Jennie picks up one of the suitcases and goes to the cupboards. She chooses the farthest one in the corner, but still hesitates, because it is next to the bedside table of the girl who will occupy the bed next door. It probably won't be very convenient, but on the other hand, there is enough space, and they are unlikely to interfere with each other. Still, after thinking about it, she chooses it.
It takes her half an hour to put her things on the shelves. The girl walks away from the closet, taking two empty suitcases, goes to her bed and pushes them under it. She looks at her roommate, who is lying down and doing something on her phone.
-Was that your girlfriend?- Jennie asks, as if they had been communicating up to this point.
Rose turns away from the phone screen and looks at the brown-haired girl for a long time, which still does not take her eyes off her, waiting for an answer.
-I'm Jennie.- She walks over to the bed and holds out her hand.
-Rose.- The blonde answers and, taking one hand off the phone, reaches out to shake, but instead only touches the fingertips of the girl's hand with her fingers.- And it's none of your business.
-Why?- Kim arches an eyebrow and smiles, biting her lip.
A feigned surprise immediately appears on Rose's face, she is a little confused by such facial expressions, which look like flirting, but, nevertheless, this surprise is quickly replaced by a sly smirk:
-It was a statement.
Jennie chuckles and nods, pursing her lip:
-Well, all right. However, the question was rhetorical. After all, she was hugging you here. I have nothing against it.- Jennie raises her hands in surrender.
Rose returns all attention to the phone, and Jennie has no choice but to move back to her bed. The girl is not very sociable, and this is strange, considering that they live together. It would seem that communication should take shape, even if during it they find out that Rose is a nerd, and Jennie herself came here to smoke dope and have fun. Despite some shortcomings, it is still necessary to talk about something.
Jennie feels her eyes closing. If she closes them for more than ten seconds, she will fall asleep. She looks at her watch. Dinner is still two hours away. Maybe this is a good idea.
-Hey.- She turns to her roommate.- I'll get some sleep. Could you wake me up in an hour and a half? I don't want to oversleep dinner.
Rose pushes the phone away a little, peeking out from behind it, and looks at her in silence for a while.
-Okay.- She answers and immediately returns the phone to its place, blocking their view of the roommate.
Lisa: It's so funny that your girlfriend and I are doing the same thing XD
Rose smiles as she closes the chat with Lisa and opens the chat with Yerim. She was texting her all the time, and it was hard not to get confused in the dialogues. It would be easier if they communicated with each other, and she wouldn't have to entertain them now while they were returning home. She could unpack the suitcases, for example.
Rose: I miss you too. And I didn't get enough hugs either.
Rose: I'm already seeing double. I'm afraid to mix up the chats and write to you how she fucked me up by constantly being offended.
Lisa: She has such a face. It's a pathetic sight.
Rose: Lisa!
Lisa: What's wrong? We left not so long ago, but she's sitting here like some kind of tragedy has happened.
Rose: Aren't you?
Lisa: Okay... me too. How's your roommate?
Rose: She fell asleep. She asked me about Yerim. Something about my sexuality. She annoys me a little.
Lisa: Well, she swears, but we used to do it no less. I don't think it's possible to offend her because of this.
Rose: That's not the point. She was too harsh while she was with her friend, and then, as if nothing had happened, she tried to talk to me.
Lisa: That's okay. You're roommates. Give her a chance. Although, you can give her more ;) Well, at least try :D
Rose: Oh, fuck you :D
Park closes the chat with her friend and opens a chat with Yerim, who has already flooded her with messages. She sighs as she reads them. There have been many times that she misses her, that she can't imagine how they will be apart for so long, about the desire to hug and not let go, and all that. The girl finds herself thinking that long-distance relationships are becoming more difficult than when they were half an hour apart. It wasn't that they were already at a distance, after all, it had only been an hour. Rose would like to hope that it's only today, because if Yerim has so much in her messages, she just won't stand it. Rose really dislikes the feeling that comes when you have to balance on the edge — to say what you think, and thereby offend a loved one. She is always restrained in her emotions when it comes to people who are not indifferent to her.
Rose: I would like to be with you too :) I'm going to go put my stuff in the lockers, okay?
Yerim: I understand that you need to go. Also, that you'll be busy there all the time, and I'm sad about it :(
Rose: Don't be sad, I'll always find time for you.
The girl gets out of bed and freezes over her suitcases. She would have to be quiet because Jennie was asleep. It bothers her.
Picking up the backpack from the floor, she disassembles it first, putting cosmetics on the bedside table, and various accessories and other small things inside it.
Rose drags one suitcase to the cupboards and, choosing one of them, chooses the second one from the wall. Her roommate has already taken the first one.
The blonde starts to open the suitcase, but the zipper won't budge. She immediately remembers what happened at home and clenches her jaw, not wanting to get angry, but it's already happening. She sits down on the floor and looks closely at the zipper, wanting to understand what the problem is. No apparent reason. Maybe there's a cloth stuck on the other side? Rose pulls the zipper harder and lets go. She pulls the zipper, already closing it, and it gives way. The girl notices a slightly protruding prong.
-Damn it.- She sighs, getting to her feet, and goes to the bedside table. She pulls out a drawer and looks at everything in it for a long time, thinking that she can help. She needs something solid so she can push that prong back in. Various jewelry, bracelets and other accessories — none of this suits her. The girl takes the comb and returns to the suitcase. She sits down on the floor and begins to press on the prong with a plastic handle. She's pushing, but it doesn't help. She hits the zipper with her comb and immediately looks around. She had completely forgotten that she was not alone here. She wants to swear, but if she allows herself to do this, she will either become a liar in front of her friend, or she will be left without money. She still has a few weeks ahead of her, and she is sure that if she sends money to Lisa, there will be a very strong reason for this. On the other hand, maybe Lisa will run into some shit, and Rose will become a little richer during this time. It's bad to wish for this, but the blonde can't do anything about this thought and smiles, distracted from the anger that the suitcase caused. It's a good thing she doesn't send money every time she curses mentally.
The girl always brings the matter to an end. She doesn't go to her bed to take care of the second suitcase. She's sitting on the floor next to this one and still picking at the zipper.
-Shit!- She curses out loud, grabbing her finger and pushing the suitcase away from her. She tried to do something with her finger, but almost broke her nail. Her nails weren't very long, but they were longer than lesbians should be in a relationship. Rose rolls her eyes, noticing that her thoughts about the zipper of the suitcase have somehow switched to boring sex.
-Let's try this?
Rose almost jumps up on the floor because Jennie is too suddenly next to her.
-Damn it.- She clutches her chest.- I thought you were asleep.
-It's hard to do this when you're beating up a suitcase.- Kim looks at the comb in Rose's hands and swings the keys in her hands, reminding her of her offer.- Let me try it?
-Whatever you want.- Park pushes the suitcase to the side where the girl is standing.
Jennie runs her tongue under her lip, demonstrating the irritation caused by the roommate's gesture, but nevertheless squats down, turning the suitcase so that it is more convenient for her.
-It's already bothering me a little.- Kim says, picking at the zipper with her keys.
-What?- Rose gets to her feet and walks over to her bed.
-You.- Jennie presses the key against the prong and presses until it returns to the desired position.- I don't think we've met yet, but you're acting... I'm starting to think that I don't like you at all. I finished.
Jennie straightens up and turns to the blonde, who is staring at her, digesting what she has heard.
-I always behave like this with strangers. It is ok. Thanks.- She nods and returns to the suitcase, bypassing the girl who follows her with her eyes.
-I know people like you.- Kim says.- Nerds. You think you're better than others. I like nerds better. They always lack attention.
-Do you like nerds?- Rose raises her eyebrows.- Really?- Her gaze goes over the girl.
-Come on, they're even cute in my opinion.
-Do you know the meaning of the word "nerd"?- Rose raises an eyebrow.- I just don't know you. And I probably don't like you either. What does it even matter?
-Well, actually, in case you haven't figured it out yet, we live in the same room, and communication is normal.
-Hey.- Park holds out her index finger.- You're weird. At first, you stare at me near the campus, showing with all your appearance that you are not happy, and then suddenly you decided to communicate with me.
-Oh, fuck, never mind.- Jennie clicks her tongue.- I'm lucky.
Rose decides to ignore it. She understands perfectly well what kind of gesture this girl didn't like. She pushed the suitcase, not being rude at all to offer to help, but angry that she couldn't solve the problem herself. But she was understood, as understood. She could have settled this misunderstanding somehow, but she was confused by the frank showdown from a girl she has known for only a couple of hours. It's weird that a stranger starts saying something like that.
The blonde decides to just keep quiet for now. Her roommate is clearly not one of those who gives a second chance. Something like, you can be rude to someone, and the person responds to you: "why are you angry?", or: "what is it? Did something happen?", yes, there are a lot of options for how to react to this. You give me a chance to explain, but Jennie obviously doesn't know how to do it. How can you start a second attempt at starting a dialogue with the phrase "it's already bothering me"?
Rose really wants to stop analyzing what is happening, but she cannot, because she is under a slight impression. She definitely won't try to change her mind about herself.
Jennie is a little sorry for being harsh. Maybe she was in a hurry. Maybe it's time to give people a chance. Especially now, when there is a risk of being completely alone and not being able to establish at least some kind of relationship with anyone. No matter how hard she tries, she still has some problems from her school days. And no further interaction with classmates was able to remove the residue that remained from the first two years in high school. Perhaps, in her subconscious, she expected that here she would also have to fight for herself. That no one would accept her. It would be worth giving a chance, and not attacking first.
Yes, this Rose is a little on her own mind, but people are different, and, as Rose herself noted, this is her usual behavior with strangers. Jennie is a stranger to her. Not everyone will be, like Jisoo, endearing. Kim thinks about this as she walks towards the dining room. There may be someone she can make friends with, but it would be worth having a backup option in the form of her roommate if there are no such people here. She is ready to think about how to try to start communicating with her again and be a little more tactful.
Kim looks at a brochure with a map of buildings and buildings and looks around. It seems to her that she is going in the right direction.
She will come to the dining room early and take a seat. She will take a table that is most likely already occupied by some company. She is determined to make herself known, not hide in corners. Although, of course, it would be safer to choose a table in the farthest corner of the dining room.