The next morning, Bambi finds herself staring into space while stirring a cup of coffee. Nothing much had happened last night. She continued hanging out with her girls while Sehun tagged along. He was anticipating Kyungsoo and Jongdae's presence, but unfortunately, she was right about them having lives of their own.

 

What's bothering her at the moment is the eerie similarity between Sehun and her ex-boyfriend, Aaron. Although it's a given that Sehun is way more attractive that Aaron ever was, their personalities seem to be one.

 

Aaron was bright and teasing from the moment Bambi met him. He liked bothering her about the littlest things and wouldn't leave her alone until she got genuinely annoyed. He always meant well in the end though and he could be sweet at times in his own way. As a friend, he was absolutely loyal and caring. Even as a boyfriend, Bambi thought of him as someone who would never hurt her. Admittedly, life eventually proved her wrong.

 

Then, there's Sehun. Even if they'd only hung out a day, she saw way too much of Aaron in him. She has no idea whether God is trying to punish or warn her. The latter would be better, but punishing her seems more probable in her situation.

 

What irks her the most is his constant need to know more about her. She feels that it's absolutely unnecessary, useless, and annoying. She doesn't need more people, more so a faintingly good looking version of Aaron, trying to fit into her already mended life. Although she admits she's curious about certain things regarding Sehun, she can guarantee anyone she isn't curious enough to do anything about it.

 

“Whoa. What am I looking at?” An all too familiar deep voice interrupts her thoughts.

 

She lets out a long sigh before calmly answering, “Your incoming death.”

 

Sehun holds his arms up in surrender. “Just checking.” He rubs his eyes and scans her from head to toe. “You look...nice.”

 

She forces a smile and proceeds to take a huge gulp of her coffee. “Well, I can't exactly have EYE CRUD all over my face whenever I head to work.”

 

“'Thank you, Sehun. How sweet of you to notice, Sehun. You look great too, Sehun.'” He mocks her with the highest pitch he could possibly reach.

 

“But you don't.” She finishes up her drink and washes it by the sink.

 

He snorts while sending an incredulous look at her back. “That's a first.”

 

“Why? Did you have a long line of ladies who complimented you every waking morning in your old home?” She glares at him and sets her cup aside.

 

“Since you asked--”

 

She hastily grabs her bag and heads to the front door. “Goodbye.”

 

“Wait up! I'm going to jog!” He calls after her as he runs back to his room to fetch his iPod.

 

“No thank you,” She says before stepping outside of the loft and breathing out a sigh of relief.

 

“Hey neighbor!” Someone greets in a singsong voice.

 

“Jongdae! Took the day off?” Bambi sends him a warm smile.

 

“Sick leave.” He shrugs and continues to water his plants.

 

She tilts her head at him with furrowed eyebrows. He seems perfectly fine to her.

 

“Oh. Did you want me to...?” He fakes a cough.

 

“Right!” She laughs, “I see what you've caught. The 'society's bull' syndrome. Symptoms include getting sick of--”

 

“People.”

 

“Oh! They get the best of you!” She imitates his fake cough earlier. “I, myself, might actually be coming down with it.”

 

“Oh? Why?”

 

Bambi purses her lips, mentally debating whether or not to tell Jongdae about her new loftmate. Oh crap, right. Sehun said he's going to--

 

“Hey.” A third person joins them.

 

You're a rightful idiot, Bambi. Well done.

 

“Oh.” It finally dawns on the somewhat quick witted neighbor why exactly Bambi's caught his 'disease'. He nods, acknowledging the third person's presence, “Hey! Jongdae. 403. And you are?”

 

“The new guy. I'm Sehun. I just moved in yesterday.” He politely bows and smiles.

 

“Not by choice.” She forces a smile, re-evaluating her life decisions and wondering how in the world she managed to misuse her brain for two whole minutes.

 

“Oh, I see.” Jongdae glances at Bambi and then at Sehun. Although sensing something's off, he continues in a gleeful tone, “Great! Welcome to the building, Sehun!”

 

“Thanks man. I'll see you around!” Sehun waves and focuses his attention on Bambi. “You waited long?”

 

“I never was. Bye Jongdae!” She waves at their neighbor and quickly walks off to the elevator.

 

How do I get him off my back NOW?! She searches through her mind for any brilliant plans or ideas, because she's in no mood to be stuck in an elevator for at least five minutes with the pesky giant.

 

“So...you and that guy are...?” He asks as he presses the 'down' button.

 

“Platonic,” She replies shortly.

 

“Platonic, huh? Not STRICTLY platonic?” He teases.

 

“Well, I don't exactly LIVE with the guy so...” She smiles at him ironically before an idea pops in her head. “Oh! I forgot something in the--”

 

“This?” He takes a mustard yellow scarf from his pocket and hands it to her.

 

Her eyes widen at the sight. She didn't need it, but she really was willing to use it as an excuse to get away from him since she left it on the living room coffee table. “Thanks,” She manages to say through gritted teeth, snatching the garment away from him.

 

“Shame about the stairs being under maintenance too.” He shrugs and nods towards the sign nearby.

 

She offers no response, annoyed at the fact that she could feel Sehun's smirk without looking at him. So much for your BRILLIANT plan, ey?

 

The loud 'ping!' of the elevator, indicating its arrival, breaks the silence between the two.

 

“Jongdae seems nice,” He says as soon as the elevator doors close before them. “He mustn't have work if he's still at home during this time.”

 

She merely side-eyes him while folding her arms across her chest.

 

“You must've known him a long time if you're able to talk to him comfortably like that.”

 

She keeps mum, wishing she could run back to the comfort of her own home. Who cares if she's going to be late for work? That's better than being stuck with a meddling and stubborn Adonis.

 

“Okay. You're a lot scarier when you're quiet.”

 

She lets out a deep sigh before replying, “Nothing to talk about.”

 

“Do you use the scarf tactic on every loftmate you get?” He asks.

 

“No,” She answers curtly.

 

“Did you ever have the platonic--”

 

“Strictly platonic,” She corrects.

 

“Strictly platonic. Sorry I forgot how disciplined we're being about this.” She can imagine him rolling his eyes. “Did you ever have the strictly platonic rule with the last person who lived with you?”

 

She freezes at the question as Aaron enters her mind again.

 

The past flashes right before her eyes and she could feel her breath shortening. Tears are welling up just like any other time she's brought back to the thought of him and their complicated memories. But like always, she mentally scolds herself for being a downright emotional for remembering such trivial things.

 

She then barely manages to whisper, “No.”

 

“Ooh. Something happened?” He nears her and she immediately takes two steps away from him.

 

Before he could badger her further about her old roommate, the 'ping!' of the elevator beats him to it. The doors open and Bambi couldn't be more grateful to an inanimate object in her life.

 

Although she feels relieved, she also feels anger slowly rising inside her. “Rule number three,” She starts as she glares at Sehun standing behind her, “No intruding questions.”

***

Bambi spends the rest of the day mentally debating whether or not it was right for her to snap at Sehun like that. Mostly, she convinces herself that it was pushy of him to ask so many questions about her when he's been living with her for only two days. But on the other hand, he's oblivious to her complicated past with Aaron. So, it's like getting mad at him with no warning sign whatsoever.

 

Which then leads her to wonder when and where Amber met Sehun. She and Amber have been friends since they were kids, so the chances of meeting Sehun would have been high if Amber's known him for a long time. Perhaps she owed him some money? But why would Amber offer up her place if she didn't at least trust Sehun with her life? Amber knows Bambi doesn't like meeting new people, but she went ahead and offered her as some kind of scapegoat.

 

At what cost though??????? AT WHAT COST?! She sighs and tries shaking her thoughts off.

 

She's lucky her boss cut her some slack today. Otherwise, she would've been fired with the number of times she drifted off into her own world, wondering about what life could've been like if she hadn't met Amber. She loved her best friend with all her heart and soul undoubtedly, but the main problem right now is Sehun entering her life without warning.

 

And who's the cause of all that?

 

“Kyungsoo!!!! Kyungie, Kyungie, Kyungie! Kyung, Kyung!” Bambi gushes as soon as she spots her wide eyed neighbor and also, long time best friend.

 

He glares at her despite her enthusiasm. “You know I hate it when you do that, right?” He then looks up at the elevator and taps his foot impatiently.

 

“Which is why I should do it more often.” She pokes his arm playfully as the elevator 'pings!'.

 

“Heard you got yourself a new roommate,” He says as soon as they get in the ride.

 

“Amber didn't exactly give me a choice.” She pouts and pokes his arm yet again. “Switch places with me.”

 

“No thank you,” He chuckles, “Amber is just full of surprises, isn't she? Always been the odd one out of the three of us.”

 

Bambi chortles in agreement to his statement.

 

She's known both of them for as long as she could remember. They hung out a lot as kids and never drifted apart even as adults. Given that they had numerous rocky incidents in the past, especially during high school, their conflicts grew smaller as they got older. One of the many benefits of having childhood friends, as she always says.

 

“Imagine if she'd done that to you.” She snorts.

 

“I'd be planning how to end her right now.”

 

“Exactly.” She laughs as the elevator rings. “You guys are lucky you have me.”

 

As they step out of the lift, Kyungsoo an eyebrow her way. “Playing the mediator now, are we?”

 

She continues to for being such a bully even if his appearance says otherwise.

 

When Bambi tells other people about Kyungsoo, he appears threatening and dangerous. But once they meet him in person, they find it hard to believe. One might even say he looks like the victim and not the bully himself.

 

“What is it that your roommate does anyway?” He questions, changing the subject.

 

She pauses to think about it and slowly realizes that she never really bothered to know. But then again, Amber did mention he was homeless before all this. “I have no idea. But if he's an ex-homeless bum turned into just a bum, then I'm going to have to kick him out soon.”

 

“As always, it's been a pleasure conversing with you.” He bows jokingly.

 

“See you later, Kyungie!” She chirps.

 

He only waves in reply and they both enter their apartments simultaneously.

 

Bambi then takes a quick peek at the living room. Lo and behold, there sits the lanky giant totally fixated at whatever program he's watching.

 

She strides carefully and starts,“Look, about this morning...”

 

Sehun glances up at her briefly and sends her a dismissive wave, “It's fine. You must've been stressed with the whole scarf thing. I know that Mondays are always a . Also learned that you're definitely not a morning person.”

 

Her jaw clenches as she drops her bag on the kitchen counter. “I was expecting you to apologize to me.”

 

“Me???” His attention now is fully on her.

 

“Oh, no. The lamp beside you wants to say sorry to me,” She remarks sarcastically.

 

“Why would I have to apologize for trying to have a normal conversation with you and trying to get to know you?” He stands up from the couch and nears her.

 

She lets out a gasp of disbelief and throws her arms up in frustration. “That's exactly it! Why are you so eager to get to know me?! I'm NOT your friend. I'm your roommate. I'm just someone you live with.”

 

“Because I know that you want me to get to know you.”

 

I call bull. “What?” She grabs ahold of her hair while sending him an incredulous look. “Have you lost your mind?!”

 

“You wouldn't have said to keep this strictly platonic if you didn't want me to.” He shrugs with a small smug smile.

 

“That's not what I meant when I first set that rule. Don't twist my words.” She points at him warningly. Without realizing, she thinks aloud, “Trust me. You wouldn't want to get to know me.”

 

“On the contrary, this is making me want to get to know you even more.”

 

“Yeah? Well, good luck with that. Don't blame me once you start regretting it.”

 

“Challenge accepted.”

 

NO!!!!! That's not what I wanted!!!!!! NO! “No, no. Don't do that. No. No. That's not what I meant!” She widens her eyes at him and waves frantically.

 

“Too late.” He smiles as he proceeds to help himself with some snacks in the refrigerator. “How was your day?”

 

“Great, actually. Aside from the--” She instinctively answers followed by a brief moment of silence. She freezes in place, wishing a hole would just magically appear right below her and swallow her up, ridding her of this world.

 

“UGGGGGH!!!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!” She yells exasperated. “Two days! You've literally been living here for only two days and you're breathing down my neck like some lion waiting to pounce on its prey.”

 

“I only asked how your day was. I didn't ask for a detailed presentation of your ancestry,” He points out with his classic smirk. Sipping his yogurt drink gleefully, he nears her with utmost confidence and pats her head. “Calm down, little one.”

 

She glowers up at him and gently pushes him away. “How old are you, anyway?”

 

“Playing the age card now, are we?”

 

“Avoiding answering the question now, are we?”

 

“21.”

 

“Same age. Fair fight then. Now, don't call me 'little one' ever again.”

 

“I didn't call you that, because I thought you were young. I called you that, because you're impressively small.” He plops back on the couch, half of his attention on the television.

 

“Impressively small?” She follows him towards the living room.

 

“Petite, then.”

 

“Oh, go yourself.” She folds her arms across her chest and frowns.

 

“Thanks for the reminder.” He smirks towards the TV even if it's meant for her.

 

Bambi could only muster a death glare in response, reminding herself to ask for Kyungsoo's help in plotting not only Amber's death, but Sehun's as well.

 

“Y—yeah? Well, you're annoying,” She stutters, glare still intact.

 

“We've already established that.” He finally faces her with a triumphant smirk.

 

Before she could shut him up with a snarky remark, the familiar buzzing of their front door interrupts her. Internally cursing whoever this person is, she turns around and folds her arms across her chest while putting her best scowl on.

 

“Pin number! Emergencies only!” She shouts irritated.

 

“Well, somebody's grumpy.” Kyungsoo's figure emerges into the living room. He grins at Bambi, knowing how annoyed she must be.

 

“What do you want?” She snaps.

 

“Well, you DID say 'see you later'.” He shrugs coolly.

 

“Kyungsoo...” She purses her lips and glares at him warningly.

 

“I...” He frowns at her and tilts his head. “...ran out of...” His eyes dart on different corners of the room, attempting to think of a good excuse, but to no avail, “...s to give. I actually wanted to meet your new roommate. See if I was right about him. And I am.”

 

“Hey man,” Sehun greets with a quick smile.

 

Kyungsoo waves while returning his smile.

 

“Wait. You two know each other?” Bambi questions rather surprised at the new development at hand.

 

“Vaguely.” Kyungsoo sends her a dismissive wave. “He's the boyfriend of one of the mothers of my kids.”

 

Bambi furrows her eyebrows confused.

 

“Not literally MY kids. You know, the kids in my class,” Kyungsoo reminds her that he teaches kindergarten for a living.

 

“Ex-boyfriend,” Sehun clarifies in monotone.

 

“That's too bad.” Kyungsoo tilts his head in sympathy.

 

Sehun nods impassively, not wanting to go into the topic further. “All for the best.”

 

“Wait. Is this why you're homeless?” Bambi stares at him curiously and Sehun glares.

 

“Were,” She corrects herself.

 

He holds up three fingers in reply.

 

Three? The ing... She thinks to herself as the thought of rule number three pops in her head. Oh...

 

“Fine.” She drops the topic and continues in a condescending tone, “See how EASY it is to not be an intruding pest in one's life?”

 

Sehun could only muster a forced smile her way.

 

“Wait a minute,” She says cautiously, gathering her thoughts, “If you two know each other then...” She glances at Sehun and then back at Kyungsoo. “Is that how Amber met him?!”

 

Kyungsoo freezes in place with widened eyes. “Well, if you put it THAT way...” He shrugs sheepishly.

 

Bambi gapes at her best friend. “KYUNGSOO!!! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!”

 

“How was I supposed to know that Amber was going to let him play house with you?!” He raises his voice defensively.

 

“Play house?” Sehun snaps.

 

Bambi shushes him and turns back to Kyungsoo. “Play house?!”

 

“It's not MY fault, alright?!” Kyungsoo yells in panic.

 

“I'm watching you.” Bambi squints at him suspiciously.

 

“Sure. Threaten me. That's done you good in the past,” He remarks sarcastically.

 

Bambi frowns, annoyed at his indifference and decides to change her disposition. Two can play at this game. “Kyungie!” She squeals.

 

His eyes immediately widen in fear. “No, no. Threaten me. It's better.” He slowly steps away from her and sprints for the front door.

 

“Come back here!! I LOVE YOU, DO KYUNGSOO!!!” A devilish smirk creeps up her face as she chases after him. “YAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”