Under One Sky {한 하늘 아래}

Chapter 4: Slow Mornings and Shared Silences

The soft hum of the humidifier blended with the early morning stillness. A gentle shaft of sunlight cut through the blinds, casting warm gold over the room's pale walls. Sejin blinked awake, his eyes adjusting to the light, limbs curled beneath his blanket like a cat reluctant to move.

Across the room, Joo was still asleep.

He was sprawled across his bed, one leg hanging off the side, his mouth parted slightly. His hair was a mess — strands falling over his brow in disarray — and he was hugging his blanket like a child. Sejin sat up slowly, quietly, and just watched for a moment, trying not to smile.

In the light of day, Joo looked nothing like the intimidating guy Sejin had first noticed on the subway. There was a softness to him now — vulnerable, even.

Sejin slipped out of bed and padded quietly to the bathroom to start his morning routine. By the time he came out, toweling off his face, Joo was stirring.

"Mmmhh... is it Monday?" Joo mumbled into his pillow.

"It's Wednesday," Sejin replied flatly.

Joo lifted his head, squinting. "That was my second guess."

Sejin rolled his eyes, amused.

Joo finally sat up and rubbed his face. "Do you always wake up this early?"

"Only when I have early classes."

"And today?"

"No class till noon," Sejin said. He moved over to his desk, tucking a fresh notebook under his arm. "But I like to use the quiet hours for reading."

Joo watched him move — everything deliberate, gentle. "You're weird."

Sejin raised an eyebrow. "You're messy."

"I call it creative chaos," Joo said with a grin.

Despite the teasing, there was something warm in the way their voices slipped into each other. As if they'd done this hundreds of times before.

Joo eventually got up, pulled on a hoodie over his shirtless torso — which made Sejin look away quickly — and made his way to the bathroom, yawning dramatically.

By the time he came out, Sejin had set up breakfast: two small bowls of cereal, mugs of tea steaming between them.

"...You made me breakfast?" Joo blinked.

"I poured cereal into a bowl. That hardly counts as making."

"Well, it counts to me," Joo said as he sat down across from him, flashing a bright, boyish smile. "Thanks, Roomie."

Sejin tried not to smile, but his lips gave him away.

They ate in comfortable silence, the kind that felt earned rather than awkward. Occasionally, their feet bumped under the table, but neither of them moved away.

Over the next few days, routines began to take shape. Sejin would wake up early, always quietly, and Joo would groggily join not long after. They'd share quick breakfasts before going their separate ways to class. In the evenings, Joo would return first, dump his bag on the floor with a sigh, and sometimes work out quietly in the corner while Sejin read or typed away at his assignments.

They didn't talk constantly. But they didn't need to.

Sometimes, they'd both be on their beds — Joo watching videos with earbuds in, Sejin sketching notes with his soft graphite pencil — and one of them would just say something small, like "Did you eat?" or "It's cold today." And that would be enough.

Joo started noticing things.

Like how Sejin always organized his pencils by height. How he hummed quietly when he focused. How he had a habit of curling his knees to his chest when reading in bed.