Chapter 1

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"When you pick a place, you really pick a place," Joong Ki remarked sourly, as he set another box down by the door. He wiped his hands on the back of his designer jeans, leveling a look of disgust at the apartment. He'd been complaining about the place all morning, but he'd conceded to help his girlfriend move her belongings. The moving crew had already brought in most of the larger furniture but personal items still had to be brought in and he was the only person who had the day off. Oh joy.

Bora rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, smiling contently at her slightly used apartment. New wasn't exactly the best word to use for it, she thought, if the smell was any indication. There was a sickly sweet scent, like rotten fruit or dying flowers mixed with old mothballs, but the landlord had given her airfresheners to put around the apartment until it finished airing out.

Aside from the smell, the apartment was in pretty good condition; one of the closet doors in the master bedroom needed to be replaced and the tile in the bathroom was hideously stained yellow from tepid water along with one corner of the ceiling above the shower. It was minor superficial problems that she would get around to fixing. The fact still remained that she'd gotten a very good price for the place, for which she had been pleasantly surprised. An apartment out in the city usually cost an arm and a leg, especially one this close to the business district. But she learned not to look a gift horse in the mouth and happily accepted it for what it was.

It was also closer to her job at the Seoul Broadcasting Service building than her old one and she could get to work without having to take the metro, which had been her biggest inconvenience before.  

"I still don't know why you just don't move in with me," JoongKi murmured, leaning against the doorframe. Bora's smile slipped off her face, her lips pinched tight into a line. Not this conversation again. JoongKi was like a dog with a bone about moving in together. He refused to relent about it, possibly in hopes that he would wear her down about it.

She tried to ignore the dejected expression on his face, choosing instead to walk over to the window on the far wall of the livingroom. The window overlooked the busy street, capturing the fast paced lives of the people down below. She loved the city, craved being there. It helped that she had been able to get a job in Seoul. She'd liked Suwon fine enough but it wasn't the same as being in the heart of a bustling city.

"Are there anymore boxes in the car?" She asked midly, indicating for him to drop the subject. She felt his eyes bore intently into her back and a tremor traveled through her body. She tried to pretend it was from coldness, not from how uncomfortable he made her feel under his scrutiny.

"There's a couple more left. I'll go get them," he said finally, his tone clipped. He pushed off the doorframe and briskly walked down the hall. She heard his heavy steps fade off as he got farther away. When she felt like she was alone, she let out a breath of relief.

She and JoongKi had been going out for a little over 2 years. She loved him, she cared for him, truly she did, but he had the tendency to be rather overbearing. The thought of moving in with him seemed to squeeze the air out of her lungs. Simply put, her boyfriend was a control freak. He had to have everything a certain way, things to a certain standard of his choosing. It wasn't that he was a snob or pretentious or a jerk. He just wanted things the way he wanted them. And that's not how she wanted to live, under his thumb.

Bora couldn't handle the force adequacy of JoongKi's lifestyle. She relished in having her own individual space in which her creativity could thrive, where she could just be alone.

The sound of a buzzer brought her attention away from her thoughts and she realized that someone was buzzing her from downstairs. She made her way over to the small intercom console near the door and pressed the talk button.

"Hello?" She heard slightly shuffling and a beep sounded on the other side.

"Bora, I'm locked out. Press the button to unlock the door." Of course. Typical JoongKi to get locked out. She looked warily at the last box he'd brought and sure enough, her keycard and and apartment key were sitting at the top. Sighing aloud, she pressed the button to let him in. A long tone sounded, signaling the door was being opened and then silence.

She started to move away from the console but the buzzer went off again. Furrowing her eyebrows, she came back to the intercom, holding down the talk button.

"JoongKi?" She waited for a response from her boyfriend but recieved only static as it cackled through the connection.

"Hello?" She called, growing more and more impatient. The static began to dissipate, reducing to quiet noise. And then a song began to play. A slow, sad melody poured out of the intercom's spearkers.

"JoongKi, if this is a joke--" she started, angrily. She was getting fed up with all of this.

"If what's a joke?" A voice behind her cut in, causing her to jump. JoongKi was standing there, looking quite pleased with himself, hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"That's not funny!" She cried, smacking his chest, to which he laughed. "And neither was your little prank." She made sure to close the door to make sure the neighbors couldn't hear their business, or at least have a hard time of it.

"What are you talking about?" JoongKi asked, immediately becoming serious. Bora rolled her eyes at him, reaching up a hand to  smooth down the waves of her brown hair. It was just like JoongKi to pull a stupid stunt like this, just to get under her skin.

"Like you don't know," she scoffed. This was too much, even for him.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Bora. I honestly don't," he said, almost pleadingly. She scrutinized him for a few seconds, arms crossed over her chest.

"You're telling me that you weren't the one playing music through the intercom?" She asked, apprehensively and he shook his head.

"After you buzzed me in, I came right on in with the boxes." He gestured to the two boxes stacked on each other as evidence of his innocence. Bora's gaze softened a little and she loosened her arms but still held them across her chest. She looked at the intercom intently for a few moments, almost expecting it to start playing the song as proof she wasn't crazy.

"You've had a long day. Look, why don't you just relax?" Joongki pulled her to him, setting his chin on her head. " We can get some takeout, watch some tv and break in your new bed." He said the last part in a greasy voice and Bora couldn't help laughing. She moved back a little so she could peck him on the lips. He kissed her back and before long, they'd settled onto her new couch in front of the TV JoongKi painstakingly set up, eating bibimbap and joking around. By that time she had forgotten all about the song on the intercom.