This is a Problem; (Chanyeol/Krystal)
This is a Problem
written for amusingmurdermachine by iheartsoojung
for the Wishful Thoughts Shoppe on AFF
=========
Krystal Jung needs a roommate.
She needs a roommate badly.
Rent is a fucking bitch and she needs to cut corners with what she can. She’s a struggling university student and she doesn’t have the time to be stressing out about living costs when she has so many other things to stress over- her grades, her stupid thesis, her final projects.
When she first started college, she loved that she had an apartment to herself. A quaint, two room apartment with a little balcony all to herself- it was a dream come true. The apartment made it so that her university was within walking distance as well- which was how Krystal had gotten her parent’s approval to move into the apartment in the first place.
But now money is tight and she doesn’t love that she has an apartment to herself like she used to- because in living by herself, she pays by herself. Krystal is too stubborn to borrow money from her loving parents- she owes them enough. She doesn’t want to owe them any more. A big part of her loves this newfound independence that college has given her, loves that she is free in this sense. So Krystal works and gets financial aid- but it’s not enough.
In the end, it comes down to this: it’s either she finds a roommate to split the living costs or move back home- and she really doesn’t want to move back home.
So she needs a roommate.
-
Likewise, Park Chanyeol needs an apartment.
Park Chanyeol is someone who has to wake up early in the morning to catch the bus, to which he will suffer on public transportation for about an hour, and then hopefully make it on time for his morning classes. The bus isn’t known for keeping schedule.
As such, the daily commute hurts his soul so much, it almost manifests into physical pain.
He had wanted to stay home in the beginning, hence commuting, but he doesn’t know how much longer he can keep this up.
Which is how he finds himself whining to a friend of his during class. “I hate public transportation,” he declares. “And commuting an hour each day is a bitch.” He is determined to grumble and whine as much as he can.
Choi Jinri, bless her, barely bats an eyelash at all of this- this, being Chanyeol. She is too used to him, having sat next to him since the beginning of the semester. “So what are you going to do about your hate for public transportation and commuting?”
Chanyeol knows what he has to do, of course. “I need some place to live,” he sighs. And then he blinks up at her, staring with hopeful eyes. “Hey Jinri, we’ve been friends for a while, right? And friends always lend a hand to other friends, right?” He blinks at her in rapid succession, intent obvious. “And you live near the school, right?”
With a cheerful smile, she tells him, “You’re not living on my couch.”
He is shot down so fast, he doesn’t even have time to feel sorry for himself. “Thanks, Jinri,” he deadpans.
She can only shrug at him. “I live with my boyfriend, by the way.” The toothy grin she has on her face makes Chanyeol regret ever thinking of her as an option.
“I didn’t want to live with you anyway,” he sniffs. But back to matters at hand. “You don’t understand how much I need an apartment, Jinri.”
Jinri looks completely hesitant, but she looks like she knows something, and Chanyeol needs that something.
He latches onto that something and goes out on a limb, hopeful. “Jinri, do you know anyone that is renting an apartment near school?”
“Yes, my best friend is, but,” Jinri starts. “stuff just happened and my friend is actually kind of picky, so-”
“Great!” Chanyeol chirps. “Can you please tell me the contact information?”
Chanyeol looks so sincerely ecstatic about potentially having an apartment that Jinri doesn’t have the heart to tell him that he’s not quite what her best friend is looking for in a roommate.
-
Chanyeol sets up an appointment with Jinri’s best friend. Jinri tells him that best friend Jung Soojung (who prefers Krystal- call her Soojung without consent, and she’ll dislike you) wants a roommate. She gives warning that if Chanyeol isn’t what Krystal wants in a roommate, she’ll be sure to say it.
He scoffs and complains that Jinri doesn’t believe in his ability to be charming and win people over. Jinri looks a little concerned because Chanyeol wants to live with her very female best friend, and sure, even Chanyeol has his qualms about the situation- but he needs a new place to live. He even promises to be on his best behavior.
Jinri threatens him with a smile on her face if he so much as causes one hair on Krystal’s head to gray, she will gut him.
It’s alarming, how much fear Chanyeol feels in that one moment. But he is undeterred.
He takes the little paper that has Krystal’s address on it from Jinri and scuttles away with a petulant pout on his face.
-
Chanyeol goes to Krystal’s apartment right when his classes end. In hindsight, he probably should have asked for a phone number or something. Because what if she’s not home? Maybe he should have waited.
But it’s too late and fuck waiting because he’s already knocking on the door. The door half opens after a minute and gets to meet the person he will hopefully be rooming with and the door opens to reveal a pale face with sharp features and striking eyes and beautiful hair and- holy shit she’s hot why didn’t Jinri tell him she’s hot and- “Hi?” he manages a toothy grin and what he hopes is a charming hello.
Krystal looks at him expectantly, ready to close the door at any time. “Yes?”
He coughs and stands upright, determined to make this conversation go smoothly. “So I heard you were looking for a roommate?”
“How did you know?” She quirks an inquisitive eyebrow and steps away from the door to open it completely. Now he can see all of her instead of just half of her. Yup. Still hot.
Chanyeol can only hope that referencing a common friend will give him the leverage he needs. “Jinri told me you need a roommate.”
Krystal takes one good look at him and flatly refuses with a short, “No.”
“Why?” He’s almost whining- almost, but not quite.
She speaks in the same flat tone she has been addressing him in. “Because you’re a guy.”
Well, it’s true. He is a guy.
“But I need this apartment.” Cue desperate tone. “Like, I really, really need an apartment near the university.”
“I can’t room with a guy,” Krystal deadpans.
“Why not?” Chanyeol argues. He’s for the most part clean and relatively harmless. When he tells her this, she can only scoff at him.
He needs to somehow make this girl approve of him- even if he’s a guy. He needs some reason that would make it okay for him to live with her, a way to show that he’s harmless. “I’m gay!” Chanyeol ends up blurting. “So I really am harmless to you!”
What the hell, Park Chanyeol.
Krystal inspects him with a critical eye and sighs; she scowls at him before saying, “wait ten minutes,” and slams the door in his face.
-
Krystal doesn’t expect a guy to knock on her door and ask if she needs a roommate. But it has happened and now she needs to call the source.
She calls Jinri.
Her best friend cheerfully picks up after three rings and once she hears Jinri’s voice, Krystal starts talking. “A guy? You referred a guy to be my roommate?”
Jinri takes the accusing tone and question in stride. “I know you don’t really like guys right now, Soojung,” Jinri says, voice calm. “But he’s a good guy.” It sounds reassuring, coming from Jinri. She doesn’t doubt it, if Jinri’s sincerity is anything to go by. “And you need a roommate.”
She does. How much harm could a guy who has no interest in females do? “Fine,” she pouts.
-
“Fine,” she repeats, opening the door to a bored looking Chanyeol. He perks up at her words. She gives him a little smile and Chanyeol beams back at her. She extends a hand and politely says, “My name is Krystal.”
He goes in for a handshake when he returns the sentiment. “Park Chanyeol.”
When she starts talking about rules and regulations and doing a tour right now and when he can move in, Chanyeol cannot contain himself.
Chanyeol hugs her in his excitement and she tries not to push him down the stairs leading into her apartment. It’s a struggle, but she resists the urge (barely).
-
There are conditions, of course, to Chanyeol living with Krystal. They spend the next hour or so learning about each other, warning about random habits, and discussing living contracts. Rent- the most important part- also comes up.
But what is the most interesting to Chanyeol is what he learns about Krystal.
She really, really hates guys.
And he can only laugh to himself nervously.
He has only known her for an hour- but even he knows he can’t be caught in his lie. He honestly cannot afford to be caught.
-
Chanyeol has a best friend named Do Kyungsoo.
He’s the person that Chanyeol would live with if he could- unfortunately, he lives in the dorms, and thus, cannot contain and give home to the giant that is Park Chanyeol.
“I found a new place to live and I have a roommate.” He gives Kyungsoo a toothy grin and continues without waiting for a response. “And my roommate is super hot.”
“Great,” Kyungsoo muses. But there has to be a catch. It wouldn’t be Chanyeol’s life if there wasn’t a catch.
“But she hates men and I told her I’m gay so that she would be okay with living with me,” Chanyeol sighs.
There it is. “Great,” Kyungsoo repeats. There is a quirky little smile on his face and it’s clear he’s amused.
“Great,” Chanyeol sighs, suddenly a lot more tired and less happy than he had been a moment ago.
-
Chanyeol is determined to make his new apartment life great; he’s happy that there will be no more of that horrible commuting.
He is also determined to get along really well with his roommate. The plan with Krystal is to be charming and helpful and awesome.
But, as he continues to learn as he goes through life, not everything goes as planned.
-
They get off to a terrible start.
-
They’re awkward at first, as they stumble around each other and try not to get in each other’s way. It’s natural, suddenly having a roommate. And Chanyeol still finds Krystal super hot, leading to a lot of awkward incidents.
But that awkwardness lasts up to three weeks; when their one month hits, they are used to each other and start getting comfortable with each other’s presence.
Maybe a little too comfortable.
Chanyeol and Krystal end up instigating fights for petty, petty reasons.
Krystal isn’t used to sharing her living space and Chanyeol isn’t used to living away from home. It’s not hard to imagine how their fights go.
At one point, it gets so bad that Krystal brings out tape and tries to divide their space. It lasts for an entirety of three hours, as Chanyeol accidentally steps over the line and Krystal attacks him with a pillow.
Three pillows and feathers on the ground later, they figure out that the tape idea probably isn’t a good idea.
When Chanyeol complains to Jinri in class and Krystal calls her, fuming, Jinri can only laugh.
“So what you’re telling me,” Jinri muses. “Is that you two get into cute little pillow fights?”
Chanyeol can only sputter and complain some more, while Krystal hangs up on Jinri, speechless.
-
Essentially, they do have cute little pillow fights. Whenever Krystal gets irritated with Chanyeol leaving dirty plates around and whenever Krystal uses up all the hot water- pillows start to get really handy. They’re fluffy and easy to use as a weapon but don’t actually harm.
Really, it’s perfect. It is an easy way to relieve stress and frustration with one another. And it’s fun too.
So when they’re not angry with each other, they’re civil. Friendly, almost.
Before they know it, pillow fights become a way to break the tension strangers tend to unknowingly build. They’ve been building for a month but now it is finally breaking down with their slow building acceptance of one another and peace with one another. Chanyeol even goes as far as to say they’re establishing friendship.
-
Soon, they develop routine.
Chanyeol cooks breakfast on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, while Krystal handles Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
They play rock paper scissors each night to see who cooks dinner; whoever doesn’t cook that night has to do dishes. They eat out all Sunday. They’re both in charge of their own laundry and get mad when the other uses up all the hot water.
Jinri calls them sickenly domestic.
Krystal can only shrug.
She’s getting really used to having a roommate.
While Chanyeol already has.
-
The real turning point in their relationship happens on a random Tuesday night.
Krystal had been up the whole night before, having a horrid test that morning. She still has a lot of work to do, but it’s evident that she needs rest as Chanyeol finds her on the living room floor, textbooks all around her. She’s fast asleep in what Chanyeol can only guess is an uncomfortable position. Krystal’s face is laying on an open textbook, with her hair splayed everywhere as she lays on her stomach. He almost steps on her in his haste to get to his room, but stops and backtracks once he sees her laying there. He contemplates calling 119 and even checks for a pulse before figuring out that she’s just sleeping. And then there’s the problem.
What to do with her? He contemplates for close to a minute before he decides on his course of action.
He scrambles upstairs to get a blanket and almost tumbles down the stairs to get it to her. Chanyeol places the blanket on her and pats himself on a job well done.
And then he sighs because- the ground is just so uncomfortable. He can’t wake her up- he would be a fool to wake her up. And he’s not ready to suffer the consequences in doing so. But he can’t leave her there. But at the same time, he can’t take her up to her room. She probably wouldn’t like him going in her room.
There’s only one thing to do, really. He rolls her into the blanket, cocooning her, and then lifts her up and carries her to the couch three feet away. He settles her down as comfortably as he can and even pats her hair lightly once he re-tucks her in.
And then he just kind of (really) stares at her. In that moment, Chanyeol is reminded, not for the first time, how attractive his roommate is. He doesn’t really think about her like that anymore- granted, she hasn’t gotten any less attractive since he has started living with her. But he sees her as more than a pretty girl. She’s his roommate, a friend, and someone he is comfortable with. So watching her sleep and thinking she is really pretty- it seems kind of weird to him.
He sighs and turns to go into his room.
-
When Chanyeol comes down to make breakfast the next day, he can only stare at Krystal incredulously. She already has breakfast set up on the table. “What are you doing? It’s not your day.” It really isn’t.
She blatantly ignores his question to ask one of her own. “So how did I get on the couch last night?”
He pretends to sincerely think about her question. “Fairies?” Chanyeol suggests, pulling the most serious face he can.
She swats at him playfully, but thanks him all the same. Wordlessly, she expresses her thanks by passing him a plate of food. Krystal looks a little embarrassed at the actions (and what they mean) and Chanyeol thinks that’s rather cute.
He beams brightly at her. “No problem.”
-
One month turns to two and then two stretches to three.
Their morning routine (after breakfast) usually goes something like this.
“Krystal, where is my bookbag?” Chanyeol could be heard throughout the house; he guesses that his roommate is probably rolling her eyes at him right now- but he doesn’t care about that right now. He’s too busy scrambling to get out of the house. They’re both running late.
“Downstairs, on the kitchen table,” she shouts back. He can hear her hair dryer go off and she’s probably going to take another ten minutes.
He rushes over to the kitchen table and- what do you know. He snatches up his book bag victoriously and scurries towards the door. “Wouldn’t know what I would do without you!” He’s almost out of their shared apartment when he says this- and then Chanyeol stops dead in his tracks; he realizes the weight of his words. He can’t go back to living without Krystal Jung.
He vaguely registers this as a slight problem.
But he’s running late and he pushes the thought to the back of his head.
-
Krystal, on occasion, does really sweet things. Granted, she’s a really sweet girl. But she usually only reserves this sweetness for the people closest to her. He’s seen her affectionately call Jinri her other half and is possessive in a way that only a best friend. He’s seen her bring out all the aegyo she has in her being when she’s with her older sister. He’s seen her playful and cute side with this classmate named Amber, knows that she is a really good friend and shoulder to cry on with this guy named Taemin.
But he has never expected to be on the receiving side of this affection.
On the night of his birthday, Krystal does something that Chanyeol will remember forever.
It had been a tiring day at school and he wasn’t in the mood to celebrate his birthday; he didn’t care all that much for it, in all honesty.
So he walks into their shared apartment, in desperate need to go to sleep, when he switches on the lights. And they don’t work.
It’s complete darkness in their living room and Chanyeol wonders if he should feel the mild terror that he does.
But thirty seconds later, he hears a voice shouting, “Happy Birthday!” And then Krystal comes into view- holding a cake lighted up with candles; the smile on her face outshines the little bit of fire by a long shot.
He’s touched, and is about the express his gratitude- and then she starts singing. She sings the happy birthday song to him.
In that moment, with the soft glow of the candles and her sweet voice crooning to him, Krystal does something to Chanyeol that he never accounted for.
She makes him blush.
He thanks every higher being out there that it’s dark while she wishes him a happy birthday.
Because this might actually be a problem.
-
It has been six months since Chanyeol has moved in, and Krystal and Chanyeol are so used to living with one another, it’s weird when the other isn’t home.
They haven’t been seeing much of each other lately, having been busy with their own things, and now they’re using a free day to catch up. When they became close enough to need to catch up, Chanyeol doesn’t quite know. But he doesn’t question it.
Sunday has always been their day to eat out, so tonight, they decide to go the extra mile for comfort and have a movie night at home instead. There is something oddly comforting about having Krystal snuggled up on his side, with her head resting on his shoulder as they criticize this horrible romantic comedy that they’re watching. Her hair is tied up in a messy bun and she’s wearing pajamas and she’s waving a spoonful of ice cream quite wildly.
And Chanyeol thinks that she has never looked lovelier.
Which- horrifies him, actually. He can feel his face heating up and recognizes the uncomfortable clench in his stomach. Suddenly, Krystal is too close. Her proximity is almost setting him on fire.
Chanyeol has a problem.
-
“I think I’m in love with my roommate.” This is how Chanyeol starts his emergency best friend meeting with Kyungsoo. He calls Kyungsoo up the day after he realizes he has a problem. It’s Monday. He’s ditching his physics class. He doesn’t give a fuck.
“Okay,” Kyungsoo blinks. (He can’t say that he didn’t see that coming? He’s pretty sure that was the drama his mom had been watching last week.)
“Scratch that, I am pretty sure I am in love with my roommate.” Chanyeol is this close to banging his head on a wall. Kyungsoo moves to start rubbing comforting circles onto Chanyeol’s back.
“It’s going to be okay, Chanyeol.” He’s too good at this best friend stuff.
“I have to move out,” Chanyeol declares. “I can’t have all these feelings while she doesn’t even know I like girls! That’s- that’s-” Chanyeol thinks about his wording carefully before he leans in and whispers very seriously to Kyungsoo, “that’s dirty.”
Kyungsoo blinks owlishly in return and stops the rubbing. “Can’t you just tell her the truth?”
Chanyeol looks horrified. “But Jinri will hurt me for probably causing a hair on Krystal to gray. And Krystal will most definitely hurt me for lying. In fact, they’ll probably hurt me together.”
Kyungsoo is unsympathetic. “You have to tell her.” He should have known that his best friend’s lie would have bitten him in the ass sooner or later.
“Do I have to?”
“You have to.”
Chanyeol only looks at him pleadingly. “How do you feel about apartment hunting?”
-
Krystal hears noise downstairs and she knows Chanyeol can’t be home at this time. He should be in his physics class right about now. She tiptoes down the stairs as stealthily as she can, bat in hand.
And then she discovers not one- but two- people sitting on her couch. She tenses, ready to attack, when her mind registers who these intruders are.
She sees two familiar faces and she drops the bat immediately, letting the loud clang notify her intruders of her presence.
They both turn to the source of the noise, looking completely poised and nonchalant as they sit in someone else’s home.
“Hey Kai,” she greets, walking over with a smile. She hasn’t seen Kai since high school and seeing him makes her feel all kinds of nostalgic. She always had a soft spot for Kai in their circle of friends- that hasn’t changed since college had started and consumed their lives.
And then she turns to look at the person sitting flush next to her high school friend. “Hi Luhan!” Luhan had been Kai’s older, already in college boyfriend when Kai was in high school. And if looks are anything to go by, they’re still going on strong.
They both wave to her cheerfully. The three of them make small talk for a couple moments before Krystal remembers something rather important- “What are you doing here?”
“Just visiting,” Kai shrugs.
“And how did you get in?” Her tone is mild, like she’s not surprised that Kai had somehow managed to find a way into her house without her knowing.
Kai just gives her the same old smile he used to give her back in high school. She can’t help the smile the smile. Well, she supposes that’s all she needs to know. So she moves on. “How are you, Luhan?” she asks, pleasant and friendly.
“He’s great, thanks for asking,” Kai replies with relative ease for his significant other, grin slipping on his face as he looks at his longtime boyfriend. Luhan grins back in response and they are just so sickenly cute Krystal wants to hurt something.
Kai opens his mouth to return the question. “How’s-”
“We don’t talk about him,” Krystal replies, suddenly very serious and loads of bitter. She would rather not remember or talk or think about what’s his face, thank you very much. He’s long gone in her life. And he should stay that way.
Kai backtracks immediately. He vaguely remembers Jinri saying they broke up on horrible terms. “Right, right,” he amends. “Well then, have anyone new in your life?”
“Nope,” Krystal sighs. “I hate men.”
“Man-hater phase?” Kai guesses.
“Shut up,” she grumbles, half-heartedly scowling. She’s happy to see him, she really is. But did he have to go and bring up bad memories?
And then their front door opens and someone enters the apartment the normal way.
“Hi Krystal,” Chanyeol enters their shared apartment quickly, running up to his room immediately. He doesn’t even notice the strangers sitting on the couch.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” she asks, amused and curious.
He laughs nervously at her question. He can’t tell her he’s going apartment hunting with Kyungsoo because he has suddenly realized that he’s in love with her and is a dirtbag for lying about his sexual orientation. “Going somewhere with Kyungsoo!” he shouts down his reply. He scuttles around for a little bit, grabbing his wallet and ID and whatever else he needs to look at apartments, before running back downstairs. Kyungsoo is waiting outside so he practically runs back to the front door. .
Chanyeol stops in his rush to beam at her. “See you later.” And then he’s off. He still didn’t notice Kai or Luhan.
She waves goodbye to him with a fond smile. When she turns back around, Kai is looking at her expectantly, with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms. “What?” she questions.
“What happened to hating men?” Kai asks, eyebrow raised. He’s mildly concerned that Chanyeol said nothing about neither his nor Luhan’s presence.
“He’s my roommate- and don’t get the wrong idea, he’s gay, so he doesn’t count- or something like that, anyway,” Krystal says this with a careless shrug. “He can’t be interested in me, and therefore, cannot hurt me. And he’s harmless.”
“Babe, let me tell you something.” The serious way in which Kai is looking at her kind of worries her, so the only thing she can do is stare back just as intently. “That roommate of yours is not gay.” He only looked at him for the little bit that Chanyeol was there, but that much he was certain.
“But he told me-”
Luhan looks at her sympathetically. “He’s not gay.” One look at how he smiled at Krystal was definitely evidence of that.
Well, fuck, if Luhan is also insisting that he’s not gay, then Krystal has a problem.
Kai tuts at her, wagging a finger. “You know as well as I do- my gay radar never fails.”
Krystal is rather horrified when she remembers- oh yeah. Kai’s infallible gay radar. “So he-”
“I didn’t even get a little blip on my radar.”
A phone is in her hand in less than 30 seconds. “Why didn’t you tell me he has been lying to me this whole time? You told me he was a good guy!” It’s Jinri on the other line, obviously. Kai is about to ask if they should go, but seeing as how anger is rolling off of Krystal in waves, both he and Luhan take that as their nonverbal sign to leave.
They leave out a window- which, Krystal supposes, is probably how they got in. But right now, she’s too angry to care. She has other things to deal with.
“What are you talking about?” And Jinri is confused.
“Chan- I’m talking about my stupid roommate!”
Last Jinri checked, Chanyeol and Soojung had been getting along swimmingly. “What did he do?”
“He told me he was gay the day I met him,” she hisses. “And then Kai comes over with Luhan and his gay radar and- surprise! He’s not so gay after all.”
And then it clicks- that’s how Chanyeol got to live with Krystal. He pretended to not be interested in women. Jinri has never asked. She naively thought that Chanyeol had somehow charmed her- but he lied to her? Jinri sincerely apologizes to Krystal in that moment. And then she curses Chanyeol and gets angry on her best friend’s behalf.
Krystal knows it’s not Jinri’s fault- she has never raised the topic with her best friend, thinking that his sexual preference was his own secret. And Jinri’s never said anything, so she stupidly assumed- it makes Krystal feel a little better though, hearing of all the different ways Jinri will end Chanyeol.
-
Luhan can’t help but ask this question the moment he and his boyfriend are out of Krystal’s apartment complex. “Did you see the way he smiled at her?” It was bright and happy and had so much affection in it. Almost so much that Luhan would guess- well, would guess that he was in love with her.
“How do you think I knew he wasn’t gay?” Kai asks, cheeky grin in place.
-
Krystal Jung has never been more furious in her life.
She feels lied to, betrayed, played by someone who she has given her trust and has shared her home for the past couple months.
-
Chanyeol comes home that night, unassuming. He greets Krystal in his normal way. “Hey Krystal.” And then he notices how Krystal is glaring at him and he feels his stomach drop in the worst way possible. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You lied to me,” she all but snarls. It’s not an accusation- it’s the truth. Chanyeol proves this as such when he widens his eyes and gapes at her. He immediately knows what she’s talking about, after all.
Of course. Kai is never wrong. She grits his teeth and growls out, “That was a dirty move, Chanyeol. Lying to me so that you could get an apartment. An apartment that we shared for over half a year!”
The first thing he does is panic. Oh god she knows what do I do how did she find out oh god oh god ohgodohgod. He starts talking in hopes that if he gets to explain, she won’t be as mad at him. “It’s not like I wanted to! I just really needed the apartment! And-” He doesn’t get the chance to explain himself further. Krystal is too angry for that.
-
Chanyeol isn’t surprised when Krystal kicks him out of their shared apartment.
He rather thinks he deserves it.
So he woefully spends the night sleeping on the floor at Kyungsoo’s dorm room.
-
Jinri, for all that she is cheerful and kind and cute- is fucking terrifying when she’s angry.
And as such- she will gut Park Chanyeol.
-
Chanyeol didn’t go to class the next day- not when he knew he would be seeing a certain Choi Jinri.
Instead, he chose to hide out in Kyungsoo’s dorm all day to save himself. Unfortunately for Chanyeol, Jinri knows that Kyungsoo is Chanyeol’s best friend. And she knows which dorm he lives in.
To add to the misfortune, Chanyeol doesn’t know that Jinri knows.
So when he haphazardly opens the door to rapid knocking, he doesn’t expect to see what he sees.
But he sees Choi Jinri standing in front of him- all 169.8 cm of her. She’s smiling at him and her hands are on her hips and- dear lord. “Park Chanyeol,” she croons his name sweetly. That’s probably the most terrifying part.
Survival instincts kick in and he’s immediately apologizing. “I’m sorry,” he whines. “You know I needed an apartment! That’s all I wanted! I didn’t think lying about that would be a problem! I didn’t expect to fall in love with her!”
“You sorry excuse of a person, who lies about stuff like that? You hurt her, by the way, because she trusted you and-” Jinri pauses in her rant. “Wait. You’re in love with her?”
Oh. Huh. He said that, didn’t he? It’s not something that needs to remain a secret, but it just kind of slipped out. “Yes?” His response comes out sounding more like a question than an affirmative answer.
She gives him the flattest stare she can manage at the moment. “Yes or no?” She’s still utterly terrifying.
“Yes.” He says this more confidently this time around. He’s sincere and it shows; Jinri can feel a little bit of the anger leave her.
They spend a moment in silence, just staring at each other, before the whining returns. “What do I do, Jinri?”
She sniffs at, giving him the haughtiest expression that she can manage. “You get on your knees and apologize.”
He didn’t expect any other answer from Jinri, in all honesty.
-
Chanyeol stays at Kyungsoo’s for one week, infuriating Kyungsoo’s roommates. He sneaks in and out of his own apartment when he knows Krystal has class to get his stuff.
If anything, knowing that Chanyeol still comes back to the apartment, but sneaks around, makes Krystal angrier.
But strangely enough, even though she is furious beyond belief, Krystal kind of misses living with Chanyeol.
-
After another full week of imposing on Kyungsoo, Chanyeol is pretty sure he is going through Krystal withdrawals.
“I just want to see her so much,” he complains, nestling his face into Kyungsoo’s neck.
Normally, Kyungsoo is rather accommodating to Chanyeol- or rather, he puts up with his antics. But it has been two weeks and enough is enough.
Kyungsoo pushes Chanyeol off of him and then out of his room. “Then go see her.”
-
It’s lonely cooking all of her meals. And it’s lonely not having someone carry her onto the couch when she falls asleep on the floor. And it’s lonely not having someone always there on Sunday’s, ready and willing to waste the day away together.
Krystal would never admit it out loud, but she misses her stupid, lying roommate.
-
Kyungsoo’s words, both figuratively and literally, push Chanyeol into seeing Krystal.
He knocks on the door tentatively. The door opens halfway, with only half of Krystal’s body being visible. The moment she recognizes who is in front of her, she moves to slam the door in his face.
But his foot gets in the way and he can’t really help the wince of pain that comes out but- “Hi,” he starts out with. He takes a moment to reel in all the pain his foot is feeling. “I hear you’re looking for a roommate.” It’s a repeat of their meeting and he’s hoping that the irony of it will bring out what he hopes is Krystal’s soft spot for him.
“Nope, I’m not,” she responds, tone flat. “Not since my last roommate lied to me and hurt me.” Wow, that hurt so much he can physically feel the burn.
Okay, so this scene of reunification is crashing and burning.
Plan B.
He does what Jinri suggested and gets on his knees to beg for forgiveness.
Chanyeol is literally begging on his knees. “I’m really sorry for lying, Krystal.” He has the biggest pout on his face and Krystal kind of wants to shove him. “I didn’t know it would be such a problem.”
“And how did you not know this would be a problem?” Her words are biting and- well- Chanyeol figures he deserves this.
“When I told you I was gay, I had no interest in you, besides you being super hot.” Krystal doesn’t know whether or not to be offended. But at least he’s being truthful. “But while living with you, I kind of,” he pauses, trying to think of the right thing to say. He can’t really go back now.
“What?” Krystal asks, irritated. “You kind of what?”
“I kind of, really, fell in love with you.” His tone is sincere and quiet and loving and filled with so much guilt because- wow, he shouldn’t have lied in the first place.
The door opens completely and Chanyeol feels hope. But that might be the numbness his knees are currently feeling.
“You’re in love with me,” she deadpans, rather skeptical.
Chanyeol says nothing, only stares up and into her eyes.
And his eyes- whatever Krystal sees in them- makes her sigh. “Get up,” she orders. He scrambles to comply. “I hate guys,” Krystal says, tone soft and almost a drawl. “But I guess you can be an exception.”
“I’m still very much a guy, Krys.” He’s happy that she’s giving him another chance. “A guy who adores you and wants to beg for your forgiveness and will do just that if you want him to.”
“I think you already did that,” she retorts.
Chanyeol still feels rather shitty. “I’m sorry for lying.”
“It’s okay,” Krystal declares, finally shrugging. “If you didn’t lie, then I wouldn’t have met you.”
Chanyeol’s not done. “I’m not sorry for falling in love with you though,” he adds.
Krystal doesn’t have a verbal response to that.
She does, however, let him back into the apartment.
-
Chanyeol doesn’t really have a problem anymore.
Not when he gets to love Krystal freely.
-end!