1.

 

There’s nothing more outrageous than the day turning into tiny bits of ruins with just one simple mistake. Just because of a stupid girl who could not possibly accept being rejected, causing a scene in his work place and being the main reason of losing his job, the day cannot be any more appalling. What did he do to deserve such a day?

 

He’s a twenty-three years old man, living comfortably on his own with a stable job of three years as a server. Lucky for him, his other full-time job favors him. Although a bit early for his shift, he walks over to his other job, Jam Records. It’s his most favorite place in the world. He get to sell music, instruments and vinyls. Other than that, he gets to use them too either for pleasure or for his costumer. And since he graduated with a degree in music, he’s mainly appointed to the music-tech department. A place where he can freely teach people how to produce music with the use of the MRIs and a laptop, plus other devices. It’s a language he understand the most.

 

The company loves him as well. The manager favors and so does his co-workers. He’s a humble guy who knows when to show off.

 

The boy opens the door to the store and greets his friends. To their surprise, “Oh? Dean! What’re you doing here so early?!” the manager said. The boy just scratches the back of his neck and takes a sit at the back of the counter, slouching depressingly. A girl with red wavy hair, who is a great pianist, lean over the counter with a smirk on her face.

 

“They didn’t deserve you there anyway. Now you can focus on working here and going over time and spend time with me hm?” she said. Not to their surprise, she does have a thing for him, ever since day one. Dean shakes his head, not amused.

 

Although the girl herself is attractive, the boy on the other hand couldn’t find anything in himself to be interested. Especially now that he just got fired over something hilariously stupid but undeniable annoying. “I have no time for you Minah, as always,” Dean honestly respond making the girl frown and walk away.

 

Just then his phone starts to vibrate and it reads, “Landowner.” His heart somehow skips a beat. For the past months, his bills has been on the top. He has been sending money back to his hometown for his parents to use for his little brother and also because his dad has been sick and injured. All of his money has been going to the medical bills plus home bills that he keeps on forgetting about the rent. He answers it, only to be welcomed by a yelling old woman’s voice. “I already sent people to take your stuffs out of your place! So come here and grab them. I don’t need young men who can’t afford to keep their words!”

 

With that, Dean springs up and rush towards the door. He apologizes to the manager as he leaves, “Sorry but I will be skipping today!!! Emergency!” The manager sighs and just laugh it off, knowing the boy was serious.

 

“You’d just let him off like that?” someone said.

 

Manager just walks away laughing, “That little man asked to work on his days off multiple times. To suddenly leave a thirty minutes before his shifts, I’m pretty sure I can give him a day off.”

 

…

 

It took him a while to get to his apartment, considering the bus was taking quite a long time dropping him off at the destined bus stop. The day seriously could not get any worse than this, he thought breathless. He runs and runs, regretting not taking his motorcycle with him at the beginning of the day due to laziness. His phone starts vibrating as well, name-card; Girlfriend. He sigh and answers the call.

 

“Hi sweetie! Will you be picking me up later for our date?” she asked, ever so charmingly.

 

Dean sigh and grunts, rambling his fingers on his head. “Dammit,” he growled lowly, confusing the girl on the other side of the phone, “Sorry but today’s date need to be cancel. I have a lot on my plate right now.”

 

There’s a short silence at the other end and then she speaks lowly as well, “I’ve been waiting for this for three months. You can’t just cancel last minute. We made reservations remember?”

 

Dean sigh again, “I know… I’m really sorry babe, but I have a lot of things to worry about right now. I’ll tell you later okay? Don’t be mad.”

 

“Oppa.” With just that one word, he knows she’s not letting him off easy. The tone of her voice tells him to think it over again, maybe he chose the wrong set of words earlier. “Oppa you can’t be serious…” Ahead of him, he sees his stuff at the corner of the building, secured in boxes and whatnots… He apologizes before hanging and also hearing her yell out his name, then sprint towards his belongings. He crouches at the other side, breathless and in need of water. A letter was placed on the table:

 

Sorry but this will not be tolerated in this complex.  

 

He sigh, exhausted. He brings out his phone and gets a text from his girlfriend saying:

 

If you’re not going to this important date then I’m bringing someone else who would.

 

He scratches his forehead and lean his back toward the wall and stares at the nice blue sky above him. He texts back:

 

Ok.

 

That would surely piss her off, he thought and close his eyes finally trying to catch his breath.

 

…

 

The day closes and the night sure brings him a certain kind of loneliness. He thought of leaving Seoul and going back to his hometown but he has a job here he refuses to leave and friends as well. Connections are also better in the city. He gets to do dj gigs from time to time and he doesn’t get to do that in the countryside. So he put all of his important stuffs in the trunk and his car, leaving some furniture behind the trash bin.

 

His phone starts to ring again. It’s from Zico. He answers.

 

“Your girlfriend knows that I have a girlfriend right?” Zico asks him, whispering. Dean can hear his girlfriend whine in the background.

 

Dean chuckles a bit, “so you’re the one she invited to go instead? What a choice.”

 

Zico clears his throat before telling Dean’s girlfriend that he will be using the restroom. Once the coast was clear, his best friend starts yelling at Dean. “Man! What would my girlfriend think if she finds out about this?!?!? HUH?! Hae In told me I was meeting you over here! She lied to me! You better come here and date your girlfriend so I can date mine. That’ll for sure keep you and I alive, especially me.”

 

Dean somehow managed to laugh at this situation. He has been going out with Hae In for almost a year now. She’s probably his fifth girlfriend and the longest he has had. They met through a blind date and clicked. They made-out on their first meeting and he enjoyed her feisty personality. She knows what she wants but he also found out that she’s self-conscious and insecure in her own (scary) way. She’s the jealous-type but she’s a hot jealous type. “Seolhyun is calling me right now. I’m sorry man, I love you but I’m leaving your girlfriend here.”

 

Dean stops him from hanging up. If Hae In loves him, then she’ll come to understand his situation and hear him out. “Wait… I need help. Do you think I can stay at your place tonight?”

 

Zico asks, “What happened?”

 

“I got kicked out of my apartment,” Dean laughs awkwardly. Zico sigh heavily.

 

…

 

It didn’t take him a while to settle in his best friend’s house along with his girlfriend. Seolhyun did scold him for letting Hae In use Zico to make Dean jealous and also ignoring her calls and texts. But she also understands the situation Dean’s in after hearing him out. And with her order, he texted Hae In about it and waits for her response.

 

The three cuddles in the sofa while watching Netflix. If there’s one thing, Seolhyun hates when Dean is around, is that he has Zico’s undivided attention and she gets jealous over that. For example, right now. Instead of Zico having Seolhyun next to him, arm over her and stuffs, Zico lets Dean rest his head on Zico’s shoulder while they both search for a place to stay or someone looking for a roommate. The two isn’t even watching, and Seolhyun is just there sitting with a pillow and a bag of chips.

 

“What kind of roommate are you looking for so we can put it in the filter?” Zico said.

 

Dean sits, but still no space between the two best friend. Seolhyun pouts. Zico finally turns to her making her light up a bit and he takes the bag of chips from her, offering Dean some. She gapes at her boyfriend. “A dude. Not home a lot. Busy. Clean. Respectful and chill,” the boy answers.

 

Zico nods, “okay… I think I am getting something.”

 

Dean looks over and they both find a name in the first top page: Kim Jae Hyun. They exchange looks and looked at the criterias.

 

 

1. Must have a stable job and source of income.

2. Non-alcoholic or drug user.

3. No unnecessary visitors.

4. Communication skills.

5. Clean. Respectful. Chill.

The boys exchange looks and for some odd reason they laugh. “Hey what a match!” Dean said. Zico laughs as well, “Communication skills. This guy is funny.”

 

Then they moved to the other stuffs:

 

1. Two-bedroom apartment. Roommate will be assigned to the second room.

    

   1. Walk-In Closet

   2. Queen Size bed

   3. Wooden Desk/Office Chair

The boys exchanges looks again, this time smiling and nodding.

 

 

 

• Apartment consists of a decent size kitchen, living room and a bathroom, and indoor laundry.

• No Balcony.

• Apartment Residence Swimming Pool.

• Park.

With that, the boys immediately pressed the “Interested” button and put in their information. The morning after, Dean gets a call from the landowner and wants to meet him at twelve-noon the week-after. He still hasn’t gotten a response from Hae In. The boy smiles and gets his paperwork done for the meeting. He calls in his manager and asks to come in late which is approved.

 

He dresses casually but formal enough to make a good impression. Lucky for him, he was paid a the week before and due to over time and getting his money from his previous ex-job, his income should suffice. He has called his family as well and inform them of the situation. Lucky for him, his family were understanding.

 

He gets in the office and meets the landowner, they discuss the papers. “Your roommate had asked me to meet you a week after so that you can prepare your stuffs. It seems that you qualify.”

 

Dean tilts his head, “a week after?”

 

“Yes,” the landowner nods. “As you can see we have a strict policy in this complex. We assure our residences their safety and mutually meet each other’s satisfaction. Of course you’re not the first to have a meeting with me. Your roommate asked us for permission to use the social media to look for a roommate. And although multiple were qualified, they tend to not last more than a month or three due to financial issues. After a year, we agreed to give those who are interested a week for preparations. It not only became a first come first serve meeting but also a competition.”

 

Dean sigh heavily, suddenly feeling some weights on his shoulder. This means I have to work tirelessly to maintain my stay at his apartment, he thought. The landowner sees these and hands him the paperwork. “I will now show you the apartment with the owner’s permission and give you insights of the rules. Then, I will you give at least three days to decide. After that, we will not consider your decision and move on.” Dean nods and gulps at the strictness.

 

They both head to the fifth floor, room 510. The landowner opens the door and a sweet aroma welcomes Dean. There are no shoes on the entrance but there is a door. “This is where you will put your outdoor belongings unless you choose to keep them in your room. If you do choose that, you will need to carry your outdoor belongings with your hands. Your roommate does not want any outdoor shoes to touch the floor.” Wow… so strict. “As you can see it is a wooden floor and you’re immediately welcome by the living room.”

 

Dean looks around the living room and finds a flat screen television attach on the wall and short but long rectangular table underneath it. From the transparent glass of it, he can see a bunch of vinyl records and some dvd porters and more cds. Next to the television is old turntable that sits quietly on a stool. There’s a poster on top of it that says, “Music is Peace.” He smiles. In front of the television is a small coffee table with a little cacti red flower on the middle and some glass holder on the side, the remote is also placed neatly next to it. The couch on the other hand is simple. It has dark red velvet color, flat and rather very modern. It only has a couple of pillow in it that has some peculiar artsy design on it.

 

He then notices how artsy the place is. The landowner opens the curtains and reveals the artsy work above the couch. The walls are clean white and he goes to touch the work above, wondering if his roommate had painted the wall. It isn’t. He looks around and find several black canvases with unique art drawn in them around the room. He finds it fascinating. The landowner sees this.

 

“Your roommate has a very creative imagination. Usually visitors finds them a bit disturbing and gothic.” True… but they’re very pretty. “The kitchen is pretty decent, marble counter and beige cabinets. An unused dishwasher. Your roommate doesn’t know how to use it.” Dean looks at the landowner surprise. “Also not very fancy.” Dean hears her laugh a bit, “asking for a less advance refrigerator.” Next to the kitchen is a black wooden table along with four high stool chairs, something anyone would find at a vintage store. I have a hipster-like roommate huh. Dean smiles as they both head to the bathroom he falls in love with. Bathtub? Check. Pretty two-sink? Check. Wonderful toilet? Check. Wide mirror? Check. Tiled floor? Check. Radio at the side of the tub? Surprisingly a check! He’s so far loving the apartment and cannot wait to see his future room.

 

His jaw drops at the sight of it. It’s clean and already prepared for him. The queen size is pushed against the corner, neatly covered in blue sheets and white fluffy blanket. It has four black pillows and nice adjustable lamp on the side and small table underneath it. In front of it is the blank wooden table with a lamp attach to the wall and a black adjustable office chair. He takes a sit on it and takes a deep breath smiling. This is better than my last apartment! He’s also introduce to his walk-in closet. Though he’s a guy, a walk-in closet is a bonus.

 

They walk back to the living room but his eyes wanders to the room they didn’t bother checking out. “That room is a no-no zone. One of the biggest reason most of the people who lived here was kicked out was due to violation of privacy. Everything else can be touched but that room alone unless given permission by the owner.” I’m starting to believe this complex doesn’t hold the strict policy but the guy living here… Dean sigh but shake the thought out of his head.

 

This place is perfect and also he wouldn’t like it if some stranger is to touch his stuffs in his room without permission. Having a roommate means there will be regulations and restrictions. “Your roommate will also compromise with your set of rules in person, after you officially accept the deals made. Like I said, you have three days.”

 

…

 

Having dinner with Zico and Seolhyun at their place, they discuss the matter. “So you already signed the contract without meeting your roommate first?” Seolhyun asked.

 

Dean nods, “I can’t let a deal like that go easily. The place is amazing and the apartment deal is great. My roommate is as student so they gave him a discount of course and so far he’s been living there for three years now, and never have they got any issues with him. He pays his rent in time or in advance, and according to the landowner, his bills aren’t even much. Since he’s usually not home during the daytime and rarely uses technology and everything at home, he has a pretty decent bill.”

 

“But didn’t you say he’s overly strict?” Zico adds.

 

“True. But I can understand why. I will be meeting him tomorrow in person at a cafe. I gave the landowner my phone number,” Dean said.

 

“Aren’t you a little worried to see your roommate?” Seolhyun asked, shivering a little. Dean laughs, “Hey like I said, he’s rarely home during the daytime. I won’t see him much.”

 

Zico and Seolhyun exchanges look, wondering if he’ll be okay.

 

…

 

The landowner’s phone start to ring and excuses herself out of the apartment to take an important call. Dean looks around the room and find himself staring at his roommate’s door again. He silently walks over and places his hand on the doorknob, carefully turning it down. Unfortunately, it’s lock. He turns to the kitchen and looks over. He opens the refrigerator and finds some bacon, vegetable, hot dogs and a contained liquid. He also found tofu, and juice, water jars and soda cans. He walks over to the turntable and turns it on. A jazz music plays, he grabs the cover and reads it, Ennio Morricone- “Playing Love.”

 

On his way to his work, he plays the song on replay in his car.