c h a p t e r   t w e l v e

I woke to the sound of my front door opening.

For a split moment, I was a good amount alarmed right before remembering that Yoongi was supposed to let himself inside whenever he was done with his work at the station. I glanced at the time on my nightstand, seeing the white figures illuminated in the dark as they read 3:52 a.m.

He was getting here at 3:52 in the morning?

Suddenly, the little progress I thought I had made was no progress at all in the bigger picture because it meant things at the station were far too serious for me to think I could actually help out. He'd still be getting only a few hours of sleep because I doubted he wouldn't clock in at the station all bright and early.

But then again, I argued with myself, I did what I could. At least he had a place nearby now.

Right?

I didn't get to think too much on it because it wasn't even a moment later that I slipped back into sleep.

Needless to say, he wasn't there in the morning.

The bed in his room was as perfectly made as it had been the night before and the only sign someone had been there was the toothbrush and toothpaste by the sink that I noticed when I went to check if there were enough towels in the bathroom.

And of course, the note on the bed.

Will be back at around eight with my stuff, it read. And then, scribbled below that was a somewhat sweet-sounding Thank you.

That made my lips turn up in a soft smile. So he could be sweet.

Wandering out of the room, I thought about what to do for the day. There weren't any classes for me until three today—I could go to campus. It'd been a while since I'd seen my friends and I had to admit, I missed Jinae as well. I doubted we'd get to spend much time doing nothing because she was studying, but that didn't matter. A quick meet up would suffice.

Strolling over to the kitchen, I opened the fridge to grab a quick bite before I left and just found myself staring at how empty it was inside.

Oh damn.

It looked like a Cafe-Breakfast Day for me today as well.

Which reminded me, did he have dinner? Last night when he came in at 3:53 a.m, would he have eaten anything? There was that coffee shop we'd grabbed drinks from on the way to the station, yes, but would he have gone there?

I felt ashamed for not have even thinking about it.

What kind of a host was I? Jesus, not a great one, that was for sure.

That's it. I'm cooking tonight, I decided with renewed purpose. I'd cook a nice meal, ask him if he was good with everything and if he needed anything.

Yep, I should definitely do that.

I bolted for my room to pull on a quick change of clothes—I'd grab a muffin and some coffee from the cafe and do some fast grocery shopping. And then, I'd go to campus and check if Jinae was free for a chat.

I had a whole lot to fill her in on.

I was late.

I'd planned to get home by at least six, and now it was seven thirty because I'd gotten caught up talking to some friends after my class was over.

And that sucked because I was definitely short on time now.

I made quick work of the noodles, done with boiling them and starting on the sauce. I'd decided on spaghetti—it was quick, easy and doable.

Or at least it was until the front door opened when I was elbows deep in a complete mess.

Oh crap.

Yoongi entered right then, a suitcase in hand and a laptop in the other, looking as beautiful as ever. Closing the door behind him with his leg, he paused only a few steps in when he saw me with my messy hair, alarmed eyes, apron slipping loose and sleeves rolled up like I was going to battle. Really, of all the times he could've arrived.

Oh, fuck it all, I was struggling.

"Hey," I piped up in the awkwardly stretching silence. "I know it's not the best way for me to welcome my new roommate, but a little help?"

He didn't blink as he put down his suitcase and laid his laptop on the table in the living room in front of him. "What do you need?"

Oh boy.

This guy, seriously.

I turned back to the stove. With one hand holding the pan stationary and the other doing the stirring, there was only so much that I could do while hurrying. "Can you do my apron for me while I look at the sauce? It keeps slipping open and it's really annoying."

Without any protest, he strode over the distance and came up behind me.

And I swear, my mind was not in the gutter. I was totally focusing on the spaghetti. Or at least I was, until he took both ends of the apron and wound them around my front, his arms effectively coming close around me.

I couldn't breathe.

Hell, he didn't even touch me as he tied the knot—keeping it loose-fitting but firm enough to not come apart—and I was already dysfunctioning.

As soon as he withdrew, I practically yelled at him, "Thank you!"

He blinked at the verbal onslaught and before he could recover, I went on immediately, "I was thinking we could have dinner? Like a Welcome The New Roommate dinner?"

He nodded warily as he stepped to the side. "Sounds good."

Alright, great. I could do this.

"Do you need any help?"

Oh man, I could not do this.

He was legitimately perfect.

I breathed deep, trying to focus and steady my thoughts since I really needed to stop being such an idiot. "How about you settle in and I'll let you know when I'm done?" I offered, partly to be gracious and partly because I needed to have him leave stat and get my head cleared.

He nodded again silently and went back to his stuff. Then I turned back to my sauce, eyes widening when I realized I'd somehow managed to burn it.

Everyone have a good day! :)