Exhausted (ii)
(triple update, 60, 61 & 62)

Pushing open the door to Coffee Cojjee, I glance around tiredly, the scent of roasted coffee beans and waning evening brewing sweetly in the air. Himchan is sitting right at the back. Having been looking around, he spots me fairly quickly and flings his arms up, waving them back and forth like a maniac even though I've clearly already seen him.

I patter over and squint at him still with his arms held high up, staring at me without a word. "I already saw you from the entrance, you know," I deadpan, gently tugging his hands down. He simmers into a cheesy grin and slowly interlocks our fingers together, swinging them around like a child.

"Do you want to eat now?" He questions, still tightly holding onto my palms. I slip out of his grasp, shrugging my backpack off and plopping it onto the empty chair.

"Mm, okay." I take his hands once more and scrutinise his finger nails, smiling contentedly when I see no peeling skin or dried blood. His habit of picking his skin really made me worried. I guess it must have been something he developed to cope with the stress. It's quite surprising Himchan cultivated that bad habit when he has always prioritised his appearance—he has to look prim and proper all the time.

"You alright? You look really tired," Himchan asks, bending down to get a closer look. I nudge him away and assure him with a simple nod. At least I got to see Himchan today. He told me last night that his parents decided he only had to move in in May with his term starting in August, having initially wanted him to move in January to make use of the accommodation he'd already been sponsored for next year. I didn't tell him but it was the happiest I'd felt in a long time, knowing I get to spend a few more months with him. 

I pace up to the counter first as Himchan follows behind, Junhong and Chen broadly smiling at us approaching. From far, it seems there's nothing wrong with them besides their extremely wide smiles, but once I get closer, it becomes obvious that they're apparently trying to squeeze each other away from the cash register. 

"Jaejae hyung!" Junhong chimes and roughly bumps his hips with Chen, the latter squawking as he nearly falls to the ground. "I haven't seen you in so long!"

"Me too, hyung!" Chen chirps as he stabilises himself, flashing a wide smile. 

"You're older than him, you ," Junhong retorts incredulously and menacingly narrows his eyes. "Stop acting close to Youngjae-hyung."

Chen merely shrugs and interlocks his fingers, resting his elbows on the counter as he shoots me a leer. "Age is just a number. He can even be my oppa if he wants to."

"Ew, gross!" Junhong grimaces, shuddering visibly. They start glaring at each other and I muffle back a soft laugh, Himchan glancing at me in stupefaction.

"I see you guys are still the same," I laugh softly, the two of them simpering unabashedly and  waving to a bewildered Himchan behind me. I haven't seen Junhong around in school, but that's expected since we're in different buildings. It's still a wonder how he can manage both school and work at the same time. 

"Are you guys doing well in school?" I ask, Junhong sheepishly threading a hand through his hair.

"He flunked his Math test," Chen fills in and proudly pats Junhong's back, shrinking back when Junhong sends him a death glare. Junhong glances to me and hurriedly provides, "There was too much to read, hyung! I guess I'm not cut out for academics."

"Don't say that." I think to myself for a moment before offering, "I still have my summaries from my first year. I can pass them to you on Monday."

"You will?" Junhong melts into a gleeful grin and breathes, "Oh, man. You're the best, hyung."

Glancing behind to see a few girls queuing up behind, I quickly skim through the menu and hum, "Um, the carbonara, a la carte, please. What about you, Himchan-hyung?"

"Same, but I want the dinner set," he answers, staring down at me still with questioning eyes. L swings out from the back and spares up a small upturn of the lips. One of the girls behind us immediately giggles, whispers erupting behind us.

"Junsu-hyung, two carbonaras!" Chen whooshes away to the kitchen and Junhong sends me a wink, suddenly leaning over the counter to whisper into my ear.

"If you come with a special someone next time, my boss is willing to give you a two-for-one, hyung," he says, lips quirking into a suggestive smirk. That's probably Daehyun he's referring to.

"You guys are really in love with him, huh?" I smother back a laugh, Junhong dramatically placing the back of his hand against his forehead.

"All of us... but one," he sighs as he eyes me with a smug grin. I scoot aside as the queue shuffles forward. He must be talking about L since he's the only one not involved in their weird antiques.

Daehyun's popular everywhere he goes. I wonder what Junhong would think if he knew I... actually liked Daehyun in that way. Would he be grossed out?

The thought sinks heftily into the back of my mind. Settling back into my seat, Himchan seems to squint at me for a moment before he spouts, "Did that tall kid just call you Jaejae?"

"Yeah," I embarrassedly cough, scratching the back of my head. Himchan reclines into his chair and shakes his head.

"I never knew you were so close to them." He flattens out his lips and mutters, "You're seducing men everywhere you go."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I chortle, nudging Himchan under the table. "You know them. They're always joking around."

I reach over and clear up the clutter on the table, stacking up Himchan's work and sorting his notes by chapter number. He presses down his papers in my hands and thumbs my cheek, letting out a lengthy breath.

"Stop it. The whole world's going to fall for you at this rate," Himchan remarks, taking his notes from me and neatening them out himself. I blink twice at him and poke his forehead, Himchan emitting an offended yelp.

"Stop flattering me just because I came here for you." Shivering at the chilly air-conditioning, I my bag and slip on my jacket. I've been wearing it a lot because the exams are near and I'm often at the library studying, so I hope no one notices I haven't washed it in a while.

I still haven't found out who gave this to me. Musing for a second or two, I burrow into the warm cotton, tucking my hands into its pockets. "Have you been studying from morning straight?"

"Lost my momentum about four hours in. I took a break during lunch but I couldn't really concentrate, so I've been binging on The Return of Superman," Himchan announces, pointing at his wallpaper of his beloved baby triplets.

"How productive," I snicker, casting a small smile as Junhong struts by with a tablecloth. Himchan glances over and clacks his fingernails against the mahogany table. 

"Hey, what did Zelo whisper to you?" He lowers his voice, angling his chin towards the waiter diagonally a table away.

"He said I'd get a discount if I bring Daehyun along next time," I chuckle, a wistful warmth settling within me. "Lots of people like him, huh? He has fans everywhere he goes."

It's unsurprising that Daehyun is so well-liked. He has every right to boast in both the looks and the brains department, what more, he's sweet and so lovable. I mean... even if he doesn't have someone he's interested in, it's not like he'll bat an eyelash at me when so many people are drawn to him.

Himchan knits his brows together and files back his notes, lips thinning. "Honestly, I don't see anything great about Daehyun. He's pretty overhyped, in my opinion."

A brash, screeching gasp grates through the air and I whip my head towards the source of noise. Junhong is looming over the table he had been wiping, eyes bulging out at it in absolute horror like a tiny ant had flashed him. Both of us stare at Junhong for a moment as he simply stands there, frozen. Is... he okay?

"What? What happened?" Chen nearly trips over himself rushing over eagerly to where Junhong is, scrutinising the table curiously. Chen ultimately widens his nostrils in disappointment and shoves Junhong's head, pacing away while muttering. Junhong suddenly extends his lanky arm and wrenches Chen back by the collar, the poor waiter choking as he stumbles back.

Chen begins to bicker with a still stunned Junhong, demanding to know why he'd been manhandled in the middle of a public establishment. As Himchan and I look back at one another, I frown at Himchan and cross my arms, challenging him with my stringent gaze. "You think he's overhyped?"

He stares back unapologetically and spouts, "What? It's true. Look, I know you like him, but you have to be honest with yourself. There's nothing great about Daehyun."

Another gasp, this time softer, punctures through the air. I glance over to find Chen covering his mouth with widened eyes and slowly veering his gaze towards the other waiter, Junhong staring back with a I told you so expression. I spare a moment squinting at what seems to be a clean, perfectly normal table when Chen hisses, "Salty..."

Meeting Chen's eyes, he abruptly diverts his gaze to the table and points an accusing finger at it. "There is salt on this table!"

"Yeah!" Junhong raises his voice in anguish, both of them glaring at the table. I better eat carefully later; I never knew they prioritised cleanliness that much.

"There are a lot of great things about Daehyun, hyung," I mutter in annoyance. What beef does Himchan have with Daehyun? The first time I saw these two together, they seemed a little awkward but fine. In fact, I even thought they were friends since they knew each other's names. Knowing Himchan and his gargantuan social circle, he's probably talked a little to every single person in the school.

"Yeah, yeah. He plays basketball and he's hot. Big deal," Himchan snorts. Whenever he's sulking about something, his lips tend to purse and his cheeks will fatten a bit, making him look rather cute. But the things he's saying are not cute at all.

"So. Much. Salt." Junhong clicks his tongue slowly in distaste, the two waiters still invested in the table dirtied with salt.

"He does more than that, hyung. He sings, he draws, he composes his own songs—and he does all of them really well," I point out in annoyance.

"You sure know a lot about him, huh," Himchan mutters, blowing at his bangs. He glimpses at me and blathers, "Half of the school population just likes him for his looks, Youngjae. They barely know anything about him besides that he has this mysterious boy concept."

"Even more salt!" Junhong huffs, shaking his head in rude shock. Chen starts aggressively wiping at the table like he's ready to burn a hole straight into it.

"I'm so angry!" He yells, almost as if to prove my point. Ouch, whoever was using that table before must have really made a mess...

Just as I open my mouth to retort, L strides towards our