CHAPTER IV / First Night

Jinri’s heart was about to explode as her body froze in front of Minho’s room. She slowly bumped her head three times on Minho’s door as her eyes were closed, blaming herself for opening his door without knocking. As she was about to bump her head again, the door opened, making her body lose its balance.

Minho, who buttoned his polka-dot polo after Jinri opened the door unexpectedly, was surprised to see Jinri falling on his chest. Jinri shrieked for a while as she quickly held Minho’s arms to prevent herself from falling further. “Oh, careful,” he said as he supported Jinri in returning to her normal position.

Jinri couldn’t look Minho at his eyes as she slightly brushed her hair with her hands in a quick manner. She handed out the towel with the clothes on top and said, “H-H-Here’s your clothes and towel…”

“Thank you,” he said as he received them. “Sorry if—”

“Will you please lock your door the next time you… remove your clothes?” she shyly asked with her eyes still not meeting his.

“Sorry…”

“Arasseo, arasseo,” she jabbered as she slowly pushed Minho to his room. “Go take a bath now. You stink,” she commanded as she ran out of his room and slammed the door.

She zombie-walked towards the white couch and she lazily fell to it as she sighed. “What should I do with my precious eyes?” she thought. She closed her eyes, thinking that it would erase what she saw. But it turned out to be the opposite. She vividly remembered what she saw, so she shook her head and slapped her cheeks.

Minutes later, Minho’s door opened and it alarmed Jinri who was still on the couch. At a snail's pace, Minho walked out of his room. Despite the pink shirt being loose on Jinri, it became fitted when Minho wore it. The gray baggy pants looked small on him and he was embarrassed about it. With his hair still wet and looking like a bird’s nest, he showed himself to Jinri.

Jinri tried not to laugh on what Minho looked like, but she couldn’t help it. While sitting ladylike on the couch, she chuckled while covering with her hand. She was trying not to produce any sound as her eyes started to water and her face started to get red.

Minho couldn’t do anything but stand still in front of him and stoop down. He felt ashamed on what he was wearing.

“I… I’m sorry… I… I… sorry.” She was hardly breathing while trying to maintain her posture. It took her a minute before she could stop laughing. “Okay… okay… I’m sorry…”

Minho breathed heavily. “So… what are the rules?”

“Okay!” she energetically said. “When it comes to cleaning the house and watering the plants, I’ll give the task to you.”

“Okay,” he said as he nodded.

“With cooking, I’ll do it. You can suggest to me what I should cook.”

“Okay.”

“Unless you’re given my permission, visitors are not allowed.”

“Got it.”

“When you’re about to leave the house, you should inform me.”

“How?”

Jinri grabbed an object from the coffee table and she handed it to Minho. “Here’s your phone. It’s my old one and you can use it for now.”

“I… don’t know how to use it,” he asked as he slowly grabbed it from her hand.

“I’ll teach you how to use it later,” she said. “And lastly…” Sulli gulped and she pointed out the door on her back.

“Hm?” he asked.

“You’re not allowed to go inside my room. This is a strict rule and once you violated this, you’ll be automatically kicked out,” she said in a somewhat serious manner. Though, the latter part was kind of a joke.

“Why?” he curiously questioned her.

Jinri inhaled as her eyes widened and her cheeks turned to faint red, surprised on Minho’s question. “B-B-Because… it’s my room.”

“Got it,” he said. “But, may I suggest a rule, too?”

“Sure,” she said as she exhaled slowly.

“You’re also not allowed to go to my room,” he said as he raised his chin and crossed his arms.

Jinri raised her chin and crossed her arms, too. “W-W-Why?”

“Because it’s my room, too,” he teased, smiling.

“Arasseo! W-We should respect each other’s privacy,” she mumbled as she uncrossed her arms and looked down.

Minho paused for a while and looked down. “Jinri…”

“Yes?” she asked.

“Do you have the song that we just heard on the bus earlier?” he asked as he looked at her with such innocent eyes.

“Love of My Life by Queen? I’m afraid not,” she frowned. “But, I can just download it and put it on your phone, if you want to.”

Minho grinned and nodded. “Yes, please.”

Jinri went in her room and grabbed her laptop. She downloaded the song and she transferred it to Minho’s phone. Afterwards, they had their dinner together. It was a simple and quite awkward dinner. Jinri was thinking that they’re like on a date, and it made her feel uneasy, but she managed to talk to Minho. During dinner, Minho was curious on how his phone works, so Jinri taught him the basics.

“Jinri!” he shouted as he called Jinri who was proceeding to her room after their dinner. Jinri looked back as she opened , asking him why. “Thank you!”

“Ne,” she softly said, already tired and sleepy. She smiled and said, “Good night!”

“Good night!” He smiled as he entered his room and closed his door. He lied down on his bed and checked his phone. He went to the music player app and he played the only song in his phone, Love of My Life. The song started playing with a moderate volume and he placed it beside his pillow.

He looked up the ceiling as he listened to the song. It was a sad song, but it managed to make him feel relaxed and secure. Though he couldn’t remember anything from the song, his heart kept telling him that it’s something from his past. It’s something reminiscent. He smiled as he slowly blinked. As the song ended minutes after, his eyes shut, sleeping in fetal position as he entered the realm of a blurred dream.

~

FROM: MAXSTEPP

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