Warm light made it’s way through my blinds as my eyes slowly opened. The first thing I thought about was Chen and how sweet he was to me. He practically took care of me; a total stranger took care of me. I felt butterflies in my stomach and a tint of pink stained my cheeks. Did I like this guy? No, he was just a kind stranger who helped me and that’s it. Nothing more than a very kind stranger. A very handsome, generous, beautiful-souled stranger… God, who am I kidding. Of course I like him! He’s amazing.

I got up and off of my king-sized bed and opened my closet. Sweaters were the first thing I saw. The weather today is supposed to be warm with a bit of clouds so I decided to wear my baby blue floral dress with my black flats. I was going to do the usual and head for ‘The Hideout’ but I went to the mall instead. I had been wanting to buy a new book at Barnes & Nobles so I walked inside and looked in the “sci-fi” isle. The last book I had purchased was a sci-fi/fantasy book and it blew my mind. It’s called “The Ocean at the End of the Lane”, by Neil Gaiman. When I first opened the book it completely caught my attention. The first chapter was done so well that I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It is about a man (whose name isn’t mentioned in the entire book and I think that was mysteriously cool) who thinks about his childhood and basically discusses what he had been through when he was young. It really blew my imagination and I hoped to find another book just like it.
 

I browsed some shelves and realized that some books were really cheesy, like “The Restaurant at the End of the Universe” and “Zombie Alpaca-lypse.” And then others were more sophisticated such as “Blindsight.” I honestly wanted to find another book by Neil Gaiman but time was ticking and the store was about to close. I quickly skimmed the aisle and saw one that caught my attention.

“Perfect.”

I purchased my new book with glee and headed for my car. It was dark and the night sky was filled with beautiful, twinkling stars. I got my cell out and took a picture. Ever since I was little, I would talk my older sister into taking me on the roof of our house and we would lay there until our eyes couldn’t focus anymore. The memory made me smile.. until I remembered that she isn’t with me anymore, she’s with the others, in Heaven.

My sister meant the world to me. She would always take care of me if I had a bruise or a burn. She would always tuck me in at night and tell me that everything would be ok, but I knew that everything wouldn’t be ok, I knew ever since our real parent’s gave us up. I knew that coming into a new home filled with hate and anger was not what I wanted. Tears stained my cheeks as I thought of my past. The memories were flowing in my head, memories of getting almost beaten to death. My sister died saving me. Our “father” ran after us when we tried to escape. I tripped and fell on the hard cement and my sister turned around to find our “dad” holding a gun. He pointed it at my sister and I immediately got up, ran towards her and hugged her. Almost instantaneously, she spinned us around and he pulled the trigger.



Everything that happened to us in just a month of living with our new parents, was painful and depressing. I have never felt so much hate for that man. I wanted to kill him with the same gun he used on my sister. I swear I couldn’t stop crying. I cried for days- no, for weeks. All that I had slipped right through my fingers. They took him away and he was sentenced to death with the murder of Mina Park.

Jae-Joon’s final day arrived on January 10, 2007. The curtains rose and the show started. I was not happy that he got hung, I was just relieved.

I finally reached the hotel. It was 10:30pm and I felt pretty exhausted. My feet made their way up the stairs and in front of my door. There was a note on the door.

“Meet me on 42nd and Washington.”

“What..”

I stood there dumbfounded and thought about it.

‘Could it be Chen? Ugh, I knew I should’ve given him my number! But what if it’s not Chen.. what if it’s somebody else?’

As night grew longer, I found myself snuggled in the sheets of my bed. It was past 12 and I couldn’t fall asleep. My mind kept me up with the images of my past. I rose from my bed and got my little medication bottle, took a pill and hoped it would make me pass out soon. As I waited, I looked at my window. My shades were open and the gleam of light from the moon lingered endlessly into my bedroom. Stars were shining bright and I was hypnotized. My eyes became droopy and I almost fell over- until a bang on the door startled me.

“Who would be up at this hour?” I whispered silently to myself.

*knock, knock, knock*

'I'm so scared, I'm so scared!' I quietly thought to myself.

*knock, knock, knock*

'Ok, breathe in, breath out. It's probably just a prank.'

I reached underneath my bed and grabbed my wooden bat.

'Be brave, be confident, open it slowly...'

I crept up to my door and looked through my peephole. It was Baekhyun.

"Oh Baekhyun!" I sighed deeply.
 

"I was so scared! I thought it was some killer or something!" I said as I opened my apartment door to let him in.
 

"What on earth are you doing here at this hour!?"
 

"Hey, I'm sorry, bad timing but what I'm about to tell you is super important!"

Baek has been living in this hotel for 2 years now and we met on the 21st of January. We became close friends ever since and try to meet up for coffee or dinner once in a while.

"Ok, spill!"

“I need a place to stay… kinda got kicked out in my apartment..”

“What!? Why? Oh God, please don’t tell me you drew on the walls.”

“No! I didn’t “draw” on the walls! There’s a name for it Syrah! It’s called-”

“Graffiti, I know!” I said knowingly

“Baek, you can’t keep doing this! I don’t know how many times I’ve told you that you could end up in jail for this!” I stared right in his eyes

“I know I ed up, I’m sorry! But if you just hear me out, I promise I will be the best I could ever be and not disappoint you anymore. I won’t put graffiti on walls ever again!”

He was doing that thing again, that thing he always does

“Don’t give me that look!”

I was always a er for puppy eyes and after a few seconds, I gave in

“Fine, you can stay! Just don’t cause me any trouble please!” I said as I held the bridge of my nose with my forefinger and thumb

“Oh yes, yes, yes Syrah! Thank you so much!”

He almost suffocated me with his death hug

“You’re sleeping on the couch, and don’t even think about putting a single dot on my walls or furniture!”


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Hey dudes, looks like Syrah has a new roomate.. do you think her and Baek will get along? Will he mess up her apartment and end up going to jail? And what about that note, it was so mysterious.. Thanks for reading! New chapter coming up soon! :)

(P.S, I was listening to Give up at 2 by Sofi de la Torre the entire time I wrote this)