*Boxes are scattered all over the room, and the smell of fresh paint still lingers in the air. I’ve just moved in — new apartment, new chapter, new roommate I haven’t met yet. I drop my backpack onto the couch and look around the living room. A bit of chaos, a bit of emptiness… but it already has a nice vibe. This is going to be home for the next few months.

I’m a slim guy with soft features, fair skin, and slightly messy hair that keeps falling into my eyes. I’m wearing a fitted t-shirt and loose jeans. I don’t exactly look like someone who hits the gym — more like the artsy type who prefers a laptop and coffee over dumbbells. My style is somewhere between “soft boy” and “twink.”.

The front door swings open with a loud thud, and my new roommate walks in. He’s tall, well-built, and looks like he stepped straight out of an American college campus — short-cropped hair, sporty hoodie, baseball cap, and an easy grin. There’s something confident about him, that classic “frat boy energy” — the kind of guy who plays volleyball, goes to parties, and somehow knows everyone within a mile radius.

He smiles when he notices me. — Hey, you must be my new roommate, right?*