More Short Stories!- Kai Ships Only

🧇Sookai- New Roommate

Kai was sitting in a café, scrolling with his phone. He had just met with two potential roommates and they were terrible. Third time is the charm right? That's what he was hoping at least.

His old roommate was moving out because he became serious with his girlfriend. Really good for them! Really bad for Kai. He could technically afford the rent on his own if he wanted to live off of packaged ramen for the rest of his life. He didn't.

The first interview went fine until the very end. Just as the guy left, Kai looked up to see him smoking a cigarette. He despised smokers. The second interview was with a girl. She asked about the common areas so Kai gave her a short description. Decent sized living room, small kitchen that she's free to use because he never cooks, and a normal bathroom. She was then shown a photo of the living room. On the wall was a few anime and video game posters. She started to make fun of those kinds of people without realizing those were Kai's posters. Not the old roommates'. That interview ended 30 seconds later.

Kai ordered a mango lemonade then sat back down at his table. He looked up to see a rather tall guy walking in. He then looked at his watch and realized that was his third interview. Hopefully this guy was normal but with his luck? The guy probably is a slob or cooks meth in his free time. He brushed away the negative thoughts as he stood up. "Hi. I'm Kai. Are you Soobin?"

"Yeah! Nice to meet you!" Soobin nervously sat down. "So um... may I ask why the room is open?"

"My old roommate recently moved in with his girlfriend. What interested you in my listing?"

Soobin's anxiety was through the roof. He did his best to stop bouncing his leg but it wouldn't stop. "It's in a good neighborhood and it's within my budget. I actually couldn't believe it at first when I saw it on the website."

Kai wrote that down in his notebook. It created a very awkward silence between them. He looked up to see Soobin chewing on his bottom lip. "Sorry, I'm the type of person who needs to write things down or else I'll forget."

"It's okay. Um, anything you want to know?"

"Do you smoke?"

"No. I hate that kind of stuff."

"What is your current job?"

"I just got hired as a full time photographer for the biggest real estate agency in the area."

Kai wrote that down too. He thought it was impressive but his face remained expressionless. "That must pay a lot then. Why are you interested in living with someone else?"

"It doesn't as much as you think but it's enough. I want a roommate because..." both of his legs were bouncing now. "This is embarassing. I like staying at home but I don't like the idea of always being home alone. It's a comfort thing."

"I get what you mean."

"Really? You don't think I sound pathetic?"

"No, you do Soobin. But I'm just as pathetic too." Kai started laughing at his own joke when he said that. The deep indents in the taller's cheeks made him laugh harder. "Sorry for laughing. I didn't see your dimples before."

Soobin joked "you think they're funny?"

"When you try to look upset, yes." Kai had a good feeling about this guy as he wrote more things down. He collected some information for a background check and promised to call later.

Soobin thanked him then left.

The next day, Kai called Soobin's employer first. He wanted to make sure that guy actually had a job. Five minutes later, Kai was able to check the box off. Soobin had a job. That was good. Now it was time to see if he had a criminal record. A couple days later, that cleared too. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with him. He hoped that remained true as he called his number. "Hello? Is this Soobin?"

"Yes? Can I help you?"

"Hey, it's Kai. From the listing."

"Oh! Hi Kai! Is this good news or bad news?"

"Good I hope. Are you available to tour the apartment this week? The room is yours if you like what you see."

Soobin muted the phone so he could jump up and down in excitement. "YEONJUN I GOT THE ROOM! I GOT THE ROOM!" He unmuted the phone after clearing his throat. "Yeah, I can tour it tonight."

"Sounds great. I'll send you the address when I'm off of work."

"Okay!"

Kai really wanted to test this guy. He seemed too good to be true. Some of the plushies that were normally in his room, were set onto the couch. An anime was put onto the living room flat screen. He also started to strum an electric guitar. Soobin was going to get the full experience when he walked through the door. Kai was in the middle of strumming a Queen song when he heard a knock. "It's open Soobin!"

Soobin walked in to see everything. It was much more colorful than he was expecting. He looked at the TV and gasped "oh my god! Jojo! I love that show!"

Kai stopped strumming. "You do?"

"Yeah! Have you seen every episode? I've only been through the first two seasons so far!"

"You won't believe what happens next! It's-"

"DON'T TELL ME!"

Kai giggled as he started strumming again. "Your room is down the hall and to the right. The bathroom is right next to it. If you have any questions let me know. I'll show you where the gym and the laundry room is next. They also have a pool here but I never use it because I can't swim."

"I can't either. My dad threw me into the deep end but I almost died when my instincts never kicked in. I looked like a dog paddling around."

Kai felt awful for laughing at the image in his head. "I'm sorry!"

"No! You can laugh! It's funny!" Soobin left to go see his room. He loved it. There was a small walk in closet and more than enough space for his dresser and bed. He walked back out and just watched Kai strum away. When the song ended, he declared "I want the room."

"It's yours."

Soobin moved in a week later after the contract was signed. They went from roommates to friends in two days. He found himself developing a crush on the younger when Kai was teaching him how to play the guitar. Their physical affection increased over time. He really liked him. It got to the point where he couldn't live without him.

Kai was about to knock on Soobin's door to ask him if he wanted some food. Two voices were in the room. He was about to walk away until he heard something.

Yeonjun was listening to Soobin complain for the millionth time. "I like you." Kai walked away to give them some privacy. "How hard is that to say? I like you Kai. See how easy that is?"

Soobin blushed at the thought of dating his roommate. "I'll ask him out tonight."

"Good. Want to get some food now?"

"Yes. I'm starving."

The two best friends walked out to see Kai eating pizza in the living room. They said "hey" as they entered.

Kai set his piece down. "Hey! You guys look really cute together! I'm glad you got it over with Soobin. I was starting to think you'd never ask!"

Soobin shook his bangs out of his eyes. "What?!"

Kai looked towards Yeonjun who was just as confused. "What? I heard you say you liked him in your room." The pizza box closed then was set into the fridge. "I'll give you guys some privacy! I have a date. Just text me if you want me out for the night okay?"

The two watched Kai leave. Yeonjun felt awful when he looked at Soobin's face. "Soobin..."

"He didn't hear the rest of it..."

"Soobin tell him."

"He's going on a date."

"So? Do you really want to see him with someone else?"

"No but he looked so happy." Soobin started to eat the cold pizza. "It wasn't meant to be." He wasn't going to say anything until Kai was single again.

Kai only said "yes" to that date because he was convinced Soobin liked Yeonjun. One confession was all they needed to be together. Neither wanted to be the one to do it. For now, they would just continue to be roommates.