III ~ I Only Give You Trouble, Hyung…

“And then there were three…” sighed the dimpled male as Taekwoon set a coffee in front of him. He and his fellow maknae members took most of the available bar seats in Milky Way Café, the coffee shop the group had frequent for three years (minus Sanghyuk who didn’t officially join the group until last summer when Hakyeon thought it would be a good idea for the boy to have friends when he entered high school), ever since Taekwoon had gotten a job as a barista.

The raven took a second glance around the café. Aside from the trio and an elderly couple occupying a far corner table by the window, the place was empty of customers. It was still early, however, and a Tuesday at that. Taekwoon made a mental note to kick the three out before the lunch rush began, then turned his attention back to the sulking brunette. “Three?”

“With Jaehwan-hyung going to university, it’ll only be me, Wonshik, and Hyuk-ah.”

“You should be saying one,” the youngest scoffed as he pointed at a muffin in the display case. The barista promptly took it out and placed it on a small plate before handing it to the blonde. “After a year, it’ll just be me.”

Wonshik reached over and patted the maknae’s head, much to the latter’s annoyance. “Don’t worry, kid. We’ll be around so much that you’ll be sick of us.” A brilliant grin flashed across his face. “Jaehwan-hyung, Hongbin, and I did so well back when hyungs first went to uni, Hakyeon-hyung banned us from his workplace.”

Hongbin shot the platinum a glare. “Don’t include me in that. Because of you two, I got punished right along with you when I didn’t even do anything!” He sipped the coffee in his hand.

Wonshik raised an eyebrow at the brunette. “You asked him questions.”

“Yeah, book-related questions because it’s a bookstore.” The younger male gave an incredulous look to his same-aged friend. “I wasn’t talking nonsense, being sarcastic, and getting in his way like you two.” He sighed. “Now Hakyeon-hyung refuses to recommend me anything.”

Sanghyuk tilted his head. “It was that bad?” Taekwoon nodded quickly, making the maknae tip his head to the opposite side. “Wait, so if Taekwoon-hyung was around at the time, how come he wasn’t banned?”

“Because his voice didn’t irk the heck out of Hakyeon-hyung.”

Hongbin gave the platinum a look. “My voice doesn’t annoy Hakyeon-hyung!”

“Then how come he winces every time you open your mouth to speak?”

Doe eyes became owl eyes. “He does that?” Wonshik and Sanghyuk both burst into laughter and even the raven-haired barista couldn’t hold back a chuckle. Frozen in place, the brunette watched them for a few moments before thawing out and glaring at them all.

Wonshik wiped a tear from his eye. “But honestly…” he said, propping his elbow up on the counter as he rested his chin in his palm. “I’m surprised Taekwoon-hyung hasn’t kicked us out yet.”

The older male slowly pushed the younger’s propped arm with one finger until it fell from the counter and Wonshik’s head almost made contact with the dark wood. “You pay,” came the soft reply. Hongbin snorted.

“More like I pay. I swear you don’t bring money on purpose!” He poked Wonshik in the side, earning a yelp from the platinum and a sigh from the barista.

Sanghyuk popped the last bite of muffin in his mouth. “Somehow…” He the tips of his fingers. “I get the feeling that you guys will be kicked out sooner than you think—paying customers or not.”

“But I didn’t do anything!”

“See? Even Taekwoon-hyung is tired of your voice.”

“When are Hakyeon-hyung and Jaehwan-hyung getting here?” Sanghyuk asked, successfully freezing the smack that was halfway from being delivered to the platinum, who then uttered a, ‘you’ve been spending way too much time with Hakyeon-hyung…’ and caused the attack to continue its course and land on his forearm. Sanghyuk smiled sheepishly and fluttered his eyes at the elderly couple who turned in their seats to view what was happening at the bar counter.

Taekwoon shook his head at the trio and took a moment to ask himself how he put up with them. “Hakyeon’s helping Jaehwan-ah prepare for classes.” He grabbed a cloth and began wiping down the dark wood. “He said they’ll meet us later.”

“Good!” Wonshik folded both his arms on the counter and ignored the barista as the twenty-year-old tried to move him away. “That means we have time to ourselves.” The three looked at him curiously. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something, hyung…” The twinkle in Wonshik’s eyes gave Taekwoon a sinking feeling in his chest.

***

Jaehwan sighed for the umpteenth time that day. He gazed along the rows of books from top to bottom, then from right to left. It all looked the same. Sure, some books were a bit taller and some a bit thicker around the waistline, but it was the same. Same, same, same. Why was he here again?

Oh…yeah. That’s right…

The nineteen-year-old glanced down the aisle on both sides and peeked over his shoulder.

All clear.

Slowly, stealthily, with grace that rivaled Spiderman’s, Jaehwan crept along the bookshelf until he reached the open corridor closest to the book-lined wall. He checked both ways and traveled down one path, glancing in each aisle of shelves before proceeding on to the next.

Finally, the blonde arrived at the back of the store and he stretched up to his full height as the colorful array of illustrated covers danced in front of his eyes. “It’s been so long!” He walked with opened arms to the manga only for a tan man with crossed arms to block his path. Jaehwan almost skidded to a halt to prevent himself from crashing into the dark chocolate brunette. “Hakyeon-hyung! I was looking for you~” He flashed a sheepish grin in the older’s direction, but Hakyeon frowned.

“Jaehwan-ah, what did I say?”

The grin disappeared and brown eyes looked everywhere but to the twenty-one-year-old. “Um… Uh… Well…”

Hakyeon sighed heavily. “I leave you alone for one minute…” He grabbed the blonde’s wrist and led the younger back to the aisle he was previously in: the textbook section.

“But, hyuuung, there’s still another week of vacation! Why do I have to study now?”

Hakyeon let go of his wrist and read through the labels on the shelf in front of them. “You’re not studying. You’re just getting familiar with some of the material.” He picked one textbook off the shelf and handed it to the male beside him without looking his way. When the object wasn’t taken from his grasp, however, Hakyeon glanced to his left, only to find the blonde glowering at it. “Jaehwan-ah…”

“You and Taekwoon-hyung didn’t have to read before you went to uni…”

“That’s the point.” Hakyeon lowered the book to his side. “We had no clue what our first classes were going to be and what books would be used as reference.” He glanced at the shelf, scanning the labels once more. “University is more difficult than high school, Jaehwanie. I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed having to read three to four chapters of six different books for four to five classes while working on two to three assignments at the same time. All in the first week,” he added, peering at the blonde whose eyes went wide and jaw had dropped. Hakyeon laughed softly. “That was a slight exaggeration.”

The mortified expression swiftly changed to a pout. “Hyung!” His cry only made the older male laugh harder.

“I said ‘slight.’ It’s not too far-fetched.” Hakyeon held the book to Jaehwan again. “You don’t have to read everything. Scanning through the material is enough, that way you’ll have an idea of what you’ll be studying and find out what subjects may need more of your attention.” He gestured to the cozy seating area nearby. “You can scan however many books you feel here without having the weight of needing to do something but putting it off if you were to take the books home—which is why I didn’t let you borr