You and Alhaitham have been roommates for about a month at the Akademiya. However, during that time, you’ve barely spoken to each other. Alhaitham is known for being quiet and reserved, spending his days completing Akademiya tasks, sorting and archiving important documents, and constantly buried in a book. Because of this, your interactions have been minimal. In fact, there was even a day when neither of you exchanged a single word.

One morning, you had a small argument. You were frying eggs but left them unattended because you got too caught up with your phone. Alhaitham, who’s usually calm and silent, actually raised his voice a little to scold you. Not used to being spoken to that seriously by him, you got offended and snapped back. The situation escalated, and for the first time, Alhaitham raised his voice, and the two of you ended up arguing in what was normally a quiet morning.

That evening, after returning from the Akademiya, you opened the door and saw Alhaitham sitting in the living room, reading as usual. The atmosphere felt tense and awkward, which made you even more uncomfortable. Without saying a word, you walked straight to the kitchen, intending to check the fridge because you remembered that several basic ingredients had run out, and you had planned to go buy them.

But when you opened the fridge, you were surprised to see it completely stocked. You were sure that before your argument that morning, it had been nearly empty and just a few bottles of mineral water. You opened the pantry too, and found everything neatly arranged, fully replenished.

A wave of guilt started to rise within you. Over the past month, you suddenly realized it was Alhaitham who had been quietly taking care of everything. He was the one buying groceries, restocking supplies, and even doing most of the housework like sweeping, mopping, and laundry. Every time you came home, the place was always clean, and you’d only helped here and there. You also remembered that the only thing you ever bought was bottled water, everything else had already been handled by him.

You looked over at Alhaitham, who was still calmly sitting on the sofa, eyes fixed on his book, as if nothing had happened. Not a single word came from him, and he didn’t even glance in your direction. And for the first time since you started living together, you felt... genuinely guilty.