It did not take long for Youngsoon and the landlord to come to an agreement. That very afternoon, Youngsoon had sighed the contract and Jinyoung found himself with a new neighbour. A few days later, Youngsoon had taken the day off of work to move into her new studio flat and spend the day unpacking. The whole ordeal took much less time than Youngsoon had expected. With the movers’ help, she had transported  the few belongings she owned and the furniture from her old place over.

Standing by the entrance of her new home, Youngsoon first turned to her right which was where the bathroom was located. Inside she had already hang up towels and organised her make up and cosmetics in order of use. To her left was the staircase that led to the elevated area for the sleeping quarters. The space directly underneath the bed was the kitchen area and after much contemplation and rearranging, Youngsoon had opted to have the mini kitchen island and dining table in the middle of the room. This way she could face the wide glass balcony door while eating. There was no sofa since the place would be too cramped with one, and Youngsoon made up for it with a large beanbag and multiple floor pillows.

The recurring theme of the studio flat was definitely definitely the colour yellow; her yellow bedsheets and yellow bean bag that unintentionally matched the yellow curtains along with her trusted yellow Converse by the entrance. It helped add a pop of colour and vitality in the otherwise bare place with no decoration other than a large clock and a photograph taken on her first day as manager of Gureum.

Satisfied with how efficient she had been, Youngsoon decided to take a break before cleaning up the mess of empty boxes. Sliding the balcony door open, Youngsoon noticed Jinyoung standing in his balcony next door lost in his thoughts. The forlorn expression he wore made Youngsoon hesitate stepping out and making her presence known. However something stopped Youngsoon from retreating indoors and instead she remained rooted there, feeling a sense of familiar loneliness emitted from her new neighbour.

A mischievous gust of wind whistled through and tickled the wind chime that Youngsoon had hang up. Hearing the unfamiliar but pleasant sound, Jinyoung swirled around to find Youngsoon staring right at him. The moment their eyes met, Youngsoon’s default polite smile made its appearance as she fully stepped out onto the balcony.

Jinyoung seemed flustered at being caught in a moment deep contemplation and searched Youngsoon’s eyes to see whether she had witnessed the vulnerability that had manifested in his face but as always, he failed to interpret her smile. In contrast, Youngsoon appeared to have read right through Jinyoung and slowly looked away out of consideration.

“It’s a beautiful view,” Youngsoon exhaled, tapping her fingers against the balcony railing.

“It is,” Jinyoung agreed after a brief pause, 

A comfortable silence fell and the two neighbours had come to a mutual understanding . Jinyoung though was not sure what exactly it was that they had agreed upon. Still, this moment of quiet appreciation of the scenery felt weirdly calming and intimate, successfully distracting him from his previous mental state.

Although Jinyoung had his body facing outwards, his eyes secretly drifted towards Youngsoon every once in a while. As his luck would have it, Youngsoon had tilted her head towards Jinyoung and her dark eyes locked with his enquiring ones. Nonetheless Jinyoung felt calm, not caring at all that he had been caught in the act. However, because Youngsoon showed no signs of planning to look away, Jinyoung suddenly felt compelled to say something.

“Joy is coming over later.”

Jinyoung had planned to word it as a question to facilitate conversation however it had accidentally come out as a statement instead. Mentally groaning at his deteriorating communication and socialising skills Jinyoung scratched his head before deciding to continue talking.

“She planned a gathering, something about introducing more friends to you.”

A hum of resignation escaped Youngsoon’s pursed mouth. However something seemed unnatural to Jinyoung, as though it had been a calculated reaction to fit the situation because it was something expected of her. Realising that he might be reading too much into it though, Jinyoung quickly pushed that thought aside.

“If you don’t want to do it just tell her,” Jinyoung said while attempting to offer a playful lop-sided grin. “Or lock her out.”

“Then she’ll just barge into your place and climb over here through the balcony.”

Jinyoung’s eyes widened, not expecting Youngsoon to actually respond to his poor attempt of making a joke — and without even missing a beat at that. The discovery that the girl could be witty if she wanted to somehow excited Jinyoung.

“Maybe I should file for a restraining order,” Jinyoung hummed. “She did assault me after all. I have reasonable cause.”

“Then you can expect to be banned from Gureum for the foreseeable future,” Youngsoon countered.

“You can stop that can’t you?” Jinyoung replied in response. “You’re the manager.”

“And she’s the daughter of the owner,” Youngsoon stated as a matter of fact, though there was still a hint of jest in her voice.

A sigh of content slithered out of Jinyoung, all the tension that had previously built up in his body had melted away ever so slightly. Although he was not going to acknowledge it out loud, it was partly thanks to Youngsoon’s presence.

“Do you need any help for later?” Jinyoung asked, taking himself by surprise at how he was actively interacting with the girl.

“Has Joy planned out everything already?” Youngsoon responded with another question.

“Is there much pl