A loud voice interrupted Taekwoon’s systematic unpacking and he poked his head out slightly from his room. A large nosed man, who he could only assume was Jaehwan, was the midst of stepping inside the apartment with his face obscured his boxes. Taekwoon didn’t really know what to expect of this unknown person and nor did he really feel like interacting with anyone since somebody cough Hakyeon cough had woken him up this morning and hadn’t even been nice enough to get him his damn coffee. Maybe he’d take a quick walk to the coffee shop nearby for a break so he could grab his favorite latte. He finished putting his collection of books on his desk before grabbing his wallet, ready for his first cup of coffee for the day. Damn it was already past 2 o’clock in the afternoon. He grumbled a little to himself; the only thing on his mind was coffee. 

    The dark haired male slid out of his room, as silently he could because he was simply unwilling to talk to anyone before he had his latte. He did not want to be noticed, least of all by Hongbin. Of course with his luck one of his roommates noticed him, thought it was Jaehwan who noticed him as his hand went to the doorknob. Oh well, Taekwoon would take his little victories where he could.

    “Hey, your name is Taekwoon right? I’m Jaehwan. I’m a friend of Hongbin’s, and I really hope we can get along too!” the shorter man exclaimed excitedly, reminding Taekwoon of somewhat of an over hyper puppy. 

    Taekwoon, already having dealt with Hakyeon that morning— a man who could be energy sapping in his own right— just looked at him while turning the doorknob before walking out. Jaehwan’s felt his face fall slightly; being ignored by your new roommate was not the best way to start out the year. 

    “Don’t take it personally, Jaehwan-ah.”

    Jaehwan turned and looked for the source of the voice. It was the other man, presumably Taekwoon’s friend Hakyeon. “He’s the kind of guy who says very little, even if you’re his friend. He’s mostly just tired and grumpy without his morning coffee.” 

    Jaehwan looked at Hakyeon appreciatively, feeling a little better about Taekwoon’s seemingly rude actions. “That’s good to know. Well you already know who I am, so I’m guessing you’re Hakyeon? It’s nice to meet you, I hope we can get along too,” Jaehwan said, a little, no a lot, less enthusiastically than when he had said so to Taekwoon. 

    “I think we’ll get along fine.” said Hakyeon with a bright smile.  

    Jaehwan gave a small smile in appreciation of Hakyeon’s kindness and went back to continue unpacking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Taekwoon opened the door to his favorite coffee shop, the bells on the door jingling slightly as he opened the door. His barista friend Wonshik greeted him from behind the counter; the two of them had gotten along just fine since Wonshik knew exactly how to make his latte. “Hey Taekwoon, you ready for the semester?”

    Taekwoon shook his head; he was still too out of it to want to initiate a conversation. “The usual.” he said, putting down exactly four dollars and thirty-eight cents. He’d done this so many times over the past two years that it had just become habit. 

    Wonshik rang up his order and quickly he made Taekwoon’s latte.  He’d known the guy long enough to realize that without his coffee, Taekwoon probably didn’t want to talk. Besides, move in day was always part stressful, part exciting so he was probably already drained enough. Wonshik smiled a little to himself as he poured the milk in, making little tiny foam cats to sit on edges of the cup, a skill he had gotten much better at after serving Taekwoon. They were really well designed this time, if he said so himself. He took a picture of it, proud of his accomplishment before walking over and setting it down on the counter in front of Taekwoon. The older man looked at it for a moment, his eyes narrowing briefly in concentration, faintly uttering the word ‘cute’ before gulping it down, somehow immune to the fact that it was almost boiling hot. Sometimes Wonshik wondered if Taekwoon was actually human since he did that on a regular basis. 

    Today however, was not a day to irritate Taekwoon by striking up a conversation. He had been woken up rudely by his best friend, had to move back to college, and had his first cup of coffee at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. He took his dishes and put them in the bin beside the trashcan and quickly left to finish unpacking so he could return to the blissful realm of sleep. Wonshik finished serving the rest of the customers before standing in front of Taekwoon’s spot at the counter, resting his elbow against the granite countertop. 

    “Do you ever go anywhere but here and class?” 

    The younger man’s question took Taekwoon by surprise, but his expression didn't show it in the slightest. Taekwoon gave a subtle head shake, almost imperceptible, but Wonshik was used to Taekwoon’s antics and he caught the subtle movement. 

    “How about we make a deal. There’s a party tomorrow night at Lambda Chi, if you go and bring your roommates, I’ll give you free coffee for a week,” Wonshik smirked, knowing that his offer was going to sound almost irresistible to the other, who had close to ten cups a day. Wonshik had no idea how someone could physically handle so much caffeine, but who was he to stop his elder? Taekwoon was very obviously thinking hard, his expression straight and not giving away to his thoughts at all. 

    “Make it two and you have a deal,” Taekwoon’s words were barely audible, and Wonshik immediately groaned, having heard the other just fine. 

    “I’ll get fired if I give you coffee free for two weeks,” Wonshik mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. Taekwoon thought about this for a second and nodded, standing up like he was about to leave, causing Wonshik to panic. But before Wonshik could stop him, Taekwoon turned around and looked back at Wonshik with a flat expression. 

    “One and half weeks free, and I get to leave the party early,” he said, usually not one to compromise, but he did like Wonshik a considerable amount. Wonshik smiled and nodded, sending Taekwoon off with a wave, a cheerful expression on his face once again, though Taekwoon left without saying or doing anything further. 

    When Taekwoon got back to the apartment, he found everyone out in the living room, setting up their own personal affects in various places. 

    “We’re going to a party Saturday,” he announced, before turning and walking into his room, shutting the door, leaving the rest in stunned silence.