Chapter Text
Chapter 1 - pudding thief
Y/N yawned and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her tired eyes. A quick look to the side confirmed what she already knew.
It was way past midnight.
Ah, shit…
She groaned and let her head fall back against the chair. She was in her second year of university, and exam season was about to start. Naturally, that meant she had ended up staying awake all night to finish assignments and study for exams that were slowly but surely draining the life out of her.
These few weeks might be hell, but summer holidays were waiting for her at the end of the suffocating tunnel. At least, that was what she kept telling herself.
She rolled backwards with her office chair and let out a deep sigh.
Her deadline was at 8 a.m., and her assignment partner had done such a lackluster job that she would probably spend most of the night correcting their mistakes. Again.
She silently cursed her own perfectionism.
Why am I doing this to myself?
But at the same time, she was not one to let herself be dragged down by someone else. If her name was on the assignment, then she wanted it to be good. Even if that meant sacrificing her sleep, her sanity, and possibly her will to live.
Lost in thought, she got up and patted down her stiff legs.
“Good,” she muttered to herself. “Round two will begin after a midnight snack.”
With that very serious mission in mind, she shuffled into the kitchen of her small apartment. Only to find her fridge completely empty.
Y/N stared at the sad, cold emptiness in silence.
Of course.
With a disappointed grunt, she closed the fridge door.
“Traitor.”
Apparently, she would have to make a run to the nearest convenience store. Not bothering to change out of her pajamas, she threw on a hooded jacket, slipped into her pink bunny slippers, tied her hair up into a messy bun, and left her apartment.
The moment she entered the hallway, she noticed a stack of boxes blocking part of the corridor.
Right.
Her parents had told her there were new people moving into the penthouse.
Y/N’s mother owned a real estate company and, fortunately, had given her daughter one of her assets to live in. It was not a big apartment, but Y/N was not one to complain when she had been given the opportunity to live rent-free and independently.
In return, she worked as an on-site assistant for her mother whenever there were any issues, kind of like a private property manager. During holidays, she also worked a mini job to make some money of her own.
Mentally, she tried to make a note that she had to greet the new neighbors the following week. But right now, she really could not be bothered to care. She merely glanced at the sheer number of boxes while walking towards the elevator.
Then she stopped.
Some of the boxes had labels.
MONITOR 1
MONITOR 2
KEYBOARDS
DO NOT DROP
And, for some reason,
RAMYEON
Y/N blinked. Who needed this many monitors in a penthouse?
Before she could think about it any further, something heavy thudded somewhere above her. A muffled voice followed right after.
“Hyung, I told you that chair wouldn’t fit!”
Another voice answered, much calmer.
“It will fit if you stop panicking.”
Y/N slowly looked up at the ceiling.
Great.
Noisy neighbors.
Exactly what she needed during exam season.
With a tired sigh, she stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. Whoever had moved in upstairs could become her problem tomorrow. Tonight, she had more urgent matters to deal with.
Like food.
The walk to the convenience store was short, but the night air was cold enough to wake her up a little. Seoul was quieter at this hour, the streets washed in pale light from streetlamps and store signs. Y/N hugged her jacket closer to herself and hurried inside the brightly lit store.
The familiar sound of the door chime greeted her.
Immediately, she made her way to the snack aisle.
She grabbed instant noodles first. Then a triangle kimbap. Then a bottle of iced tea. Then, after a moment of thought, she decided she deserved something sweet as compensation for her suffering.
Her eyes landed on the pudding section.
There was one left.
Perfect.
Y/N reached for it.
At the exact same time, another hand reached out from beside her.
Their fingers brushed.
Y/N froze.
The person beside her froze too.
Slowly, she turned her head.
A guy in an oversized hoodie, black mask, and cap was staring at the pudding with an intensity that felt almost concerning. His basket was already filled with snacks, jelly drinks, banana milk, chips, ramen, and enough sweets to feed at least five people.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then he let out a soft, dramatic gasp.
“No way,” he said, his voice muffled slightly by the mask.
Y/N blinked at him, too tired to understand why he sounded personally betrayed.
“No way what?”
He pointed at the pudding with a seriousness that made her question whether she had missed something important.
“That was the last one.”
“Yes,” she replied, tightening her grip around the pudding. Her tone was firm, leaving little room for negotiation. “And I touched it first.”
“I saw it first,” he countered immediately, as if that settled the matter.
Y/N stared at him.
“That is not how shopping works.”
The stranger’s eyes narrowed slightly, but there was no real anger in them. If anything, he seemed offended in a way that was almost theatrical.
“I need it more than you do,” he stated.
“You don’t know that.”
“I’m under a lot of stress.”
“I’m a university student during exam season.”
That made him pause.
His gaze dropped briefly to her messy bun, then to her oversized jacket, then finally to the pink bunny slippers on her feet. Something in his expression shifted, as though he was carefully reassessing his opponent.
After a beat, he gave a small nod.
“Okay,” he admitted, sounding reluctant. “That’s fair.”
Y/N placed the pudding into her basket with quiet triumph.
“Glad we agree.”
“We don’t agree,” he corrected, his voice quick and slightly indignant. “I just respect your suffering.”
“Thank you? I think.”
His gaze flickered back to the pudding, lingering on it with such open longing that Y/N almost felt bad.
Almost.
“Are you sure you need it?” he murmured.
Y/N managed to suppress a groan, pressed her lips together and firmly stated, “Yes.”
“Emotionally?”
“Especially emotionally.”
He pressed one hand over his chest, as if her answer had physically wounded him.
“That’s cruel.”
“Well, just be faster next time.”, she replied flatly.
For a second, he stared at her.
Then he laughed.
It was sudden and bright, muffled slightly by his mask, but somehow loud enough to make the tiredness in her chest feel a little lighter. There was something infectious about it, something warm and boyish that made the ridiculous conversation feel less annoying than it should have.
Y/N did not know what to do with that, so she simply gave him a curt nod, turned away and headed towards the counter.
Behind her, she heard him mutter to himself.
“Lost to a pajama girl in bunny slippers …”
She stopped walking and looked down at her feet.
Right.
The slippers.
For one brief, devastating second, embarrassment threatened to break through her exhaustion. Then she decided she was too tired to care.
She lifted her chin and continued walking as if pink bunny slippers were a perfectly respectable midnight fashion choice, not to mention her comfy pyjama pants.
After paying for her food, Y/N stepped outside, plastic bag hanging from her wrist. The cold air hit her face again, and she was about to start walking home when something crashed behind her.
She turned around.
The hoodie guy had dropped one of his bags near the entrance. Snacks had scattered all over the pavement, rolling in every direction like they had been waiting for freedom.
For a second, he just stood there.
Then his shoulders slumped.
“This,” he said quietly, staring down at the mess, “is how villains are born.”
Y/N closed her eyes for a brief moment.
She really should have kept walking.
Instead, she crouched down and started helping him pick up the fallen snacks.
“You’re dramatic,” she told him, trying to suppress the amused undertone in her voice.
“I’m grieving.”, he replied, crouching down across from her.
“Over pudding?”
“Over many things,” he said solemnly. “The pudding was just the final strike.”
Despite herself, the corner of Y/N’s mouth twitched.
She picked up two packs of jelly and placed them back into his bag. Up close, she noticed the way his eyes curved slightly whenever he spoke, as if he was constantly on the edge of laughing at his own words.
“Are you feeding a family?” she asked, glancing at the ridiculous amount of food.
He followed her gaze to the snacks and let out a small huff of amusement.
“Something like that,” he said. “Five idiots. One kitchen. No survival skills.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“It is,” he said, nodding gravely. “I left them alone for fifteen minutes. I’m honestly worried.”
This time, Y/N could not stop the quiet laugh that escaped her.
The stranger looked up at the sound.
For a brief second, his expression softened. There was a pleased little glint in his eyes, almost as if making her laugh had been some sort of personal victory.
When the last snack was back in the bag, he stood and gave her a small bow.
“Thank you, pudding thief,” he said, his tone light and amused.
Y/N straightened as well, raising an eyebrow.
“I paid for it.”
“Still emotional theft.”
She stared at him, one eyebrow raised.
He stared back, completely unapologetic.
Then Y/N clicked her tongue and turned around to walk away before she could accidentally continue whatever this conversation was.
Unfortunately, fate seemed to have other plans.