bedsheets (neighbor's son)

🗒 ❛ first ༉‧₊˚✧

The sight of seeing the girl in front of him shocked made him chuckle. He wasn't the type to ask those types of things or even bother to look for romance under the soulmate system but he felt an urge to do so. After all, by his observations, she was the kind to react well.

"Excuse me, what?"

As suspected, she was perplexed. Her eyes enlarged while her hands turned into fists. Although he found it quite amusing, he decided to end the show.

"Jokes aside, what are you doing here at this hour?" he asked, glancing around. He didn't spot the car of Yun's parents, so he assumed that they had left. "Did you forget your key or something?"

"Yeah, kind of like that," Yun, who was still skeptical of him, tentatively responded to his question. She groaned and massaged her temples. She felt disconcerted to stay the night over just because she forgot her keys, but it was better than sleeping on the porch. "If you don't mind, can I stay for the night?"

"Hmm, what's in it for me?" a cheeky grin emerged on his face. "How about you reconsider the second question I asked you?"

Her face was beginning to heat up as he brought up the question that had flustered her. She had never even had her first kiss. Bold for him to assume that she would easily consider that.

"You're pretty quiet. Are you flustered? You can come inside if you're interested," Haechan offered, opening the door wide open. He then moved his right arm to block the doorway. "If you're not interested in negotiating my offer, then I can't let you in my house."

Yun, at this point, was beginning to believe that the boy in front of him wasn't the same boy that her mother was praising. If she would have to describe him, she would label him as a boldfaced narcissist.

"Are you really going to be like this?"

"What if I am? Are you going to get mad at me?" Haechan taunted and smirked after seeing her pissed reaction. He leaned forward towards the girl, their faces aligning. "It's getting late. I think you should come inside now. I can't stay here at the door all night, my little brother might look for me."

"Little brother?"

All Yun knew was that he was an only child, so the abrupt mention of a little brother surprised her. To her advantage, she could avoid him by staying with his sibling.

"Yeah, he mostly stays at my grandmother's house because I have school on weekdays," he explained. The glistening in her eyes faded away by his statement. "Anyway, your response?"

"Can I think about it until tomorrow?" Yun asked. It could buy her time to find another solution. "I'm not in the perfect mindset to think about the deal."

"Fine, I'll let you off this time," Haechan gave in and let the girl inside his house. She cautiously entered and scanned the interior. "I'll give you a short tour. Take note of everything because I won't repeat it."

From the entrance, the living room, dining area, and kitchen were visible. It was a cozy and light-colored house. The interior gave off a heaven-like image.

"It's pretty much self-explanatory from here," Haechan said as he looked at the three different function rooms. Leading the way down the hallway, there were two doors on either side. "The one on the left is my mom's room. The right one is my little brother's room. I would show you but he's sleeping. Oh, right. There are only two bathrooms in this house. One is in my room and the other is in my mom's. We never have guests so my mom decided that we'll have separate bathrooms."

"How old is your little brother?"

"He's turning six soon," he answered.

A tense silence filled the air after neither of the two decided to speak up.

"Then," Haechan broke the tense air and walked towards the door at the end of the hallway. Yun silently followed after him. "This is my room."

With his hand on the doorknob, he pushed open the door to reveal his room. The main point of the room was the color gray. The couch, curtains, and bedsheets were that color. By appearance, it radiated chill energy. It was the type of room wherein you would lay on the bed for hours.

"What do you think? Cozy, right?" Haechan took pride in his room. After all, he had paid for most of the furniture. It was a sign of his hard work. "I stay here most of the time."

"I can tell," Yun muttered and looked around. She fancied the furniture and the aura that the room gave. "Who wouldn't want to stay here?"

"Are you hinting that you accept the offer?" he whispered into the girl's ear from behind. Freezing, she couldn't move from her place. "Is that a yes or no?"

"No," Yun managed to respond to him. Taking a couple of steps away, she felt at ease with their distance. She blamed the system's rule of going to an exclusive all-girls school. She wondered how Haechan was good at communicating with her when he attended an all-boys school. "Where am I going to stay? I assume the living room, am I correct?"

"No, you're way off," Haechan chuckled before responding. He took a step forward with a smile on his face. "You're staying here with me."

"In your room?!" Yun panicked. She had never stayed in a boy's room. After all, the system's rules were strict, as well as her parents. "You know the system, Haechan."

"There's nothing listed in the rules that we can't sleep in the same room, Yun," Haechan clarified. He had a point. There was no such rule like that.

You weren't allowed to be in a relationship with anyone except for your soulmate.

"Take a seat first, Yun."

Taking a seat on his bed as he had suggested, she stiffly sat there in silence. She watched him close the curtains and turn on the dim light in his room. It was still dark but they were able to see each other due to the light. He then made his way to sit next to the girl.

"You can stay here during weekends since my little brother is here during those days. You can sleep in his room when he leaves on weekdays," he informed her about the situation at hand. "Although if you want to sleep here, you can always tell me."

"About the reconsideration, I'm not sure about it. You know the system," with the truth in her words, she had a point. No one hasn't broken the rules of the system. "I'm grateful for your kindness to let me stay here. I'll sleep on the floor since I'm the one who asked for a place to stay."

Trying to distance herself, Yun was about to get up from the bed. To her surprise, Haechan's left arm blocked her from escaping the current situation. Without anything else to do, she decided to face him. His facial expression changed from being cocky to serious in a split second.

"Don't we both crave affection?" Haechan, who was now talking seriously, questioned the girl who was beside him. He stared at her pupils, then his eyes traveled to her lips. His right hand was now beside her left hand as he leaned closer to her. "Why don't we give each other the affection the other wants?"

[ a/n: haechan kalma lang ha? chapter one palang tayo boi 😃 ]