This ... chapter?installment? whatever you want to call these thing, is dedicated to hunniedew. So I've actually been done with this for a while but only got around to actually having it edited yesterday lol. Well, the story continues [and this one is only 6000 words and not a ridiculously giant pile of word vomit like the last part]!!! And for those of you just joining us, the stories in this series can be read on their own but I do make references to other parts so you might want to read them. But you don't have to if you don't want to, that's cool too. 

I also want to do a little thing where I put the playlist that I listen to while writing each part because each story I post has a it's own playlist on my iTunes and the songs in these playlists are pretty awesome (you know I'm just saying). So here's the playlist for this story:

Gravity - Sara Bareilles 
White Night - Nell
Gone - Jin
The Man Who Can't Be Moved - The Script
Goodbye Summer - f(x) feat. D.O
Story Of My Life - One Direction (Yes, I like this song don't judge me!) 

Okay, well enough of my blabbering! Onto the story!! ~Admin Kelc

---

1.

“When do you think they’re going to find someone to replace Lust?” Gluttony asks around a mouth full of cereal, “It’s already been two weeks since he decided to stay on Earth.”

Six immortals sit around a table set for seven, one seat vacant. Maids and kitchen hands bustle around them, refilling glasses and bringing out endless plates of breakfast for the Vices (but mostly Gluttony). 

“The real question is,” Wrath says offhandedly as he impales a poor, unsuspecting sausage with his fork, “when is Sloth going to get off his lazy and take his turn going down to Earth, since it’s already been two weeks?”

Sloth looks up from his plate and glances around the table with a stoic expression.  

“Fine,” he drawls, “I’ll go now.”

The other five boys sit up in their chairs.

“Really?” Greed asks in disbelief, eyes wide and mouth slightly hanging open, “You’re actually going to go?”

Sloth shrugs and wipes his mouth with his napkin, “Yeah, I mean I have to go eventually right?”

He pushes his chair back and stuffs his hand into his pockets.

Pride stands up as well, “Well you better come back after a week. We already lost one of us to the humans.”

Sloth rolls his eyes and grunts in reply. He leaves the dining room without another word.

“Yah, Sloth! Did you hear what just I said? Yah!” Pride yells as he continues to walk down the hall, “Kim Sunggyu!”

Sloth merely waves his hand in response, not even bothering to spare a glance over his shoulder at the Vices staring after him. He’ll be back in a week anyway.  

---

After sliding the plastic card into the slot and waiting for the little green light to flash, Sunggyu pushes the door to his hotel room open. He walks into the single room space and examines his home for the next week.

A queen sized bed with white sheets, a flat screen on the dresser, a desk pushed up against a wall, and an armchair in the corner. Sunggyu nods to himself as he peeks into the simple bathroom. It’s definitely not as luxurious as his room back in the castle, but it will do.

He throws his bag on the desk and fishes the vibrating cell phone out of his pocket. He scowls down at the screen that is lit up with the letters NWH. He silences the call and tosses the device onto the armchair before setting his eyes on the neatly made bed in the center of the room.

He flops down onto his stomach on top of the sheets, burying his face into the soft pillows, breathing in the fresh scent of newly washed linen. He rolls onto his back, folding his hands behind his head and crossing one leg over another, closing his eyes with a sigh as he revels in the peace and quiet he can only find when he’s absolutely alone.

2.

He’s woken up by a soft knock on the door. Sunggyu squints at the clock sitting on the bedside table. 11:15 AM. He groans and rolls onto his side, back facing the time that he believes is much too early to be waking up. Ignoring the sound of the electronic doorknob unlocking, Sunggyu throws his blanket over his head and closes his eyes.

He would have probably fallen asleep again within minutes if it weren’t for the sound of a soft gasp and a clattering that follows.

Sunggyu throws the blanket off of his head with a bit of annoyance and casts a narrow-eyed glare at the door. But hard eyes instantly melt when his gaze falls on the girl in the doorway. She’s on her knees, scrambling to pick up small bottles of shampoo and conditioner that are rolling on the floor.

Sunggyu’s not sure if it’s her small frame or hair that’s tied in a braid, but for some reason, she looks too young to be wearing that unflattering maid’s uniform.

She looks up once she’s gained possession of the bottles, eyes meeting his. She clambers to her feet and ducks her head in apology before rushing to leave.

“Wait,” he calls out, stopping her in the doorway. He throws the covers to the side and climbs out of bed.

She turns around to face him and immediately drops her eyes to the floor.

Sunggyu stares at her in confusion for a second before looking down at himself. His lips stretch into a lazy smirk when he makes the connection between his sleep attire (which only consists of a pair of sweats that are hanging low on his hips) and the sudden pool of light pink that’s spreading across the housekeeper’s cheeks.

“You can clean,” he continues, his voice a little rough from sleep, “I’m going to shower so you don’t have to worry about the bathroom.”

She nods her head while keeping her eyes trained to the pattern on the carpet, bottom lip trapped between two rows of teeth.  

Sunggyu forces down a chuckle as he grabs his bag off of the desk and heads into the bathroom. As he slides the door shut behind him, he wonders if he really did hear her sigh in relief or if his lack of sleep is starting to make him hallucinate.

---

He emerges from the steam filled room in a loose fitted white shirt and plain jeans and finds the room empty. He walks over to the neatly made bed where a stack of fresh towels sits at the foot. Towel drying his hair with one hand, he picks up a small square made of cardstock, embossed with decorative designs along the border, that rests on the cotton tower with the other.

“To our valued guest, we hope you enjoy your stay!”

Sunggyu’s eyes linger on the name ‘Jinhee’ that is signed on the line under the printed text. He waves the card absentmindedly as he mumbles the girl’s name, the syllables slightly sweet on his tongue. He slips the card into his back pocket before jumping on the bed, slightly ruffling the sheets as he reaches for the remote and powers up the television. 

3.

Another knock comes at a quarter past eleven the next morning. Sunggyu blinks up at the ceiling, yawning as he pushes himself into a sitting position.

Jinhee walks in with a stack of towels and more small bottles of hair products. She jumps slightly when she finds Sunggyu staring at her from the center of the bed.

“Good morning,” he says as he scratches the back of his head, his voice thick and his smile sleepy.

She simply sends him a polite grin and disappears into the bathroom.

He crawls out of bed and follows her as silently as possible towards the bathroom. He watches her from the doorway as she quietly cleans up the counter and restocks the wire rack over the toilet with a new set of towels. She gathers the used towels that are thrown carelessly on the tile flooring into her arms. 

When she turns around, Sunggyu quickly presses his back against the doorjamb, clearing his throat and molding his features into an aloof expression as he stares at his feet.

As she brushes past him without a word or comment, the scent of fresh laundry lingers behind her. Despite being particularly certain that the scent is simply stuck on her because the constant handling of clean linen, Sunggyu can’t help but take a deep breath and exhale with a sigh.

The scent reminds him of lazy days in bed, when it’s too cold to brave the world outside of his comforter and 1200 thread count sheets. It reminds him of pure bliss and when he’s his most happiest.

He looks up with a small smile at Jinhee who is yanking the sheets off of the bed. She diligently places new sheets on the bed so quickly it’s as if she’s done it hundreds of times before (and she probably has). She finishes by fluffing up the pillows at the head of the bed and placing a small cardstock card on the center of the pillow. She gathers up the sheets that need laundering into her arms and leaves with Sunggyu staring after her.

When the door clicks shut, he shuffles over towards the bed and picks up the card. He grins unconsciously when he finds the same laser printed text at the top and signature directly under. But when his eyes travel below Jinhee’s handwritten name, he feels his stomach sink and the back of his neck get alarmingly warm. 

“I’m glad you found amusement in watching me clean. It’s nice to know at least someone finds my job entertaining :P”

Sunggyu lets his arms drop to his sides as he flops down, face first, onto the bed. He didn’t think it was possible for an immortal to die, but apparently embarrassment does the trick.

4.

Sunggyu stands next to the door at 11:13 AM, already showered, dressed, and hair styled so perfectly he thinks that even Lust would be jealous. He leans against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, eyes trained on the small clock radio on the bedside table. He kicks off the wall when the three changes to four. He hastily adjusts the collar of his shirt and brushes non-existent lint off of his pants.

He doesn’t know what possesses him to behave in such a manner. Waking up early and actually putting in effort into how he looks at such ungodly hours as to those before noon, and for a housekeeper nonetheless. But seeing as she has to do this almost everyday, he figures he’s just sympathizing with the young worker. Yeah, that’s it.

He wrenches the door open at exactly 11:15 and Jinhee is standing on the other side, small fist raised in the air to knock, sheet and towels balanced in her other arm.

“Morning,” he says with a half smile and takes the top half of the white tower in her arms.

She bit on the inside of her lip and smiles shyly up at him as she enters the room.

Jinhee disappears into the bathroom with the towels while Sunggyu throws the stack of clean sheets on the unmade bed.

“It can’t be that hard, right?” he mumbles to himself.

He moves the new set of sheets to the side before yanking off the old ones, imitating Jinhee’s actions from the day before. He picks up one of the folded squares, separating the corners and watching the white material cascade down to the floor.

As he wrestles with the sheet, he feels a light tap of his shoulder blade. He looks over his shoulder, arms still tangled in the sheet, to see Jinhee standing behind him. In her hand is his ringing cell phone.

He manages to free one of his hands and takes the phone from her, silencing the ringer and slipping into his back pocket without even checking the caller ID.

She blinks up at him but doesn’t say anything and instead takes the sheet into her hands, freeing him of its clutches. She lays the sheet over the mattress with ease.

“You don’t say much,” Sunggyu blurts out before he can stop himself.

Jinhee looks up at him, face completely expressionless.

He drops his eyes to the floor and rubs the back of his neck, thinking he must have somehow offended her. He’s never been good at talking with others, especially humans, and even more, girls.

But a small grin appears on her face and she shrugs offhandedly before tucking the sheet neatly under the mattress. She fixes the comforter and fluffs the pillows, dusting off her hands as she examines her work. She collects the laundry and makes her leave after sending an always-polite smile towards Sunggyu.

For the first time in his life, Sunggyu decides to actually take advantage of a moment of opportunity, acting on impulse, instead of letting it pass him by.

“Jinhee,” he calls, stepping into the hallway.

She stops pushing her cleaning car towards the room next to his and turns around. Her eyes widen slightly when they land on the immortal’s figure.

“Will, um, you always be cleaning my room?”

She nods slowly, eyes never leaving his.

Sunggyu is the first one to break eye contact, dropping his gaze to the floor.

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow then,” he mumbles quickly before rushing back into his room, missing the small smile that appears on her lips in his haste.

---

Sunggyu receives exactly six calls before he picks up his phone.

“What?” he grunts around his room service sandwich, eyes glued to the television screen.

“Wow! You actually picked up! And you’re awake already?”

“Yes I am, now what do you want Lust?” he says taking another bit of his sandwich.

Woohyun’s loud laugh echoes through the speaker, slightly hurting Sunggyu’s ear, “Meet me tonight at 9:30,” the younger boy demands.

“Why?” he asks, shuddering a bit at the thought of leaving the safe haven that is his hotel room.

“Because!” Woohyun whines.

“You sound like a needy girlfriend,” Sunggyu chides.

“Only for you, babe.”

The elder rolls his eyes; he can just hear the cheeky smile through the phone line, “Ugh, I’m going to throw up.”

“Have you been eating too much dairy again?”

“No,” Sunggyu grimaces as he eyes the three different types of cheeses under his sandwich’s top slice of bread.

“Okay good, I don’t want my honey bunny to have a sore stomach when he sees me tonight,” Woohyun sings.

Sunggyu’s shoulders deflate, “Goodbye, Woohyun.”

“See you later, moonpie,” said boy coos, “I’ll text you the address and don’t be late!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

Sunggyu ends the call and throws the phone over his shoulder. It lands on the pillows at the head of the bed.

“So annoying,” he mutters, focusing back on his sandwich and the show playing on the television.

---

Bells chime softly when Sunggyu pushes the door of the corner coffee shop open. He’s just about to check his phone to ensure that he’s at the right address when he spots Woohyun sitting at a table near the window, the younger boy’s fingers tapping against the porcelain mug as he watches cars pass by on the street. He slinks over to the table and slides into the vacant chair.

“You actually came,” Woohyun says with a playful twinge in his voice, still staring out the window.

“Well, you asked me to come. So I did,” he answers simply, slouching down into the chair and crossing his arms over his chest.

“You could have said no.”

“I could’ve. But then you would keep bugging me until I inevitably said yes and that would just take so much more effort.”

Woohyun slowly pulls his eyes away from the street and Sunggyu watches him take a sip of his coffee. He narrows his eyes at the now human boy sitting across the table from him.

Although he is admittingly lazy and lethargic, Sunggyu is more observant than others give him credit for. He sits in the back, silently watching those around him, piecing together personalities and characters, discovering the real boys behind harsh and arbitrary labels. He would always compare Woohyun to a fox, or maybe a coyote, what with his sly glances and mischievous smiles.

But the boy sitting in front of him, Sunggyu notes, is someone different. Sure, on the outside he’s still the same but there’s just something about Woohyun that just seems foreign to Sunggyu. Maybe humans just give off different auras than immortals, he didn’t really know.

“So how have you been?” Woohyun asks, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“Okay, I guess,” he shrugs.

“What have you been doing for the past few days?”

“Sleeping, eating, the usual.”

“I can’t say I expected any thing more, Sloth,” Woohyun says, rolling his eyes.

The corners of Sunggyu’s lips tug upward, “I am who I am, Lust.”

 Woohyun chuckles and traces the rim of his mug with his forefinger, “I’m not Lust anymore.”

“Ahhh, that’s right. You gave up your immorality for a girl,” Sunggyu nods and dramatically stares into space with wistful eyes, “But I can’t say that I’m surprised. I always knew that if you were ever going to give up being a Vice, it would be for one of your playthings.”

“She’s not a plaything,” Woohyun snaps, tone low and eyes hard, and Sunggyu almost jumps at the harshness in his voice.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbles, “I didn’t mean it that way.”

Woohyun shakes his head and busies himself with taking another sip of his cooling coffee.

“Why?” Sunggyu asks.

Woohyun looks up at him in confusion, “Why what?”

“Why did you decide to stay on Earth? I assume it’s pretty difficult living down here.”

“It is harder,” Woohyun nods, “actually having to get a job and work, having to make sure that you have enough money to eat. It’s a rude awakening, but things are getting better.”

“If it’s so hard, why go through all the trouble and effort? They haven’t found someone to replace you yet. You can still come home.”

The bells over the door ring as another patron enters the coffee shop, a gust of cold air wafting through the small café with along with her.

“Because certain people,” Woohyun mumbles as gaze slides past Sunggyu’s head, his lips stretching into a small smile, “are just worth the effort.”

Woohyun gives him a small grin before pushing his chair back and standing up from the table.

Sunggyu swivels in his chair and watches Woohyun silently sneak up behind a girl as she orders at the front counter. The look on the cashier’s face makes it seem as if he’s done this dozens of times before. The girl yelps when he throws his arms around her, scowling and whacking his arm when she whirls around and finds him laughing in pure happiness and amusement behind her.

“Why do you always get scared when I do that?” Sunggyu hears Woohyun ask her as he quietly makes his way towards the exit.

“I dunno,” she mumbles back, “You know I’m a jumpy person.”

“It’s probably all the coffee,” Woohyun teases.

“Yeah, probably,” she laughs.

Sunggyu stuffs his hands into his pockets and walks out of the coffee shop, a small smile on his face as he hears words that he’d never imagine leaving Woohyun’s mouth.

“Well, I love you anyways.”

---

Cars pass by in streams of red and white lights. Sunggyu bows his head towards the cement as he walks along the dark windows of businesses whose owners have long closed shop for the night. A group of men stand on the sidewalk, out of the spotlight of the nearby streetlamp, a block away from his hotel and he eyes them curiously as he walks by.

They’re huddled together and the vicious smirks plastered on their faces could lead any person with an ounce of logic to believe that they’re not just having a moonlit chat (he guesses it’s drugs or alcohol or something of the like but trying to find out takes too much effort and it is much too late to care about anything other than sleep). And because Sunggyu likes to live his life according to the saying, “curiosity killed the cat,” he passes quietly, not wanting to search for trouble or run into the wrong people.

He’s literally one crosswalk and four slabs of concrete away from the warm hotel lobby when he hears a soft whimper.

He glances over his shoulder and realizes that the men are not crowed around something, but someone. A girl, it appears to be.

He stops in the middle of the sidewalk and watches the men jostle her round, ignoring her struggles.

Usually, Sunggyu wouldn’t have given a second thought about the affairs of others. The thought of jumping into action and helping a stranger, being the “good Samaritan”, a city’s everyday hero, is just too much for him to handle and should be kept in movies, not reality. It was much easier to focus on himself and his own needs and sometimes, even that took a bit too much effort in his opinion.

But something about the girl has him rooted in his spot.

Was it because she was defenseless, outnumbered, and obviously smaller than the men around her? Was it because he could hear her faint sobs when no one else could? Or was it because she (in the most minute way possible) reminded him of a certain girl who fluffs his pillows and brings him fresh towels at 11:15 AM every morning?

She does kind of look like Jinhee, he guesses. But then again, the housekeeper didn’t have any particularly distinguishing physical features. Sunggyu squints to try and get a better look but the shadows casted from the yellow street lamp conceal her face and identity. There’s no way that this girl is Jinhee, he decides after a moment.

But what if it was?

Just the thought that he could potentially leave her to fender herself sends his mind into overdrive. He battles with himself, his gut tousling with his mind.

Help or leave? Help or leave?

On top of interpersonal interactions, he’s horrible at making decisions (and this is probably due to the centuries of lazing around and the glaring lack of life changing choices immortals seem to encounter). So therefore, Sunggyu honestly has no idea what to do.

But luckily, a piercing siren and blue and white flashing lights make the decision for him. Two police cars pull up to the curb next to the group of men and the girl and Sunggyu lets out a sigh of relief.

He tucks his hands deeper into his jacket pockets and walks away from the scene. He doesn’t bother to find out who exactly the girl is. His brain and body are too tired from all the excitement and physical activity (aka the walk from his hotel room to the coffee shop and back) he experienced throughout the day to comprehend any new information anyway.

5.

“I got this, I got this,” Sunggyu grunts as he finds his vision completely clouded by white linen the next morning.

When the sheet is pulled off of his head, he in a deep breath and looks around wide-eyed and disoriented. His lips dip into a frown when he catches Jinhee staring down at the (evil) bed sheet that’s draped over her arms and pressing her lips into a tight line in order to hide her smile.

“I promise I’ll get it one day,” he mumbles.

She laughs silently as she tosses the sheet of the bare mattress. As she straightens out the corners, ensures the edges are parallel, the creases crisp, the faint color of purple catches Sunggyu’s eyes.

He’s over to her side in less than a second, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her towards him. She stares up at him, flustered, as he twists her wrist, revealing splotches of blue and purple contrasting against her creamy skin.

“What happened?” he asks with his voice in a whisper.

It’s as if a stone is sinking from his chest into the pit of his stomach as his eyes rake over the trail of bruises going up her arm, but it’s really just his heart.

Jinhee, like always, remains silent.

“What happened?” he says again.

Jinhee screws her eyes shut and shakes her head. She attempts to pull away but Sunggyu just tightens his grip around her fragile wrist.

“Jinhee, tell me what happened, tell me who did this to you,” he says lowly, trying to contain the rush of emotions coursing through his veins.

She opens to respond but nothing comes out.

“Did something happen … last night?” he asks, holding his breath.

Jinhee hesitates before nodding and Sunggyu is hit with a guilt that causes him to physically stagger a few steps backwards.

He was there. He could have stopped them, he could have protected her, he could have done something. But he didn’t. He did what he, Sloth, always did: he stood on the side and watched like an idiot.

His throat tightens, heart clenches, and words start to tumble out of his mouth before he can stop them.

“Did you call for help? Scream? Fight back?” he already knows her answer before she shakes her head, “And why not? Are you just mute or something? Or are you just stupid?!”  

After a few deep breaths, Sunggyu freezes and stares at the girl in front of him, realization dawning on him and a second round of guilt washing over his body as he watches her eyes gloss over. All the silent laughs and quiet smiles make sense now. The reason she never responded to his attempts to make conversation is perfect clear. How could he not realize that she was mute before?

“J-Jinhee, I – ”

But she turns back towards the bed and immediately goes back to making the bed. She stuffs the edges under the mattress and rushes into the bathroom to pick up the dirty towels.

Sunggyu bites on the inside of his lip so hard that he can taste blood. But he doesn’t feel the pain, his body is too numb to feel anything.

Jinhee emerges from the bathroom with an armful of towels and she bolts out of the room, Sunggyu staring after her.

The door clicks quietly behind her. Silence has never been so loud.

6.

He wakes up the next morning to a loud knocking. Bleary eyed, Sunggyu rolls out of bed and drags his feet across the carpet. He opens the door to reveal a housekeeper and he notices two things about the girl standing before him. One: she’s way too chipper than anyone should be allowed to be before noon, and two: she’s not Jinhee.

She smiles brightly up at him and begins to say, “House keep –”

But Sunggyu slams the door in her face before she can finish.

---

Sunggyu once heard that taking walks are a good way to clear your mind, so he decides to give it try later that night. Apparently, according to most romantic comedies and dramas, you’re supposed to get some sort of revelation while aimlessly wandering around a busy city. But Sunggyu soon finds out after approximately four minutes and twenty-seven seconds of stepping out of the hotel lobby that these walks are incredibly and utterly boring. No revelations, no signs from God or some other type of higher power. In fact, he just thinks more about his problems.

As he rounds the corner of the block that his hotel sits on (with a slight limp from kicking a lamp post out of frustration), he stops in the middle of the sidewalk. His heart starts to pound in his ears when he finds a group of men crowded around a girl, a girl that he knows is Jinhee. He clenches his fists into tight fists and closes his eyes, taking deep breaths as he tries to calm himself down. Going against everything he’s ever believed in, he stuffs his hands into the pockets of his jacket and slips a nonchalant expression on his face.

“Well isn’t this just sad,” he says as he saunters up to the men.

They turn towards him and he catches a glimpse of Jinhee, his heart breaking at the sight of the tear tracks running down her cheeks and her visible shivering.

“What did you say?” one of the men steps towards him.

Even as the man towers over him, Sunggyu continues to stare up at him with boredom.

“I’m just saying that it’s a little sad how you’re all ganging up on his poor girl when she’s completely defenseless. She obviously can’t fight back against you guys and it makes you guys look a little … weak?”

“Weak?” the man scoffs, “I’ll show you weak.”

He swings his arm, aiming to punch Sunggyu in the face, but Sunggyu grabs his fist before it can collide with his nose. Unfazed, Sunggyu pushes the man’s fist down while staring him straight in the eye.

“Let’s not do this,” the vice drawls, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

The man, being dumber than Sunggyu anticipated, attempts to punch him with his free hand. Sunggyu catches his wrist and twists his hand behind his back. The man tries to fight out of his hold, but Sunggyu simply kicks the back on his knee with his foot, forcing him to buckle to the ground.

“I told you not to do this,” Sunggyu mumbles and shoves the man to the ground, “Now get out of here before I call the cops.”

He exhales deeply as he watches the man and his friends run off then turns towards Jinhee. She hugs herself tightly as quiet sniffle and hiccups linger.

“Jinhee,” he carefully places his hands on her shoulders.

She jerks away and looks up at him in alarm, eyes red and puffy.

“Are you okay?” he asks softly but immediately chastises himself for asking such a dumb question, “What am I saying? Of course you’re not okay. But … are you hurt anywhere?”

Her bottom lip trembles and tears start to gather in her eyes as she shakes her head and rushes into his arms. She sobs into his chest and Sunggyu really wishes he’d gotten out more. Maybe if he did, he would have the slightest inkling of what to say, what to do.

He ends up just holding her and simply lets her cry because sometimes, the best thing to say is nothing at all.

---

It’s almost midnight when they reach her apartment. It’s a modest two-room space, clean, no frills, simple, just like the owner. Her tears have dried but her eyes are still swollen and a hiccup shakes her body every now and then and Sunggyu can’t help but think that it’s adorable.

When she disappears into her bedroom to change, Sunggyu walks into the kitchen area of the living room area. He finds a folded towel after rummaging around for a few minutes and wraps a few ice cubes in the towel. He walks towards her bedroom and hesitates in front of the door. He knocks softly.

“Jinhee, I’m coming in.”

He opens the door slowly and finds her sitting at the edge of the bed in a loose t-shirt and a pair of sweats, her head bowed towards the floor. She looks up when he sits next to her and hands her the makeshift ice pack.

“This should help with the swelling around your eyes.”

Her lips twitch into a feeble smile and she gingerly presses the cloth up to her eye.

“Do you live here alone?” he asks as he helps her hold the cloth and ice cubes in place.

Jinhee nods in response.

Confusion takes over her features when Sunggyu suddenly stands.

“Wait here, I’ll be right back. Keep holding that to your eyes,” he says before rushing out of the room.

She frowns when she hears the front door open and then close but continues to press the cloth to her face.

When Sunggyu returns, he finds Jinhee standing in the kitchen over the sink.

“What are you doing?” he asks her.

She points to the slightly melted ice cubes in the sink and the damp towel on the counter.

“Oh, okay,” he nods, “let me see your eyes.”

Jinhee freezes when Sunggyu tilts her chin up and leans close.

“The swelling’s gone down, but your eyes are still a little red,” he mumbles and then glances down at the black plastic bag hanging from his fingers, “I should have gotten eye drops, too. But here.”

She takes the bag from his hand and peeks inside. She pulls out a bottle of pepper spray and stares at Sunggyu with wide eyes.

He smiles and rubs the back of his neck, embarrassed, “To, you know, protect yourself. Is it too much?”

Her eyes turn into half moons, her lips into a smile and warmth erupts from Sunggyu’s chest. She laughs silently, shaking her head.

His shoulders relax, “Good. Be sure to always keep it with you.”

She nods and turns the can in her hands. Sunggyu looks at the clock on the microwave and sighs. 2 A.M.

“It’s getting pretty late, I think I should go,” he says, unwillingly turning towards the door.

But a hand wraps around his wrist, stopping him from taking another stop. He looks over his shoulder and Jinhee is staring at the ground, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. She glances towards her bedroom and then to Sunggyu and then quickly back to the floor.

“Do you … want me to stay with you?”

She nods faintly, the top of her cheeks dusting with pink.

Sunggyu presses his lips together to stop his smile from showing and slips his wrist out of her hand, lacing his fingers between hers before leading her into her room.

He waits until she’s nestled in under the layers of sheets and blankets before turning off the lights. He lays on his side, facing her, arm tucked under his head.

“Goodnight, Jinhee,” he whispers and closes his eyes.

Before he can fall asleep, he feels her grab his hand. He opens his eyes and finds her holding his hand over his face. He’s just about to ask her what she’s doing when she starts to draw shapes on his palm with her forefinger. But he soon realizes that they’re not shapes, but letters.

Thank you.

A small grin plays on her lips as she places his hand on her waist and closes her eyes.

In the past few days, he’s experienced a myriad of emotions, done more physical activity than he has done in the past few decades combined, attempted to make a bed, and even bought a bottle of pepper spray from a small (and somewhat sketchy) convenience store. He’s completely exhausted and figures that his life would be still be so effortless if he just remembered to put the Do Not Disturb sign on his doorknob.

But as he smiles in the dark and shifts closer towards the sleeping girl, wrapping his arms around her small frame, he realizes that Woohyun was right (though he’d never admit it out loud). 

Maybe some people are just worth the effort.

7.

Jinhee wakes up to her alarm clock and an empty bed. She frowns and tears suddenly start to prick at the back of her eyes as she stares at where Sunggyu laid the night before.

A small cardstock square rests on the pillow that Sunggyu had used. She picks it up, shaking her head with a smile when she sees her signature at the bottom of the housekeeping card, and flips it over.

I called your boss and told him that you wouldn’t be going in for work today. Enjoy your day off!

-SG     

She pads into the living room still smiling down at the card in her hand. She leans against the counter and plays with the corners of the card when someone rings the doorbell. She walks over to the door and opens without a second thought.

“What are you doing?” Sunggyu immediately starts to scold her as he stands in the hallway on the other side of the door, his duffle bag at his feet, “Did you even look who it was? What if I was a murderer? Where’s your pepper spray? I bought you that for a reason, you know!”

She leans against the doorway and crosses her arms over her chest, completely unapologetic but slightly amused.

When he finishes his little rant, Jinhee stares up at him expectedly, eyes flickering between him and the bag on the floor. 

“Oh right, um,” he coughs and clears his throat, partly awkward, mostly embarrassed, “So my reservation was only until today and I don’t really have a place to stay because I didn’t really expect to be staying longer than a week and you said that you didn’t live with anyone and now I’m rambling because I’ve never really been good at talking to people but what I’m trying to say is … you need a roommate?” 

Jinhee rolls her eyes and grabs his duffle bag off the floor, carrying it into towards the couch in the living room. Sunggyu laughs and follows her into theapartment, shutting the door behind him.