As much as Lee Chaeyeon thinks that the program is a joke, she still respects her job as a civil officer very much.

It hasn't even been 3 months since she first got accepted into the division and yet, she is already assigned to be one of the handlers for an on-going government project, still at its trial phase - Project NEET-01. 

Project NEET-01 was designed spefically to encounter the problem of the growing number of shut-ins in South Korea, a project introduced by the well esteemed Professor Kim Taeyeon and to put it simply, the program entails Lee Chaeyeon personally getting in touch with one of the test subjects that had signed up to be in the trial phase of Project NEET-01... and marrying them. 

Marriage - as explained by Professor Kim during her seminar on the project, will allow these test subjects to eventually seep in back into the society and become a contributing party to the community, as the spouse will act as their guide and prep them for the real world once again after having lost touch with them. Chaeyeon thinks it's ridiculous, she really does but at the same time she would rather not cause a fuss on the task that had been assigned to her and would very much not dissapoint the head of department in her division.

Chaeyeon stood before the front gate of a traditional looking house with a deep sigh, having read the profile of her test subject - or as a matter of fact, her new wife. 

The same- marriage bill that was passed five years ago by the new president had certainly taken off the prejudice against same couples and even if she was truly glad that the South Korean society are becoming more welcoming to homouals, Lee Chaeyeon has no intentions in getting married. 

She has dated girls in the past, she admits that but never once that it crosses her mind to marry someone and it feels ironic now that she's doing it as part of her job. 

Chaeyeon supposes that it wouldn't be as bad.

She only has to endure six months of marriage to this girl before getting her new 'wife' assessed by the committee handling the project - on whether the project is a success or failure and if the test subject is once again fit to be a working member of the society. 

A brief read into her new wife's profile says that the girl is a Japanese who moved to Korea ten years ago and the only thing that Chaeyeon knows about her is her name, ual preference, age - apparently 24 years old, two years older than Chaeyeon is and the girl apparently does not have any living relatives at the moment as her last known family member, which is her grandmother had passed away a month ago. 

Chaeyeon quickly preps herself with a smile, ready to greet whoever it is that is going to open the door and presses the dingy doorbell. Her smile eventually falters as several minutes passes by and no one was there to get her. 

Another sigh escapes her chest. 

"Well now, I guess there's only one way for me to get in," Chaeyeon says, rubbing the back of her nape tiredly.

She took off the jacket to her suit, loosening the tie she had struggled to put on in the morning just so she would look presentable to her new wife and a few moments after that, Lee Chaeyeon had already thrown her suitcase across to the lawn, swiftly climbing the gates to get to the other side of the house. 

The years that she spent at the gym did not go to waste after all. 

Chaeyeon smoothly lands her feet on the grass as soon as she reaches the other side.

She was slightly taken aback however, with how clean the lawn and the house was on the inside - contrary to the old and dreary-looking gates that surrounds the compound. There was also a small patch of land with grown vegetables, as if someone had been dilligently looking after them everyday and a fat yellow cat also appears to be sleeping on the front porch of the house.

The house looks surprisingly organized and neat... for a NEET. 

Was this even the right address-- 

"Maru-chan-- Holy , who are you?" 

A girl - who looks awfully similar to the picture attached to the file given to her, looks at her in surprise - holding a bag of what looks to be dried plums in her arms. Having said so, the girl seems to have aged a bit in comparison to how she looked like in the picture, her gingerbread hair tied up into a messy ponytail, her jaws becoming more defined and the baby fats in her cheeks now gone.

To put it simply, the girl was breath-taking and it makes it harder for Chaeyeon to take her eyes off the girl, seeing her in a simple oversized white tee and a pair of jean shorts.

How could she even be a NEET? 

"Um, hi. Miyawaki Sakura right? I'm Lee Chaeyeon, your wife." 

The air was immediately filled in with silence, Sakura staring at her as if she's a nut-job and it's understandable, really. Miyawaki Sakura is not amused and it definitely shows. 

Who on earth is going to believe an intruder in one's lawn anyway, claiming to be their spouse? 

"... Maru-chan, let's call the police," Sakura dead-pans and picks up her sleeping cat from the porch with an arm.

"No wait, I really am! I can show you!" 

"Please leave now, I don't want to deal with weirdos," Sakura was ready to turn her back against Chaeyeon, though stops her tracks immediately as soon as she hears the next words from Chaeyeon. 

"Your grandmother. Miyawaki Haruna? She signed you up to this program... called Project NEET-01. Does it ring you a bell?" 

"... How do you know about grandma?" 

The tone in her voice went cold and Chaeyeon had to try her best to retain her composure after sensing the hostility from Sakura when she meets her eyes once again. "Can I come in and talk this out? I'm a government official. I have my ID here, you can call the police or whatever if you want to check who I am. I also have some paperwork to prove that this whole thing is legit. Miyawaki Haruna did sign you up for this. Please?" 

"Fine then." 

"So basically, you're saying that you're my wife now?" Sakura stares at her absurdly, petting the cat on her lap as she does so. It took Chaeyeon almost an hour to explain the whole thing to her and Sakura seems to have calmed down too by now after taking a good listen from her. 

"Yes, I am. Well, not officially though since you still have to sign these marriage form," Chaeyeon says and slides the marriage form across the table. "A quick sign then we're done." 

Sakura was silent once again. "What are you gaining from this?" 

"Honestly? I'm just doing this as a part of my job." 

"It must huh, getting forced to marry someone you don't even love by your boss?" 

"Well..." Chaeyeon pauses momentarily. "Not really? I mean I don't even intend on getting married, my love life is pretty dry. Though marriage has never crossed my mind before. It's kind of ironic that I'm getting married for my job," she says, fiddling with her cup of tea before taking a sip from it. 

"Okay then." 

"Alright then you can just sign-- Wait, you're not putting up much resistance anymore? You're okay with this?" Chaeyeon instantly puts down her cup on the wooden surface of the table, almost spilling the contents on her paperwork but she was quick to save them from getting ruined. 

"Yeah, I think grandma did say something to me before she passed away," Sakura replies with a vacant look. "Something about not letting me be alone even when she's gone." 

"Ah, okay then," Chaeyeon nods along to her and clears as she hands her pen over to the girl. "So um, if you don't mind me asking you something." 

Sakura says, not even bothering to spare a look at Chaeyeon as she signs over the piece of paper placed in front of her. "Yes, I do mind." 

"... You won't let me talk, won't you?" 

"You're talking now." 

Chaeyeon tries hard to bite her inner cheek, not wanting to lose her composure again to the girl. She should be the bigger person here, since she is the handler assigned to Sakura after all. She's not going to snap at her new wife. "Most of the NEETs I've met, they don't even talk like you. Most of them suffer from anxiety, looks unkempt and lives in a mess normally, so why are you one? Judging from your environment, the way you response to me normally and the way you look very much presentable at the moment, you seem like you'd do well being a functioning member of the society and getting out there." 

Sakura then tilts her head to look up from the paper, shifting her gaze to meet Chaeyeon's once again. "Lee Chaeyeon, is it?" 

"Yes. Just Chaeyeon is fine." 

"Any other NEETs would have taken offence to your words just now but not me, since my head is still processing normally to get the rationale behind your words," Sakura says with a hum. "I bet a working member of the society like you, looks down on most of us NEETs, right?" 

"That's not what I meant--" 

"You were. And you have every rights to that, to be honest," Sakura cuts her off immediately. "Most of us have issues. Issues that most of the normal 'functioning' ones might or might not suffer. Some try to fight and hide in your so-called 'working society' where as the other half runs away to hide in one place that they would feel safe in and refuses to get in touch with the rest of the world. Fight or flight, that's what you people call it right? Not everyone is strong enough to fight their inner demons." 

Chaeyeon nods along to her, refusing to break eye-contact, though a pang of guilt slightly washes over her. 

"Or maybe most of us are just lazy, who knows?" Sakura scrunches her nose when Maru - her pet cat jumps off her lap to go to the lawn and for the first time today, Sakura actually heaves out a sigh. "I by all means are normal in the eyes of the society. I just refuse to go out and I refuse to associate myself with people. I can still talk to them just fine, it's not as if I did not learn how to communicate over the years that I grew up. I did had someone to talk to until a month ago, my grandmother. Why is this house so clean? I like household chores, and I don't want to live like a pig. Why do I look presentable? I do exercise in the compounds of my home, I get things delivered to home, I watch TV and online shows and maintain my hygiene and appearance. In case you're wondering how I'm supporting myself? My inheritance from my late parents and grandparents are more than enough to support me until I die." 

"...So you're going to live your life like this until you die?" 

"Maybe so, or maybe not. It's not as if I'm a NEET all my life. I've only started shutting myself in after I graduated high school." 

The room was quiet for a bit, except for the sound of cars and passerbys passing by the gate of the house. Sakura spares one last look at Chaeyeon and shuffles onto her feet. "Well, are we going to live together now that we're married?" 

"Yeah, we sorta do. And it's not as if you're willing to step foot outside from your home so I have to..." Chaeyeon's voice trails off as she scans her surroundings, studying the simple interior of the house. The house might look old at first glimpse, but the insides were surprisingly well-maintained, something that she had not expected from Sakura in the first place before stepping her foot and having the talk with the girl. Her heart clenches at the thought of Sakura living on her own in the huge space, without the presence of another human being in the premise and just a cat as a companion. 

Sakura will bound to break if she continues living like this, whether the latter admits it or not. 

"You'll be moving in here then?" 

By the time Chaeyeon snaps out of her thought, Sakura was already squatting in front of her, staring at her in what Chaeyeon would consider as too close of a distance - to the point where Chaeyeon could get a whiff of her melon-scented shampoo, a bit too sweet for her liking but nevertheless a pleasant smell. Pleasant enough to make her cheeks flush a little. "I have to. My supervisor will be checking on us soon." 

"Feel free to use any of the empty rooms here then, I don't let dust settle in this house so most of them should be clean," Sakura says as she jumps back to her feet, tilting around on her heels as to leave the room. "You can return tomorrow with your things. I'll try to open the door for you. A big emphasis on the word 'try'."

"...You still haven't answered my first question though." 

"Pretty sure that I already did earlier?" 

"You answered in general, not about you." 

Sakura halts her steps momentarily and avoids her question again. "Hm, rather than that, aren't you curious on why I accepted this whole thing?" 

"I am," Chaeyeon responds by pursing her lips together. "I doubt you're going to answer me directly though--" 

"Grandma was a presence that I really cherish in my life. I just want to respect her final wishes," Sakura quietly replies her but Chaeyeon did not miss what Sakura says to her after that. "And well, maybe I am a little bit lonely after all."  

Author's Note - Well I guess there you go for a first chapter :) Hope you guys enjoy it.