"I'll give you a place that you can come home to..."

The sound of sizzling fish frying on a pan and its crisp burnt scent wafted in the room, waking the slumbering figure on the bed. Bleary eyed, Yoo Jimin rubbed the sleep away from her eyes before getting up and along with a serene voice and memories fading slowly from a dream.

Someone was encouraging her. The voice sound oddly familiar. The vagueness of it left her dazed in bed, wondering what were the words mouthed without sound, meant. Jimin sighed, shaking her head, like most of her dreams, it'll fade away before the morning ends.

Remembering events from yesterday and the hearing the faint click of the stove in her kitchen, sluggishly, Jimin got up and made her way there.

"M-Morning," she greeted her landlord, who's currently cooking. "Did I pass out last night?"

"Yes. Good morning," her landlord answered, easily, putting a ladle in and stirring the pot, Jimin's mouth watered from the smell of food permeating from the stove.

Jimin laughed nervously. Her eyes spotted the post by the fridge door, noticing two dates crossed out. "Huh? Two of them are gone..."

Hearing her confusion, her landlord simply replied, "One for playing games with me, and one because of the situation you talked about last night."

"T-Thanks."

'What did I say last night?' she thought.

Jimin can't remember a single thing she disclosed to her landlord, the time they played games and whatever happened after that are moments that remain dark and shadowed in her mind. 

She should've learned a lesson the first time her landlord caught her drunk but there's something so disarming about her presence that allows her to be less guarded and conscious of her actions. Something about the stern look and cold yet compassionate sparkle of her brown eyes and the pert button nose that scrunches as she whiff the scent off the pot--

"Would you like some miso soup?"

Jimin stammered a response, "S-Sure," eyes widening at the sudden proximity. She chided herself for getting caught staring and for the obvious fluster taking over her face at the moment, if the curious quirk of her landlord's eyebrow was any indication.

How will Yoo Jimin survive living with her landlord when her heart does somersaults with just a simple stare? Jimin reminded herself once again: I like men. I've only dated men.

***

The mantra her mind played on a loop dissolved at the sight of the food meticulously placed in front of her. A full japanese breakfast consisting of rice, fried salmon with soysauce dip, egg rolls, thin slices of sauteed carrots and string beans for the side dishes, and raw egg.

"You made all of this?! Wow!" Jimin exclaimed, a sparkle of sur