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Sakura Haruka lived in a very old building in the middle of Tokyo. One of those dorm buildings where the floors creaked every time you walked, the windows were permanently fogged, you didn’t even need a curtain to block the sun, and the communal bathroom didn’t even have a heater.
Sakura had gotten into Tokyo University by the sheer luck of getting accepted on a scholarship. It paid in full for the tuition, journal access, and books. Still, it is not enough for daily expenses and dorm rent. Certainly not enough to afford those micro apartments littered around the campus. So he ended up here, an aging dorm that probably violated a half-dozen safety precautions. The rent was low, but he couldn’t be picky, with about ten square meters of rooms and flickering lights when he barely made money.
At least the landlady, Kotoha, was tolerable.
Well, no. That was a lie.
She was a menace. She was the same age as Sakura but always knew how to scold Sakura as if he was a misbehaving kid. She is the kind of woman who called you out for skipping meals while handing you warm food because she just so happened to have too many leftovers. That was a lie, Café Ponto is a famous, always crowded, cheap eatery every Tokyo University student knows about.
That evening, Kotoha knocked on Sakura’s door again. A familiar scent, piping-hot container in her hand.
“I really don’t need you to bring food every day.” Sakura reluctantly opened his door.
“I didn’t bring food every day.” Kotoha rolled her eyes. She dropped the plastic-wrapped container in Sakura’s hand.
“Your face looks terrible. You hadn’t had dinner again, didn’t you? You always forget to eat. One day, your stomach would teach you some lesson.”
Sakura sighed, “I wouldn’t forget if I weren’t busy.”
He took the container anyway. His stomach betrayed him by growling right when the spicy scent hit his nose. The golden egg was fluffy, ketchup rice was the perfect balance of sour and spicy. He couldn’t even pretend it didn’t taste amazing, dammit.
Kotoha smirked as Sakura devoured his omurice. She crossed her arms, “You really need to do something about your terrible lifestyle."
“It’s not my lifestyle that’s terrible. It’s my financial status that’s terrible.”
“Didn’t you say that you had a job?”
“It’s just enough. I plan to take more shifts when I can choose fewer classes next semester.”
Kotoha blinked, watching Sakura thoughtfully, “Hmm. I’ll think of some way to cut off your rent.”
“You really can do that? That’ll help me so much.” Sakura sparked at the notion.
“Well, I can’t make promises, but I have some solutions…” Sakura scrunched his nose. Kotoha’s smile never meant anything good.
One week later, and still no news from the landlady. The month changed, which was the time to pay rent, and Sakura almost forgot about Kotoha’s plan.
Sakura returned from his shift at the animal shelter. He still had some scratches from the grumpiest cat they had. He unlocked his dorm door, expecting some silence where he could finally rest in peace.
What he found was a blinding light flickering in the room. Fuck, did he forget to turn off the electricity?
When Sakura removed his shoes, he saw a pair of smaller shoes. It looked clearly not his at all. Sakura’s eyes widened. He was quick to run to the main room.
In the main room, the low table was filled with edible food. Sakura looked at the sink, where he left dirty dishes. He woke up too late this morning and only managed to make some ramen. The dirty dishes were… cleaned and stacked nicely in the drying rack. His usual sleepwear was folded and placed neatly on the back of the chair.
Sakura was dizzy. At first, he thought he was in the wrong room, where a very different person inhabited the place. But it was his key that unlocked the door, that was his sleepwear on the chair. Everything seems rational and irrational at the same time.
A stranger came out of the bathroom, humming some tune while holding a stack of neatly folded towels.
“What the hell?!”
“Oh, you must be Sakura Haruka! I’m Nirei Akihiko!” the boy beamed.
“Why the fuck are you in my dorm?!”
“I… live here? Kotoha-san said I could move in today!”
WHAT.
Sakura blinked at the boy who was making himself comfortable sitting before the low table. There’s a curry puffed with fresh steam. Two mugs, two plates, two chopsticks on top of the table. Nirei even set out a glass jar filled with water and a single yellow flower in the middle of the table. The boy himself was dressed in a ridiculous pattern pajama. His hair was slightly damp like he’d just showered, looking all too comfortable in Sakura’s home space.
“Here. I made some food, and Kotoha-san also brought us a congratulatory gift—”
BLAM
Sakura didn’t even think. His flight-or-fight reflex told him to run as fast as possible. He ran and slammed the door shut. He stumbled back into the hallway like he’d just seen a ghost. His hand trembled, twisting the key in the lock with a click. It was as if that could trap the boy inside, and he could pretend it was all just an imagination when he came back. Sakura whipped out his phone and aggressively called Kotoha.
“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING IN MY DORM?”
“Okay, chill~~ You’re hurting my ear. Also, he’s not a thing, how rude. That’s your new roommate, congratulations!”
“I never agreed to this!”
“Hey, didn’t you ask for cheaper rent?”
“I didn’t mean inviting a random person kind of cheaper rent!”
“Ay, he’s not random. I have known that boy since middle school. He talks too much but mostly harmless.”
Sakura punched the wall to let out some of his anger. Not so hard, though, he knew how fragile and old this building was, and he didn’t plan to add unnecessary debt to his name.
“You’re the worst. You tricked me into this mess.”
“I upgraded your facility. Now you’ll have someone who will talk to your lonely ass, a roommate who actually knows how to do the laundry, and someone who cooks.”
“I don’t need a housemaid!” Sakura’s ear blushes heavily.
“Hey, he’s a social welfare major! He’s literally trained to take care of emotionally constipated people like you. Enjoy!”
“I’m not emotionally—”
Click.
Sakura stared at the screen in disbelief. Now he was left alone to deal with the stranger because, apparently, the landlady didn't give a fuck about Sakura’s inner turmoil.
Sakura stood frozen in the hallway, glaring at the door like it would make the boy from his crazy hallucination disappear. For a good thirty seconds, he was standing in silence. Then, grudgingly, he unlocked the door. He cautiously stepped back inside.
Nirei was sitting next to the table. He looked down at the plate in front of him. His eyes were dull, shoulder hunched, fingers fidgeting with the hem nervously. He was not supposed to look as miserable as that in front of the very warm food.
“I’m really sorry,” Nirei softly said, “I- I think it must be a huge shock for you. I mean, Kotoha said I could just come inside this room, but yeah… I literally barged into your space without your consent. Sorry, I also used your stove and rice cooker too. Not the soy sauce, though! A-and the spare cutlery! I- I bought them all by myself!”
Sakura blinked at him. The whole place had been looking all tidy, warm, and lively when the boy barged in. There’s a home-cooked food that really did smell good.
Sakura rubbed the back of his neck, “…We probably started on the wrong foot.”
Nirei looked up with those sad, vulnerable eyes. Sakura was quick to look away, hiding his blush.
“I’m sorry too… for locking you in. I was frightened and surprised.”
Nirei stared. A tiny laugh escaped the boy, “Yeah. You were super fast. I was kinda surprised, too.”
“Hm. I have excellent survival instincts.”
They both stared at each other awkwardly for a beat before Nirei urged Sakura to sit down and enjoy the meal. Sakura sighed, finally caved in, and sat down in front of Nirei. He picked up the spoon and dipped it into the curry. He took a bite.
The curry was warm. Not particularly fancy. A little too much carrot. A bit too sweet for his own liking. The rice was slightly overcooked. But it was warm. It was so very warm it melted his heart.
“Anyway… Kotoha said you’re in Social Welfare?”
That one sentence inviting conversation made Nirei’s eyes light up and smile happily. He was visibly brightening.
“Yeah! I’m a first-year student in social welfare studies. My faculty is on the west campus. We have this big lake surrounded by a park. Sometimes, we took some elderly people to relax in the campus park. I love talking with the grandmas but also want to try working in youth services.” Nirei said quickly, his bubbly energy baring honestly in front of Sakura.
He paused, looking a bit sheepish, “Sorry, did I talk too much? I talk a lot when I get excited, so let me know if it becomes annoying.”
“…It’s okay.” Sakura shrugged his shoulder, and continued to enjoy his meals.
“What about you? I know so little about you. Kotoha-san didn’t say anything except your name.”
Sakura stirred his curry a little. “Kinesiology. First year, too. I’m on the same faculty as the Public Health Study.”
“Oh, that means our faculty is not that far!”
“I can see the lake from my classes.”
They lapsed into a comfortable silence. It’s very different from Sakura’s usual cold, lonely silence. Even though none of them are talking, everything can be heard. The spoons clink. The muted chewing noises. The fan machine rumbled in the distance. The soft breath of an entire person sitting in front of him.
“Hey, why did you suddenly want to move here?” Sakura asked.
Nirei perked up. “My family’s house is in the next district over. I used to commute every day by train. Recently, I’ve been accepted at this beer house near here. So, I asked Kotoha-san if she still has room for rent!”
Sakura raised an eyebrow, “You’re okay working at the beer house?”
Nirei giggled cheekily, “How old do you think I am?”
“Eh? I mean- surely, it couldn’t be that far from me. I’m 18 this year.”
“I’m 19 this autumn, so I’m older! Also, legal age isn’t a requirement to work at the beer house! We have some high school students working part-time at cleaning jobs. I’m mostly good at taking orders and talking with the grandpas.”
“Oh, you do have the talent for that,” Sakura murmured.
“I’ll take that as a compliment!” Nirei beamed, then tilted his head, “What about you? Are you also working on a part-time job?”
Sakura hesitated. “…I worked at an animal shelter.”
Nirei’s eyes sparkled. “Oh! No way, that’s so cute! How lucky! You could play with them puppies and kittens!”
Sakura snorted. “Not cute. Not all the kittens like to play. Sometimes they’re a bitch too.”
Nirei hid his laugh. “Is that how you got that?”
“Huh?”
Nirei pointed at his own cheek. “Right here. There are scratches.”
Sakura blinked, lifted his hand to where Nirei pointed at him, and touched the spot near his cheekbone. He hissed softly when touching the bleeding part.
“Oh damn. Yes, the little demon. She refused to bathe and threw a tantrum when I scruffed her neck.” Sakura grunted.
“You’re bleeding and you didn’t even notice?” Nirei gasped in horror.
“It’s nothing,” Sakura shrugged. “It’s not as bad as when those little menace throw a ball at my face.”
Nirei walked off from the table. He shuffled over the stack of unopened boxes near the wall. “I think I brought a first aid kit. I always have bandages with me because I’m clumsy. Wait there, Sakura-san.”
“No. No! You don’t have to. Seriously, I’m used to this—”
“Got it!” Nirei chirped as he found the red pouch, “Used to it or not, your wound still needs to get treated.”
Nirei came back and knelt beside Sakura. He opened the kit and took out a bottle of antiseptic, cotton, and a pompompurin pattern bandage.
“Sit still,” Nirei said firmly as he sat closer to Sakura.
The antiseptic stung a little as Nirei dabbed it on with a cotton pad. The boy was so focused and careful. It made Sakura weirdly self-conscious. His heartbeat increased gradually. He really wished the other boy couldn’t notice it.
Nirei gave him a small smile and gently pressed the yellow bandages over the scratches. “There. Now your wound won't get infected, and you look cute.”
Sakura blushed heavily at that. Nirei smiled brightly as if the sunshine itself was glowing on this cold night. His cheeks turned up slightly, and Sakura noticed a pattern of freckle dust on that face.
Sakura looked away, heat prickling behind his ears.
“…Move away. I want to drink.”
“Oh, okay. I’ll wash the dishes first.” Nirei chirped. Completely unfazed as he took his empty plate to the sink.
Later that night, while Sakura dried his hair with the towel, he froze in realization when he came into his bedroom. Oh right, he has a roommate now, which means Nirei’s also his bedmate?
Sakura blushed at his own thought. He slapped his face with the wet towel and shook his head quickly, making Nirei look up in confusion.
“What’s wrong, Sakura-san?”
“Everything is wrong!!”
“?!?!?”
Sakura count his blessings because Nirei actually had his own futon. They don’t have to share the same bed, and Sakura didn’t know why he felt a bit weird. He wouldn’t recognize his feelings right now. Sakura walked to his futon, rolled it over, and sat on top of it.
Nirei was busy with himself, dabbing some liquid Sakura was unfamiliar of to his face. When he finished some minutes later, he put off his hairpin and walked to the night lamp.
“I’ll turn off the lamp.”
“Thank you.
“Good night, Sakura-san.”
“Good night.”
Sakura curled up on his side, internally screaming. Who the hell sleeps peacefully in a room with a complete stranger? How was Nirei already deep in sleep? Who gave this boy the audacity to sleep so calmly??
Sakura glared at the ceiling. He noticed that the room looked so dark now. When he couldn’t sleep, the moonlight filtering through the window was his friend who accompanied him to overthink all night. Right now, there were curtains—curtains?? That blocked off the light from the window. It was another ridiculous pattern too, colorful geometry in random rectangles, circles, and triangles.
Sakura glared sideways at the boy who rudely sleeping peacefully.
His breathing is very soft and steady. It looks like he already dreamed some of the weirdest dreams because the boy was weird like that. Sakura couldn’t trust him. What if he’s only pretending to be asleep, and he’ll stab him in his sleep?
In this distance, Sakura could still smell his soap. It was a fresh, lemony scent. Very different from Sakura’s hygienic scentless soap. He also smelled like a fabric softener, probably from that ridiculous pajama. It’s too sweet and making him dizzy, ew.
Wait, no. It actually smelled nice? The too-sweet fabric softener smell blended perfectly with the other boys’ fresh citrusy scent. Damn it, Sakura really wanted to snuggle closer and smell him better.
What the fuck?
Sakura rolled over, backing Nirei away. He rolled again, facing Nirei’s futon without knowing why he did so. In the tranquil place, Sakura could hear Nirei’s soft snore. His chest moved up and down gently. His breath was even and steady. It was rhythmically relaxing.
Sakura’s eyes kept watching Nirei’s breathing chest as if he was being hypnotized by the calm figure. His limbs stopped vibrating with anxiety. He snuggled in his sheets. His eyes fluttered shut slowly.
It was bad. Very bad.
Being Nirei’s roommate is dangerous for his heart.