Chapter2:

“I´m a stranger in a strange land.” 
― Carson McCullers, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

“Um…thanks for the ride,” Nari muttered, rushing to unbuckle her seatbelt while Hyunshik merely grunted in response, fiddling with the cigarette in his hands. Their 10minute car trip had comprised of a stifling, pregnant silence that was only punctured by Hyunshik asking brusquely where he was to drop her off. No words could express how grateful she was to escape the presence of the quiet man next to her. She shot him a quick look before stepping out of the car, looking up at the towering building before her.

“So this is Muhanjeong Apartments,” she said to herself, shoving her hands into her pockets, momentarily lost in thought before she was aware of the sudden shadow that fell over her, causing a sudden solar eclipse. She looked up, head tilting back as she blinked up at the noodle-like creature that was Ruo. He tilted his head and stared at her.

“You moving in?” he asked, child-like features shining with curiosity. Nari took a careful step back, regaining some of her personal space before nodding.

“Uh yeah. I’m moving into room 601.” She said carefully.

A flicker of some emotion she couldn’t identify crossed Ruo’s face before he grinned, stalking forward while waving at her, “Have fun,” he called, skipping through the sliding doors leaving Nari to stare after him weirdly. She snapped out of her daze, walking back to the car as the door slammed shut, revealing a placid Hyunshik who glared at the building in distaste.

Nari thought she heard something about a ‘stupid partner’ but she couldn’t be sure. She shrugged off the man’s furious mumbles, rushing over to help the grumpy man unload the trunk and backseat where the majority of his stuff (and hers) was wedged together in the tiny space. She swiftly pulled her boxes out, holding the heavy packages in her thin arms as she peered out at Hyunshik.

“Thanks again for the ride er…”
“Hyunshik,” he said, smiling for the first time that day, “And who’re you stranger?”
“I’m Nari.” She said, returning his smile. He made no inclination to help her. But she preferred it that way. She had never been one to rely on others.

“HYUNG!”

Both Nari and Hyunshik turned at the loud voice. Hyunshik cringed, closing his eyes, looking like he wanted to simultaneously hide in a hole and throttle someone. A young, well-built man came flying out of nowhere, dragging a suitcase the size of a mammoth behind him, waving energetically at Hyunshik who persistently ignored him, still mad that he was forced to move here. Yeo poked his head into the trunk, chattering merrily as he pulled out the luggage, too occupied talking to notice the annoyance twitching on the elder’s face.

Nari offered Hyunshik a final smile before turning away, hobbling over to the sliding doors, unable to see past the towering boxes before her. The rest of her stuff was to be delivered directly to the apartment and should probably be in her room right now but these two boxes contained her valuables. Cute stationary, certain books no-one except her should ever see and her most prized video games along with an assortment of other gadgets and trinkets. That’s why she had been stubborn about dragging them all the way here herself. Though she was regretting the decision by now.

“Dammit,” she muttered, turning slightly and shifting the weight of the boxes so that she could press the buttons on the elevator. She waited, watching the flickering red lights counting down numbers, tapping her foot irritably before sighing in relief when the elevator ‘dinged’ merrily. She swiftly stepped in, leaning against the rails, unaware of the broad-shouldered male who stared at her in concern.  

“Excuse me,” he said, peering around the boxes into a pretty face. Nari blinked up at him, “Yes?” she grunted, shifting again as the boxes began slipping. He wordlessly reached out, taking one of the boxes from her, lessening the weight, a flood of relief washing over her (though she would never admit it.) She merely blinked at the strangely familiar face that had lessened her burden. He stared right back, unbothered by the intensity of her gaze as she scrutinized him. Where had she seen him? Meanwhile, Kyun had no trouble recognizing her, smiling placidly as he could practically hear the wheels in her head turning.

“Do I know you?” she asked.

--

Yongsun stared at the old lady. The old lady smiled back at her gummily, petting a fat, ginger cat with her spotted hands. She made no offer to talk, instead backing away as far away as possible from the cat-lady who shuffled after her (much to her distress.) She blanched, wincing slightly as the lady seriously invaded her personal space, standing shoulder to shoulder while the fluffy hairs of her ginger cat rubbed onto her sweater. She could smell the cinnamon and cat food and cringed. If it wasn’t abnormally tall pea-brains shoving flowers in her face, it was a cat lady and her fat ginger cat.

“Hello dearie. Are you one of the new tenants?” the lady asked in a sweet voice while Yongsun stared at her blankly. After a while, she realized she should respond.

“Yes,” Yongsun said, crossing her arms over her chest in discomfort while the lady just smiled wider, “Oh how wonderful! Now don’t move dear, I’ll be right back with a plate of cookies,” she said, shuffling over to the elevator while Yongsun watched her leave, edging her way towards the staircase as fast as she could. She ditched the flowers and was racing up before the lady could say another word, though she did think she said something about sending someone up to help her unpack.

By the time Yongsun reached her floor (the 10^th for the record) she was severely out of breath, heaving as she leant on the rails, dragging herself up like her life depended on it. Eventually reaching the top, she slumped, flopping onto the cool tiles, cursing everything from the stairs to Joongki himself, gasping for breath. She heard the merry ding of the elevator, out-stepping a very confused looking Joongki, escorting a lovely woman by his side. They both stared down at Yongsun, long blonde hair fanned out around her as she lay spread-eagled on the floor like it was her living room.

She shot a glare up at Joongki, giving him a look like he offended her great ancestors before shooting her hand up at him.

“Key. Now.” She growled, bottom lip trembling in anger.

Joongki merely blinked down at her, exchanging a look with Yeorin before reaching into his pocket, fishing out the key which the girl on the floor snatched away in an instant. She shot another glare at the stairs (and Joongki) before marching to room 502, shoving the key in, fumbling and cursing furiously before finally pulling the door open, practically ripping it off its hinges, slamming it shut behind her. Yeorin blinked at Joongki who stared back, shrugging as he smiled, guiding her to the door beside the one Yongsun had just abused.

Room 501.  

“Ready?” Joongki asked, turning to smile at Yeorin who nodded, stepping forward as he unlocked the door, swinging it open before gesturing for her to enter. She smiled slightly back, something about her guarded as she gingerly stepped into the dark, freezing apartment. She blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the darkness while Joongki opened the first door in sight. Who closes the curtains in the middle of the day? She wondered.

“Ruo?” he called tentatively, ducking while Yeorin turned, earning a sudden slap in the face.

She froze, fists clenched by her side while her heart raced madly, peonie still clutched in her fingers. Tentatively, she reached up to the object hanging from her head, taking it between her thumb and pointer finger and pulling it off her face. She held it out, face wrinkled in disgust as she realized what it was. She dropped her roommate’s underwear immediately, kicking it out of the way while she heard Joongki groan in the background, shaking his head wearily with a mutter of ‘Jung Ruo.’

Ruo? Yeorin thought, scanning the room for life. The sight that met her made her stomach uneasy. Her insides churned as she took in the mess, clothes hanging from every available service, old pizza boxes and beer cans thrown across the floor in every direction while papers lay scattered and taped to the walls; a tapestry of messy handwriting and sticky notes. She felt dizzy, unable to take in everything at once. And that smell! It crept up on her and attacked her suddenly; the dizzying, undeniable scent of a 20-year-old man living alone. She cringed, turning to Joongki with a pleading look.

He merely gave her an apologetic smile, opening the door into the darkness further, a blast of cold air hitting her, sending a shiver down her spine. Still, she took a deep breath and squinted, waiting with contempt as a creature began to emerge from the room. The first thing she noticed was his height. His head almost brushed the top of the doorway, his face a complete contrast to his giant stature. He emerged, rubbing his eyes and yawning cutely, stunning Yeorin.

She wasn’t sure what she had expected but this child surely wasn’t it. She watched, half amazed and half curious as he blinked from Joongki to Yeorin, face placid as if he was unbothered by the catastrophic apartment. Her eyebrows crinkled slightly, feelings mixed while Joongki and Ruo began talking in hushed voices.

She caught something that sounded like ‘cleaning’ and ‘’ and the younger’s muttered, scratchy responses as he was still half-asleep. There was a slap and a whine of pain before Joongki left, slamming his hand on the light-switch and shooting another look at Ruo as he marched out, throwing his arms up in defeat, mumbling, “I should seriously kick this kid out.” Yeorin watched the owner of Muhanjeong leave, looking like he had given up on life and contemplated following before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After she centered herself, she slowly opened her eyes again, hoping that she may have just been dreaming. She immediately recoiled. She preferred the apartment in the darkness.

Someone coughed dryly in a deep voice. Jerkily, Yeorin turned to face her roommate, staring at him while he stared back with abnormally big eyes. She couldn’t help but sigh. This was going to be a long day.

A/N: hehehehe, just saying; i'm gonna update this often. Like, i have so many ideas for this fic. And the chapters are gonna get super long and cheesy. If y'all can endure that then do stick around ^^ Anyways my dearie characters:
Hyunshik, Yongsun, Yeorin, Kyun and Nari:

can you people's send my a picture of what your characters room will look like? If you want, you can also send pictures of the living room and kitchen etc. If not, I'll choose it myself ^^ Okay thank you.

Ily guys <3