19 | minsung

3

it was already nighttime, and minho was in his bed, dozing off while scrolling through his phone. suddenly, he heard footsteps outside his door, which jolted him awake. minho sat up, noticing the light seeping in from under his door.

"he's out!" he silently exclaimed, a smile unconsciously spreading across his face at the thought of his roommate accepting his earlier invitation.

minho decided to act on his excitement and carefully opened his door just a crack, peering outside. he saw lights emanating from the kitchen, along with the sound of utensils clinking. minho wanted to go out and meet his roommate, but he didn't want to come off as overly eager or creepy. how could he explain being awake in the middle of the night just to greet his roommate?

minho continued to listen in, all the while searching for the right moment to come out and introduce himself, without making his roommate uncomfortable.

"should i just go out and say hello? it feels strange sleeping in the same dorm without even seeing his face yet," minho debated with himself.

"alright, i'll go out and say hello, that's all," he concluded, mustering his courage and opening the door to finally meet his roommate.

however, minho had been so engrossed in his internal debate that he failed to notice the lights turning off earlier and the soft closing of the kitchen door. as he stepped outside his room, he was met with darkness, and there was no sign of his roommate.

'did i just miss the opportunity to meet him?!' minho internally screamed. nevertheless, he left his room and headed to the kitchen to get a glass of water, as all the internal debating had left him quite thirsty.

after pouring himself some water, he opened the shelves where he had placed the cup noodles and noticed that one was missing. minho smiled to himself, realizing that his roommate had eaten what he had offered.

returning to his room, he couldn't help but glance at his roommate's door, noticing the light still on inside. unconsciously, he took quiet steps toward the door, attempting to discern what his roommate was doing, yep totally not creepy at all.

as minho approached, he heard faint whimpering from inside the room. his curiosity got the better of him, and he moved closer, only to hear a sudden loud thud coming from the room. startled, minho quickly backed away from the door. following the thud, an exasperated scream echoed, its intensity making minho flinch and sending shivers down his spine.

he was deeply concerned for his roommate but also cautious not to overstep boundaries. as the cries continued, minho retreated to his room with heavy and guilty steps. he felt guilty for not doing anything to help his roommate during his breakdown.

minho found it difficult to sleep that night, with the heart-wrenching sound of his roommate's screams echoing in his head. he was curious about why his roommate was experiencing such distress but chose not to dwell on it further, reminding himself that breakdowns are a part of life, and sometimes people need to let out what's been bottled up inside them.

-----

minho's alarm once again rang inside the room, and he turned it off with a grumble before rising from his comfortable position in bed, stretching his limbs.

he dragged his feet towards his door, but then suddenly, he remembered the events of the previous night, causing him to hesitate about opening the door. minho didn't like the idea that opening the door might lead to a face-to-face encounter with his roommate. it wasn't that he didn't want to meet his roommate, but after what he had heard the previous night, he wasn't sure how to face the guy.

taking a deep breath, with his hand hovering over the doorknob, he muttered a small 'fuck it' before swinging the door open.

as he did so, he was greeted by the vibrant colors of the morning sun shining through the kitchen windows. "did he already go to class?" minho wondered, glancing toward the door.

for some reason, the dorm felt quite empty, so minho concluded that his roommate had already left. he proceeded to the kitchen, planning to make himself some coffee.

upon entering the kitchen, something caught his eye. a sticky note was placed on the fridge. minho picked up the note with curious eyes and began to read its contents.

thank you for letting me have some of your noodles last night :) 

- your roommate.

minho smiled at the note, finding it cute that his roommate had left him a note just to say thank you. "maybe he's not that bad," he said to himself with a smile.

humming to himself, minho brewed a cup of coffee, ensuring there was some left in the coffee maker for his roommate when he returned.

his plan for the day was simple: wait for the rest of his furniture to be delivered and continue arranging his belongings. tomorrow marked the start of his classes, and he needed to get everything in order.

leaning against the kitchen counter, he sipped his coffee and mused, "now, how can i arrange everything in just a day?" minho grumbled, feeling the weight of the task ahead.

"maybe i could get him to help..." minho thought out loud, referring to his roommate. however, he quickly shook his head, dismissing the idea. "stop thinking of stupid stuff, minho. he's already busy enough. why bother him more?" he scolded himself.

suddenly, a soft knock echoed from the door, making minho flinch and slightly spill some of his coffee. "fuck," he muttered, trying to wipe the small coffee stain on his shirt.

"delivery for lee minho?" a voice called from outside.

"i'll be right there!" minho responded, placing his coffee down on the counter and hurrying to the door to open it.

minho swung the door open, allowing the delivery person to enter and drop off the boxes containing more of his furniture.

after thanking the delivery guy, minho looked down at the boxes he needed to arrange and sighed to himself. "this is going to be a long day," he muttered.

minho then grabbed some scissors and a cutter to open the boxes and the protective packaging on some of his furniture. as he busied himself thinking about how to arrange everything within the day, he accidentally cut his finger with the cutter while opening a box.

"oh, for fuck's sake," he muttered, watching his fingers ooze blood. he promptly made his way to the bathroom to clean the wound and apply a bandage. after cleaning the wound, minho struggled to find the bandage, opening every cabinet inside the bathroom.

in his frantic search for something to patch up his wound, he accidentally knocked over a toothbrush case. as he bent down to pick up the toothbrush, which luckily didn't fall on the floor but into the sink, something else caught his eye.

along with the toothbrush, he found something silver and sharp. minho's breath caught in his throat as he realized that the sharp object was a razor blade. he immediately gathered everything and put them back in their original place, attempting to push aside the thoughts that threatened to enter his mind, all while looking for the bandage.

fortunately, he found the bandage and covered his wound with it, then refocused his attention on unpacking his furniture with a heavy heart.