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It was Jiseol's third nap of the day and she still didn't feel like waking up.
Post-midterms paradise was what she called it; filling her now empty days with naps, horror documentaries and listening to love songs. She unfortunately had to reduce the third activity because recently, every love song she listened to would lead to fantasies starred by Donghyuck. It was already hard enough that she lived with the guy, now every sweet song had become about him too. After the time they spent at the hospital, they were yet to talk about Jiseol's outburst in the bathroom or bring up how Donghyuck held her hand the entire walk to dinner. She had to admit that she'd been limiting her interactions with Donghyuck to prevent the unwanted conversation but Donghyuck hadn't made any effort to have the talk either.
It was a difficult situation. Jiseol knew she was probably napping so much because it was her sole escape from the reality that she didn't know what to do with her very complex, very romantic feelings for her roommate. On her third nap however, it seemed that Donghyuck's infiltration had started beyond just her daydreams.
Jiseol found herself walking into a hazy white bedroom, her footsteps light and strange as all dreams were. Unrealistic sunlight blinded her vision every now and then. A blink later and Donghyuck was standing right in front of her, dressed in a white shirt and black slacks. He was smiling at her so beautifully, his waves were dark rather than the faded pink she was used to seeing. He held out his hand and the silver band on his ring finger glistened, which startled Jiseol until she woke up.
Her heart was initially racing when her eyes first opened, but as it slowed down, the adrenaline was replaced by a looming loneliness and grief.
It was just a dream, she assured herself.
"It was just a dream," she repeated, this time more out of disappointment rather than assurance.
Taking it as a sign that she should stop sleeping, Jiseol peeled her body off her bed, tying up her hair into a half-ponytail. She muttered a small "Yikes" upon seeing that it was already 4pm—her whole day had been wasted away on naps. She didn't regret it, but she sure did feel guilty for it.
After getting freshened up in the bathroom, she stepped out at the same time the front door swung open. Donghyuck hummed as he walked inside, convenience store plastic bag in hand and his eyes lit up when he saw Jiseol in all her grumpy, musty glory.
He playfully gasped, clutching his chest. "S-sleeping Beauty? But you're not supposed to be awake without getting a true love's kiss!"
"Her name is Aurora," Jiseol said seriously.
"My point still stands. I thought you'd turn into fertilizer from how much you've been sleeping."
Jiseol made a face, about to slither back into her room when Donghyuck jiggled the plastic bag he was holding. He pulled out a box of black hair dye and smiled sheepishly.
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"I need your help."
"You're dyeing your hair back?"
"Yeah," Donghyuck nodded. "I dyed my hair back then because I was going through so much. It's kinda crazy to look back at all the shit we went through and realize we survived...now I think I'm ready to let go and move on, starting with my hair."
Jiseol was stunned. Subconsciously, she touched her own pink strands, realizing that Donghyuck just made an amazing point. And as if he could read her mind, he jiggled the plastic bag again to show that he had more than one box.
"I bought extra in case you'd be interested to do the same."
Maybe two months ago Jiseol would've gagged at the idea of matching hair colours with Donghyuck again. Instead, new and improved Jiseol switched out her t-shirt for an old tank top, ready to go back to black with Donghyuck.
The bathroom had become somewhat of a makeshift hair salon; dining chair in the shower, window and door both wide open for ventilation, disposable gloves on the sink. As Jiseol brushed the thick black dye into Donghyuck's frizzed hair, they made small talk, their laughter louder than the playlist Donghyuck had put on speaker. Soon enough, it was Jiseol's turn and she felt a little nervous at the thought of Donghyuck touching her.
She hoped he didn't notice her blush when he clipped a ripped towel around her shoulders.
Towards the end of Jiseol's session, two boxes run through, there was a brief moment where Donghyuck suddenly stopped. Jiseol was a bit confused, especially since she couldn't see very well without her glasses on. But as she squinted with all her might, she saw that Donghyuck was staring at her through the mirror, looking like he had been frozen.
"What's wrong?" her heart thumped.
"You haven't had black hair since high school," Donghyuck mumbled. "I feel like I'm looking at the Jiseol I first met."
Jiseol couldn't help the smile that grew on her face. "You mean the Jiseol that became your target every year?"
"More like the Jiseol I had a stupid crush on." Donghyuck scoffed.
Pause. What?
"I didn't know it then, it was after our last debate competition that I realized I kinda, sorta, pretty much had a little, tiny, weensy—"
"Crush on me?"
"Yeah, but don't go tooting any horns. That was ages ago," Donghyuck said, fully ignoring the events of The Halloween Party, which Jiseol was yet to know about.
The unknowing girl also didn't know how to respond to this newfound knowledge. All she knew was that there was a sharp twinge of frustration that Donghyuck had a crush on her about six years ago and she had a crush on him now. Donghyuck's crush could've been excused by a teenager's disastrous emotions, but adult Jiseol could not find any justification for her feelings. She liked him for him—no excuse.
A half an hour and one Brooklyn 99 episode later, Donghyuck rinsed off his hair and insisted he rinse off Jiseol's too. The latter wanted to decline, almost desperately because of how intimate the action was, but Donghyuck couldn't be fought. He was extremely gentle and careful as he rinsed out her hair, even massaging her scalp softly. The heat of the water and the heat of his touch drove Jiseol insane; she was hot red and also deep down ashamed from how turned on she was getting. Donghyuck's wet, slicked back hair definitely did not help her out either.
"Is the water too hot? You look like Larry." Donghyuck asked, lowering the showerhead so his voice would be heard more clearly.
