Working 3 jobs at one time is definitely not something my classmates would have thought I'd do, but this is definitely one of the best things I've ever done my entire life. Being an engineering major graduate, everybody has expected me to work my off in some big, fancy company and rake big bucks. But I don't want to settle with that.

I need freedom. I need space.

That's how I ended up working at 3 different places with no relations to each other, or even to my major of choice. In the morning, I start my shift at a café serving coffee and warm pastries to students and lecturers at a university downtown. In the afternoon, I travel 30 minutes to a mansion just outside the city to work on a garden belonging to a rich old guy. When I started working there, I asked the owner why he would have two different gardeners when almost everybody would only hire one. He said he likes variations and no two persons would come up with the same idea. With having two gardeners, his garden would not be focused on one style. I nodded, never had that thought before in my life. Good thinking, old man.

At night, I would travel back to the city to work at one on my father's friend's restaurant. Since my family died in a car crash when I was in my final year of college, my father's friend has been kind enough to take me as family and that's how I got to work in his restaurant. Nothing too special about the place, but every night it would be swamped with people from all walks of life - families eating out, working people hanging out with their colleagues, or friends catching up with one another. The place is lively and although it got too busy at times, I am always comfortable to be there.

During my free time, I would spend more time at the rich man's garden to help the other gardener or help at the restaurant. Sometimes, I would stay at home trying to clean or doing laundry or just lazing around.

This is freedom, and I really like it this way.

It's not like I really need to work hard, seeing that my parents had left me quite a fortune that if I were to spend it smartly, it would last for a number of years without needing me to work. Neither do I have to rent a two-bedroom apartment with one bathroom since I had lived most of my life in a big house with a garden, a butler and a maid. Our house might not be as big as the old man's mansion, but it is big enough for our family of five to live in. But what need do I have for a house that's too spacious for a single person, a butler to tend to a person with minimal living requirement and a maid to take care of the mess of one bachelor? That's why I decided to leave the house and moved to this cute comfy apartment that's closer to the city. I have been taught how to cook by my mother since I was little and I'm used to cleaning up my own mess, so there's no doubt I can survive living alone.

This is my space, and I love it this way.

At times I would get lonely and miss my family. I would think about the times my parents took my brother, younger sister and I to the beach since we love the sea so much. I would think about the times my parents took us to random vacations without informing us beforehand, so that we could create our own adventures from it. I would think about the times we spend the day together without our butler and maid - just the five of us in our house. Those were good times. I know I should be grateful for my father's friend who took me as his son when he already have 4 other children to take care of, but sometimes all those memories would have me locked up in my own world and I don't want people to step into it.

I am Chen, and this has been my life for 3 years now.

And this is going to be changed when I received a call from my old butler, whom I regarded as my second father.

"Hello, Mr. Chen. How have you been?"

"Hello, Uncle Joonmyun. I'm great, thank you. How are you? How's your family?"

"We're all good, thank you. Do you have some time right now? There's something I would like to ask you."

"Sure, I'm free now. Is there something wrong, Uncle?"

"Oh, no. Nothing's wrong. I called you to ask for a favor. My nephew has gotten a job in the city, and he might need a place to stay for a while before he gets his own place. I was thinking if you could let him stay with you for a few nights before he starts working."

I smiled. I thought something bad had happened. This, is not what I expected.

"Sure. You can give him my address. When is he coming?"

"Two days from now, and he'll be starting work two days after that. You don't need to pick him up. I'll make sure he gets the direction to your house."

"Perfect. Uncle, did you tell him who I was?"

"No. I know how uncomfortable you get when people know who you are. I just told him you are an old friend's son."

"Great. Make sure you give him my address and phone number, in case he got lost or anything."

After several minutes of catching up, I get off the phone. I need to make sure the guest room is at least clean for my guest. Well, nothing much to be done since I rarely use the room. And it's pretty livable with a single bed, a dresser and a vanity table. I never thought about finding a roommate because I would have one or two of my father's friend's children coming over and stay the night from time to time, so this room is basically reserved for my guests.

I check my working hours. Good, I have the day off when he would arrive. I suppose I can make something for him, although I don't know when he'll be coming. Oh well, I can just save them in the fridge. I just restocked everything in my kitchen, so I don’t need to go for grocery shopping.

. . . . . . . . . .

I blink my eyes a few times, adjusting to the bright sunlight seeping through the fabric of my room's curtains. Then I reach out to my phone. 10:30 am. One missed call.

Huh? This is an unknown number. Before I could think of anything, my phone rings. It's the same number.

Clearing my throat a bit, I pick the call up. "Hello?"

"Hello, is this Chen?" A soft voice on the other end of the line.

"Yes. Who's this?"

"I'm Yixing, Uncle Joonmyun's nephew. He had told you about me coming, right?"

I look at the screen of my phone. October 23. Damn, how could I forget about this.

"Yes, yes. Sorry, I just woke up and missed your call. Where are you? Are you lost?"

"Haha. Not really. I'm actually in front of your apartment but I don't know how to get in. I rang your bell a few times, but there's no answer. I thought you were not home."

I stumble out of bed, looking for my glasses and hoodie. "Oh, sorry about that. I was deep in sleep. I'll get you now. Stay put." I ran to the door and open it wide.

There's someone who's slightly taller, about my age with a smile looking straight at me. Oh wait. Is that a dimple?

"Hi. You must be Chen."

It takes me a few seconds to actually process his words, and realizing I have been staring at him I mutter a reply and ask him to come in.

"How long have you waited? I'm really sorry I didn't ask your uncle about your arrival time." We walk to the guest room and I place his bag near the dresser.

"Not that long. Maybe 15 minutes. I'm sorry for not informing you about this." His voice is soft and I could sense some shyness in it.

"Don't be. You must be tired and I'm guessing you left home very early, right? Have you had breakfast?"

He shakes his head and stands near the bed awkwardly.

"Do you want to get breakfast with me? I thought of cooking for you but since you get here early and I haven't prepared anything, might as well just get something outside. That is if you're not tired."

He nods. "Sure, if that's okay with you."

"Alright. Give me 10 minutes to shower. You can walk around the house if you want."

After showering and getting dressed, I step out of my room to see him sitting on the couch in the living room.

"Ready?"

He looks at me with a smile, and nods his head.

. . . . . . . . .

It has been two weeks I have Yixing in my house. He has started his work, which is quite close to my apartment. The pay is decent and the hours are normal. He looks happy with his new job. And since he would get home earlier than I would, he would cook dinner for me and put them on the table for me to eat when I got home. He actually is a good cook, and it's been some time since I last eat somebody else's cooking.

It's Friday and I get the night off so I have decided to make something for dinner. I am cooking when I heard the door unlocked.

"Hey. You're back. How's work?"

He's a bit startled to see me in the kitchen, but answers after getting back to his senses. "Work's good. You're not working tonight?"

I shake my head. "Nope. I ask for a time off for this weekend. Have you had dinner?"

It's his turn to shake his head. I smile. "I'm making spicy chicken and fried veggie. We can eat after you take your shower." To which he nods, and went to his room before heading to the bathroom.

We eat while chatting some random stuff, when he suddenly asks me.

"I've looked around for a room to rent, but I can't find anything that's okay enough with my pay. Do you know if there's a place that's suitable?"

I look at him chewing on the chicken. "Why don't you stay here? I have not much need of that room anyways. And you don't have to travel far to get to work. We can share the electricity, water and food bills."

He looks up from his plate to stare at me. "Are you sure? I can pay half the rent, too."

"You don't need to. This apartment is mine, so you don't need to pay the rent. Well, maybe if you could cook for us that'd be good."

His face lights up. "Really? Thank you Chen. You really saved me a lot of trouble."

With that, I got myself a roommate and Yixing got himself a room to stay in.

. . . . . . . . .

We become closer as time goes by. I still keep my 3 jobs, but I would take some days off especially on weekends so that I can spend some time with Yixing. We would go hiking or camping or shopping or driving to random places. He's a good company and easy to get comfortable with. It's been a long time since I last had a roommate, so having another living person in the house actually feels nice to me.

Yixing has never asked me about my family or my background or the reasons behind my 3 jobs. This must have something to do with Uncle Joonmyun warning him not to, I guess. But I would always ask him about his family, to which he would always answer enthusiastically. Born as the youngest of 3 with 2 older brothers, he's trained to do house chores by his mother. That's why he's so good at cooking and cleaning. He would tell me stories about his brothers, his childhood, his Uncle Joonmyun and lots of other things. Instead of being envious of his family, I am actually happy to see him free of worries.

When we're not talking or eating or going out, we would watch movies in the living room. He would get the popcorn ready and I would get the movie going. I am comfortable with him enough that I would let him sit close to me or put his head on my shoulder when we're together on the couch although I'm not really fond of skinship. The first time he did that, I had cramps all over my body because I was so tensed with the closeness but I didn't have the heart to push him away. When we meet outside, he would sometimes hold my hand and interlock our fingers as he happily tell me stories. I let him do that the way I let my late brother and sister held my hand.

He is very gentle and caring, although at times can be hyper and loud when he has the mood to be. He's a fun person to be with and I can tell he's really getting comfortable with me, but I could never let my guard down when he's with me. I become protective over my roommate. I feel like I need to protect him from harm, take care of him when he's sick, console him when he's down. I feel the need to man up when it comes to Yixing. I feel like I need to keep my cool and always appear as the more matured one when I'm in front of him.

But tonight is different. Because tonight is the night of my family's death anniversary. And tonight, I need someone to console me, protect me from my nightmares and be with me when I sleep.

I walk into our apartment after finishing the last job. Tired all over, I drag my feet to the couch and slump on it. I must have been loud because not a moment after that I could see his head poking out of his room.

I do not greet him like I always do. I'm too tired. Too freaking tired.

"Chen, you're back already? Do you need me to reheat the food?"

I do not open my eyes. I could feel him coming closer to me. Then his cold palm on my forehead.

"Are you okay? Are you sick? Do you need medicine?"

His voice is laced with worries. I still do not open my eyes. I feel movement next to me. He must have sat on the couch.

"Chen." That gentle voice. The palm that was on my forehead now lies on my thigh.

He must think his presence is not welcomed, so I felt the weight on the couch lessen. Before he got the chance to walk away, I open my eyes and grab his wrist, pulling him towards me. He let out a small yelp and somehow ends up on my lap. I could sense his surprise and worry.

"Chen, let me go. Are you okay?"

Before giving him any reply, I wrap my arms around his waist causing him to gasp a little and put my forehead near his neck. He's warm.

"Yixing, please. Please let me stay like this. I need you."

I snuggle closer to him. I could feel his body temperature rises a bit and we stay like that for a moment before I feel him move. I'm about to protest but before anything could come out of my mouth, he cups my head in both of his palm and lifts my head so that he could look me in the eyes. He looks at them, as if trying to find answers. Suddenly he lets out a small smile, and moves closer to me until his lips fall on my forehead. My arms tighten around him and I move my head closer to his chest. His arms reach around my back and slowly they start to move up and down. He knows how tensed I was, and now I'm starting to melt into his touch, feeling all the tensed muscles in my body going soft.

"That's okay, Chen. I'm here. It's alright." His voice sounds so near to my ears and I start feeling more relaxed in him arms.

We stay in that position for a few minutes, maybe more, until he makes a move to stand up. I instinctively tighten my hold of his waist and look up to his face, but he smiles and takes my hand to urge me to stand up. Having no idea of what's happening, I let him lead me to his room. The room feels warm, since Yixing is sensitive to cold, but at that moment I don't give a damn about that. He pulls me to his bed and makes me sit on it before pushing me to lay on the soft mattress. He walks towards the door and closes it. I'm still a bit dazed when I feel him gets into bed and settles beside me. I watch his every movement and when he sees me not moving, he extends his arms and places it under my head, and his free hand pulls me closer to his body. Oh. So this is what he wants to do. I welcome the warmth of his skin and move closer to him until my head rests on his chest and one arm wraps around his waist. He starts rubbing my back and arm at a very slow pace.

This is comfortable for me.

This is the freedom I've been looking for. The freedom from worries. The freedom from bad memories. The freedom from sadness and loneliness.

And this closeness between me and Yixing, on this bed, is all the space I ever need in this world.