L U N A

The Cold Vixen and the Nocturnals

Song of the Chapter: Monster - EXO

We have different personalities inside the apartment. And every time there was something wrong, expect that we all had participation in the war. Our landlady kept on asking us to stop disturbing her other tenants because of our never ending fights. We also received letters that other tenants pinning on our door, saying that we should shut the up or we need to move out from the premises.

Xin was the oldest among us, the owner of this apartment.

He started looking for roommates after his fiancée broke their engagement. It was a sad love story but we never saw him got angry when he told us about that. Xin was not an emotional person but a joiner at Ray and Woozi’s clashes. At first, I don’t get it why he had to join them but eventually I already understood that was maybe his way of releasing anger and stress. He never talked about his feelings to anyone. Catching him awake in the middle of the night was my only evidence that he missed his lover.

Being responsible to our meals everyday was not only out of his hobby. Xin was a chef at one of the prestigious hotels in the city. Aside from our monthly fees, we buy additional ingredients for his hard work in cooking. We were not related to him. He doesn’t have parents anymore. They died with illness when he was 3. His grandmother who took care of him before she also passed away after his final year in college due to old age.

Before, the apartment had two bed rooms, two comfort rooms, and 1 kitchen but it was still spacious. Xin and his ex-fiancée bought this apartment not only for their future but for his fiancée’s own gallery. She was a painter. And her canvases were big as doors. Xin explained to us the she loves to draw on large canvases than the usual since she was a kid. Her paintings can be seen as an art attraction on the walls of hotels or big companies. Her passion became the barrier between Xian and her dream. She was gone, three days before the ocular to their wedding venue. She left Xin with a note, ‘Sorry babe. I can’t.’

When Xin regained his senses from the pain given by his ex-fiancée, he decided to make their apartment as another means of living. He renovated the apartment and added three more rooms with bathrooms in it. The apartment was all painted white aside from the room doors. It was painted based on the colors from the 1993 superhero TV series, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Xin was like the leader of the power rangers, his door was colored Red.

With his sad love story, I portrayed him as The Romantic Chef.

When the renovation was done, he started looking for roommates by posting it on his social media with his strict rules:

-Pets are allowed as long as it will not disturb the other roommates.

-You can renovate you own room. Just leave the colors of the doors alone.

-NO delay for monthly payment.

-It is okay to be messy as long as it’s your room. Be mindful of others when using the other facilities.

-STRICTLY FOR MALE TENANTS ONLY.

Xin’s first tenant was Aiden and he chose the room with blue door. Aiden was a fresh Business Management graduate from Black Dawn University when he moved to this place. With his cocky and typical rich kid personality, I described him as The Rebel Next Door. He may be moved away from the shadow of his well-known family in the business industry. He can still spend half a million in a week just for his hobbies. He doesn’t like to live like what happened to his siblings. His siblings’ lives were controlled according to the family virtue that they obliged to follow. Aiden should be poor after the fight with his father but he kept on getting allowances from his mother and sister.

To be a well-known game developer was Aiden’s dream. However, his father forced him to learn their business. It triggered Aiden to leave his family and enjoy the life of being a bummer. He dedicated most of his time on playing computer or video games. This what made him awake up until the next day. He never leaves his room whenever he has a new game to finish and he only interact with us after it. He was nobody’s mortal enemy unlike Ray. But expect that he was the angriest whenever bad things happen. He cannot control his temper like Ray that resulted to their unfinished-nonsense arguments. But believe me; they were best of friends. If Woozi messed up with his studies or if they heard Woozi’s mother yelled at him over the phone, they were the unforgivable tandem.

Aiden also kept on giving signs that I will never understand. He never tried to confess if he has feelings towards me even his actions says so. However, it was still impossible. He loves his games more than people around him.

You might get confused for the next tenant but it was Ray…without me. He was my My Ghost Twin. Ghost Twin? Why?

When we hit teenage years, he always went missing but my parents were not bothered. They kept on saying that, ‘He is going back.’ And he did. It was still a missing puzzle for me about where did he go those times. I was extremely worried with his action. I kept on irritating my parents by calling them, without caring if they were busy with their own lives, because I wanted to know if he was okay.

Ray had a feature like he was molded from the medieval times, so I was. We were twins but people mistakenly thought that we were a couple. When we were young, people can easily understand that we were twins but when we grew up, some of the people thought that we weren’t. I understand but it was annoying when his ex-girlfriends accused me as Ray’s girlfriend.

We don’t have much difference. We were both hot tempered and we both hate fake people. What I wanted, he wanted to have it too. If I excelled, he will do everything to achieve what I had. If I was rewarded, he wanted to be rewarded too. However, as we grew older, we became a little distant. When we finished high school; he secretly enrolled to a different university away from me. He also took a different educational course. He took up Psychology and I took up Film and Television. That was the start of our annoyance to each other.

When we finished college, he asked if he can live independently. My parents and I agreed. I was not disappointed anymore. Because that time, I already planned a life away from my brother’s shadow. He got a job at human resources firm and I started working as a freelance video editor. It took years before we live again together. And that was when I found him.

Xin said when he accepted Ray as his occupant; my twin kept on telling stories about me. And he already warned them that they should not be interested with me because he doesn’t like them to become his family. He occupied the room with the black door.

The next tenant was our youngest Woozi. He moved to Xin’s because it was quite near at Black Dawn University. A Modern Music who dreamt of becoming a music producer. He became the tenant on the yellow door. Woozi was my Casanova Dreamer. Music was his passion.  There were times where I woke up with his skills in playing guitar whenever he staying in living room. Xin treated him like a younger brother and he made his room soundproofed where Woozi can freely play with his instruments.

He was still treated like a baby by his mother. She often calls him just to check if he is doing well. He sometimes gets annoyed because of embarrassment especially if Ray and Aiden . Woozi was special and no one knew what else he can do aside from me. We first became closer when I moved here. When Ray ignoring me because he doesn’t want me to live with full of boys, Woozi was the one who kept on watching me. He said that he don’t know what it feels like to have a sister and he wanted to treat like one. I agreed. And that was where we started mocking Ray with the sibling lines.

The last tenant was me. The Cold Vixen. Vixen does not only meant being the female fox, it means a spiteful or quarrelsome woman. People often described me as an ill-mannered person or let’s say, a . But the truth is, I am good at hiding my feelings. I am afraid to be criticized just because I am weak inside. As long as I can hide; I will never let anyone know about it. I don’t weep easily. I just laugh and get angry but I never ever show sympathy especially with stupid people.

I looked for my brother because my parents told me so. They said that it was time for us to talk and reunite again. It took 5 years after college before we got back together. At first, Xin declined me as their tenant because I am a female. Aiden and Ray opposed too. However, like what I’ve said, blood was thicker. Ray changed his mind and asked Xian to let me in because I was his twin. I don’t know what they talked about but it only took a day just to agree with my occupancy. My room has a pink door. My least favorite color. But I don’t have a choice.

My first few months were like living alone. No one bothered to converse with me aside from Woozi. We just started talking comfortably when I dyed my hair with purple. They were amazed. They all said that I was the first girl that they saw, who dared to color her hair with purple. I teased Xin by saying that the reason of dyeing my hair it was because I cannot change the color of my door. They laughed and I took that opportunity to invite them for my dinner treat. They asked things about me. And I joined their boy’s talk that they thought I will just feel intimidated but they were all wrong. We became brothers. Ray got surprised. He thought I cannot be with them…that I was too girly for his stuff. He apologized but I did not take it easily, I keep on making fun of him every single day.

However, right now, sitting at the couch on our living room where Xin, Aiden and Ray were standing in front me was like I committed a crime. And on my side, there was Chase, quietly sitting without any clue why my roommates were acting like that.

“Guys, you are all thinking it in a wrong way.” I exclaimed while my eyes darted to them.

“And this guy is just a mushroom who decided to visit you?” Ray butted in with full of anger.

“I told you. I don’t know why he is here!” I shouted because these guys do not want to believe me. “Chase! Why are you here? Calm them down now so I can sleep!”

Chase looked at me and I saw on his eyes that he was really clueless why these guys were acting strange. He turned back to Ray’s direction and explained, “I just want to talk to Luna.”

“About what?” Aiden questioned.

“A-about…my hacked account. I am asking her to decode it.”

“Huh? Why of all the people you are asking my sister to do it? Are you doing this for more vengeance?”

“I don’t get it, Luna. Why do you have to hang out with your enemy?” Xin asked and he was upset that I was befriended with Chase.

“We are not friends as what you think. He just needs something from me. He needs my skills.”

“Why did you give him our address, Luna? If you don’t like this guy why did you let him know your address?”

“No, I did not tell him my address!”

“Regarding that, my friend found it from Ray’s account.” Chase confessed.

“What? I am not friends with your friends!”

“But with Sul Hee’s?” Chase counterbacked.

Xin, Aiden and I looked at Ray wh