Later that evening, Seokjin and I sit at the dining table discussing our living arrangements over pizza for dinner.

 

“You can keep your room,” he says. “I’ll make do with the study room.”

 

The only other room we have is the study room. I used it as a storeroom for a while but I cleaned it out a couple of months back trying to convert it into a more useful space. Unfortunately, I still have quite a bit of junk in there.

 

I nod at him, grateful. “Also, we take turns to clean the house on alternate weeks.”

 

“Fine. But there’s something important you should know about me…”

 

I stare at him in disbelieve, my eyes unblinking. “Seokjin-ssi, you’re kidding, right?”

 

“You really should just call me Jin,” he reminds me. “I’m more used to hearing people call me that. And no, I’m not kidding.”

 

“But… that’s impossible!”

 

Seokjin – Jin – sighs. “We’ll see about it.”

 

“We really have a long way to go getting to know each other,” I conclude, to which Jin sadly smiles.

 

“We’ll be living under the same roof from now onwards, there will be plenty of time to get friendly,” Jin says, standing up. “I’ll do the dishes today.”

 

I shake my head. “Technically, I’m still the host for today so I should be the one doing the dishes.”

 

“You have a lot of things to unpack, Hyekyung-ssi.” Jin puts our used mugs into the sink and clears the boxes off the table.

 

Thinking of all the effort that I’d put into bringing everything out, I hang my head and sigh. “Your things will start coming over tomorrow, right?”

 

Jin nods. “I’ll come over earlier to watch over things. What time are you ending work?”

 

“I’m taking the morning shift so I’ll be back only around mid-afternoon.” I also tell him the passcode of the door. In the living room, I tackle the boxes with my clothes first and move them into my room.

 

“Need help?” Jin asks, watching me return clothes to my cupboard as he leans on the doorframe. His arms are crossed and I can’t help but notice again how well built he is.

 

“Can you help me bring my books in?” I ask. “I have the box labelled.”

 

He answers with his action by immediately carrying the box in. The box would have been too heavy for me but Jin makes it look as light as a feather. He sets it down easily by the foot of my bed.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“No problem.” Jin looks around for a moment. “Do you want me to help you put them up on the shelf?”

 

“No, that’s fine. There’s a system as to how I arrange them.” While tidying my cupboard, I find an outfit to wear for tomorrow and throw that onto the bed.

 

Jin clears his throat. “If you don’t mind, can I start cleaning things out from the other room?”

 

“Hmm?” I turn around to look at him. “Oh. Yeah, sure. You can just throw the books on the shelf into a few boxes and I’ll bring them in later.”

 

I move without keeping track of time but after what feels like an hour, I finally finish putting all my clothes back into the cupboard and start on organising my bookshelf. I know by heart which book should go where so I put them up quickly. I leave spaces in between panels like I did before so I can use them to display other things.

 

“I don’t think you have space on that for anymore more books,” Jin says suddenly, disrupting my flow. He comes up from behind me and eyes my bookshelf. “Were you planning to make the study room a library?”

 

My mouth forms a small ‘O’. “I’ll clear up some space here somehow, nothing to worry about.”

 

Jin raises an eyebrow sceptically. “I have about three boxes of books in there?”

 

When I say nothing, Jin laughs. “The living room is quite spacious so we can get a new shelf outside.”

 

“That extra shelf would be unnecessary expense,” I say, disappointed. “I’m going to just leave the boxes stacked up for the time being.”

 

“If you say so.” He brings the boxes in and returns to his room.

 

While moving around, we would occasionally stop by each other’s room and exchange a few words before continuing with our individual tasks. But Jin hasn’t come by for a while so curious, I put down my things to go take a look at how he’s doing.

 

“Jin-ssi?” I call, slowly pushing the ajar door open. Inside, I almost couldn’t recognise what used to be my own room. The shelves are cleared and the boxes are neatly stacked in a designated corner. The desk that used to be by the wall is now moved to the window. Furniture has been wiped and arranged. The floor has been swept and cleaned. But sprawled out in the middle of the now empty space is a sleeping Jin.

 

I tap him lightly on the shoulder and he stirs a bit but does not wake. He looks so deeply asleep I wonder how tired he must have been. From my room, I take my one and only pillow and a spare blanket over. I carefully lift his head up and slide the pillow underneath before spreading out the blanket over him. He might wake up with a backache from lying on the hard floor but there’s nothing I can do about it. Turning off the lights, I close the door shut.

 

Working more quietly now, I continue to unpack my things.

 

I must have fallen asleep myself because suddenly, my alarm scares me awake. I follow the sound and find my phone inside the cupboard. After turning the alarm off, I set out to prepare for work. The door to Jin’s room is still closed when I come out of the shower. I knock on the door twice.

 

“Jin-ssi?” No answer. Carefully, I turn the handle and open the door. I scream.

 

“Who, what, where…?” An unfamiliar face wakes up in the place of Jin.

 

I pick up the closest ornament and hold it out in front of me. “Who are you?” I demand. With a head of tangled, light ashy brown hair, the new face blinks up at me.

 

“Who am I? Who are you?” He returns the question. He pushes himself up to his feet and standing, he towers over me like Jin did. He stretches his back and I suddenly notice that he’s wearing the same outfit Jin had on yesterday.

 

“Y-y-you, I asked who you are!”

 

He looks down at himself before scrunching his face at me. “Jinnie hyung?” As if only now realising the situation, he tenses. “I, uh… I’m Kim Taehyung. But where is this place?” He brings up a smile and flashes his pearly white teeth. His lips form a boxy shape when he does so.

 

“How did you come in? Where did Jin-ssi go?”

 

“Ah! Is this our, uh, I mean is this Jin hyung’s new home?”

 

I glare at him. “Did Jin let you in? When?”

 

“What date is today?”

 

“First of October.”

 

“Isn’t today the day we’re supposed to move in? I think I remember seeing a note from Namjoon hyung. Wait, so why are you here?”

 

What’s going on now? “This was my house but didn’t Jin-ssi tell you that we’re sharing the apartment now?”

 

“Eh?!” Taehyung’s eyes widen. “We’re staying with a girl?!”

 

“’We’?” Now I’m getting confused.

 

Taehyung squints his eyes at me. “So you’re telling me that you’re staying with us – I mean Jin hyung – but he hasn’t told you about us?”

 

“What are you talking about?” I ask. “Was he not going to be staying alone? How many of you are there? Did the landlady agree to this?”

 

“Wow…” He runs a hand through his hair. “He really hasn’t told you about us? This isn’t like Jin hyung. Anyway, you’re staying with us – Jin hyung – now is it? Nice to meet you, but you probably won’t see him for a while now.”

 

I frown. “What is that supposed to mean? Whatever. I have to leave for work now so if you would please leave. Jin-ssi is supposed to be coming over later so we can confirm with him then.”

 

Dragging him by the arm, I push him out of the house and quickly finish preparing to make up for the time lost while dealing with Taehyung. Rushed for time, I almost forget about him when I leave the house and lock the door behind me.

 

“Are you really going to leave me out here?” Taehyung asks, squatting beside the door.

 

Startled, I take a step back. “Why are you still here?”

 

“If Jin hyung lives here then so do I. We’re the same person, I tell you!”

 

“Yeah, right. I’ll have to hear from Jin-ssi myself to believe you. Besides, the landlady wouldn’t have have allowed you move in as a one-plus-one.”

 

Taehyung grunts in exasperation. “If Jin hyung came out yesterday he won’t be coming out for a while though. I think I already know who will come out next and it’s not Jin hyung.”

 

“What is this kid talking about early in the morning…” Rolling my eyes, I walk away.

 

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