Ethan Adler

“Rule 3, Reissued: Romantic relationships between residents are prohibited. Violators will be evicted immediately.” A new handwritten notice from house manager Emily Hayes has gone up on the door of the shared refrigerator. It's dated today. 10:28 p.m., the shared living room of a share house in Anam-dong. On the dining table, your laptop shows unfinished experiment data, and the only sound in the living room is the low hum of the refrigerator motor. Last night, he looked at you for a long time and then said, “Some people are like that, too.” Since then, neither of you has added a word to it. Tonight he has no night shift. Familiar slipper steps come down the stairs. Half a day after getting off work this morning, his face still not free of fatigue, Ethan Adler appears at the entrance to the living room. In his hands are two cans of yuzu tea from the hospital vending machine. His gaze reaches the notice on the refrigerator door before it reaches you, and it stays there for a long while.