New Axis

catch-22 | 02

Chaerin lets out yet another groan as she pulls her blanket over her head, letting the furry velvet material tickle her face.

"Rinnie, c'mon. It's not that bad."

She shoots up from her lying position on the couch, shooting her step-brother a glare. "Oh, it is that bad. It is very bad."

Jaemin makes a face, raising his hands up in surrender. "I'm just saying. I mean, this is Mark's roommate you're talking about, and he's literally right here."

"Dude, it's fine. Like, I totally get it." Mark doesn't bother looking up from his place on the floor, his eyes still focused on the 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle him and Yena had been working on for the past two hours (it doesn't seem like they're getting anywhere, but Chaerin knows that's just the couple's idea of having fun). "Lee Haechan can be insufferable at times, and he's probably gonna let this interview thing get to his head, but he's really not that bad, you know? I just wanna know why you hate him so much."

Chaerin rolls her eyes as she stares at the ceiling. It's not that she's unable to answer Mark's question— she just knows she's going to need more than a few hours if she's going to tell the entire story.

It has only been a day since Professor Seo gave her the assignment, yet Chaerin is already losing her mind. She had quickly gathered her roommates for a house meeting, but Jaemin had sauntered in before she could start (no, he doesn't live there. He just goes in and out like he owns the place). That in turn then led to Yena calling her boyfriend down, insisting that Mark is smart and that he'd know what to do.

Obviously, that was a lie, seeing as the boy isn't really doing much to help her case and is just on her living room floor messing up her coffee table with his Avengers-themed jigsaw puzzle, but Chaerin let it slide.

"Can we focus on what actually matters now, please?" Chaerin sits up, letting her blanket fall to her lap. "I can't shadow Lee Donghyuck, okay? Really, why couldn't it have been literally anybody else? Like Lee Jeno, for instance. Ugh, that hot bastard."

"My roommate is not a piece of meat for you to prey on, Rinnie," Jaemin nags, making her roll her eyes.

"I mean, there must be a reason why he got chosen, right?" Yena fits a piece in an empty spot, Spider-Man's face now visible. "Also, just call him Haechan, Chae. Only you call him by his real name."

Chaerin looks at her roommate incredulously. "I call him by his real name because he hates his real name. Plus, it's only fair because he calls me that stupid nickname."

"Cherry is cute. I like it," Sera murmurs, and Chaerin shoots her a glare.

"It's stupid, and unoriginal. Also, my hair faded ages ago— it's not even that red anymore! Look, can we just- please?" Chaerin pleads. "Since changing players is out of the question, I'm going to do up a schedule for the both of us to follow. That way, I won't have to face him unless completely necessary. The only question now is, how am I supposed to approach him?"

"Like a normal person, maybe?" Mark raises a brow. "Also, aren't y'all, like, classmates? I'm pretty sure that means facing him is completely necessary."

"No shit, genius. C'mon, Yena, I thought you said your boyfriend was smart!" Chaerin groans, only to get hit in the cheek with a puzzle piece.

"He is smart. You're just being a bitch." Yena gives her a look. "If you're going to be a good journalist, shouldn't you be putting aside whatever beef you have going on between you two and focus solely on the assignment at hand? Plus, a month isn't even that long. You've dealt with bullshit for way longer than that."