You were prepared for a lot of things when it came to meeting your prospective flatmate. Maybe she’d be a lot younger than you were, which wouldn’t be that much of a surprise for any PhD student. Maybe she’d be a bit clumsy or messy, also not that weird for students. Maybe she’d be… Well, whatever you had expected her to be, a man was not among those things. And from the looks of it, your prospective flatmate hadn’t expected you to be a woman, either.

“Hana, this is Minseok. Minseok, this is Hana.” The recruiter, a stocky woman with straightened, shoulder length black hair by the name of Jiwoo, introduced you cheerfully. “Our system matched you two up based on your flatmate preferences. But… I would understand if you felt awkward about living together.”

You took a moment to look at Minseok. He looked to be in good shape, from the way his clothes fit him. He had broad shoulders, though his dress shirt was tucked neatly around the waist and fit slimly around it. His face, which rounded and smooth, was symmetrical. Dark eyebrows curving evenly above perfectly rounded eyes. Sunlight broke through the clouds, and when it hit his eyes you could clearly see they were a warm, lighter shade of brown. He would probably look very cute if he were to smile, though currently he looked terrified.

“Hello Minseok.” You offered, bowing your head lightly at him. As you greeted him, your mind worked at lightening speed. It’d taken three months for this apartment to become available. With your current financial situation, you would definitely not be able to find a place that wasn’t subsidized by the university. And waiting for another place to become available would probably take weeks. Jiwoo had said the system matched you up, so there must at least be some things you had in common. Who knows what the next person might be like? Really, it couldn’t hurt to at least stick around for the viewing.

“I would like to see the apartment.” You said. And so did Minseok. He gave you a look, but didn’t address you. Jiwoo, clearly feeling much more uncomfortable than you did, moved to unlock the door of the apartment and stepped in.

The door opened up into a large open area. To your left was the kitchen, which stood elevated on a few steps, and was otherwise closed off by the cabinets. On the other sides of the cabinets stood barstools, marking the cabinets as the eating area. Past the kitchen, though, lay one of the most spectacular views you’d yet seen. The wall directly across from the entrance consisted entirely of windows which looked out on the river. Perhaps it was already that moment that you decided you were okay with Minseok as a flatmate.

“There are two bedrooms on the right, and there’s a door on the left behind the kitchen that leads to the bathroom.” Jiwoo stepped inside. Your body tensed up uncomfortably. In spite of the apartment being as of yet unlived in, the thought of wearing your shoes inside made you uncomfortable.

“Would you mind if I took off my shoes? I have slippers.” You asked, though it was more of a warning. Jiwoo raised an eyebrow, so you knelt down and took off your shoes. Then you ped your backpack and took out a pair of white, fluffy slippers. As you slipped them on and stepped into the apartment, you noticed Minseok kneeling down to take off his shoes as well. He didn’t say anything, but quietly pulled a pair of slippers from his bag as well. Except his came in a smaller plastic bag. Smart! He wouldn’t know how dirty the floor of the apartment was!

“I can see why you two were matched up.” Jiwoo muttered, supposedly under her breath. Neither you nor Minseok acknowledged that comment. You moved past Jiwoo to take a closer look at the kitchen. The countertops were made of wood, polished and varnished. You ran your fingertips along them and smiled at the small dip just prior to the edge of the kitchen. It could catch water, which would stop it from dripping on the floor. Perfect.

You were about to check the water pressure, but found Minseok had already moved past you to test the tap. He watched the water run briefly before closing the tap, clearly processing the same thing you were. Water running well, but the drain…

“Could you call over a plumber before we move in?” It was the first time you heard him speak. His voice wasn’t very strong, or perhaps he just wasn’t the type to speak loudly. Nevertheless, it was a comfortable sound. You also turned your attention to Jiwoo and gave a small nod.

“We had a plumber come by just last week.” She said defensively. You glanced at the sink, then back to Jiwoo. That plumber should be fired, then. But of course you couldn’t quite say that out loud.

“Would you mind if I took at look at the drain, then? Just to be sure?” You offered. Jiwoo’s lips pressed into a thin line, it was clear that she heard exactly what you were thinking. Even though you didn’t mean to be offensive. If you were going to live here, however, you needed the place to be in running order.

“Wouldn’t you like to see the bedrooms first? I’ll see if I can give the plumber another call.” Jiwoo caved in. You didn’t look at Minseok, but had the strange notion that he was on your side. He probably wasn’t all that bad a person to live with. And from what you could see, the bedroom doors had locks on them.

Living with a man turned out to be absolutely no big deal. Mostly because Minseok was the best possible flatmate you could have wished for. You hardly ever saw him, and you saw even less traces of him. Aside from his food in the fridge and cabinets, and occasionally the laundry machine running, there was hardly anything in the shared spaces that belonged to him. He always cleaned up behind him. It was like living with a ghost, except he paid half the rent, too. Even better.

So it came as a bit of a surprise when, as you were sitting behind your desk studying, you heard a soft knock at the door. At first you thought you might have been mistaken, but then you noticed the shadows blocking the light from your door. You saved the paper you were working on just to be safe, and opened the door. His hair was wet. He’d showered. Maybe there was something wrong with it?

Minseok peered over your shoulder discreetly, and you tried not to look over your shoulder as well. It was clean, of course, but you felt much more aware of how full your laundry basket was. You cleared your throat and Minseok’s attention snapped back to you.

“I’m sorry. It’s so clean in here.” He smiled. As you’d suspected, he looked adorable when smiling. “My last roommate was… Well that’s not why I knocked.”

“I was actually thinking I should clean… But why did you knock?” You smiled, taking a step aside and leaning against the doorpost. Minseok stuffed his hands into his pockets and cleared his throat, in oxygen before looking at you again.

“You know Jongdae, right? I went to high school with him and he found out we’re living together and he said he took courses with you last year and you two have the same supervisor…-” Before you could point out that he was rambling, Minseok interrupted himself. “Anyway… He’s having a birthday party and he wanted to invite you. Us. Both of us. And he told me to invite you because we live here… Together.”

There are some people who look better when they don’t ramble in what may gently be described as a vaguely coherent manner, but Minseok wasn’t one of those people. Somehow, you felt that it suited him to stumble over his words. It was cute, like he was. It made you smile, and you decided not to even mention his rambling.

“When is the party? I’m actually terrible with dates so I forgot when his birthday even was. I remember him telling me, but I don’t remember when it was.” There was a vague memory of Jongdae, a young man who grinned like a cat and perplexingly nearly always had terrible haircuts in spite of how expensive they looked, yammering on about how he was older than one of your classmates and yet she refused to consider him her senior. You remembered specifically because in the midst of his rambling, he’d accidentally doused you in soda.

“It’s today. It’s… Eh… I’m sorry. I was going to tell you earlier but… I didn’t. So it’s tonight.” Minseok shrugged, trying very hard to come across like that wasn’t awkward. It would have been infuriating, if he hadn’t been so cute. And if you cared about Jongdae’s party to begin with, which you didn’t.

“Is it far from here?”

“He lives in the same building as we do. He said he saw you in the elevator a couple of times.” Ah. How the tables had turned. Now it was your turn to feel awkward.

“Oh… I… Sometimes I’m just zoned out, you know?” As people do, you thought sarcastically. Why did Jongdae want to invite you when you’d been antisocial without even realizing it? Was he mad? He wouldn’t invite you if he was mad. He’d always been a very energetic and generally cheerful person…-

“I kind of like that about you.” Minseok’s voice became quieter as he spoke. “So… Do you want to go? If it’s not fun we can just go back home, right?”

“That’s a compelling argument. Alright, why not? If it’s not fun, we’ll go home.” Famous last words.

Jongdae was good at throwing parties. He was also a social butterfly, because the people congregating at the party were quite diverse. There were a few people you recognized from the classes you’d shared with Jongdae, but many more people you didn’t recognize at all. More surprising than that, however, was that several of your friends, who didn’t attend this university and never had, were also at the party.

“Hana!” Soojin cried out, making her way over from her group of friends to press a glass of mysterious green liquid into your hand. “It’s been ages! You’ve been locked away in your lab for too long! Come catch up!”

And with that, she hooked her arm through yours and started dragging you away. You glanced over your shoulder at Minseok and mouthed ‘help me’, but Minseok was already being tackled by Jongdae and three other men he apparently knew. Maybe you were being dramatic, Soojin was a nice person, and it was good to see her. And you felt guilty for dropping off the face of the planet.

“How are you Soojin?” You asked, raising the glass and sniffing it before casually lowering it again. Soojin didn’t notice.

“I’m great! Actually, Baekhyun and I are thinking about moving in together, but it’s so difficult to find affordable places to live near uni. I’ve been looking around the area but it’s almost all student housing, and he will graduate this year and I’m already spending more time at my job than I am at university, so we really need something else.” Soojin paused briefly for air and turned her attention to you. “But what about you?! You told me Professor Lee accepted your proposal and that you were allowed to start research in February but then nothing! I was worried, you know?! I had to hear from Jongdae that you moved in here! And who’s the guy you came in with, huh?!”

“I’m really sorry for disappearing on you. I’ve been so busy with my research that I sort of stopped having a social life.” You pouted at her, but Soojin wasn’t swayed so easily.

“So that guy?” She gestured far too obviously for your liking in Minseok’s direction. You looked back and felt the urge to down the green mystery drink. He was looking back at you.

“Can you not… Point at him?” You pleaded after taking a sip from your drink. The strong taste of alcohol nearly made you hiss as it scalded your throat. “That’s Minseok, he’s my flatmate.”

“He’s what?!” Soojin asked, again far too loudly. You felt less guilty for disappearing on her. In fact, you wished you could pull another disappearance right this instance. “You didn’t tell me you were living with a guy! When did this happen?! This had better not be why you were MIA, Hana!”

She nudged your shoulder, and you had to shift to make sure not to spill any of your drink. It didn’t help that the host of the party appeared on your other side with his trademark smile. For once, he actually had a nice haircut. Jongdae really ought to grow his hair out more, you thought. And instantly felt like drowning yourself in alcohol when the grinning cat opened his mouth.

“See?! I told you! I told you she was living with Minseok! Isn’t it so weird?! I didn’t even know they knew each other, and I’ve known Minseok for fifteen years!” He piped in, pushing a second glass into your hands. “Hey Hana. So what the Hell happened?”

“The system matched us up based on preferences for flatmates and we didn’t feel like waiting for another opening.” You answered dryly, taking a sip from the second glass of alcohol. It contained whisky, you realized, nearly coughing from the taste. “Why are you guys making such a big deal out of it?”

“Isn’t it super difficult to live with a guy though?” Soojin asked. “I mean I love Baekhyun, but I swear he has a combusting closet! His clothes are everywhere, all the time! And don’t even get me started on the trash!”

“Psh, Minseok is the opposite!” Jongdae chimed in, squeezing your shoulder. “Isn’t it hard to live with someone who’s such a neat freak?! Minseok and I shared a room on a school outing and I can still hear him!! He sneaks around at night to clean! He put my clean clothes in the laundry!”

“Eh…” You blinked between the two of them. “He’s actually perfect.”

“Oh my god…” Jongdae gaped at you, and Soojin also stared at you intensely. “She’s gone mad from all the research! We need to get her drunk, stat!”

You weren’t really sure how much time had passed, but time did pass pleasantly. As the night went on, the party calmed down until it was mainly people sitting around drinking, listening to music and chatting. By now you were having a tough time keeping your eyes open, so when you managed to find Minseok, you felt a strange rush.

“Minseok… I’m tired.” You smiled, grabbing on to his arm to keep yourself from stumbling. He tensed up, then looked you over carefully.

“Are you okay?” Oh, that voice… So cute. Your lips just wouldn’t obey you, and there was nothing you could do about the smile playing with them. You tried to step back, but Minseok grabbed your shoulders. “Careful! You could… Fall…”

“You’re so cute. I’m just drunk, it’s fine. I get sleepy. Can we go home?” You blinked, struggling to keep your eyes open. His grip on your arms loosened, but not enough to let you stumble around. “If you’re still having fun, you should stay. I want to go to bed.”

“You think I’m cute?” Did you say that out loud?

“Seriously cute! You’re perfect.” You reached up and touched his cheek. It was just as squishy and soft as you’d imagined. “I like your cheeks… They’re soft…”

“W-we should go home.” Minseok muttered, wrapping an arm around your waist and helping you move towards the door. He was perfectly comfortable to lean against. And he smelled good, too. You closed your eyes for a few moments, leaning your head on his shoulder.

You were lucky to live in the same building with Jongdae. All you had to do, which was difficult enough in your increasingly sleepy state, was walk from the door to the elevator, press the right button, and then make it from the elevator to your apartment. With Minseok supporting you, it wasn’t that hard to sleepwalk. But it was hard to stay focused on the task at hand when he kept breathing and existing right next to you. Even in the elevator, where you were able to hang on to a metal bar to stay upright, he was there. And he was intensely beautiful for reasons you didn’t quite understand.

“Do you always get like this when you’re drunk?” Minseok asked as you made your way into the apartment. It was just a few metres to your room, but you had to take off your shoes. No matter how difficult it was. Your fingers had no gripping strength. Hands covered yours. When you looked up, you saw Minseok had kneeled in front of you and was helping you with your shoelaces.

“I’m usually much sleepier… Thank you.” You smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek. Then you slipped out of your shoes and made your way to your bedroom. Luckily, there was only a couch in your way to manoeuvre around. When you pushed on the door handle, Minseok called out to you.

“Hana!” He sounded confused. Did you upset him? You swung around, struggling to maintain your balance. Minseok was hurriedly taking off his shoes before following you, taking your hand to keep you balanced.

“Hana… Did you… Kiss me because you like me? Do you like me?”

“I kissed you because I’m grateful, but I do like you.” You hummed, feeling the door open behind you from your weight pressing on it. Minseok reacted quicker than you expected, grabbing hold of the door handle, and your hand that was on it, and pulled the door closed again. With that he was suddenly a lot closer to you. He wasn’t much taller than you were, so you didn’t have to strain your neck to look at him.

“You really are perfect.” You babbled without really realizing. Minseok’s face turned strangely pink.

“Thank you.” The words came out clunkily. Maybe he wasn’t used to being complimented so consistently? You had neither the brain power nor the time to consider it, because he continued. “You make it easy for me to be brave, Hana.”

Then he kissed you.