Unique Friend

~4~

~4~

"Yup, you definitely have a much more extensive, and expensive, wardrobe than I do," Karina says with a bit of wonder as she takes in Taehyung's suitcases and garment bags stuffed to the brim with designer labels. She is pretty sure one piece of his clothing costs more than her entire thrift-store wardrobe. And there is a lot of it. They had spent a good part of the day carrying his stuff up the three flights of stairs to their apartment, most being clothing.

Taehyung gives her a bashful grin in reply, "I like fashion. And you have to dress to impress! I am here for work, after all."

"Yes, there's nothing wrong with that Taehyung, only an observation," she laughs. "I am just not much of a shopper myself. You may have to keep some of this in the front closet by the door, though, I'm not sure it will all fit in here."

"Ah thank you roomie," he had taken to calling her this as soon as they had sorted out all the details of their rental arrangement. Karina is not usually one for nicknames, but something about the adorable way Taehyung says it gets her in the feels, and she can't bring herself to ask him to stop. "Maybe I did overpack a little," he looks down at his shoes almost like a child being scolded.

Karina waves away his concern, "All good, roomie. I don't have very much stuff anyway, so the front closet is all yours. We will need to figure something out about the bathroom, though." The apartment is in an old historic building, therefore only having one bathroom they will have to share. While she doesn't mind sharing at all, Karina is not too sure there is going to be enough space for all of Taehyung's skin care products; she had never seen so many in one place outside of a Sephora.

Taehyung shrugs at this, "Well, taking care of yourself is important! I will get a shelf or something to organize it all, don't worry roomie," he assures her as he promptly whips out his cell phone (the latest Samsung, no less), opening Amazon to immediately start searching for one.

Having come from a very modest background, Karina is accustomed to making due with what is readily available, and improvising a lot. Taehyung's nonchalant attitude about shopping on a whim, and his multitude of designer clothing is telling her they do not have much in common that way. Still, Taehyung is so humble and kind, she doesn't get the impression he is a snob about it.

Just then, they hear a crash at the door to the apartment, followed by a curse in a familiar voice. "Namjoon?" Karina calls out as she heads out of Taehyung's room.

"Aish! I forgot how much that door sticks," she hears her boss grumbling as she approaches him. He has his arms full of takeout containers, and a few bottles of drinks around his ankles where he had dropped them. Thankfully, none had broken open.

"Hey Namjoon," she greets him, reaching out to take a couple of the food bags from him, "What's all this?"

"Well, I felt bad that I wasn't able to help move all Taehyung's stuff in today, so I brought food to make up for it," he explains as he sets the rest of the food on the small portable island that divides the kitchen and living room.

"Ah hyung brought Korean food!" Taehyung exclaims as he rummages through the bags, making Karina jump. She hadn't even heard him approach. "Japchae! My Favorite!" he says with an adorable big boxy smile as he takes the box of food and a pair of chopsticks and sits himself on the lone arm chair to dig in. Most of the furniture had belonged to Karina's previous roommate, Brittany, and she had taken it all with her when she moved out, leaving Karina with only two stools at the island, a big armchair and small coffee table in the living room, and a now-empty TV stand.

Namjoon just shakes his head and laughs at his younger friend before turning to Karina. "Warning. This guy is all warm and fuzzy until it comes to food," he teases.

"Ya! Hyung, that's not true. I will share," comes an indignant reply as Taehyung jumps up to offer Karina some of his noodles. She laughs at the bantering between the two old friends.

"You guys seem more like brothers than just friends. How do you two know each other? You never did say" she asks, looking from one to the other. Both of the guys stand frozen in their tracks, giving each other quizzical glances before Namjoon finally answers.

"Uh, we worked together....for quite a while. Here, Karina, I got you the bulgogi you liked last time," he abruptly changes the topic. She finds his elusive reply a bit odd, but figures he must have his reasons for not wanting to talk about the past; he rarely ever mentions Korea to her. Karina takes the hint.

"Yum! But, I'm not as nice as my roommate. I am not sharing!" she states as she playfully grabs the take out box Namjoon offers her, making them all laugh. Tension gone, they settle in to eat, switching between comfortable silence and chit chat.