Narrator's POV

The loud ring of the alarm nearly caused Kyungjin to jump out of bed and punch the clock to make it stop. Fortunately, she had enough self-control to turn the alarm off properly without destroying it. In the end, she sat up, nearly cursing herself for forgetting that it was a Saturday, a weekend, which means that her shift would be at night.

She groaned and lay back down to sleep. Her duty with Chunji the day before had been a free-for-all, consisting of one car crash – resolved quickly with the cooperation of the two parties – and the usual patrol around the district. Tossing and turning restlessly, she smiled to herself, deciding she would always choose to sit on the passenger seat as Chunji drove rather than to chase after criminals around streets.

The smile left her face as quickly as it had come. Right now, she didn't have time for emotions. The grogginess left her and soon enough, Kyungjin sat up again. Looking around, she wondered how long it had been since she last cleaned the place. Sure, she lived alone in a rooftop apartment and she barely stayed at home because of her job. But it wasn't a plausible excuse for her home to look like a rat's nest.

Kyungjin stood up, stretching her arms out wide and yawning. She started with her own bed, taking the sheets and folding them properly before piling the pillows neatly on one corner. Contented, she spun on the soles of her feet to face her worst nightmare – clothes strewn on the floor, crumpled pieces of paper over the desk, slippers and shoes with missing pairs, and dirty dishes on the sink.

The woman groaned, feeling defeated even though she had barely even started. Her stomach grumbled, and so she decided to tend to herself first. Opening her fridge, she was greeted by a pitcher of water and an empty carton of milk which expired last year. She glared at it, as if it would disappear with her gaze, but she picked it up and hurled it into the garbage bin.

Advancing to the study table, Kyungjin grabbed her house keys and a sweater before leaving. The cold air had her shivering, especially since she was wearing a thin tank top underneath the sweater. After locking the door and a few seconds of literally freezing – just standing there and doing nothing – Kyungjin looked out on the view below.

It wasn't a sight, really, since the apartment was looking out into the horizon of more buildings and residences. She inhaled deeply, relishing the feel of the cold air filling her lungs in a delicious way. A few minutes later, Kyungjin headed to the stairs and left the building completely. Locking the gates, the woman nearly jumped out of her skin after seeing a figure leaning against the wall.

"Good morning," Jongin greeted with a wide grin.

He wasn't even done with the period on his statement when Kyungjin already let out a string of curses. "Aish, you creep! What are you doing here? Don't tell me you live here? I hate you! Be glad I just woke up and I don't have a gun with me or else you'd be dead! I'd sue you for just standing there and being a erted stalker, you punk!"

The man rubbed his eyes as if he, too, just got out of bed. "You're funny," he commented. After looking at him a little longer with his hair ruffled and disheveled in a good way and his face fresh, she could admit that he does look attractive. But her admiration for him didn't last as she began walking away. "Wait, where are you going?" Jongin jogged after her and reached for her shoulder.

Before his hand could catch her, "Don't you even dare," Kyungjin threatened, twisting his arm, which left him with no other choice but to wince in pain and yank his arm back. She took advantage of this and walked faster to the convenience store just a block away. When she turned and Jongin was nowhere in sight, she smiled to herself victoriously.

She feasted on instant noodles, eating happily like it was as good as home cooked food. Afterwards, Kyungjin bought more to store at home, especially since pancakes are the only thing she could cook and not burn. Finally leaving the store with a plastic bag in her hand, the woman merrily headed back home to face the challenge of cleaning.

Near the gates of the apartment, she skidded to a halt. "Why are you still here?" Kyungjin inquired the man sitting lazily on the asphalt.

At the sound of her voice, Jongin looked up with a smirk across his face. "Waiting for you, what else?" He stood up, dusted his jeans, and reached out to take the bag from her hands. When she had the clueless look, "What? Let me help you," he offered.

"I can do it by myself," she said with a scowl. Opening the gates, she watched as he just stood there, watching her. "What? Aren't you going to go home? Your mother might be looking for you."

At her statement, Jongin just laughed. "I'm 27. I'm free to do what I want."

"You're free to be a thief, is that right? Well, I'm 25," Kyungjin said and entered closed the gate. "And I'm free to lock you out."

"Baby, aren't you even going to let me in?" he shouted while watching her shake her head no and climb up the stairs. Jongin scratched his head and looked around. He noticed how there was a ladder stuck to the wall of the building just in case of fire. But it was well above him. Luckily, the second floor balcony was just within his reach.

He jumped up and held onto the railing before swinging to and fro until he reached for the ladder. When Jongin was sure and stable, he swung his feet up and climbed the first step. The ladder shook dangerously, but he shrugged the fear of a bad fall off. He climbed up and finally reached the rooftop, where Kyungjin was unlocking her front door.

"You really don't quit, do you?" she muttered coldly without even glancing at him.

The man just shrugged and dusted his hands. "I just love challenging women," he stated as-a-matter-of-factly and followed as she entered the house.

"How did you even know where I live?" Kyungjin inquired, setting the bag down on the table.

Jongin looked around the apartment. "I followed you last night. And I just live down the street."

When she realized how his voice sounded clear and not from outside, Kyungjin began slapping his arms. "Ya, what are you doing here? Get out of my house! I didn't even invite you in, you creep! Go home and don't bother me anymore. I'm going to clean the place and I don't want any disturbance here!" she scolded, pushing him out of the door.

"I'll help you clean up. Don't worry. I won't be a–" Jongin explained but was cut off as the telephone began ringing. He watched as Kyungjin froze in her stance like a statue. By the fourth ring, she still hasn't budged. At this, he volunteered to answer the call.

Seeing him inch towards the phone, Kyungjin snapped back to reality. She pushed him away from the phone, but he had already accepted the call and put it on loudspeaker. "Jinnie~" a man's voice echoed throughout the place. The woman smacked her own forehead and smacked Jongin's head after he snorted.

She reached up to his face and covered his mouth. "Ne, appa?"

"How is my little Jinnie doing? Appa hasn't seen you in a long time and I missed you," the voice said.

Jongin watched as Kyungjin rolled her eyes in irritation. He would have to ask her about it later on. "I'm fine, dad. You don't have to worry about me. Just look after yourself." When she was sure that Jongin wouldn't talk, she removed her hand covering his mouth.

The man on the other line coughed and cleared his throat. "I think Sun Hee wants to talk to you." And there was the sound of shuffling on the background.

Kyungjin scratched her head. "Appa, I have something to do. Maybe next time. I'm really busy doing something," she excused. From beside her, Jongin sat down on the couch and as he plopped down, dust came from under him. He inhaled it, causing him to immediately sneeze.

"Is there someone there with you?" her father asked all of a sudden. The woman in question kicked Jongin's foot in revenge.

"Y-yeah. I have a coworker over. We're working on a report. There was a car crash yesterday," she quickly lied.

"Hmm." The man didn't seem convinced. "Is he your boyfriend?"

This time, it was Kyungjin's turn to snort. "No, dad. I'll just talk to you later when I'm not busy."

"Kyungjin, are you lesbian?" her father pressed, and Jongin had to bury his face on the couch to prevent from laughing out loud. Kyungjin, meanwhile, felt more embarrassed than ever. "I mean, you haven't introduced anyone to me or to your mother. If you're lesbian, it's okay. You're still my daughter and I'll accept you for who you are..."

The woman hid her flustered face. "I'll talk to you later, dad," she bid before hanging up. As soon as she did, Jongin burst out in boisterous laughter. "Yeah, yeah, that was funny. Now get out of my house," she told him, nudging him by the shoulders towards the door.

He pried her hands away as he tried calming down from his outbursts. "No, I'm staying. I'll help you," Jongin insisted. Rolling her eyes and giving up, Kyungjin sighed and decided to wash the dishes first. She turned the faucet on and rinsed her hands under the running water. "Who is Sun Mi, anyway?" the man prodded out of nowhere.

The woman looked at him and watched as he arranged the stack of books by the shelf. "It's Sun Hee, babo," Kyungjin responded. "She's my dad's girlfriend." At her statement, Jongin warily threw a glance towards her direction, as if waiting for her to say more. But she pursed her lips and wallowed in silence.

She picked up a dish and began scrubbing it with the sponge, holding it carefully despite her slippery hands. She didn't want the dish to fall out of her grip and break into little pieces. Oh how she hated the sound of that, especially if the main cause for it was her father coming home late and her mother hurling the plates at him. Sighing, Kyungjin rinsed the dish quickly.

"Gee, do you even do your laundry?" Jongin exclaimed. She was about to turn around and return to chasing him out of her house, if it wasn't for the fact that he was holding a pile of her dirty clothes. She couldn't have cared less, but Kyungjin spotted her underwear in the middle of the heap.

"You punk! Give it to me!" The woman turned the water off and took the clothes from his hands before tossing them all into the laundry basket. Jongin watched her in amusement, chuckling occasionally at her agitated expression. And she stormed back to the sink, finishing the chore completely while the man had nothing left to do but look at her.

Drying her hands with the ends of her sweater, she opened the closet and took the vacuum cleaner out. Seeing how she ducked down and plugged the vacuum in, Jongin stood up quickly. "No, let me do it. Your hands are tired," he pressed, to which Kyungjin had no other choice but to let him snatch the machine from her hands.

Jongin began cleaning, as he had told her he would do. And now it was Kyungjin's turn to feel lazy. After almost half an hour of watching him go around the place with the vacuum, she got up and did the laundry. This went on until noon. By then, the woman had collapsed in the middle of the floor, with Jongin lying down beside her afterwards.

Catching his breath, he turned to look at her. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

In response, Kyungjin stood up and yanked him up by his arm. He yelped in pain as he got up, only to be pushed towards the door again. This time, she was angry. "Just get out of my house, Jongin!" she shouted as they both reached the balcony.

The man's face broke out into an all out grin while letting her push him. "Hey, it's the first time you called me by my name," he almost exclaimed.

"The first and last, you punk," Kyungjin said, still pushing him towards the stairs. Because of the loud bantering and the slamming of the door, Kyungjin's rooftop neighbor opened the door and watched the commotion without his glasses on. Chunji had slept in for the day, with the noise from Kyungjin's apartment being his alarm clock.

He scratched his eyes and squinted, watching two blurred figures grappling. "Kyungjin?" Chunji called out from the building adjacent to where she was.

The two stopped in the middle of their argument. "Oh, it's that guy again!" Jongin exclaimed, freeing his hand to wave at Chunji. The latter just nodded, not really seeing clearly because of his poor eyesight. "Sorry if the noise woke you up," Jongin already explained. "My girl and I just had a misunderstanding."

The woman, who had her gaze fixed on Chunji a while ago, smacked Jongin's head. "YOUR GIRL? Ugh, I really hate you. Get out now!" she scolded furiously.

"Aish." The man nursed the spot where Kyungjin hit him. "I just asked you to be my girlfriend. You don't have to be so violent about it because I'm not asking for a quick response."

"I don't care," she said, pushing him a few steps before the staircase. "You can ask Chunji." Kyungjin motion to where he was. "He knows how I don't want to be anyone's anything, especially if that anyone is you, punk." And with that, she spun around and walked back to her house, making sure to lock the front door close.