Chaeyoung

He sat in a protective ball as far as he could from the Japanese girl on the other side of the long sofa. The towel in his hand was doing a good job soaking up the blood from his nose but it did little to soak up his trauma.

He had come home after working in his sculpture studio for days to take a shower. When he had stepped out he had been lost in thought and ran straight into his new roommate which turned out to not be a Japanese dude like he had expected but an exceptionally gorgeous woman. Said woman went on to elbow him in the face with the skill and force of an MMA fighter. After realizing his life was on the line he had begged for his life and cleared up the situation best he could.

Cue some awkward talking, him putting on clothes and now them clearing things up now.

“So to recap, we both assumed the other was the opposite gender and Momo and Nayeon who basically set this situation up didn’t think to mention it either.” he said.

She nodded, “Yes.”

“Okay and you have no where else to stay?” he asked.

Mina looked to be tearing up, “Momo is living in a full house and I don’t have much money.”

His heart softened seeing the tears in the girls eyes. It was kinda strange to think at the moment but she really was absolutely gorgeous. Mina had these soft features that made his hands itch for a sketchbook, it was like everything from the curve of her lips to her long lashes were perfect. If he didn’t know first hand how strong the girl was, he would be fooled by her gentle aura but he knew now that despite her glass like façade was a woman with frightening strength.

“I see.” he sighed.

Mina suddenly moved towards him and he squeaked in fear, expecting another elbow smashing but instead the girl took his hand in hers.

“I know we got off on the wrong foot and I would normally not want to be in this situation but I’m in a really tough spot. I’ll cook, clean, and take care of Dallae but please don’t kick me out.”

Seeing the desperation in the girls eyes he broke.

“Look, you can stay and don’t worry about doing any chores. You won’t have to worry about me because I’m always sleeping, in my studio upstairs, or my other studio. Just don’t hit me again and we’ll be good.” he gingerly pulled his hand away.

“Thank you!”

The bright gummy smile that she shot at him made his insides flip in a way that he could only assume was fear because what else would it be?

He got to his feet, “Well after all of that I’m hungry, have you eaten yet?”

“No.”

“Hmm, let’s order some chicken then.”

Ah yes, fried chicken would help heal his wounds. Mainly mentally but still.

In thirty minutes flat, they had steaming fried chicken in front of them and as he happily bit into a drumstick he thanked the lords above that he was born in a city that made it that delivering any type of food was almost instantaneous.

They sat in the living room, munching on chicken together with a random show playing on his television.

He asked, “So your Korean is pretty good.”

“Thank you, I actually went to school for a short while here before moving back to Japan.”

“Huh, so you came here for a fresh start right?”

“Yes, I think I really needed it.”

There was something about the wistful expression on Mina’s face that told him there was a story there but he had never been one to push things so he decided not to.

“We all need one sometimes.” he shrugged.

Mina nodded, “Yes but I don’t want to freeload off of you. I was serious about helping out by doing chores, it’s the least I can do.”

“You really don’t have to….”

“I insist.”

That glint in his eyes told her she meant business.

“Fine but if you’re going to help out I insist on paying you.” he replied.

“You’re letting me stay in a penthouse in downtown Seoul!”

“Say yes or I’ll kick you out.” he threatened.

“Fine.”

“Nice.”

He dug into his pockets and pulled out his wallet. He handed over one of his AmEx cards.

“Use that for groceries, supplies or whatever. I’m pretty tired from not sleeping the past couple days so I’m going to head in for the night. It was….interesting to meet you Mina.”

“You too, Chaeyoung. Good night.”

He gave her a weak smile before going to his bedroom, as he collapsed on his bed he gingerly touched his nose. The bleeding had stopped but it would definitely bruise.

Man, did Myou Mina pack a punch.

Mina

She stepped into the café and smiled as her cousin excitedly waved at her before running towards her and pulling her into a bear hug.

“Minari, I missed you so much!” Momo squealed. “You look even prettier than the last time I saw you!”

She gently patted the girl’s back, “I missed you too, Momo.”

“C’mon, you have to meet my best friend Nayeon. You’ll love her she’s so sweet.”

Momo pulled her into the restaurant out to a beautiful terrace that overlooked the park outside. At a table waiting was a pretty bunny like girl that waved at them with excitement.

“You’re the famous cousin!” the girl she was assuming was Nayeon pulled her into a hug.

Was it just her or were people really touchy in Seoul?

“Nice to meet you.”

Nayeon grinned as she pulled away, “Feel free to drop the formalities and call me unnie or Nayeon, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Momo, she really is a soft princess like you said. You totally give off royalty vibes, Mina.”

“Oh, thank you.” she felt shy under the bright gaze of the two girls.

Nayeon suddenly turned serious, ‘But I really should apologize for the whole mix up. You know how absentminded Momo is and I’m kind of the same way, the whole you and Chaeyoung thinking you’re the opposite gender thing was our fault. The good news is that Chaeng is a sweetheart and having a boy girl roommate situation isn’t completely unheard of, right Momo?”

“Yeah and I met Chaeyoung before, he’s really shy but super sweet.” Momo nodded. “If it was anyone else, I don’t think I’d want my cousin staying with them but he’s not like that.”

She had only known him for a short time but she had to agree. Since their explosive first meeting, Chaeyoung had still been on full work mode the past couple days. She had barely caught a glimpse of him and had instead taken her job of taking care of the penthouse and Dallae seriously. Their main form of contact was through little notes that her roommate left her, it was thanking her for cleaning or doing little things. Sometimes he would ask for something small like strawberry juice her next grocery run but he had began the cute habit of including small drawings at the bottom of the notes.

It was strange that she had barely spent any time with him but his small kind acts told her enough of who he was.

She asked, “So how do you know Chaeyoung, Nayeon unnie?”

“He’s my fiancé’s best friend! Just between us girls, I think having you around might be good for him. Jeongyeon’s always so worried about him because he’s so closed off.”

Momo spoke with a mouthful of bread, “Is he really that bad? When we met he was nice.”

“Well you’re you, Momo. But yeah pretty much their whole lives it was always Jeongyeon, Chaeyoung, and their other friend Yeri. Chaeyoung was in between two loud people and never really stepped out of his shell. His career makes it so he can hide away all the time too.” Nayeon explained.

She recalled the photos she had seen in the penthouse and remembered the photo of the trio. So the girl she had assumed to be Chaeyoung must be Yeri. Thinking back, Chaeyoung always did seem as if he was reluctant to be in the picture covering his face with his hands or hair in some way. From what little she could see, he had seemed like a cute bear cub which was completely different than his current messier image. She wasn’t a judgmental person but she had wondered if his hobo like look was an artist thing or a lazy thing.

“I’m not sure I’m the best person to help with that. I’ve always been rather shy too.” she admitted.

Momo shook her head, “You’d be surprised what people can bring out of each other.”

Her cousin could be surprisingly wise at times.

“That’s true and I guess we talk pretty well considering both our personalities.” she said.

Nayeon gasped, “Wow, that’s really unusual, I’ve known him for a while and getting a few words out of him is difficult.”

Part of her wondered if their unusual first meeting had to do with it. There was no ice breaker quite like karate chopping someone’s face.

“