"unnie," seulgi grumbles, "stop holding onto my shirt. how am i supposed to get these groceries inside?"

joohyun pays no attention; rather, her eyes are busy, arrested by the sight before them. the house seems like a mansion. nope, she takes it back. it is an ungodly expensive pristine mansion.

not the first time joohyun wonders what exactly she's doing here; if you ask her not too long ago, this would've been the last place she'd have expected to find herself.

she lets her eyes drift over the interior, sees how her whole life's worth of paycheck flashes before her eyes through the tasteful crown molding that ran the length of the ceiling, and in six seconds time, concluded that the two-story space has more than enough room for two people.

"yah!" seulgi yanks her clutching hand on the back of her shirt in annoyance, intending to walk faster towards the kitchen aisle with the heavy grocery bags in her hands but joohyun, still distracted, just places it back the second she removes it.

"seulgi, aren't we going to get lost?" she mutters, trailing behind her into the hallway.

it must be the high ceiling that made it even more spacious while showcasing heavy glass windows that lets the natural in and stark white walls, or the chandelier in the middle that made sure its curated enough perfection, or the baby grand piano that sits in the living room. dark and polished and littered with scores. does her landlord (joohyun figures it'll be awkward to call her wannie when they barely knew each other yet) knows how to play it?

while the well-crafted sleek furniture pieces and plenty of storage further highlights a clean and organize look of what's inside the house, joohyun's eyes are transfixed as if caught in the spell of the shelves near where the grand piano is at. oh, the shelves. floor-to-ceiling shelves filled an entire wall, loaded with scores, books, and vinyls—

"wannie! we're home!"

something finally seems to break joohyun out of her stupor and she looks over at a shouting seulgi, now all done placing the items she bought earlier on the countertop.

"wannie?" she tries again, joohyun keeps mum, eyes sweeping in anticipation to what would the woman looks like.

when there's still no one responding, and joohyun's duffel bag grows uncomfortable in her arm, she begins to voice out the same thought which has been bugging her earlier.

"do you think she got lost-"

seulgi quickly interjects, looks at her in disbelief, "in her own house?"

joohyun open in defense, hence offended, like how seulgi has been staying over this place yet she admitted herself a while ago how she still gets lost. joohyun is going to pull a muscle if she keeps rolling her eyes, but seulgi is insufferable. not the first time today, she regrets not roasting her over the phone a few days before she moves in here.

"well, she must be still sleeping," seulgi mumbles, "i'll direct you to your room, unnie."

joohyun follows her, eyebrows knitted together in worry at the idea, "are you sure it's fine?"

seulgi shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly, and steps further into a room as she swings the door open, "yeah, well- we can't do anything about it. you'll just meet her after two weeks. anyway, here's your room! there's the bathroom to your right, the closet is completely empty, save for the few comforters, towels, and robes wannie have placed. there's also a tv-"

"seulgi."

"-if you're ever bored to death or you have a zoom meeting, and the speaker is just plainly reading what's already written on the screen. oh, oh! it also has netflix, and wannie's plan allows," she pauses, "four screens! and there's only the two of us there, would you like to jo-"

"seulgi!"

"what?" she startles, bemused, and lost. joohyun is rolling her eyes, huffing in exasperation.

"what do you mean by two weeks?" she asks, in defiance of all logic and annoyance.

joohyun doesn’t understand why she would wait for that long to meet the owner of this house, hence not knowing what her arrangement during her stay here would be adds up to an incoming headache. seulgi babbling about the landlord’s netflix account is the last thing she wants to hear.

"oh-" seulgi’s eyes widen in sudden realization, and joohyun could bet there's also that sheepish grin behind her mask as her eyes turns int