(x) one.

Soojung could barely speak a word as she looked across at the man across from her over the counter. She took in a shaky breath, wringing her petite hands repeatedly out of habit. Her already pale skin paled more as recognition flickered in her dark eyes.

"I... uh..." she cleared , hoping he wouldn't detect the sheer surprise in her voice.
"Jongin." she finally said. The name hadn't been spoken from her lips in such a long time it felt unnatural. The woman flinched, visibly.
"What are you doing here?"

The question hung in the air, practically echoing through the empty lobby.
Not only was it strange to see the male again, it was a completely ungodly hour. A glance at a clock signaled that it was far too late-- or early, rather, to be buying an apartment. Only Soojung's workaholic tendencies kept her in the office late at night, and she was about to leave, anyway. Her fingers gripped the corners of her hard plastic chair, suddenly aware of how uncomfortable everything was. The situation and the chair.

Across from her, the said Jongin was chewing on the corner of his lip, holding on to his last shred of hope that he wouldn't simply collapse. If someone could pass out from nostalgia, it would be him. How long had it been, almost ten years?

Thinking about the last time they'd seen each other sent chills through his body-- a freezing cold sensation crawling straight down his back.
The hours talking to each other through their windows, their houses so incredibly close together that they could have a regular conversation by simply pushing up the windows that separated them. The cold tiles of the rooftop pressing against the backs of their legs as they had watched the meteor shower together one June evening. Movie nights, sneaking into theaters to watch rated R and stealing popcorn. Her head falling on to his shoulder as she fell asleep, realizing that the movie was absolute and totally not worth sneaking into. Except that it was all worth it, to Jongin.

The scenes played through his head with frightening clarity, despite how long ago it was. In a moment, he relived the exact details of the one fateful night in which he decided to run his hand underneath her dress while on the roof, finding their way up her porcelain thighs-- up far past where they had gone before. It was the night of a school banquet in eleventh grade, the eve of Soojung's seventeenth birthday. They had found it a cause to celebrate, and were somewhat drunk on stolen wine from their parent's cooler. It had just... happened.
Out of the blue. It didn't feel wrong, but in no way was it right. It kept happening after that, a sort of routine. Hidden touches and gentle movements.
Mild and casual and wonderful. They didn't know what kind of relationship that they had, but they never wanted it to change.

Jongin's flitting eyes met Soojung's and everything in the world froze.

It all came rushing back with the greatest intensity-- the rooftop, the endless pecks on the forehead, cuddling as they watched the starless sky and tried to imagine what life would be like if they could see them every night. They often snuck into each other's rooms at odd hours, shutting their doors in the hopes they wouldn't get caught. The night they were forced to part ways, the way they had just laid next to each other, her head buried in his chest comfortably. That night was the last they had shared before she moved.

At the time, it was the most pain Jongin had ever felt. She was constant, they were always together. Inseparable. Everyone that was his seemed to leave him; he thought he was cursed. It was always Jongin and Soojung, since just about forever. No one cared enough to assume they ever had feelings, at least not for each other. They were deeply mistaken. They were the only constants in their lives. Everything else was a damn mess.

Soojung's parents fought constantly and her older sister was just really old and never home. Jongin's twin brother and best friend, Taemin, died in a bus accident.

The year Jongin turned sixteen, his house was dark and quiet. Everything was bleak, depressing. Every time Jongin had the smallest thought of leaving behind the black and white world of sorrow, whenever he stepped a cautious toe into the world of vibrant colors, he would be pulled back. He could never enjoy himself, never be happy. Jongin was supposed to be on the bus as well but had overslept that day. The guilt was overwhelming and consumed him completely.

Because your twin is your other half of you, and without him, he was close to nothing.

His parents didn't speak or care where he went. They tried to ignore him and shut him out, busying themselves with things they had never busied themselves with before. Jongin thought it was because Taemin was the one who brought light into the house. He was the sun, and Jongin was akin to a shadow, some kind of ty remnant left over. The moon, which could only shine with the light from the sun. An afterthought.
Jongin couldn't remember the last time he had celebrated his own birthday. Because Taemin's birthday was his birthday. And Taemin was dead. The first time he celebrated it again was two years after Taemin left, Soojung had insisted he at least blow out a candle. Once the flame flickered out, they both cried. Perhaps it was because Soojung always loved Taemin more than she loved Jongin, as everyone did. The difference was that she even made the effort.

Despite the neverending fighting and the broken plates that the kids had to duck to avoid being hit, Soojung's house was alive. It had color, so many colors that Jongin's eyes, so accustomed to the dark, couldn't keep up. He found himself wishing he could be there, even with the screaming. And Soojung understood. They understood each other without too many words or actions. They only had... each other.

A thought occurred to him that she was just the same now. Small and lithe, still beautiful in a ratty t-shirt and shorts. Her dark hair was still sitting in waves and shrouding her shoulders, making her face look smaller. She was like a nymph, her eyes used to dance with this mischievous warm glow he hadn't been able to forget. She used to remind him of Taemin, the way that she held the sun in her smile and the stars of the night in her soft brown eyes. The lights were dulled now, a little cold and calculating, following his every move. Still curious, but not in the way that they were at one time. She waited for his answer.

She had been expecting a regular client and not... him. Jongin wouldn't exactly be telling the truth if he said that he didn't know that she owned the apartment complex.

"I'm here to get a place," he finally muttered, ripping his eyes away from her and letting his eyes take a scan of his surroundings. He swept a lock of chestnut hair out of his face, turning back to Soojung. He wondered if she had gotten a steady boyfriend... or even a girlfriend, he remembered, as he thought of the time she had spilled her confession to him, a few nights before they had first kissed. ing hell, she could be married by now, he realized. They were nearing their thirties rapidly, after all. Nothing at all was stopping her. Especially not him.

He himself had gotten married early and divorced early, his short-lived marriage with the perfect Seulgi was predestined for failure, everyone had told him. They didn't suit each other, and it was rocky from the start. They even thought they could learn to love each other at one point, they really did. The two of them met by accident in their freshman year of college, first bumping into each other in the library and continued by a series of unexpected meetings when they realized they had several mutual friends. A relationship, or rather a slightly friendly acquaintanceship, formed from there in the strangest of ways. Freshman year he was the severely heartbroken, very mediocre-in-every-way student, and she was salutatorian from her high school with a desperate need to do something daring, something different from her perfect self. Jongin simply happened to help her out, helped her muster the mental strength to ditch a couple of classes, smoke a few, take a shot or two. Everything was in moderation. It didn't seem like much to him, even driving her to the country for a few hours.

It became a comfortable routine, driving around with little to no words spoken, and they both seemed to enjoy it. Once, he let something, some reminiscing sentence slip about Soojung, and Seulgi had practically seethed with an unforeseen jealousy. She apparently remembered Jongin tailing Soojung like a puppy throughout high school, and didn't like the idea of Jongin thinking about any girl who had left him alone with no warning. That day, in the car in the middle of nowhere, Seulgi frustratedly kissed Jongin-- telling him between breaths to forget everything about Soojung. Thus marked the beginning of their unfortunate, mildly one-sided relationship. Everything went how Seulgi had planned between them from then on; they dated throughout college (despite being awfully unstable) and their parents loved them, especially together.
Jongin was pressured into proposing before they even graduated, and Seulgi had cried perfect and fake tears as she accepted. Seulgi was amazing. Kind, beautiful. They tried everything to make it work, but something simply cut them short.

"You're cheating on me," she had murmured bluntly one day, her head on his lap. It wasn't even a question, and something hopeful was in her voice. "Please say you're cheating on me, Jongin," pleas drifted from like gently crashing waves. He had responded simply that he wasn't, and a tired sigh had left her perfect pink lips. Seulgi had been looking for a reason-- something, anything-- for them to separate. But they couldn't find a single reason. They were both loyal, established in their fields of work. A power couple. Everything about the par was perfect. Except that they weren't. Jongin often thought about the curse he figured he had. No one could stay with him too long. And when they left it had to be a big ing deal and would leave him heartbroken. It was a ty curse, he determined. The divorce had been finalized years ago and he was still wandering, no place his permanent home. He had left the big house to Seulgi. She could do anything with it. Tear it down, raise a family for all he cared. He didn't want to be stuck in that place. He didn't like being in one place for too long.

So here he was, trying to settle somewhere. And yes, he was purposely trying to seek out Soojung. The man was simply curious. That's what he told himself. After years of running away from the past, he found himself wanting to run back. To remember his neighborhood and school and how he loved and who he loved. Floating around aimlessly was getting overrated, anyway.
 

Soojung nodded slowly as if to process a situation that she didn't know a damn thing about, looking around the desk before letting her fingers wrap around a single key out of the rows and rows, completely out of instinct. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the company of people, it was more like she enjoyed the fact that the apartment next to her own was peacefully empty. No sounds kept her up at night, she didn't have to peek into the place to tell anyone to turn down their obnoxious music, which was a blessing in itself. She cleared , about to speak before he interrupted her.

"I'd like a place on the first floor."

She stared at him, furrowing her eyebrows. Profanities flew around in her mind. She didn't want it to happen again. Managing the apartment was helping her keep her mind off of things. Now she had another problem on her hands. The only first floor flat available was next to her own. Finally, a defeated sigh escaped as she pried her fingers away from the key in her hands. Neighbors again, it seemed. Soojung was confused-- would they start from the beginning again? With formalities and stolen glances? It was a possibility that she did not want to welcome. She a key into his hands, almost letting a frustrated glare slip on her face. He blinked. The first rule of apartment real estate? Always smile. A forced smile graced her lips.
 

"We'll arrange the payment in a second," Soojung said dismissively, typing something rapidly into her computer. Her nails were painted a pale pink and clacked loudly against the keyboard as she typed. Jongin observed her carefully, the curve of her nose and the way she bit her lower lip when she concentrated. It was like she sensed his gaze as she looked up abruptly, making eye contact with the man. She looked back down almost instantly. The corners of Jongin's lips quirked upward for the first time that day. Possibly the first time that week.

Her fingers stopped typing, finally. There was a long pause before she spoke again.

"Alright, Mr. Kim. For now... you're my new neighbor. Welcome home."