We were just housemates

Craigslist

Sarah is desperate, she has tried it all to get into Japan, but lacking a master or bachelor it seems like all doors are slammed to her nose.  She didn't want to resort to something like this but she opened a craigslist message.

Looking for a housemate/fake partner, that has a valid working visa in Japan and wants to take me as his fake partner on his visa. Polite, young, independant woman. Only serious people please.

She clicks send and it pops up on the Japan page. "It's done. Let's see what kind of creeps I will get now..." She shuts down the laptop and goes for a walk to release the stress. She can feel her phone buzz a few times, but she just knows that it will probably be only spam or creeps. At one side she isn't looking forward to act like this, but she really wants to get into Japan to find a guy. It's only untill she finds someone to marry her, so she can have her own spouse visa. She is of marrying age anyway. When she is back home, she opens her laptop again. She opens her mailbox and has about 22 messages. Most of the titles are spam and scams. But one pops out. "I don't mind." Curiously she clicks it and it opens.

I am Kim Seokjin, 28, I'm going to Japan on a valid artist visa, and I don't mind taking you with me. You sound like an earnest person with a passion for Japan. I like Japan too, so it would be nice to have a housemate/friend. I am allowed to bring my girlfriend to share housing with me. If you want, you can tag along. Just let me know.

Sarah smiles. He seems like a fairly normal person. Nothing too creepy, and an artist, so he is probably very broad minded. He is also a foreigner, judging from his name, Korean. She has a few Korean friends too so she isn't scared of Koreans. She decided to wait a few more days, to see what other offers she will get but after a few days, no serious ones offered so she sends a message back to him.

I have considered your application for my listing, and decided to go along with you. I trust you won't act strangely and know that it is only fake, right? I did not send you  my picture yet and you didn't send me yours. If you like, we can exchange contacts and get to know each other some more, to make sure we aren't awkward with each other when we finally meet. Deal?

You click send. Almost instantly he messaged back within a few minutes.

Sounds swell, let's do that then. My Kakao is ***********.

Sarah smiles and adds him. Soon she receives a message back from him on Kakao with his picture. He looks young, and handsome and does a funny pose. She giggles. He seems like a funny guy and not an old creep so she is looking very forward to meeting him. Maybe they'll get along just fine. After messaging a few months, she packs her bags, since he applied for the visa and it got approved. She was his +1. So she got to the packing.

In the airport, she is taking the plane on her own. They promised to meet up in the airport of Haneda. Was she sure he was going to show up? No. Did he give her information enough to ensure of his seriousness? No. It was a big risk, and Sarah's heart was pounding as she boards the plane, into the unknown. The whole trip she was relaxed. Whatever was waiting for her, she could handle it. There was a 50/50 chance that it was all a sweet midsummer dream. But she did prepare a tourist visa just in case. She is prepared for a fail. But she is going to Japan nevertheless.

She arrives mid night. There are no trains for Tokyo now. She is sitting in the arrivals hall with her 2 suitcases and tired from the red eye flight. He is supposed to arrive in a few hours. She looks horrible, her hair is down and in wavy curls over her shoulders. She takes a moment to lay down and puts her arm over her eyes to block out the light. She is in Japan now, so she trusts that no one takes off with her luggage. Before she knows it, she falls into a sleep.

Seokjin enters an empty hall. He is wearing sunglasses and a padded coat. He has a big fisherman hat on and pushes a sleek black suitcase in front of him. He is holding onto his phone and is looking around the arrival hall. He sees a woman, in a comfortable sweatpants and wavy brown curls. She is softly snoring. He looks over her and smiles. There is literally noone else in the arrival hall. He takes a seat and reads his book. He is just patiently waiting for Sarah to wake up from her slumber. Around 5 am, when the first trains would leave for Tokyo, Sarah woke up by noises in the hall. The hall was getting more crowded now. She slides her arm off her eyes and blinks against the bright hall lights. She stretches and yawns. She looks at the wristwatch and sits up in no time. "OMG" The moment she scans the place, she is face to face with the guy in the picture. He is very absorbed in his book. She can't believe he is here. He is real. It was all true. "Mr. Kim?" She hesitantly says. He closes his book and looks at her with his sunglasses on. He taps them, so they slide lower of his nose and he looks at her. She gasps. He is much more beautiful in real life. "Sarah, I presume?" She nods. "Nice to meet you, girlfriend." He says, stressing the word. She just blinks.

They grab their luggage and he politely  grabs 1 of her suitcases to carry. She didn't let him at first, but he insisted. So she let him carry her smallest one. They take a train. On the train, things grow awkward soon. Both are tired from a flight, and can't wait to get to their home. "So the company I work for, offers a dorm for couples. They might want to know about your skills too. They might want you to work for them too." "Me? An artist? Have you seen me? I can't do something that special..." Jin smiles at her and it beams. He looks every bit of an idol. Sarah thinks to herself. She is fiddling with her carry on luggage bag. "Well, if you say so... We can find you another job at the company then." We get off at Nishi Nippori, and from there on we take the yamanote line. We are having our dorm in Ginza. It's the rich area of Tokyo, and Sarah has no clue why they would stay somewhere like there. Apartments and houses are so expensive there. "So you speak Japanese, right?" Jin asks, trying to keep the conversation going. Sarah nods. "Great, so you will help me out, right?" He says while pushing his elbow into Sarah's arm. She nods. "That's the least I can do, no?" She smiles a soft and shy smile. Jin nods, contently.

They carry their luggage to their apartment. It's a new block, just like most of the apartment buildings in the Chuo area. When he waves the keycard, the door beeps open. Both enter the apartment and look around. He claps and Sarah would have never guessed the domotica in the apartment was this high tech. The lights turned on at his clap. "Woah!" He smiles. "In Korea we got this kind of tech in new apartments too. If I'm not wrong there should be an alexa somewhere too. Alexa! Play Autumn in front of the post office!" "Now playing requested song." A strange, female voice answers from somewhere in the room. Sarah is baffled. In Europe, things aren't that extreme yet. They look at the bathroom. And at the rooms. Sarah waits patiently for Jin to claim a room first, but he seems to hesitate. "Which room do you like?" He asks. Sarah shakes her head. "No, it's thanks to you I can be here, so you pick the best one." Jin peeps into the one and the other. Both are next to each other. He choses the one with the balcony and the view. Sarah rolls her luggage into the inner room without windows. She closes her door. This isn't that bad...She thinks while falling onto the bed. She is grateful it is a fully furnished apartment. And it has a bed. She decides to take a snooze for a few hours before starting the day.

After a few hours, she gets awoken by the smell of food. She rubs her eyes and walks out of the room. Jin is just ending the breakfast he made. She takes a seat and looks at it. It was set for 2. "Thanks. I will, as agreed, buy my own food and groceries. And if you are in a pickle for your time management, also for you. But thanks for the breakfast now." Jin nods and puts the eggs on her toast. She grabs it and starts eating. Both are discussing how the day will look like. "So I'll go to the local town hall and fix our paperwork. Then I'll do some groceries and cook a nice dinner tonight. Deal?" She says. Jin nods. "Then I'll enter the company and do my work." Sarah crunches into the toast and smiles. This wasn't all that bad. But she should not forget her goal: Marry a Japanese guy, so she can get a spouse visa. And Jin knows. She told him her goal in one of their many chats.

After Jin left the house, she goes out to do the paper works. Then she goes for shopping and buys all the necessary stuff. She comes back and fills the cupboards. She then proceeds to discover more of the house before opening her phone. She doesn't waste time and goes on a dating app to find a date. Soon she matches with a few of them and she walks out to the balcony. She looks out over another apartment building and below her is a wide street with lots of expensive, foreign cars. She breathes in the air and looks at the sky. She can't believe she made it back here. In Japan. Having a second chance at being in Japan. She heads back inside and prepares for dinner. Soon it turns 7pm and Jin is still not home. Her phone beeps and she starts to chat with a guy. He finishes work at 9 and wonders if they can go for a bit and a drink. She messages him back. It is in mean time already 8pm and still no Jin. She covers all his dishes with some saran wrap and places a small note on it with instructions to heat it up. She dresses up and goes out.

Jin comes home at 9:30pm and claps the lights on. He takes of his shoes. "I'm home!" He says, but no one answers him. He walks into the kitchen and sees a plentiful dinner on the table with a small note.

Gone on a date, be home...? Warm the soup and main up for 4 minutes on high, and there is still hot rice in the rice cooker. See ya! <3 Sarah

 He sighs as he heats his food up. It smells delicious as he takes it out of the microwave and the rice is still warm. He takes a seat and eats his food. Alone.