The hum of fluorescent lights buzzed faintly in the department lounge.
Kyungho tapped his feet, eyeing the guy across from him.
"Hey, Jiho. You're really not gonna do it?"
Jiho didn't even look up from his tablet. "Nope."
This had to be the sixth—seventh?—time they were having this exact conversation.
Kyungho tried again, more hopeful than he had any right to be.
"Come on, just think it over one more time, yeah? It'll be good for you too."
"Probably."
"But you are interested, right?"
Jiho finally lift his head, twirling the stylus between his fingers. His eyes held no clear emotion.
"Yeah. I am."
He was indeed a bit interested but he still stated clearly.
"But there's no point trying to convince me. I already said I'm not doing it."
"Because you don't have time?"
"Exactly."
"I know," Kyungho sigh, slumping into the chair beside him. "I already told them you're not doing it."
Honestly, he didn't expect Jiho to say yes anyway.
The infamous prodigy of the department didn't get that title for nothing.
Sure, Jiho had the personality of a cold spoon, but his work was no joke.
"You're always busy." Kyungho leaned over to look at his screen. "You really don't get tired of that, huh?"
Jiho nudged his glass up and kept drawing. "No time to be tired."
Ding!
A notification popped up.
Jiho gave a short glance at the notification, tapped a few times on his phone.
Ding!
This time, Kyungho's phone buzzed.
Jiho motioned with his eyes. "Check."
Kyungho raised a brow and pulled out his phone.
"Hey, I'm not rushing you for that. Didn't you say you're broke."
He had just lent Jiho some cash yesterday. It wasn't even that serious.
If Jiho had two main flaws, they were: one, his personality and two, his reckless spending habits.
Kyungho had a running theory that Jiho's wallet had a hole in it. How else could someone who got paid so often still be broke every other week?
Sometimes Kyungho genuinely wondered how this guy would manage a household in the future.
It was that bad.
Then again, his one redeeming quality was also his ability to earn money just as fast.
It was kind of impressive and a little scary, every single time Kyungho saw it happen.
"I just got paid. Thanks," Jiho said simply, checking the time before standing up. "I'll head out first. Got work."
***
Later that evening.
Jiho walked back to his apartment building, the lobby was mostly quiet, save for the soft ding of the elevator.
He stepped inside the elevator like always.
Yaaawn~
Jiho leaned against the wall, stretching his neck before closing his eyes.
"Excuse me, you dropped something."
Huh.
Was he talking to me?
Jiho lifted his eyes.
Yup. Only the two of them here.
A guy stood beside him holding out a notebook. He was a ridiculously tall and good-looking man.
Not that Jiho cared about looks, but still.
I'm 179 cm tall, almost180. Not short.
But this guy had him beat by at least a head.
At least 190. Maybe more?
"Yun Jiho?" The man said, glancing down at the cover of the notebook.
"Ah, thanks." Jiho took the notebook from his hand and curiously asked. "But...Do I know you?"
He studied the guy's face.
No way he'd forget someone who looked like that.
Then again, had this guy always lived here?
"Huh? Don't you remember me?" The man said, leaning in slightly, wearing a natural smirk on his face. "Hoobae-nim."
"...?"
"Is it the glasses?" he mumbled to himself, like he was genuinely thinking about it.
Jiho blinked back through the thick frame hung at the tip of his nose. The first thing Jiho noticed was the guy had absurdly long eyelashes. There was small mole near the corner of his eyes. It was annoyingly pretty.
He was a remarkably fine man.
Even I had to admit it.
Ugh.
Jiho took a stepped back while averting his eyes.
"By chance, do you go to Hankyeong University?" The man asked.
"Yeah."
"Live here?"
"Just move in recently."
"I see..."
The conversation stalled.
Jiho wasn't the talkative type, and the silence in the elevator stretched awkwardly.
Thankfully, the door slid open.
His floor.
Jiho stepped out. To his surprise, the other party also got off on the same floor.
...Huh?
Jiho shrugged the uneasy feeling in his chest and headed for his apartment door.
"Yun Jiho."
Halt-
Jiho paused and turned around, more out of habit than anything.
What a coincidence...
Across the hallway, the guy was leaning against the opposite doorframe while crossing arms casually.
"Jiho," he said with a grin. "I can called you that, right?"
"... I guess."
"Seems like we're neighbours."
Jiho stared at him suspiciously, looking at that angelic smile plastered on his face.
"I'm Seo Minjae. Let's get along."
Jiho shook the offered hand dryly, once.
Then walked into his apartment without another word.
What was his name again?
Seo Minjae...
That name sounded... oddly familiar?
Maybe it was just a common name.
He grabbed a bottle of energy drink from the refrigerator and took a long sip.
The trash bin next to his desk was already full of them. His bed was a mess. Wrappers littered the table like modern art.
Typical.
Though it hadn't been a month since he moved here.
Jiho walked through the mess and hung his backpack on the chair.
He peeled off his signature black hoodie and removed his white uniform shirt.
Standing there half naked, he took off the yellow pin from the shirt's collar and laid it on the desk.
Sigh...
He pulled another white shirt from the laundry basket.
He didn't have time for a laundry run. Besides, it wasn't dirty, Just worn.
He filled the sink and started washing them it by hand.
Just leave it outside overnight and it'll dry by itself.
As for why he didn't wash the pants?
They were too heavy, and he still have a extra pair of clean pants. He'd wash them all together in the weekend.
Once the shirt was up, he flopped into the bed with his arms over his eyes.
And then, it hit him.
Seo Minjae...
Wait, that popular senior from computer science?