Over the course of the next few months, you and Xiumin became fast friends. Though quiet, he had a great sense of humour, and once he became comfortable around you, he began to talk a lot more.  Once he began to open up, you realized that he was quite funny, and surprisingly mischievous.  He loved to play light-hearted pranks on you, and in general, annoyed you almost as much as Chanyeol did when you were growing up together.  

From replacing your conditioner with cooking oil, to replacing your mouthwash with oral laxative, to once hiding every single pair of socks you owned.  “Where did you even put them all?” you wondered out loud as you searched the apartment.

Xiumin lounged on the couch, watching a drama about a sleep-deprived gwishin-whisperer who falls in love with a dyslexic chaebol who owns a shopping mall.  “That’s for me to know, and you to find out, grasshopper,” he said distractedly, leaning forward as the main couple leaned toward their first kiss.

“You are such an ajumma!” you said, grabbing a stuffed animal, and smacking him upside the back of his head.

“Yah!” he yelled.  “You’re going to make me miss the best part!  Besides, violence isn’t going to get you back your socks!”

“Child!”

“Automaton!”

“Brat!”

“Robot!”

“Ajumma!”

“Sockless wench!”  

“Oh!” you huffed, stomping off to the sound of his laughter, to search the kitchen.  You finally found them, all packed tightly into a ball in a gallon freezer bag, in your 25 lb bag of rice.

Flopping on the couch, you tossed the bag to him.  “Found them.  You know, I liked you better when you were invisible.”

He flashed his billion-watt smile at you.  “Don’t lie. I’ve seen my reflection.  I know I’m handsome!” Leaning against the arm of the couch, he turned teasingly to you.  “Look all you like!”

“Sorry, you’re not my style.  I’m not attracted to squid!”  You ran away laughing as he threw the bag of socks at your head.

***

Another night, found you watching scary movies.  The sudden appearance of the monster startled Xiumin, and he jumped, and clutched your arm.  

You looked over at him, your expression deadpan.  “Really?”

“What?” he responded, eyes still on the screen.

Not saying anything, you waited until he turned to you, then looked down at his arms wrapped around one of yours.

He followed your gaze, then looked up, grinning endearingly, but still not moving.  

You made a fist as if to hit him, but he just held your arm even tighter, pouting down at you.  “Seriously?!” you asked.

“It’s scary!” he whined.

“How are you scared?  You’re dead.  You’re the thing that makes people scared!”

“Okay, well, yes, I’m gwishin, but I’m not scary gwishin!”

Pausing the movie, you turned to him.  “Have you met any scary gwishin?”

He shook his head, shivering.  “I haven’t met any other gwishin.”

“Really?!”

Xiumin nodded.  

“Wow.”

“That’s why I kept trying to interact with everyone who moved in here.  I was lonely.”

Your mouth involuntarily turned down at that.  It was just so sad.  “I have to tell you, before I met you, I could see…spirits, I guess, but never any that interacted with me.  Watching them was like watching a clip of a film repeating itself.  I don’t think that they were gwishin, not really.  I call them echoes, actually.  Before you, I never believed in gwishin.”

“I’m gwishin, and I don’t know if I believe in gwishin.  How can I be the only one?”

You shrugged.  “I don’t know.  Oh, wait, I never thought about it, but should I…I don’t know, offer you food, or something?”

He shook his head.  “Not hungry.”  Then sighed.  “I miss being hungry.”

“You miss being hungry?”

“Not hungry, like starving, but I miss the anticipation of eating.  The relief when you start.  The satiation afterward.  I miss tasting, and chewing, and swallowing.  I miss walking into a store, and having people look at me.  I miss being able to help people without frightening them.  I miss schedules, and plans, and knowing who I am, and having a future.”  By the time he was finished, his eyes were red-rimmed, and he was flushing.

You didn’t know what to do.  So, you thought about what you did when Chanyeol was upset.  Turning toward him, you pulled your arm from his now listless grasp, and slid your arms around his waist, laying your head on his shoulder.  “I’m sorry, Xiumin-sshi.”

He didn’t say anything.  Then, slowly he wrapped his arms around you, and curled his body closer to yours.  

You stayed like that for a long time.

***

A few days later, you accosted Xiumin while he was tidying up the dishes you had left in the sink. Another awesome perk of having him as a roommate is that he was almost obsessively clean.  You didn’t want to take advantage of him, but you had to admit that you were living the dream.  “Let’s go out.”

“What?”

“Let’s go out tomorrow!”

“Uhhh, okay?  To do what?”

You shrugged.  “We’re always stuck inside the apartment.  Let’s just go do something outside of this place. All I do is go to school, and come home. I want to breathe fresh air.  Let’s spend all day away tomorrow.  And I want to see a movie.  Call?”

Xiumin nodded.  “Call.”

***

When you shuffled from your bedroom the next morning, Xiumin was pressing the buttons on the rice cooker to reheat your rice.  Walking over, you turned it off.  When he looked at you quizzically, you shook your head.  “Eating out today.  I’ll be ready in a half hour.”

An hour later, (What?! You had asked, to his rueful look), you were ready.  As you were leaving your apartment, you put a Bluetooth headset in your ear.  When you didn’t make any calls, he looked at you quizzically, and you said, “This way, I can talk to you, without looking crazy.”

“Ah…” he said, nodding.  “You’re clever.”

Blushing, you shook your head.  “I just don’t want to be carted away for a psych evaluation before dinner.”

You took him to your favourite coffee shop for breakfast.  “Good morning!” you called, as you entered, causing everyone to look up at you.  The baristas smiled, and bowed, and you bowed back, as you approached the counter.  Gesturing slightly to the board, you asked Xiumin, “What would you choose?”  

After carefully perusing the entire menu, he seriously answered, “Medium French press, no cream, no sugar.”

Making a face, you said, “Do you have no taste buds?  So bitter.”  Moving toward the front, you ordered a caramel latte, with extra caramel, easy on the foam.

After you ordered, he made a face at you.  “So sweet!”

“Like me!”

He plucked you on the forehead, and you frowned, unable to react without calling attention to yourself.  

After breakfast, you went to a sports equipment store.  Other than dramas, you had discovered that Xiumin loved watching soccer, and when you would come into the living room in the mornings, what he was watching would be a toss-up between the most tooth-achingly sweet romantic dramas on the TV, or old World Cup games on your laptop.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise, after you greeted the employees, and began looking around the store.  “You like sports?”

“Not particularly,” you answered.  “But oppa likes soccer, so I’m thinking of getting him something from here for his birthday.”

Xiumin tilted his head in consideration.  “He…doesn’t look like a soccer player.”

You shrugged.  “You don’t look like a bodyguard and yet, thanks to you, I’m still around.”  He fell silent, and you made a beeline for one of the employees.  “What should I ask?”  Over the course of the next three hours, he fed you questions for the employee–with tangents to discuss soccer games past–and by the time you left, you had bags full of apparel, shin guards, cleats, gloves, and a particularly obnoxiously bright soccer ball.  

A flyer on the window of the store caught your eye.  “Looks like there’s a pickup soccer game at the park in a half hour.  Do you want to go?”

He looked at you sideways.  “Why?”

“You know, I’ve been thinking about it.  I need to pick up a sport.  For exercise.  I’m getting a little soft around the middle.”

Xiumin eyed your waist.  “You look the same, to me.”

“I know my body!” you yelled, stomping off toward the field.  

When you were almost there, he asked, “Are you really going to play?”

“Of course not!” you scoffed.  “Do I look like I want to be embarrassed, and beaten to a pulp at a game today?  I’m only going to watch, so that I can learn the basics.  You’ll explain it to me, won’t you?”  You looked up at him, pleading with your eyes.

Looking down at you, he suddenly blinked.  Swallowing hard, he took a small step back.  

“What’s wrong?”

Smiling, he shook his head.  “Nothing. I just…yaaah, you really shouldn’t try to do aegyo.  It looks weird on your face.”

Wrinkling your nose at him, you riposted, “Your face looks weird on your face!”

You both watched the game which, admittedly, wasn’t as boring as you thought it would be, especially once he explained the rules to you.  

“Wanna make a bet as to which team will win?” you asked.

“You’re on.  How do we choose?”

“Kai Bai Bo?”

“Call!”

Hands behind your back, you faced each other.  “Kai Bai Bo!”  He had bai (rock), and you had paper (bo).  

“I win!” you crowed.

Xiumin groaned.  “Best two out of three?”

“Call!”  

You still won.  You picked the team with the red belts, leaving him the team with the black.

After the game was over, you had won the bet, and you turned to him in victory.  “So, I get a wish?”

He rolled his eyes, but he was grinning.  “Sure.  What do you want?”

“Are you kidding?  I’m going to save it!”

“Save it for what?”

“For hard times.  Just remember…” you shot a finger-gun at him, clicking your tongue “…now you owe me a wish!”

After that, you went to a neighbourhood bakery for lunch.  “Hello!” you sang as you entered.  

The baker smiled at you, as she emerged from the back, her eyes crinkling as you approached.  “Do you know what you want?”

“Oh, not, yet–I think that I’m going to have a hard time today–everything looks so good!”

She smiled again at your compliment.  “If you don’t mind, I was frosting a cake.  Just call for me when you’ve decided!”

After she had gone, you asked.  “Doesn’t everything look delicious?”

Xiumin nodded.  

Watching where his eyes rested, you decided on the mocha bread, a steamed pork bun, and a roll of tuna kimbap.  After you had purchased your food, and were sitting, you asked, “So, what movie do you want to see?”

“Mmm, Logan?

“Oh, I heard that it’s sad!”

“Do you want to watch something else?”

“No, I do want to see it, I just know that I’ll probably cry.”

His eyes softened.  “Well…you can cry on me.”  

Looking up at him, you were suddenly nervous, so you quickly tore a piece of your mocha bun, and stuffed it into your mouth.  “Oh, really?” you asked through a cheekful of bread. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

***

Logan was heartrending.  And you did cry.  And, true to his word, Xiumin let you cry on his shoulder.  

As you were leaving, a tall, handsome boy approached you.  “Hi!  I’m sorry to bother you…I don’t normally do this…but I noticed you crying during the movie, and it was just so sorrowful, and lonesome that I had to come over and make sure that you were okay.”

You stared at him in surprise, glancing at Xiumin. Alone? Couldn’t this guy see that you were with–

Oh.  No.  No, he couldn’t.  Smiling, you shook your head.  “Thank you, but I’m fine.  I just always cry at sad movies.”

“Oh, really?  Then…why do you watch them?”

Gesturing vaguely, you looked off into the distance.  “Sometimes…tears can be cathartic, I guess.”

“Really?  I’ll have to keep that in mind.  I’m Ong Chang Wook, by the way.” He reached out to shake your hand, then withdrew it awkwardly, when he saw all the bags you were carrying.  “Do you need help with those?”

You flashed him a grin.  “It’s fine.  I’ve been carrying them all day.  They’re not that heavy.”

“A nice girl like you shouldn’t have to carry her own bags.”

A blush started at your neck, and slowly crept up your cheeks.  “Ah.  I don’t…really know how to respond to that.”

“You could…give me your number?  Let me take you on a date?”

Your eyes widened in shock.  This was awkward.  Xiumin was standing right next to you, glaring at the guy as if his gaze could light the other man’s hair on fire.  Furthermore, you were surprised at your own reaction.  This guy would normally be just your style.  He was tall, handsome, with bright eyes, and a sweet smile, and, despite the cliche of the meeting, sincerity shone through his gaze.  And you felt…nothing.  “Ah, well, normally, I would love to, but I…I…”

His face fell.  “You have a boyfriend?”

You nodded, looking away from his eyes, “Something like that…”

“Of course you do, as pretty as you are, and with such a sweet heart.”  He ruffled the hair on the back of his neck.  “Ah, well.  I hope that he knows what he has.  Listen, if he ever lets you down, just come here looking for me.  I love movies–I’m here all the time.  I’ll treat you well.”

Face flushing even hotter, you looked down and nodded.  

After watching you for a moment, he smiled and nodded back.  “Okay!  Are you sure that you don’t want me to carry your bags somewhere?  Hail a taxi for you?  Walk you home?”

You shook your head.

“Alright, then.  Well…enjoy the rest of your night!”

Looking back up, you flashed him a sincere smile.  “Thank you!  You, too!”

He nodded decisively, and then, shoving his hands in his pockets, he turned around, and walked away.

Both you and Xiumin were silent on the way home.  You had wanted to suggest having dinner out, but the evening’s mood had somehow taken a more pensive turn.

Suddenly, you heard deep barking and growling, indicating that something of considerable size was approaching at an accelerated rate.  Looking around, you spotted a huge dog bounding toward you, a tall child running after it.  Without thinking you shrieked in surprise, and jumped behind Xiumin, dropping your bags to scrabble at the back of his jacket.  

He stood in front of you in a defensive stance, partially crouched, as he growled back at the approaching dog.  

Said dog stopped in it’s tracks, as abruptly as if it had hit a wall, with its back legs shooting between its paws.  Scrambling backwards, its tail between its legs, it slinked, whining, back toward its master.  The boy grabbed it by the collar, scolding it, before bowing to you in apology.  Returning the bow, you watched as he led the dog away, its back end almost dragging against the ground in the dog’s effort to display submission.

Once they had turned the corner, Xiumin turned to you, looking worried.  “Are you okay?”

Mutely, you nodded, embarrassed at your reaction.  “I’m sorry; I panicked.”

Smiling, he tilted his head, so that he could look directly into your eyes.  “Sorry, for what?  It’s not like it could have hurt me.  Besides, I don’t mind if you think of me as your protector.  I rather like that.”  He leaned closer, wrinkling his nose teasingly, “Makes me feel all manly.”

Snorting, you picked up your bags, and pushed past him.  “Don’t let it go to your head.  Anyway, I’m hungry.”  

“Hi, Hungry, I’m Xiumin!”

You ended up eating at the neighbourhood pojangmacha, with Xiumin convincing you to try the liver, so that you could let him know what it was like.  “Sadness.  It tastes like sadness.  And tears.  And a high iron count.”

He snorted.  “It’s good for you.”

“Just because something’s good for me doesn’t mean that it’s good.  I’d rather Bubba than eat that again.”

“You should take better care of yourself.”

You sat back in mild offense.  “I’ll have you know that I take excellent care of myself!”

Xiumin raised a brow, and started ticking off on his fingers.  “You never eat organ meats–”

“–Because they taste like sad!”

“you get an average of 4 and a half hours of sleep a night–”

“Hello!  Grad student!”

“your breakfasts a