Roommates and Secrets

Part 1

Namjoon’s POV

The clock's ticking echoes through my office, and I glance at her. Jeon Yn. My childhood best friend, and ironically, my secretary. She’s sitting across the room, completely focused on her computer. She looks nervous as usual, her fingers flying across the keyboard, eyes fixed on the screen like she's avoiding mine. At work, I keep things professional. I have to be the CEO. But it’s hard not to let my mind wander to how different things are when we get home.

At work, she fears me well, maybe not fears me, but she definitely tenses up
when I walk by. The way she calls me “Mr. Kim” with that formal tone almost makes me laugh. But at home? She’s a force to be reckoned with. She talks back, mocks my taste in music (even though she secretly loves it), and makes herself comfortable like the apartment is hers. Which it is, but sometimes I feel like she’s completely in charge. I can’t tell if she’s noticed how my heart skips a beat every time she walks into the room in her oversized t-shirt or the casual way she throws her hair into a messy bun, but I sure have.

We’ve been friends for so long, but lately, it’s becoming harder to ignore the flutter in my chest when she’s near. I’ve always known she’s beautiful, but now I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s not just her looks either. It’s the way she talks, the way she challenges me, the way she’s the one person who truly gets me.

But then there was that time when I saw her with that guy from marketing. It took everything in me to remain composed. The way she smiled at him, the way he looked at her... I clenched my fists under the table, pretending not to care. But I did more than I should.

Yn’s POV

Namjoon is such a contradiction. The Namjoon I work for is so different from the Namjoon I live with. At the office, he's strict, distant, and professional. He doesn’t even smile much. But at home, it’s like a switch flips. I see the real him the dorky, thoughtful guy who blasts music in the morning while making coffee or argues with me about the best way to fold laundry. At work, I pretend to be scared of him because I know he likes to keep things formal. But at home? I couldn’t care less about what he says. He tells me to stop leaving my clothes everywhere. I do it more just to annoy him.

Still, it’s weird. Lately, I’ve been noticing things about him that I shouldn’t. Like how good he looks in a suit or how his eyes crinkle at the edges when he’s trying not to laugh at my antics. We’ve been best friends forever, but there’s this shift between us I can’t quite explain. There’s no way Namjoon feels the same though, right? He’s the CEO of a huge company, and I’m just... me.

The worst part is I can’t even pretend I don’t care when girls at the office flirt
with him. I’m his secretary, so I hear everything. “Mr. Kim is so handsome,” “I’d love to be his girlfriend,” they say. Every time I hear them, I have to bite my tongue. It shouldn’t bother me, but it does.

And then there was that time when I saw him out with that woman, some business associate. She was stunning, perfect in every way. They were just having a casual lunch, but it gnawed at me all day. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Namjoon’s POV

The apartment feels different tonight. Yn’s sitting on the couch, legs curled up as she watches some reality show. I stand in the doorway for a moment, just watching her. She’s so comfortable, so at ease around me, and yet, I’m anything but. I keep thinking about how natural it feels to come home to her like we’ve been doing this forever. The lines between friendship and something more are blurring, and I don’t know how to stop it.

“Joon, you’re blocking the TV,” she says without looking up, her voice casual but commanding. I smile. That’s my Yn. Not "Mr Kim," not the formal, quiet girl from work, just Yn.

“Why don’t you just admit you’re watching trash?” I tease, sitting down next to her. She shoots me a look but doesn’t reply. I notice how close we’re sitting. Closer than we should be.

“Namjoon,” she says softly after a moment, her eyes flicking toward me,
“What’s going on? You’ve been acting weird lately.”

I freeze. Of course, she noticed. She always notices.

“I... nothing. Just work stress,” I lie. But I know she doesn’t believe me. She never does.

She doesn’t push it, though. Instead, she leans her head on my shoulder, something she’s done a million times before, but this time it feels different. My heart starts racing, and I have to remind myself to breathe.

“Goodnight, Joon,” she says, standing up and heading to her room.

“Goodnight,” I reply, my voice barely audible as she disappears into the hallway.

Yn’s POV

I close my door behind me, leaning against it and letting out a sigh. There’s no way Namjoon doesn’t know. I’ve been so obvious lately. But maybe he’s just too focused on work to notice. Or maybe... he just doesn’t feel the same.

But if that’s true, then why do I catch him looking at me like that when he thinks I’m not paying attention? Why do I feel like something is shifting between us?

I wish I had the courage to ask him, but I’m scared. Scared of losing everything we have. But one day, I’ll have to face it. We both will.

For now, I’ll keep pretending nothing’s changed. Even though, deep down, I know everything has.