6. Sparks

Say, Mr. Daisies. What would you do if you had a roommate that was exceptionally odd, who would practically pull you into a dance every time he hears music?

The whole Sunday afternoon, Lee Aki helped Byun Baekhyun bring his numerous and inexplicably large boxes of stuff from his old red pick-up truck to the apartment. While they were going back and forth carrying boxes, Aki was panting and she thought her head was going to burst because she was not very fond of moving around and carrying large baggage. The abundance of DVDs, comics, music sheets, written exams, instruments and personal belongings were overwhelming. It didn’t seem like a guy would possess so much. But like a normal lad, they were all stuffed chaotically.

With Aki’s small frame and lack of masculinity, they had to seek for help from the carefree next-door novelist, Park Chanyeol, who certainly didn’t mind. He helped with a wide grin and a familiar twitch of happiness. Kim Jongin wanted to help out but he was, unfortunately, busy with his sketches; Oh Sehun, the youngest lad was up in his room, trying to figure out if math was truly a major subject for his course; while the generous and funny Human Resources Manager, Kim Joon Myeon, was still at work.

During the unpacking and rearranging of Baekhyun’s fair share of furniture, the giddy young man had become very friendly with Chanyeol. They merely exchanged random jokes with each other and then they clicked in a heartbeat. Aki thought that they could easily be mistaken as clichéd comedians and, considering their amusing height difference, they could really pull it off. Seeing them interact so naturally, Aki tried to make a bargain with Chanyeol, wanting to exchange roommates since she didn’t particularly mind being roommates with the Greek god, Kim Jongin. Park Chanyeol laughed at the idea and dismissed the topic with a roll of his eyes.

When they were done, Aki thought she was going to die. Moving, like I said, was not Aki’s favorite pastime. She longingly hoped for a nice warm shower, a quiet evening with a record filling the apartment with harmonious melodies, and probably a home-made pepperoni pizza for her and the boys. But then she remembered one teensy tiny detail. She was not alone anymore and she couldn’t explain whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Byun Baekhyun was a nice lad with a charming personality and infuriatingly dashing good looks but why did he have a peculiar effect on Aki? Whenever she saw the man, she got this funny feeling in her insides. Her stomach clenched and churned, and her forehead couldn’t help but crinkle. It was simply obvious Aki was currently uneasy with Baekhyun, but why? He seemed like an easy-going person, why was it so hard for Aki to normally talk to him? Was it his smiles, so innocent and so mesmerizing yet immensely unnerving to her? Was it his sunny personality that could literally wake the dead from their eternal slumber and trigger the beastly creatures that live in the woods to sing with him? Or maybe it was his perfectly shaped body. She couldn’t help but notice his milky-white and soft skin that resembled a newborn infant. He was not too buff like a fitness trainer or not too skinny like a computer dweeb. He was just right and that annoyed her.

What did Byun Baekhyun have that irked her to death? Recalling his annoying perfectly tousled hair, small spellbinding eyes and pink lips, Aki sat up straight from the sofa, ignoring the pain she felt as her eyes widened in horror. Why am I thinking about him so much anyway? Am I going mental?

When Baekhyun came from next-door, Aki was sitting on the sofa like a frozen duck as she watched television with a stiff face. She was still too immersed with her thoughts she didn’t even hear him speak for the fourth time that day.

“Aki-ssi?” Baekhyun waved his hand in front of Aki’s face as Aki finally came back with a shock.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Let’s go out.”

Hearing that, Aki thought it certainly wouldn’t be a peaceful Sunday night after all.

…

Apparently Byun Baekhyun had planned an evening just for the two of them. He even gave it a name. He called it, “The Roommate Celebration”, a preposterous way of getting to know each other and Aki was getting ready inside her room.

Aki thought it was bothersome. She thought he was bothersome. She wore jeans and a pale pink cardigan over her long-sleeved Beatles shirt as she finally left her room with a forced smile. Byun Baekhyun half smiled in return as he went ahead with a giddy face of a schoolboy.

Getting tortured on a night with a seemingly annoying roommate was not how she imagined how her Sunday night would be. She thought she would watch Star Wars with Chanyeol, Jongin and Sehun like they did the past Sunday but it seemed that she would be spending the night somewhere else. It wasn’t a comforting thought and she despised it.

Aki departed with a heavy heart, getting her keys from her bag when all of a sudden, she heard infuriating coos and woos from behind. Before she could turn around, she wore her familiar turtle face.

“Don’t start with me, little s.” She hissed as she finally locked the door.

Sehun, Chanyeol and Jongin stood behind her, leaning leisurely on the railings of the stairs with mischievous smirks except for the university student who wore a scowl.

Hearing her swear perked Chanyeol and Jongin’s ears. “Oh, noona. You’re not very attractive when you badmouth like that.” Chayeol teased.

Aki snorted.

“I’m home!” called out a familiar voice from the staircase. Kim Joon Myeon emerged, wearing a suit and a frown as he rolled his shoulders. The Human Resources Manager was a small black-haired man and he looked younger than the boys he called his “dongsaengs” but he earned his respect by being a generous and kind hyung.

“Welcome back, Joon Myeon hyung!” The boys greeted him and bowed, hoping the man would treat them to food again. Aki mentally rolled her eyes but smiled and welcomed the small man nonetheless.

“I saw your new roommate from downstairs, Aki. Going out with him tonight?” Joon Myeon asked with a cheeky smile plastered on his face.

Aki shook her head but the boys nodded vigorously. “They’re going on a date.” They informed in perfect unison like birds twittering and chirping in spring.

Sehun pursed his lips in distress. He was in college, majoring in business. He was the next heir to his father’s company and thought that he’d better start knowing the mechanics. Sehun had black hair. He was lean and tall with milky white skin and had the prettiest lips. “I don’t understand noona! It’s your first day with him and he’s already asked you out on a date.” Sehun voiced out, his lisp heard loud and clear as he folded his arms to his chest.

“Sehun, it isn’t like that. I told you countless of times that it’s not a date.”

Jongin chuckled, nudging Sehun’s side. “Sehun’s just jealous, noona. We hope you have a good night.” Sehun blushed when he heard this and nudged Jongin’s side in revenge.

Joon Myeon chuckled and waved, “Have fun Kiki!”

Aki shook her head with an inevitable smile. “Okay, thanks guys. Have a good night as well.”

…

Seeing his old pick-up truck again, she had the urge to try and do what Emma Watson did as Sam from Perks of Being a Wallflower but she contained her desire and rode shotgun.

At first, the ride was unbearably quiet. Aki looked outside the window, feeling the wind rush to her face as she gazed at the lovely lights and buildings of Seoul. Baekhyun fidgeted in his seat, as he silently maximized the volume of his radio and not long, the car was filled with Coldplay’s song “Sparks”.

“Did I drive you away?

I know what you'll say,

You say, "Oh, sing one we know",

But I promise you this,

I'll always look out for you,

That's what I'll do.

I say "oh,"

I say "oh."”

Aki blinked. Unexpectedly, she was the one who broke the silence. “I like this song. I had a record once.” Baekhyun grinned, his eyes still glued to the road. “You like Coldplay too?” instead of retorting a sarcastic comment, Aki said yes.

“My heart is yours,

It's you that I hold on to,

That's what I do,

And I know I was wrong,

But I won't let you down,

(Oh yeah, yeah, yes I will)

I say "oh",

I cry "oh".

And I saw sparks,

Yeah I saw sparks"

“Baekhyun-ssi. Can’t you at least give me a hint about where we’re going?” Aki was becoming restless and fidgety. Surprises? It really wasn’t her thing. She liked them, but she always preferred not being led to one. These kinds of last minute plans always unnerved her to the fullest. Baekhyun was certainly different from her husband. Her husband was a pure perfectionist and seeing how an odd boy was making peculiar plans for the two of them was highly strange for her. “Don’t worry, Aki-ssi. You’ll thank me later.”

…

“This is a really bad idea!” Aki whispered loudly, trying hard to break free from Baekhyun’s strong clutches that continued to drag her into a gymnasium.

After a fifteen-minute ride on Baekhyun’s pick-up truck, they finally arrived to the school where Baekhyun is teaching, the exclusive school for boys. He smiled proudly, basically dragging Lee Aki inside the basketball court.

“Oh come on, it’s not one of my best ideas but the teams that are going to play tonight are said to be really good. I haven’t gone to one of their games and Chanyeol told me you’re a basketball fan too. I’m sorry I couldn’t get tickets for the real thing.” He added and Aki finally stopped being a child.

“I am a basketball fan but I just get really hardcore when it comes to games! I keep on shouting and all you could hear from me are criticisms. You really wouldn’t like me afterwards.” Aki reasoned but then she caught sight of high school boys wearing jerseys of blue and red. The blue team was called Blue Devils and the red team was Red Beavers. Aki could feel her passion for sports radiate from her body.

When they sat down on the bleachers, her eyes wandered and saw hundreds of girls and boys with youthful faces. They cheered and shouted as if it were an international play-off. There were streamers, banners, and balloons everywhere and there were even announcers with matching suits. Everyone was fired up and Aki was beginning to get fired up as well.

Baekhyun began to worry though, because beside him, Aki was silent. He wondered whether Aki was seriously upset about the Roommate Celebration. She hadn’t spoken for a while ever since he dragged her inside. Baekhyun peeked to see if her face was darkening with anger.

“You know, maybe this isn’t such a good id-“ Aki gripped Baekhyun’s wrist as tight as she could, still gazing at the court with stormy eyes.

“Baekhyun-ssi, will there be kids selling popcorn?” She asked, her eyes still gleaming with astonishment and anticipation.

Baekhyun was flustered. This was the first actual time he saw Aki hooked up on something! He finally cracked a gentle smile and patted Aki’s head “Don’t worry, there will be students roaming around to sell later.”

Aki looked up at him and nodded frantically like an excited kid. Baekhyun shook his head.

“What?”

“You just looked so engrossed.” He replied with a warm beam still plastered on his face.

“It’s my first time watching a high school basketball game in years.” Aki flashed a genuine smile.

“Oh really? Want to bet?” Baekhyun challenged.

Aki hummed. “Well that’s quite unfair, isn’t it? You might know who would win.”

Baekhyun slightly shook his head. “I told you, I haven’t seen any of their games.”

Aki raised a brow, “Are you sure? I’m not really fond of liars.”

Baekhyun lifted his right hand and crossed his heart on his left chest, “I swear.”

“Then I pick the Blue Devils.” She replied eccentrically.

Baekhyun chuckled, “Whoever loses?” He asked.

“Whoever loses will buy dinner tonight.”

“Deal.” They shook on it.

“You’ll regret you ever brought me here.” Aki whispered more to herself than to Baekhyun, but Baekhyun heard this and shook his head.

“No regrets, Aki-ssi!"

The game finally started and the court was drowned in cheers.

…

In the first quarter, it wasn’t that bad. Aki applauded most of the time, eating popcorn once in a while and even groaned multiple times whenever the opposing team would steal the ball and shoot.

The second quarter was not scandalous, yet. Some of Baekhyun’s students recognized him and asked if Aki was Baekhyun’s girlfriend. Aki wasn’t listening to their conversation. Even when she heard “girlfriend”, she didn’t even bother to tell off his students that she wasn’t, because Park Sangmin, a rookie from Blue Devils, made a three-point shot. She cheered like there was no tomorrow.

In the third quarter, Aki started to coach. It was no joke. She kept on screaming techniques to the kids and she almost picked a fight with a teenage girl who was a fan of the Red Beavers. The rude girl called her “Ahjumma” and said that she shouldn’t be so noisy. Baekhyun apologized on her behalf and calmed Aki down as he massaged her shoulders.

“Please don’t pick fights with teenagers.”

“The wench should learn some manners.” Aki replied under her breath.

…

“Hurry up Park Sangmin! Shoot the ball!” shouted Aki. She already took her cardigan off, rolled up her long-sleeve shirt and was on her feet. The game was in its fourth quarter and the Red Beavers were ahead of the Blue Devils with a score of 73 to 71. Byun Baekhyun was smiling widely, cheering for the Red Beavers with gusto. It amused him that Aki was getting so worked up, acting like their coach, screaming, wailing and cursing the whole evening. She attracted attention from the students but she ignored these and continued blaring like a fire truck.

Aki was distressed and her head hurt like hell. They already ate popcorn and two hotdogs and drank coca-cola. She felt sick to the bone but all she cared about at that time was the game, and she was losing. “Come on! I don’t want to treat this kid!” She gestured to Baekhyun, who laughed obnoxiously.

There were ten seconds left and Aki plopped back on her seat. Baekhyun smirked. “I’m glad we made the bet, Aki-ssi!” he shouted amidst the cheers and distraught ohhhs and ahhhs. Aki scowled in defeat.

Three seconds were left and the crowd shushed. A miracle was performed. Park Sangmin, the Blue Devil’s star player was able to shoot a three-point shot! The crowd was dumbstruck when they saw the magnificent shot. Their mouths hung agape with perfect disbelief.

The fans of the Blue Devils broke the silence as they all jumped on their feet with victorious wails. Aki jumped and danced frantically on her seat like a wild party girl! The crowd went wild! Shrieks of happiness were boomed while the losing team’s fans stayed silent, still not accepting reality’s cruelty.

The students swarmed the court and carried Park Sangmin as they rejoiced and chanted his name repeatedly!

“Eat that, you little piece of !” Aki pointed accusingly at the previous teenage girl. The anonymous fiery girl flashed Aki a death glare.

Aki folded her arms and glanced at Baekhyun who was one of the silenced fans. “It seems that you owe me pizza.” Aki smiled smugly.

Actually, Baekhyun watched their games before. He knew the teams. The Blue Devils always lose but for some unknown reason (or it could be their rookie player, Park Sangmin) won that night. Baekhyun was dumbfounded but he felt it in a good way. He lost an amount of money’s worth of pizza but found a new aspect of Aki and that’s what he really wanted.

…

“I still can’t believe that rookie’s three-point shot.” Aki clapped with a glorious and proud smile on her face.

Hearing this, Baekhyun cracked a smile and chuckled lowly. “It was really amazing, the kid could actually join the national team.” His tone was sincere.

Aki glanced at him and couldn’t help but giggle. “I’m alarmed.”

Baekhyun glimpsed but quickly gazed back at the road. “Why?”

Aki shrugged. “My husband was a sore loser and we always made bets. Whenever his team lost, he’d stay silent and wear a funny frown but of course, like the gentleman he was, he’d fulfill the bet nonetheless.”

Baekhyun stole a glance again and fidgeted in his seat, “You haven’t told me you were married.”

Aki realized what she had said and fell silent. “I’m sorry, I was planning to.”

“It’s our first day together, it’s all right.” He flashed her a brief smile and hit the brakes when the stoplight turned red.

Silence enveloped the two of them. Aki looked out of the window again, contemplating whether to tell Baekhyun.

“He passed away last month.” She paused as she finally looked into Baekhyun’s eyes. “I wasn’t able to cope and my therapist advised me to live with a roommate. So, that’s that.”

After a few moments, when the stoplight turned green, he finally responded. “I’m sorry.”

Aki’s eyes were starting to well up but she quickly wiped the tears away. “It's okay.” Her voice cracked.

“I’ll be your best roommate.” Baekhyun announced with a cheeky grin that resembled a child’s. Aki managed a small smile. “I hope so.” She whispered to herself.

They had dinner at a small pizza restaurant. It was full of small talk and the twenty-three year old man left for the toilet but to Aki’s unknowing, he went somewhere else with a gift safely tucked inside his bag. They left with Aki bringing leftover peperoni pizza for the boys in the morning so that she won’t hear them ask her about the previous night with Byun Baekhyun.

…

When they got home, it was already ten in the evening. Aki went ahead to take a shower and she was sharp to bring her pajamas with her. She didn’t want to run around their apartment with merely a towel wrapped around her body. Baekhyun stretched and plopped himself on the couch as he sighed exhaustedly.

His mind ran with thoughts of Aki’s husband. He thought of what kind of person he was; he thought of how they loved each other since Aki was still lost in despair; he thought of what kind of husband he was. In short, Byun Baekhyun was infinitely curious about Mr. Husband, but he didn’t want to pry. It was his first day with her after all.

His eyes scanned the whole apartment as his lips unconsciously twitched into a smile. He thought it was nice, seeing his stuff mixed with Aki’s. It was fascinating, to say the least.

Aki had her own stack of DVDs while Baekhyun had his. Aki organized her favorite books alphabetically inside a bookshelf while Baekhyun had his comics stacked messily, but most of the space was used for his written exams for his students. Their aprons were hung side-by-side in the kitchen and even his teal-colored toothbrush was in the same cup with Aki’s pink one.

When Aki was done, she was already wearing polka-dotted pajamas and waved shyly at Baekhyun.

“Well, I better hit the sack. Good night Baekhyun-ssi.” Baekhyun nodded and made his way towards the bathroom but before he could disappear into the misty embrace of hot water, he waited for Aki to thank him but Aki directly went inside her room without saying another word.

…

“Aki-ssi.” Whispered the young twenty-three year old from his room.

Both of them were already lying down on their separate beds in their separate rooms. It had been quiet for a while and it was already eleven-thirty in the evening.

Aki’s eyes were closed ever since she went inside but she wasn’t sleeping yet and when she heard Baekhyun’s voice from the other side, her eyes flickered open and narrowed. Apparently both of their beds leaned against the same wall. It was like sleeping with each other except a wall was in between them. The thought immensely disturbed Aki but she shrugged it off as she replied to Baekhyun’s call.

“You’re still awake?” She asked and Baekhyun hummed yes in return.

“I just want to give you a heads up. Truthfully, I kind of yelp unconsciously before I sleep.”

Aki pursed her lips and brought her hands together. She sighed, “I sleep talk when I’m exhausted. In some occasions, I even sing.”

Baekhyun softly chuckled while Aki suppressed her laughter. “Well, good night, don’t be too loud.”

Instead of hearing Baekhyun’s voice reply, she heard soft yelps that resembled that of a puppy’s. She rolled to her side. Baekhyun’s yelps were innocent, quiet and subtle. Somehow, they gave off a comforting feeling. Like, the world wasn’t such a cruel place to live in. Those simple signs of humanity had always been Aki’s favorites.

After hearing her roommate’s yelps, Baekhyun’s heavy breathing and faint heartbeat filled Aki’s ears. Aki giggled unconsciously. His breathing resembled her husband’s and once again, Aki was filled with comfort and perfect nostalgia drowned her as she finally closed her eyes with a contented sigh.

I say, he seems like a fun guy, although I can’t help but feel jealous.

But he’s a keeper, Ms. 221A, even if he doesn’t send you daisies everyday.

A/N: Once again, I apologize to all of you. 

I shall do my best and update soon.

God bless! Follow me on tumblr, if you will:

riotousmishap