NEIGHBOR [ SUNKI ]

[ 1 ]

the first indication ni—ki got that would change the trajectory of his life forever was the loud banging next door at 6' in the morning. an impatient groan as he turned over in bed, hoping to shut out the noise so he could go back to sleep.
when that failed miserably, he sat up in bed, glaring at his bedroom wall and whoever was on the other side.
well, whoever it was, they were about to get to know him.
legs swinging over the side of his bed, ni—ki slipped his feet into the slippers next to it and shuffled out of his bedroom and towards the front door of his apartment, unable to restrain the yawn he released. opening the door, a rush of cold air greeted him, sending a shiver down his spine as he stepped out into it and turned in the direction of the apartment next to his own.
the front door was closed, the last of the moving laborers heading to the ground floor. with a sigh, ni—ki stomped his way over and knocked on the door several times before waiting, one foot tapping with impatience as he stood shivering in the cold.
on the other side he could hear rushing footsteps, a crash followed by a yelp and hurried steps once more. after what seemed like ages, the front door of the apartment opened and a gasping young faced boy appeared, hair in complete disarray and expression shifted into one of surprise as he peered at ni—ki, curiosity filling his eyes.
"oh!" the stranger breathed, a smile so bright that it nearly blinded ni—ki, reminding him of the sun. "i wasn't expecting visitors so soon, ehe." he rubbed the back of his head, looking embarrassed, probably because of his appearance. or at least that's what ni—ki guessed.
well, i wouldn't be here if you weren't so loud, ni—ki grumpily thought to himself. "believe me, i didn't expect to be here either," he said instead, his voice gruff with annoyance. shit, i didn't mean to sound pissed.
    his neighbor however, didn't seem to notice his tone of voice and proceeded to jut out his hand towards him. ni—ki blinked at him stupidly, not understanding what he was doing. "um—"
    "ah, sorry! that's just how people greet each other back in the united states," the stranger explained with a sheepish grin, retracting his hand. "my name is kim sun—woo, but you can just call me sunoo. that's what my friends call me."
    "ni—ki," was all ni—ki replied with, not bothering to reveal his full name, especially to someone who insisted on moving so early in the morning.
    "ni—ki?" sunoo blinked, echoing the name in confusion. "ah — that must be a nickname, i assume!"
    "gee, you're so smart," ni—ki said sarcastically. "listen, kim—" sunoo pouted. "mind keeping it down? i can't sleep with all the racket you're making in here."
   "oh my gosh, i'm so sorry! i have to settle in myself, you see, my family is—"
    "great, thanks." not wanting to hear sunoo babble on and continue to keep him from the warmth of his bed, ni—ki gently pushed the boy back into his apartment and shut the front door in his face.
    with a sigh, ni—ki returned to his own and closed the door behind him, steadily making his way back to his bedroom. but no matter how much the teen tried going back to sleep, it seemed to evade him, forcing him to stare at his ceiling in annoyance.

he decided that he hated his new neighbor.

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back in sunoo's apartment, the boy stared at his closed door, blinking in bewilderment. not only had ni—ki interrupted him, he had closed the door after pushing him back into his apartment. standing in silence to consider for a moment, sunoo eventually shrugged and turned around to finish unpacking. ni—ki was just shy, that's all, the boy decided, taking out a box cutter from his pocket to cut open yet another cardboard box full of his belongings. why did he have so much stuff again?
south korea was so different from back home. even if sunoo had been born here, he didn't remember anything about it, his parents having took him to the states when he was still little. yet this is where sunoo decided to live and continue his college education while pursuing his dreams of entering the music industry whether as a songwriter, producer or performer. perhaps all three if he worked hard enough. he knew it wasn't the life his parents wanted for him, but they couldn't deny his intelligence, capability and good grades. they finally relented if he promised to have a back up career in case his dream didn't work out.
    sunoo saw it as a victory. he didn't mind pursuing a degree in law as long as he was still able to play and write music to his heart's content.
    a loud thump pulled sunoo from his thoughts and he looked down where he had accidentally dropped the thick text about law his father had gifted him before he had left home. kneeling down to pick it up, sunoo stared at the elegant cover. he would have preferred a new case for his guitar, but that was wishful thinking. his father didn't support his dream like his mother and had only agreed to this arrangement because he was so sure sunoo would fail to enter the music industry and be forced into a life of law.
running fingers gently over the cover, sunoo sighed and set the book aside with others he had unpacked to organize onto his bookshelves later, once he managed to put them together. he was determined to prove his father wrong, no matter how much work and effort it took. he just didn't understand how much music had changed sunoo's life. ever since he could walk and talk, it's all he had ever thought about and was even in a small band created by friends that lasted from junior high to the beginnings of high school. his father had always just thought it was loud noise that he couldn't stand and constantly complained about it when sunoo's band practiced, even on occasion cutting off the power to force them to end practice early.
sunoo shook his head. there was no point in dwelling on the past, especially when he moved here to live the way he wanted and steer his future into what it was always meant to be.
at least, that's what he hoped.
standing up, sunoo punched a fist into his hand, a resolute expression settling on his youthful features. "okay! time to get started."

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author's note: first chapter finished, ahhh. i hope everyone likes it as i haven't written anything in years, sobs. really excited about writing this fanfiction though!