Given that Taemin had been staying at his apartment for the past week, Jongin's mood remained in a state of severe irritation. It was only supposed to be for one night, so why was he still there? Somehow, despite everything, Jongin just couldn't bring himself to kick Taemin to the curb. It should've been easy, but for some reason, it just wasn't. And so, Jongin spent the week internally arguing, torn between wanting to kick Taemin out and feeling that he should let him stay. 

Why couldn't things just be simple?

He had to admit, however, that having another person around had its benefits. Taemin was an ideal housemate, he was fairly quiet, but when Jongin wanted someone to talk to, he was there to socialize, regardless of how rude Jongin was towards him. Although, there were probably more downsides to living with him. For one, Taemin lost everything. At this point, Jongin had told Taemin to not touch any of his stuff, since if Taemin had it, it was likely that nobody would see it for a while. Jongin didn't even know how he did it, it just happened. It was like the guy was cursed. There were other minor annoyances, but that was Jongin's largest complaint, aside from Taemin's utter lack of culinary skill. Jongin had thought someone who worked as a barista might be an okay cook, but he was proven to be very wrong. Taemin could barely cut an apple, it was sad to watch, really. 

The thing that probably bothered Jongin the most though, was the undeniable guilt hiding in the back of his mind. It would surface at night, eating away at him until he thought he could no longer bear it. He tried to tell himself that feeling guilty was irrational, that there was nothing to be guilty for, but deep down, he knew. He knew why he was guilty, and he knew that his emotions were justified, he just wasn't ready to admit it yet. He doubted he'd be ready to admit it ever. 

*****

"Jongin, I'm curious about something," Zitao turned to look at Jongin from where he stood next to him, cleaning one of the coffee grinders.

"Oh?" Jongin responded, his full attention on the machine in front of him. 

Zitao leaned in close, voice a quiet whisper as he asked, 

"Are you and Taemin together? I know you're living together, but are you two, you know... dating?"

Jongin's focus snapped to his coworker. He felt his face heat up, and could only pray it didn't show. 

"What? No, of course not! He just needed a place to stay and I had room, so I let him stay with me. It"s only a temporary thing, you know." 

"Oh. It's too bad, you guys would make a cute couple."

"Geez, Zitao, we're just friends, neither one of us is interested in taking things any farther. He's just getting over a major breakup for goodness sake!" Jongin hissed before walking into the staff room, away from the annoying man. 

What the hell had made Zitao ask him that?

The other employees didn't think the same thing, did they? Jongin certainly hoped not. Did it really seem like they were dating? He shuddered at the thought. If it did, he would have to do something about it. He didn't need people assuming those kinds things about him or anyone he happened to be associated with. It didn't help his guilt in the slightest, and he wanted nothing to do with a romantic relationship, whether it be rumored or real. 

But then Taemin called his name, and he felt his heart melt. 

*****

It was a Saturday night, about two weeks after Taemin had started living in Jongin's apartment, when Jongin really wished he had the will to kick Taemin out of his apartment. Jongin was feeling oddly social, and they'd been watching a movie together when there was a knock on the door. 

Wondering who it was, Jongin got up to answer it, unlocking the door only to have it thrown open in his face, his best friend barging past him into his apartment. 

Oh no. 

"I thought I'd stop by since-"

Sehun stopped short, confused. Jongin sighed. 

"Jongin, who's this?" He asked, turning to look at his friend. Taemin was standing up now, looking uncomfortable.

"Sehun, this is my sort-of roommate, Taemin. Taemin, this is my best friend, Sehun." 

Taemin's face brightened, and he smiled, holding out a hand for Sehun to shake. 

"Oh, I've heard about you, it's nice to meet you!" He said politely. 

Sehun shook Taemin's hand, shooting Jongin a curious look. 

"So are you guys-"

"Hey, Sehun, let's go talk in my bedroom, there's something that I want to discuss with you. Let's go. Now." Jongin rushed, cutting Sehun off before he could finish his question. He grabbed the taller's wrist, dragging him away from Taemin. 

Once they were safely inside, he closed the door behind them, letting go of Sehun before leaning against it. Sehun opened his mouth to speak, but Jongin interrupted him before he could even get the words out. 

"No, we are not dating."

"That's not even what I was going to ask, but alright, Jongin. You don't need to be so paranoid about everything, you know. I swear, every time you introduce me to someone you feel the need to say that, chill out."

Jongin felt himself relax, and saw Sehun roll his eyes, but he didn't care. 

"Anyway, don't you think it was pretty rude to just leave him out there?"

"It's okay, we live together. He knows what I'm like." 

"Oh my gosh, Jongin, that doesn't mean it's okay. I swear, you have no social skills. How you even make friends these days is beyond me." Sehun looked exasperated, and Jongin knew it was because he was being an , but he didn't care. For some reason, Sehun still put up with him, and he doubted it would change, but he did know when to give in to his best friend's arguments. 

"I guess you're right..." Jongin admitted, although he felt no remorse for his actions. 

"I am right. Anyways, your friend's cute. I think I'd like to know more about him, so how about we go back out there, huh?"

Jongin nodded, a jolt of fear shooting through him. He knew Sehun. And now he knew that Sehun was interested in Taemin. Part of him wanted to let things progress the way Sehun wanted, if he could dump Taemin on him it was good riddance anyway. But something else inside of him felt uneasy, almost protective over his roommate.

Of course, for some reason, that part of him was stronger, and in that moment, Jongin knew there was no way he'd let Sehun have him. He had to do something. He didn't know why, but he had to make sure Taemin would never take that sort of interest in Sehun.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N

aaaa! I'm really sorry if the ending wasn't great, I'll probably go back and fix it at some point. :/

Anyways, I think I'm going to change this story to a Sunday/Monday update schedule since it's easier for me. 

Thanks for all the love and support!! <3 :D

I'm really tired so I'm gonna go now... I'll say more in a different A/N

Thanks for reading!

-H