Chapter Text
Who exactly had managed to convince Abby that getting a Bachelor's in Fitness in a different city was a good idea again? To study at a Global College in Korea just because he had lived here for a few years and this College offered a lot?
Curse you, Mira.
Abby let his head drop onto his steering wheel. Jinju-Si was anything but a small city, and he was glad that he had a place to stay — but four, he'd be living with four strangers. Not that socializing was a problem to him, no. Mira had always called him a “Social butterfly-himbo with no brains and too much brawn.” (Which was a total lie by the way.)
Maybe the pink hair dye was too much? Korea was pretty strict with this type of stuff. What if his new roommates would ban him from everything because of it? What if they’d not let him in? What if—
Okay, nope, all this spiraling wasn't doing for him. Within seconds, he had a number dialed on his phone, the device set up carefully between dashboard and front window to have the screen face him. He tugged at his orange floral-patterned button-up, adjusted the collar of the white T-Shirt he wore underneath — and finally, Mira picked up.
“‘Sup, Abs?”
“Still only looking at me for my abs, hm? A pity, I've got such good—”
“Quit playing around, I can tell you're distressed.”
Abby paused. Yeah, Mira was like that. There was a reason that, had dancing not worked out for her, she would've studied Psychology. Alongside him, in this new city…Now, don't get him wrong. He was obviously happy for his basically-sister, and he'd always be her biggest supporter, but can you blame him for wanting not to be alone?
Abby slouched in his seat, wrists crossed on his steering wheel.
“It's silly, really. Just…,” he paused for a moment, the words stuck in his throat, twirling them around in his mind as if he was trying to search for a better, nicer, easier on his soul way to word it, “...I'm worried.”
“Worried about what?” Mira pulled her phone closer to her face, and he could see her eyes darting around, as if she was searching for the solution in his video.
“Like, my new roommates.”
“‘N why's that?”
“Have you taken a look at me? I've got pink hair.”
“Correct me if I'm wrong –I'm not– but that was your suggestion? You said to ‘Dye our hair a matching color’.”
“Because— Well— Ugh, I hate you.”
“Feeling is mutual.” Mira rolled her eyes jokingly, then she put her phone closer to her face again, eyes narrowing. “Are you still in your car?”
“You noticed that one early.”
“Dude, you're such a wuss sometimes, Abby. Get out of that car and into your apartment before I appear in Jinsu-Si and carry you in there.”
“Promise?”
“Fuck off.” Mira leaned back in her chair and tilted her phone slightly. Abby could see Zoey, one of Mira's two best friends, lounging in said pink-haired girl's bed. He huffed — she was one to talk when she and her two best friends had lived together for two years now.
“You're not helping. I called you so you could help me, and you laugh at my misery and make fun of my anxieties.”
Mira deadpanned the camera, watching Abby pity himself. Then she sighed, moving closer to the phone.
“Abby, listen. You're a cool guy, okay? Anyone who can't see that is just an idiot, so if your new roomies can't see that, they're idiots.”
“Awww you love me, Mimi!”
“I hope you die.” Mira groaned, rubbing her left temple with her free hand.
Abby could feel himself soften a bit, though. Mira didn't just say this kind of stuff to anyone, and whenever she did, she meant it. The pinkhead sighed.
“Okay, I got this,” Abby mumbled, more to his horn than his phone.
“That's the spirit.” Mira mused, having heard him nonetheless. She shot him a finger gun, and Abby huffed again.
“Yeah, the spirit of my ancestors turning in their grave the moment I enter that apart— Did she just hang up?”
Abby stared at his phone's now black screen, brown eyes wide. Then, a text message appeared. He grinned when he saw the sender. The pink heart and flower looked good to her name, even if she had tried to punch him over it.
Mira 💕🌺
> are you heading inside yet??
2:14pm
> on my way!🏋♂️
2:15pm
Abby sighed, letting his hand drop. One deep breath, then he got up, closing the car door gently behind him. Deciding that he'll save himself one journey from the second floor, he grabbed two boxes already.
He had memorized the description which Jinu, the guy who actually owned the apartment, had sent him. Enter the building, head to the stairs on the left, walk up and then down the hall, last door on the right. Said last door was easy to find – there were only two.
Abby placed his boxes on the ground and adjusted his clothes one last time, making sure his white T-Shirt didn't appear too creased, straightened his button-up's collar, and wiped some dark spots from his white sneaker.
Okay, maybe he was going a bit overboard. Usually, he was way less of a nervous wreck – what had gotten into him?
He raised his hand and knocked on the door. Padded footsteps which halted just before they would've reached the door. Abby blinks. It takes a strangely long moment for the door to swing open.
“Hi!” The guy who greeted him had thin, silky black hair, almond colored eyes, and wore rather simple clothes: A black T-Shirt and white loose pants.
“Hey,” Abby grinned, extending his right hand. The guy –Jinu, probably– took it. “I'm Archibald Wright — but please don't call me that. Everyone calls me Abby!”
“I'm Jinu." Jinu flashed him a smile, pushing the door further open with his hip to make space for Abby and the two of his boxes he had brought with him.
“You've probably got more boxes somewhere? I'll help you carry them in and then I'll show you around the apartment. It's kinda, uh.. generous in space.” Jinu rubbed his neck sheepishly.
Abby nodded as the other guided him to a hallway on the right, gesturing toward the wall so he could place his boxes there until they had everything inside.
“Okay man, not to be nosy, but how exactly could you afford an apartment like this ?” Abby questioned, taking in the size of the whole thing.
Generous was almost an understatement. This thing was huge . Like the kind of apartment you'd expect atop one of those skyscraper luxury hotels, where the bathtub is big enough to fit a family of six, the kind where you could probably host a party of a hundred people.
The common area hosted two big grey couches opposite to another, and two matching beanbags rested on either side of both. Big windows let sunlight highlight light wooden shelves, which appeared empty because of how spacious they were. Jinu must've attempted making the whole thing seem homey by filling the shelves, but the poor dude likely didn't own enough stuff.
The kitchen to the left presented a big kitchen aisle and marble working areas. The whole thing was highly technical, with a fridge that could serve ice cubes and a multitude of machines arranged by one wall, many of which Abby couldn't even name.
“Oh, uhm–,” Jinu's cheeks tinted pink, “—my Dad owns a semi-big company and got this apartment for me. He kinda hoped it'd make me all popular with the rich kids, so he could strengthen his connections… and stuff.”
“Oh,” Abby frowned. While having your Dad gift you a giant apartment must be cool, he didn't exactly sound the type you'd want to have game nights with. Not that his own father was better.
“I'm not like— I'm no Nepo-Baby or anything!!,” Jinu scrambled for an explanation, but Abby just waved his hand left to right.
“You're all good dude. I didn't think you were one.”
Jinu stared at him a moment, then released a sigh of relief. Poor guy. Abby shot him a grin, then turned on his heels to head for the door again.
“I can carry most of my boxes. I don't have that many, but if you want to help, you could uh–,” Abby halted, hand on the doorknob as the Ravenette other followed him, “–carry in my bag? It's on the passenger seat.”
Jinu nodded, passing by Abby to head to the parking lot. While they walked, he gestured around, explaining the different cafes and restaurants and shops Abby would be able to reach from here. But, if he was quite honest, he forgot literally everything Jinu explained.
So, a topic change was necessary.
“...and the Campus Library is also pretty close, just down the street and left, th—”
“What's your Major?”
“Huh?” Jinu blinked at him, then his face seemed to fall, as if Abbh's question had sucked all the enthusiasm from him. “Oh, right. It's financial law.”
“They got that here?” Abby blinked. This College was infamous for its creative offers. Abby himself had picked the Fitness Course here specifically because of that. He wasn't exactly the best at studying, and most Colleges required a whole lot of biology and chemistry and neurobiology, and whatnot in their study plans.
“Yeah. They've got all the courses here, they're just better equipped for creative stuff.” Jinu mumbled, not meeting Abby’s eyes. It wasn't Abby’s business, but the guy seemed so down suddenly — oh dear, had he done something wrong?
Abby unlocked his door just as he unlocked a spiral of worries. Has he already ruined this? Maybe the pink hair dye was too much. Yup, it was definitely that. That and his American accent must make him seem like an idiot with no sense of responsibility or politeness or—
“Arch- Abby, if you're just gonna stare into your car, I won't be able to help much.” Jinu stood beside him, arms crossed with a humorous smile on his face. Abby startled and quickly moved to the side.
“Right, sorry! Got a bit daydreamy there.” Abby stepped toward his trunk, loading as many boxes as he could balance onto his arms. Luckily for him, he was pretty good at that. Not quite effortlessly, but at least without struggling against the weight, he managed to grab the last box and closed his trunk with his elbow.
Jinu wordlessly snatched the keys from him and locked his car again, then the two headed back toward the Apartment Building. Revising the way from the parking lot to the apartment itself was one thing, but to actually do it when you're fully loaded with boxes that block parts of your vision.
Jinu easily flanked his side and led him to the apartment. With a low sigh, Abby placed the Boxes next to the others. At the same time, Jinu placed his bag next to the boxes.
“Alright then Jinu, show me round.” Abby clapped his hands together and Jinu chuckled at the sight.
“Mkay. Let's start with where the bathrooms are. Unless you,” Jinu gave him his second once-over of the day. “Wanna see the home gym?”
Abby had to fight everything within him to not audibly gasp.
“Home Gym?! Yo, that's awesome!”
Jinu snorted and Abby raised an eyebrow before he realized the other was messing with him. Okay, mean, but at least the earlier tension was resolved. The Ravenette shifted, gesturing for Abby to follow him.
“Okay, so what exactly do we need two couches á la two beanbags for?”
“They're not– Okay, well– Ugh.” Jinu groaned, but by now Abby understood that his groaning was all in good sport. Abby raised an eyebrow with a smirk, tugging at his button-up.
-
“Is that— Oh my fucking god.” Abby dropped onto his knees in front of the biggest tub he had ever seen. As if the three, three , bathrooms between the bedrooms weren't enough, this one at the end of the sunlit hallway had a goddamn hot tub.
Abby caressed the marble, almost teary-eyed.
“This is a dream come true. A hot tub big enough to turn around in. This is all I ever wanted. If this is College life, then never let College end. This—”
“Geez, get a room.” Jinu rolled his eyes, arms crossed as he watched Abby rest his cheek on the cold white stone. “And please don't cry onto the hot tub, it doesn't like that.”
Abby snorted, slowly getting back up – not without patting the edge of the tub.
“Too bad, it's gonna have to get used to me crying on it after a bad workout.”
Jinu scoffed fondly, “Fitness Majors and their melodramatics.”
-
Jinu tapped against the last machine on this side of the kitchen.
“And this is an old coffee machine. It grinds the coffee beans freshly, if you give it enough.”
Abby nodded, but he felt as if his head was exploding. The kitchen had looked filled to the brim with all those special features which a modern kitchen from Korea would have from the get-go, but holy shit, Abby had not expected it to be such a handful.
It felt like every other thing Jinu explained to him had another especially strict rule which he needed to follow, unless he wanted the machine to blow up on him. He steadied himself against the kitchen aisle behind him, hands grabbing the edge. Jinu raised an eyebrow but didn't comment on it. How kind of the guy.
Abby took the chance to glance around the kitchen, all the while Jinu turned to grab his phone from the counter, glancing at the time.
“The others are gonna arrive sometime soon too, but feel free to settle in.” Jinu cocked his head, eyes shifting to look at the boxes which still stood in the hallway, untouched. “Want me to help you unpack?”
Abby blinked, then shook his head, flaring his hand through the air dismissively, “No need.”
Abby hurried to carry his bag and the few boxes he brought to his room, and in the meantime, Jinu sat at the high table beside the half-wall that separated the kitchen from the dining area, feet perched on the bar stool's lower ring thingy.
-
Once every box had found its place lined along a bare wall, Abby flopped face first onto his bed. The five-hour drive from Seoul to here had torn at his strength, and he just wanted to relax real good for a moment. The softness of his bed almost lured him into a nap, but he knew that if he slept now, he’d be awake all night.
Jinu was nice. Nicer than Abby expected, though if he was honest, he didn't know why he was so afraid in the first place — this was College, not Jail. Albeit some might say that those are the same things anyway.
He grumbled into his pillow, then turned around. The mattress felt damn good against his stiff back, but he knew he needed to unpack. Knowing himself, if he isn't gonna do it now, he'll never do it.
Still, a quick text can't hurt.
Mira 💕🌺
> good news, my roommate didn't eat me
in other news, theres still 3 guys who might end up hating me
but jinu the owner is nice
2:58pm
> that wasn't so bad now was it?
2:58pm
> yikes your tone wounds me
2:59pm
> yeah. the tone in texting.
2:59pm
> yeah ˊᴖˋ
2:59pm
> how's the apartment tho
send some pics when you got the time
unless your roomies r gonna eat you if you do that
3:00pm
> jinu is lowkey a nepo baby
but a baby of an asshole so it balances that out
ill send you pictures and youll know what I nean
3:01pm
> “nean”
3:01pm
> 🙁
3:01pm
> but sure, can't wait to see the photos
3:02pm
Abby placed his phone on his bedside table, attaching it to the charging cable in the same motion. With a deep yawn, he got up, stretched, and placed his hands on his trained hips, taking in his room thoroughly. It was about as big as his bedroom from his apartment in Seoul, maybe a bit smaller.
The walls were spotless, a creamy white color, and had not a single hole in them. His bed was big enough for two people, if they hugged close, made from white wood with a headboard big spacious to have books stapled on it. Abby ran a hand across the white desk, which stood opposite the bed. The chair was comfortable, not a typical computer chair, but a soft grey one with full armrests instead.
The pinkhead huffed — yeah, this apartment was owned by a rich rich guy. The shelves and the wardrobe provided to him were big and nailed into the wall, not just some cheap home-store thing carelessly shoved into the corner.
Luckily for Abby, he didn’t actually bring that much stuff. He had already finished unpacking two boxes, one of which filled to the brim with books –not that Abby was much of a reading fella, no, all his books were viable for his studies– and the other stuffed with T-Shirts. He sighed as he stared at them. At home, he had believed it’d be fine to just smash those clothes into there, but now some of them were in desperate need of being ironed.
Jinu had shown him a small storage room. Had there been an ironing board in there? God, maybe Abby should’ve taken a notebook with him on his tour, or maybe Jinu could’ve given him a list with what they had and what they didn’t have.
Before Abby could go and ask him, though, a knock sounded on the door. Abby only heard it faintly, and he was sure that if the person outside just knocked a little less… ferociously, that he wouldn’t have heard it.
“Gee, the poor door,” Abby said to no one, already heading to his very own door to poke his head outside. His eyes followed Jinu as he rushed for the door, halting two steps in front of it to run a hand through his hair before swinging the door open.
Both Jinu’s and Abby’s heads tilted slightly downward — not by a lot, the guy behind the door wasn’t tiny.
“Buenos dias and good morning.” The guy greeted, taking a lollipop out from his mouth to do so, “Name’s Baki Nam.”
“Hi, I’m Jinu.” Jinu pulled the door open further, allowing Baki to step inside. He was wearing a bright yellow sweater with a white star on it and loose blue jeans. The yellow of his sweater almost clashed with his obnoxiously babyblue hair.
Ha. So Abby wasn’t gonna be the only one with an unnatural hair color.
Baki confidently dragged his black suitcase behind him until he, Abby supposed, realized he had no clue where he was headed. The smaller boy blinked, then spun around to face Jinu. The latter gestured toward the hallway, immediately getting the inquiry within Baki’s look.
“Your room’s the second on the left.”
Footsteps, rustling, and before Abby had the chance to say anything to Jinu, Baki returned.
“This shit’s huge. I mean, I saw the ad and what it said there, but — holy shit.”
Abby grinned since he had the same exact reaction. Realizing he hadn’t introduced himself yet, he stepped in front of Jinu, who was just opening his mouth to speak, grinning, one hand extended.
“HI, I’m Abby! To a good cohabitation!”
Baki blinked up at him, then took his hand.
“Don’t crush me with those pecs and it’ll be one.”
“Wasn’t planning on.”
“They all say that.” Baki huffed, but there was no malice in his voice. Abby smiled.
“Ahem.” Jinu cleared his throat behind him, and Abby stepped to the side, throwing him a (not really) apologetic smile. “..Right. I wanted to ask, Baki, your first name is Japanese, right? And your last name’s Korean, no? Cause if not, I might’ve—”
“Nah, you’re right. This baby’s–”, his unoccupied hand flew to point his thumb at himself, “–a mixed baby!”
Both Abby and Jinu chuckled at that.
“You aren’t fully korean tho, are you?” Abby found that having an accusing finger with a painted nail in chess patterns pointed at you wasn’t a fun experience. He swiped Baki’s hand away easily.
“Nope. I’m from the US, but I’ve been spending all my vacations here since I was, like, five? I moved here for real only 2 and a half years ago, tho.”
“Cool. Cool, cool, cool…” Baki slowly turned around, dropping his lollipop back into his mouth, not pretending to even be remotely interested in Abby’s life story. He can’t blame him, exactly. Jinu jumps when the door, which he had been standing quite close to, is suddenly knocked on again.
The Ravenette turns his head to look at Abby and Baki with wide eyes, and mouthed “Is it weird to instantly open the door?” . Abby shrugs, Baki scrunches his nose, as if the question was utterly dumb, then stalks toward the door, but Jinu catches his wrist before the blue-haired man gets to open it.
In a quick and precise motion, Jinu maneuvers Baki away from the door and turns to open it himself.
“Hey there.” The owner of that lulling voice, unfortunately, stood right where Abby couldn’t see him.
“Hi! I’m Jinu.” Jinu beckoned the third of his four new roommates in, his own voice close to cracking.
And wow, Abby wasn’t gay, but the guy was a looker, and he understood the tone of Jinu’s voice.
Soft, rosa hair, carefully styled to almost mimic the shape of a heart, a soft beige blouse, dark brown pants. Jewelry, and a lot. A ring on every other finger, simple bracelets which matched said rings, which matched the chains he was wearing, which matched his heart-shaped earrings. The guy had a theme going on.
With elegant, long steps, he strolled into the apartment, greeting both Abby and Baki through a gentle nod. Baki raised his left hand in response, the right one occupied with his phone, while Abby nodded back.
The guy came to a stop once he stood within the light of the windows, almost striking a pose.
“I’m Roman.”
“European?” Abby beamed. He had always wanted to visit Europe, but between his mini jobs, training and learning Korean, he never found the time — or money. Roman gave him a once-over, then smiled, brushing one of his dyed pink hairstreaks behind his ear. (It’s starting to get creepy just how many people also dyed their hair.)
“Indeed. I’m from Italy, but I’ve lived basically everywhere before.” This guy’s –Roman’s– accent was stronger than Abby’s, but he was still easily understandable. “And you’re…?”
“Abby.”
“Baki.”
Abby, Roman and Jinu all turned to the source of the voice: Baki, comfortable on the couch in the worst slouch Abby had ever seen. His fingers twitched, aching to do the Job he had done gracefully at his old Gym.
Roman angled his body toward Jinu once more, one hand on his chest, right where the charm of one of his chains lay.
“May you show me my room?”
“Course!” Jinu gestured toward the hallway, already walking ahead, explaining how the bathroom distribution was intended to be.
Abby scratched his neck, his gaze trailing to Baki on the left of the grey couches, upside down, phone in hand. He appeared to be chewing on the stick of what once was his lollipop. He didn’t seem to mind the lack of candy.
“Are you just gonna keep staring, roomie?” Damn, he was perceptive. Or Abby had an intense gaze, who knew.
“Nah.” With that word, Abby made for the beanbag beside the couch, the one closer to Baki. The latter glanced at him once, then back at his phone, clearly not minding the silence — Abby didn’t either.
For exactly one minute.
“Sooo, what’s your Major?”
“Dance.”
Huh. Out of all the things Abby could've imagined, that wasn't it. He blamed Mira a bit for that too. His image of a dancer was a tall, lanky person who looked like they could move their limbs wider and faster than humanly intended.
Baki didn't look lazy or anything, just not like the image of a dancer in Abby's head. And he also just forgot that one can study dance, because it feels so absurd to study such a physical thing.
Then again, wasn't he the one studying Fitness?
“Didn't think of that, what?” Baki must've read into his silence. Abby shrugged, or tried to, since his arms were sprawled to on each side of the beanbag.
“Not really. I keep forgetting you can even study that.”
“People study dead languages.”
“True.” Abby chuckled, allowing his head to fall back. That's when Baki moved, rolling until he lay on his stomach, phone shoved into Abby's general direction.
A video of a dance routine from some KPop Idols was playing.
At least, he assumed so.
The screen was littered with arrows, pointing to all sorts of directions, following the men's movements. There were notes on the side of the screen, certain motions were circled — and even though it was a lot, it had a certain beauty.
“That's… pretty dope.”
“Yup.” Baki rolled back, now a bit closer to Abby, “It's interesting. Makes you think about why certain moves just look the way they do. And dancing is fun, so that's a bonus.”
“Huh.” This time, he didn't think the word, but stated it outright. Baki met his gaze.
“And you?”
“Me, oh—”
A knock sounded on the door. Likely the last one of today, unless Jinu had extra guests invited.
Speaking of Jinu, he just returned with Roman, both of them deep into some conversation, when he heard the knock. Abby watched as he immediately made for the door, only to pause, again, and run a hand through his hair, again.
Huh, Abby thought, for the third time within minutes.
Jinu gently opened the door, a smile already on his face.
“Hi, I'm Jinu!” He stepped aside, making way for their last roommate to enter. (Abby was really lucky that he had arrived so early today.
The guy who entered also had dyed hair; A pale purple, almost silver. It was styled to cover his face, the back streaks falling into his neck.
Sometime in between, Abby had gotten up, ready to greet this last roommate.
“I'm Hyun-Moon.” The (almost) silver-haired boy spoke, voice low.
Hyun-Moon… Abby tilted his head. If he remembered correctly, and he was sure he did, then that name meant something like “Learned Mystery”... and it fit, if he was honest, with the way he seemed to hide behind his bangs.
“So, Hyun-Moon—” Abby stopped, realizing how his American accent butchered the other's name. Hyun-Moon tilted his head at him, “If I just call you Mystery, would that be okay for you? Cause I don't think my American ass can properly pronounce your beautifully Korean name.”
Mystery met his gaze, confused (Abby believed), then shrugged.
Opposite to Baki, whose posture had made him worry earlier, this guy's form made Abby feel a strange, distant pride: The guy had what some people called a "Sleeper Build" and, despite his inward, shy posture, stood tall and properly somehow. He wore a purple turtleneck and a soft, crochet white shirt above that.
“Sure..” Mystery didn't seem fully convinced with his reasoning, bur accepted nonetheless. Abby gave him a thumbs up.
“I'll show you to your room!” Jinu intervened, maybe in an attempt not to have Abby embarrass himself further. Or maybe the sight was so painful, he had to.
“Yes, thank you.” Mystery grabbed his black shoulder bag in the same moment in which Roman sank onto the couch opposite to him, taking out a book from seemingly nowhere.
Abby watched them for a moment, heart squeezing a tiny bit — finally, his search found an end. He had an apartment, and a big one, with a damn hot tub .
Yeah.
College life could start.
Abby was ready.