"okay, if you're gonna stay here, we need to lay some ground rules."

soobin sat quietly with his hands neatly placed in his lap, as he watched yumi pace the small width of her living room.

as if a magic lightbulb went off in her head, yumi quickly ran down the hall, disappearing into her bedroom. she reappeared a mere 30 seconds later, a notepad and pen clutched tightly in her grasp. plopping down on the couch next to soobin, she quickly scribbled a title, then holding it up his face.

leaning back a bit so he could get a better look, soobin furrowed his eyebrows at the, somehow still, neat writing, "rules for cupid?" yumi nodded, beginning to jot down the first one with him reading over her shoulder, "absolutely NO eating your food? it's that serious?"

not even turning to look at the incredulous expression he had, yumi nodded, "food is my most prized possession. so if it says my name on it, don't eat it, okay?"

noting how serious she was, soobin nodded, "got it."

"number two: do not come into my room without knocking. ever. and last, but not least, you need to get a job. like, as soon as possible."

looking over the small set of rules, soobin gave her one last nod of approval, also shooting her a thumbs up. with a cheeky grin, he nudged her arm slightly, "don't worry, i'll be a great roommate!"

ignoring him, yumi checked her watch, which told her that it was fast approaching 9:30 pm. heaving a sigh as she stood up, yumi turned to soobin, "be up and ready by 8:00 am, okay? we're going job-searching."

➴➶➴

the girl turned to look at him through her short, black hair, an airy giggle, that was like music to his ears, escaping from her mouth.

"who are you?" she laughed that majestic laugh again, and turned away before soobin could get a good look at her face. "wait! don't go!"

"i'm not going anywhere, soobin." the sound of his name rolling off of her tongue like silk was just as euphoric as the giggle that followed suit. with a new-found confidence, he reached forward to intertwine his fingers with her own.

"say my name again," he looked at the back of her head, hoping he could hear that beautiful voice once more.

"soobin," slowly, her head began to turn toward him, as he felt his heart race in excitement. "soobin, soobin, soobin." each time she said his name, the moment she would reveal her identity came closer and closer. "soobin!"

"SOOBIN!" he shot up from the couch just as a pillow slapped him right in the face. "I told you to be ready by 8, and it's 7:45."

blinking a bit more, soobin looked at yumi, who stared back at him in obvious irritation. taking in her outfit, he shook his head a bit, all black? didn't the emo phase end in 2009?

rolling her eyes, yumi resumed getting her things together, "time is ticking," she warned, walking back down the hall towards her room again.

➴➶➴

by the time the two actually made it out of the apartment, it was well after 8 o'clock, and it was quite the understatement to say that yumi was annoyed.

not feeling the tension that was strong between the two, soobin went about his way with a wide grin on his face. "where are we going first?" he asked, adjusting the beret on top of his auburn-colored hair.

brushing the black strands from her face, yumi took the time to inspect the boy (who was actually much taller, now that she was walking beside him). with a grimace, she looked over his outfit; a long-sleeved white shirt, a pink sweater vest over it, coffee-colored jeans, and a pink beret on his fluffy hair to match the sweater.

"i'm just going to let you know right off the bat─ berets are so not in right now."

letting out a scoff, soobin stopped walking so he could stare down at her, "as if you would know! your entire wardrobe is literally the color black."

"hey, don't hate, okay? who's the one out here trying to make you seem like a normal, functioning person in today's society?"

sighing, soobin nodded, "fine. anyways, where first?"

"well i read that a new clothes boutique for men is opening up not too far from the apartment. i figured we could kill two birds with one stone by getting you a job there."

"wait, what do you mean?" soobin asked, looking down again at the black-haired girl who walked along without looking up at him once.

letting out a chuckle, yumi smiled in a sort of sarcastic way, "if you think you'll ever go out into public with me, looking like," she paused, turning to inspect his outfit again, "that, you've got something wrong with you."

"what's so bad about my outfit?" he whined, crossing his arms.

"everything. the sweater is outdated, the long-sleeve doesn't match the pants, and the beret is just— ugh."

"wow," soobin nodded as he feigned surprise, "i didn't know the blink-182 reject would know so much about fashion."

ignoring him, yumi halted her steps, turning around to look up at him. "the most important thing about getting a job in this field is likability. if the customers don't like you, then why would they hire you? you need to go in there and be as charismatic as possible. got it?"

"be likable, got it." soobin gave her a reassuring smile, pointing towards the shop they were stopped in front of, "is this it?"

yumi nodded, "yep. now, go in there and pray they at least give you a job stocking the clothes in the back."

➴➶➴

soobin didn't make his return for the next hour and a half. looking down at her wrist watch for what felt like the millionth time, yumi groaned to herself once again. "how long does it take to interview the guy—"

she was cut off by soobin walking out of the shop, while yelling behind himself, "no— thank you, mr. kim! i'll see you tomorrow, then!"

"what was that about?" yumi asked, gesturing to the odd interaction she had witnessed.

soobin grinned, beginning to explain his news with enthusiasm, just as yumi took a sip of the water bottle she had went and gotten while she was waiting, "i got a job! they said something about me wearing their clothes and walking down this long stage thingy, so people could take pictures of me."

coughing, yumi's eyes widened as she wiped the droplets of water that dribbled down her chin, "they want you to- to model?!"

"that's the word they used! but, yeah. they said that my face was something out of the heavens," he chuckled, nudging her arm, "ironic isn't it?"

"you can say that again." she looked up at him, tilting her head only slightly to get a better look. perhaps underneath that horror show of an outfit, soobin really was handsome. laughing to herself, yumi shook her head. no, those people are just crazy. as she thought about their situation a bit more, she wondered, am i really any different, though?

-

this chapter is lowkey kinda a filler???? lol