MONSTERNEXTDOOR, Chapter 01: There are many types of introverts. I am the “shy” kind.
I’m a creature as shy as a turtle. When I’m by myself, I’m just a regular turtle, but when I go out among people, I retract my head into my shell. Not because I’m scared, but because I’m not brave enough to make eye contact or talk to others.
For example:
If I go outside, I look at my feet instead of other people’s faces.
If I go into a 7-Eleven, I focus on the items and the money, not looking into the cashier’s eyes.
If I’m presenting at work, I look at the slides instead of making eye contact with the audience.
I don’t like face-to-face conversations. I prefer conversations where we don’t have to meet, feeling more at ease talking if we’re not face-toface because we don’t have to worry about their expressions or whether they like how we talk, if our saliva might splatter on them, if there’s food stuck in our teeth, or if they are pleased with what we’re saying.
And that’s the first reason why I’m happy in this square room.
No need to see anyone’s face. No need to avoid eye contact. No expectations, just living quietly with my Japanese red-eared slider turtle named Shy, not because he’s a lady or gentleman, but because “shy” means “embarrassed.”
Every day after school, I often spend my time in my room until the next morning, sometimes reading books, playing with my cat, or laughing alone at Twitter. I don’t go to parties with friends, don’t study at the library, don’t join clubs, or attend orientation sessions.
What I enjoy the most is reading on the balcony of my room, feeling the cool night breeze on the tenth floor.
My room’s balcony is the best place for relaxation, not made of solid concrete but with black railings, allowing constant air flow when I sit on the floor.
Today was another day where I sat to look at the stars while reading, with a small lamp left on beside me.
I read all kinds of books, from comics to novels, literature, philosophy of life, history, even textbooks that I can read without feeling sleepy.
Until the new creature moved into the room next door last month.
This annoying creature, always shouting and making loud noises like Godzilla attacking the city.
The clock on the wall shows it’s exactly ten at night, and soon the sound of the key turning in the next door’s lock will be heard, along with the familiar, noisy chatter of his friends that I’ve grown accustomed to. And just as I thought, at five past ten, the voices started outside the room.
Footsteps of people, followed by the sound of keys, the yelling, and the TV noise that I could identify which channel it’s on. Today being a red-hot day means they’ll be cheering for football at two or three in the morning, and I won’t be able to sleep.
Thinking about it, I sighed.
Looking into my well-decorated room, down at the beautiful night view of the suburban university, the bright orange street lights, occasionally the sound of a motorcycle driving by to disturb the peace.
I don’t want to move rooms because this one has the best view, plus it’s at the very end. If I had to deal with noise from both adjacent rooms, I’d rather just tolerate it from one.
So, the only way is to endure.
Thud
I flinched at the sound of something hitting the wall, turning to look in shock because the noise was like the wall might collapse. Then there was a loud shout:
“I’m hurt, you damn Wan!”
Followed by indistinct arguing sounds like buzzing insects.
I turned on some soft music from my phone to drown out the noise from next door, trying to close my eyes and endure.
Just when rain occasionally taps against the window.
Just when it rains on a holiday morning.
‘There might be just a tiny bit where I miss you
It might have been the only time I told you I love you’
Click
The sound of the next-door neighbor’s balcony door opening rang out, accompanied by even clearer loud noises, and there was also the sound of things being thrown around, not unlike a bar at all.
Has he no consideration for the neighbor?
“Sigh.”
“Is someone there?” My sigh must have been too loud because the person who came out onto the balcony asked. I shifted myself to sit up straight from where I was leaning against the big pillow.
Why wouldn’t there be? Just because I’m quiet in my room doesn’t mean there’s no one here.
“Hello.”
The back of the hand of the creature next door knocked on the balcony with a loud clatter.
“Calling for neighbor number two, can you respond?”
“So annoying.”
He finally went quiet after my complaint. No one would tolerate such loud noises for an entire month. Someone else would have knocked on the door and given a piece of their mind by now. I’ve been very patient. “Is it too loud?” The deep voice interjected as I was packing up to go back inside. Upon hearing that, I thought to tell him, yes, you’ve been making noise since day one until now, and just because I haven’t complained to the dorm or made any noise in response doesn’t mean you can make as much noise as you want.
I just don’t want any trouble.
“Uh.”
In the end, all I could reply with was “Uh.”
If he has any sense, he should understand the word ‘consideration.’
The creature next door didn’t say anything more. He was quiet for a while before the noise in his room started up again.
“Hey, let’s go to the barbecue place today.”
“What! I just got to your place and now you want to go out for barbecue?”
“Hey, the football noise was loud.”
“Why?”
“The neighbor is annoyed.”
“You even have someone next door?”
“I’m not even sure if it’s a person.”
“Damn Godt!”
“Get out, this isn’t a bar, leave.”
And then I heard the sound of the glass door closing. Not long after, I heard the door shut along with footsteps of a group walking away, and everything around me returned to a peaceful silence where I could hear the wind passing by my ears.
Silent enough to hear the clock ticking on the wall.
He’s not really a bad guy.
I pulled my navy tie all the way up. I checked myself briefly in the mirror, fed my cat, and tidied the bed. Last night was the first time in a while I slept soundly, not hearing the usual noisy ruckus from next door.
I checked the time on my phone, it was half past six.
My usual daily time.
I opened my door early in the morning and noticed something strange hanging on the door handle, peering left and right, examining this odd item before slowly picking it up.
Strawberry-flavored Pocky…
A pink Post-it was stuck to the bag, with a short, scribbled message: “Didn’t know someone was next door, sorry for the noise every day.”
Heh…
I smiled dryly when I saw that, then stuffed the Pocky into my pocket, crumpled the Post-it, and carelessly threw it into the trash bin. I walked past the next door as usual.
If he’s aware now, that’s good. It’s not just my room that feels the annoyance.
The elevator doors opened with the chatter of other students heading out to class. I didn’t pay attention to anyone, tightening my grip on my bag, walking out to catch a taxi to the university.
My life’s loop, it’s just a few things.
I like waking up early because there are fewer people around in the morning. Plus, at this time, there’s less traffic, and a taxi ride to the university takes less than ten minutes.
The science lab at seven in the morning is quiet. I come here to work every day at this time, where the only sound is the hum of the air conditioner. I put on my long white lab coat, button it up neatly, then turn my attention to the glass jars on the table and start my work.
Until the first class starts at eight, the day proceeds as usual. At noon, I go to the faculty canteen to eat chicken rice with strawberry yogurt, sit and read Twitter, and check my account which only has ten followers and is almost becoming a spam account. My profile picture is of Shy when he was the size of a ten-baht coin, his red cheeks looking cute.
After lunch, I go back to the lab in the afternoon, then return to my room to study, living a life straighter than a ruler. Occasionally, like today, I’ll take a detour before heading back to my dorm to buy sushi to eat in my room.
“Two hundred baht exactly.”
I reach into my trouser pocket for my wallet, quickly hand over the two hundred baht without looking at the cashier’s face, and then walk out of the sushi shop straight back to the dorm. Up on the tenth floor, I walk along the white tiled floor to the room at the very end. Usually, I’d just unlock and push open the door to enter, but today…
I notice something odd on the door again.
A pink Post-it…
Again?
‘Are you still mad? If not, write back.’
And why should I bother replying to him?
I crumple the Post-it while pushing the door open, place the sushi box on my study table, and toss the Post-it into the trash.
It’s not that I don’t want to reply; I just don’t see what good it would do. As long as he knows he’s done wrong, that’s enough.
I pull out a thick stack of sheets from my bag. The midterms are coming up, so I need to concentrate on studying. If the noise from next door gets loud again… will I lose it?
No, because I’ll go down to study at the coffee shop near the dorm instead.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m as shy as a turtle. I don’t like chaos, which is why I’ve tolerated it this long. As long as the loud noises are confined to that room,
I’ll consider our lives not to intersect.
I spent the entire afternoon reading and summarizing the content for my exams. When I looked out the window again, I saw the blue sky adorned with light orange at the horizon; the sun was setting, and the moon was just starting to peek out.
So beautiful.
This is my world.
I opened the balcony door again, sat down on the large cushion, and inhaled the fresh air into my lungs. It should have been refreshing, because the air is good up here, but instead, I caught a whiff of cigarette smoke that made me turn away.
Is the creature next door smoking?
“Back already?” a deep voice asked, making me jump in surprise.
Suddenly being spoken to like this nearly gave me a heart attack.
It seems the creature next door was waiting to talk to me, evident from the two Post-its I had tossed into the trash. I myself didn’t quite understand what Khun Godzilla wanted. We had barely spoken since he moved in.
“Smoking?”
“Huh, no, it’s the next room.”
“Oh.”
“Should I tell him to stop?”
I was about to say it wasn’t necessary. If he smokes in his own room, that’s his right. I would just go back inside and wait until he’s done, then come out again, but then the shouting from the next balcony started.
“Sir, please don’t smoke on the balcony, it’s smelly.”
“Uh, but this is my room.”
“This is my room too. I can smell it.”
“I haven’t complained about your noise.”
I let out a soft laugh, well, Khun Godzilla, looks like you’ve been countered.
“You act like you’re so quiet, should I tell your girlfriend that you bring different women up here every day?”
Oh, now there’s blackmail involved.
“What’s your problem?”
“If you want to smoke, go downstairs. Otherwise, why would the dorm build a smoking room if not for this?”
“So annoying.”
The sound of the glass door closing startled me, making me jump.
Sigh, what’s with the people in this dorm, or are they all like Godzilla?
Making such loud noises without any consideration for others.
“Did it stop stinking?”
I took a deep breath; there was no more smell of cigarettes. I was contemplating whether I should thank him.
“Thanks.”
“Did you see the Post-it on your door?” I thought about the pink Postit stuck on my door, which was now lying in the trash.
“Saw it.”
“Are you still mad?”
“Mad about what?”
“For being noisy. I didn’t know someone was living there; I’ve never seen anyone coming or going. Plus, your room is always so quiet.”
“Hmm.”
I gave a soft grunt in acknowledgment. It wasn’t surprising he didn’t know someone was there; since he moved in, I had never actually seen my neighbor. Nor did I plan to.
But if I had to guess, I’d say he’s a creature who stays up late and sleeps in late.
I shifted a bit and grabbed a book to place on my lap. There was no further conversation with the creature next door. I picked up Shy, who was meandering on my shag carpet, and put him in his square tank beside me, sprinkling a little sakura fish food for him. I watched him open his mouth to eat with delight.
The cool breeze on my face made me squint a bit as I looked out to the west-facing balcony where the sun was about to set. How lucky I am to have a room on this side, where the sunset view is the best.
“You,” the deep voice called out again after a brief silence, followed by the clattering noise because he seemed to enjoy knocking on the balcony to get my attention.
Does he think I’m a cat or dog that he needs to tap a bowl to call for dinner?
“Huh?”
“What’s your name?”
“Diew.”
“Diew… as in ‘lonely’?”
“Sure.”
My name is “Diew,” which my mother chose because I was her only child. She realized after my third grade that naming me ‘Diew’ (meaning “alone”) was a terrible idea because I became a child who preferred being alone. I never had any friends.
I tried changing my nickname several times; Little Friend, Little
More, Party Kid, Happy, but in the end, I was still alone. So my mother decided to double down on the name, adding “lonely” to make it “Diew Dai” (meaning “very lonely”).
And I’ve been “very lonely” for eighteen years now.
But I’m actually happy with this name. It’s good that my mother didn’t change it to “Happy” permanently.
Because I probably wouldn’t have been happy with that name.
“Are you living alone?”
“Yes,” alone, quiet, without a roommate. I’m comfortable paying for the room by myself, no need to split it with anyone.
“Don’t you get lonely?”
His deep voice carried a hint of loneliness itself. Unlike Godzilla, who has friends who make noise as if they could break the room every day, being alone might feel lonely to him.
“Not at all.”
“Living alone is impressive,” he said while turning to do something.
Before his phone rang, interrupting.
“Yeah… I’ll go soon… What sheet? No, I didn’t save the calories, I have it with me, only the phy… Yeah, yeah, I’ll bring it.”
From his conversation, it seems the creature next door studies something related to numbers. If I had to guess, probably engineering. Plus, he must be at the same university as me, unlikely he’s studying in the city and renting a dorm here otherwise.
I shook off those thoughts from my head, turning my attention to my cat who was waving his paws around. My grandfather gave me this cat as a gift before I left home to study here, and if he grows up, I’m supposed to return him because turtles can be fierce.
But my cat, well, he’s not only not fierce, he’s tame as a dog.
“Diew.”
“Huh?”
“You are going to class now, let’s talk tonight.”
“Why do we have to talk?”
“You want to talk, but you can’t, you don’t even reply to Post-its, you’re really cruel, you know that?”
And why should I reply to him when he’s the one making all the noise?
“I’m off, see you later in the dark.”
The sound of the glass door closing brought silence around me. I just furrowed my brows in confusion. Apart from being noisy, my neighbor is also someone who acts on his own whims, doing whatever he wants without listening to others even a bit.
I flopped down, leaning against my large turtle pillow and sighed.
That must be my millionth sigh.
He can do whatever he wants, after all, for the past month, he’s been doing just that until I’ve lost interest in caring.
But I didn’t realize that my solitary world was slowly being invaded by the creature next door, Godzilla.