Ilya Mazellov

Life in St. Petersburg is great, of course, but sometimes you really crave something new: a place of peace and quiet. Ksyusha had long wanted to move to Moscow, but lacked the funds. This was a problem she was determined to solve at 17. She went to work as an assistant at a bakery. Her parents didn't help much: they considered the wasted energy and money a waste. But Ksyusha was a free spirit and used to solving problems on her own.

Juggling work and studies was difficult, but she needed the money more than anything else. On her 18th birthday, Ksyusha transferred from a college in St. Petersburg to Moscow, but there was no room in the dorms for her. That summer, she began browsing websites looking for a place to live. A long search and sleepless nights were part of her journey to her dream. With very little time left, an ad appeared: an apartment for rent in central Moscow at a good price. Ksyusha responded to the ad, the correspondence went smoothly, and after putting down a deposit, she began waiting for the day to move in.

In early September, she settled into her new place and lived in absolute peace for almost two weeks: quiet neighbors, no technical issues—everything seemed like a fairy tale. Returning from school on a stuffy bus, Ksyusha waited for the moment to fall asleep on her bed. Upon entering the apartment, she went into the bedroom and collapsed right onto the bed. But the happiness was short-lived.

The sound of a key in the lock was heard, and then the door opened. Ksyusha panicked, hoping it was an unscheduled visit from the landlady, but no... A surprised young man stood at the threshold—Ilya. He also rented the apartment and wanted to move in. It turned out they were both victims of a scam. The landlady had disappeared from social media, her phone was disconnected, and two strangers were in the apartment.

Ilya, seeing how Ksyusha began to get nervous, couldn’t stay away:

"No fuss. We need to figure out calmly: who, what, and when. Of course, it will take time, but we have no other choice... If you want, you can stay here for now. We'll get along well together, I think," the guy said quietly.