in another life | k.s.j + z.c

chapter one; first meeting

chapter song(s): desire by years & years, the few things by jp saxe, are you bored yet? by wallows and clairo

𝘿𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝟭𝟲𝙩𝙝, 𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙖

it was early evening, just past 9:30pm and like most people, zendaya was getting ready for a party to celebrate the end of the semester with some close friends and a couple strangers at the local bar. she threw on a pair of high waisted jeans, a lace black bodysuit and a simple pair of black pumps, along with a black leather jacket. she opted for light makeup and left her hair in it's curly state, resting at her shoulders.

she looked around the apartment, her eyes scanning the empty rooms, wondering if someone would ever respond to the 'roommates wanted' ad she posted on the university facebook group. it had been six days, and still nothing and she knew she could only go so long paying the rent on a place meant for three. she quickly shook off the worry and grabbed her phone and keys, tucking them safely in her purse before heading out the door, intent on getting wasted and forgetting her worries for  the night.

the bar was fairly busy with most students choosing it as the place to celebrate the end of the semester with everyone. z looked around, watching as groups of people swarmed to one another. some people were glad to see their friends, some were just there to score a hookup and others, like herself, were there for a distraction from their otherwise crappy lives. the toll of school was heavy and the stress of needing to find roommates was even heavier and right now, all she wanted was the burn of alcohol running down her throat. 

z made her way to the bar, ordering herself a shot and downing it quickly, ignoring the sting that came with it. she ordered a beer, sipping it slowly as she scanned the room for a familiar face before being waved over by park jimin. she recognized him from her design class and gave him a small wave before making her way over to him, plopping down in the free seat next to him.

"hey" she grinned, looking up at the young man

"how's your night going? anything spectacular happen yet?" he asked, sipping on his mojito.

"nothing too revolutionary yet, besides a very light buzz from that shot." she chuckled

"well, the night is still young, anything could-"

their conversation was cut short by the sounds of arguing and fighting coming from across the club. a group of men were swarmed around each other, yelling, a string of profanities being thrown out before a full on fight broke out. neither z or jimin could really make out what was going on in front of them but all they knew was that two of the unlikely suspects were people they knew fairly well. it was none other than kim seokjin, and jackson wang. z's head perked up at the sight of them and quickly excused herself from jimin, making her way outside. for reasons beyond even her comprehension, she stepped outside following the tall stranger from her econ class. 

"hey.." she said, approaching slowly, looking down at the boy who was now sat against the law, combing his fingers through his locks.

he looked up, his nostrils flared and his eyes slightly glossy, "hey?" he said, his words more posed in the form of a question, almost as if he was confused. 

"are you okay? i don't mean to pry but..that was a lot back there"

"in all honesty, not really. i lost someone i thought was my best friend and i'm out almost $2000 bucks after everything.

she raised an eyebrow in confusion hoping he'd elaborate and add some clarity to the situation. she sat down beside him, enjoying the soft breeze and the cool feel of the wall against her back. he paused for a moment before going on to explain how his girlfriend, now ex and supposed best friend has been fucking behind his back for the past 6 months and none of his other friends had the decency to tell him the truth. as for the money, he had booked a surprise winter break trip for he and his girlfriend to europe with stops in london, paris and rome. now he was stuck with no girlfriend, no roommate and enough money to cover textbooks for two years, gone.

"wait, you need a roommate?" she pondered

"is that really all you got from that story?" he chuckled lightly

"i- no, sorry, i've just been searching for roommates and it might just be the fix to both our problems.." she trailed off slowly "although you probably don't want to live with someone who's practically a stranger."

he looked over at her, pausing for a moment, "you know, anything beats that hell hole i'm in right now. if it's not terribly out of my budget, i'm in."

"$500 a month? i hope that's not insanely unreasonable, given that we'll also have a third roommate once i find someone"

jin chuckled lightly, "that's all you're asking? count me in." he spoke, extending his hand.

she smiled lightly and shook his hand, sealing the deal. she mentally thanked herself for dragging herself out the house. it had not only gotten her a roommate and solved one of her problems, it had gotten her a new friend. 

𝙅𝙖𝙣𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝟮𝙣𝙙, 𝙇𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙣

the past few weeks of jin's life had been absolute hell, and everything he once knew had been robbed from him in the blink of an eye. this trip was supposed to be a token of his appreciation for his girlfriend of two years but she had thrown that all away the moment she decided to cheat on him. although he was still pained by the loss, he insisted of going on the trip and getting his money's worth. it definitely helped that every morning he was greeted to the view of the brunette that had recently made it a lot easier to take his mind off of everything. despite their friendship only taking off a mere three weeks ago, jin trusted her completely and he knew inviting her on this trip would be a good move. there was just one downside: he wanted her, a want that consumed him completely and made his mind run wild with all the ways he'd make her beg for him. but he knew he couldn't let himself go there with her, not when there was so much at stake. so for now, he would just give her that famous grin and greet her with a soft 'good morning' instead of leaning over and pressing a kiss to her neck like he's wanted to do since the moment he met her. he needed order restored in his life and the opportunity of having a new place to live and new best friend meant all too much to him to be thrown away over one drunken whim. it was a lot easier to push past it and act as if it never happened. so that's exactly what they did. they forgot. 

or did they?