It’s the blare of Sunmi’s ’24 Hours’, which rouses Hakyeon from their nest of blankets on Monday mornings. The sensual song pierces through the fog, chasing away the lingering dream of a stage in Paris. Reaching a hand out of the warm covers, Hakyeon acquires his phone, quickly turning off the alarm. Taekwoon makes a choked grumble in his sleep, his hand leaving Hakyeon’s stomach. He turns away, head disappearing under the red duvet. Hakyeon chuckles softly, using his hand under the blanket to card through Taekwoon’s sleep tangled hair. The action of the dancer’s fingers tugging at the unruly locks would allow his boyfriend to wake up slowly.

     Through the long years of their friendship Hakyeon had discovered that Taekwoon despised early mornings. No matter how many alarms the dark haired composer set, he was never able to wake up on his. Thus their morning routine had been born. Even before they were dating they had a routine that started similarly to the one they had now. Hakyeon would wake first to the sound of whatever girl group song was his latest obsession and begin his day.

            Hakyeon removed his hand from Taekwoon’s hair, starching his arms above his head on the bed. The satisfying pops as the tension left his bones made him smile. He took a minute to wiggle his toes under the covers before slipping out of the bed. He braved the cold wooden floors of their bedroom to grab his clean outfit from the dresser before leaving the room quietly. Taekwoon ha returned to grumbling in his sleep, buried beneath the mountain their duvet formed. Hakyeon hummed softly as he went about their quiet apartment. He could hear bird tweeting outside, signalling that spring was returning soon and graduation was approaching fast. Hakyeon ignored the thoughts of auditions, further dance train and internships. Instead he checked that the heating was function before placing his clothes of the heating rack in the bathroom. Once he was satisfied that he had enough of Taekwoon’s body wash left, he turned to the kitchen. Nothing helped is boyfriend to wake up more than the smell of coffee. Especially on days like this when they both had classes at nine. Scheduling had screwed them over in their last year. The amount of mornings spent sleepily staring at each other over coffee had increased.

        The coffee machine came to life quietly, making angry noises as it ground the beans for Taekwoon’s morning coffee. Or as Jaehwan called it, ‘The reason he hasn’t committed murder yet’. Hakyeon yawned, pulling himself up to sit on their counter. He reached a hand down to massage his knee. The dull ache that had become a typical morning greeting had been easing lately. Hakyeon looked forward to finally hearing the words that he desperately needed to hear. The only word that would secure his career in dance. He shook his head, those thoughts were for the dark. Or when he was alone in the shower. Instead he focused on stretching the muscles as he listened to the shuffle of blankets from the bedroom. After a few minutes a ruffled Taekwoon slowly edged alone the wall, eyes small crescents with the weight of sleep. ‘Coffee?’ he yawned scratching at his nape, other hand reaching out for Hakyeon. Hakyeon smiled, taking his hand and tugging him in. Taekwoon went lax in his arms, head resting on Hakyeon’s as the smell of coffee filled the air. They stayed in silence, just allowing them to feel the presence of the other. To sync their breathing and embrace the sleepy affection that came easily in the morning for Taekwoon. ‘Pancakes or cereal?’ Taekwoon asked, kissing Hakyeon’s forehead. Hakyeon hummed, hands massaging the tense muscles of Taekwoon’s shoulders. ‘Pancakes, long day today. We’ll need the sugar’. Taekwoon nodded, pulling away to peck Hakyeon’s nose before gesturing for him to shower.

      Taekwoon began to sing quietly once Hakyeon was out of earshot. He’d been awake most of the night working on a new melody. It had been late when he finally collapsed into bed and curled around Hakyeon’s already sleeping figure. He retrieved the batter mix from fridge, glad he’d made enough for them to re-use. Words fell easily from his lips, a gentle smile taking over his face in happiness. The song seemed to fall into place as he carefully flipped the half formed pancake. Although he did not like waking up early, it was often when he found himself able to think clearly. It was in the morning, when his mind had been eased by a deep sleep that he figured out most of the problems with his compositions or essays. Mornings always calmed him despite doing most of his best work at night. He sipped at his coffee, taking a moment to let the bitter liquid wash down his throat. Wakening his sleeping nerves as he began to pour more batter into the pan.

            By the time Hakyeon re-joined him in the kitchen, hair dried and clothes fresh. Taekwoon had laid out two plates of pancakes. One drowning in sweet syrup and the other in Nutella that had begun to melt. ‘They smell so good Taekwoonie. Did you finish your new song? Hakyeon smiled, dropping a kiss on Taekwoon’s cheek as he joined him at the table. Taekwoon smiled, unable to supress the proud look in his eyes as he nodded. He would have answered but his mouth was already filled with sticky sweet goodness of syrup covered pancakes. Hakyeon chuckled, waiting until Taekwoon ha swallowed before leaning forward to kiss his sticky lips. He watched as his boyfriend flushed when he pulled back, the stickiness from his lips. ‘Just as sweet as you Woonie’ Hakyeon smirked, watching his flushed boyfriend face plant the table. ‘I hate you Cha Hakyeon’. ‘Hush baby, don’t be silly. Finish your pancakes, wouldn’t want to be late again’.