Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Throwing his duffel bag over his shoulder, Donghyuck swiped his keys off his table and closed his room door behind him as carefully as possible. He knew his roommate was still asleep, considering that the sun had just risen not long ago, and he knew better than to disrupt the sleep of someone as cranky as her. He'd learnt his lesson from recklessly slamming the door one too many mornings—he swore he could've gotten nightmares from the way Jiseol bursted through her door, sleepy eyes glaring at him and her bed hair all poofed up behind her. She was far too sleepy to say anything but the way she pointed at him before dragging her thumb across her throat in a swift motion and instantly disappeared into her room haunted his whole day.
Actually, he thought she looked kind of funny (read: cute) in her rabbit PJs but that was a thought he'd prefer to keep to himself.
Donghyuck was filling up his water bottle when the doorbell rang. Only halfway filled, he set his bottle aside and checked his watch as he jogged up to the front door, worried that the ringing would wake Jiseol up. It was barely seven in the morning and he peeked through the peephole to make sure it wasn't anybody strange; opening the door to an old lady smiling up at him didn't make the situation any less strange, however. He recognized her as a neighbour, having greeted her in the times they passed by each other.
"Hi," Donghyuck smiled back with a bow of his head, though more in confusion. "How may I help you?"
"Hello, sweetheart. I'm your neighbour from down the hall. I'm Mrs Baek," the old lady voluntarily introduced herself.
Donghyuck politely acknowledged her introduction, a bit embarrassed that he didn't know her name himself. As friendly as he was, he didn't exactly have the time to get to know his neighbours; most of his hours were spent outside the apartment and the chaos going on in his life didn't really give him space to socialize with new people.
"I was just making sure that you kiddos were alright! What with the news and all," Mrs Baek chirped.
"Um...news?" Donghyuck repeated, not following what she was saying.
"About the ding dong ditcher, my dear. Somebody's been ringing doorbells in the middle of the night and once you're annoyed enough to open the door, they'd throw a pie in your face," Mrs Baek sighed. "If you don't believe me—trust me, I had a hard time believing it too—you can ask the security guards. They've been getting cases in the levels below us, it might reach our level soon."
"Pies? That's ridiculous," Donghyuck shook his head. He thought that type of prank had been left in the early 90s and people were way too engrossed in their city lives to commit to such a thing. He then thought about his roommate who had two things: a bad temper and a baseball bat. If the ding dong ditcher was unlucky enough to try pranking their apartment and fooling Jiseol into thinking they were a potential burglar...
Donghyuck shuddered at the idea.
"But if you ask me, I'm thinking that they're hot-spotting."
