Chapter Two: It's a scam!

"This is a double contract, it's a scam," the old lady states. The both of you stay silent and the old lady continues. "Usually, there would be key money, but in this case, there is none. Additionally, they have taken two lots of fees from both of you and have ran away."

"Oh no," your eyes widen.

Ja'far takes this opportunity to speak.
"You mean we can't take our money back?"

"Probably not possible," the old lady bluntly states.

"So, who gets to live in the house?" You tug at the hem of your shirt, casting your eyes downward.

The old lady clears her throat. "It looks like Mr. Ja'far made his contact first, however.."

You look up at Ja'far and then at the lady. She continues, smiling lightly, "whoever pays the $1500 rent first can live there, no problem."

"$1500?!" Both you and Ja'far exclaim.

"It says $800 on the contract," Ja'far glances at the contract before focusing again on the lady.

"These days, that kind of place would never let for $800, right?" The lady chuckles.

_________

Later that night with a grocery bag hugged tightly to your chest, you and Ja'far walk silently back to the apartment. Ja'far arrives first at the door and hands you a bag that was on the middle hinge. You look inside and grabbed the milk pudding.

Hey (Name)! Congratulations on your move. From, Koumei.

"It looks like Koumei came after all," you murmur to yourself before placing the pudding back into the bag and walking into the apartment with Ja'far.

After the door closed and the two sat at the small table near the kitchen with only two seats, Ja'far began talking. "Whether we move, or stay here for $1500, we need lots of money. I used all my savings to move here."

"Can't you ask your parents for help?" You question, slightly leaning forward. Ja'far cast his eyes downward at the table.

"Nope."

"Why do you need to live alone?" You question further. The both of you made eye contact.

"None of your business," Ja'far states, irritated.

"Yes, it is!"

"How about you?" He ignores your previous response.

"I live alone because my parents took over the family farm in the country. I will stay here alone, until I graduate. There are no dormitories available now, so I decided to live alone," you bit your lip.

"Well, that's no big deal."

"What do you mean? That's so rude," you frown, almost raising your voice.

Ja'far sighs. "You just stayed here because you didn't want to live in the country, right?"

"You are relying on your parents too, right?"

He hesitated for a few seconds. "Don't you have anyone else? Any relatives?"

Reality paused while you looked at one of the windows. You flinch, seeing your grandma trying to get in. "If you need anything, I'll come right away," she rasped. You shake your head quickly and look at Ja'far again.

"No way. If my parents find out, they'll take me back to the country," you freak before thinking for a second. "Wait, why don't we just live together?"

Ja'far eyes widened. "Huh?"

"Think about it, there are two rooms, and we can split the rent, making it cheaper than before!"

"This is no joke, you know! Do you know what you're saying?"

"Yes, it's not forever, just until we can find a new place, okay?" You nod to yourself.

Ja'far grits his teeth. "No. Not possible."

You give him a hurt look. "Can you afford $1500 a month, Ja'far?"

In response, he lays back in his chair and stays silent. You cast your gaze downwards at the table. Pretending to be about to cry, you keep looking back up at him and then back to the table. "I can't. So I guess I'll just have to go."

Ja'far tries to ignore you by adverting his gaze, you continue anyways. "But my old place has already let, so I have absolutely no where to go!" Whining slightly at the end, you put your face in your hands. You peek at him through your fingers. "Are you sure we can't make this work?"

Ja'far looks back at you two seconds before you quickly let your face drop in your hands again. "Alright," Ja'far finally says. Gasping, you almost slam your hands down on the table while you meet his gaze.

"Really?" You squeal.

"Yes, but just for now."

"Just for now, got it. Once we find a new place, we move." Yes! You cheer silently.

"Once we both have the money or find a new place, we'll move straight away," Ja'far seemed to be slightly uncomfortable.

"When the girls' dorm is vacant, too," you add.

After a moment of silence, Ja'far states, "oh, we got nothing to worry about us."

"What?"

"I'm not interested in you at all." He gets up and goes to his room. You glare at the door.

"Same goes for me too! I couldn't care less about you!" You pause and murmur, "so Ja'far is moved by women's tears."

You head to your room. After a long while, the doorbell rings. You sniff the air. Is that what I think it is? You open the door to your bedroom and approach Ja'far holding four boxes of pizza. It is! "I love pizza!"

"There's none for you," Ja'far stepping away from you inching towards him.

You pout. "You have so much, though!"

Ja'far paused in front of his bedroom door. "Here you can have this."

Excitedly, you wait for him to hand you a box of pizza or two. Instead, he hands you the kid's coupon that came with it.

You take it and enter your own bedroom, slamming the door. "A goddamn kid's coupon!" You grumble, throwing it on your dresser and jumping onto your bed. "How the hell is that skinny guy going to eat all that pizza?!"