Work Text:
Late Summer
After a long day of flights, buses and taxis, Aeri finally stands in front of the Apartment 213. It was only a few weeks ago that she saw the listing and scrambled to apply after getting accepted into the fashion program at the New York School of Design, and now she's here, ready for a second start at life.
It's only when Aeri knocks at the door that she remembers how odd her new roommate's initial listing was. The listing required the new tenant to sleep on the early side so as their schedules don't clash, never eat or bring mustard into the apartment because the current tenant is highly allergic, and most importantly, under no circumstances, have a boyfriend. No men allowed inside. Thankfully, that won't be a problem for Aeri.
Aeri wonders what kind of person her roommate will be. She's given an answer when the door creaks open to reveal a shorter girl rubbing sleep from her eyes, still wearing her pyjamas. She must've just got out of bed. Normally that would be okay, but it's 2PM. The strange apartment listening is beginning to make sense.
"Hey! You must be Yizhuo, yeah?" Aeri asks.
"Uh-huh," Yizhuo mumbles, squinting back at her. "And you're Aeri?"
Always one for theatrics, Aeri fans herself in dramatic fashion. "In the flesh!" Yizhuo doesn't respond. Aeri notices that she's staring right at her. Aeri waves her hand in front of Yizhuo's face. "Hello?"
Yizhuo blinks. "Sorry, sorry," she says as she opens the door a wider. "Come on in."
Odd, Aeri thinks to herself, but she pushes that thought to the side and takes her first steps into her home for the next year.
Her first impressions are lacklustre. It's open plan but it's almost empty. Especially in terms of personality, anyway. The apartment is furnished; it has a couch, it has a dining area, it has kitchen supplies, but it looks stock. It doesn't have any hints of life. It doesn't look lived in. "How long have you lived here?" Aeri asked.
"Since January," Yizhuo responds.
That wasn't what she expected. Aeri would have guessed this morning if Yizhuo hadn't greeted her half-asleep, but January was too long. It's halfway through August and it looks as if nobody has ever stepped foot in here. She is glad that it looks clean enough to not be lived in, though.
"It's a little empty," Aeri says, eventually.
"My last roommate moved out a few weeks ago," Yizhuo shrugs. "Most of it was hers, I guess."
That made sense to Aeri. However, she cannot live in a white, soulless box. "Do you mind if I, you know, change it up a little?" Aeri asks, gesturing to the rest of the apartment.
"Um, sure," Yizhuo says. "That's okay."
Silence falls between them. Mentally, Aeri is mapping out the room, where she wants to put her plants, where the lamps are going to go, and how to unscrew the room's main light, because they won't be needing it.
Aeri's thoughts are interrupted by Yizhuo clearing her throat. "I'm gonna go back to my room. Got some stuff to do… but just let me know if you need help with anything."
"Oh, okay!" Aeri replies. She's a little surprised. She assumed that her new roommate would help her and maybe even get to know her better, but that's okay. She has stuff to do. "The movers should be here with my stuff any minute now," she adds. "I'm sure I'll be fine."
Yizhuo gives Aeri a nod before she retreats to her room. Aeri assumes that her room is the one opposite Yizhuo's. She walks over to it, opens the door, and it reveals another empty, white box. She chooses to be optimistic about it. It's a fresh slate. She can do anything she wants with it. She's never got the chance to decorate her own room before, her parents had always decided that for her.
Aeri brings herself to sit on the hard, wooden floor before she lies down and looks up at the ceiling. A blank slate also means that she has a lot of work to do before she can truly be comfortable here.
Early Autumn
After a few weeks of scouring, buying, and decorating, Apartment 213 is beginning to look the part. Aeri-ified, if you will. Although Aeri thought that Yizhuo might have been exaggerating, she really meant it when she said that she didn't mind what Aeri did to the place as long as she didn't rearrange the kitchen. That was perfectly with Aeri. The kitchen is the one place that Yizhuo might spend more time than her in.
It didnt take Aeri long to leave her mark on the place. She needed this place to feel like a home if she had any hope in lasting. Lamps are strategically placed in different corners to illuminate pockets of the room at night, plants around the edge of every windowsill, and even going as far as painting the main wall in the living area red as the finishing touch. She defeated the empty, soulless box rather easily. However, that isn't the last of her problems.
Yizhuo didn't protest to any of her changes. Though, she would have needed to see Yizhuo for her to be able to protest. That is another problem she has. Aeri hasn't seen Yizhuo in days. This isn't the first time it's happened, either. Like Yizhuo's listing required, Aeri is a morning person. She rises with the sun, and goes to sleep not long after it has set. Yizhuo is the complete opposite. The only time Aeri sees her is the subtle hints she leaves behind whenever she goes; plates soaking in the dishwasher, cushions piled up on one side of the couch with her imprints still on them, the scent of the cherry candle Yizhuo often lights still lingering in the room as Aeri gets ready for her morning run. Aeri thinks its endearing, but on the other hand, she cannot shake the thought that Yizhuo is doing all of this to avoid her.
Wrapped in her new blanket and comforter, Aeri rolls over in bed. With a heavy slam, her phone falls to the floor. She jumps awake, startled. Barely pulling herself from unconsciousness, her hand falls to rub along her bed-side rug, swiping at the air a few times before she is eventually met with the keychain on the end of her phone. She grabs it before laying back in bed and checking the time. It's 4AM. Her alarm won't go off for another two hours. She can rest easy knowing that she still has more time to rest before the day has to start.
Aeri reaches for her glass of water, only to find it empty. It takes her a moment to debate if it's even worth the effort to refill it, but she knows better than anyone else that it will just annoy her if she doesn't. She slips out of bed, fixing her sleep-shirt and shorts before standing into her slippers and making her way to the kitchen.
The lights in the hallway are still on. The living area, too. Aeri can even hear the faint murmur of the television get louder as she approaches. When she gets there, she sees Yizhuo in her pyjamas, covered in a blanket on her side of the couch. She's playing her Switch. This isn't unnusual. The rare occasion she gets to see Yizhuo is the in the transition between day and night, when Aeri is waking up and getting ready for the day and when Yizhuo is winding down, getting ready to end hers.
After getting herself a glass of water, Aeri decides that she can sacrifice an hour or two of sleep in the hopes of getting to know her roommate better. She sits on the opposite side of the couch to Yizhuo. There is a sizeable gap between them.
"What game is this?" Aeri asks, hugging one of the couch's cushions to her chest.
Yizhuo drops her controller. She didn't notice that Aeri was there.
"Shit. Sorry," Aeri says as she reaches to grab it before holding it out to her.
"Thanks," Yizhuo says, taking the controller her grasp again. "It's Animal Crossing."
Of all the times she has tried to talk about games, this is the first time that Aeri thinks that she can chime in. "Oh! My friend Minjeong used to talk about it sometimes." Aeri clutches the cushion a little harder at the thought of her best friend. It's no secret that she's really missing her right now. "She didn't say much about the game, just that she really liked this one called Meringue. Had a little plushie attached to her bag and everything."
"Marshal," Yizhuo replies.
Aeri blinks. "What?"
There's a moment of silence on Yizhuo's end. She's concentrating on the game in front of her, running around a little island before she comes to a stop in front of somebody else. "Marshal," she repeats, and Aeri realises that she's talking about the yellow squirrel with emo-bangs. "He's my favourite."
The little squirrel begins to yell at Yizhuo's character. Aeri scrunches her nose. "He's being mean to you," she says, as if this is some sort of injustice.
"It's okay," Yizhuo starts as she runs away from her beloved Marshal. "You didn't see me accidentally hit him with a net a few minutes ago."
Before Aeri can ask any more of her questions, Yizhuo saves the game before putting her switch into sleep mode. She unwraps herself from her blanket and places her controller back in the stand Aeri bought for them. Before, they would've been tossed anywhere Yizhuo saw fit, leaving them behind for Aeri to clean up afterwards.
"Not playing anymore?" Aeri asks.
Yizhuo yawns, as if weaponised on command. "Not with a paper due tomorrow" she says as she pulls her blanket over her shoulder and walks towards her bedroom. "Night," she adds before disappearing inside.
"Goodnight," Aeri says to herself, almost in a whisper.
Aeri considers her attempt to get to know Yizhuo a failure. Sure, she knows that she likes a fictional cat, but that's about it. She knows so little about Yizhuo that she doesn't even know what college she goes to, or what subject she studies. It's the little things like this that niggle at her.
A long exhale draws from her lips. She is left sitting with her thought that Yizhuo might not even like her at all.
She decides to go on her run earlier than normal. It'll help clear her mind.
Late Autumn
Aeri pulls the door closed with a thud. "I'm homeee," she announces, but she doesn't get a response. She exhales in a huff but she's not sure what she expected. It's 2AM. Maybe she went to bed early for once.
She pulls her boots off, almost falling over as she does it. It's her birthday, and she is appropriately drunk for the situation. She went to a night club with a few people from her class, and while it was going well initially, it didn't end that way.
Aeri tosses her keys onto the coffee table. It lands with a crash loud enough that it makes her flinch. Thankfully, nothing is broken. There is a part of Aeri that thinks that this is going to be the night that Yizhuo gets mad at her. After all, she wanted a roommate that goes to bed early and doesn't get in her way, but here Aeri is, being a nuisance. It's not like it matters. Yizhuo already hates her anyway, so why should she care?
She throws herself down onto the couch and turns on the TV. She cycles through the recommendations on the YouTube until she lands on something familiar, a Frank Ocean set. She's lost count of many times she's listened to this with Minjeong and her girlfriend, Jimin, over the years. As the first song begins, Aeri decides that she isn't done drinking just yet.
Pulling herself to her feet once more, Aeri makes her way to the kitchen and begins to rummage around cupboards. She's been drinking whiskey all night but now she's craving something sweet, something that will go down like water. Soju will do the trick. She grabs two bottles, tosses her jacket aside to get a little comfier, then flops back onto the couch again.
She pulls out her phone, recording a video of herself dancing to the music and gulping down mouthfuls of Soju. When she's done, she sends it to Minjeong and attaches a message saying that she misses them. They're probably asleep too. Aeri is firmly on her own right now.
By the time the concert is over and another begins to start, both of Aeri's bottles are empty. This is where her problems come to a peak. Her stomach is revolting back at her. The soju hasn't settled right, weighing her further down on the scale of sickness. It's beginning to seem like a bad idea.
Before she knows it, she's dating to the bathroom, stumbling into the door and falling with her face into the toilet, just in time to let it all out.
"Hey, are you alright?" Yizhuo asks, making herself known at the doorway.
Aeri goes to reply but it comes out as a mumble before she is forced to vomit again.
Yizhuo approaches quickly and drops to her knees. She pulls Aeri's hair back and holds out of the harm's way, rubbing tiny circles into her back with her spare hand. "That's better," she coos. "You'll feel better with it out."
Aeri hurls one last time before she feels good enough to wipe her lips and call it a day. Now that she's in the clear, she sits with her back against the cold tiles of the bathroom wall. It's everything she needs right now.
"Why are you helping me?" Aeri asks. The question slips from her lips so easily. She accredits that to being drunk. She wouldn't be able to otherwise.
Yizhuo blinks. "Why wouldn't I? You need it, don't you?"
"Because you hate me, or whatever," Aeri huffs. "You certainly don't like me."
Aeri's eyes are focused on her roommate. Yizhuo is looking at her as if this is an insane thought to have, as if she's been left dumbfounded by her statement. It takes Yizhuo a few seconds to pull together a reply. "What do you mean I don't like you?" She asks, pulling herself to sit beside Aeri, back against the bathroom tiles. "If I didn't like you, we wouldn't be roommates."
That blindsides Aeri. "You mean, you like me?"
"Yeah, I like you." Yizhuo confirms. "You're cool, y'know?"
Aeri needs a moment to process this. She's just spent the better part of a month assuming that her troommate hates her. That isn't the case, apparently. "Then, I just," she starts, but finds herself quickly frustrated. "I just, like, don't get it."
"Don't get what?" Yizhuo asks.
"You!" Aeri snaps, but immediately reels back in. "I just don't get you," she clarifies. She takes a second to gather herself. She has a couple questions burning inside her, ones that are prying her mouth open, forcing themselves out. "I don't get why you sleep all day. I don't get why you don't leave your room until after I've gone to bed." She lets out a sigh. "I guess I just don't get why you don't talk to me."
Yizhuo tugs and plays with the ends of her sleeves. "It's not that I don't like you," she starts, turning to look at Aeri. "Trust me, you'd know if I didn't like you," she continues, taking a second to laugh at the thought of it. "I'm just… I don't know. I'm not a massive people person to begin with, but I guess I got intimidated. You're, like, super cool and really pretty."
Aeri's eyes go wide. "You think I'm pretty?"
Yizhuo hides her face into her hoodie. "You're not asking me that."
"I am," Aeri teases further. She didn't know that Yizhuo is like this. So sheepish.
"Have you looked into a mirorr recently?" Yizhuo asks. Aeri would tease further, but she can see the tip of Yizhuo's ear poke out from through her hair. It's bright red. She will spare her for now. "Why were you drinking so much, anyway?" Yizhuo eventually gains the courage to ask, hoping to sway the conversation away from herself.
Back to serious talk, Aeri thinks to herself. "It's my birthday…" she starts before she cuts herself off. She's lying. She was drinking because it's her birthday, but that isn't the reason that she drank that much. "It's because I felt really alone. I miss my friends, I thought you hated me, and I didn't really feel like I had anyone here." Aeri leans her head back against the wall. She looks at the ceiling. It feels less judgemental. "I met a few people from my class but it turned out they were only there because my parents have money, and the girl I was hitting on all night went home with the ugliest guy I've ever seen and ugh," she moans. Her head comes back down to her hands. She is well aware that she is in the middle of a drunk tantrum. It's okay, though. Yizhuo is finally listening to her. "That's why I was drinking."
For all of her ranting, when she finally turns to look at Yizhuo, Aeri notices that she looks a tad relieved. "Happy Birthday," she manages to squeak out. "Sounded like you're better off here, after all."
"Uh-huh," Aeri hums. "I guess you're right."
Another moment of silence falls between the two. Although, it isn't grounded in awkwardness this time around.
Aeri's foot taps against Yizhuo's outstretched leg. "When's your birthday?"
"…A week ago?" Yizhuo replies, a wint of nervousness in her tone.
Aeri springs away from the wall, almost toppling over as she turns to look at Yizhuo. "And you didn't tell me?!"
"I don't really celebrate it. Not like you, anyway," Yizhuo replies. A snide remark at Aeri's current state and the night that left her in this situation. "It's just another day for me."
Aeri shakes her head. She isn't buying it. "Come with me," she says as she brings herself to her feet. "We're doing shots."
Before Yizhuo has the chance to turn her down, Aeri bolts off to the kitchen. Yizhuo isn't too far behind her. "The last thing you need to do is drink more!" Yizhuo chastises her, but as much as she is protesting, Aeri can see a smirk tug on either side of her lips.
There is a gap in the door that Aeri assumed was locked shut.
Early Winter
Weeks come and go in the blink of an eye. Autumn leaves turn into snow covered streets, and Apartment 213 finally feels like home.
life has been bliss since she worked things out with Yizhuo. Her roommate can still be elusive at times, but Aeri has realised that is just the way that Yizhuo is. She can still go a number of days at a time without seeing her, but as always, her presence is noted. There are mornings where Aeri will wake up to little notes on the countertop from Yizhuo, reminders from the day before and the likes.
They do spend more time together now. They go grocery shopping together, go to concerts and different events together, to even spending Christmas together. To her surprise, Yizhuo is a pretty great cook, and she even gave her a Snoopy plushie. It's safe to say that they're friends now.
It's New Year's Eve, and they're having a party. To Aeri's shock, Yizhuo has friends other than her and has invited them over. Aeri did the same, inviting a few people she met on campus in recent weeks. They're becoming good friends, much better than the losers she was with on her birthday.
Snoopy isn't the only gift that Yizhuo gave her this holiday season. Earlier that morning, Aeri woke to the sight of her friends, Minjeong and Jimin, standing over her bed, putting their phones in her face and taking photographs of her sudden realisation that she wasn't hallucinating. They were really there. In New York. In her apartment. In her bedroom. Thankfully, they put their phones away the moment Aeri burst into tears. That is one thing she wouldn't want documented.
And now, here they are, sitting on the couch in Aeri and Yizhuo's apartment, surrounded by others that they've come to be friends with. It feels as if her two lives were finally crossing, the loneliness that weighed so heavy on her heart a few weeks ago now just an after thought.
Minjeong is perched into Yizhuo's side of the couch, nursing a glass of wine with Jimin's arm ghosting over her waist. Jimin whispers something into her ear, and then she turns to look at Aeri. "Do you remember that girl?" Minjeong asks.
"You're going to have to be more specific," Aeri replies.
Minjeong purses her lips. "She's, uh, the one that accidentally spiked the ball into your face when you tried out for the volleyball team."
Aeri sighs. "Hyunjin. Yeah, I remember her." How could she forget? Her nose was bruised and swollen for a few weeks. Aeri takes a sip from her glass to avoid further comment, but that doesn't stop Jimin from laughing at her misfortune.
"I found out from a friend that she just got engaged to somebody super famous," Minjeong says.
"Heejin," Jimin chimes in. "She's a streamer or something like that."
"That's cool," Aeri replies, but that doesn't answer the question on her mind. "Why are you both looking at me like that, though?"
Minjeong takes a look at Jimin, who gives her a reassuring nod before she continues. "Well, it got us thinking…"
Aeri spits out some of her drink. Minjeong takes shelter behind Jimin, but isn't spared. "You're getting married?!" She screams, so loud that most of the people in attendance heard it over whatever Yizhuo is currently playing on their speakers.
"No, you idiot!" Jimin scolds in a hushed voice. "We're talking about you," she continues, playfully pushing Aeri on her shoulder. "You haven't told us shit! Give us some updates!"
"We wanted to know how your search is coming along now that you're in the big apple!" Minjeong chimes in.
Aeri breathes a sigh of defeat. "It's never been worse, actually."
"Nothing at all?" Jimin prods.
"Nothing," Aeri clarifies.
Jimin and Minjeong confer, whispering into each other's ears. Jimin looks beyond Aeri, and Aeri turns to follow. She's looking at Yizhuo, who is holding up a beer bong for one of her friends. The drink inevitably spills on the floor, and the crowd erupts in laughter.
"What about her?" Jimin finally asks.
Aeri blinks. "What about who? Yizhuo?"
"Yeah," Jimin answers.
Aeri keeps her eyes on Yizhuo as she scampers back to her friend, paper towels in hand as she cleans up the mess they made. "…I don't know what you this is going on here, But I'm not hitting on my roommate. I don't enjoy the idea of being homeless if it doesn't go well," Aeri says, turning to face her friends on the couch once more. "And besides, I don't even know if she's, you know, like that."
Minjeong seems confused. "You don't know if she's gay?"
"I guess, yeah," Aeri shrugs.
"Hold on," Jimin says as she reaches into her pocket to grab her phone. A couple of clicks later, she was on Yizhuo's Instagram account, as if this was premeditated. She pulls up one of her pinned posts before turning the phone to show Aeri. "You're not sure if she's gay?"
Aeri looks and sees a photograph of Yizhuo at a pride parade with a lesbian flag wrapped around her. She's stunned, to say the least. "I guess I've never looked at it," she says. It's not like her not to be nosy, but she has never thought about Yizhuo that way. She was fighting for her life just to be friends, anything more than that seemed to be greedy.
Minjeong reaches out and takes a hold of Aeri's knee. "Maybe you should think about it," she adds. "I think you two would be cute together!"
Aeri pictures it in her head, Yizhuo and herself. Admittedly, it doesn't seem entirely different to how they behave now. Dates at local coffee shops, walking each other to class, Yizhuo cooking them dinner whenever they have the time. All of this exists in the way they are now, except they go to their seperate bedrooms when their respective days are over. Something about that seems sweet.
She's pulled from her thoughts by the woman in question sitting on one of the chairs opposite them. "How are you guys? Having fun?" Yizhuo asks, the smell of rum on her breath.
"Perfect, yeah," Jimin replies. "Lots of fun going on over here," she adds, and Minjeong cannot contain her laugher. Jimin and Minjeong have been trying to set Aeri up for years. They're each other's high school sweetheart. They have never experienced what dating culture is like, and they find extreme pleasure in seeing Aeri fumble her way around it.
Yizhuo turns to Aeri with an inquisitive look, and all she can do is shrug, but her rose-tinted cheeks could tell her everything she wanted to know.
It weighs heavy on Aeri's mind the rest of the night. She second guesses every interaction they've had, and each one they will have going forward. Her glances stay in Yizhuo for a beat longer, and each time, she ponders the thought once more. The more she thinks about it, the more she becomes aware of the fact that Yizhuo is very attractive, and she's known for weeks that she's a total cutie-pie, somebody that shares way too much in common with her for them not to be close. The irony behind all of this is that if she met Yizhuo in the club instead of as her roommate, she likely would have hit on her without any hesitations. Life is funny like that.
Aeri is blindsided by the New Year's countdown on the TV screen. Everyone in their apartment rushes towards the window. When the clock strikes midnight, fireworks go off in the distance, and everyone in their circle finds somebody to kiss. Everyone except Aeri. She goes to turn around, only to find Yizhuo staring back at her. Aeri tilts her head, the seeds that Jimin and Minjeong have sown are firmly rooted into her now. Is that what she wants? Aeri asks herself. Does she want to kiss?
The moment passes by, everyone begins to congratulate each other, and one of Yizhuo's friends drag her away to prepare a round of shots for everyone.
Aeri is left standing by herself. Her heart is beating so fast it feels like it's going to burst out of her chest. It's only now that Aeri realises that she's in trouble. This might not go away in the morning.
Late Spring
The breeze coming through their window is one of Aeri's new favourite things about Spring but today it also brings a sense of melancholy with it. Days turned to weeks turned to months, and admidst all of the fun, they forgot the timer they were on. Classes are now over for the Summer, and Aeri is coming to terms with the fact that today is the last day that she can call Apartment 213 her home.
These days, Aeri and Yizhuo are almost inseparable. It is rare to see one without the other, leading Aeri to stay up late than she regularly would, or Yizhuo to wake up before noon.
The seeds that Jimin and Minjeong planted haven't withered. Instead, they've only rooted further into Aeri, and not a day goes by where she doesn't think about it. In fact, it has only gotten worse since then.
Aeri has a crush on Yizhuo.
At first, it was fun to imagine herself in situations with Yizhuo. She would joke about it with those that planted the very idea. She thinks about it when they're out together, even when they're on the couch, wrapped in blankets together, watching Yizhuo play her games. It feels like it's more than a little bit of fun now, and her friends know that, too.
Aeri slumps down onto her bed after filling yet another box with her belongings. A sigh escapes her lips. She can't help but wonder what her life will be like after today. Will Yizhuo still be in it, or will things go back to the way they were before?
Seconds later, Yizhuo stands in Aeri's doorway, holding another empty box for her to fill. "Your stuff isn't going to pack itself," Yizhuo says.
Aeri lets out a groan. "I'm tired and my back hurts," she complains.
Yizhuo places the box on the floor before sitting on the edge of Aeri's bed. "Sounds like somebody hasn't ever been taught how to lift a box properly," Yizhuo jokes, but that doesn't stop her hand from massaging the small of Aeri's back, listening as she lets out a hum of content. "What are your plans after this?" Yizhuo asks.
The question comes as a surprise to Aeri. She hasn't thought too much about it. She's been trying not to. "My parents want me to come home for the summer," she explains, resting her head on her arms as Yizhuo gives her the best massage she can muster. "We've got a few weddings in the family, so it's easier that way. At least I'll be able to hang out with Minjeong and Jimin as much as I want."
"Sounds fun," Yizhuo adds. "Looking forward to it?"
"Uh-huh," Aeri lies. It all sounds fun; a summer in the sun, hanging out with her friends, getting wasted at open bars. All of that is great, but it's going back to her old life. If given the chance, Aeri would take cheap takeout and watching the worst movies of all time with Yizhuo over that. She would take that over most things.
"I'll miss you, you know?" Yizhuo says through a laugh. "I don't think I've ever had a roommate get drunk and complain that I'm not bothering them enough. That was definitely a first."
Aeri looks back at her. "I prefer to have a roommate to do things with, not a ghost that lives in my apartment," she jokes, but she softens right after. "I'll miss you too, though."
Yizhuo purses her lips. "You know…" she starts before she cuts herself off. "Never mind."
"What?" Aeri asks, confused that she would censor herself.
"It's nothing," Yizhuo answers.
Aeri doesn't like that answer. It felt important. "No, tell me," she asks again, pulling herself to sit. "You can tell me."
"It's okay, it's nothing," Yizhuo doubles down. Before Aeri can protest her decision, Yizhuo walks towards Aeri's closet and begins to fill up the empty box before she comes across something peculiar. "Damn," Yizhuo says, holding up a black, sheer nightdress to herself. "Who were you planning on wearing this for?"
Aeri's face drops. "Give me that!" She helps, jumping off her bed and attempting to snatch it back.
"I didn't know you're like that, Aeri!" Yizhuo teases, attempting to keep the garment out of Aeri's grasp.
"Yizhuo!" Aeri whines, and Yizhuo allows her to snatch it back. Aeri quickly tosses it into the box and piles t-shirts on top of it. Yizhuo is looking at her with an expectant face, but Aeri isn't going to budge. "I don't want to talk about it," she says.
A smirk pulls on either end of Yizhuo's lips. "Maybe next time."
It takes a few hours but the living area is now filled with Aeri's things. Anything that isn't in a box is staying with Yizhuo. Aeri told her to consider it a gift, it's more effort to move them with her than for her to just buy it again. Her heart aches at the thought of leaving.
"We're going to call and text, right?" Aeri asks out of the blue.
Yizhuo is blindsided by it. She tilts her head in confusion. "We're friends, aren't we?" She asks, but doesnt wait for a response. "Of course we will!"
Friends. That word hasn't sat right with Aeri since New Years. Only now, surrounded by boxes of her things, ready to be shipped across the country, does Aeri realise that her feelings for Yizhuo are not just a fleeting thing. They're not going to disappear after a summer spent back home.
When her time left in Apartment 213 is down to only minutes, Aeri decides she needs to listen to what Jimin and Minjeong have been telling her. She cannot keep living like this. Aeri has spent her entire life living between safe options; but now, as they walk towards the doorway where they first met, Aeri knows she cannot pick the safe option again. She will never get this chance again.
Aeri doesn't know if it will work out, or if she's about to ruin anything, but that is something she will have to take in stride.
She lets out a deep breath before stepping over the point of no return. "Yizhuo?" Aeri says as her soon-to-be ex-roommate's hand reaches for the door's handle.
"Yeah?" Yizhuo answers, turning back to look at Aeri.
Aeri doesn't give Yizhuo an answer, but an action. Aeri's lips press against Yizhuo's. It happens swiftly, softly. It takes Yizhuo a moment to realise what is happening before she reciprocates, tip-toeing ever so slightly to kiss Aeri back. With her wishes met, Aeri pushes Yizhuo back against the appartment's door, holding onto her as if she would disappear if she didn't.
Once they inevitably come part, Yizhuo looks up at Aeri with dilated eyes. "I've been waiting so long for you to do that," she says.
Aeri is acutely aware of the rise and fall of her chest, and how hard her heart is beating. "How long?" She asks.
"Doesn't matter," Yizhuo answers, sparing her the fate of knowing how much time she has wasted without this. Before Aeri causes a fuss about it, Yizhuo tip-toes once more, leaving a peck against Aeri's lips. "I think you should leave your stuff here," she says.
It catches Aeri off guard. "What do you mean?"
"Exactly that," Yizhuo she says, playing with the tassels of Aeri's hoodie. "Take what you need and leave the rest here, go home and and have the summer of your life, and then come back here," she clarifies. "Come back to me."
Yizhuo has found an answer to all of Aeri's problems so simple that it didn't come to mind. She doesn't have to move on. It's clear that neither of them want to. "You'll wait for me?" Aeri asks, even though part of her wants to call off the entire trip, send sorry letters to her family and friends, and spend the summer here, with Yizhuo.
"Uh-huh," Yizhuo nods. "I can't have you wearing that nightdress for anyone but me," she adds, meaning it to have a sultry tone, but she cannot escape the laugh that explodes out of her. Aeri has to shush her with a third, but certainly not final, kiss.
There will come a time where Aeri will leave Apartment 213 for good, but it will not be today. When the summer is over, Apartment 213 will be waiting for her, along with Yizhuo and their budding relationship. Although initially a listing she signed up for on a whim, it has grown into a place that will live in her heart for eternity.