Home With You ⸺ y.jw

OO4.⠀ The Rules

By the end of the day, Yoorin had mentally prepared herself for the reality of living with Jungwon. She wasn't happy about it, but it wasn't like she had much of a choice. If they were going to survive this, they needed to set some boundaries.

Yoorin cleared her throat, trying to sound confident as she stood in the middle of the living room. "We need to talk about rules."

Jungwon looked up from his laptop, his expression unreadable. "Rules?"

"Yes," Yoorin said firmly, hands on her hips. "If we're going to live together, we need some ground rules. Like... who does what, when, and where. Otherwise, it'll be chaos."

Jungwon smiled, clearly amused. "Okay. I'm listening."

Yoorin narrowed her eyes. She could tell he wasn't taking this seriously. But she continued anyway. "First of all, the bathroom. We need a schedule so we don't bump into each other in the mornings. I have early classes, so I should get the bathroom first."

Jungwon nodded, his expression serious now. "Fine with me. I don't wake up that early anyway."

Yoorin blinked. She hadn't expected him to agree so quickly. "Okay, good. Second, cleaning. We need to take turns cleaning the apartment. I'm not doing all the work."

Jungwon raised an eyebrow. "Fair enough. We'll alternate weeks."

"Great," Yoorin said, feeling more confident. "And third..." She paused, biting her lip. "No bringing people over without permission. This isn't a party house."

Jungwon laughed softly. "You think I'm planning on throwing wild parties?"

Yoorin crossed her arms. "I'm serious."

"Alright, alright. No random visitors without asking first," Jungwon agreed, his eyes glinting with amusement.

"Good," Yoorin said, though she still didn't trust that smile of his. "And last—"

"Wait," Jungwon interrupted, leaning forward with a smirk. "How about some rules for you, too?"

Yoorin blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you've been setting all the rules. I think it's only fair if I get to add some."

Yoorin hesitated. "Fine. What do you have in mind?"

Jungwon grinned, and Yoorin immediately regretted agreeing.

"First rule," he said, his voice casual but teasing. "No yelling at me when I'm being 'annoyingly cute.'"

Yoorin's face flushed. "Excuse me?"

Jungwon leaned back on the couch, stretching his arms behind his head. "You heard me. You're always calling me annoying, but you seem to think I'm cute too."

Yoorin's heart skipped a beat. Was he teasing her on purpose? "I... I don't think you're cute!" she stammered, her cheeks burning.

"Really?" Jungwon said with a raised eyebrow, his smirk growing. "You sure about that?"

Yoorin glared at him, trying to hold her ground. "You're impossible."

Jungwon laughed, a soft, genuine laugh that only made her more flustered. "Alright, fine. No more teasing. But how about this—rule number two: don't take everything so seriously. We'll survive better if we loosen up a bit."

Yoorin stared at him for a moment, then sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, he had a point. Maybe she was being a little too uptight about everything. But how could she not be? This was supposed to be her first taste of independence, and instead, she was stuck sharing her space with him.

"Okay," Yoorin finally agreed. "But only if you stop being so laid-back all the time. This isn't some kind of vacation, you know."

Jungwon shrugged, his easygoing smile still on his face. "Deal. I'll try to be a little more serious. But don't get your hopes up."

Yoorin sighed, shaking her head. "I won't."

For a moment, they sat there in silence, both processing the situation. It was strange, but it felt like a small weight had lifted between them. Maybe, just maybe, they could make this work.

"So," Jungwon said, standing up and stretching. "Now that we've got our rules, what's next?"

Yoorin blinked, surprised by his sudden shift. "Next?"

"Yeah. Do we order food or do you want to try cooking something?"

Yoorin glanced at the tiny kitchen. Cooking in such a cramped space would be a disaster waiting to happen. But ordering food with Jungwon seemed too... comfortable. Too much like they were friends or something.

"I... I'll cook," she blurted out before she could change her mind.

Jungwon raised an eyebrow but didn't argue. "Alright. Let's see what you've got."

Yoorin gave him a determined look and marched into the kitchen. She could cook. She would cook. There was no way she'd let him think she couldn't handle something as simple as making dinner.

✦

But thirty minutes later, as Yoorin stared at the burned remains of her attempted stir-fry, she was beginning to regret her decision.

Jungwon peeked over her shoulder, his expression neutral. "Need some help?"

Yoorin groaned, covering her face with her hands. "I'm never cooking again."

Jungwon laughed softly, and for the first time, Yoorin didn't mind the sound. "Don't worry. We can order something. I'll even let you pick."

Yoorin sighed, stepping aside as Jungwon grabbed his phone. Maybe living with him wouldn't be so bad. But she wasn't about to admit that. Not yet, anyway.