Chapter Text
“Eomma!” echoed a little boy’s voice as he darted through a labyrinth of verdant plants, his small bag swinging across his chest, orchestrating a symphony of flaps against his hip. He turned left, past the potted field of Daylilies. He turned right, getting a whiff of Purple Hyacinths. The floral maze led him to his mother, who cradled a dark green watering can above a bed of Chrysanthemums, the water gently showered the flowers, catching on the leaves and soaking into its soil. When she saw the boy emerge, her eyes lit up, leaving a warm and comforting feeling in the boy's tummy. A large smile consumed the woman’s face, mirroring her son’s. Quickly, she grabbed the boy's wrist, bending down and tugging him into a hug. Nestling into the crook of her neck, he inhaled the fragrances of Lilies and a slight twinge of the ocean.
Safe.
“What did you come running for, Healing-ah?” His mother's hand cupped his cheek, coaxing him to meet her gaze.
The boy fidgeted, a mix of shyness, excitement, and a hint of embarrassment. He continued to sulk until his mother began pinching his cheeks, giving them a light dusting of pink. Grumbling, he contorted his body, wriggling away from the woman, he unzipped his small bag and dug around until he felt a rough and coarse fabric on his fingertips. Attempting to suppress a smile, he dramatically turned to showcase his masterpiece. "Ta-da!" he sang. The boy proudly presented a small, white shirt, made entirely of a thick, but cheap lace. Crooked buttons and a jagged collar hinted at imperfections, yet the overall design could easily grace the shelves of an expensive boutique.
A moment elapsed before his mother regained focus, blinking as if returning from a daydream. "Wow, Healing-ah. Did you make this?" The boy nodded his head and glued his lips together but it did little to prevent a little dent from forming in the center of his left cheek.
"My perfect boy!" Scooping him up, she twirled him around before gently placing him back on the ground once the boy could no longer contain his giggles. Leaning down, she placed her palm atop his head, ruffling his hair. "You really take after your Appa, don’t you? How can you both be so good at things you only do once?" She placed a soft kiss on the little boy’s forehead, only to lean back and chuckle. The woman licked her thumb and rubbed off the lipstick that stuck to the boy’s head.
"Eomma, gross!" the boy protested, trying to retreat away from the painful grating of his skin.
“Yeonjun-ah,” The woman’s eyes scrunched closed and a long smirk etched onto her face. The boy's stomach sank, recognizing the face his father had warned him about – nothing good could come from this. "Did you know that the fabric you used was what Appa and I brought to wrap the flower arrangements with?"
The boy’s eyes widened, “Crap”, the whisper escaped past his lips before he could even attempt to filter it. The boy turned his head and spoke, “Eomma! Look, over there! Your watering can fell over, the water is getting everywhere!” A slight wave of panic passed over the woman's face before she reluctantly twisted her head towards where her son was pointing. With his mother distracted, the boy slipped past her and made his escape toward the stairs, and up to his bedroom.
“Choi Yeonjun! Get back here, right this instant.” his mother yelled with a chuckle, hot on his heels. The boy turned his head back only to see his mother in her long, white dress mere inches away from grabbing him by the collar. He sped up even faster to escape. Racing up the stairs, he gripped the railings, ascending two steps at a time. Reaching his room, he slammed and locked the door, hiding under the covers, anticipating and waiting for his mother to come busting through the door.
Only she never did.
Blinking, the boy found his limbs elongated. He was taller — older. The scent of decaying flowers and acid jolted him from a hazy sleep. Unlocking the door only intensified the sour odor, yet its source eluded him. "Eomma? Are you still mad at me?" Descending the stairs, his nose twitched, the pungent smell making breathing almost impossible.
“Eomma?” He turned left, past the rotting Daylilies. He turned right, the smell of Purple Hyacinths overwhelming him. But there, amidst his mother’s favorite Chrysanthemums, he finally caught a glimpse of the elegant woman lying on the ground, still dressed in a pristine white dress. “Eom-” The words were stuck in the middle of his throat, falling back down and stabbing into his lungs. “Eomma!”
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
❀
Two cold squares hit Yeonjun smack dab, in the middle of his face. Blinking the blurriness away, his eyes eventually found Soobin leaning against the wall of his bedroom, his arms crossed and with a partially worried, partially annoyed look on his face.
“What’s got your panties in a twist?” Yeonjun yawned, his jaw unlocked wide, almost like a snake preparing to feast.
“Ew, hyung. Never saw the word ‘panties’ ever again.” The lanky man shivered just at the thought of hearing such a repulsive-sounding word again, likely berating himself for even saying it. “It’s like … at the same level as ‘moist’ — uhghhh god.”
The older grinned, a smirk slowly growing on his sharp features, “pannnnntiiiies. mooooisss-” Luckily, a pillow was thrown against his face, quickly quieting him.
“What is your problem with throwing things at my face Soobin?” Yeonjun groaned as he wrapped his arms around the fluffy weapon, resting his chin on top of it.
“It’s because someone needs to teach you to shut up, hyung.” Soobin sighed, “Peel those scent patches off your face and put them on. When I came in, you smelled … bad … sour " Scared was left unsaid, like it always is. “I thought you said the nightmares got better hyung, I thought you said you were sleeping better. Didn’t you wake up at like 7 am today? Why did you go back to sleep?”
Biting his cheek, Yeonjun didn’t even attempt to lie to Soobin, he would find out and yell at him even more if he did, “I didn’t wake up at 7. I never went to sleep. I texted you then and I guess-” Yeonjun inhaled deeply through his nose, holding the air for just a second, before releasing the long puff, “I-I must have accidentally dosed off.” Yeonjun nibbled at the dry skin on his lip, eventually ripping it off and leaving an open wound.
Soobin clicked his phone open, a bright light shining against his face, “It’s 8:15, hyung, you barely slept an hour.”
Seeing Soobin’s disappointed face was always the worst. Whenever that look appeared on the younger’s face, it felt like he was being scolded by all his ancestors. Like he committed an unforgivable crime. Like he had just sold his firstborn for a box of donuts. He didn’t know how to explain it. It was just awful — the worst really.
“Come on, go get dressed. I owe you some coffee, and I don’t think you would be able to survive without some anyway.” The younger man mumbled as he made his way to the door. “Just, make sure you don’t forget those patches, it's so still so strong I can still smell it”. Soobin pinched his nose closed with one hand and made a waving motion with his other, “Acid rain is stinky. So gross!” he chuckled before leaving and slamming Yeonjun’s door closed
“Yah!”
❀
“I forgot you even had a driver’s license. Why am I spending all this gas money when you can chauffeur yourself, huh?” Yeonjun groaned as he unbuckled his seatbelt, letting the strap fling backward.
“It’s impossible to ‘chauffeur yourself’, hyung. How are you this old and still saying the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard?” Soobin pushed the car door open, stepping onto the sidewalk as he waited for Yeonjun to exit. With a sigh, Soobin looked down at the watch on his wrist, “Could you move any slower, hyung?”
The tall man felt a scorching pain roaring to life. Soobin’s ear was yanked down a few millimeters and twisted to curve towards Yeonjun’s lips, “Respect your elders, with age comes wisdom, and you won’t receive any advice with that type of behavior!”
“Okay, okay! Could you let go now?”
“Yeah, yeah, now let’s go get my coffee.” Yeonjun dropped Soobin’s ear and leaned back onto the younger’s car. Yeonjun looked around, there were at least three cafes on this block. He will never understand how any of them are still in business with the amount of competition. “Which one are we going to anyway?”
“Cozy Cub Cafe!” Soobin stretched out his arm and pointed to the restaurant closest to them, “Why do you think I parked here, huh?”
“No.” Yeonjun huffed
“No?”
“No.”
“What do you mean, ‘no’? Wasn’t this like your go-to spot?”
“Choose another one!” Yeonjun jabbed his index into Soobin’s chest, attempting to move the behemoth of a person, but egregiously failed.
“What’s up with you? You love this spot!” Soobin quirked up his eyebrow in question, studying Yeonjun’s facial expression, but the older refused to answer. “Well, I don’t care hyung! We’re going to this one because their pastries are the best.” Soobin proudly projected, “And because I can get a discount.” he mumbled, hiding his eyes away from Yeonjun.
“So we have to go here because you’re a cheapskate?”
“What’s so wrong with that? It’s called networking! I’m pretty sure you were the one who told me to get out of my comfort zone and make some connections, hyung.”
“Fine. Who did you make these so-called connections with Soobin-ah.” Yeonjun groaned.
“Does it really matter Yeonjun-hyung?” The taller spoke as he gripped onto the older’s wrist, dragging him off the car and pushing him towards the entrance to the cafe.
“Yes, it does—” Yeonjun said as he was pushed through the door. He stumbled into the cafe as a light jingle rang, signaling their arrival.
“Soobin-hyung?” A boy with silver hair questioned. He dusted off what appeared to be cocoa powder off his apron, tugging and pulling at the material until it rested flat against his body. A rather sad, yet cute, attempt at trying to be professional. It was all pointless though as a light dusting of powdered sugar covered his cheeks and a small dollop of whipped cream rested on the tip of his nose.
“Jimin-ah!” Soobin giggled, stepping towards the boy, resting his elbow on the counter, he gently placed his chin on the palm of his hand. A sleazy attempt at flirting — Yeonjun knows from experience. “Do you think I can order an iced americano and a chocolate croissant?”
“Sure! What size americano?” Jimin cheerfully asked.
“Can I get a small—”
“Large.” Yeonjun corrected, hitting the back of Soobin’s shins.
“Large, iced americano.” Soobin twisted his head, feeling Yeonjun kick him again. “Light ice please.”
“Of course, of course.” Jimin tapped away on his screen, adding an amendment to the order before looking up and smiling again, “Anything else?”
“No, that will be all, thank you.” Soobin replied, before reaching for the younger’s wrist, turning up his charm, “Is uhhh— Beomgyu-ah here? I’m pretty sure he’s working today.”
“I can go get him!” A sweet, yet somewhat nasally voice answered. A mop of short hair popped up from below the counter. This boy’s apron was also covered in powdered sugar, but his face seemed to be left unscathed. Smiling, the new boy continued, “He should be in the back with Heesung-ah.” With sharp eyes, the boy resembled a fox, yet the deep craters that formed on both sides of his cheeks canceled out his aggressive eyes and made him appear harmless.
“Ah! Thank you Jeongin-ah!” Soobin grinned as the other boy made his way to a door labeled, “Employee only”.
“That’s probably gonna take them a bit. What did you need to ask Beomgyu-ah? Maybe I can help instead.” Jimin's eyes darted behind Soobin, looking at Yeonjun for just a second before looking back to Soobin. If Yeonjun wasn’t paying attention he would have missed the way the other boy’s face cringed for just a millisecond.
Glancing at the boy’s name tag, Yeonjun remembered this “Lim Jimin”, from the last, and what he assumed would be the final time he came here. Although he was once a regular at the Cozy Cub Cafe, or CCC as fellow college students called it, when a bunch of Yeonjun’s old senior friends left before graduating and a new batch of students were employed, he eventually decided to stop coming. At first, it was fine. Just like every year, he quickly made friends with the new employees, but there was an exception for the ones who worked the morning shift on Fridays.
Yeonjun blames one employee in particular, making him refuse to come to one of his favorite cafes for months. The other three who worked the same shift were fine on their own, but whenever that annoying brat appeared, everything turned to chaos. If Yeonjun was being honest, when he first saw the long-haired boy, he was intrigued— until he opened his mouth. Truthfully, Yeonjun couldn’t understand how the hell the kid was ever hired.
“Umm— Beomgyu said he would give me a discount if I ever came when he was working— but don’t worry about it! It’s totally okay if you can’t.” Flustered, Soobin waved his hands in front of his chest in a panic, before using one hand to reach into his back pocket, fumbling to find his wallet. It would be endearing if Yeonjun didn’t know it was somewhat calculated. Even though most would believe Soobin didn’t have a single manipulative bone in his body, that was far from the truth.
He had like five — at the very least.
How else would an introvert be able to handle so many leadership roles? He uses it to his advantage. He listens, he watches, and he makes his move in the silence using his awkward charm as a cover. Sometimes Yeonjun forgets how scary Soobin can be.
“Oh! Don’t worry, anything for Beomgyu-ah's family.” Jimin’s fingers swiftly move across the screen, a few taps here, a few taps there. He makes eye contact with Soobin once again, “Already on the house.”
“That's too generous, are you sure?” Soobin finally grabs his wallet, flips it open, and pulls out his credit card, “I can pay, really. I don’t want to mooch off you guys.” Soobin rests his hand over Jimin’s once again, a fabricated sparkle shining in his eyes.
Jimin smiles once again, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. He jerks his hand back from under Soobin’s, pushing the other’s card away, “It’s already done Soobin-hyung. Plus, with how much you deal with Beomgyu’s sh— nonsense, you definitely deserve a free treat.” The boy chuckles for a bit, rubbing the hand Soobin touched like he was burned, “Is it for here, or to-go?”
Soobin looks down at his wrist, checking the time once again, “For here, I need to talk to Beomgyu anyway,” he twists his head back to look at Yeonjun, “Is that okay with you, hyung?”
Yeonjun sighs, “Sure, whatever.” Not like he had a real say anyway.
6 bones, Yeonjun thinks.
“Feel free to sit wherever-ever, your drink should be ready soon.” Jimin says as he walks over to the glass cabinet displaying all the pastries. There are cookies, small muffins, and even some scones. What really sticks out is a vibrant green cake roll filled with ripe, juicy strawberries. Yeonjun hoped it was mint, but logically speaking, it was likely matcha-flavored. It makes him drool regardless though. If he knew Soobin wouldn’t have to pay a single cent, he probably would have asked to buy him one too.
With one hand, Jimin picks up a thin brown bag covered in images of a bear wrapped in a scarf, its paws holding a warm cup. He used his free hand to open up the glass cabinet. Using a pair of tongs, he picks up a relatively fresh-looking chocolate croissant, placing it in the brown bag, and handing it over to Soobin. “Here you go, hyung.” Soobin thanks the younger one last time before turning and guiding Yeonjun to a table in the corner of the cafe.
Yeonjun’s chair screeches as he pulls it out, but since there are not many customers in the cafe, no one really seems to bat an eye. “So,” Soobin says, pulling out his croissant from the bag, licking his lips when he spots the chocolate is still melty and warm, “tell me about this new class you have to take at the butt-crack of dawn. I thought you always made sure to take all your classes Monday through Thursday so you could have Friday free?”
“You act like I didn’t want to do that or something,” Yeonjun rolls his eyes, “I have to take this class to graduate. Apparently, I was supposed to take it a while ago, but with all the shit that happened and all the problems with my majors, I wasn’t able to. There was another class for it on Tuesday, but I couldn’t take it since it conflicted with my schedule, and the class on Thursday I would have been able to take was already full. I was late to sign up for classes since I was too busy helping around the shop when we were supposed to choose.” The words rush out of Yeonjun’s mouth. He had been holding back from complaining since it wasn’t that important in the long run, he’d graduate soon. Taking one class on Friday, while annoying, wouldn’t break him. He’d figure it out. He always does. “It’s fine, or it should be. I heard the teacher is an ass, and strict as hell at grading, but he is a nice person. I’ll just go to his office hours or something. He’ll fall in love with me, like every other teacher, and be lenient.”
Soobin hums, his cheeks too full of food to actually answer. Yeonjun reaches to the side of the table, grabs a napkin, and reaches towards Soobin before the taller rips it out of his hand, dusting the crumbs off his own lips.
“By the way, I thought you were Mr. Networking.” Yeonjun raises his eyebrow, “Making connections with a relative is not actual networking. Soobin, how the hell are you gonna get a decent job after you graduate?”
“Hey! It is actual networking, I’ll have you know.” Soobin argued, watching Yeonjun cross his arms over his chest, “And you will agree if you want your coffee — the coffee I got from networking, mind you.”
“Sure. Whatever you say, Soobin-ah.” Yeonjun sighs, “Who even is this Beomgyu, I’ve never heard you talk about him.”
“Really? That can’t be right.” Soobin’s eyes widen, he takes one more piece of his croissant and plops it into his mouth, before pushing whatever crumbs were left on the thin brown bag toward Yeonjun. As he waits for the other to swallow, Yeonjun picks at the small flakes of chocolate, placing a few onto his tongue and letting it melt. “He’s my cousin — you know, the one from Daegu.”
“Wait, you mean your roommate? That cousin from Daegu?” Yeonjun questions with a puzzled look.
“Yeah, I swear I told you his name.” Soobin replies. Absent-mindedly, he pushes the crumbs that fell onto the table into a little pile.
“Well, I guess I know about him then. And he’s a good roommate?”
“Yeah, the only semi-annoying thing he does is play music at like 3 am, but like most of the time it's for school work so I can’t even be that mad. Dude’s sleep schedule is almost as bad as yours, hyung.” Soobin sighs, scratching his neck. “Why do you ask anyway?”
“No reason really, I just never heard you complain about him like with your other roommates. Like I almost forgot you were rooming with him because you don’t complain.” Yeonjun grumbles.
“I mean, I love him. He’s like a little brother to me. We were really close when we were younger, you know. I’m the youngest in my family, so it felt nice to be someone he could rely on.” A light chuckle escapes Soobin’s mouth, like he was reliving memories of the past. “There are times he can be an asshole though, I won’t lie. I can always just go bother you when he’s being bitchy. He just needs space sometimes, and I get that. But like 98 percent of the time, he is super sweet.”
“So that's why you keep breaking into my place.”
“It’s not breaking in if I have the passcode, hyung.” Soobin says pointedly, grabbing a new napkin to clean up his little crumb pile.
“Semantics.”
“Sure, hyung, sure.”
A beat of silence passes before Yeonjun breaks it, “I think I’ve met him before.”
“Oh, really? When?”
“Here, obviously.” Yeonjun closes his eyes and scrunches up his eyebrows, trying to remember the last time he came to the cafe. He remembers a boy around his height, with short purple hair, maybe an inch or so shorter than him. He seemed nice enough, but also unprofessional. After one of his coworkers — Jeongin if memory serves him right — called for him and some other boy, Heesung, to come out front to help with the morning rush, they both came out looking a bit more than just disheveled. Attempting and failing to get the creases out of their clothes, trying to put their aprons back on. Yeonjun remembers his eyes catching the boy’s name tag, “Choi Beomgyu”, the black text etched into the silver pin placed on the right side of his apron. Unlike the rest of his coworkers, however, Beomgyu also had a small bear pin next to his name tag. It was cute. But he didn’t have long to dwell on it. Suddenly, he smelled a scent that could only be coming from an alpha. Yeonjun remembered politely pointing to the boy’s neck, his scent patch had peeled off a bit and the remnant smell of arousal was a bit obvious. It was cute how his cheeks suddenly heated up, and he quickly excused himself to the bathroom to fix it.
Yeonjun doesn’t remember much else about him if he is being honest. He got too distracted by the boy who had come out with him, “Lee Heesung” as the pin on the other’s apron had said. His long brown hair went past his shoulder, his lips were a dark pink, bruised and bitten raw. He was hot. He smelled good too, from what he could remember at least. But he couldn’t even be sure he was even smelling him, Heesung’s scent patches were placed perfectly, no wrinkles or anything.
“Staring at someone like that can be considered sexual harassment, ahjussi.”
Yeonjun’s eyebrow had twitched, he could not comprehend what he had just heard, “Excuse me?”
“Staring at someone like that can be considered sexual—” The boy repeated before he was cut off, slight traces of an accent almost pushing to the forefront of his voice as he spoke louder.
“I heard you the first time.” The words were just unbelievable. It was obvious that Yeonjun was older than him, but not by a lot, that’s for sure.
“My apologies, I thought you were hard of hearing as well, ahjussi.”
Yeojun would have probably yelled at him, had someone not stepped in, “Sir, I’m so sorry, he is a new employee.” Jimin tightly grabbed Heesung’s wrist and gave him a hard look that made the other boy remain quiet. “Please, take this coupon as an apology, and we will give you a full refund to compensate you.”
A piece of flimsy paper was pushed into Yeonjun’s hand, a coupon for 50 percent off his next order at the cafe. “No, thank you. I don’t think I’ll be coming back to this establishment.” Yeonjun put the coupon on the counter. Then turning to face Heesung, Yeonjun continued, “And I was looking at you because you don’t seem very professional,” he glanced at the boy’s name tag once again, “Lee Heesung-ssi.”
Yeonjun saw the boy’s jaw drop in rage, but he turned to leave before he could see more. “Do you not know how to read either, ahjussi!” The boy yelled, fuming with anger.
Yeonjun grabbed onto the door handle, placing a foot outside, before looking back one last time, “It seems you might need to retrain that one. Have a good day.” Yeonjun said before leaving the store.
He truly never thought he’d be stepping foot here ever again. It’s a little embarrassing.
…
“Hyung, Yeonjun-hyung!” Soobin waved his hand in front of Yeonjun’s face, trying to regain his attention. “You good?”
Nodding, Yeonjun replied, “Yeah, I’m fine. What was I talking about again?”
“You said you met my cousin here?”
“Oh, yeah. He seemed sweet enough. I didn’t get the chance to really talk to him though because his coworker — maybe boyfriend, I don’t really know — was acting insane. Like I feel bad for your cousin, he has to work with one of the most obnoxious people I have ever met. I didn’t even talk to his coworker for long either, but he was just— a lot. It’s why I stopped coming here actually”
“Damn. I thought Beomgyu’s friends were all chill. Maybe you just met one of them on a bad day or something.”
“I doubt it.” Yeonjun sighs.
A loud buzzing sound echoed through the restaurant. Soobin reached towards his pocket, pulling out his phone, “Shit, I gotta take this. Give me a minute.” The taller boy suddenly stood up and rushed to the bathroom, leaving Yeonjun all alone. Usually, this would never be an issue, Yeonjun could handle himself. But at this particular store, it was a bit awkward.
With nothing else to focus on, Yeonjun soon became aware of the grinding sounds of beans, the whining of gears, the squeaky sound of air hissing, and the random shuffling and conversations spoken between the employees. Without turning his head, his eyes drifted toward the group of four — it seemed like Beomgyu and Heesung had come back at some point. The boy with long hair wrapped his arms around the purpled-haired boy, his dark brown eyes gleamed. He licked his bruised lips, leaning towards the other, whispering into the shell of his ear. After a second or two, he quickly pushed off of him and walked to the cashier, Jimin. The purple-haired boy looked stunned, his eyes clouded with the clear signs of lust. Even though he was far away, Yeonjun could still smell him, his scent became heavier.
Not one to judge, Yeonjun looked away before his eyes caught sight of the long-haired boy once again, it was like his sight was almost drawn to him. The boy had placed his arm on Jimin's shoulder. Using his index finger, he scooped the little dollop of whipped cream on the boy's nose, and sucked it off his finger, grinning with a chuckle when Jimin got flustered, only now realizing his face was dirty.
Yeonjun looked away, a small groan sleeping past his lips as he went to pick up his phone. At the very top of his screen, he saw a notification from his email; his new professor had sent a message. His eyes glazed over it, skimming and getting the general gist. It was a simple greeting, but he also asked his students to come to class 15 minutes early because there would be exciting, and rather significant news he had to share.
A brash voice suddenly called out, a twinge of a countryside accent going by almost unnoticed. Slowly the voice spoke, “Choi So— oh, Soobin-hyung, your iced americano is ready!” The voice was so loud, it felt like Yeonjun’s eardrums would burst.
Yeonjun looked back to the door to the bathroom, it seemed like it would be a while. Soobin tried not to use his phone when spending time with his friend, so it must be important. Begrudgingly, Yeonjun placed his palms on the table, pushed himself up, and began walking to the counter. He reached toward the cup of coffee, the cold condensation sliding down his fingers.
A hand suddenly wrapped around his wrist, stopping him from taking the cup, “Excuse, this isn’t your drink.” Yeonjun looked up and saw the boy with brown hair, a stern look pasted onto his face.
“It is.” Technically at least, “I’m his friend, I’m just grabbing it for him.”
The boy tightens his grip around Yeonjun’s wrist, the tan skin turning a light shade of red. He looks at Yeonjun up and down, realization passing over his face, before speaking once again, “I know all his friends, so I doubt it, ahjussi.” The boy huffed, spite in his eyes.
“Did no one ever retrain you?” Yeonjun clicked his tongue.
“It seems like you still can’t read. Never re-learned that either, huh?” The boy snarked, using his free hand to point to the name scribbled onto the plastic cup, the black sharpie a bit smudged, “It obviously says ‘Choi Soobin’ on this cup. So, I don’t care if he actually is your friend, old man. Because, unfortunately for you, sir , I was retrained, and as company policy states, only the person who ordered the drink and whose name is on it is allowed to pick it up. ”
Yeonjun scoffed, “Are you kidding me?”
“No, and I thought you said you’d never come back here, ahjussi.”
Yeonjun heard a clattering, “I am so sorry about him, sir.” Jimin quickly stepped up, pushing the brown-haired boy back. “I’ll be sure to reprimand him,” he turned back to the boy behind him, giving him the stink eye. “Please,” he pushes the drink towards Yeonjun, “take your drink.”
“Thank you.” Yeonjun stiffly said, burning a hole in the brown-haired boy’s face, “You really need to learn how to be professional,” Yeonjun glanced down at the boy’s name tag but his mouth froze, catching sight of a familiar bear bin next to the name.
“Beomgyu-ah!” Soobin yelled, the door of the bathroom closing loudly behind him. Everyone in the cafe stood quiet, the sounds of Soobin’s steps echoed through the room as he came closer. “It looks like you finally met Yeonjun-hyung— or met him again.” His eyes glanced down to where Beomgyu still held onto Yeonjun’s wrist, “When did you guys get so close.” Soobin laughed.
Beomgyu dropped Yeonjun’s wrist, stepping backward until he hit the wall. “Hyung.” The words came out of the boy’s mouth in a soft whisper as his eyes moved away from Soobin to look at Yeonjun. “ This is Yeonjun-hyung?”
The lanky man chuckled once again, “Yeah!” Soobin scanned the room, taking in the tense atmosphere, “What’s wrong with you guys?”
“N-nothing. Nothing at all.” Beomgyu quickly quipped, turning to look at Yeonjun once again, “Please take your drink, ahj— Yeonjun-ssi.”
Slowly, Yeonjun stretched out his hand and pulled the cup. Looking down he noticed it had been so long, his ice already began melting.
“Okay … then,” Soobin said, stepping beside Yeonjun. “If you’re not too busy Beomgyu, can I talk to you about something? It’s kinda important.”
Yeonjun walked away, going to a little side counter near the exit where the straws were. Reaching over, he picked up the two that were the longest, meant for a large-size drink. “S-sure, hyung. Just give me a minute.” He heard Beomgyu bubble.
“Wait, Beomgyu, don’t you have to leave early today?” One of the employees, Jeongin, stated.
“Ah, crap. You’re right.” Beomgyu replies. Turning back to Soobin, “Can we talk when I get home hyung?”
“Uh, yeah sure. Of course. Just text me when you’re on the way, yeah?”
“Sure.”
“Soobin-ah,” Yeonjun yelled, pushing his straw into the cup’s opening and tossing away the paper wrapper. “Can you drive me? My class starts early today. I don’t think I can be late.” Yeonjun says as he walks to the glass door to leave the cafe.
“Really?” Soobin asks before shaking his head, and walking towards Yeonjun, “Yeah, sure hyung.” Before leaving Soobin turns back to look at Beomgyu, “See you soon, Beomgyu-ah!”
❀
Yeonjun didn’t have enough time to process everything that had happened at the cafe. With each step he took, speed walking to his new class, the remaining ice in his coffee shook. Finally, he stood in front of two large doors, pushing them open, he slipped inside as quietly as he could.
The room was completely full. Rows and rows of people situated themselves into their seats, and Yeonjun could only make out a few faces of people who were in his major. It was odd, to say the least.
“Yeonjun-sunbaenim!” A cheery voice called out, a pale hand stuck up in the air, waving around rapidly.
Yeonjun blinked a few times, even more confused than before, “... Kai-ah?” The blond gestured for Yeonjun to come closer, patting the seat next to him.
“Sit here, sunbaenim!”
Awkwardly, Yeonjun shuffled towards the blond, stuffing his coffee cup between his ribs and armpit, hiking his tote bag filled with extra clothes a little higher before he finally sat down.
“Kai-ah, didn’t I tell you so you can call me hyung.” Yeonjun strangely chuckled as the boy next to him helped him reorganize his things.
“Ah, right.” The boy chuckled, “Hyung.” he said with a shy smile as he played with a small keychain attached to his backpack, spinning the small penguin around his finger.
“Do … you know what's going on? Aren’t you a music major? What are you —or actually — all these people doing here? I'm pretty sure only dance majors have to take this class.”
“Hahaha … Actually hyung, I don’t think anyone really knows either. The director of our department and my professor just told us to show up here.”
“The same thing happened to me too. It’s all just so strange.” Yeonjun mumbled. “We don’t usually meet in a classroom too often. I was almost late because I went to the practice rooms by accident. It was a good thing there were still open seats. Thank you again, Kai.”
“No problem!” The blond bit his lip, almost in guilt. Shyly, the blond rubbed the back of his neck, “It was actually for my friend, but he was sitting with …” he squinted his eyes in thought, “... his friend … Since I didn’t save enough seats, you know.”
“Oh, sorry about that Kai. I … can move and sit somewhere else if you want. Maybe one of your other friends—”
“No, no, no,” Kai frantically waved his hand, stopping Yeonjun, “I like sitting next to hyung.” A light blush crawled up his neck, and the smell of citrus — lemons, and grapefruit — along with the toasting scent of brown sugar seeped out from under Kai’s patches; he was embarrassed. Yeonjun couldn’t help but chuckle.
A loud static suddenly played, echoing through the entire room. The screeching spooked Yeonjun, causing him to flinch and move his body toward Kai. His eyes caught who he assumed was his new professor, now standing in the center of the stage, but Yeonjun’s heart rate still refused to slow down.
The man cleaned his throat, “Good Morning! I hope you're all doing well.” He spoke with a heavy tone, authority wrapped around every word. People sat straighter, they became a collective group, all rolling their shoulders back and lengthening their spines. “I’m sure you’re all a bit confused, but all will be explained soon. I am Professor Kim,” The man turned around, reaching his hand out until a woman whom Yeonjun hadn’t noticed walked toward him, and placed her hand in his. They intertwined their fingers, cheeks growing plump and pink. “Department Director Lee and I have decided to make some changes to this course to better prepare the next generation of future entertainers.” It was a complete one-eighty, the man’s voice was tinged with warmth, oozing with sweetness, his eyes remaining on the woman — Director Lee — in front of him. “The dance and music department will be combining for this particular class. You will be partnered up with someone of the opposite major, learning how to work together and pick up skills you might need in the ever-evolving industry.” Finally, the man faced away from the woman next to him to face the crowd of puzzled and alarmed faces. His voice and features suddenly hardened again, “During this class, you have till the end of the semester to create an entirely unique performance, accompanied by self-produced music and choreography for the spring showcase.”
Yeonjun could tell the man continued talking, but it was like he couldn’t even hear him. The words turn into white noise. It was insane. How did they even have the authority to do this? Especially for a class that is required to graduate.
He didn’t have the time for this.
It would take hours upon hours of time to get this all done. It is an impossible task for two people alone, regardless of how long they have to complete it. It was also unrealistic. In the actual field you would never complete such a task without a team.
“Hyung?” Kai lightly nudges Yeonjun, trying to get his attention. Everyone around them had gotten up at some point, racing to get down to get to the front of the class.
“What’s going on?” Yeonjun asked.
“They posted who our partners are on the board.” Kai replied.
Yeonjun continuously moved, as if possessed by a zombie. With Kai, he walked down with the rest of the group. “I hope I’m at least paired with someone I know.” Kai groaned, before jerking his head and looking at Yeonjun, “ Like you, hyung!” He smiled with a sigh. “ I don’t want to be a partner with someone who just uses me. That's what happened in my last group project and it was the worst!” Even though Kai had tried, the blond’s cheerful voice did little to cover the undertone of annoyance and resentment.
Yeonjun just answered with a slow nod, “Yeah, me too. I don’t want to be paired with someone who refuses to do any work.” Not again, Yeonjun has gotten sick and tired of it.
There was a crowd huddled around the long piece of paper, and after waiting a few impatient minutes, Yeonjun eventually weaved through the people to get to the front. Starting from the stop, his eyes continued down, scrolling through the names. After realizing it was ordered by last name, he didn’t have any trouble finding his name in the dance category. Quickly he looked at the name listed next to his in the music category.
He was left stunned. The universe was out to get him.
Yeonjun heard his voice before he even saw the other, “This fucking lovesick bastard of a professor, trying to ruin my life”. Yeonjun turned his head to look at the brown-haired boy, his long locks whipping through the air, smacking some poor sap in the eyes.
Choi Beomgyu.
Their eyes immediately locked, and they both grimaced.
“What?” Beomgyu yelled as he was jostled by the crowd of people behind him, still nervously looking for their partners for the rest of the semester.
“Nothing.” Yeonjun rolled his eyes, “I was just hoping I read wrong.” He sneered.