Oops, A Smidge of Angst
“I wish they had something like that in real life.” Junhee sighed.
“I think it’s based off of real life events.” Semi replied.
Junhee stared at Semi. “Really?”
Semi pulled out her phone and looked up the show. “Oh, it just says here that the crimes are based off of real life.”
Junhee deflated. “Oh, some of the stories did sound similar to something I heard on the news.”
Minsu looked over at them. “I don’t think violence is always the best answer.”
Semi shrugged. “Sometimes you have to do whatever works.”
Minsu nodded. “I guess.”
Junhee yawned. “I’m really tired.”
Semi chuckled. “Yeah, crying a lot will do that to you.”
“And it’s really late.” Minsu added.
Semi checked her phone; it was only a little after midnight.. “It’s not that late, but yeah.”
“Uh, where should I sleep?” Junhee asked.
“You can sleep in my room again.” Semi replied.
Junhee nodded. “Where will you sleep, though?"
Oh, Junhee didn’t want to share a bed again. Semi looked over at the bedroom doors and then at Minsu. The couch was too small for two people. “I’ll just sleep with Subong and Namgyu. They have a huge bed.” It was just a mattress on the floor, but it was the thought that counted.
Junhee looked down. “Ah, yeah, that makes sense.”
Semi tilted her head. Why did Junhee look disappointed? “Plus, they usually end up on top of each other, so I’ll have a lot of space.”
“They seem really close.” Junhee replied.
Semi nodded. “Something like that, but also, Subong is just a cuddly guy.”
Minsu nodded. “He always hugs me when I come back from work. Or when he comes home. And him and Namgyu sleep on the couch with me sometimes.”
“How do you all fit?” Junhee asked.
“Uh, it’s kind of like a human sandwich.” Minsu gestured with his hands. “I’m against the back of the couch, then Thanos, then Namgyu.”
Semi laughed. “Oh yeah, that or they end up on the floor.”
“Do they go out a lot?” Junhee asked.
“Well, Namgyu works at the club, and Subong will do performances at night but, yeah.” Semi replied.
“Ah.” Junhee nodded. She stood up. “Uhm, I guess I’ll go to bed now.”
Semi nodded. “Okay. Let me know if you need extra blankets and pillows.”
Junhee smiled softly. “Thank you.” She walked to the door and turned around before entering. “Actually, is it okay if I have an extra pillow, it’s kind of awkward with, you know.”
Semi stood up and walked over to Namgyu and Subong’s room. “Yeah.” She stepped inside. Well, there was only one pillow. Semi grabbed it and sniffed it. It didn’t smell or look funky. She stepped out and handed it to Junhee. “Sorry if it smells funny, it looks cleanish.”
Junhee accepted the pillow. “It’s okay, I won’t be putting my head on it.”
Semi stuck her hands in her pockets. “Cool.”
Junhee stood in front of the door and held up the pillow. “Thank you.”
Semi nodded. “No problem.”
Junhee shifted her weight. “Uh, good night.”
Semi smiled “Good night.”
Junhee smiled and went into the room.
Semi sighed and walked over to the other bedroom. She turned back to look at Minsu. “Good night.”
Then she walked into the room and flopped down on the mattress. She turned over and grabbed the blanket at the foot of the mattress. There was vomit on the edge. Semi tossed it away. “Gross.” She got up from the bed and looked around the room for another blanket. There was paper and other assorted objects all over the floor that she had to step around. How Namgyu tolerated Subong’s messiness, but not the dishes in the sink or dusty furniture was beyond Semi. It was like an obstacle course in their room. She walked over to the closet, grabbed a sweatshirt and pulled it on. Then she went back to the mattress and curled up in a ball. She understood why Namgyu and Subong were always sleeping on top of each other, the room was freezing. Semi glanced over at the window. It was open, she groaned and stood up again to go close it. Of course, there wasn’t even a screen. She shimmied it shut and went back to the mattress. She stared at the ceiling. Hopefully, Junhee would be okay.
☺
Sometime during the night, Namgyu and Subong stumbled into the room, giggling. They looked down on the bed.
“Oh, so you two are for real getting married.” Namgyu laughed.
Semi squinted in the dark and stared up at them. “Shut up, Junhee didn’t want to share the bed.”
“Aww, lover’s quarrel?” Namgyu teased.
Semi kicked him and he fell down onto the mattress. “It’s late, just go to sleep.”
Subong flopped onto the bed next to Namgyu. “G’night.” He murmured into the mattress and then promptly knocked out.
Namgyu crawled up the mattress so he was face to face with Semi and poked her shoulder. “So what’s the deal with you and Thanos?”
Semi groaned and stared at him. “Are you going to remember in the morning or will I have to tell you again?”
Namgyu clicked his tongue. “I was working, y’know.”
Semi raised her eyebrows and stared at him. He didn’t smell like alcohol but he definitely wasn’t sober. “Sure.”
She rolled over. “I’ll tell you in the morning. Or ask Subong yourself.”
“He wouldn’t say anything.” Namgyu complained.
It made sense though, Subong didn’t like talking about his past, even when he wasn’t sober he never mentioned anything. Semi kicked Namgyu away. “Yeah, we’re getting married; it’s nothing deep. Don’t worry, you aren’t losing your boyfriend.”
“He’s not my boyfriend. How is that an answer?” Namgyu huffed.
Semi rolled her eyes. “I told you, so go away and leave me alone.” Behind her she could hear Namgyu shuffling back to Subong, murmuring under his breath.
Semi closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
☺
A knock at the door woke Semi up; she pushed herself up. The sun was already bright and shone into her eyes; she squinted as she stood up and walked over to the door. Namgyu and Subong were still asleep. Semi opened the door to see Junhee.
Junhee stared at Semi’s sweatshirt. “What’s up with the sweatshirt?” She asked.
Semi looked down at the sweatshirt; she had just grabbed whatever, and now she was wearing a sweatshirt with an abstract animal on it. She pointed back towards the room. “It’s one of theirs, that’s why it’s so ugly.”
Junhee nodded as she watched Semi take off the sweatshirt and toss it back into the room. Junhee peeked in. “Wow, it’s so messy in there.”
Semi looked back. “Yeah, Subong’s like a tornado, and I guess Namgyu’s usually too fucked up when they’re in there to care.”
Junhee furrowed her brow. “They aren’t in there a lot?”
Semi closed the door and led Junhee to the kitchen. “They are.”
“Ah, okay.” Junhee replied as she followed Semi. “How long have you lived together?”
Semi pulled a bag of hard-boiled eggs from the fridge. “I’ve had to live with Subong for like seven or eight years and Namgyu for like two; two years too long.” She held up the bag. “Do you like eggs? We don’t really have much food around here. I think there’s canned stuff in the cabinet and maybe some instant noodles. It’s mostly just snacks, and I usually eat at work; I don’t know what everyone else does.” She paused. “We also have canned fruit, Subong and I got scurvy once.”
Junhee shook her head. “Eggs are fine.” She looked back at the bedrooms. “You don’t like living with them?”
Semi pulled some of the eggs out and cut them. “Eh, they have their shit.” She handed the plate to Junhee, and started making coffee. “I haven’t been able to make them stop. So, it is what it is. But I told Subong not to vape around you. If he forgets, just call him out.”
Junhee nodded. “Okay.” Her voice sounded confused but she didn’t ask any more questions.
Semi grabbed a Choco Pie from the cabinet and started eating it. “Do you have work today?” She asked.
Junhee shook her head. “I was supposed to, but I called out.”
Semi poured her cup of coffee. “My shift isn’t til this afternoon, but Minsu’s off today so you can hang with him. Subong and Namgyu’ll be here too until about 10pm, but they’ll probably be asleep for a while.”
Junhee nodded. “Okay, Minsu seems nice.”
Semi chuckled. “He’s too nice; he has to be going through it to live with us. Well, he hasn’t lived here long so who really knows, but he seems pretty straightforward.”
Junhee nodded. “How’d end up with the others? You said you met Minsu at the store.” She asked as she ate.
Semi snorted. “Subong and Namgyu? A series of unfortunate events.”
Junhee tilted her head. “Do you not like to talk about it? I’m sorry.”
Semi chuckled. “No, they’re just crazy; they’re lucky I stick around.”
Junhee giggled.
Semi stared out the window before looking back at Junhee. “I don’t mind talking about it.”
Junhee looked her in the eyes. “You don’t have to if you don’t feel like it. I’m sorry for asking all these questions.”
Semi shrugged. “The way we met is just kinda weird.”
Junhee furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”
Semi fiddled with her lip ring and tilted her head. “When I first met Subong, I thought he was dead.”
Junhee stared at her. “What?”
“It was under a bridge.” Semi shrugged. “When I kicked him he didn’t move.”
Junhee continued to stare. “You didn’t call someone?”
Semi hopped onto the counter and sipped her coffee. “I was supposed to be at school, and I didn’t wanna get in trouble. Also, I thought he was dead, and I didn’t wanna deal with that.”
“So, what happened next?” Junhee asked.
“He just popped up and scared the shit out of me. Then he asked for a cigarette so I threw the one he made me drop at him. Then he thanked me and started chatting with me, talking about himself.” Semi laughed. “I genuinely thought he was crazy. I mean he is, but I thought he was schizophrenic or something.”
Junhee shook her head and looked up at Semi. “And you became friends with him?”
Semi shrugged. “I was bored; he was weird. I wanted to be out of the house and he was never at his house.”
“I guess that makes sense. So, how’d you end up living together?” Junhee asked.
Semi shrugged. “I didn’t have a place to stay; he did. A couple years ago he started bringing this other guy around, and then Namgyu.”
“What happened to the other guy?” Junhee asked.
Semi looked away and fiddled with her lip ring.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Junhee apologized.
Semi shook her head. “Don’t be, just don’t bring him up. Subong still feels terrible about what happened.”
Junhee nodded. “I won’t.”
Semi nodded. “Anyway, Namgyu and I hated each other’s guts when he first moved in. He still pisses me off sometimes. But I guess I got used to it, and Subong would yell at him about shit so he’s not as bad now, mostly just annoying.”
Junhee nodded. “He seems annoying.”
Semi chuckled. “Very.”
“He reminds me of my older brother.” Junhee remarked.
Semi sipped her coffee. “Do you have a big family?”
Junhee tilted her head. “I guess? I have a brother and two sisters.”
Semi stared at her. “Yeah, that’s a big family. But I don’t even know if I have siblings, so I guess I’m not a good judge.”
Junhee nodded. “One of my sisters is much older, so I didn’t grow up around her. It never really felt like I had a big family.”
“It must’ve felt crowded with that many people.” Semi remarked.
Junhee shook her head. “We had a big house.”
Semi tilted her head. “Oh.”
Junhee looked at Semi for a minute. “I guess my story is weird too.”
Semi chuckled. “Life’s weird.”
Junhee nodded. “Although my story is pretty simple.”
“So, what happened?” Semi asked.
“After high school, I went to live with my boyfriend, the one I told you about, he was cute and popular. Everyone wanted to date him.” Junhee smiled. “I felt special when he chose me. He went to university, but he told me I didn’t need to go, and that he would take care of me. I trusted him and he was making money from the investment stuff and he had a YouTube channel too. I believed it, and I enjoyed working at the clothing store.” She made a face. “Then he got too caught up in it. He dropped out, but things were okay for a while…” She trailed off.
Semi walked over to Junhee and patted her back. “If you don’t want to; you don’t have to talk about it.”
Junhee shook her head. “No, I need to get it out.” She exhaled. “It all went downhill with that Dalmatian coin thing.”
Semi furrowed her brow. Why did that sound familiar?
“He was saying that it was the next big thing and convinced me to invest all of my money into it. A few weeks later I found out I was pregnant and then it crashed. I lost everything. He kept telling me to get an abortion until he figured things out and that it would be fine. My family is very religious and getting an abortion felt wrong, but I agreed. Before I could even make the appointment; he left.”
Semi scoffed. “Fuck him.”
Junhee giggled. “I did.”
Semi chuckled. “But seriously, I’ve never met him and I already want to punch him in the face.”
Junhee smiled. “Thank you. If he ever answers my calls, I’ll let you know.”