Cha Hakyeon didn’t like Choi Bora’s eyes boring into his back as he fiddled with the cereal dispenser. Breakfast today was awful which was why Hakyeon was even wrestling with the cereal dispenser instead of eating whatever was being served that day (which was baked beans and toast by the way, baked beans with no actual beans in it and the toast was hard enough to be used as a projectile weapon). But when he heard the knob crack and the cereal (Fruit Loops to be precise) to come spilling out into his bowl and onto the floor, Hakyeon simply gaped at the mess of Fruit Loops all over the floor.

He cringed when he heard Bora clear “Maybe you should have turned the knob a little gently.” she said, as she side stepped over the cereal on the floor and unhappily headed to the counter of ketchup (which was the only thing one could call the baked beans) and weaponry. Hakyeon followed her, fuming

“You do realized it was jammed!”

“Yes, but such things need to be handled with care.” Bora sighed “Now everyone has to eat this rubbish.” she said, frowning at the baked beans as Hakyeon sighed, waiting for her to finish serving herself.

“The only reason I even attacked the dispenser was because I was so done with the rubbish breakfast the college has been serving us. I have a meal plan and they serve me inedible things.” he groaned unhappily as he served himself.

“Yeah! This stuff isn’t healthy at all!” Bora exclaimed, following Hakyeon to his seat, much to his disappointment. He wasn’t comfortable with this girl who seemed to hijack his friends with food and stuff. Except now she was pulling out to boiled eggs from her bag and handing him one making him gape at the offering.

“What?” he blinked as she held out the egg with a grin.

“I didn’t have time to make anything better and this was the quickest stuff I could make back in the room. You need it, you’re dependent on a meal plan in this place.”

“I’m good,” he mumbled only to have her place the egg on his plate. He looked up as she took a bite out of her baked beans on toast  cringing before taking a bite out of her boiled egg. She looked like she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “Thanks.” he said, picking up his own egg and taking a bite. Was Choi Bora trying to hijack him as well? He wasn’t entirely sure, but what he was sure of was that he was grateful for that egg in the morning.

So when Haneul dragged him along to help Bora out with the Foodaholics stall at the theatre event, he stated he was only there to return the favour. They were making popcorn of different flavours, burgers, and flavoured soda. All Hakyeon could see was chaos as the many volunteers tried to do too many things at once. Bora simply cleared and called out to everyone.

“Alright I need all of you at your stations! I’m pretty sure you guys know where you’re supposed to be and don’t move from there!” he heard her curt instructions as he headed to the desk. Haneul had already disappeared behind the popcorn station and was trying to hold Wonshik away as he tried to help her out only to show his inefficiency at cooking by setting a batch of popcorn on fire.

“You should go and check if Sanghyuk needs any help backstage.” Hakyeon said as he eyed Jaehwan drawing animals with the ketchup bottle on the burger patties. Taekwoon silently sauteed vegetables, trying to avoid Bora who he knew would nag him just for the hell of it.

“Taekwoonie!” Hakyeon called making the tall silent man cringe as he approached him “did you find yourself a date for prom or are you going to come with me?”

“Leave this man alone, he’s in charge of sauteing the vegetables for the burgers. Aren’t you?” Bora arrived, grinning only to have Taekwoon whip his phone out and text.

“Stop texting and cook Taekwoon.” Bora grumbled as Taekwoon ignored her and Hakyeon choosing to pout at his phone instead. Bora turned to Hakyeon and grinned.

“I see you’re good at managing people, could you just help out by making sure that they don’t mess around too much? I’ll give you a free burger and popcorn for it!” she asked with such a smile that Hakyeon could not say no. So now the entire team of members of the food club were now working with such efficiency it was incredible to watch.

Yet the two were the only ones left cleaning up the tables after the successful theatre event. Hongbin had played the hero and Minah had been directing the play with Miya playing the music, the crowd had been extremely pumped up about the play. The food had nearly run out and Bora and Hakyeon sat on the cash register table with the last two burgers in their hands as they looked at the empty space in front of them which had been previously filled with people. The silence was comforting after the two had run around managing both the crowd of customers as well as the volunteers cooking behind the counters.

“Well, this was nice,” Bora said, breaking the silence as Hakyeon took a bite of his burger, nodding “thanks Hakyeon.” she sighed looking at all the stuff that needed to be cleaned up. The place was thoroughly trashed at this point with paper plates, cups, induction stoves and storage boxes strewn all over the place.

“I’ll help you clean up.” he said, taking the last bite of his burger, only to have his stomach rumble and her chuckle.

“After you finish this popcorn.” she said, holding up the last box and tossing him a piece which he skillfully caught with his mouth much to her joy. Another piece followed and over the giggles, Bora tossed several pieces at Hakyeon and he attempted to catch all of them while trying hard not to laugh at how childish things had gotten.

Breathless in the silence, they grinned at each other before he helped her off the table and the two set to clearing up the space, making everything about it a game of toss and catch. Hakyeon didn’t mind her becoming close to him, maybe she wasn’t as bad as he thought.

-x-

“What are you grinning at?” Sanghyuk asked, peering into Hakyeon’s phone as the latter tried to hide the screen of his KakaoTalk. Bora had been sending his recipes he could make without too much equipment or spending too much money so he wouldn’t starve. “Oh? Is that a message from Choi Bora I see you grinning at? I thought you didn’t like her?” he continued, smug as Hakyeon glared at him.

“Get back to sprinting you brat!” Hakyeon shoved Sanghyuk away from him as the latter chuckled, getting back to sprinting across the field. Haru joined Hakyeon as they jogged, giving him a smug smirk as Bora walked past the track, completely distracting Hakyeon by waving at him.

“I’m making sandwiches tonight! You should drop by!” she called and Hakyeon waved back and nodded Haru burst out laughing.

“Oh my god you’re such a loser.” she laughed, jogging ahead of Hakyeon before he caught hold of her and neck sliced her to eternity. Not that the captain of the track and field team couldn’t catch up with her, he just chose not to choosing to ignore the jibe and continue jogging instead. Bora had left the field and all that Hakyeon had was his two oafs for juniors repeatedly pulling his leg.

Although what really baffled him was his conversation with Taekwoon, his usually taciturn friend who every now and then held conversations with him about different things.

“If you really want to know if you like someone, imagine adopting a puppy with them.” Taekwoon’s soft voice said, eyes still fixed on the novel he had been reading for his class. Hakyeon eyed him suspiciously as Taekwoon continued to read “or if you can picture a lazy sunday with them, sipping on coffee and spending hours in each other’s company.” Hakyeon smiled, Taekwoon was a bit of a romantic at heart even if he didn’t seem it.

“Or if you’d have them haunt you to your death so you can join them as a ghost as well.”

“Taekwoon?” Hakyeon gaped at his friend.

“Hmm?” his friend looked up at him from his novel.

“Have you been reading Wuthering Heights for your book review?”

“Maybe.” he replied, before getting back to the book as Hakyeon sighed wondering what on earth had gotten into his friend who was now smiling at his novel. Another message broke him out of his daze as Bora’s reminder for the sandwiches dragged him out of his room and towards hers.

They sat on the stairs outside her block munching on sandwiches and animatedly chatting. Bora was interesting beyond just being someone who loved feeding people.

“Okay. You can't take time to think about this. Your absolute favourite Disney movie” Hakyeon asked her rapid fire style.

 “Mulan. Only because of the Mushu” Bora laughed.

 “Not because you thought it was cool to save all of China?” Hakyeon asked aghast.

 “That too. I think my actual favourite are the songs though. I love Disney songs” Bora told him. “Don't you dare Cha Hakyeon!” she exclaimed when Hakyeon gave her a mischievous look. Hakyeon burst into a soulful rendition of Let It Go that made Bora simultaneously want to laugh and cry. He even pulled Bora up to make her dance with him.

 “You are crazy” Bora said, shaking her head.

“I'm y” Hakyeon corrected her.

 “How can you say that yourself” Bora teased.

“You can call me y then” he said cheekily.

 “Get out” Bora said, making him laugh even more.

“You have a really nice voice though” she admitted once he had calmed down a little.

 “Thank you. It's not as great as Jaehwan’s or Taekwoon’s or something” he started only to be cut off by Bora.

 “It's wonderful the way it is” Bora insisted. He smiled at her, his eyes turning to crescents with a full eye smile. The innocent sight made Bora’s heart beat faster. She blushed, feeling flustered even though she was the one complimenting him.

“It's getting late so I should probably get back. I don’t want Minah forgetting to eat because of her assignments” Bora said, looking away.

 “I worry about that child” Hakyeon said frowning immediately.

 “I'll make sure she is well fed” Bora promised. (“She's right here and she is an adult who can take care of herself!” Minah complained to Sooyeon who shushed her so that they could spy in peace).

“This was fun though. Maybe next time I can take you out for dinner?” Hakyeon asked hopefully. He laughed nervously to lighten the mood, hoping Bora wouldn't find the request odd.

“That'll be wonderful” she agreed.

 “Okay” Hakyeon said proudly. “Okay” Bora replied, trying to calm her racing mind.

“Good night” she wished him.

“Good night” he replied, waving goodbye. He waited till she had gone inside before sighing and leaving. A dinner with Bora. He had to take her to a really nice place. Somewhere they could have fun too because she deserved it for how hard she worked.

Maybe he could ask Jaehwan or Wonshik since those two had been on multiple dates. On the other hand he could also ask Sanghyuk and Haru but he wanted suggestions and not teasing. Would Taekwoon know? Maybe Hongbin knew? Why was this suddenly so hard?

-x-

“So you asked her out I heard.” Wonshik grinned at Hakyeon who frowned at him, with the most dating experience with Haneul, Wonshik was his first option to ask for date ideas and this was what he got in return, smug and chuckling Wonshik. Maybe the next time he would ask Jaehwan. Sanghyuk had a crappy idea of what a date was (he couldn’t understand how Haru found them wonderful), Hongbin was too simplistic and well Taekwoon’s emotional range was that of a teaspoon as compared to his ocean of emotions.

“Yes I did Wonshik, now I need you to stop smirking and help me out.”

“Bring her to the club and dance the night away.” Wonshik shrugged, turning back to penning down song ideas as Hakyeon grimaced.

“Just because that worked out for you, does not mean it will work out for me.” he frowned.

“I’m sure she’ll think different when she sees you dance.” Wonshik shot him a knowing look only to have Hakyeon return it with a disgusted one.

“You’re useless.”

“I’m just showing you a whole new world!” Wonshik sing-songed, avoiding Hakyeon’s attempts to whack him for making references to his previous conversation with Bora. He sighed in relief when Jaehwan plonked down on his bed trying to rub off the ink stains on his fingertips.

“I heard you asked Bora out.”

“What is this? Some public announcement?” Hakyeon rolled his eyes.

“Sooyeon overheard you guys.” Jaehwan shot him a smug look which Hakyeon wanted to knock off his face. Stretching, Jaehwan leaned back against Hakyeon’s pillows “So, you want date ideas?”

Hakyeon lit up at Jaehwan’s ready offer to help him out “Yes! Please! Don’t tell me to take her to the club like this numbskull here.” he said pointing to Wonshik who was now engrossed in his music. Jaehwan looked at Hakyeon thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.

“Dinner at that restaurant...what was it called? Tales and Spirits?”

“Do I look like I’m made out of money Jaehwan?” Hakyeon deadpanned.

“How about a walk on the beach and like a hundred balloons!” Jaehwan chirped as Hakyeon shook his head.

“I don’t know what childish fantasy you’re living in, but it’s the first date and she likes food.”

“Instead of pondering over it, why don’t you go food hopping?” Taekwoon’s soft voice reached his ears as he looked up at the tall man leaning by the doorframe shaking his head before walking away.

Food hopping, or a dessert crawl, why hadn’t he thought of that? Of course it was the perfect idea for someone like Bora!

And so Hakyeon texted Bora to meet her at 11 in the morning and to wear comfortable shoes. Bora had to fend off her over excitable (children) roommates who wanted to dress her up fancy. Instead she chose a comfortable dress, long sweater and her floral sneakers.

“Hi” she said, well aware that just two floors everyone was fighting to look out of the same tiny window.

“Hey. Are you ready to for an exciting day?” Hakyeon asked.

“I guess so. Where are we going?” Bora asked Hakyeon.

 “Secret” Hakyeon said.

“Will you tell us at least?” Haru shouted from above.

“What…” Hakyeon trailed off awkwardly as Bora pulled him away from the building.

“I am so done with that lot” Bora swore under her breath.

 “Well if it helps, the boys are the same” Hakyeon told her.

“Crazy but cute?” Bora asked.

“Just crazy” Hakyeon deadpanned causing Bora to laugh. Hakyeon smiled because he liked the sound of her laugh. And he felt quite proud at making her smile instead of boring her. Hopefully the rest of the date would go just as well.

“But seriously though. Where are we going?” Bora asked him.

 “I won't tell you” Hakyeon sang.

 “I'm going to guess random things then” Bora asserted.

 “Okay” Hakyeon laughed.

“Beach? Movie? Library?” Bora guessed in succession.

“Library? You like to read?” he asked. Bora nodded. “Whenever I can. I used to read a lot in high school” she told him. “Me too!” Hakyeon said excitedly. They discussed books at a length and Bora didn't realize that she was in the city.

“What is this place?” Bora asked, looking around.

 “Welcome to Hwaejon market” Hakyeon said proudly. Bora marvelled at the colours and the lively sounds. There were a series of stalls covering the entire street. There were a variety of things in display. There was a shop selling phone accessories, jewellery, scarves and food.

“I thought instead of staying in one place we could go food hopping. Eat some awesome food while we look around at the pretty things here” Hakyeon told her.

“Brilliant plan!” Bora agreed excitedly.

 “Let's go!” he said happily.

They stopped by a deokggochi stand, where they bought some fish cakes for the road. They decided not to order a lot at the first go so they could eat a lot more. So they shared a piece each. There was a scarf shop right next to them and Bora bought a blue scarf with white embroidery. Hakyeon helped her wrap it around her dress and she blushed.

Next was a duck shaped yellow cotton candy that caused both of them to squeal forgetting their age. Hakyeon took a picture of both the ducks for his Instagram. “Such a cute couple” he captioned. After that came the pancake stand and the two of them got small pancakes covered in nutella and whipped cream. Bora wiped the chocolate sauce away from Hakyeon’s lips causing him to laugh nervously.

Bora pointed out to the goldfish pancake stand and before Hakyeon knew it they had goldfish bread in their hands. As he bit into the pancake, sweet red bean filling ignited his taste buds. The golden fried carbohydrate and sweet red bean combo felt very satisfying. As they were starting to feel full they decided on bbopkki (sugared lollipops) as they were the lightest snacks on the street.

Hakyeon also got her some freshly squeezed lemonade.

“I ate too much” Bora confessed.

“Me too” Hakyeon agreed.

 “Let's walk around the park for a while?” Bora suggested.

“Okay” Hakyeon agreed. She took his hand and led the way, pointing out to the random stalls they passed by. Hakyeon held onto her hand firmly, following her as she told him stories of markets like this from her childhood. Choi Bora had firmly seated herself in his heart and there was no way she was budging from there. The effects were similar on Bora, she had been fond of Hakyeon from the moment she set her eyes on him but now the feeling of fondness had grown into something even more substantial. She could feel his tight grip on her sweaty palms, as she slowed down her pace so they could be walking at the same pace.

The park was a lot less crowded and so spending time actually talking without raising their voice over the din of a crowded market was so much easier. Hakyeon was charming, he was smart, a little dramatic, but Bora found it thoroughly enjoyable. Bora was calm, caring, gentle and intelligent and all Hakyeon wanted to do was to make her smile and hold her hand and never let go.

Even when she pressed a kiss on his cheek before heading back to her block only to have him turn his head and their lips grazing against each other. She took a step back blushing and hoping he didn’t think she was too forward, only to have him hold onto her hands and pull her closer and look into her eyes, asking if he could kiss her good night.

Choi Bora also learned that not only was Cha Hakyeon charming, smart, and a little dramatic, he was a great kisser with a heart so warm and big she was glad she was in it.

-x-

“So, was it hot?” Sanghyuk asked when Hakyeon returned from the first date. He only received a neck slice in return as Hakyeon collapsed on his bed, stomach full and heart content as his group of friends crowded around his bed, prodding him for details, Hongbin in particular since he had decided to steal some of these plans for Miya and himself. Not that it was any better on Bora’s side. Miya and Haru attacked her the moment she returned with many questions as to how the date had gone resulting in a congregation of all her friends in her room ‘awwwing’ at every detail of the date.