Taehyung's eyebrows furrowed as he continuously hit the space bar and the mouse button simultaneously. He was already on the last boss battle for the quest, and he had to win that one so he could level up and recharge his character's XP. Losing was never an option.

Fire beams were shot. Minions of the big boss started appearing out of nowhere. But with just a flick of the mage's scepter, all of them vanished.

"Shi--" Taehyung sputtered after almost being hit by his opponent's shot.

A few more minutes of mouse clicking, explosions, and curses passed and a yellow strip finally appeared on the screen.

Level 70 Boss Defeated.

The words were enough to make Taehyung smile with satisfaction. He slowly rested his back against the chair and extended his arms to stretch out his muscles which had been strained by staying too long in the same position in front of the computer.

"Finally," he whispered to himself as he reached out for his phone inside his pocket. And he was a bit surprised to see that it was already seven in the evening.

"Dang, I didn't know I've skipped lunch already," he shook his head in disbelief before standing up to get something to eat. Whenever he played, he would always forget about eating. And that was something his mother shouldn't know, or she will cut off his monthly allowance.

Taehyung slowly opened the door and a delicious scent was the first thing that welcomed him outside.

"What's that smell?" he thought to himself as he walked towards the kitchen where the scent came from. And he had a shock of his life when he saw an orange-haired young woman cooking inside.

"Hey!" Taehyung called out with a furious look on his face, "Who are you?!"

Sooyoung quickly turned to look with a friendly smile on her face, "Ah, Mr. Lee, hello," she spoke, before looking back at the chicken stew she was cooking, "You may take your seat now, the stew's about to be done."

Taehyung clicked his tongue in annoyance; he finally remembered, she was the tenant Mrs. Yoon introduced to him that afternoon. He quickly approached Sooyoung and turned the stove off, "You, whatever your name might be, I already told Mrs. Yoon that I don't want a roommate. What are you doing here?" he crossed his arms as he gave Sooyoung a piercing stare, trying to scare her away from him.

But Park Sooyoung was not the type who would get intimidated easily, "You too, whatever your name might be," she smirked, "You just can't get rid of me easily. I paid my deposit already, plus three months' rent! How's that?!" she had a smug face as she spoke, which irritated Taehyung even more.

"You better move to an unoccupied apartment before I drag you out of here," Taehyung seethed. And the more serious tone of his voice actually made Sooyoung nervous. It seemed like her roommate might bury her alive if she didn't leave.

But then she remembered that tomorrow will be her first day in school and transferring to another room was too tedious. Besides, she had already unpacked her stuff, and apparently she had already attached her band posters all over her bedroom.

Taehyung tilted his head a bit to catch Sooyoung's sight, which was already staring into nothingness.

"Hey."

Sooyoung let out a deep breath, "I am not leaving, Mr. Lee," she responded before turning the stove on again, "But don't worry, after my first semester in Myungdon, I'm going to look for another apartment to stay at," Sooyoung had a serious face on, and it was enough for Taehyung to trust her words.

"Well, I'll remember that," Taehyung nodded before walking towards the table to have a seat. He took a seat on the chair facing Sooyoung, watching her every movement as she cooked.

But he didn't know that the latter didn't enjoy being watched.

"What's this freak doing?!" thoughts started rushing inside Sooyoung's head as she stirred the chicken stew, waiting for it to be cooked. She slowly turned to look behind her, and there she saw her roommate sitting silently behind her, with a serious look on his face.

"Faster," he spoke, "I'm starving."

Sooyoung nodded hesitantly, "Um, sure," she slowly turned to face the chicken stew in front of her.

"Why did he have to sit there?" Sooyoung thought to herself, "Didn't he know it is rude to stare at people?! And we don't even know each other that much!"

Her anxiousness started getting on her nerves.

"Oh good grief, is he planning something evil?!" Sooyoung's eyes widened with that thought. She froze in her place and felt cold sweat on her forehead, "Maybe he's a serial killer, or a distributor in the black market, and he's already thinking about how my kidneys and eyeballs would cost."

Park Sooyoung watched too many thriller movies during her vacation. And she believed that what happens in movies are inspired by actual events in real life. That was why she was not shunning the idea that Kim Taehyung might actually be some sort of Hannibal Lecter.

She also remembered Mrs. Yoon's words; that she was going to make sure to put the police on speed dial.

Sooyoung's heart beat faster. And as she stared into nothingness, still trying to focus on the stew she was cooking, a sudden thought struck her.

She was, in no way, going to die in the hands of her psycho roommate.

With all her courage, she quickly grabbed the peeler beside her and held it in front of Taehyung.

"You!" Sooyoung exclaimed, which startled Taehyung. He quickly stood up, and lifted the chair in front of him to protect himself, just in case Sooyoung starts to throw stuff at him.

"You! You calm down! What's wrong with you?!" Taehyung huffed.

Sooyoung slowly approached him, still aiming the peeler at him, "I know what you are planning, Mr. Lee! You are a killer or something! Ha!" she looked nervous, satisfied, scared, and happy at the same time, "Maybe you have killed all your past roommates that's why Mrs. Yoon has the police on speed dial!"

Taehyung creased his forehead. He had no idea what she was talking about, "You're crazy," he remarked.

Well, anyone who would see Sooyoung might say the same thing. She was smiling creepily, she was sweating heavily, all while holding a peeler in front of her, just like a classic madwoman from thriller movies.

Taehyung slowly lowered the chair and held out his hand in front of an almost-hysterically delusional Sooyoung, "Yo, miss," he spoke calmly, "Just put the peeler down and--"

"What are you saying?!" Sooyoung exclaimed, "Who are you even?!"

"Okay, okay. If I introduce myself, you're going to put that peeler down, right?" Taehyung smiled nervously. He had never expected to have such delusional young woman for a roommate.

Sooyoung pursed her lips as she slowly put down the peeler, but she was not letting go of it, "Um, yeah. How am I supposed to live with someone I barely know?"

Taehyung almost felt at ease; Sooyoung seemed calmer now. He cleared his throat before starting to speak, "I know, I know. It must have been awful for you to live here. And it is more awful for me to live with you," he sputtered. Sooyoung rolled her eyes in disbelief; she had never met someone as immodest as Taehyung.

Taehyung scratched his head as he tried to think of a proper introduction, "Um, I'm Kim Taehyung, 23. I'm a student at Myungdon too, majoring in film arts."

Surprisingly, Sooyoung's face suddenly lit up, "Ah! You're from Myungdon?! You should've told me earlier!" she chuckled, and placed the peeler inside the cupboard. Taehyung's eyes widened at the sight of a cheerful Sooyoung; she was smiling happily as if she didn't try to kill him with a peeler a few minutes ago.

"I'm Park Sooyoung," Sooyoung bowed in front of him, "I'm 21, from Gangwon, and tomorrow onwards, I'll be a student at Myungdon too! I'll be a part of the English studies majors, so I am really excited for it!" she added, not noticing her roommate's weird expression towards her, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Lee, and I'm sorry I threatened you a while ago. I just didn't want to die yet."

"I'm not Mr. Lee," Taehyung sighed.

Sooyoung tilted her head in confusion, "What?"

"I'm Kim Taehyung."

"Then who's Mr. Lee?"

Taehyung let out a sigh, "Mr. Lee was a former tenant here, circa 1990. And according to old lady Miri, I look like him, so she calls me 'Mr. Lee' too," he slowly went back to his seat and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the sleeves of his long-sleeved shirt. Apparently, he got scared of madwoman Sooyoung that he had experienced cold sweat as well.

"Who's old lady Miri?" Sooyoung asked again.

"It's Mrs. Yoon. Her full name's Yoon Miri."

"Oh."

And silence took over the room.

Taehyung just stayed silent in his seat, while Sooyoung stood in front of the chicken stew she was cooking.

She never expected that her first meeting with her roommate would happen like that; she had almost injured Taehyung with a peeler just because he didn't do a proper introduction. It was a dysfunctional way of getting acquainted with each other.

"How many hours are you going to cook that porridge?" Taehyung sighed as he rested his head against his hands while his elbows were on top of the table.

"This isn't porridge, Mr. Lee," Sooyoung responded, "This is chicken stew! I even borrowed Mrs. Yoon's cookbook just to make you this."

"Oh, you're cooking for me?!" Taehyung scoffed, "No wonder the carrots look like shurikens, while the lettuce strips look like they had been cut by Edward Scissorhands."

Sooyoung felt her cheeks become warmer after hearing his words. Yes, the chicken stew didn't look aesthetically-pleasing, but at least it smelled good. And Sooyoung believed that as long as it smelled good, it will also taste good. She immediately turned the stove off, took pot holders from the cupboard, and carefully lifted the pot to place it on the table.

"I'll get the bowl," Sooyoung pursed her lips as she went to get two glass bowls and two spoons from the kitchen cupboard.

Meanwhile, Taehyung just observed the chicken stew his new roommate cooked. The scent was okay, but the ingredients look... different.

"Hey, Park Sooyoung," Taehyung spoke, "Are you sure this is chicken stew?"

"Um, as far as the cookbook is concerned, yes," Sooyoung forced a smile before pouring the stew on the bowls. She placed one in front of Taehyung, and with a sweet, calm voice, she spoke, "Please enjoy!"

Taehyung had a straight face on. His eyes were fixed on Sooyoung, trying to read the smile she had on her face. After what happened a few moments ago, he had thought that Sooyoung was the type who would greet him 'good morning' with a wide smile on her face while aiming kitchen knives at him.

"Did you put muriatic acid here?" Taehyung asked as his eyes shifted from Sooyoung to the chicken stew in front of him. He took a spoon and scooped some meat from the stew.

"Ah, that's not the proper way of saying thanks to the person who cooked your dinner, Mr. Kim," Sooyoung pouted before taking a seat in front of him and leaning closer towards him, "Go on, eat," she smiled.

But Taehyung wasn't amused. He just gave her a glare, "You eat your stew first," he remarked with a serious tone in his voice.

Sooyoung's eyes widened, "What?"

"You eat first," Taehyung repeated before crossing his arms and straightening himself in his seat, "Since you cooked this, you should be the first one to try it first."

Sooyoung sighed; it seemed like she had just lost her roommate's trust because of the 'peeler incident'. Well, she couldn't blame Taehyung. She knew it was her fault for jumping into conclusions easily, "Okay okay," she nodded before taking a spoonful of the stew.

Taehyung just observed closely, as Sooyoung chewed her food slowly. Her face was still the same, a good sign which meant that the chicken stew was actually edible.

"Well," Taehyung smirked, "I guess I should eat now," he said before starting to eat. Sooyoung was still in front of him with a straight face on, not swallowing the food inside yet.

"What happened?" Sooyoung thought to herself, "This stew, I'm sure I followed everything in the cookbook," her straight face started showing hints of worry. She was hoping Taehyung wouldn't mind the stew she made. Sooyoung watched Taehyung as he swallowed the stew.

And just like what she expected, Taehyung immediately looked at her straight in the eye with a vexed expression on his face.

"Are you sure this is stew?" Taehyung asked, "I mean, you don't need to force this so-called stew to be real stew, you know."

Sooyoung tilted her head, although she already knew what he meant, "What are you talking about?"

"Park Sooyoung, you just boiled chicken slices and vegetables together," Taehyung remarked casually.

His words stabbed Sooyoung straight to her heart. She knew it, although she had secretly wished that Taehyung wouldn't notice, he still did. Even if she followed everything in the cookbook, the stew was still tasteless.

It was bland to the extreme.

"You know what, this stew is nothing but meat and vegetables boiled in murky distilled water," Taehyung smirked while mixing the stew with his spoon, "This is hopeless," his eyes slowly looked up to Sooyoung in front of him, "You're hopeless."

A quick bolt of electricity hit her spine. She knew she was not a good cook, but Taehyung's words were the worst criticism she had received in her life. She immediately covered her face with her hands in embarrassment, "I'm sorry, Mr. Kim."

"We shouldn't waste food though," Taehyung sighed as he moved his chair closer to start eating the stew. Sooyoung's eyes widened at the sight of him still eating the stew she cooked despite the absence of its flavor.

"Mr. Kim," Sooyoung mumbled.

"Yeah?" Taehyung answered without looking at her.

"You don't need to eat this," Sooyoung had a gloomy look on her face, "No need to force your--"

"I'm not forcing myself, Park Sooyoung," Taehyung looked at her with a straight, but sincere, look on his face, "You put your effort in this stew. I don't want to waste that effort," he added before continuing with his meal.

Sooyoung suddenly felt her heart beat faster after hearing his words. She never expected Kim Taehyung to be that kind of person: someone who spoke too frankly when criticizing stuff people do, but appreciated them anyways.

"Thank you," Sooyoung lowered her head and tried hiding the embarrassed look on her face.

"Huh?" Taehyung responded.

It seemed like everything will turn out well, Sooyoung thought to herself. She immediately turned to look at him and flashed a wide smile on her face, "Nothing, I said let's eat now!" she beamed. She was back to being a happy young lady again.

"Yeah, sure," Taehyung smiled to himself as he continued eating the tasteless stew in front of him.

___

twitter x ask.fm

Geez, thank you so much for the 30+ subs and the three upvotes from deer_shika, CuteJoy, and prisoshi! And please let me know what you think about the second chapter thru the comment section below. Happy reading, everyone. ^^