the roommate ；xu minghao

eighteen

I played with my fingers as I waited at a wooden table of a local cafe, the location where me and Seojun, the Xu's family butler, decided to meet.

I called him in the morning after I took a quick shower and, not wanting to waste more time, went straight to the point. He gladly accepted to see me again and help me sort out this whole situation. It felt nice to have met someone this caring and generous.

I had this feeling that he might know something, something hidden that was behind all of this: Minghao being a ghost and men barging in my apartment every now and then. He had already said he couldn't say much when I asked him the first time we met, which was what gave me an hint that he knew more.

But what if he didn't? What if he was like me who knew nothing and couldn't do much about it? My best and last solution would be Minghao's friends, but I still hoped the butler of his family could tell me something. He was the person who was closer to them after all.

The bell above the main glass door rang, snapping me out of my thoughts. A man wearing a thick black coat made his entrance, taking off his white gloves and putting them in his pockets. Even from a distance, I could recognize his elegant posture and manners.

I slightly got up, waving a hand so he could notice me and he immediately walked to where I was sitting.

"Miss Y/N, it's a pleasure to meet you again.". He said as we shook hands.

"Mr. Kang it's my pleasure, is everything alright?". I said politely bowing my head before we both sat down in front of each others and he placed his coat on the chair.

He smiled softly. "All the same, I'm happy to finally get some fresh air.". His eyes travelled outside, looking at the busy streets and the people running to their destinations, while some just enjoyed the nice winter weather. "I was tired of working, and being able to go outside isn't that bad every now and then, right?". He chimed as he returned to look at me.

I nodded agreeing. "Of course! I hope you're not overworking yourself, Mr. Kan- Seojun.". He chuckled under his breath at my correction.

The waitress came to take our orders, and surprisingly we both got a cappuccino. I would have thought he preferred to get coffee or something stronger.

As soon as the woman left, I wanted to question him about this, just to keep the casual conversation going before turning it into the main topic of this meeting, but his answer caught me off guard. "It was Minghao's favourite.". I looked at him confused. "Cappuccino. He loved that.".

And there it was, like a shadow creeping in, the topic came up out of nowhere, without me being able to comprehend it. "Oh, I see.". I muttered.

Our orders came out quickly and were served with sugar and little cookies.

"Miss Y/N, you can ask whatever is on your mind. I already know what you want to talk about and I willingly came here to help you.". He said with a caring look in his eyes. "It's okay to be curious.". He added before sipping on his cappuccino.

I looked at mine, as the white thin foam on the liquid spinned round and round, like the thoughts in my head, running behind each other without letting the flow stop.

"So.". I managed to say before finally forming a whole sentence. "Minghao managed to connect me to his memories last night and I saw a few flashbacks from his childhood, not much but it's still something relevant.".

He listened in silence as he continued to look at me, his gaze relaxing me. "I bet he didn't speak much after that, right?".

"Exactly, he was of course overwhelmed by emotions so he didn't explain much, also because the final memories he has from his life are blurry and confused, as he said.". I answered before sipping my warm drink.