Day Four. 6:02 AM.
The apartment was quiet. Suspiciously quiet.
Too quiet.
Min-Jae shuffled into the kitchen in panda-print pajamas, hair defying gravity, yawning like a dying walrus.
He opened the fridge.
"Where's my strawberry milk?" he muttered.
He turned—and froze.
A complete stranger was standing in the living room.
A guy.
Wearing Min-Jae's hoodie.
"…WHO ARE YOU?!"
The stranger blinked. "Uh… I'm Ji-Hoon. Soo-Min's friend. I stayed over."
"Stayed over? In MY hoodie?! What are you, a guest or a parasite?!"
At that moment, Soo-Min emerged from her room in flamingo pajamas and a bun that looked like a cinnamon roll.
"Why are you yelling at 6 AM like a malfunctioning parrot?!"
"There's a man! In my hoodie! Breathing MY air!"
Ji-Hoon waved awkwardly. "I slept on the couch."
Min-Jae narrowed his eyes. "Did you touch my PlayStation controller?"
"...Yes."
Min-Jae turned to Soo-Min. "You brought an outsider into our sacred warzone?!"
"He's just a classmate who missed his last train. I let him crash here. Chill."
"Chill? You've turned our apartment into a bed-and-breakfast for strangers with good hair!"
---
Scene 2: Breakfast Hostility
Despite the tension, they all sat at the table.
Soo-Min made toast. Ji-Hoon offered to help. Min-Jae glared like he was guarding nuclear codes.
"So... you and Soo-Min go way back?" Ji-Hoon asked.
"Unfortunately," Min-Jae grunted.
"You guys have great chemistry. Are you dating?"
Min-Jae choked on his milk. Soo-Min spit out her toast.
"NO!"
"OH GOD NO!"
Ji-Hoon laughed. "You fight like an old married couple."
Min-Jae: "We fight like two raccoons in a trash can. That's different."
Soo-Min: "He's allergic to emotional maturity."
Min-Jae: "She considers sarcasm a love language."
Ji-Hoon looked amused. Bokki jumped onto his lap. Traitor.
---
Scene 3: The Pajama Incident
Later that morning, after Ji-Hoon left (finally), Min-Jae stormed into the living room holding up a pink pajama top.
"Soo-Min. Care to explain why your pajama shirt ended up in MY laundry bag?"
She snatched it back. "You touched my flamingo pajamas?!"
"They were violating my Batman boxers!"
They argued over laundry boundaries for thirty minutes.
New rule was created:
Separate hampers.
Strict color-coded laundry schedule.
Pajamas are sacred property and shall never mingle again.
---
Scene 4: The Neighbor Conspiracy
That evening, a mysterious envelope appeared under their door.
Inside: a handmade card with sparkly letters reading:
> "Happy One-Week Roommate Anniversary! ❤️ - Unit 503"
Soo-Min: "Are… we being monitored?"
Min-Jae: "Are we the Truman Show?"
They peered through the peephole. Neighbor kids were giggling in the hallway.
One of them held a sign: Team Roommate Romance.
"I think we accidentally became a reality show," Soo-Min whispered.
"Great. I hope my fan club loves stress."
---
Scene 5: Peace Treaty (Temporarily)
They sat on the couch, separated by Bokki who now wore a tiny crown made of bottle caps.
"I admit," Soo-Min said, "Ji-Hoon was a bit much."
"And I may have overreacted about the pajama situation," Min-Jae mumbled.
Silence.
Then they both screamed at the same time:
"BUT YOU WERE STILL WRONG!"
Peace lasted 37 seconds.
---
End of Chapter 5