Reluctance | JS & BM
Minah had spent the entirety of her college years, from beginning until now, worrying about things she wished she didn't have to worry about. It was the price for running away, the price of the freedom she so desperately desired and chased after. Now that she had the freedom she's always wanted, she found herself troubled by other things like rent, working, and taking care of the band that she was in.
Maybe that was when why, she found herself at the bottom of the stairs that led to her apartment floor, she couldn't help but feel like the woman her landlord was animatedly talking to was trying to take all that she achieved away. Her eyes narrowed. The only time she ever spoke like that was when she was making a deal. The woman wore clothes that only someone who was well-off would wear, someone who had the extra cash to buy and do as she pleased. Was she planning on buying the land, or had she already done so?
She coughed in her fist. She was about to turn around when she heard her landlord call out to her. She winced. She had terrible timing. She slowly walked up the stairs, staring at the much shorter landlord who had a bobcut as her hairstyle. A small smile was on her face as she bowed to greet her.
"This is one of my tenants. She's late sometimes on rent, so you might have some trouble with this one with the new rates—"
Minah tilted her head to the side in confusion as she stared down at her landlord. "What do you mean new rates? You said the rates wouldn't change under my contract for another—"
"Minah, don't interrupt. I know I said that, but that was under old management." She pointed to the girl standing on the other side of her, her eyes were hidden behind sunglasses. "Sooyeon here just bought out our land and is planning on renovating this broken down place. Have you got any idea what that'll do for the area? We'll get more tenants. Yes, you'll have to pay more, but this place will look really nice."
She furrowed her eyebrows together. She liked the way it was now. She liked that she was able to pay her rent. This was the only place that she could afford at the moment, and she didn't have the time for another job. Then another question popped into her head. Where the hell was she going to stay? She figured the renovations would take more than two weeks, and she couldn't just bother her friends by staying over for more than a week.
"If we're renovating, where will I stay?"