do you and Chaewon know each other?” She asked, even though this is not the most pressing issue.
“She messaged me a couple of weeks ago, saying that if I wanted to get anywhere with you I’d better start being more direct.” She smiles awkwardly, “She told me you thought I was just a really good roommate.”
“But you are a really good roommate, great even.” She replies flabbergasted with the way this conversation is moving.
“Kkura, I watched the LCK finals with you on my day off.”
“Yeah, because it was fun.”
“It was over 4 hours and I don’t even understand the game!” She runs her hand through her hair in frustration, “I did it because I could cuddle with you on the couch while we watched.”
Now that she thinks about it, back then it was a little weird when Yunjin agreed to spend a weekend watching League of Legends. “Oh god, I’m so bad at flirting.”
Yunjin chuckles, “I noticed, and I was ready to accept rejection when Chaewon told me I probably had a chance, the issue was just that you don’t think about this kind of thing.”
Sakura hates that knowing someone for over 6 years means that she knows these minor things about her personality.
“Will you answer my question?”
She thinks about how their relationship evolved over these past few months and how she enjoyed Yunjin’s presence more each day. The time they spent cuddling on the couch was the best part of her day and even though she didn’t always demonstrate, her life became happier with Yunjin by her side. She decides she will later tell this to Yunjin, so she will know that she is the sun that brought warmth to her dull life, but right now the thing she needs to do the most is give the birthday girl a kiss that can maybe convey all the thoughts and feelings running through her head.
When they part, Yunjin hugs Sakura close, “This is what I wished for.”