Trinity legends.
It was the game a group of students at Hankyeong University developed for fun.
It had no funding, no marketing, and no expectations.
And yet, it went viral across the country last year.
Thanks to that, Seo Minjae is currently living the best moment of his life.
The university even allotted a separate room for them generously.
A dedicated project room stocked with decent chairs, decent machines, and barely working air conditioning.
Seo Minjae popped his bubblegum with a sharp snap, hands stuffed deep in his pockets as he begrudgingly trudged out to buy the drinks.
Seriously, he always lost in rock-paper-scissors. Everytime. It was suspicious at this point.
They should stop playing this stupid game.
"Go slow, buddy."
One of his friends called out after him, flashing that smug, victorious smile that made Minjae seriously consider committing petty violence.
He gave them the finger without turning around.
Should I head home?
The thought crossed his mind as he stepped out of the convenience store, arms full of drinks and snacks no one deserved.
Seo Minjae took the stairs back up, squinting at the glaring sun.
And to be fair, he didn't mean to let this happen, but he saw that funny junior again.
Nobody was as stupid as that guy.
Minjae smirked a little when he remembered that day in the library.
Clearly outnumbered, didn't look like he could fight for shit either but the nerve to basically tell off a group of senior boys to scram was unbelievable.
That kid really didn't know fear.
Hah.
Seo Minjae watched from a distance, arms crossed over the drinks bag.
Seriously, what was that guy's deal?
He clicked his tongue and tossed his empty soda can, aiming toward the trash bin beside the vending machine.
Clang–!
It hit the rim and bounced off the steel guard.
"Tch."
Minjae took a step to go after it.
Then it happened. He can roll on the floor and catch under his foot mid-step.
...Enough to send that guy flying in the air.
There was a beat of silence.
Here we go, Minjae thought.
"...You threw that, didn't you?"
The other party had a slightly annoyed expression, but was still trying to maintain calm when his eyes were fixed on my uniform.
It awakened a very petty desire of mine.
He swears he is usually a very nice senior.
"Is this how you thank your savior?"
He was just a jerk this day.
Surprisingly, even though the guy looked like he was going to combust, he still managed to look polite.
He was kinda weird...
But the soda is okay.
Minjae took a sip from the can he just swindled off his underclassman and headed back.
As soon as he approached the project room, he could already hear the chaos even from the hallway.
These guys don't know the meaning of silence.
"Can you guys be any quieter?" He said, entering the room.
"Yo, Minjae!" A curly-haired guy waved him over, biting back a grin. "You gotta hear this. Apparently, Gunwoo got wrecked by some dude from the design department."
He continued without mercy. "And to top it off, this brat ran straight to the presentation after crying at my place for two hours this morning over his dead grandmother."
"Sangmin sunbae! You don't need to let the world know." Gunwoo protested.
Minjae shook his head and flopped into his chair, casually glancing over.
"…How many grandmothers do you have, exactly?"
Gunwoo deflated on the spot.
"Hyung~" he groaned dramatically. "This time it's the real one."
Okay.
This couldn't be blamed on him. Because this was the third time he'd heard this excuse from this kid.
Sangmin snorted from across the room. "Brat's gonna run out of relatives if he keeps this up."
"Right." Minjae laughed, leaning back in his chair.
"I'll light a candle later."
"By the way, when do you intend to go home?" Sangmin said while rummaging through the drinks he brought back, flashing a fake smile.
"You do know this isn't your actual house, right? I'm sick of seeing your face the first thing in the morning."
"The feeling's mutual."
Minjae grinned back like he heard a compliment.
Honestly, though, when you work, the environment is really important. Minjae just found it easier to concentrate here.
Plus, they have a dedicated bed in the back and a washroom, it's like a small office.
But... He really needed a change of clothes.
Yeah.
Guess it's time to go home.
***
At first, Minjae thought the guy just looked familiar.
The guy walked into the elevator with his hoodie zipped all the way up and the strings pulled tight around his face. A pair of thick-framed glasses sat awkwardly on his nose.
Then a notebook slipped from the guy's half-zipped backpack and hit the elevator floor with a soft thud.
Minjae bent down to pick it up and glanced at the name scrawled across the cover.
"Yun Jiho?"
Turns out it was him, his name was Jiho.
Apparently, he had just moved in.
It was strange how things lined up.
Minjae hadn't been back to his own apartment in almost a week. He has been basically living in the project room for over a month now.
No wonder he didn't notice when someone moved in across the hall.
A weird chain of coincidence.
Just a week ago, he hadn't even known this guy existed.
And now, Yun Jiho was his neighbour.
But… Jiho didn't seem to recognize him at all.
My innocent soul is lightly bruised.
Jiho kept that same neutral expression on his face the entire time we talked.
Minjae maintained a calm face, but internally, he was dramatically clutching his chest like a period drama heroine.
But it's okay.
He wasn't the type to hold grudges.
Because I've got a feeling we'll get along just fine.
Yun Jiho, nice to meet you!
"I'm Seo Minjae. Let's get along."
Seo Minjae walked into his apartment, humming a tune.
It was just starting to get interesting.