KIM YUN
"Bye house," I mutter into the empty space as I close the door to the apartment and lock it securely with my keys. I adjust the strap of my school bag and stuff the jingling keys into my pocket. The corridor, as usual, is still quiet. I look left and right at the multiple identical doors that are lined up perfectly, not a sound coming from any. You'd think no one lived here.
With a last look of distaste at the door in front of mine, I set off.
Out of habit, I count the usual twenty-three steps to the stairs and shake my legs lightly before descending the next 20 flights, making sure not to miss a count or break my pace. By the time I'm down, it's exactly 7:23 am.
On time.
My moment of satisfaction is cut short, however, when the elevator bell dings. Not even needing to look, I know exactly what that means and like every other morning, it makes me rush out the building.
Without one look behind, I put on my earphones and resume my daily routine.
I descend the stairs to the subway and allow muscle memory to take me to where I need to be. At exactly 7:30, the train arrives the same time I get off the escalator. I enter the closest carriage and take the seat closest to the door. I wait patiently as the train allows a few more passengers to board before leaving the terminal station.
As the train moves and stops through stations, the seats begin to fill up. At the 5th station, there are no more empty seats and those that enter from there on are left to stand.
The 7th stop is finally announced on the intercom and I slowly get up and weave through the people, apologizing and excusing myself as I pass through. Once the train stops and the doors opens, I step out the train, along with many other students wearing my school uniform.
I adjust my earphones into a more secure position and continue moving.
The closer I get to the school the more my feet start to drag themselves. When I reach the entrance, there's only 5 minutes till class starts and almost all students are in campus already. I stop outside the large gates and eye the school while my stomach churns.
I hesitate. The feeling of dread I have now gotten used to occupies my head and I have a strong sense of urgency that tells me to go home. Not even the freezing air of late-January is enough to make me think about entering the heater-equipped buildings.
"Hey, you! Female student!" A voice barks. I slowly turn to the guard house where a man in uniform motions for me to hurry in with a scowl on his face. Whether or not his face just looks like that or he's upset with me, I couldn't care less.
I bow politely with a small apology and force myself to go through the gates. As soon as I've set foot inside, the gates behind me close and I stare longingly through the grills one last time before the school bell brings me back to reality.
I ball my fists in the insides of the pockets of the large hoodie I wear and finally finish the trip to my classroom.
"It's a new year and you were almost late. Again," my seat mate, Choi Beomgyu says when our mid-morning break arrives. After my lack of response he sighs and closes the textbook I am pretending to be focused on. "I'm talking to you."
I don't reply and instead take out another textbook and do the same. Unsurprisingly, this doesn't stop him.
"Kim Yun," he says seriously.
I clench my jaw. "I'm trying to study." He groans and starts stomping on the ground like a baby. We get a few strange looks and I slap his arm. "Beom can you stop it! People are looking."
He winks. "Of course they're looking. It's me."
I roll my eyes but my mouth gives in and cracks a smile. He raises his arms in triumph like a child and I shake my head in amusement.
I've always hated meeting new people. It stresses me out. I had a secure and, for me, a sufficient group of friends throughout my school life. But when I got to high school we went different ways and I ended up having no one to hang out with because of how shy I am and how unsociable I come off to others.
To my prior dislike, Choi Beomgyu transferred to our school halfway through the first semester of our freshman year and I was forced to have a seat mate. He was extremely talkative and didn't mind that I was constantly ignoring him. He was persistent and never stopped trying to befriend me. It took a couple of months but by the end of the semester, I got comfortable with him. And just like the majority of students in our batch, he is a year older than me.
"So will you tell me why you're late?" he presses on.
I shake my head and go back to my book. "No."
"Yun–" luckily for me, the bell cuts him off and he's forced to end the conversation. I smile cheekily for the perfect timing and he sends me an eye roll.
As the day progresses, I look more frequently at the clock hung above the door. With every passing minute, my stomach lurches and I feel more and more sick.
Beomgyu notices this and nudges me with his elbow. "You're all pale again. Are you sure you drink enough water? Didn't you say you were going to see a doctor over break?" he whispers.
I smile weakly. "Just a little stomachache. I'll go see the nurse after class."
His eyes of concern bear into mine and I look away, afraid he'll start suspecting something.
Unfortunately, he doesn't.
"Okay. But tomorrow I want to see a water bottle. At least 500ml."
"I'm not dehydrated okay? I–"
"Yes Ms. Kim and Mr. Choi!" Our English teacher booms from the front. The whole class turns and I shrink at the attention. "Is there something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?"
I lower my head in embarrassment and shake it and the teacher proceeds with the lesson.
My eyes glance at the clock. It's almost dismissal.
I clench my jaw to stop my teeth from chattering so much and hide my shaking hands in my pockets.
I eye the clock again. 3:45. For others, it may mean 45 more minutes to freedom, but for me it's 45 minutes to hell.
I stand outside the large wooden door and gulp nervously. My throat runs dry and my eyes already begin to water. My breathing turns shallow and I'm afraid my palpitating heart might burst out of my chest.
I think about running away, something I always consider when I come here. But I stay rooted, just as I do every time.
To my horror, the door is opened and the voice that comes from inside is enough to make my skin crawl.
In spite of the screaming inside of me that tells me to leave, I obey the voice and walk in.
I barely remember my trip home as it all comes automatically. I only properly regain my senses when I get to the top of the stairs and bump into a tall figure.
I gasp as the weight of my bag causes my body to lean backward, but a pair of strong hands grab me before I can go tumbling down.
Once I see who it is I bow deeply in apology. "Sorry! I wasn't paying attention..."
He smiles, sending his eyes into crescents. "Yun, you should be more careful. If I wasn't fast enough, you could've fallen down."
I rub my neck with an awkward laugh. "Yeah...I'm sorry."
"It's okay. Just be careful next time." He checks his watch and looks back at me. "It's almost 7, did you just come home from school?"
I nod. "I have tutorials after class."
"Oh, I see." He's about to start walking away, but stops and frowns. "Is there something wrong with the elevator? Why are you taking the stairs?"
My reply comes naturally, having being asked this dozens of times by my other neighbours. "Oh no, I always use the stairs. It's my form of exercise."
He looks impressed. "As expected of my favourite 3rd-dan. Always diligent with physical fitness." He ruffles my hair and finally starts to move.
I smile sheepishly at the compliment and bow one more time as he enters the elevator. When the doors close i let my shoulders sag and push myself to get home.
I pass his door first, 1010. Park Jimin and his friend Jeon Jungkook moved here from Busan back in 2015. They both have jobs in the legal field and are also Taekwondo instructors in the academy I attend with my friend, Lee Jeno. The two were the last of the hall to move in.
Parallel to theirs, and to my left as I pass is 1009. Here lives Dr. Min Yoongi, a psychoanalyst from Daegu. He moved in in 2013. A year later Jung Hoseok from Gwangju who manages the pharmacy across the building started living with him.
1008, one of the 3 Lee families of the hall. Mr. and Mrs. Lee moved in with their 2 sons in 2004. Their eldest son, Lee Taeyong, moved out for college in 2014 and their youngest, Mark Lee, followed just last year. I personally took this badly–probably because of the fact that he was my childhood crush. Things are all good now, though. He's dating my cousin.
In front of this, 1007, the second Lee family moved in 2007. This family has a girl and a boy. Lee Sohye, a university student, and high school senior Lee Jeno. Jeno and I started Taekwondo together when I was only 3 and he was 5. Our parents met because of that and mine persuaded his to move in.
I ignore the door in front of my apartment and take out the keys to
mine. 1005. My parents moved here when the building was only a year old, that was 1994. They had a two year old son, my mom was pregnant with a second, and a year after that, they got their 3rd boy. I was their unexpected child. My mom was pregnant with me at the age of 47, so they called me a miracle child.
Unfortunately they passed away 5 years ago, when I was 10. Car accident.
When I notice that my door is already unbolted, I sigh. I press in the passcode and after hearing the click, open the door to an expected mess.
Sat on the floor with their bags overflowing with papers and books on the coffee table are 4 boys. Well, 3 boys and an arse.
Sitting on the end that allows me him see me first is Zhong Chenle. He waves with a sweet smile but only briefly before concentrating on his studying. He's from 1001, which is at the end of the hallway. He's Chinese and moved in 2006 with his mom. He's a year older than me.
The boy on his left leans back on the couch behind him to see me clearly and gives me a peace sign as a greeting. Park Jisung, the only one in the hall who is my age, lives in apartment 1002. He, his parents, and older brother moved in 2005.
The boy next to him pinches him to get him focused before waving without even looking at me. Lee Jeno.
I ignore the one whose back is to me and walk to my room. I roll my eyes at the group. "You know this isn't a study room. And who let you in?" Chenle points to where I'm headed and I groan when I open the door.
Sprawled on my bed and taking up all the space are two other boys, and the last of my group of friends.
"Hey Kim, what's up," says the one reading a comic book upside down. Lee Donghyuck of 1003. He's Mark's cousin and the only child of the last Lee family of the hall. He and his parents moved in 2003. He has a younger sister now and his mom works abroad, leaving 3 in their house.
The boy next to him seems to be asleep. Huang Renjun, the other Chinese boy. Moved in on June of 2003, into apartment 1004. His parents divorced a year prior to their move and he lives with his mom and stepdad.
I toss my bag on the floor next to the table right next to the door. "My brothers gave your PARENTS keys for emergencies, not so you guys can break into my house when I'm not here," I complain while closing the door. I take off my hoodie and hang it one of the hooks behind my door and remove my shorts and tshirt that hang. I head into the bathroom. "And aren't you guys seniors? Why is it like Chenle and Jisung study harder than you?"
"If you were home earlier we would knock. And besides, I'm done with everything I need to do. Just because you don't see my efforts doesn't mean I don't put any," he says through the crack in the door.
I laugh humorlessly while unbuttoning my uniform. "I see you all the time. I think I'd know if you work hard." Once my shirt is off I steal a brief glance at the mirror and hurriedly put on my shirt. I finish changing, pick up my discarded clothes, and exit the bathroom. I toss them at the sleeping boy and he squirms in his sleep.
"Well consider this your payment for using all our clothes," he points at the large white shirt I wear that belongs to Jisung. "And for always eating our food."
I scoff. "It's your fault for forgetting your clothes here. Besides, you never take them back. It's not like I hide them from you guys." I walk over to my desk and open my laptop to start doing my homework. "And the food is for survival. It doesn't count."
"Well when we try to take them back you start whining. Admit it. We have better fashion than you do," Donghyuck counters.
Renjun mumbles something incoherent beside him. Donghyuck takes the clothes I threw on him and shoves it harshly into his face. He wakes up with a frown and throws the clothing at Haechan's face this time.
With a sigh I take the glasses that sit on the edge of my desk and fit them on. "Just try not to destroy my home please," I tell them before turning back to the device before me and start writing some essays, secretly comforted by the company.