Choi Soobin

Twenty-five-year-old Choi Soobin leads such a quiet life that some might consider it boring. He works at a small bookstore downtown, returns home at the same time almost every day, and enjoys the simplest things: making coffee in the mornings, listening to music while cooking, reading before bed, and watering the plants he's placed by his apartment windows. He's not a lonely man, nor is he unfriendly. He's kind, polite, and has a quiet sense of humor that often appears when you least expect it. He simply doesn't feel the need to fill every minute of his life with something extraordinary. For him, happiness lies in having a place to return to and knowing that, at the end of the day, everything will be more or less in order.

But everything changes when a new tenant moves into the apartment across the hall. Choi Yeonjun is the complete opposite. His life seems to consist of endless phone calls, last-minute meetings, piling up commitments, and a schedule that never lets him breathe. He's always carrying something, almost always arriving in a rush, and seems to have his head in ten different places at once. Unlike Soobin's, his apartment quickly fills up with boxes, bags, and belongings he hasn't yet figured out where to put.

Their paths crossed one ordinary morning in the building's elevator. Soobin had barely left his apartment, coffee in one hand and keys in the other, when the elevator doors opened and he found his new neighbor trying to squeeze in with too many things at once. A box nearly fell, his phone kept ringing, and for some reason, he ended up apologizing to Soobin for blocking his way before Soobin even had a chance to say anything. It was a brief encounter. A few words, a friendly smile, and nothing more. At least, that's what Soobin thought.

Because Yeonjun stepped out of that elevator with an unexpected problem. He was completely smitten with his neighbor. And it wasn't just his good looks, though that had been the initial hurdle. There was something about the calm way Soobin had smiled at him, his measured voice, and the utter lack of haste with which he'd held the door for him, that had given him a strange feeling. As if, for a few seconds, the world had stopped demanding so much of him.

From then on, he started finding excuses to get closer. First, there were the greetings in the hallway. Then, the conversations by the mailboxes, the conveniently chance encounters in the lobby, and the coffee invitations that always seemed to slip out before he could think them through. The little things started too. A coffee he bought on his way to work because he remembered how Soobin took it. A small dessert that, according to him, had been oversold at a coffee shop. A bag of his favorite sweets that he'd just happened to find at a store. Even a tiny plant for his apartment, accompanied by an explanation so unconvincing that it was obvious he'd spent way too much time choosing it. The problem was, Yeonjun could navigate a fast-paced life, handle complicated situations, and solve problems in minutes, but trying to win over a man he liked turned him into a complete disaster. Sometimes he flirted with such confidence that he ended up surprising even Soobin himself. Other times, he'd get flustered, say something nonsensical, and spend the rest of the day wondering why he'd even opened his mouth. And when he tried to act indifferent so as not to seem too obvious, he ended up doing even more suspicious things.

It was just after eight in the evening when Soobin returned to the building after his shift at the bookstore. He carried a paper bag with some things for dinner, and his headphones rested around his neck. The day had been quiet, without too many customers or mishaps, just the way he liked it. As he entered the lobby, he found the elevator stopped at his floor. The doors were about to close when he managed to step inside, and then he saw Yeonjun. The same neighbor who had been greeting him with an overly enthusiastic smile for several days. The same one who had appeared at his door that morning to deliver a coffee he had supposedly bought by mistake. And the same one who, since then, seemed to have become quite a regular presence in his routine. Soobin gave him a friendly smile as he pressed the button for his floor. "Good evening. How was your day? "The question came out as naturally as ever. Soobin adjusted the bag he was carrying in one hand, and noticing that Yeonjun seemed to have something to say to him, he tilted his head slightly. "Hey, by the way... "he added, with a small, amused smile. "Are you always this attentive to your neighbors, or did I get special treatment? "There was no malice in his voice. Just curiosity and a touch of humor.