＋　hahaerome sharehouse

@na hani. being back in university was surely going to take some time. before all the partying, the drinking, and the drugs, rome loved attending class. he once found comfort in the predictable structure of his busy schedule—swim practice at 6 a.m., classes start at 8, work, then swim again until 5 pm. at the end of all of it, he would go and visit his girlfriend until she kicked him out, if she did.

now, normal life seemed too alien. the whispers from time to time about him in the hall shouldn't bother him, he knew that would happen, but they still did. the classrooms, the unfamiliar faces on campus, his new job at the beachfront cafe: all of it didn't feel real. he couldn't help but notice how detached he remained from his reality, allowing the days to pass, numb as if he just lived through a day that wasn't actually his.

rome lived in the share house like a ghost, rarely crossing paths with the two girls. most of his free time was spent in his room, playing his guitar with the door shut and allowing soot to become familiar with him again. every once in a while, he would catch hani out cold on the couch. of course, he'd drape a blanket over her body, hoping that she was under the assumption that it had been haera's doing. in the darkness of his room, he would idly watch the shadows of his housemates' footsteps under the crack of his door. what was he so afraid of?

despite the loneliness, the notes hani would leave around the house never failed to bring a smile to his face. after finishing classes, he was greeted by a figurine of spider-man—his favorite superhero—that had not been on his shelf this morning.

'sᴀᴛᴀɴɢ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴛʜɪs :ᴘ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡʜᴀʟᴇ ғᴇsᴛɪᴠᴀʟ?' hani's handwriting was clear and bold, just like her personality.

"that girl." he softly laughed to himself at the surprise as he took the plastic toy to inspect it with squinted, yet fond eyes. she remembered— unlike himself, who cannot seem to remember where he put his glasses almost three years ago. rome was long due for a new pair, but he couldn't let go of the possibility of his old ones turning up somewhere. clumsily knocking over the plastic cup used as a pencil holder, he cussed under his breath before grabbing a black pen from the floor to jot on a pale green sticky note.

'ɪ ɢᴜᴇꜱꜱ ɪ'ʟʟ ꜰᴏʀɢɪᴠᴇ ꜱᴀᴛᴀɴɢ ꜰᴏʀ ᴘᴇᴇɪɴɢ ᴏɴ ᴍʏ ʙᴇᴅ /ᐠ - ˕ -マ
ᴘʀᴏʙ ɴᴏᴛ, ɢᴏᴛ ᴛᴏɴꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴡᴏʀᴋ ᴛᴏ ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜ ᴜᴘ ᴏɴ.
ʏᴏᴜ?
ᴀʟꜱᴏ ɪ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ᴛᴏᴏ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴘᴀꜱᴛᴀ ᴛᴏᴅᴀʏ. ɪᴛ'ꜱ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰʀɪᴅɢᴇ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ɪᴛ.
ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ꜱᴋɪᴘ ᴅɪɴɴᴇʀ >:|'

before pressing the note to the inside of their medicine cabinet, he stops to cringe at his poorly drawn rendition of her cat. a part of him greedily wished that she would ask him to go to the festival with him nonetheless, but rome knew he was already getting ahead of himself.

@rome lee. the weekend that follows rome's big move-in, hani's enveloped in the arms of her boyfriend as he picks her up for an evening dinner at her parents' place. he opens the passenger door for her, adjusts the temperature so she'd stay warm, and remembers to kiss her cheek before they take off.

it feels perfect.

and that isn't where it stops. without fail, he makes her father smile and compliments her mother, reminds hani to roll the sleeves of her top to avoid staining it, and volunteers to do dishes. and of course, she couldn't allow him to complete the chores alone—that's how hani finds herself drying dishes on the side as her boyfriend washes them skillfully. but in the midst of this, one could easily tell that her mind lays elsewhere, even if her gaze remains concentrated on her mother's fine plates.

"so, the other day, you barely messaged me back," he says, head angling down a tad to capture her line of sight. "busy day?"

hani blinks, uttering a small 'what?', before his words register to her. "oh ... yeah, busy day."

he seems unconvinced, expecting for her to continue, but when she doesn't, he frowns. he truly doesn't mean to pry, but one thing he's learned about hani is that when she softly bites on her lower lip and begins to tap her foot, there's something that plagues her mind, something that she wants to say, but hesitates far too much. under usual circumstances, he'd hold her in his embrace, but since he's in the middle of soaping the utensils, he instead clicks his tongue to the roof of his mouth to garner her attention.

"tell me about it? all the details, nothing left behind."

hani can't help the smile that curls her lips from his obnoxious cheeriness, but she also briefly contemplates on telling him the truth. it's not as if he's completely unaware of her past relationship, but would he be disappointed in her if she told him she was with rome?

resting the plate on the dish rack, hani takes in a short breath and avoids his eyes. "um, well, i didn't tell you about this, but my ex's relative called me some time ago to ask if i'd pick him up when he gets released from rehab, and i don't know, i couldn't say no," she could already tell from his evident confusion that she messed up, or that he couldn't understand how she could do her ex-boyfriend such a huge favor. so, almost defensively, she's quick to follow up with—"but i wasn't with him the entire day, i just picked him up." a lie.

his frown smooths into an expression of relief, letting out a small chuckle. "well, don't worry me like that. i thought your work kept you past your shift again," when he finishes the last of the dishes, he dries his hands upon a clean cloth and pats her head, before pulling her in a side hug. "you could've asked me to come with, i don't mind. but, as long as you were alright with seeing him, then that's good."

"no—i think that it was something i needed," she says, appreciating his affection. to reassure him, she glances up and flashes him a small smile. "but thank you, i'll keep that in mind for something more scary, like my doctor's appointment next month. you can hold my hand."

it's times like this where hani believes that life is alright, that there is nothing more she could do that could make her happier. no, she no longer craved that wildness and uncertainty that used to haunt her. she prefers this—warmth and comfortability.

【 ᴛᴡᴏ ᴡᴇᴇᴋs ʟᴀᴛᴇʀ 】

hani's big on maintaining a routine, especially for a schedule as hectic as hers. and for the past year, it's been practically the same every week.

but somehow, the couple of weeks that rome's occupied the vacant room in their sharehouse, he's accomplished to disrupt her routinely schedule.

most days, she doesn't have time to prepare an actual breakfast before she's out the door, but on rome's first morning, she was pleasantly surprised by the sweet aroma of pancakes. and ever since soot and satang's automatic feeder malfunctioned, she's been worried if they're eating enough while she's gone, but when she was afforded some time in between her classes, she noticed that their bowls were generously filled.

and now, about thirty minutes late to her shower break, she carefully writes upon a stack of pink sticky notes, 'sᴀᴛᴀɴɢ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴛʜɪs :ᴘ'. tearing the sticky note from its pack, she softly presses it on his shelf and places a miniature stand of spiderman right beside it. she hopes he's still his favorite marvel character. and if he'd ask if she went out of her way to get him this gift, she'd play it off coolly and say no—but in her defense, his bedroom looked too barren.

next to the smiley waves that occupy the bottom half of the note, she decides to fit in, 'ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡʜᴀʟᴇ ғᴇsᴛɪᴠᴀʟ?'

@na hani. hani's laidback demeanor put rome in a slight uneasiness. convincing your sister to allow your drug addict ex-boyfriend to live with them sounded like an impossible feat to pull off, but he didn't want to doubt her. he was in no position to. a sinking feeling in his gut told him that living with them is a bad idea—so why couldn't he bring himself to retract his agreement? "oh, did she manage to lose her edge over the last year?" he asked in jest, following the female into their extra room.

even though it hadn't been occupied since the two sisters moved, the room still smelled like hani, and it was far more welcoming than his accommodations back at the clinic. his fingers lightly brushed against the bare twin-sized mattress as he admired the view from the window. rome directed his attention back to the girl, viewing her through a softened gaze. "this is more than enough." he returned his hands to his pockets to suppress the desire to pull her small frame into his embrace. "thank you, hani. i mean it."

rome wanted to say more to her, but the words couldn't fit together into a proper sentence. instead, he maintained a calm facade as he finally set the backpack that had been weighing his shoulders down on the floor. in that moment, it finally hit him. this is his new home.

"while you do that, i'll take the bus from here to pick up my mom's car—i can't be your passenger princess forever." a chuckle escaped from his lips at his stupid remark. "i'll try to find my stuff from there. i won't be gone for long, but it might be enough time to convince haera not to kill me when i get back."

another pregnant silence filled the room as rome stood awkwardly in front of hani, not wanting to immediately leave after just being welcomed into their household. he forced a cough, clearing his throat as he reached down to take hani's hand and shake it briefly. quickly letting go of it as if her hand was a piping hot potato, he returned his own back in the safety of his pockets. "hoping we get along, new housemate."

@rome lee. with the pregnant silence that enveloped the two former lovers, hani mentally scolds herself. why would he accept such an outrageous, incredulous, /ridiculous/ offer? and better yet, why would she even ask? of course it wouldn't be alright with haera—

and most of all, it wouldn't be alright with hani.

what was she doing? it's as if she's voluntarily freefalling back into his life, a life that once tangled hers up and left her sobbing for days. had she forgotten how that felt? she must've, because when he utters words that don't necessarily sound like a rejection, she could feel her shoulders perk up and heart race. especially at the sight of his small, yet faint, smile. "i'll talk her into it, she's easily persuaded these days," by this, she means that she miraculously got her sister to try mint chocolate ice cream. "but this is good, we were definitely open to another roommate to help with rent."

despite the relief felt from his acceptance, she couldn't help the lingering feeling that brings her mind elsewhere for a brief second. there's definitely something she's forgetting to tell him ... but she can't quite recall. again, she brushes the thought off and gently pushes past the bedroom door to allow him inside. it isn't as spacious as haera's room, but cozy enough for him, she hopes. "we have washed sheets in our storage closet, so i'll get those for you. and i'll move soot's things into here," taking in a soft breath, she glances to him. "is this alright with you, rome?"

@na hani. hani's words struck a tender spot within rome's chest. he remembered the months that led up to the end of their relationship, despite living through most of it in a non-sober state. she cared about him like no one in his life could ever have. her constant pleading to get away from his roommates and to stop taking the pills that his mother left behind—it hurt him deeply, but he knew he couldn't give it up, so he would drink more and get high to make that guilt more tolerable. hani was the light of his life, but the hole he dug for himself was too deep for him to be able to admire it up close. "i'm okay now hani, i promise." although his genuine words were meant to reassure her, he began to question himself. was he okay? or was he still riding the high of having his freedom back?

the sudden offer from the female caught him by surprise—more than any horror movie could. staring into hani's eyes in disbelief, rome could tell she was being serious. the logical thing to do was to decline and push her away like he had been doing all this time, yet the word 'no' refused to form in his throat. "but haera...would she be okay with it?" he chewed on the inside of this cheek as his choice of response already stressed himself out. as much as he didn't want it, hani made some convincing points. he didn't want to separate two bonded cats. he didn't want to have to live on minjae's couch until he could find a place of his own. he didn't want to live alone, nor did he want to live with strangers. perhaps other reasons existed that rome did not want to admit to himself. before he knew it, he had already made up his mind.

"if it's good with you guys," rome paused as if soot or satang had caught his tongue. he couldn't help but feel that he was taking advantage of hani's kindness. maybe having him live with them came with benefits that hani knew of before they got there. ah yes, it must be that. "i'd like to take you up on that offer." the corners of his lips twitched up into a faint smile.

"after all, it seems like we can't separate the two of them." he sighed as he pointed an accusatory finger at the two sleeping cats. for a wavering moment, they reminded him of himself and hani when things were simpler. "rent will be cheaper for you guys too—and i could cook breakfast." rome stopped himself from further justifying his decision aloud.

@rome lee. his reassurance plants a hopeful seed within her, sprouting into the delusion that ... maybe, he really won't leave this time. it's such a foolish thought, one that plagues her mind in this moment, but what fuels this fantasy of hers is the brief chime of a chuckle that passes through his lips. he looks happy, almost as if he hadn't been tucked away for two years, and most importantly, because of her.

so, even if she sounded ridiculous, she didn't mind at all as long as he stayed like this.

"really? i also thought he could have an accent, like an british one," glancing towards the two felines that engage in a staring contest, she gestures towards satang. "and i think she sounds like raven from teen titans—unimpressed and probably makes fun of soot in their cat language."

following the sea of responses, her brows scrunch into a frown. "you're not burdening me. if anything, you burden me if i have to worry about you," she says this jokingly, but it somehow brings a faint scene of familiarity—him passed out in his dorm, an empty bottle of soju in hand, and the stench of . if she remembers right, that was the first time they fought about his addiction, and though it ended with him apologizing and her curled up on his chest, her worries never ceased. even after he ended their relationship. "i just want you to be okay."

in between his breaths, she wishes to in with suggestions; maybe she could get him a discount at the bed&breakfast, or he could get a cheap rent at a neighboring sharehouse ... or maybe, if she was insane enough to ask, he could stay with h—

"why don't you take up that room?" the words come faster than the thought of the repercussions, and it was too late to turn back. "i mean, it's empty and you need a place to stay ... i think it'd be okay. that way, soot can still be with satang, and you don't have to risk having neck problems while bunking on minjae's couch." it's as if she's convincing herself that it'll be alright, but she knows she'll be due for a scolding from haera once she returns home.

@na hani. "don't worry, i'm not going anywhere." with his eyes locked on soot, rome reassures his cat. his words were more for hani, but he didn't have the guts to tell her that to her face. after leaving her house, he intended to watch over her like a ghost—present, but never seen. he couldn't let the past repeat itself.

a brief chuckle, more light-hearted this time, escapes from his lips at the girl's silliness. "i feel like soot wouldn't sound /that/ manly. more like spongebob, but i like the attempt." rome stops himself from roasting her this one time. after all, she did drive to the clinic for him and treated him at the café, even though she wasn't supposed to.

"ah. you could make that your studio or something." he paused to motion towards the cats, both sat on the edge of the couch next to each other. "with the two extra residents living in your room, you should've gotten the biggest bedroom." rome scrunched his nose at the thought of haera. he had always felt that the girl did not like him.

hani's question was simple, but it was enough to turn his life upside down. rome bit on his lower lip in deep thought as he stared blankly at her cat slippers. where was he going to go? his mom's belongings were in a storage locker, but his own? he didn't really know. they were probably scattered between minjae and his old housemates, but he did not want to see the latter.

"that's a funny question, hani. i'm sure i could crash on minjae's couch—he might have some of my stuff, but i'm not sure." embarrassment turned the tip of rome's ears bright red, and it managed to peek through in his voice.

"i'm sure i'll be fine. i think." as much as he tried to hide the hesitation in his voice, rome has never been a good liar. "i don't want to burden you, i know you have classes going on and stuff."

"i'll pick my mom's car up at school—i'm sure it's still there. i just hope they haven't moved it in two years." the male continued to blabber away, hoping that talking could soothe the new worries and anxiety planted into his body.

"after that, i could probably figure it out. i'll be out of your hair." rome began to wish that he did not leave rehab just to avoid dealing with real-world issues. it might just drive him crazy.

@rome lee. there's a twinge of comfort that twists in her stomach when she observes rome and soot, the familiarity of the scene before her bringing a sense of nostalgia. rome was an amazing cat father, she'd like to think—even in between all the fraternity parties and late-night fixes, he always made sure that soot had more than enough food in his bowl, and that his water be filled. but she supposes soot has replaced that image of rome with hani instead, for he scurries behind her legs as if she were his true owner.

she hopes that he'll return to rome's embrace on his own overtime. and with this, maybe rome will have some semblance of what used to be his normality.

hani briefly brings herself to her knees and gathers soot in her arms, fingertips brushing through his fur before she raises one of his paws, her voice sounding ridiculously deep as if soot were talking, "it's okay, just don't leave again." though she speaks on behalf of soot, perhaps these are words that she wishes she could have the courage to say. but she was far from it.

she lets a half-scoff, half-chuckle emit through her lips (out of partial embarrassment) and releases him from her hold, now bringing her attention to the vacant room that he questions about. "oh no, that's just an empty room. haera's room is down the hallway, it's the bigger one of the three."

upon her response, hani's gaze casts between the bedroom and rome, an odd inquiry beginning to hang on the tip of her tongue. though, before her impulses could reign over her rationality, she decides to ask—"it's alright if you don't want to stay too long... where should i take you?"

@na hani. rome trailed behind hani and with every step, he questioned why he would let himself spend more time with her. he was supposed to take himself out of her life, but something like that wasn't as simple as he thought it would be. hani radiated warmth, and like a moth chasing the light, he couldn't help but want to stay around her for longer.

as they walked through the door, he was immediately hit with a comforting smell: lavender with a faint hint of coffee. it was hani's smell. perhaps it was good that she moved—the nostalgia that would have come from her house might have been too much to bear. "soot can be a diva sometimes. i'm surprised you got through to him."

rome's rigid body softens as he watches soot circle around him, rubbing his body against his leg. "hey buddy. sorry i've been gone for so long. you still remember me?" crouching down, he pets soot's raven head as a small smile begins to don his lips. at the corner of his eye, he could see an orange feline watching over him suspiciously. before he can get to his cat's body, he darts away and hides between hani's legs. rome couldn't blame him for being mad. he did leave him with his horribly irresponsible ex-housemates and never showed his face to him for two years.

a tiny and slightly dejected laugh escapes from the male. "ah, there's no need, it seems like soot likes you better now." standing up, he reluctantly turns to the brunette, already feeling guilty for what he is about to say. "i don't plan on staying for too long."

peering into the slightly ajar room next to what he presumes to be hani's bedroom, he noticed how empty the space was. "is that....haera's room?"

@rome lee. when the news of rome's admittance into rehab spread across their small town, even haera couldn't deny hani's abrupt decision to take in rome's cat, soot. and taking advantage of her sister's profound love for cats, hani was convincing enough for the two to adopt another cat—this time an orange cat, to contrast that of soot, named satang.

"when i brought satang home, it was the first time i heard soot hiss," hani softly shuts the front door to their sharehouse behind rome when he'd walk in, and upon the familiar sound, it seems to attract the two felines, as their gentle scratching can be heard from behind one of the doors. "but after i practically forced them together, they get along now." she shuffles towards her bedroom door, allowing for both soot and satang to scurry through, and she curiously surveys how soot approaches his former owner. through this interaction, perhaps she hopes that rome would loosen up, even if it's a little. "... i can get his stuff ready for you. he has this taco toy he likes to play with."