“Human beings are most inclined to love the things that hurt them the most not because we are masochists by birth, but because we are taught from a young age that true love is going to, is supposed to, hurt you in ways you cannot fathom.”

- Lorina Ament

The loud moans coming from the other room wakes you up. You don’t even have to wonder what or who are they doing. Your roommate, Irene, and her buddy, Seulgi, are going at it again.

You angrily pound on the walls that divide your rooms. For a second, they tone it down and you think it’s finally over. But then you hear a muffled scream of Irene’s name and good lord, you wish to burn the whole apartment down.

You take your phone from the nightstand and play the relaxing, most non-ual song on your playlist, hoping it would be enough to put you back to sleep.

It wasn’t.

You already listened to an entire playlist of rap songs but none was enough to tone down or silence the sounds of happening next room.

About an hour later, you hear the front door shut. You quickly jump out of bed and walk out of your room. Irene is comfortably sitting on the kitchen counter, wearing just an oversized gray shirt and underwear. Her hair is tied up in a messy bun.

“Do you ever plan on soundproofing your room?” You ask with an annoyed but teasing smirk.

“Good morning to you too, Jen.” Irene smiles wickedly.

“It’s 4:30 in the morning, unnie.”

“So? It’s morning, isn’t it?”

You roll your eyes at her. You grab a cup and start making coffee. “So did you tell her yet?”

Irene arches an eyebrow. “Tell who what?”

You take a sip of the bitter coffee you made before answering, “Did you tell Seulgi that you’re in love with her and that you want more than just this kind of arrangement with her?"

The smile on Irene’s face fades faster than you can gulp down another sip. She sighs, “It’s not that easy. I don’t want to ruin what we have.”

“What exactly do you two have?”

She pauses, tapping her fingers against the marble countertops. “I … I don’t know. But it’s something.”

Now it’s your turn to heave a sigh. “It’s something complicated and you will end up hurting yourself if you keep it up.”

To be honest, you don’t think you’re any better than Irene in this situation but you have seen things like this before, heard of arrangements like this and they usually don’t end up good. You don’t want Irene, a person who managed to steal your heart the first time you see her smile, to end up being tossed aside as if she didn’t mean anything.

Irene deserves better.

You hope she knows it.

You work as a barista at the cafe near the university. The place is usually quiet and relaxing but today it’s filled with dancers from the university. Your eyes catch Seulgi’s tall stature running back and forth in an attempt to get her phone back from her friends. One of them is with a long orange hair and bangs which you recognize from one of your classes.

“They’re so loud,” Jisoo, your co-worker, complains when she comes back behind the counter after serving the group with their orders.

“Loud noises are my friends,” You say with a hint of annoyance in your tone.

Jisoo sniggers. “Your roommate and her buddy did it again?”

“What else is new, right?”

“I told you if you ever need a place to crash in, my apartment is always open.”

“Thank you but I think I’ll stay in mine. I pay half the bills anyway.”

“If you change your mind, you know where to find me.” Jisoo shrugs.

The roar of laughter coming from the dance group startles you. Your attention shifts to the clamorous group who’s now occupying three tables in the back. Seulgi is standing at the back, an embarrassed blush creeping on her cheeks.

“Just tell her already, would you! Don’t be such a coward,” Hyoyeon, the famous dance machine of the university, says out loud. She throws Seulgi’s phone to the person beside her. “Lisa, hit her up.”

“Aye, aye, captain!” The orange-haired girl salutes with a grin. She starts typing something on Seulgi’s phone while the others restrain Seulgi from getting her phone back.

“She doesn’t like me like that! Come on! Give me back my phone!” Seulgi continues to protest.

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