It's a fine Saturday morning. The sun was up, the clouds appeared extra white and ever so fluffy. Heck, even the birds were pleasantly loud and beautiful. The last couple of days had been horrible, but today mother nature was at its finest.

But I have one problem.

A teensy weensy problem.

It's morning. 

And I'm awake. 

"Why the hell are you here disrupting my well- ing- deserved sleep? It's not even noon yet!" I crossed my arms across my chest and blocked the doorway with my hunched frame.

I was awakened by incessant ringing and finally clambered out of bed when I heard the jingle of keys and the front door opening.

ert Soo rolled his wide eyes and tried to push past me, a stack of boxes nestled against his loose sweater. " Good morning. Please step aside, Jin Hee-ssi." His usually low voice was gruff and huskier at 8 a.m in the morning. His sleepy gaze and clumsily tousled hair were tell-tale signs that he himself had barely awoken. So then why is he here so early!?

Feeling numbness crawling up my propped leg, I moved away from the door frame with a huff and collapsed on the living room couch. I watched from the corner of my eyes as ert Soo busied himself with his growing stack of boxes, carefully positioning them atop each other in neat little rows at a corner he claimed for himself; they were labeled and color coded.

"Did you eat breakfast yet?"

ert Soo froze mid crouch, a look of astonishment written across his face as he turned to face me.

"Are you sleep talking?"

I felt heat creep up my cheeks and mentally face palmed. "No, ert. I'm being hospitable."

He smiled that heart shaped smile of his and I gotta admit, it made me feel good.

"I haven't eaten yet, Jin Hee-ssi," he replied, retrieving the box he had accidentally dropped. "I like coffee, too."

I snorted and traipsed to the kitchen. "You eat what I make."

A muffled "okay" replied back and I surprisingly (wow, I surprised myself a lot this morning) hummed whilst making an American-style breakfast.

Although I was rudely awakened, I'm really glad that today is a weekend. The last two days had been extremely chaotic; my normally dull routine was disturbed. My body was so not ready. Hyemi didn't bother me anymore after lunch yesterday and she hasn't even texted me at least once-- really odd if you ask me.

Usually I would have three good morning messages, each with their own sets of commands such as "good morning. wake up, lazy " or "hey, it's morning. go eat" and my favorite "it's noon, you bum. Open the door, I brought brunch." But I got none this morning, zilch, nada.

"You have a really nice voice!"

Oh Jesus Christ.

I jumped a bit, wielding my spatula as a weapon, and placed a hand on my thudding heart. "Don't just creep up behind me like that, you ert!"

I turned and lightly socked his shoulder, but the distance between us somewhat grew since my knuckle barely grazed his shoulder. An amused expression was painted across his face and he put his arms up in apology.

"Sit down, breakfast's ready," I said, spooning the final egg in the platter.

"Yes, ma'am," he saluted and strode towards the island counter. "Wow, these look really good."

I puffed my chest a bit and held my chin higher. Of course! Living alone has its perks. I haughtily set the plates in front of him and served us both a glass of orange juice. "Eat up, ert Soo. I made sure to add just the right amount of poison for you."

He chuckled and shoved a spoonful of egg and rice in his mouth, his cheeks bulged as a result. "I didn’t think you’d do that to the average-looking man that I am, Jin Hee-ssi," he said, not bothering to swallow before talking.

"Gross! Swallow first!"

"So how's your morning?"

"Seriously?"

"Do you have better conversation starters?"

Mhm, he got me there. Fine. I'm feeling nice at the moment so I guess I'll go with the flow. "... my morning slumber was disrupted by you."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. Mrs. Choi said it was fine."

I scoff and gulped down my juice. "So you told Mrs. Choi but not me." I was feeling a bit bitter at this point. Mrs. Choi always managed to ruin my day, weekday or not. Damn that woman.

"Actually, I told you during lunch... But I don't think you even heard any of what I said since you were busy with that bowl of ramen."

Lie. He was lying. I know these things.

"Well, I guess now you know that I'm not a good listener... And trust me, I have a lot more of bad qualities," I sullenly stabbed my bacon and dragged it across my plate. I hate talking about myself. I somehow always manage to make myself appear worse than I like to believe I am.

ert Soo remained silent, only the sound of his utensils working diligently remained a constant reminder that he was still there. I tore my gaze away from the meal in front of me and looked up to see him studying my face, his mouth still chewing in a rhythmic manner.

He took a sip from his juice, his adam's apple bobbing in the process. With one last of his lips, he pushed his empty plate forward and cleared his throat.

"I think you're a good listener, actually. And though there may be some bad qualities about you, I know that you're a really good person."

Okay, what? I feel like my arms were losing their strength and my body suddenly felt heavy. What is this feeling? And he's not lying either!

"W-w-what the hell?" I croaked. Darn it. "You don't even know me."

He smiled, but it wasn't a smile of pity nor was it a smile of friendliness. It was a smile that spoke of honesty and innocence.

"That's another reason why you're amazing. I don't even know you and yet you managed to leave a good impression."

Oh boy. I may or may not have slightly tingly feelings for this ert boy.

"I think you're a weirdo with weird alien taste."

"I have perfectly good taste, thank you very much."

"Oh, thanks. I know I'm perfect," I flipped my hair to one side and gave him a smirk.

He raised an eyebrow and stared down at me.

"Who would think you're perfect?"

Truth.

Oh. Tingly feelings gone. I don't even know what came over me when I decided to play along. See, Jin Hee. This is what happens when you're nice. You get embarrassed and look vulnerable. I stood up from my seat and hurriedly walked away.

"Wait, Jin Hee! I was kidding!"

I ignored his cries and climbed the stairs up to my loft.

I saw him make a move to follow me up but I will have none of his . Not today, not ever.

"Stay away from me," I growled before viciously yanking the curtain close, successfully separating the loft from the rest of the world.