It was 5 in the morning when Yoongi got back home from his night shift. He was exhausted and tired. Cursing the heavens as he took the stairs yet again.
"Why do I have to live in this shitty place" he complained. His legs felt heavy with every step. Actually, he didn't mind night shifts because at least then he couldn't waste the night away in some bar. But yet all his energy was drained when he got back home. Surprisingly the gas station was somehow always busier at night than in the daytime. Seoul was a very lively city during the nighttime to Yoongis displeasure.
As soon as he stepped foot in his flat, he threw himself onto his bed and soon after fell asleep. After a night shift, he never struggled to fall asleep. He suffered from insomnia, so to effortlessly fall asleep was a gift for him.
He had no idea for how long he had slept when he was yet again woken up by a loud thud. Groaning into his pillow, he pulled the duvet over his head as if that would block the noises. A feminine voice was softly humming. Yoongi felt himself relax listening to the tender tunes as sleep seemed to slowly take over him again but right in that moment he heard another thud and then something cluttering to the floor. Now wide awake Yoongi figured that it yet again had to be his lovely new neighbor. If there was one thing about him that he made sure everyone knew about him, it was that his sleep was very dear to him.
"This fucking brat" he swore, tumbling out of bed and heading straight to the balcony. He aggressively tore the blinds open, looking like a mad man.
"Fuck" he cried, covering his eyes as the bright sunlight beamed in his face. After a couple seconds of adjusting to the light, he opened the door and stepped onto the balcony.
The sight Yoongi was met with, had him surprised. The girl next door was still in her pink pajamas and had a fluffy sleeping mask on her head. She was trying to set up a laundry rack, all of her attention absorbed into the task at hand. Yoongi facepalmed and leaned against the railing as he waited for her to notice his presence. But she didn't. She was too caught up in what she was doing, cheerfully humming a song to herself, and not seeing Yoongi stare her down. Patiently waiting, he watched her closely.
For the first time he really looked at her. She had a very petite figure and barely any curves. Her chest was quite flat from what he could tell but at least her butt was a decent size, shoulder-length dark brown waves and plump lips. She most definitely had a naive innocent vibe to her. She was more of a girl than a woman.
Yoongi was too busy scanning her, when she actually noticed him and stopped fiddling with the laundry rack. It took him a second to realize she was now staring at him.
"Uh, hi" she shyly said, waving at him. How childish, Yoongi thought.
"Spare me your cheerfulness" he cut her off. Taken aback, she frowned.
"Well, okay then" she mumbled, turning back to her laundry rack, which was now finally set up. Beginning to hang her freshly washed clothes on it, she ignored Yoongi.
"You fucking woke me up again" he stated after a while, when he realized she wasn't going to ask him about it. The girl glanced at him for a second. He was dressed in jeans and a hoodie. She recognized it were the same clothes she had seen him in yesterday. Had he slept in those ?
"It's noon, I have stuff to do. I can't wait for you to wake up every day to do stuff around the house. I just moved in, I am in the process of settling down" she said, not looking at him. Yoongi frowned, taking out his phone from his pocket to check the time. Indeed, it was nearly 2 pm. She was right, he couldn't really be complaining about it being too early to make noise, but he of course wouldn't ever admit that. So instead he fired back, "I do not give a fuck, you are making too much noise. Unlike you there are people who are actually working. I had a night shift."
She halted for a second, glaring at him.
"What do you know about me to be judging me ? I actually have a job interview today" she pointed out, smiling satisfied. Jangmi was very proud of herself for already being invited to a job interview. Things had casually developed yesterday as she was running errands. By chance, she passed a shop and saw a notice on its window that stated the owner was looking for a part-time employee. Without wasting any time or hesitating, Jangmi had headed straight inside and stated her interest in the job offer. The shop owner was a kind old man, who had immediately offered her to come by tomorrow to talk about the details. She was in luck.
Yoongi looked unimpressed as he blankly stared at her before he sarcastically clapped his hands.
"Congratulations, you are a big girl now" he teased and Jangmi's frown grew deeper. He was such a negative person, sucking all positivity and joy out of her.
"Excuse me, but I am busy" she said, turning back, trying not to let her frustration show.
"She is busy"she could hear him mock her. Ignoring him, she continued to hang up her clothes.
He didn't go back inside as she had expected him to and instead lit up a cigarette and began smoking. Ugh, how much Jangmi hated the smell of cigarettes. It made her stomach churn. Thankfully they were outside and the scent wasn't too strong. She hoped that the smell wouldn't stick to her freshly washed clothes as she hung up the last piece of clothing.
Finished, she admired her work and smiled proudly at herself. This was the first time ever that she had done her own laundry in all her 22 years. She felt like a boss.
Yoongi saw her bright expression and wondered how someone could be this happy over laundry. He rolled his eyes at her cheerfulness. Happy people made him sick to his stomach. She was so annoying and he barely even knew her. Their eyes met for a short moment as Jangmi headed inside. Yoongi wasn't one to advert his eyes, so he just stared at her with an empty expression, making her blush just the slightest and quickly look away, disappearing inside.
He heaved a deep sigh, putting the cigarette between his fingers to his lips. Was this how it was going to be every day now ? Her waking him up every goddamn day ? He should have considered himself lucky that a girl had moved in next door to him instead of a junkie, but he had no interest whatsoever. Yoongi wasn't a man for relationships – any type of relationship to clarify. From the beginning he felt, he was doomed to be alone. Accepting his fate, he closed off. After the incident that changed his life forever, he turned away from all the friends he had. His family situation never had been stable to begin with, so it wasn't exactly painful to let go of them too. This life had taken everyone precious to him. He understood that he was meant to go through this life alone. So be it. He would continue to live as long as he managed to bear it, though he didn't think that what he did could ever be considered living. Simply existing would be a more fitting term. The point in it all, he didn't know. Sometimes he wondered what it was that kept him alive. Images of the old brown piano then would fill his mind and even though he didn't know how that could be a good enough reason to live, he would just move on as he always did. Distracting himself from the pain inside was all that he did in this life.
Working, drinking, sleeping.
The only thing that he occasionally did to deal with his feelings was writing. Things would have to really get overwhelming for him to actually turn to his notebook, where he would scribble down random verses. Writing his thoughts down felt like admitting to them, and he hated that. So he only did it if he was forced to do it, when he couldn't bear the pain anymore.
Jangmi tried her best to not make much noise as she unpacked the last couple boxes and began to organize the drawers in her small kitchen. Thankfully she hadn't brought too much stuff from home. She didn't have much space in this apartment, and she hated it when things were cluttered, it made her mind feel cluttered too. The work that she had to put into moving was beyond insanity. Never would it have crossed her mind how hard it was to manage everything on her own. She missed her friends back home and wished they would have been here to help her out. Since uni wasn't starting until next week, she had only limited options to make new friends. Originally she had hoped that she would meet nice people in her apartment building but that hope flew out of the window after she encountered her lovely new neighbor. She hated the way he looked at her. He was belittling her with his looks and making her feel ridiculous. Since the moment she moved in she was trying her hardest to be considerate with her neighbors and not to bother anyone, but he somehow felt bothered anyways. He was frustrating and avoiding him seemed impossible if he was going to keep on showing up himself all the time for whatever reason. She decided to hang her clothes in the afternoon from now on, when he left his house for work or whatever that he went to do.
Glancing at the clock on her wall, her eyes widened. In an hour she would have to be at her job interview. She didn't want to hurry and take time to get ready because she wanted to make a good impression. After all, this was going to be her first job ever. She dressed in black chinos and a white dress shirt with a v-neck that she tucked into her pants. Her hair was naturally wavy, so she only combed through them before she applied light makeup. When she was finished, she stood in front of her full length mirror that rested against the wall next to the front door. Satisfied with how well she had cleaned up, she slipped on her black espadrilles. As she opened her door to head out, Yoongi simultaneously opened his door as well. They looked at each other for a second. Yoongi let his eyes wander over her outfit. He figured that she must be going to the job interview she mentioned earlier. Jangmi also took a good look at Yoongi's outfit. He had changed into black ripped jeans and a thin white long sleeve. His black hair was per usual tousled.
Awkwardly looking away, she felt herself blush underneath his gaze. This boy really was shameless. He always looked at her with such intensity that it made her feel weak in her knees and embarrassed. Yoongi pressed the button of the elevator, which thankfully was working again. Jangmi bit the inside of her lip as she stressed about getting into the elevator with him. The elevator was pretty small, and she didn't know how much she would like to be trapped in such a tiny space with him. Would it be too rude if she just took the stairs ? She didn't want to come across as a snob but at the same time she really didn't feel like embarrassing herself, because of course she knew she would be furiously blushing. Jangmi was inexperienced with boys, hence why she got very shy around them. It didn't even matter whether the boy was attractive or not. Any male presence around her age made her feel uncomfortable and childish.
This awkward silence between the both of them was unbearable. As the elevator arrived with a 'ping' noise, Yoongi casually got into the elevator. He was facing her as she moved forward to follow after him, but before she could get inside he pressed a button and the elevator doors closed right in front of her face. He looked so satisfied with himself as he disappeared behind the doors. With her mouth agape Jangmi let out an incredulous gasp. How rude could a person really be ? Was this the way to treat a lady ?
"What an asshole" she muttered to herself, feeling her face flush red with anger. How could he humiliate her like this ? She cursed herself for not having just taken the stairs. It would have saved her dignity.
Walking down the stairs, she tried to calm her nerves and wipe his smug expression from her mind. She swore to herself to never talk to him again. When she arrived in the entrance hall of the apartment, there was no sign of him. Of course, he had already left. Thankful for not encountering him again, she decided to forget about it and focus on what was important: her job interview. Jangmi still was unfamiliar with her surroundings so that she had to use Google Maps to find her way around. She was 15 minutes early when she arrived at the shop. Indecisive about going in already or waiting a little while more, she stood in front of the shop. At first, she didn't notice the owner of the shop smiling at her and waving her inside, but then as she realized that he was calling her inside, she snapped out of her daze and quickly headed inside. As she opened the door, a bell rattled above her head.
„Welcome, my dear" he kindly greeted her, and she gratefully smiled, bowing.
„Good afternoon, sir" she said. In the background classic music was playing. There were no customers, so that it was quiet in the shop. The old man gestured for her to take a seat. Jangmi nodded her head and sat down on a chair opposite to where the old man was seated on a single brown leather couch. He looked very comfortable as he sat there and intently looked at her.
„So you are interested in the job offer ?" he began.
„Yes, I am sir" Jangmi answered politely.
„You see, I am a very old man and am struggling to manage this shop all by myself" he told her, „I need someone to help me around."
„I would fondly help out with anything" she assured and the old man smiled.
„It may not look like it but a lot of work will be involved. I don't get too many customers admittedly. Usually people come by with their own instruments to let them tune or get fixed. Do you play any instruments ? Do you know how to tune a guitar or a violin ?"
Jangmi frowned as she realized that she was unqualified for this job. Trying not to show her disappointment, she slowly shook her head. Her confidence was faltering already.
„No, sir. I do not play any instruments" she admitted. Surprisingly the man just smiled.
„Normally I wouldn't do this" he sighed, „But I will still give you the job. You appear to be a trustworthy young girl, who needs this job. I can teach you how to tune the instruments. The fixing I will do in the back studio whilst you stay here and welcome any customers that show up and dust the instruments on showcase. You will need to learn a lot and you have to learn all of it quickly too. Can you manage that ?"
Jangmi's eyes lit up as she nodded briskly. She felt very lucky and grateful and promised she would work very hard and not disappoint him.
„Sir, you won't regret your choice, I promise to try my hardest. You can rely on me" she reassured him, barely able contain her happiness.
„Well, then. Congratulations on your new job" he said, reaching out his hand. Jangmi took his hand in both of her hands and shook them thankfully as she thanked him repeatedly. The old man laughed, glad to have made her this happy.
The real reason as to why he hadn't rejected her despite having no experience was because she reminded him of his own daughter, who he had not seen in years as she lived abroad. But Jangmi wouldn't know this until one day he told her about it. There are many untold stories that we don't know of in life. We don't know the sorrows the man that sold bread to us in the morning has or the pain that your next door neighbor had to endure in their childhood. Everyone has a story, and we won't ever be able to know them all and this is one of the many sad things in life that we will never get over.
He took his time to explain all of her tasks in detail, and they agreed upon working times that were beneficial for the both of them. The old man was very understanding of Jangmi's situation and considerate of the fact that she would be going to uni too. For this reason they agreed to keep the working times flexible.
Jangmi went back home with a huge smile on her face, feeling like she was mastering this becoming independent thing. She felt confident and trusted in her future.
Yoongi on the other hand was yet again strolling through the streets aimlessly. He was so lost in life, had no direction to follow. It was hard to live not knowing whether he would make it to see the next day, or he would want to see the next day.
A/N I hope you are enjoying this story so far. We didn't fully get started yet, I know but just keep on reading ! :)
