"Who was that?" Bobby asked Taehyun as soon as Mino left the apartment, his eyes were twinking in a familiar fashion, telling Taehyun he was up to no good.

"A classmate," Taehyun replied simply with the truth, eyeing his cousin with curiosity.

"He's cute," Bobby stated, wiggling his eyebrows at Taehyun. Oh, so that was what he was getting at. Taehyun wouldn't play. He went towards the sink to do the dishes Bobby had just dirtied, wondering what they were going to have for dinner tonight. Another take-out perhaps.

"How would you know?" Taehyun said. dismissing his statement. Bobby wouldn't know cute in a boy if it hit him with a ten-tonne truck.

"What? I have eyes ... I can see," Bobby defended while Taehyun merely scoffed at him. "And my eyes can see you have a soft spot for the boy," Bobby continued, unrelenting.

"What are you talking about? I've only known him like... 2 days," Taehyun asked, credulous. Ok now, Taehyun was a little curious what Bobby was getting at.

"Oh, why don't you take my keys, I'll just take a cab tomorrow," Bobby teased, imitating Taehyun but in a high pitched tone, his hand going to rest at his mouth as if embarrassed.

"I do NOT sound like that," Taehyun said, throwing water from the sink at Bobby in retort.

"You still gave him the keys to your most treasured possession," Bobby reminded him, wiping his face with sleeves. He made no mention of the water splashing as he sat on the kitchen chair like he owned the room, looking all smug and all-knowing.

"Maybe I should go get it back," Taehyun suddenly regretted his previous action. He wiped his hands furiously at his pants, not bothering with a towel. He was worried about his bike already.

"Oh, he'd be long gone, and by the looks of him, he might've already sold it off for a handsome profit. You can never trust college kids," Bobby said, stopping Taehyun in his tracks.

"This is not America you stupid ," Taehyun scolded. Bobby always had a great distrust of people, growing up in the seedier parts of LA. Taehyun had to remind him time and again that he couldn't always judge people based on looks. Things worked differently here in Korea. "Besides I couldn't send him back just like that. It's your fault I had to bring him here, and it's your fault I'll have to go to college without my bike tomorrow," he justified his actions while he busied himself looking around the kitchen for something to eat. He wanted to offer Bobby a home-cooked meal as his first day here, though Taehyun doesn't really know his way around the kitchen and what entailed being in one. He found the big tub of Kimchi which his grandmother had packed for him the previous month. He decided it would be kimchi fried rice then, it was easy and tasted good enough. "Why were you so whiny today anyway?" Taehyun scolded, giving the stink eye to the insolent boy.

"I wanted to try out something," Bobby replied mysteriously with a twinkle in his eyes.

"What?"

"I'm not telling you,"

"Fine. Don't. I am not even the least bit curious," Taehyun said, focussing his attention on the task at hand. He shooed away Bobby who was impeding his job of making a proper dinner. Bobby insisted on helping, even though he complained only minutes earlier about being on a plane for fifteen hours.

"So tell me, why are you really here in Korea?" Taehyun asked. when they finally settled down to start eating.

"To try and make it in the Korean underground hip-hop scene," Bobby replied with a straight face.

Taehyun spit out the rice he was eating, He was not expecting that answer.

"The hell," Bobby shouted, wiping the rice from his face and clothes. "Way to ruin an appetite, Taehyun-ie," he scowled. A second later saw him stuffing his face with a huge spoonful of rice.

"Are you ing serious?" Taehyun asked, laughing his off.

"Dead serious. I have even enrolled in your college for a 6 months long course on advanced Korean language," Bobby said, face still impassive and unaffected by Taehyun's ridiculing laughter.

"A Korean person taking Korean language classes for foreigners?" Taehyun asked, he could not stop laughing.

"Hey, I need to spit flows in Korean, and I never learned Korean properly in the States, I only know conversational Korean so I have to properly learn right?" Bobby explained, justifying himself from Taehyun's undiluted scorn.

"You're serious, aren't you?" Taehyun asked, finally calming down. Bobby's face told him the answer. He shook his head slowly, trying to come to terms with the situation.

"I told you already, now don't you dare laugh at me you nerdy straight-A student!" Bobby attacked back.

"Don't you dare call me nerdy, you rabbit!" Taehyun was not really good at expletives. He might have a sharp tongue, however, he was not adept at great comebacks. "Who's even gonna take you seriously in the underground world huh? What did aunty have to say about this? I can't believe she'd let you come all the way here to ... what ... be a rapper?" Taehyun continued, still not believing the topic of conversation they were having.

"You forget I have my mum wrapped around my little finger. Besides, my elder brother is already working and married and grandkids might arrive soon in the household. I wanted to get out while I can," Bobby said putting in another spoonful of rice in his mouth.

"You little ," Taehyun scolded but with a smile on his face. He really couldn't believe Bobby's impulsiveness sometimes. He wondered what would happen if he suddenly decided he wanted to be a painter and drop out of college. He knew he would never do it, he didn't have the spontaneity or courage. He didn't entertain the thought for long.

"Who are you calling little ? Don't forget I am older than you," Bobby scolded back.

"Only by a few months," Taehyun retorted.

"Yeah, but at least we're born in different years," Bobby said, not backing down.

"Whatever. Do you even know anyone in the business? Is anyone gonna take an all-American Korean boy seriously?" Taehyun asked, a little worried. Bobby could be the most naive person in the world when it came to his dreams.

"Yeah, I met this kid online, he's like, a child prodigy or something, goes by the name of B.I and we exchanged verses and he promised he'd hook me up with people in the business," Bobby explained.

"Just like that?" Taehyun was not convinced.

"Just like that," Bobby confirmed.

"You're not telling me something," Taehyun enquired, studying Bobby's face closely.

"Okay, he's got the most gorgeous younger sister in the world with the most heavenly voice a human being could possess," Bobby said, closing his eyes in remembrance and placing his hand on his heart. Taehyun laughed at his dramatics.

"I knew it! You came all the way to Korea for a girl, you big buffoon, you." Taehyun was right. His cousin needed serious protection. Anybody would think he'd be street-smart coming from the hoods of America, but he's still innocent as ever when it came to matters of the heart. He just had a big golden heart he would gladly share with anyone. 

"The heart wants what the heart wants," Bobby replied with a smile on his face, eyes disappearing between the crinkles.

"Have you even spoken to her?" Taehyun wanted to know.

"Not yet, but I will. Ain't nobody can resist my charms you know. Her name's Lee Ha Yi by the way, remember it coz she's gonna be your cousin-in-law soon," Bobby pointed a finger at Taehyun.

"Dream on babe," Taehyun made a face at the stupid boy in front of him.

"And my dreams will come true. So tell me, whatever happened to that girlfriend of yours? The one whose eyebrows looked like yours?" Bobby was curious.

"That was like 3 years ago, high school stuff. How'd you still remember that ?" Taehyun asked with a frown. That was not a good memory to bring up.

"When it comes to dating......"

"Yeah yeah yeah, I've heard it all before. Now help me clean this up," Taehyun said getting up. 

"So, tell me more about this Mino guy," Bobby was unrelenting. Seriously, why'd he even allow him to stay with him, Taehyun asked himself.

"There's nothing to tell!" He raised his voice so Bobby would just shut up about it.

"Fine!" Bobby raised his arms in defeat, chuckling at his embarrassed cousin brother.

*****

The next day Taehyun came with Bobby to college. Bobby had to do some final registrations, get his class schedules and other official business while Taehyun attended his classes.

For the first time, Mino had reached the coffee shop before he did,  waiting with two cups of coffee. He seemed to have forgotten Taehyun mentioning that studying at the coffee shop was a bad idea.

"I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to cancel on you today. I could not continue the project at all last night," Taehyun told Mino as he approached the seated boy. Then he saw the coffee cups on the table, one which was definitely meant for him. He suddenly felt like a horrible person.

"What happened?" Mino looked concerned. Taehyun could not comprehend why but he warmed at the worry on Mino's face. It was a nice feeling, having someone worry about you for a change.

"Oh, it's nothing serious, Bobby was suffering from jet-lag so he couldn't sleep and disturbed me the whole night, then we ended up opening a couple of beers. I'm thinking there is still a lingering hangover too," Taehyun quickly explained. Wow, that was the longest line he had ever spoken to the boy, Taehyun wondered why he even bothered explaining.

"Okay, that's a relief," Mino said. Taehyun noticed he suddenly looked relaxed as if Mino was really glad that nothing was wrong with him.

"Are you mad at me? I promise I'll work twice as hard tonight," Taehyun promised.

"No, I'm not mad. Don't worry about it," Mino assured.

"You even got the coffee ready..." Taehyun started guiltily, eyeing the coffee.

"This'll be good for the lingering hangover, wait, I'll let Baekhyun put it in a travel cup for you," Mino said, getting up from his seat.

"That's not really necessary," Taehyun was about to protest.

"But it'll just go to waste, I hate espressos," Mino said, making a face and Taehyun found that absolutely adorable. Did he just associate the word adorable with his project partner? Taehyun mused and wondered if he was going crazy. Then he blamed it on Bobby for influencing him. He really needed to stop listening to Bobby's theories.

"Or I can just drink here with you," he said to the boy who was expectantly looking at him. 

"Of course, that'll be nice," the boy said. The look of pure delight on Mino's face cleared all the hesitancy Taehyun had about getting close to the boy.

"So, Bobby..." Mino started as he settled back into his seat opposite to him.

"Oh, he already left saying he has work to do." Taehyun quickly answered.

"Wait, so he's attending our college? But sememster started months ago?" Mino asked.

"He's attending a language program only meant for international students," Taehyun explained.

"Is he a..."

"He's Korean American, says he needed the language experience for his work."

"So he's already working?"

"Nah, in between jobs. he can't really stay still in one place. So I've been curious about one thing," Taehyun said trying to change the subject.

"Yes?" Mino seemed to be all ears.

"You seem really smart, so why do you attend this college?" he started.

"What? Based on two study sessions?" Mino asked with a self - deprecating laugh.

"I am rarely wrong. I know you are too good for this college," Taehyun insisted.

"I could say the same for you," Mino quipped.

"We're talking about you here..." Taehyun pressed. 

"I'm really not, as you put it, too good for this college.  But to be quite honest, I had really bad grades in High School which stopped me from getting into colleges of reputation," Mino explained.

"Why, something happened in High School?" Taehyun was curious to know.

"The usual teenage rebel stuff, nothing too serious," Mino's eyes shifted as he said the words. Taehyun decided not to take his words at face value. There was something else there. "I wasn't even planning on going to college, I thought I'd be a mechanic or something, by the way, your bike is a thing of beauty," Mino said excitedly. Taehyun marveled at how easily Mino brought the conversation around to talk about him again, but he'll play along this time. Maybe this is why people like him, he mused, Mino really seemed genuinely interested in people.

"Thank you, I got it custom made and I'm quite proud of it," Taehyun smiled.

"As you should be, everything about it is perfect... just like..." Mino started but stopped short.

"Just like what?" Taehyun pressed. Was the boy going to say what he thought he's going to say? No, it couldn't be. He hurriedly calmed his erratic heartbeat, confused about his reaction to his own wild imaginations.

"I didn't say anything," Mino looked quite embarrassed.

"You were about to say something," Taehyun insisted, loving the image of the boy who seemed to be squirming under his gaze.

"Hey, Mino, fancy seeing you here," somebody called out and they both looked in the direction of the caller to see two boys approaching their table, hands linked. Taehyun sighed 'Here we go again' he thought, annoyed. He didn't care that he had nothing to be annoyed about, that they were not studying at the moment to be disturbed. However, he found he liked getting his partner's undivided attention. Project-partner, his mind supplied unhelpfully.

"Well, if it isn't the JinYoon couple?" Taehyun heard Mino greeting back with a smile on his face.

"Are you on a date? Who's this? Mind if we join you?" the taller one of the boys asked, absolutely oblivious to Taehyun's glare.

"Not a date hyung, but I do mind you joining us," Mino replied and Taehyun was a bit surprised, also a little bit elated.

"Thank you," the boy said, obviously ignoring Mino's words as they seated themselves on the two remaining chairs on either side of the table.

"I said I mind..." Mino started but was cut off by the shorter boy exclaiming -

"Is this the Nam Taehyun that you....?....Ouch!" and stopped mid-sentence.

Taehyun wondered what was going on and he looked at Mino who mouthed "I'm sorry" to him silently. He smiled at the boy to assure him it was okay, albeit a bit tightly.

"Wah, this feels like a couple date. Hi, I'm Kang Seungyoon," the taller one said facing Taehyun, holding his hand out for a handshake.

"Nam Taehyun," he replied curtly, eyeing the hand for a while before accepting.

"I'm Kim Jinwoo" the shorter boy said, holding his hand out too. "Seungyoon's boyfriend."

"Yes, I could tell." Taehyun almost rolled his eyes at Jinwoo's obviously unnecessary statement but he stopped himself just in time. These are Mino's friends, he told himself, it would be best to act nice.

 *****

Mino went back to the dorms with a spring in his steps. He felt like he was walking on clouds. He had coffee with Taehyun today without having the excuse of doing a project together. Their conversation flowed so nicely it was a surprise to Mino. Maybe the added pressure of Taehyun possibly being with someone else loosened Mino's tongue. He almost slipped it out too, about how he felt about Taehyun, but then stopped himself thinking maybe it's too soon. He had to ask about Taehyun's ual orientation first. With most people it is quite easy to guess, and when new people are met they'll usually introduce themselves like "Hi, My name is so and so and I'm gay" or "I'm biual". It usually came out quite easily in conversations so there won't be misunderstandings in the future, but Mino could not seem to bring up the topic with Taehyun. He had to know for sure if his love-interest is worth pursuing or not. But he knew for sure that if Taehyun turned out to be gay, he would definitely give it his best shot because he still could not find anything he didn't like about the boy, even though he'd only started talking to him a few days ago.

He remembered the smile that Taehyun gave him today when he apologised for his friends' behavior, and he felt overwhelmingly lucky to be the recipient of that rare smile. He wished he could draw the way his lips curled up at the sides; the cute crinkles around his eyes. He carefully etched it in his brain, willing himself to never forget. He made a promise to himself to bring out more smiles and laughter from the boy, more than that Bobby watsisface. He also needed to have a word with the JinYoon couple for their behavior today, he did not appreciate them messing up his moment with the loveliest boy.

*****

Taehyun had spent more time at the coffee shop than he intended that it was already dark when he reached his apartment and Bobby was waiting for him with a faked stern look on his face, hand on his hip with a finger wagging in his face.

"Where have you been, young man? I thought you said you don't have a project meeting today?" 

"I ended up having coffee with Mino and his friends," Taehyun said. He figured he was not able to hide the smile on his face in time because Bobby noticed immediately.

"Ooooh, things are moving on between you two then?" Bobby enquired.

"What's there to progress? And what are you doing here anyway? I thought you said you were meeting with the child prodigy today?" Taehyun asked, wanting to change the subject and moving towards the kitchen to get a bottle of water. Bobby followed him inside.

"They canceled on me. And I ended up getting bored waiting for you. If I had known you'd be having a coffee date I would've gone and explored Seoul" Bobby complained.

"It was not a date," Taehyun corrected.

"You do know the boy likes you right?" Bobby announced.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Taehyun wanted to know.

"Remember I said I wanted to try out something?" Bobby started.

"No," Taehyun really didn't.

"When he came over here last time. I saw the look he gave me, and I purposely stopped you from telling him I was your cousin to gauge his reaction, and it was the funniest sight I have ever seen," Bobby said laughing and remembering Mino's grief-stricken look.

"What? So Mino thinks you're my boyfriend?" Taehyun asked, unbelieving.

"I should think so, considering the way you hugged me and you told him I'm not a 'friend'," Bobby quoted. 

"Why'd you do that?" Taehyun asked.

"Because, you are clueless as usual and I wanted to know for sure. Also, I wanted to know how he'd continue with his affections for you," Bobby said noticing the glum look on Taehyun's face. "Don't tell me you like him too?"

"I don't know," Taehyun mumbled, looking away.

"I think you do, wah, my little cousin brother has a crush," Bobby teased.

"So what if I do like him? It's not like anything's gonna happen between us," Taehyun did not want to admit it but it was getting difficult. He did enjoy spending time with the boy, he had to admit. There were a few people in the world whose presence Taehyun could tolerate.

"So I have a plan, don't tell him for the time being that you're not my cousin," Bobby suggested.

"How would that help? And with what?" Taehyun was curious.

"Just trust me," Bobby said confidently.

"But I don't even know if I should get into a relationship now," Taehyun said, worrying his bottom lip.

"Why not?"

"You know why," Taehyun replied pointedly. "Besides, I don't really have time, and if he really did like me it won't be fair to him," Taehyun said pensively. 

"Hey, you're still young and this is just college. Why think so hard about it? If you like him and he likes you back I say go for it" Bobby adviced.

*****

Tea With God
I've decided to untie the knots of curiosity.
I'm pending on whether I should throw them away when I'm finished or not.
I've hurled passed the gas clouds at extreme speed, clarity, and tranquility.
I'm alive.
I've been born a human.
I'm blessed as could be.
I am you, and you are me. 
That makes three.
See?

        --Kristofer Von Coons

A/N: I made KSY older than Mino and Bobby older than NTH, because I can. lmao. And yes, Bobby's presence is only to make Mino more determined to make Taehyun his, and Taehyun needs a friend too.

wow! This is a -load of dialogue. I hope it's not too boring.