Doojoon was sitting in front of his laptop as he tried to look for the house inquiries online. He was given by his parents a three-bedroom bungalow and as much as he enjoys the vast area of his new home situated in the most convenient street in the city, it bored him sometimes. Surely, a lot of space provides a breathing ground. The place is also close to his school which makes it even perfect. But man, it does creep him out sometimes when he’d go home in a big empty house. He wondered why his parents bought this for him. It’s not that his complaining, though.

On the other hand, having a big house for himself alone can be quite beneficial, especially if you need to buy a roundtrip ticket to the perfect vacation you’ve ever dreamed of which your parents did not agree on paying. So here he is, looking for a possible lost soul who would want to live in his house and pay him a pretty much reasonable amount for monthly rent. Hey, what’s the use of a three-bedroom house if no one’s going to use the other two bedrooms, right? I might as well help those who are in need of a shelter. He smiled to himself proudly because of his brilliant idea. Give it about six months and he’ll have the ticket to the grand vacation of his life.

He then heard a knock on the door. He placed his cup of coffee on the table as he headed towards the door. A pleasant looking guy in blonde hair was looking at him with a smile. “Hi, my name’s Yoseob. I saw your ad in the cafeteria right across the street”, he said while holding a piece of paper. Doojoon recognized the flyers he printed for the “Wanted Roommate” ad.

Doojoon smiled. This is it! I can finally see my plane ticket to Maldives! He was lost in his own thoughts he forgot about the guy staring at him like he was some kind of a retard.

“What’s so funny?” asked Yoseob, raising his left brow.

“Ah nothing! Nothing! So I see you’re interested in renting a room in this house. Let me show you the rooms. “

Doojoon walked him to the first room. There’s a futon just across the door and a large window just above the futon, a lamp on a small table, a big two-door closet and…and that was just it?

As if Doojoon read his mind, he answered “I live alone, you know so I don’t buy a lot of…furniture. This one is pretty much just a guest room in case a friend or someone wants to crash here for a night.”

They moved to the next room just across the first room. As the door was opened, a smell of paper filled his olfactory system. There’s a window across the door, a closet on its right and a box…another box…another one. A room full of four different boxes in different sizes and colors.

Doojoon cleared his throat, trying to cover up the embarrassment. “You see, I live alone. And I haven’t had the chance to unpack some of the things but we can transfer these boxes outside in case you want to occupy this room.”

Yoseob ignored his explanation. Too much for emphasizing that he’s living alone. Was he trying to say that living alone equates to living in an empty yet messy house?

He noticed another door at the corner of the second room. “Is that the bathroom?” inquired Yoseob.

“Yes. All the three rooms have their own bathrooms.”

Then it was silence. They were both waiting for each other to speak. Then Yoseob said, “Where’s your room?”

……

……

Doojoon chuckled and raised his eyebrow. “I’m sorry?”

“I wanna see your room”, Yoseob said in a very serious tone.

“Why?!” Doojoon’s voice was laced with confusion, if not fear.

Then Yoseob pouted like a six-year old. “I cannot sleep alone.  I am comfortable if I am in a room with someone. I am not interested in any of those rooms, I am more interested in sharing a room.”

Doojoon could not believe his ears. He eyed the man in front of him carefully. Is he gay? Nah. Is he a psycho? Probably.  Do I really have to let him stay in this house just so I can buy a ticket for this damn Maldives vacation? OF COURSE!

“Monthly rent is 200,000 won. You’ve got to buy your own bed. I’ll let you use the other half of the closet.”

He saw Yoseob reached for his wallet and counted notes. He handed in a bunch of wons in his hands. He counted the money and he smiled.

“I would have to ask for your ID. For security purposes, I wanna make sure of course that you’re a university student and not just any runaway.”