Donald Na X Gravy [And Other Short Stories]

And They Were Roommates (Oh My God, They Were Roommates)

Spoiler Alert: This chapter contains spoilers for Ch 138

Gerard and Hyunjin never got along. They would always bicker and argue whenever they were around each other. To be frank, it was a bloody miracle they managed to actually practice and perform together.

One day, Hyunjin caught a glimpse of Gerard's lock screen: a photo of Gerard with a cat sleeping on his chest. "You have a cat?"

"Yeah," Gerard nodded. "Her name's Tigress. I adopted her last year,"

"Why didn't you tell me!?" Hyunjin demanded, but surprisingly rather than in a snobby tone, he used a whiny child-like tone. "I'm going to your apartment!"

"What? No!" Gerard refused. "I'm not bringing you over to my place!"

Hyunjin took out his wallet and threw a bunch of cash onto the table. "Practice room rent and instrument rent for this month,"

"Hyunjin—" 

Gerard slapped his hands over Jinwoo's and Sangman's mouths before they could refuse the money. "Alright, you can come over and see Tigress,"

Not trusting them to not get into an argument, both Jinwoo and Sangman tagged along.

XXX

"Mrow," Tigress greeted her servant and servant's friends when they entered the apartment.

Hyunjin's face lit up and he let out a very uncharacteristic high pitched squeal. He dropped to the floor and immediately began to pet and coo over the cat. "You are so fluffy and adorable!"

"I think I want to bleach my eyes of this scene," Gerard said, earning an elbow to the gut from Jinwoo.

"Dude, don't be rude!" Jinwoo scolded.

"Hyunjin really likes cats," Sangman noted.

Tigress climbed onto Hyunjin's head and the teenager beamed. "I'm moving in!"

"Now that's where I draw the li—" 

Hyunjin shoved a handful of won notes to him. "I'll pay rent,"

"Welcome, my new roommate!" Gerard accepted the money with no hesitation. "I have a guest room that you can use,"

Jinwoo and Sangman both shared a confused look. "I mean...they're getting along so...its' a good thing?" Sangman shrugged.

"But Hyunjin, do you really have enough money?" Jinwoo asked. "You don't have to cover all of the practice room and instrument rent for this month,"

"It's just allowance my parents gave me," Hyunjin shrugged. "They're actually going to increase my allowance a bit since I'm moving out," He picked up Tigress and cradled her in his arms. "Who's my cute fur baby? You are!"

"Your cute fur baby?" Gerard questioned.

"Obviously I'm going to co-parent Tigress with you since I'm living here," Hyunjin pointed out. "I'm gonna make sure she has the best life possible,"

Gerard looked down at the money Hyunjin had given him and shrugged. "Okay,"

XXX

Slam became very popular in the indie community and gained a large fandom. People made fanart, fanfiction, and merchandise of them. Slam decided to host a Q&A to interact with their fans.

"When are Gerard Jin and Hyunjin Cha gonna get married?"

That question threw them off. "We're not getting married," Hyunjin answered in a calm and even tone while keeping his poker face up.

"But you two are dating, right?"

"No!" Gerard denied. "What the fuck gave you guys that idea?"

"You two were spotted leaving the same apartment together, going shopping together, and walking around town together,"

"We're just roommates," Hyunjin told them. "It's natural we'd go shopping together. We are also friends so of course we'd hang out with each other. We are just roommates who are co-parenting a child,"

"EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" The fans squealed in delight.

"It's a cat," Gerard flatly revealed. "Our child is a cat. My relationship with Hyunjin is strictly platonic,"

"Really? Are you really sure?"

"Yes!"

XXX

"I've got to say, I'm really surprised that you two get along really well now," Jinwoo said as they arrived at Gerard and Hyunjin's apartment. "Where's Tigress?"

"She's in her cat room," Hyunjin answered. "My former bedroom,"

"Wait, then do you sleep on the couch?" Sangman inquired. 

"I sleep in Gerard's bed with him, platonically," Hyunjin emphasized the last word. "Tigress deserved a cat room so I gave up my room so she can have her own,"

"That doesn't explain how you ended up in Gerard's bed,"

"It's warmer if we're sleeping together during cold nights," Hyunjin claimed. "Sleeping together as in just sleeping in the same bed together,"

"Platonic?" Gerard stared at Hyunjin. "You keep biting my shoulder in your sleep!" He pulled at his shirt to reveal the bitemarks. "You also cling to me like a koala. I have no idea how a sleeping person has that strong of a hold,"

Is it a platonic roommate situation or a romantic one?