Roommates
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min.
I flinched when I heard the off tune shriek at the other end of the field. My eyes winced to get a better look at who it is, and it turned out to be Jisol. I felt bad for ignoring her calls throughout my break since I minimized all contact with my friends from school.
The only bridge of communication from me to everyone else is probably through Seungyoun.
I waved my hand at her excitedly, feeling the rage I had earlier on dissipate as though it was nothing, surprising myself as well. That added on to my delight, to know that I was finally able to move on. It's a blessing to know that my body is starting to go into this phase of acceptance.
Jisol sprints towards me across the field, the fastest I have ever seen her since all she does during our trainings is speed walk. I spot Hangyul beside her as well and my smile only grew wider. Oh how I have missed my friends dearly.
I almost tumble backwards from the impact of Jisol's sprint when she crashed into my arms and when she pulled me into a hug, my body doesn't react in a way that it did for the past few weeks.
"I haven't seen you in forever!!" Jisol squealed excitedly after she pulled away to look at my face. The overwhelming feeling of reuniting with my friends almost brought me tears again but I didn't want to cry to this happy occasion.
"Are you officially coming back to school?"
Nodding my head, I begin to think about going home to give Eunsang a great big hug before packing my bags and coming back to Seoul, moving into the female dorms and resuming my rhythm gymnastics training.
The whole process of training and preparing for upcoming events and competitions felt exhilarating, and I can't wait to have that feeling back in my chest.
Hangyul gave me a fist bump when he came close enough. Hearing bits and pieces of news from Seungyoun, I knew that Hangyul had been spending more time with Yohan throughout the past weeks that I've been gone.
To know that my friends had waited for my come back and prayed for my recovery reminds me how beautiful this friendship is, and I am so ever grateful and beyond elated to have met them.
I feel an arm snaking around my waist and tugging me away from Jisol. "How was it?" When I saw the concern in his eyes, I immediately reassured him that I was okay by holding his face and placing a chaste kiss on his lips, with my lips lingering on his for a short moment, I was able to feel him smiling through it, making my heart flutter once more.
"I got an apology from Jaekwon and the settlement money. But you know what was the best takeaway from seeing him? I'm no longer afraid."
Yohan gave me the proudest look ever as he caressed my head gently, knowing that we have finally passed this phase, hand in hand just like how I wanted.
"Anyway, the student union are starting to open registrations for the new year masquerade party this Saturday. Min why don't you come as a celebration for your return to school?" Hangyul intervened the romantic moment and I had momentarily forgotten that Yohan and I weren't alone.
Crap I have to stop thinking that we're in our own world.
A masquerade party? I immediately frowned and sighed.
"Its okay you don't have to come if you feel very stressed about that." Jisol quickly assured me, not wanting the happy reunion to die down so quickly.
I coursed my fingers through my hair before scrunching my nose. "Its not that i'm stressed..." I paused, not knowing whether to say it or not.
Side glancing at them, I chuckle in embarrassment. "Its just that I don't have a dress..."
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When I saw the grand store that Yohan was pushing me into, my feet tried its best to push against the floor to back myself out. I knew I shouldn't have said that I didn't have a dress. My subconscious clearly wanted to go for that party.
"Yohan this place is definitely too expensive-" my breath hitched when my eyes caught sight of a matte silk maroon dress at the end of the store. Oh crap that is such a gorgeous dress. No Min, resist temptation. I gulped before turning out of Yohan's hands.
Just as I was about to step out of the store, Yohan trapped me between his arms and the wall, making me conscious with our surroundings. "What are you doing?!" I screamed whisper.
"Baby if you aren't going to choose a dress I'm going to have to kiss you right here." He threatened, knowing full well that I am totally embarrassed with our position in a public place. The weird judgemental glances the workers and some customers shot at me made it utterly uncomfortable.
"Fine." I huffed in defeat.
Yohan lets me go with a satisfied grin before turning my shoulders and softly pushing me to the dress that had caught my attention earlier on. "You like this dress don't you?" he asked with a smirk.
"You mean you saw that two second stare I had with the dress?" There was no way he could read my mind unless-
He didn't hesitate but to nod adorably.
"You pay way too much attention to me." Deep down I was beyond elated. Who wouldn't be happy with a boyfriend that notices every single detail?
This makes me feel like a bad girlfriend.
I grabbed the price tag at the back of the dress and glanced at it, only to gasp in astonishment. Judging from the looks of the dress, I knew it was going to be expensive, but not this expensive. Nudging Yohan, I pushed the price tag towards him and he, too, got flabbergasted for a moment.
"Its expensive yeah, but I'll buy you anything in the world if I can." He mumbled without any thought, making me put a hand to my mouth in cringe.
The workers that overheard our conversation had a smuggish smile on their faces, their eyes looked at me as if I was the luckiest girl on the planet.
"And i'm going to buy you even more things if I ever get into the national team. The payout is incredible." Yohan comes closer to whisper, as if unknown to the fact that i'm already taken aback by how generous and willing he is to spend on me rather than himself.
God I don't deserve him.
His hands immediately took the dress off the rack and passed it to the worker and before I knew it, I was escorted into a big fitting room.
I never knew this day would come, where I am being treated like a princess, like someone with high status judging from my rather poor financial background. I never really spent much on clothes and if I ever do shop for clothes, it would just be at a flea market where everything is dirt cheap.
But I do consider myself fortunate since I was able to follow my dream of being a rhythm gymnast even though its a rather expensive sport.
Once I got the dress on me, I got even more starstruck by the little details on embroidery and how everything just pulls together on the fabric. Tilting my head, I tried to imagine how it would be if I was a tad bit taller.
The aesthetics would shine more, of course.
The insecure thoughts didn't reach me on time though, because it vanished the moment I appeared in front of Yohan. He stares at me, eyes wide, clearly stunned as though he has never seen anything like this before.
"Man if I already feel over the moon just dressing you up for a party, I think my heart will explode when you try on a wedding dress for our wedding."
The heat immediately rushed to my cheeks before I covered my face in embarrassment. There was no denying that what we had said made me feel good, and it warms me so much to know that he wants to marry me in the future, just as much as I do.
After I changed back out, the workers had brought the shoes that came as a set with the dress and Yohan quickly paid for it before I could even say anything. I bit my cheeks when my eyes lingered over the number that appeared on the counter.
I feel so bad.
Yohan seemed to sense that and immediately asked what was wrong. The word of denial was at the tip of my tongue when I remember that we are at this point of our relationship where communication is key. And I never want to lose him over misunderstandings again.
"I just feel very burdened that you spent so much on me. First it was the ring, now this. And I can't afford to do the same." I admitted while looking down at the bag.
He pushed my chin up with his fingers so that I'm looking right into his big eyes where I see a reflection of myself.
"Don't feel bad. I don't need you to spend on me, you just being by my side is more than enough. When that incident happened and I had to be away from you for weeks with absolutely no contact, I was dying inside everyday. I wanted to do so many things with you but I was afraid that you wouldn't come back to me. So don't be burdened alright? I want to do all this. I don't want any regrets in our relationship."
They say when you are able to see yourself in the reflection of someone's gaze, it means that they are so into you. And with what Yohan had said to me, there will never be a doubt that he loves me, and that only makes me fall for him each time as if its the first time.
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"You have a date to the party?" My roommate chirped.
A smile made its way to my lips when I think about Yohan. He's downstairs waiting for me and I can't keep my excitement in seeing him in a suit.
"Yup."
"Cool. Don't forget your purse though." She reminded and I briefly thanked her before grabbing my purse off the table and heading out of the door.
My new roommate is a quirky lively person, which was why I was confused when she wasn't going to the party. Although she is full korean, she only lived in Seoul for the first 7 years of her life before going abroad to blossom her ice skating career. Hence, she has more of a westernized culture and a slight English accent whenever she speaks Korean.
Nonetheless, she seems to be a nice person to be around, so I'm glad.
Yohan was right in front of the entrance of the dorms when I came out, along with some other guys that were waiting for their respective girlfriends.
He looks gorgeous. My heart pumps quicker than usual. Maybe its just me, but Yohan is literally glowing. I could tell that he went to a salon to do his hair because it was nicely styled upwards and had streaks of violet highlights.
Even though he was dressed in a normal tuxedo that almost every other guy was wearing, my attention was fixated only on him and I couldn't help but to walk proudly towards my man when I see other girls dropping their jaws to his visuals.
He doesn't take notice on the other girls staring at him but glances at me from head to toe. "You look beautiful, as always." I know I may not be the most good looking girl in school, or the department even.
Heck I think Jisol is even prettier than me, but no doubt I felt assured that I am the most beautiful person in his eyes.
I never felt inferior when I'm with Yohan, not even for a second.
Yohan's dad had sent a car to bring us over to the party and even provided us with a simple sleek black mask for the masquerade theme.
The venue of the party was a huge mansion that was sponsored by the principal of the school. It looked something out of a movie and I am in utter awe that i'm able to experience this first hand.
When we alighted from the car, Yohan had jogged to my side to provide his arm in the most gentlemen manner. "Milady, shall we?" Since the mask only covered half his face, I could see his cheeky smile when he said that.
I grabbed his arm without a word and we went into the grand mansion, a big crowd of people with masks greets us after the doors.
We met up with Hangyul and Jisol in no time with the help of a phone call and while we were on the way to the bar, I saw a familiar tall figure. When he smiled with his one sided dimple showing, I knew it was Seungwoo.
"Yohan do you mind if I have a little talk with Seungwoo?" I asked him to make sure he was okay with it. I don't want any unnecessary argument or unhappiness at this point of time.
"Babe you don't have to ask me alright? I trust you." Yohan said loudly through the music.
I nodded and parted with him for a moment to catch up with Seungwoo. As I came in front of the tall man, I waved my hand excitedly in front of him and I could see his eyes widen behind the mask.
"Min!!! What are you doing here- I mean, how did you get here? How are you!!" He blurted out a long string of words in astonishment, totally not expecting to see me here.
"I took a break from school after the incident, and now I'm back, good as new."
"Oh my god I'm so glad you're okay now. Are you...and Yohan...okay?" Seungwoo asked slowly, wanting to carefully piece his words together.
"We're okay." I smiled before pointing towards Yohan who was only a little further away from me. Seungwoo gave me a pat on my shoulder and we decided to catch up some other time after his graduation ceremony.
Everyone was simply sipping on their beverages and just having a nice time jamming to the music. Then came a small segment where couples could come forward to have a slow ballroom dance.
You have no idea how shocked I was when Yohan pulled me forward to the dance floor. "Yohan I don't know how to dance this!!" Never in my life had I attended such a grand event let alone do ballroom dancing.
"Its okay. Just follow my legs." He shot me a lopsided smile before placing his hand gently on my waist and the other interlocked with my fingers. We were the first couple to step up and with everybody's gaze on us, I felt incredibly nervous.
I tried my best to follow his steps but I kept on accidentally stepping on his foot, or mismatching his steps, making our dance look awkward, but even then, he never said a word. Heck he even looks like he is having fun.
"Babe, step on my shoes." Yohan mumbled in my ears. We paused our dance for a moment and I carefully stepped on both his feet with my upper sole, gradually placing my entire body weight on them.
Yohan then began to take baby steps with my feet on top of his, and even though he struggled at first due to the sudden increase in weight, my steps were gracefully being guided by him and before we knew it, we were waltzing flawlessly.
The audience were whistling and cheering for us before more couples started to take the courage to come up onto the dance floor to dance.
I was simply enjoying the moment, wanting it engraved in my mind. I stared up into Yohan's beautiful eyes and we smiled in pure bliss.
"You're doing great, love." He mouthed.
Honestly, saying that I am on cloud nine is an understatement in this beautiful moment.
The party came to an end two hours later with the best dressed lady and man called onto stage. Which happened to be Yohan and Jisol. It was pretty funny how some guys that wore more fancy looking tuxedos lost to Yohan who was dressed in a mainstream one.
They all figured that it was the best face rather than the best dressed.
Jisol on the other hand looked absolutely ethereal. She had thicker make up and her hair was half tied and curled towards the end. She had a black maxi dress covering every curve of her body and see through chiffon sleeves that reached her wrist.
The moment Jisol came down the stage, she handed the bouquet to me. "This belongs to you and Yohan. The best couple of the century." There was something in her tone that gave me the ultimate closure to that stubborn screw in our friendship ever since that time when we had feelings for the same person.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date." Jisol said it as though it was a secret, but her smirk gave it away.
All three of us looked at her as though she grew two heads.
"A date?! You????" Hangyul pointed at her mockingly and I slap his hand away.
"That's me." No way. The only person that owned a high pitch voice like that was my bestfriend. I slowly turned towards the owner of that voice and almost choked onto my saliva when I saw Cho Seungyoun.
What in the world happened while I was gone?
But before I could question any further, Jisol deadass ran away in her heels with Seungyoun. Not only that, their hands were interlocked tightly and they disappeared out of the mansion's door.
That knuckle head better tell me everything.
"I guess its my cue to leave..." Hangyul sang before turning on his heels.
"You don't need to leave!" Yohan blurted out on impulse. The latter stared at my boyfriend dead in the eye before glancing at me.
"Are you sure you don't want me to leave?" He deadpans.
After a few silent seconds of staring at each other, Yohan turned Hangyul around and pushed him towards the door. "Alright leave."
I couldn't help but snort at their comical friendship. There was no denying that they had grown so much closer, from Yohan finding Hangyul so irritating for joining their lunch sessions, to sparing unnecessarily. They are quite the pact.
We wander off to the garden that was behind the mansion since the night was still young. Being away from the crowd and loud music feels nice even though its literally freezing.
Yohan takes off his jacket without any hesitation and puts it over my shoulder even when I didn't say anything about the cold. This makes me reflect on how afraid I am to lose him.
I don't think I'd be able to find a man that loves me as much as Yohan does.
We sat down side by side on a flat stone and observed the faint shining stars in the night sky. I could feel him looking at me before pushing my hair behind my ears.
"Did you have fun today princess?" he asked with a tired smile.
"Of course. You always make me feel as though i'm on the top of the world." I couldn't help but say that one thing on my mind. From the moment Yohan had visited me in my humble home to this party, every moment was captured in my mental camera and I don't think I will ever forget them.
"Well, what can I say? I'm crazily in love with you." I'm pretty sure my cheeks pinked to his words once again. Yohan sure has a smooth way of talking, even my mother had told me that he is such a charmer.
"I am insanely in love with you." I challenged and he giggled while shaking his head to my childishness.
I continued to look at the stars but I could see him fumble around from the corner of my eyes. He puts his fist in my sight, blocking my view.
"I believe this is yours?" The moment he opened his hand, a necklace chain dropped down, with a familiar band dangling on the end.
Honestly, having Yohan by my side 24/7 made me forget everything about the ring, even though I thoughtlessly cried over it like a little child the other day.
Before, it was merely a simple promise ring. However, after the incident, the meaning of our ring had changed so much in my perspective.
I'd say that the ring symbolizes our strong love for each other as we venture out into the harsh world as young adults.
Yohan unhooked the ends of the necklace and pulled the ring out, my eyes never leaving his hands as he grabs onto mine and swiftly slips the ring on.
"There. Right where it belongs." He places his hand on mine where our rings were visibly side by side, as if we were proudly showing the stars the moment we want to remember.
Yohan leans in to kiss me, as a way to conclude our day today. His lips move slowly over mine as he tilts his head to deepen the kiss. His hand shifts to the small of my back and pushes me slightly closer to him.
Its almost as though he is breathing life into me even though we always leave each other's lips, panting for air, ironically.
Roommates.
That's how we started as and we ended that term to embark on a whole new journey in our relationship. The ups and downs I had been through with Yohan were painstakingly impactful, and that allowed ourselves to grow.
I would never change how we met, because then I wouldn't have met this lovely man. Heck I wouldn't even know what love is.
Love, its the most wonderful thing in the world.
I think I probably have chanted this in my head like a mantra, but I am too shy to say it to Yohan as much as I do innerly.
I love him-
"Babe, stop thinking so much." Yohan whispers so close that I could feel his hot breath against my skin.
We kiss again under the stars, my hand was placed against his chest and I could feel his heart rapidly beating exactly like mine. We smiled through the kiss, our hearts was filled with pure bliss and this moment felt like ecstasy.
Well you know what they say, a kiss a day keeps the doctors away.
[ END ]
And that is the end of Roommates! Thank you everyone for sticking through with me as I embarked on the journey of my story for the past 3 months! The support that everyone gave me was honestly the thing that pushed me forward and inspired me to create such a story.
Man this is my first completed story after 5 years!!
Im glad my passion and love as a fan of X1 paid off even though they aren't together anymore. I believe they will come back one day in the near future!
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed Min and Yohan's love story. Sometimes there isn't any reason for love to happen, it just happens at some point of time in life. Many obstacles are bound to block your path from a happy life so I hope everyone finds the strength and courage to jump over them just like how my characters did.
It won't be easy, because that's what life is, isn't it?
Enough with the life advices, since this book is literally my child, I actually have an epilogue planned out to give this book an ultimate closure. Though it would not be anytime so soon since my school work is piling up
But!!
I promise you guys, an epilogue, and maybe a QNA chapter for our lovely characters and some other TMI stuff if I feel like it. I'm going to miss writing this book.
Sayonaraz guys, till we meet at the epilogue!!