A knock with no answer.

 

Minjoo sighed before twisting the knob, opening the door carefully as she was scared of startling the person inside. 

 

“Chaewon?” She calls out softly. She heard sheets shuffling before she peeks her head through the crack of the open door. A big lump was laid down under white fluffy comforters. It moved around a bit as Minjoo slowly entered the room.

 

The younger girl was met with a messy room. Various papers littered the floor— some crumpled and some just lying around. The big monitor of her computer desktop was turned off as its keyboard and mouse was pushed to the side. A couple of books were stacked on the study table and, of course, papers with a bunch of drawings also adorned the wooden surface. The leather desktop chair had a small pile of clothes on top of it.

 

A bunch of long sleeved shirts and hoodies, Minjoo noted.

 

The room was dark even if it was already ten in the morning. The curtains were closed shut and the lights were off— the lamp at the set up drafting table was also turned off which Minjoo found odd. The said wooden drafting table also had a bunch of stuff on top of its surface— papers, drafting tools and a couple of pens and pencils.

 

Minjoo has never entered her roommate’s room. This was probably the first time she did. And she’s quite surprised that the room was a big bundle of mess. Chaewon looked like the type of person to keep her stuff organized and neat. Then again, the two of them never crossed the boundaries of ‘roommates that are just acquainted with one another.’

 

“Joo?” Chaewon barely croaked out, her voice hoarse and evidently rough. If it was in other circumstances, Minjoo would’ve asked in a questioning voice—’Joo?’—but the unusually deep and rough voice of her roommate alarmed her, making her forget about the little nickname.

 

The younger girl immediately entered the space, closing the door behind her quietly as she walked over the girl buried in her white comforters. She sat down by the edge of the bed before placing her left hand above the comforter. Chaewon felt the slight dip on the puffy fabric. It made her shift around again before lethargically sitting up.

 

Minjoo stared at her with worried eyes. Chaewon only smiled tiredly, her eyes blinking slowly as she felt like her world was spinning. A splitting headache shooting through her head with her body feeling like something heavy was weighing it down. She felt sore and the roughness she’s feeling with wasn’t helping.

 

“Yena contacted me saying you didn’t attend your morning classes. She also said it was hard contacting you,” Minjoo whispered to her. Dark chocolate eyes scanned her face as she felt concerned with her roommate’s current state. “Are you okay?”

 

“I’m fine,” Chaewon hummed out. Her voice was still deep and hoarse. Minjoo took notice of the fact that Chaewon sniffed after her sentence. Taking note that the older girl also had a runny nose. “I’ll attend my afternoon classes. I overslept and I think forgot to charge my phone last night.”

 

“You’re not attending any classes today, Kim Chaewon,” Minjoo firmly said as her hand shot up to check the girl’s temperature. The back of her hand lightly touched Chaewon’s forehead, making her quietly gasp at how hot the skin under hers was.

 

“I’ll be fine—”

 

“You’re sick! What do you mean you’ll be fine?” Minjoo exclaimed. She shook her head in disapproval before slightly pushing the girl’s shoulder down. “You’re staying in bed to rest. I’ll go make some chicken soup and cough drops.” 

 

Minjoo fully pushed her body down on the bed. Chaewon couldn’t protest as the younger girl was already on her feet, walking away to the door quickly as she could stare at her back in awe.

 

She’s probably gonna nag me later, Chaewon only smiled at the thought.

 

With no other choice left, Chaewon closed her eyes again to succumb back to sleep.

-

Minjoo returned after half an hour. 

 

She didn’t just come back with food and meds, but also two wet rags and a glass of something that Chaewon doesn’t know. She immediately went to work once the older girl sat back up to eat. The soup honestly tasted bland— she thinks she lost her sense of taste because of her runny nose.

 

Minjoo also made her drink her meds and the glass with a yellowish liquid.

 

“It’s calamansi juice. It’ll help you with your cough,” was Minjoo’s reply to her questioning gaze. Chaewon only winced when she drank it. It made Minjoo giggle at her reaction. 

 

Now, Chaewon was back to lying down in her bed with a new change of clothes. Yes, Minjoo also made her change after she started lightly dabbing her face with one of the damp cloths. The younger girl placed the other one on her forehead after she tucked her in her white comforters.

 

“Thank you, Joo…” Chaewon trailed off with a small grin. Minjoo only ran her fingers through the older girl’s soft black hair, trying her best to avoid eye contact as she’s sure she’ll get flustered with Chaewon’s gaze. “I’m also sorry for being a bother… I know you skipped your classes to take care of me.” The older girl’s smile became smaller. Her caramel eyes transitioning from a grateful glint to a soft, apologetic one. 

 

“You’re not a bother, Chaewon.” Minjoo shook her head at the older girl’s statement. She reciprocated her grin with a gentle tug of her lips. “I don’t mind skipping my classes to take care of you.”

 

Minjoo finally looked down to stare at her bright eyes. The lighter brown orbs had a calm glint to them, but the younger girl could see that Chaewon was starting to become sleepy. Her eyes were droopy, her blinks slow.

 

“You are my roommate. I’d be damned if I knew I let your sick self push yourself to go to your own classes,” Minjoo spoke to her softly. She pat her head one last time before standing up to leave the room.

 

“Goodnight.” The younger girl faintly heard Chaewon’s low voice. It made her chuckle as she made her way out of the room.

 

“Night, Chae.”

 

Minjoo turned off the lights.

 

-----

 

It’s been a couple weeks now since Chaewon got sick and Minjoo took care of her.

 

Chaewon was all good and cured now with a new promise hanging around her shoulder. Minjoo made her swear that she’ll take better care of herself. The root of her high fever that time was because of her lack of sleep and her rarely eating made it worse. She was also overworked because of school— hence, her room was a mess. Minjoo even took the liberty to tidy up her room and do the older girl’s laundry that week. She really made sure that Chaewon would never leave her bed and did everything around the apartment ‘till she was in full recovery.

 

The older girl felt extremely thankful for her. She even took her out for free lunch for a whole week when she felt better. Minjoo declined at first but Chaewon insisted. The younger girl learned that she apparently found it hard to say no to the older— the first time she thought about it made her flustered.

 

The events that followed Chaewon’s sudden sickness surprisingly brought them closer. Their bond strengthened as Minjoo was sure Chaewon already considers her as her friend. Minjoo considers her as hers too, anyway.

 

Currently, Chaewon’s workload has finally lessened. Her schedule has been freed up, that's why she’s been asking for Minjoo to come hang out with her. The younger girl might have found it hard to decline Chaewon’s offers, but her schedule was still packed unlike the older’s. Chaewon was fortunately understanding that she just patiently waits for the younger girl.

 

Although right now, Chaewon found it hard to let her be tonight. 

 

Minjoo was drowning with work and the older girl is starting to worry for her wellbeing. 

 

The girl might love to nag her for not taking care of herself, but she also struggled to do the same with herself. Chaewon observed that lately, Minjoo has been staying up late to pass her photography projects on time. Chaewon also knows that Minjoo has her nose stuck in between books lately because she didn’t want to fail the amount of quizzes she has to take for the following week. The younger girl has been cooped up in her room for days now that Chaewon wasn’t sure if she’s still eating right.

 

That’s why she’s determined to make the girl take a break and have some dinner before going to sleep. 

 

Knocking on her door, she held onto the transparent plastic bag in her hands. Cups of Chinese takeouts occupied the bag as Chaewon waited for the younger girl to let her enter her room.

 

“Come in!” Minjoo’s voice slightly shouted from the inside, a little bit muffled.

 

“Hey,” Chaewon greeted when she peeked her head inside her room. Minjoo sat on her desktop chair by her study table as she looked up from the book she was reading. A pair of black, circle-rimmed glasses was perched up on the bridge of her nose. Her chocolate eyes immediately softened at the sight of her roommate.

 

“Need anything, Chae?” A smile formed on her lips.

 

“Not much.” The older girl fully entered the room as she closed the door behind her quietly. “But I do need you to eat. I bought takeouts from our favorite Chinese restaurant down the street.”

 

Minjoo’s eyes went down to look at the plastic bag presented in front of her. A giggle escaping her lips before nodding her head. She pushed her books and laptop aside to spread the boxes out on the wooden surface. Chaewon went and took the chair stool beside the younger girl’s desk and moved it to sit beside her.

 

“Thank you, little cub.” Minjoo beamed at her as she excitedly opened the boxes. She handed Chaewon a pair of chopsticks after the older girl popped her can of soda open. 

 

“Anytime, foxy.” Chaewon took a small sip from her can before digging in the food that she bought. “Bought you your favorite dumplings, also.”

 

“I can clearly see that,” Minjoo said with a big smile. She picked one dumpling up with her chopsticks before casually moving it towards Chaewon. The older girl immediately opened to eat it. Minjoo’s smile widened when Chaewon nodded her head in affirmation, liking the taste of the food in mouth.

 

They ate in a comfortable silence.

 

They are never really one to be fond of talking. Only a couple of questions and brief answers here and there— it was oddly enough for them. Minjoo could only guess that the comfortable silence was the foundation of their friendship. She always felt at ease when Chaewon was around and she never felt the need to always keep a conversation going with her. The older girl felt exactly the same way.

 

“Is there a special occasion why you suddenly popped in with Chinese food?” Minjoo asked after they had cleared the desk. Minjoo went to sit on the edge of her bed as she watched Chaewon move around to also clean up the strewn paper on her table. 

 

“I haven’t seen you eat anything proper for the past couple of days.” Chaewon hummed as she plopped down on Minjoo’s desktop chair. “You love to nag me for not taking care of myself, but you never do the same for you, too.” Chaewon shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant.

 

“Sorry,” Minjoo apologized, a soft grin forming on her lips. “I should really start listening to myself.”

 

“Please, do.” Chaewon looked up at her with narrowed eyes. She suddenly stood up from the chair and abruptly pushed Minjoo down her bed. “I’m also forcing you to sleep early. In exchange, I’ll help you with your essays tomorrow.”

 

Minjoo pouted as she wanted to protest— to say no as she still had a lot of things to do. But Chaewon’s hard glare on her made her crawl under the sheets of her bed. Once the older girl made sure she wouldn't leave her bed again to work and had already tucked her in, she quickly ran her fingers through her long brown strands.

 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Joo. Goodnight,” Chaewon whispered. Soft waves crashed in her caramel pools as she gave her a small grin. She moved to stand up and leave when she felt a hand grip onto her wrist.

 

“Can you stay with me for the night, Chae?” Minjoo asked in a small voice. The tiredness the younger girl felt suddenly felt more evident in her vulnerable statement. Chaewon looked back to observe her features.

 

Dark circles, droopy eyes, darkened orbs.

 

Chaewon couldn’t say no.

 

“Okay,” the older girl muttered. She quickly walked over to the lightswitch near the door, turning off the lights before turning back to join Minjoo on her bed. 

 

She didn’t expect Minjoo to immediately engulf her in a cuddle when she was finally under the bedsheets. Her arms wrapping around her waist as she placed her head on the crook of her neck. She snuggled into her closer as her embrace tightened around Chaewon’s body. The older girl could only chuckle as she also wrapped her arms around her shoulder.

 

Minjoo sighed in content. Her hot breath hitting the skin of Chaewon’s neck. The older girl’s hand moved to her soft hair, making sleep come to her faster at the soothing action.

 

Minjoo’s eyes lethargically blinked. Slowly closing as the scent of roses and mint lull her to sleep. She faintly felt a soft pressure being placed on her forehead, Chaewon’s lips kissing the skin gently before bidding her goodnight.

 

Minjoo finally felt her body relax after a stressful week.

-

(

“Thank you so much for helping me out, Chae.” Minjoo took a sip of her coffee. Sitting on the chair in front of the older girl as they drown out the noise in the busy cafe near their campus.

 

“No problem.” Chaewon just shrugged her shoulders as she tried to sound nonchalant again.

 

“Do you wanna do something with me? I kinda want to repay you.”

 

“I don’t know…” Chaewon trailed off as she shifted her body around her chair.

 

“You really don’t have anything in mind?” Minjoo insisted.

 

“Well, there is one…” a thoughtful look washed over the older girl’s delicate features as she seemingly tried to avoid her eyes. Minjoo’s brows raised curiously.

 

“What is it?”

 

A pause.

 

And then—

 

“Take me out on a date?” Minjoo nearly choked on her drink at the statement.

 

“Not a friendly one?” She asked with careful eyes. Observing the girl’s demeanor before chuckling at the nervous grin Chaewon sends her.

 

“Not a friendly one.” Chaewon confirmed. Minjoo’s smile widened at the idea.

 

“Sounds like a plan then.”

)