::
I locked myself in my room all through dinner and into the night, but as morning rolled around, I was forced out. My stomach was already upset enough I missed dinner, and I couldn't go another minute without at least a drink to satiate it. I just really didn't want to deal with Jungkook again. My apartment had never felt more suffocating. Even my first nightmare of a roommate, a literally clutter monster, didn't make me feel this way. At least, not this quickly.
I tiptoed out of my room and toward the kitchen, immediately greeted with the smell of the best coffee ever. Taehyung worked as a barista during the school months, and he could make anything I asked with the proper environment. If there was anything I missed more than my brother himself, it was his caramel macchiatos.
"Can I have some?" I asked from the kitchen, hoping Taehyung could hear me from wherever he sat.
"Only if you can tell me what's in it." He teased. I stepped out of the kitchen and leaned into the living room, spotting Taehyung on the larger couch against the wall. I sent him a look, and he just smiled. "Go ahead. I didn't plan to drink five cups today. At least," he puckered his lips and glanced at the clock, "Not at nine in the morning."
I turned around and walked back into the kitchen to grab my favorite mug. Just from the smell, I could tell that it was going to be amazing.
I moved back into the living room and sat next to Taehyung on the couch. I took a sip and smiled at the warm sensation rushing down my throat. He glanced at me from the corner of his eye before sighing and locking his phone.
"Do you only have one bathroom?"
I nodded as I felt a grimace rest on my face, "That's gonna be a problem."
"Yeah..." he nodded, "Kook's in the shower right now, just to warn you. I wouldn't want you walking in on him while he's getting out of the shower..."
I smacked Taehyung as he just smiled and laughed. "Thanks for the heads up. Though, the door does have a lock."
"I mean, yeah," he spoke as a glare started to form on his face, "Just don't forget to use it."
"I won't," I smiled as I knocked my shoulder into his, "I missed you, Tae... a lot."
He ruffled my messy hair before I could smack him away. "I've missed you, too, Ari. I'm sorry I wasn't exactly... honest about Jungkook. He's really not a bad guy, he's just hard to get to know."
"I don't plan on getting to know him, just so you know," I assured as I shifted into the couch, "I'd much rather spend some time with you. It's been a while since we've really hung out."
"True," he nodded before placing his mug on the coffee table in front of us, "We should go do something fun today, my treat."
My eyebrows creased as I started realizing that I couldn't do anything with him today.
"I've been off of work the past couple days to get ready for you guys to get here, so I actually have to work a long shift today."
"Oh," Taehyung frowned as I started to feel guilty, "I mean, we could always do something another time."
"How about tomorrow? I work early so we could go for dinner or something after I get off," I offered. "You could spend today looking for a fun part time job to have for this summer."
Taehyung rolled his eyes, but he knew it had to be done. These guys did still have a college tuition that they have to pay off eventually. And they both owe me money.
"Jungkook and I actually both have some job interviews for tomorrow. Not at the same place, but we're pretty excited." Taehyung informed as I raised my eyebrows.
"That was fast," I tilted my head to the side as my eyebrows lifted, "did you guys apply before coming home?"
Taehyung nodded and stretched his arms above his head before standing up from the couch. I stood up with him as he continued talking, "Yeah, we figured it would be best to apply a few days in advance."
I leaned forward in interest, "Where's your interview?"
Taehyung walked into the kitchen as I stood up to follow him. He placed his mug in the sink and rested his hands on the counter. "It's at the local coffee shop actually. You know, where I worked before starting college."
"Makes sense," I smiled and nodded, "So this is hardly an interview and more of a reunion."
Taehyung laughed and stood back up straight. "I guess so. I'm not sure if any of my old co-workers are still there, but the general manager is the same."
"So you can bring me home some free coffee for my troubles," I quipped, a hint of hopefulness in my voice.
"Not free. Discounted," he winked as I rolled my eyes.
"You already owe me. A free coffee is the least you could do."
We stopped our conversation short as I heard the door to the bathroom open up. I felt dread bubble in my stomach as Jungkook stepped out wearing a white tee and baggy sweatpants. His black hair fell into his eyes even with his attempts to move it out of his way. His gaze landed on the two of us as a questionable expression appeared. Our eyes locked before I could look away.
"What?" His eyebrows furrowed as I swallowed.
My face drained of color as I realized I was staring at him for an inappropriate amount of time. "Nothing," I kept my voice calm as I looked away. He scoffed and brushed past Tae and I to enter the kitchen. He pulled open the fridge and frowned at the contents inside.
"You don't have anything worth eating in here." He glanced back up at me in annoyance. "How do you survive?"
I slightly glared his way as I grabbed his shoulder and pushed him away from the fridge. It was bare bones, but there was stuff to eat. Maybe not traditional breakfast foods, but enough to survive.
"If you feel that way, go buy what you want as long as it fits," I shrugged him off as I moved away. An exasperated sigh infiltrated my ears, and I forced myself to ignore it. He'll just have to eat something he doesn't like for once in his life.
"Maybe I'll do that," he mumbled loud enough for me to hear at the end of the kitchen. "and then I'll throw the rest of this garbage away."
"Yeah, whatever," I brushed his petty comments off as I walked to the bathroom, "I'm going to get ready for work. Don't bother me please."
I closed the bathroom door behind me and turned to look at myself in the mirror, horrified to see my cheeks were flaming.
::
A couple days into the summer, and all Jungkook and I had done was bicker. He actually threw some of my perfectly good food in the trash while I was at work, and a few of his protein bars accidentally wound up in the toilet before he got in the shower. Days were starting to feel longer, more exhausting, and just the sight of Jungkook could throw my mood into the gutter.
Work was now my only reprieve from the chaos waiting at home. I never thought I would see the day where I would rather spend all my time cleaning theaters at the local cinema than tending to the mess the guys kept at home. My least favorite manager was on staff today, but even her wrath was more welcome than Jungkook's. She was even more of a clean freak than me, and the sight of even one popcorn kernel could send her spiraling some days.
"Hey Ari."
I snapped my attention to my right and spotted my coworker, Yoongi, walking out of the manager's office. I looked his way as he held up the schedule that we were supposed to follow for cleaning the theaters, "We only have three more to go, and then another hour and a half until 1 lets out again."
I was one of the fastest and most efficient cleaners out of all the employees, and Yoongi was one of the slowest. He could take a quick five minute clean up and turn it into ten, complaining about the music playing in between movie screenings. Though I had to agree, most of them were a torture to listen to. There was a reason they were playing during a time no one was inside the theater, besides a couple of captive employees.
"I could write better music than this in my sleep." he complained for the 100th time today. We'd walked in on the same horrible song at least three times in a row, and he was about to blow a gasket.
"The faster you clean, the less music we hear," I commented as he paused to glance at me across one of the top rows.
"Touche."
We quickly finished sweeping up the popcorn messes that were left behind, and as we finished and entered the main hallway, we ran into the manager. It was strange to see her leave the office, especially to hunt down cleaning crew. I was briefly worried that someone complained about our last theater. I wasn't in the mood for one of her lectures.
"Kim Ari," she spoke while looking down at the clipboard in her hands. She makes notes of almost everything we do, whether good or bad. What she does with these notes is beyond me. I've caught her writing down when all of us went to the bathroom, from the time we stepped in to the time we stepped out. It didn't matter if we were inside to clean or to simply use the bathrooms ourselves. I always found it... unsettling to say the least.
"Yes ma'am?" I finally responded as she glanced up from her clipboard.
"We have some new hires that start tomorrow on cleaning. I want you to train the both of them, so I'm switching your shift with Yoo Jaemi's."
I really didn't mind training new employees, especially on cleaning crew, and it was always exciting to get new workers. Though the quality of work among new hires was always... questionable.
"Okay," I nodded and the manager turned around to run off and bug someone else.
"Good luck," Yoongi mumbled with a teasing glint in his eyes. I poked him with the stick end of the broom in my hand and sent him a dirty look.
"Hey, if I can train you, I can train anyone." I sent him a smug smile as he just looked away and walked off without me.
"Whatever," he pulled out the schedule and looked at the number of our next theater, "Off to theater 10."
::
A/N: Yes, I used to work at a movie theater, and I've been itching to incorporate it into one of my stories for so long! Don't ask me why xD