"Come on in. Sorry it's a bit messy. Doesn't look like a girl's house to you right? Hehe," Sasya welcomed Jay into her apartment, shifting the stuffs that was blocking their way

Jay was attracted to the interior design of the apartment instead of bothering about the mess. It felt different to him because he used to be living in a huge house and now it felt like the house has magically shrink into a smaller one. His eyeballs started to monitor the kitchen, living room and finally the two bedrooms. Sasya then led him towards a small empty bedroom, occupied by a single bed and a closet which was enough for him to stack all of his clothes in there.

"Make yourself at home and if you need anything, just call me alright?" Sasya told him and give him some time alone in his new room

"Thanks!" Jay exclaimed

Once the door was close, he threw his bag aside and landed on the soft comfy bed to allow his lethargic body to relax itself. His stomach was giving him signs again but he was too shy to go out and prepare himself something. Moreover, this was not his house and laying hands on people's property was a wrong thing to do without permission. His stomach was getting restless again that it tend to growl. One solution came into his mind. He forced himself not to enterained his stomach and not to think about food at all till he fell asleep.

ONE HOUR LATER....

Sasya had just finished showering and was now preparing dinner for her and her new guest. She transferred the rice cakes into a bowl and placed it on the dining table and went on to make herself some tuna sandwich which took up only a few minutes of her time. Everything was all ready and she strolled to Jay's room to ask him to join her for dinner. She knocked on the door for a few times but no response in return. She slowly turned the door knob and happened to find out that Jay was enjoying his beauty sleep.

"Poor guy, he must be dead tired," Sasya whispered quietly

Seeing the pillow falling off from his grip, she crept towards it, picked it up and carefully placed it besdie his arm. 

 

She stared at him for a while and that sympathy feeling started to rise. Those flashback about how his family treated him kept on playing in her mind. Feeling bad to wake him up, she decided to have dinner all by herself. She was making her way out of the room when she tripped over Jay's bag and fell giving a loud 'THUD' sound. Jay immediately woke up and sit upright upon hearing that. Still in a sleepy state, he tried to see what was going on.

"Oh my God, I swear it wasn't my intention to wake you up. I was about to ask you to join me for dinner but since you're asleep I don't want to disturb you. I accidentally tripped over your bag and fell. Sorry," Sasya apologised

In a cranky mode, Jay managed a smile and apologised for placing his bag randomly on the floor. Getting up from bed, he retrieved his bag and placed it elsewhere and told Sasya that he will join her in a minute. Jay washed his face to feel fresh and joined her at the dining area.

"You shouldn't have to, I can just eat bread," he said, feeling bad for having someone to cook for him

"It's ok. You're my guest and I must serve proper food. I bought those rice cakes a few days ago but I don't have the confidence to cook them. It's my first time cooking it so I hope it taste the same like what they serve in restaurants and food stalls," Sasya warned

Using a fork, Jay poked one of the rice cakes and slotted it into his mouth. Sasya couldn't read his facial expression as he took another and slottled it into his mouth.

"Hmmm... it's a bit bland, but not too bad actually. Do you want some?" he commented and finished it up

"Nah, I don't dare to eat my own cooking. I'll just enjoy my sandwich," Sasya rejected

"So where are you from? Where's your family?" Jay asked

So, Sasya summarise her entire life story to him, including her interest in travelling. She expanded the conversation by telling him the countries that she had visited and what are some cool encounters she had been through while she was travelling.It was so interesting and funny that Jay kept wanting to listen to it more. Then she showed and told him how much she loved Korea that she even work three part time jobs to save up for the plane tickets. 

"Woah, that's a strong motivation. Haha!" Jay laughed upon knowing how determined she was

"Oh well, it's such a silly thing to do but at least my dream come true. I so want to learn Korean language too but that would cost a lot to go to a Korean Language School. Saving up for a plane tickets took me months!" Sasya complained

"I can teach you. Since you've helped me, why not in return I teach you Korean language? And don't worry about the rent. I'll look for some part time jobs and pa...," Jay was speaking when she cut his sentence off

"Don't worry about the rent. You can stay here for free and for as long as you want. You've granted one of my wishes to teach me Korean, so I should give something in return right? Hahaha, just stay for as long as you want," Sasya raved sincerely and also thinking back about how desperate he was to even trade his jacket for a fish pancake

"You sure? But..," Jay said when she cut him off again

"Hey, you don't have to feel bad. For me, I like to make situation fair and I'm not like those money faces kind of people, so you don't have to worry alright? You've trade your jacket just for a fish pancake and don't tell me you're gonna trade your life next just because I let you stay here for free," Sasya joked and Jay burst out laughing

"Alright, thank you once again! But how do you know I wanted to trade my jacket when you don't understand Korean?" he asked

"Action could tell it all. Now, I've done doing some story telling about my life. Let's listen to yours so I can finally take a bite on my....what's bread in Korean?" Sasya asked

"Ppang," Jay taught her

"Yeah, that's it. So I can finally take a bite on my ppang!" Sasya said  in an American accent causing Jay to laugh out loud

As suggested, it was Jay's turned to elaborate about his life to her as she listened attentively.

"I'm not fully Korean though...I have some relatives staying in Seattle and I'm much more closer to them compared to the relatives I had in Korea...~~~"

***

The sun poured through the window. Another day had dawned bringing with it new hopes and aspirations. As a daily routine since young, Jay did some morning work out in his room to keep himself fit. He ended his workout routine by doing 50 push ups. He leaned his back against the wall to have a few seconds of rest at the same time removing his shirt so that his sweat would dry up faster. He panted hard to gain back his energy. He then heard the sound of the keys clinging, followed by the sound of the door closing.

Curiousity engulfed him and he went out of the room to check. Sasya was no where in sight and Jay saw a short note being pasted on the refrigerator as he entered the kitchen.

Morning Jay! Hope you sleep well last night. I'll be back in the late afternoon today, so don't be shy and help yourself with the foods. See ya and have a great day ahead ayte?! :)

Jay couldn't help himself but to beam in delight. Sasya's clumsy and sense of humor were starting to attract him so much that he couldn't wait to have a chit chat session with her again, like yesterday. He open up the fridge and pour himself a cup of milk and prepared a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast. Still feeling bad about staying here for free, he decided to help Sasya to do some housekeeping.

"Yeah, I should not take things for granted," he said to himself

7PM

Exactly when the clock strikes 7pm Jay had completed his house chores and now the apartment was sparkling clean. It looked as new as like it was just being build. Jay was on the verge of fainting that he rooted down to the ground and made a satisfied sighed after accomplishing such a tiring job that his body was aching all over. Thankfully the results turned out to be a good one.

"Phew, mum, I totally feel what you felt right now. This will be the first and the last I'm being  a housemaid! Damn, I seriously need a shower!" Jay said and rushed towards the bathroom

A few minutes later, Sasya reached home with hands full off things. She was so astounded by the changes made causing her jaw to dropped wide open in disbelief. She went out of her apartment to check incase if she entered the wrong house. She was shocked that her apartment had turned from an untidy store into a magical castle with all of her furnitures being neatly arranged, floor sparkling clean and the space were much spacious compared to last time. It looked just like the original one when she bought this apartment.

"Oh you're back?" Jay exclaimed, drying his hair with a towel

"You did all the house chores by yourself?" Sasya asked

Jay nodded when Sasya gave him a round of applause and laughed continuously. Jay was lost for a second giving her that confusion stare. He was about to apologised as he thought that Sasya will be mad, upon moving her furnitures that was not up to her liking.

"WOW!!!!! You're the first guy that I've known who was such an expert when it comes to house chores!! Hahaha DAMN! Even I can't managed all of the house chores all by myself! I gotta salute you for that Jay!ALL HAIL PARK JAEBEOM!" Sasya exclaimed enthusiastically

"Hahahahaha!!! It's no big deal really. I mean inseatd of being bored, I decided to occupy myself by doing all of those chores. It's a form of exercise too," Jay told her

"You could actually go out or something if you're bored. Thank you so much. Ok, now I feel bad. Let's go get some dinner. My treat alright? Do you know any nice place to have dinner at?" she asked while Jay put on his jumper

"I have a place in mind," he said and the both of them set off

Sasya was busy unlocking the main door when she froze all of a sudden, remembering about something embarrassing. Jay was putting on his sneakers when he noticed that awed struck expression on her face causing him to rise one of his eyebrows upwards in confusion.

"Yo..y...you..d...di.. didn't do the laundry too right?" Sasya stuttered in fear remembering what she had left inside the washing machine

"Of course I did, and I've arranged all of it neatly on those railings so it will dry up faster," Jay replied, confidently without even thinking for a second about the undergarments.

Sasya blushed in shamed and she hit her forehead with her palm, hiding the embarrassing fact for having to let someone see and worst of all, touched her undergarment due to her carelessness and forgetfulness that the one living with her was a guy. Her cheeks were so bright red when Jay started to wonder why.

"OH MY GOSH!!! You didn't...you just didn't...NNNAAAWWW~~~~" Sasya let out a regretful, embarassing sighed and quickly went out of the house to hide her embarrassment

Being a bit slow at times, Jay took a look back at those clothes and then back at her. Suddenly, a cheesy smirk appeared on his face upon realising what she meant for the past 3 minutes.

"Hahaha, should I thank God? Hehehe," he told himself, and chuckled about it

***

The food stall was so packed that Jay and Sasya had spent some time waiting for some of the customers to leave. Half an hour of waiting, they finally managed to find themselves an empty seat. They took some time to decide on what dish to order when something came up to Jay's mind.

"Why not you order it since you want to learn how to speak Korean so much. I'll type it in your phone and you said it out ok?" Jay suggested

After Jay had done typing they did a practice on it before calling the stall owner. Sasya had butterflies in her stomach that she preferred being mute for now. She was extremely nervous that she didn't even realised the stall owner had been asking for their order for the second time. Sasya projected a tense expression when Jay signalled her to be brave and just do it. With very low confidence, she stuttered whatever was being type out on her phone. It took her a few seconds to complete the entire sentence.

"BOYAH?!!! DANGSIN MICHYEOSS-EO?(what are you crazy?!)" scolded the stall owner

"Wait what?!! What did I said? Jay am I pronouncing the correct thing?" Sasya panic

"Hahahahahahaha!!! Mianhe ahjumma, she was just fooling around. Two plates of rice cakes," Jay ordered, speking in Korean language and continued his laughed

'What's so funny? Did I say something? Why is she angry?" Sasya asked at the same time trying to figure out what Jay had type on her phone

"You seriously want me to translate what I just typed? hahahaha!!" Jay laughed

Sasya nodded eagerly.

"I typed. [ I would like to order a human's brain, half a human's heart and a human's small intestine, complete with fresh blood as the sauce]. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Jay burst out laughing that his stomach was starting to hurt

"WHAT?!! SERIOUSLY?!!! WHAT THE HELL JAY!Damn thanks to that, I embarrassed myself!! AARRRGGHHH!!" Sasya grumbled in frustration and hit him hard on the shoulder but sadly it doesn't stop Jay from laughing.

"Alright, alright I'll stop. I'm sorry. Let me teach you the correct way to order it," Jay said

"Now I'm afraid to believe you. Are you going to teach me how to order  human eyeballs? Just ewww JAY!" Sasya exclaimed and join in the laugh with him

After enjoying a lumcious meal, Jay brought her to the flea market nearby to spent the rest of the night there. Sasya learned lots of new words and things that even though it was already close to half past 10pm, she was still wide awake. They can't seem to stop laughing since just now and it was all thanks to  their amzing sense of humor that couldn't be control. Throughout their so called, 'date' Jay's feelings towards her was growing and he started to like her more. He had been wanting to hold onto her hand but was to afriad to do so and he guessed it was not the right time yet.

"At least being near you is enough to make my heart go crazy," he whispered softly to himself

"Jay let's try this out. It seems fun. Haunted Hallway," Sasya suggested, grabbing onto his biceps area

A chill ran down his spine like he had just received an electric shock. His heart was beating fast and feeling so lucky to have her hand being wrapped around his arms. His energy level boosted up to the max that he went all hyper all of a sudden.

"Really? You sure you're not afraid? The ghost in there could be serving you human organs ya know? Hahah!" Jay teased

"Hahah yeah right, we shall see. Let's go!" Sasya exclaimed

Jay was trying to be funny by opening up those creepy looking curtains.

"Lady's first," he smirked

"Fine," Sasya replied and entered slowly

"AHHHHH!!!" Jay suddenly scream crazily causing Sasya to yell her heart out and embraced Jay tightly

"For goodness sake Jay stop it! Haha!" Sasya laughed continuously

Everything doesn't seem scary at first, not until they have to walked in further. The sound of woman wailing and baby crying was so creepy that Sasya kept on embracing Jay., hiding her face to prepare from any random ghost that might appear. The atmosphere was so silent when randomly, two scary looking mimes came out from nowhere causing both of them to shout in shock, especially Sasya.

They managed to pass by them and entered a room filled with mirrors causing both of them to get confused. Without warning, came out a killer clown from behind one of the mirrors. Jay jerked backwards but Sasya kept on screaming and she cried really badly due to her fear of clowns, pleading to get out as soon as possible. Jay surrounded his arms around her for protection.

"It's alright, I'm here to protect you. We'll be out soon," Jay assured her and kept moving

At last, the only way to get out was to walked thorugh this long tunnel leading to the exit door. Carefully, they use their sense of touch as they crept towards the tunnel becuase it was extremely dark. The further they crept, the darker it gets.Being clumsy and careless, Sasya accidentally let go of Jay's hands due to the sudden creepy cat purr sound.

"OMG Jay, where are you?!! Tskk..tskk... JAY!!! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!!" Sasya cried out loud

"Where are you?!" Jay panic as well

"I can't see you. JAY I'M AFRAID!!" Sasya cried

"Don't worry, I'll find you just calm down alright?" he assured

Sasya never failed to move her hand around in hoping to get in touched with Jay. Then she heard a THUD sound and felt something accidentally pushed her against the cold walls.

"AHHHH JAY!!!" she yelled

"Aaaow," Jay cried in pain upon tripping over something earlier

Out of a sudden, the lights in the tunnel came to life and unexpectedly, the thing that was pushing Sasya towards the wall was actually Jay. Their faces were inches close that their lips almost touch if Jay were to move one step closer. Both gave each other the same unexpected stare.