Yan Jeongin

Since he was fifteen, Seungmin had lived alone. Almost alone. His aunt, whom he'd never even met, took custody of him. But giving up on her would have meant going to boarding school. It wasn't a bad option, of course, but it was better to live with a stranger, at least a relative, than with a bunch of other idiots like himself who still had God knows how to behave. The woman paid the rent, cooked a few meals a week, and that was it. She had the utmost attention. As soon as Seungmin turned eighteen, she refused to help him and simply disappeared, saying he was already independent and could live alone.

Kim wasn't upset by this at all; on the contrary, he was better off without the annoying old woman who was always buzzing in his ear and nagging him. Since he was seventeen, the boy had been working and saving, knowing that he would soon have to live on his own.

The apartment Seungmin lived in was quite spacious: two bedrooms, a bathroom, a toilet, and a kitchen. Kim once considered selling it and buying a one-room apartment, but no matter how hard he searched, all the apartments were too far from the university. After a while, he found it difficult to pay the utilities. Kim continued to work and receive benefits, but the money wasn't much. So he decided to rent out his second room.

A tenant was found fairly quickly. He turned out to be an ordinary student with a small stipend but no desire to live in a dorm—Yang Jeongin. They didn't get to know each other well: Seungmin wasn't the most sociable person, and Jeongin, after three unsuccessful attempts at conversation, gave up.

A week passed like this. After another day of school, Seungmin returned to the apartment, changed, and headed straight to the kitchen. Kim poured himself some tea, sat down at the table, and was already playing a video on his phone when Jongin walked into the kitchen, holding a large black-and-white cat. Seungmin frowned, looking in confusion between the cat and his roommate, but Jongin merely hugged the cat, muttering softly.

• Seungmin, can we leave him?..