On my very first day of freedom, I somehow ended up unable to escape either my apartment building or my own thoughts—thanks to the guy I met in the elevator.
I set the box in my hands down, kicked off my shoes, and walked into the living room. I sank into my soft cream-colored couch and stretched my legs out onto the coffee table.
What a day, honestly.
As if being stuck in an elevator wasn't annoying enough, I had to be stuck there with someone who clearly thought he was a Greek god. And somehow, in the middle of all that, he even managed to learn my last name. If we'd stayed there any longer, he probably would've recited my entire family registry.
If I stayed sprawled on the couch like this, I was never going to stop thinking about him. Besides, I had a ton of things to do—clothes to put away, books to sort ... A new home and a new life came with freedom, sure but also with a workload that could rival a shipping company.
I pulled my laptop out of my bag and put on my most energetic playlist. I was one of those people who couldn't function without music, and I had a playlist for every task and every mood. Singing along, I made my way toward my bedroom with dance moves that had absolutely zero grace.
As I unpacked my things, I couldn't keep the goofy smile off my face. I'd been waiting for this moment for so long. Convincing my family had been a battle on its own.
I was determined to live alone, no roommates, no negotiations. And of course, my overly anxious mother was the one leading the opposition. To be fair, the place was actually nice; I had to give her that.
It was the perfect-sized apartment for a single person. At the entrance, there was a small but cute hallway where you could see the doors to every room. To the left of the front door stood a coat rack, and to the right was the bathroom. Straight ahead was the bedroom, the living room was right beside it, and the kitchen fit snugly between the coat rack and the living room.
Small place, big happiness.
By the time I finished unpacking, it was already dark outside, and my hunger had reached a lethal level. Since my fridge was tragically empty, I opened every student's loyal best friend—the food delivery app—and ordered something.
While waiting for the food to arrive, I turned on the TV and sprawled out on the couch. When my phone chimed with a text notification, I tore my eyes away from the TV. That's when I remembered I hadn't texted the girls about coming over the next evening.
I smiled to myself as I typed into our group chat. With Aylin living right upstairs and Feyza just one street away, getting together whenever we wanted had officially become effortless.
As I continued flipping through the channels in pure frustration, I grew increasingly convinced that the days when watching TV in this country didn't feel like physical torture were long gone.
The doorbell rang. Finally, it was here!
Carrying my food back to the living room, I gave up on the channels entirely and opened the top pick on my streaming platform. I only followed two shows regularly, but I loved both of them to an almost unhealthy degree. I saved the serious one for another day and put on the one I knew would lift my mood while keeping me entertained. Seeing Dean Winchester was enough to boost my mood instantly.
I was alone, in my own home, watching my favorite show with dinner in my lap, sprawled comfortably across the couch. Freedom was a beautiful thing.
If only that blue-eyed, smug face would stop flashing through my mind.
It was my first morning waking up without roommates whose tiniest sounds could drag me out of sleep. Now this was life. Before heading to the bathroom, I pulled up my most upbeat playlist on my laptop and hit play.
I slipped into a comfy pair of leggings and one of my matching sweatshirts. After giving the messy bun on top of my head a quick check, I was ready to head out.
My first stop was the little café on the ground floor of the building, where I treated myself to a quiet, delicious breakfast. The sun was at that perfect spring warmth—gentle enough not to suffocate you, warm enough to feel good. Fueled by breakfast, I moved on to the first mission of the day.
I sighed helplessly as I stared at the final state of my shopping cart. The tiny amount of muscle mass I possessed whispered that there was no way I could carry all of this on my own. So I immediately called one of my oldest friends from school.
"Hey, my dearest neighbour, what's up?.. I'm fine. Can I ask you for a favor?.. If you're free, could you come to the market and help me? I may have… slightly overdone it with the shopping. Okay, I'll wait." When needed, I could flatter people well enough to end a war. It was one of my core survival skills. I hung up and headed to the checkout.
By the time I finished packing everything into bags, Yiğit had arrived. His eyebrows shot up when he saw me surrounded by bags of every size.
"Since we're not expecting a famine anytime soon, what's all this? Doomsday prepping?"
I laughed and lightly smacked his arm. "Stop teasing and help me." I handed him the heaviest bags and took the rest myself.
"Don't you think it's about time you found a decent-looking, strong, smart, funny guy?"
"Why do I feel like I've been caught sneaking out by my mom's knitting-circle friends?"
"See? This many people care about you. What more do you want, you heartless creature!"
"It's all your fault; you keep raising my standards."
And I meant that sincerely. My friend was both handsome and the kind of genuinely polite guy you barely encountered these days. Plus, he was full of entertaining stories you could listen to for hours without getting bored.
"Sure you do. Which is why you always manage to find the biggest jerks around!"
He wasn't exactly wrong about that. Aside from a guy I briefly dated back in high school as a 'why not,' I hadn't had a single proper relationship. And on the rare occasions I actually liked someone, it always ended in disappointment—turns out they were either cheating on their girlfriends or just hunting for a bit of short-term fun.
"Ugh, okay fine, I'm done looking at men altogether. I'll apply to a convent soon and continue my career as a nun. It's a respectable profession, you know—might even take me all the way to the Vatican."
"You'd probably end up crushing on one of the gay priests, anyway."
I narrowed my eyes and shot him an annoyed look. "Your faith in me is genuinely touching."
He winked and grinned. "This is what we call experience honey."
By then, we had reached my apartment door. I set the bags down at the entrance.
"If you're not busy, come in for a coffee."
"I promised Pelin I'd go to the movies with her. And even if I hadn't, a single coffee wouldn't be enough after hauling your groceries. You owe me a full meal, you evil minion."
"As long as you don't lecture me about my terrible taste in men, I'm fine with that."
He smirked. "And give up my favorite hobby? Not a chance."
I shrugged and laughed. "Hey, at least I tried."
"See you, minion."
"See you buddy."
After putting everything away, I made myself a small sandwich, grabbed my soda, and went to the living room. There was still time before the girls arrived. I put on one of the movies waiting on my watchlist.
When the doorbell rang, I opened my eyes and blinked around in confusion. The movie had been so boring that I'd fallen asleep while watching it. I pushed the messy strands of hair off my face and got up to answer the door.
"We're here!" I winced at their high-pitched voices and stepped aside to let them in.
"Welcome. Come in."
Aylin didn't miss the weird expression on my face. "What happened to you?"
"I fell asleep while waiting for you, woke up with the doorbell. I'll wake up in a minute. Do you want coffee too?"
While I prepared the coffees, they arranged the snacks they'd brought onto plates. Feyza grinned at me.
"So? What did you do after we left? Since you practically kicked us out, I assume you enjoyed the place."
"Don't even ask. It was so nice that I think I'm claustrophobic now." After I said that with a grimace, they both turned to me in surprise.
Aylin raised her eyebrows. "What's wrong, did something happen?"
"I'll tell you once we sit with the coffee."
Once we settled on the couch, I told them about the elevator disaster from the day before.
When I reached the part about the "last name," Feyza couldn't hold back anymore:
"Oh my God, that's so romantic!"
I gave her a "are you kidding me?" look, and Aylin still nodded in agreement. "Cocky but polite… honestly, kind of cute."
I muttered, my expression making it very clear I questioned their sanity. "Yeah, totally not creepy at all. How did I miss that you two have the exact vibe of women who send love letters to serial killers in prison? I'm telling you, the guy knew my last name without me saying it."
Aylin rolled her eyes. "Don't exaggerate, Duru. He probably knows you from school."
I shook my head firmly.
"Impossible. I've never seen him before. Trust me, he's not exactly the kind of guy you can forget."
Feyza snapped her fingers and jumped in excitedly. "Got it! Maybe he's your secret admirer."
I rolled my eyes. "And you say I watch too many movies. Do I look like an actress or a model to you? What secret admirer?"
Aylin narrowed her eyes and studied me. "What did you mean earlier when you said 'not the kind you can forget'?"
I avoided her gaze, inspecting the plant by the window as I sipped my coffee. When was the last time I watered that thing?
Feyza pointed directly at my face, practically poking my eye. "I know that look. You liked him, didn't you?"
Unable to withstand their piercing stares any longer, I let out a defeated sigh.
"Fine, he was handsome. And when he leaned in like he was about to kiss me… I might've been a tiny bit affected. Just a little."
Their synchronized burst of laughter made me wrinkle my face in annoyance. Wonderful. On the very first day of my freedom, the guy I met in the elevator had officially become the headline of my life.
I had told myself, "It's not like I'll ever see him again." Apparently, the universe took that sentence very personally.