After the funeral, I moved back into Jaehee’s apartment and things seemed to return to the way they were. Jaehee stocked the freezer with blueberries just like she used to. I bought some Marlboro Reds, but she told me not to bother anymore—after cigarette prices went up, she and her boyfriend both decided to quit. Of course they did. The cigarettes I bought remained frozen and untouched.

Just like old times, we talked about our days before we went to sleep. I went on meeting the Man of the Day, and Jaehee and her boyfriend continued to avoid the Roommate/Jieun issue like it was a flagged landmine. They seemed to have decided it was like living with an embarrassing family member. But whenever he was drunk, Jaehee’s boyfriend would say something along these lines:

—You do know that this situation would be unacceptable to anyone else.

Who cared? I expected them to break up one day, but the boyfriend had more stamina than I thought. Jaehee said he was more down-to-earth than anyone else she had met, and it was lovely that he always listened to what she had to say.

—He does everything I suggest, like a pet dog.

He had no weird habits, and unlike her other men, he didn’t find her drinking tiresome, going so far as to joke that it was like meeting a new woman every night. (Sure it was.)

Jaehee would always fall asleep before midnight. Her work must’ve been draining, because she came home after ten every night and lay around the apartment like a deflated balloon, but if I messaged her saying I was close to scoring and was staying out, she’d reply like a mother waiting up for her child:

Try not to pick one who’ll die before you this time.

I’ll do my best.

◊

Right around then, Jaehee’s boyfriend proposed to her, and she said yes. They had been going out for three years. When I heard the news, I remarked that the hyung seemed like a nice guy and all but had no eye for women. Jaehee replied, “I know, right?” And added:

—He said he loved how I would make him laugh for the rest of his life.

I hoped he didn’t end up getting slapped in the back of his head for laughing so much.

But his words did make me realize that he was seeing in her the same qualities I loved. Jaehee wasn’t pretty or kind, but she was definitely funny.