Unlike your roommate, Tao had always been a fast eater. After finishing the cinnamon bun and frappe in a matter of minutes, he ordered a slice of cheesecake, an egg sandwich, and some juice. He ate all of that in five minutes. It was amazing that he hadn't choked even once.

"Finished already?" you asked him, chuckling at the crumbs and cream around his mouth. He smiled cutely, his cheeks puffed because he hadn't swallowed the last few bites yet, and nodded.

You raised your hand and called for a waiter. As the two of you waited, Tao finally gulped down the remaining cheesecake in his mouth, and drank his juice in one go. You handed him a piece of tissue which he took gladly and wiped his mouth with it.

"Well, you look full," you said, resting your cheek on one hand.

"I am! Thanks, Noona. But what about Lu Han-gege?" he tilted his head, blinking his big, round eyes at you.

You sighed. "Lu Han's just being an idiot. Don't worry about it, all right?" you assured him, patting his head.

"But you should talk with him, Noona! It's the first time I've ever seen Gege look so angry--it was scary!"

"Se Hun is the only--"

"And I think it's my fault, Noona!" he exclaimed, leaning forward, "If I hadn't insisted to go here, he wouldn't have seen us and gotten so mad! He doesn't like it when you're with me!" Tao's eyebrows furrowed, and he stared intensely at you. "You're the only one who can calm him down, Noona, not Se Hun."

You bit your lip and scratched your head. At this point, you can't do anything but agree with Tao in everything he said. "I know all of that, Tao, but because this was also the first time he's shown such hatred towards me, I'm still not sure how to handle it. I mean, it wasn't like when we first met; back then, he was just angry, because, well, he didn't expect to have a roommate like me. But today was...It was different, a bit scary even. I guess I'm just escaping the responsibility by dumping it all on Se Hun."

You stood up. "Is it okay if I leave you?" Tao nodded, and gave you a thumbs-up. You grinned at and thanked him, then grabbed your backpack and sprinted out the door.

As Tao watched you chase after Lu Han and Se Hun, he recalled your last words. His eyes widened, "She knew all of that?!" Tao jolted up, but before he could run after you, the waiter arrived and handed him the receipt. Tao searched for his wallet--in his pockets, in his hoodie, in his backpack--but it was nowhere to be found. He froze when he remembered today's breakfast. He had placed his adorable cat-shaped pouch on the kitchen counter while he was helping Lay and Kris wash the dishes.

"This can't get wet; it's my favorite wallet, and it's made with the best soft leather material," he told himself, and set the pouch on the kitchen table.

Tao slapped his forehead. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," he mumbled. The waiter cleared his throat. Tao slowly turned to him, an awkward, apologetic smile on his face.

"Mr. Waiter, do you need a new dishwasher? I also do somersaults and flips if you need an entertainer," Tao offered meekly. He kept the awkward smile on, while the waiter raised an eyebrow at him, and glared at Tao.

What you said was quickly forgotten as Tao trudged towards the cafe kitchen, ready to get his hands dirty.

~

You ran towards the dorm.  You knew there was only one place he'd scurry off to in order to be at peace: your room. One time, you asked him why his haven wasn't the rooftop, the park, the nearby meadow, nor the piano room in the Music Department; they seemed to fit the "sanctuary" criteria more than your room did. Half-awake, he looked at you with such mellow, loving eyes, and gave a curt answer, "Because I like staring up at your bed." He went back to sleep after that, and you questioned no further.

You arrived at your door, out of breath. You heard voices from inside, and decided to eavesdrop a little bit before entering. You stuck your ear to the door, and listened.

"Hyung, calm yourself!" Se Hun exclaimed, pulling Lu Han away from the wall where the latter was lightly banging his head on.

Lu Han frowned at Se Hun, his forehead slightly red from the numerous contact with the concrete wall. He balled his hands into fists, and just stood there, looking down on the floor. It was a few minutes later when Lu Han finally spoke up in a hushed tone.

"I'm mad, I'm jealous, I...God, Se Hun, I don't know. It's bad enough that she's never there for breakfast--but...but knowing that she's with Tao during those times? That's worse. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it."

Your face scrunched up. What the hell was Lu Han saying? Can't he make his voice louder so you at least have an idea what the hell he's ranting about? The only thing you could hear was a chain of "I hate it" which he said in increasing volume.

"Okay, eavesdropping won't take me anywhere," you said, and knocked on the door. "Lu Han, Se Hun, just so you know, I'm going in. I just knocked so that my presence will be known" you declared, and opened the door. 

You strolled in, as if everything was normal, and took Se Hun by the wrist. You dragged him outside and assured him, "Leave this to me. Sorry for all the trouble you went through."

After receiving one last pat on the head from you, he smiled, then hurried down the hall. You returned to the room, locking the door behind you, and stood in front of Lu Han, who still had his head bowed. This time, however, he wasn't uttering those three words, and remained immobile instead. You crossed your arms.

"At least look at me," you ordered.

He shook his head. "Don't talk to me, I'm still mad at you," he murmured. He pointed at the door, "Get out; I don't need you here."

"But you do," you responded, "You need me because I am the only one who can get rid of that anger. So man up, and look at me, Lu Han."

His fists uncurled, and his fingers twitched. Finally, he looked up at you, and stared at your face which was devoid of emotion. He immediately turned around, refusing to see you.

"Don't think so highly of yourself," he hissed, folding his arms just like you did.

"But it's the--"

"Do you know why I don't want to see you right now?" he interrupted, his voice softening into a whisper. "It's because you'll only give me that disappointed look again--that poker face of yours that doesn't say anything, that doesn't express anything. I don't know what you're thinking, I don't know what you want to say to me. It's just a guess, but you're probably mad at me for doing what I did, but I had the right to be furious, all right? I've been waking up to an empty bedroom for the past few days, wondering where the hell you went. And then when you do return, you just smile at me, mocking me, making fun at me who knows nothing. Then today...it's the same thing. You won't say why you were with Tao, you won't say anything. It because I thought I deserved to know everything about you by now."

"That's no excuse," you said. "You're being so immature. Look at me, Lu Han." That should provoke him, you thought. Hearing such words from him made your heart clench a bit. You never, in a million years, expected a confession like that from your wallflower of a roommate. But you can't falter, not now when you were the more composed one between the two of you.

He swiftly turned to you, furious eyes piercing your own icy stare. "Immature? Immature?! Are you ing kidding me?! Listen here, you! Do you know--"

"Calm down, Lu Han," you intervened, placing both of your hands on his head. You started to his hair,  He stopped; you've never touched him like this. The few times you've had physical contact with each other was when you either punched or dropkicked him. This was new. This was an entirely new thing and it made his stomach hurt and swell again, and the blood rush to his head, to his cheeks, to his hands, to everywhere.

All of this felt good.

"I'm not mad at you, okay? And yes, you do have justification to be infuriated, but don't go and refuse to confront me. If you're angry, say it straight to my face; I don't want you storming off like that and locking yourself in our room. That's why what you said has made my day." You grinned at him, "I'm sorry for provoking you. It was the only way you'd turn to me."

Lu Han took a deep breath. He looked more relaxed now, and tightly clutched the hem of your shirt. "You're so mean. You say all of that, but you haven't answered me about your mysterious disappearance every morning," he pouted.

You laughed, then messed up his hair. "Don't worry about waking up alone everyday, all right? I won't be gone as often as I was. But I still can't say why I'll be away; just know that it's nothing to be angry about, okay? Actually, it's a funny story--that. I just...Haha, you're not ready to hear it nor am I ready to say it." You removed your hands from his fluffy hair, and grabbed his wrists. You tried to pry his hands off your shirt, but his grip was just too tight.

Your smile disappeared. "Lu Han, let go of my shirt." He shook his head like a little kid. "Lu Han, I said let go!"

"No, I don't want to!"

"Now, you're really being immature! Who do you think you are: Se Hun? Tao? You're neither, so let go!"

"Why do they get to hold you like this but I can't? I'm your roommate!" he whined, his voice being higher than usual.

You gawked at him. "What the--? Lu Han! I didn't say anything! Now shut up and let go or I will dropkick you!"

"No!"

"Lu Han!"

"No, I like holding you!"

You dropkicked him, indeed. 

Author's Note:

Well, that was a long chapter! The last one left a bit of a cliffhanger, so I wanted to resolve the conflict. 

And yay, finally some interaction! I know everyone's been wanting some, so I diverged from my usual subtle romance style and did a bit of splurging on the lovey-dovey thing :))

Again, thanks for reading, subscribing and commenting!

Comments are appreciated!

Next chapter: What's the best place to go to during the summer? The beach, obviously. 

Edit (June 16, 2013): Hey, y'all! I changed a bit of the dialogue here after going over this chapter and the more recent ones. Previously, the roommate has stated that this was the first time she had seen Lu Han angry. Obviously, this is contradictory to her letter to Lu Han during his first birthday celebration with her (Chapter 99). So, yeah, I changed it. ;A; I feel so stupid for missing this tiny detail. I guess Roommates has gone such a long way from my initial plan of 50 chapters that I've forgotton details of the old chapters :(