Work Text:
It’s not hard to see that Seung-min, the landlord you share an apartment with, is a workaholic.
His suit is always wrinkled, his hair is always messy and his eyebags are always worryingly dark as a result.
You barely see him, even living together. As he leaves for his shifts early in the morning, before you wake up, and only gets back late in the evening, long after you’re in bed.
The only thing that makes Seung-min less of an ideal housemate is that, well… he’s a cannibal.
You made a deal with yourself the moment after you discovered it: stay out of Seung-min’s way and save enough to move out as soon as possible.
So, what the fuck are you doing here in the kitchen at midnight, sitting across from Seung-min, eating the curry made from Alisha’s meat?
Well, you look up at him, at least you're eating. Seung-min is currently snoozing off at the table, his face a few inches from falling straight down his half-finished curry bowl.
You finish your own food first, analysing him without restraint now that he is asleep.
Seung-min is handsome, you have to give him that. Even visibly exhausted, his jawline is sharp, his hair perfectly frames his face and he looks as charming as always, which is pretty much all the time.
You sigh as you take the last bite from your bowl, leaving it in the sink and putting his own inside the fridge (you somehow doubt he’d want to let any of it go to waste). Before approaching Seung-min and grabbing his shoulder.
“Seung-min… wake up.” You speak gently, almost sorry for waking him up in such a visibly tired state.
He hums, but doesn’t react otherwise, making you shake him up harder.
“Seung-min.” You say loudly.
“You need to go to bed.” He doesn’t even move.
“There’s a tasty human right there, look!” You try baiting him, but that doesn’t work either.
If not even the idea of getting his hands on more human meat is enough to wake him up, then he really is out of it.
You sigh to yourself, shaking your head and looking at the ceiling before making up your mind and curling your arm under his own, in support to get him standing.
In the apartment’s dark hallway, halfway to his room, you’re already regretting your decision.
He’s heavier than you expected. His slow steps and barely standing form don’t help you either. And your back is definitely going to scream at you for doing this, at your morning shift.
Finally, after fighting the doorknob for a minute, you get inside Seung-min’s bedroom.
You almost trip on one of his shirts – it reads ‘I LOVE KIDS (boiled. With little potatoes)’ – on the floor, making you look around and notice the complete mess on the floor. There’s empty cup-noodles everywhere too. And you can see a visible layer of dust on everything else.
It’s a little surprising, knowing how well cleaned he keeps the rest of the apartment. But you don’t have time to dwell on your housemate’s personal cleaning habits as you finally drop him down at his bed, the only acceptably clean place in the room.
You watch him for a few moments before grabbing his comforter, meaning to cover him up, when you feel two hands encircling your waist and pulling you down.
With a squeak, you fall on top of Seung-min, who heaves out at your added weight, but keeps sleeping dutifully.
After a few seconds, your shock dies down enough for you to notice that the hands holding you down are Seung-min’s. And that he was the one that pulled you in, in the first place.
You wait for a few minutes, expecting him to let go, but after a while, it becomes obvious that he won’t.
You’re stuck here for the time being.
With a sigh, you wiggle yourself more comfortably against Seung-min’s form, letting your head rest on his shoulder.
Still very much awake, you feel the way his chest (a muscular one at that, you might add) moves under you as he breathes rhythmically.
Even if Seung-min isn’t really awake to know, it takes a while for you to find enough courage to shyly wrap your arms around him, feeling your cheeks burn in embarrassment.
You don’t know how much time passes before you’re lulled to sleep by his cheap soap smell and strong arms around you.
Seung-min is used to waking up with a piercing headache.
He supposes it happens from being chronically exhausted all the time. Or the result of being under constant stress. But not today, for some reason.
He lazily opens his eyes, his cellphone vibrating in his pocket. It’s his alarm. Which means it’s 5 a.m. then, and that he's supposed to get to work in 45 minutes.
However, everything else is quickly forgotten when he notices that you are in his bed. Moreover, on top of him. Your sleeping face squished against his chest and legs tangled with his.
He doesn't remember getting to bed, so he can only assume you brought him here. And he ended up grabbing you as you tried to leave.
Seung-min knows he is what people call a clingy sleeper.
His parents couldn’t afford more than a small one bedroom apartment all his life, so they had all slept together in the same bed for more than a decade. Therefore, Seung-min had a thing for sleeping with other people, if you wanted to call it that.
He hadn’t slept with anyone else in so long that he assumed his need for having a sleeping company was gone. But he was very much proven wrong now.
His mind didn't feel half as fuzzy as usual. And his eyes didn't hurt from the sunrise's light pouring from the window. He felt rested.
He doesn't remember the last time he felt this way. And Seung-min supposes it's because of… you.
He looks down again to watch you. Still breathing deeply and slightly drooling.
Cute, his mind supplies in a whisper.
After that day, the one where you woke up in Seung-min’s bed alone and late for your shift, your routine had gone right back to what it was.
It took three weeks for you to cross paths with Seung-min again.
You didn't have a shift tomorrow, so here you are, draped over the couch, watching another stupid and love sickening rom-com.
However, your focus is short-lived when Seung-min opens the door with a huff. You turn around just in time to see him carrying an old white bald man in his arms. The man in suit turns to look at you, gaze locking onto yours as he closes the door.
“Oh, hey.” Seung-min says, his voice monotonous as always. “Didn’t think you’d be awake by now.”
You shrug. “I don’t have a shift tomorrow. So, I’m watching a movie.” The drugged man on his shoulder is foaming at the mouth. “On your Netflix account by the way.”
Now, it’s Seung-min who shrugs. “Wanna join me for dinner?”
You find yourself agreeing to it before he finishes asking. If you’re being truthful with yourself, after sharing that curry with him at midnight, you missed having him around. Cooking with him, especially.
“What’s today's recipe?" You ask, entering the kitchen behind Seung-min, watching him dump the man on the kitchen island.
“Ever had Bulgogi?” He asks, and you shake your head. “It’s a Korean dish… ‘Wanted you to try it.” Seung-min says, his voice sounding strangely vulnerable.
“Sure.” You feel the need to reassure him with a smile, ignoring the barely breathing corpse next to you. “I’m sure it’ll be amazing.”
Seung-min turns away from you, tying his pink apron over his suit in an opportunity to hide away the slight blush of his cheeks.
After that, both of you cook in comfortable silence next to each other. As always, you’re in charge of everything besides the meat preparation. At some point, Seung-min leaves you alone while cooking the rice in order to take a quick shower.
When he gets back, he’s wearing his signature black sweatpants and a t-shirt. This one reads ‘Sorry ladies, this guy has a botched circumcision’ with two thumbs pointing upwards. You snort, receiving a curious look from Seung-min.
“What’s funny?”
“Nothing…” You stifle your laugh again, desperately needing to switch subjects. “Wanna eat this watching TV?” Is the best you can come up with.
In a few minutes, both you and Seung-min are thigh to thigh on the small couch, watching the rom-com movie where you left off.
You take the first bite of meat and genuinely let a moan escape as the taste explodes in your mouth. The flavours and season make you see colors. “Holy shit, this is so good, Seung-min.”
He watches you with a small smile. His onyx eyes, normally empty and devoid of emotion, now tinkle with adoration. “I’m glad you like it.”
After that, both of you comfortably eat next to each other, something that is – for your delight – becoming a habit.
As the movie credits roll, Seung-min’s head has been leaned against your shoulder for at least fifteen minutes, his small snores confirming your suspicions. When you try to move – in an attempt to get the remote and turn the TV off – Seung-min grabs you.
Oh, here we go again.
You have one last second to slip your plate and his down to the floor before he’s the one draping over you on the couch.
You go down with a huff, the sudden weight of a 6’2 man on top of you hard to ignore. He nuzzles you closer and closer, still asleep and blissfully unaware, until his head is slotted against your neck.
As he breathes in your scent, you swear you can hear his stomach grumble.
You wake up alone again.
You notice, with a startle, that tomorrow will mark your fourth month living with Seung-min.
You remember what it was like to live on the streets for so long, so it still feels unbelievable how far you’ve come. It took you a couple weeks to admit to it, but you were really happy about living with Seung-min.
Your cannibalistic housemate had his flaws. He was clumsy and made the worst unfunniest puns in existence, besides the obvious red-flag… but he was also very caring and mindful when it came to you. Nowadays, he always cooks enough for two and takes your laundry to the dry cleaners with his.
Seung-min is an interesting man.
The very same man who is knocking at your bedroom door right now, “Dinner’s ready.”
A few minutes later, you’re sitting at the kitchen island, watching Seung-min make your own plate for you. He’s wearing a shirt you’ve already seen before tonight. The shirt reads ‘All my friends are dead’ next to the picture of a very sad dinosaur.
“How’s the new place treating you?” You ask comfortably, wondering how your housemate’s new job was going. He explained it to you a few weeks earlier that he changed jobs every few months, to find more potential victims and not gather as much suspicion.
“Corporate torture never ends.” He shrugs. “How’s yours?”
You shrug too. “My torture never ends either.”
He hands you a plate of very good smelling pasta with small cubes of minced human meat before sitting opposite to you with his own plate.
You eat your food a little quicker than normal, still meaning to savour every bite but not wanting to stay for more than necessary.
All because you didn't want Seung-min falling asleep on you again.
After waking up from the couch alone in a considerable amount of discomfort (note to oneself, never sleep on the couch ever again) you had slept with Seung-min again in four different instances.
It always happened after dinner and mostly, on days he was too exhausted to do, well, anything. Which was most days, if you're being honest.
So, you're avoiding it. Because you hate it.
Well, you don't hate sleeping with Seung-min per se… and if you're actually honest with yourself, you do enjoy falling asleep in his arms, cuddling the night away.
However, what does bother you is the fact that you always wake up alone.
And even then, Seung-min never says anything about it the day after.
So, your solution was to always leave the kitchen a few minutes earlier than him, so that you could escape the clingy and evil clutches of his sleeping mind.
However, the universe does like to make you suffer by making Seung-min extra tired today. And by the time you've reached not even two thirds of your food, the cannibal is already sleeping upright in front of you.
Ugh…
Already knowing your future for the night, you start eating at a normal pace again.
After cleaning everything in the kitchen, you don't even try to wake Seung-min as you take his arm over your shoulder and make the painstaking walk towards his room.
As you lower him down at his bed, you try to bolt one last time, before feeling a hand grab your wrist.
“Stay.” Seung-min says, voice slurred.
You're pretty sure his mind came up with sleep talking as a new way to manipulate you into cuddling his unaware body, but then he opens one sleepy eye to look at you expectantly.
“Am I going to wake up alone tomorrow?” You ask him, needing to know the answer.
“I'll wake you…” He yawns. “When I go to work.”
“Okay.” You breathe out. “That's all I need.”
At first, you lay down next to him, stiff and making sure to leave room between you. But it takes less than a second for him to turn over and pull you in. Your temple resting on his bicep and his chin on top of your head.
You breathe out the nervous breath you've been holding.
“And when I say stay. I mean…” He whispers quietly over you. “Stay with me everyday.”
You find yourself agreeing to it with a nod automatically. Sleeping next to Seung-min everyday is not a hard request for you at all, as your crush on the man makes you want much more than just sleeping together.
After that, both of you quickly fall asleep in each other's arms.
And if Seung-min wakes you up the next morning with a kiss – morning breath and all – before leaving for work, it's just another detail on why you like living with him so much.