Jonghyun thinks that Jinki has been his long lost friend because of how well they get along. He finds out that they both love music when Jonghyun hears Jinki humming a song so familiar that he can’t suppress the question spilling out from his lips.

“What was that song?” Jinki blinks at him before he mumbles out the title.

“Sing it for me.” Jonghyun pleads, wanting to remember the lyrics dancing on the tip of his tongue. And when Jinki smiles and sings it out, Jonghyun gapes at him with wide, fascinated, eyes. He remembers the song soon enough and he joins Jinki, singing the rest of it. They kept on singing random songs as they walk; only stopping when both turned to look at each other and Jinki breaks the moment with a chuckle.

Jinki states how amazing they both sounded. Jonghyun couldn’t agree more.

“Sorry,” Jonghyun apologizes for using informalities after finding out that the other was older by a year.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m only older by…” And Jinki stops to count on his hands. 1, 2, 3, “4 months!” He beams.

“Still,” Jonghyun says, looking up at the older, “I should call you hyung,” He coos at the last word and he can’t help but grin at how flushed Jinki looks. Jonghyun nods to himself because he kind of likes the sound of it.

They part inside an arcade while Jonghyun was trying to beat someone’s high score on Street Fighter.

“Jonghyun, I need to go. My next class is coming up,” Jinki gave a gentle tap on the other’s shoulder, but Jonghyun only responsed with a grunt. Apparently, Chun Li just knocked off his player, losing half his power.

“Uhm, I’ll leave now. Thank you so much for the time, Jonghyun. I really hope,” and Jinki looks down at his borrowed shoes, “I hope we meet again.”

And that was the last of what Jonghyun heard from Lee Jinki, because when he looked back, Jinki wasn’t there anymore. The shoes they borrowed were left beside him and Jonghyun hated the sound of “K.O. You. Lose.” being played behind him.

He doesn’t feel like aiming for the high score anymore.

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

Jinki unpacks his stuff right after he arrived at the dorm. He sat, squatting down the floor, one hand clutching a piece of paper, and the other, carefully setting all the things from his luggage aside. He wasn’t doing a pretty good job since moments later, Jinki pauses, looking around him and the pile of mess he just made. He scratches his head, looking back down at the paper with burrowed eyebrows.

“Okay, let’s check that again.” He mumbles, a finger scanning down that piece of paper as he checks up all the word written in it. “Phone. Check. Tie. Check. Calculator. Check. Ample supply of chocolate bars, Rubik’s cube, bandages. Check, check, check. Shoes. Che—“ He keens and focuses on the paper and unto his stack of things “Okay, where are my shoes?” He asks no one in particular and he moves and sways his body around, looking for his pair of shoes.

He stands up to find them, accidentally stepping on a rubber duck, and he trips, landing on his mound of clothes. And that’s when it finally sinks in to him that he left his shoes at the door. “Oh, right, of course. Of course I went here with my shoes.” He says, giving off a dry and tired laugh.

He crouches and looks back at the paper, scrunching up his nose. He checks his list once again before he deems he’s forgotten something but he can’t remember what that is. He did bring everything on the list, but the problem is, he left all the stuff which was not written on it. He audibly scowls, muttering “Screw this.”

He crumples the paper into a tight ball because this doesn’t seem to work for him. He frowns; the ball of paper can’t be an acceptable stress ball either.

He takes a deep breath and ducks his head down in defeat, all the while tossing the paper over his shoulder. But when he hears an “Ow, my eye” echoing behind him, he freezes and the eerie silence that followed made him really uncomfortable.

He doesn’t remember dragging a person inside his room. No. Jinki does not drag a person, or persons, in to his room. And clearly, he hasn’t invited anyone to visit him. So his eyes scan up everywhere on his bundle of things till he spots his toothbrush—he felt slightly proud of himself because Oh hey, I didn’t forget my toothbrush!—and he grips it in his hand as if that green piece of plastic could save his life from murderers with eye patches, armed with a gun and a gold middle tooth.

He hears a faint footstep and he takes that as a cue to turn around and stab the person in the eye.

“Woah! Dude, wait!” Jinki stops and his arm hung midway from attacking the boy. Jinki thinks his pose probably screamed Sparta!

“J-Jonghyun!” He blinks and the boy plucks the toothbrush from his hand and guides Jinki’s wrist to rest his arm down his side.

“Hyung, were you actually planning on stabbing me with that toothbrush? That’s completely insanitary.”

“No?” Jinki pouts. “My plan was to scare you, drop the toothbrush, and run off.”

“Why would you attack me?” Jonghyun questions.

“Uhm, scare.”

“Fine, why would you scare me?”

“Be… because. I.” Jinki looks away, playing with his hands, “I thought you were a murderer or. Or. Or some delinquent, evil, manchild. Or something.” Jinki splutters and glances up to see Jonghyun with his eyebrows raised, looking at him he’s pooling for more explanation.

“I was alone and I didn’t think anyone would come in. I’m a little bit paranoid and troubled, what with some of my stuff forgotten back at home. Please forgive me.” Jinki squeezes his eyes shut, hoping that Jonghyun accepts his apology.

There was a good pause before Jonghyun announces,“It’s okay.” You hit me in the eye and it hurts though. Jonghyun wanted to add that but instead motions to give the older a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Jonghyun tips his head to the side and notices the pile of mess behind Jinki. “Are those your stuff? What are you doing here?”

Jinki blinks incredulously. “I live here now. Why are you here?”

“Because I live here.” Jonghyun hangs his keys up to prove it. Jinki stares at the key before he feels for his pocket, left, right, back, and he swings around, spotting his keys over a hill of his belongings. He practically, almost, dived in to snatch his keys. He hangs it before Jonghyun, and the younger’s eyes widen.

“You’re my… roommate?”

“I guess?”

“This is like some unbelievable destiny man.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Jonghyun’s mouth hangs open. He feels confused, excited, nervous, and Wow, I can’t wait to hear you sing again. He shakes his head at the last thought because that sounded really creepy.

Jinki tucks the key down his pocket and pats it as if it were some pocket-sized pet. Jinki motions to close the other’s mouth by gently pushing his jaw up. He beams at him and Jonghyun feels as if the walls are spreading out so fast because all he sees is Jinki—plus the heap behind him—and cream-colored walls. Everything doesn’t seem to matter, not even the appliances or the box of chocolates. And Jonghyun only sees Jinki in this dimension of his weird visual periphery.

“It’s nice to see you again, Jonghyun.”

a/n: sorry i've been such a for not updating. ugh. i was on my way, but i got stock in writer's block and i can't find the exit.

a/nn: unbeta'd. unbeta'd. unbeta'd.