Changwook concentrates on stirring his customary two packets of sugar in his espresso to drown out the murmurs behind him. Seriously! What's it to those high school girls if his girlfriend's more into talking on her phone than to handsome ol' him. And what does being handsome have to do with his girlfriend having an important discussion with her building manager? These kids know nothing about adult priorities!

He's totally chill af... somewhat worried when she got that text from her building's manager to call her immediately. Minyoung even briefly put that person on hold to tell Changwook it's not a gas leak or robbery like he's imagining.

It's still something that has her stressed though. He wanted to do a dramatic gesture to make her feel nice and asked for every chocolate pastry in the house, a total seven he's sure she'll have no problem scarfing down, and a thick chocolate shake.

She's not noticed the cakes and shake though, nor his longing glances at the truffle cake. Her hand is holding the spoon since the first pastry was placed in front of her but she still hasn't scooped her first spoonful.

He looks at his watch, noting that they have under two hours before they have to meet the others at the harbour for their private cruise. Gently he taps on the table to get Minyoung's attention and then gestures at his watch.

Minyoung gasps slightly, realising she's been on the phone too long. "Listen, I have to go. I'll sort it out when I'm back." Minyoung curtly hangs up and drops her phone on the table with an exasperated sigh. Grabbing the shake, she takes a long sip of the milkshake to calm down. "I hope this is all mine. I'm in no mood to share." She says while taking a large spoonful of the black forest.

"You can have it all but I want to taste too." Changwook finally takes a bite of that pastry he's been waiting for. "Something wrong with your apartment?"

"The fire safety is a joke, that's what's wrong. Almost lost a boyfriend because of it." Minyoung huffs around her spoon. "He's surly because I filed a complaint about the safety violations in the building. He's saying he could make it difficult to renew my lease when it expires next month."

"He can't do that! It's illegal!"

"Of course he can't. But I'm not sticking around either. Half the smoke alarms aren't even working. I'm already looking at other places." She throws him a playfully seductive wink, "Two of my potential new addresses are 10 minutes away from your house."

To her mild surprise Changwook doesn't show any enthusiasm. He nods, takes a sip, and looks pensive. Is he pretending to be uninterested before he finally shows some excitement? "10 minutes huh?" Maybe he is. "Nope... too much time. I'd like zero minutes."

Minyoung scoffs a little. "Zero? That's only possible if I'm living in... your... house..." now that she says it out loud she finally catches on to his hint. "You're not suggesting..."

He shrugs, nonchalant but somewhat charmingly enticing "You've seen the house. There are alarms, sprinklers, six fire extinguishers, outdoor cams, everything within walking distance, a closet full of your clothes and a very goodlooking housemate." He tilts his head in the direction of the teen girls in the next table, "their opinion. Not mine."

Changwook is surprised at his own impromptu decision as soon as he heard Minyoung is looking for a new place. Maybe it’s the result of keeping Yunho’s secret pre-proposal to Jaejoong to himself that he’s eager to take his relationship a notch. He’s not even drawing from his alter-ego. He’s emboldened and inspired by Yunho who is so confident about Jaejoong.

Minyoung's lip twitch. She tries to stay serious but not stern. She intended to give him a small smile to show she likes the offer. But it just turns into a full blown grin coz damn she's happy. He wants to live with her. As much as she wants to stay rational, because of the one hasty decision she made about moving to another country for a man, she's happy.

"I'm happy about the offer... as you can see," she flippantly gestures at her smile.

"do I hear a 'but' coming?"

She offers him a big spoonful of cake to soften the blow, "Wouldn't some say... it's too soon?" Minyoung knows he doesn't care about the time or he'd never suggest they live together. But she has to protect herself. Changwook is not Minho, but she can't be the same Minyoung either.

"Let me lawyer this out for you." Minyoung purses her lips when that smile threatens to just give away she's already half convinced when he's trying so hard. "Sure, we've only gone out a few months. But! We met each other's parents a lot sooner. We revealed our deepest, darkest stories early on. And besides, how many times have you gone to your apartment since we came back from Japan? Like six? That too only to get your things for work? And you've already commandeered half my closet and the one in the guest room."

"Spending lot of time together is not the same as living together."

"Of course it isn't. You've stayed over enough times to know that we don't have to be joined at the hip just because we're under one roof. I'm only presenting a solution to save you money."

"Elaborate this money saving option..."

"well... when do you think we're ready to live together? In another six months? So your lease expires in a month and you'll move to another place. And then if I ask you to move in after we've been together a year, will you cancel your rental agreement or tell me to wait till it expires?"

Minyoung is tongue tied. She can honestly see herself making those excuses out of fear no matter how much she wants this.

"About the money saving part, you'll never have to pay rent or for utilities-"

"no way! I can at least pay utilities!" She doesn't like how he that eyebrow arrogantly. "Really? Min, I know you earn pretty decent but that house costs triple your salary in utilities. Not to mention the staff it takes to maintain the place."

"But I don't want to be a freeloader!"

"You don't have to be. You can manage the place like you've been doing for weeks."

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