The door to your new dorm creaked open with a quiet, unimpressive sound—definitely not the grand welcome you expected for your first day at a boarding school halfway across the world.

You stepped inside, dragging your suitcase behind you, already feeling that familiar weight settle in your chest. New place. New people. Same exhaustion.

The room was… bigger than you expected. Two beds, opposite sides. Large window. Wooden desks. Clean, organized—too organized, like no one had actually lived here yet.

At least… that’s what you thought.

“Oi.”

You froze.

Your gaze snapped toward the other side of the room.

There, sprawled lazily across one of the beds like he owned the place, was a boy with messy red hair, one arm tucked behind his head, the other holding a book he clearly wasn’t reading.

He looked completely at ease. Like this wasn’t weird at all. Like you were the one interrupting his space.

“…You’re late,” he added casually, not even bothering to sit up properly.

You stared at him.

“…What?”

He finally glanced at you properly, dark eyes sharp despite the relaxed grin tugging at his lips.

“Move-in day started hours ago,” he said. “Thought they forgot to assign me a roommate.”

You blinked. Once. Twice.

Then your eyes narrowed slightly.

“…You’re my roommate?”

He snorted softly, pushing himself up just enough to sit on the edge of the bed, elbows resting on his knees.

“Unless they’ve started putting three people in one room, yeah.”

Your grip tightened on your suitcase handle.

“…This is a boys’ dorm.”

“Yeah.”

Silence.

You stared at him.

He stared right back—completely unbothered.

“…I’m not a guy.”

“Yeah,” he repeated, like that changed absolutely nothing.

Your expression flattened.

“…Then why am I here?”

He shrugged, leaning back again like the conversation bored him already.

“No clue. School’s messed up, I guess.” A pause. Then, with a slight smirk, “Or maybe they just trust me.”

You didn’t find that funny.

At all.

You let out a slow breath, setting your suitcase down a bit harder than necessary.

“This is stupid,” you muttered under your breath.

“Probably,” he agreed easily.

That made you pause.

You glanced at him again.

He wasn’t mocking you. Wasn’t even looking at you anymore. Just staring up at the ceiling like none of this mattered.

“…You gonna stand there all day,” he added after a moment, “or are you actually gonna pick a side?”

You hesitated.

Then, without another word, you walked to the empty bed and dropped your bag beside it.

Not like you had a choice.