Taking a deep breath, Taekwoon lifted his hand to knock on the apartment door in front of him. He stood in a a long hallway with doors every twenty feet or so, and he could only hope that he was at the right one. No, he knew he was; he had read the crumpled piece of paper that now resided in the pocket of his jeans about a hundred times, checking and re-checking the address. 

He was transferring from the National University in his hometown of Seoul to the one in Changwon, all because the one specific class he needed for his degree in Child Education was not available in Seoul during the winter months. And all he needed was one more semester of schooling, and that happened to be the one starting in the fall. Of course, he could wait and take the spring course in Seoul, but he really wanted to be done with school... he had spent the last four years of his life working toward this degree and it was high time to be finished with it.

As long as he was at the right address, anyway. He slipped one hand into his jeans pocket, intending to read the address once again to make sure that this was the place he had rented a room at, when suddenly the door whipped open in front of him.

He hadn't heard any noise from behind it and so took a step back in surprise before he could help himself. He wasn't the type to be frightened often and he felt like a fool for being startled.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't know you were there! Are you Taekwoon?" The boisterous voice startled him again and he blinked in surprise, finally looking up from the floor and into the face of the golden god before him.

He was beautiful. With a small, round face and a long slender neck, and bright, smiling eyes that looked ever so slightly up at him. His skin was like the color of caramel and Taekwoon clasped his fingers tightly against his stomach to quell the sudden urge to reach out and touch the other man. He bowed to him with a whispered greeting, to which the shorter man laughed. 

"Ah, so formal. Pleasure to meet you, then, Taekwoon-ssi. I am Hakyeon!"

He had guessed as much, since the man seemed so comfortable with the apartment he was currently ushering Taekwoon inside; Cha Hakyeon had been the man he had sent his rent check to. He had been expecting the name, just not the... well... face. 

"Here's your room! The bathroom is that door there and the kitchen is, well, we passed it," Hakyeon laughed, his teeth flashing white against his skin. Taekwoon had to fight not to stare. "So yeah, if you need anything, call or text me, I left my number on the dry erase board on the fridge."

He left without waiting for an answer, calling over his shoulder that he would be back later. And then he was gone, leaving Taekwoon feeling like he'd been in a whirlwind.

"...and then he just like, came flying off of the edge of the balcony and I swear, we all thought he was going to miss the pool but nope! He slashed down belly-first and had a big red mark on his belly for like, two days!"

Hakyeon found himself laughing along with Jaehwan's story, the re-telling of the antics acoompanied with hand waving and sound effects. The younger man's eyes were shining and his voice was as loud as ever, the contents of his cup sloshing dangerously as he motioned enthusiastically. Shaking his head, Hakyeon stood to go refill his own drink, having downed the rest of his wine during one such story from his hyper friend. 

As he neared the kitchen, though, he couldn't help but to glance at the closed door just down the hallway. It had been almost a month since his renter had moved in, and yet Taekwoon rarely ever graced them with his presence. Hakyeon liked company, he wasn't going to say otherwise, and he couldn't understand how someone could voluntarily stay so secluded. The tall, pale man spent his time either out of the apartment, or in his room.

Refilling his wine glass with some raspberry moscato from the fridge, Hakyeon headed back for the living room and the small gathering of friends he had invited over. He paused in the hallway, though, glancing toward his destination and chewing on his lip for a moment before making up his mind. He turned to opposite direction and headed down the hallway instead.

He took a deep breath before knocking, trying to ready himself for coming face to face with Taekwoon. The other man always seemed like he was upset over something, but that wasn't what made Hakyeon nervous. He wouldn't admit it, but he found Taekwoon incredibly attractive. Too much so, maybe.

The door opened just a few inches and