Home With You ⸺ y.jw

OO3.⠀ Awkward Morning

The morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting a soft glow over the apartment. Yoorin groaned as she rolled over on the couch, feeling stiff from her uncomfortable night's sleep. She was definitely going to need an actual bed if she was going to survive this living situation.

Her phone buzzed on the coffee table, and she groggily reached for it, squinting at the screen.

Sooyun: How's life with
your new roomie?

Yoorin: Don't even ask.

Sooyun: Ooh, trouble in
paradise already? LOL

Yoorin sighed, not in the mood to deal with Sooyun's teasing. As she stretched, she heard soft footsteps coming from the bedroom. She froze. Oh no. He's awake.

The door creaked open, and Jungwon stepped out, his hair messy from sleep but still somehow annoyingly perfect. He rubbed his eyes, clearly not a morning person either.

"Morning," he said, his voice raspy.

Yoorin nodded in response, not trusting herself to speak yet. Her hair was probably a disaster, and she wasn't ready for any sarcastic comments from him this early in the day.

Jungwon looked around the room, then at her, eyebrows slightly raised. "You sleep okay?"

Yoorin rolled her eyes. "Do you really have to ask?"

He grinned, leaning against the kitchen counter. "Guess not."

She got up from the couch, trying to smooth down her hair, and marched straight into the bathroom, muttering under her breath. After a quick glance in the mirror, Yoorin groaned. Of course her hair looked like she'd been dragged through a windstorm.

When she finally came back out, Jungwon was sitting at the tiny dining table, scrolling through his phone. He didn't look up as he spoke, "We should call the landlord soon."

Yoorin nodded, grabbing a granola bar from the kitchen counter. "Yeah, I guess."

Jungwon glanced up at her, tilting his head. "Still mad?"

Yoorin blinked, caught off guard. Was she still mad? Well, maybe a little. "I'm just... annoyed," she admitted, avoiding eye contact. "This isn't how things were supposed to go."

Jungwon nodded, leaning back in his chair. "Yeah, I get it. It's not what I wanted either. But if we can't fix it, we'll just have to make it work."

Yoorin took a bite of her granola bar, trying to ignore the fact that he was being so reasonable. "And if we can't fix it?" she asked cautiously.

He shrugged. "Then we just don't get in each other's way. Easy enough."

Yoorin let out a small, frustrated sigh. He made it sound so simple. But could it really be that easy? Sharing an apartment with someone she barely knew was bound to be awkward, no matter how much they tried to stay out of each other's way.

She glanced at Jungwon, who was now focused on his phone again, completely unbothered. His calm, laid-back attitude was almost infuriating. But maybe... maybe he was right. Maybe she was overthinking things.

"Alright," she said finally, breaking the silence. "Let's call the landlord and get this sorted."

Jungwon smiled at her—a smile that was, unfortunately, still annoyingly cute. "Now you're talking."

✦

As they sat together on the couch, waiting for the landlord to answer the phone, Yoorin couldn't help but feel a strange sense of... something. It wasn't quite frustration anymore, but it definitely wasn't comfortable either. She peeked over at Jungwon, who was sitting way too close for her liking, even though there was plenty of space on the couch.

When the landlord finally picked up, they explained the situation—how there was clearly a mix-up, how they both had been assigned to the same apartment, and how it obviously wasn't working.

The landlord's answer was less than comforting.

"I'm really sorry," the landlord said, sounding genuinely apologetic. "But we're completely booked for the semester. I'll keep looking for options, but for now, you two will have to make do with the arrangement."

Yoorin stared at the phone in disbelief. "Wait, that's it? There's nothing else you can do?"

"I'll keep checking, but housing is very tight right now. Please bear with me. I'll contact you as soon as anything opens up."

Jungwon hung up, letting out a soft sigh. "Well, that's that."

Yoorin slumped against the couch, the weight of the situation crashing down on her. "I can't believe this..."

Jungwon glanced over at her. "Look, it's not ideal, but we can make it work. I won't bother you, and you won't bother me. Deal?"

Yoorin hesitated, then nodded. "Deal."

But deep down, she knew that living with Jungwon wasn't going to be that simple. Not at all.