It was a frigid night, though not uncommon these days, remained unpleasant. Minho’s breath steamed the air as he released a sigh, burying his hands deep into his coat pockets in a futile attempt to warm them. As a teenager, the cold had never bothered him, but now, it might as well been sub zero with the way his body shivered. The bus had the obnoxious habit of running late, especially as the night went on. He would kill for something warm, whether that was a cup of hot chocolate or a blanket didn’t matter.

He shifted from foot to foot, bored out of his mind but reluctant to search his backpack (that was doing a fantastic job of keeping his back warm) for his headphones as he normally would, so he settled for listening to the cars driving by, silently wishing one of them was the bus he needed to take to return home.

For the umpteenth time since he started working in the city, he regretted his choice of living in the suburbs. Whether it was traffic he faced while in his car or waiting for an annoyingly late bus, it was a hassle. He also wished his car wasn’t being repaired. Minho shouldn’t have put it off for so long, but he was a busy guy- things like that occasionally were forgotten.

With another sigh, he pulled his hand out from the warmth of his pocket to check the time. 19:58. The bus was late by nearly five minutes now. Seriously, how were the schedules never accurate? At this rate, he would be late to his second bus.

He tried not to think too hard about that and stared ahead at the bright lights of the city around him. No matter how much time he spent here, he never grew used to seeing the city streets at night. There was a certain liveliness to it despite the cold weather.

Finally, finally, the bus pulled up, screeching to a halt in front of him. He wasted no time in swiping his bus pass, sighing quietly in relief as the heat warmed his chilly skin. Once he found a suitable seat, he immediately searched for his headphones.

He scrolled through his playlists and settled on something relaxing. He didn’t need his workout playlist blasting in his ears right now. With little else to do, he focused on his favourite ballads and let his gaze wander to the window. Endless lights from various buildings blurred as the bus sped by.

Perhaps it was the warmth, or maybe it was the relaxing music in his ears, but drowsiness began to take over, and his eyes felt heavy. Today had been a rather long work day, twelve hours, and it was definitely taking its toll on him. With the holidays coming up, he had even more tasks to do. Working as the assistant store director for a higher-end department store was tedious work… though he himself wasn’t the director, he found himself doing equal work as Kibum. Thankfully, though, it was Kibum’s job to deal with the corporate higher ups. Minho hated pleasantries. In a casual crowd, Minho was charismatic and loved by many-- he knew that. But when it came to rude, nosy superiors, he had the tendency to show his distaste, whereas Kibum was more composed… and then complained endlessly later.

His eyes drooped closed, and before he even realised, he was sound asleep, head rested against the cool glass window.

Some time later, he awoke rather disoriented, a stranger nudging his shoulder. “Aigoo, you’re a heavy sleeper,” the short guy commented, a frown on his lips. “I figured I’d have the decency to wake you, since nobody else has.”

Minho, his brain still fogged from sleep, sat up and yawned. “Thanks. What stop is this?” His eyes scanned the street, watching as quite a few people stood and flocked to the door, waiting for it to open.

The stranger in front of him sighed. “It’s probably way past your stop if you don’t recognise the area. Come on, I’ll get my flatmate to drive you home,” the man said, clearly tired as well but there was nothing but kindness in his gaze. “I’m Jonghyun, by the way.”

“Thank you, really. I’m Minho,” he replied easily, standing to follow his new acquaintance out of the bus. Maybe he should have stopped to think more about following a stranger to his flat, but he was still groggy and at this point, his bed was all he wanted and Jonghyun seemed harmless enough.

“Nice to meet you, Minho,” Jonghyun said genuinely before stepping out of the bus and leading the way towards his flat. “You must have been really tired if you fell asleep on the bus.” The slightly raised eyebrows showed Jonghyun’s mild curiosity.

“Yeah, I had a busy and long day at work today, with the holidays and all. Wow, what time is it, even?” Minho asked, pulling his phone out quickly. He was pleased to find out he must have only been asleep for about an hour and a half. Looking around now, he could tell that he wasn’t in completely unfamiliar territory.

He was still rather new to Daegu. He transferred here four months ago for a promotion, and learning the ways around the city was a bit of a task. He still didn’t know it as well as he knew Seoul, but he wasn’t too concerned. His phone’s gps would help him if he was truly lost.

“How long did you sleep?” Jonghyun asked, slightly amused as Minho put away his phone.

“At least an hour. Thanks again for waking me, I would have been so lost. I’m still new to the area,” he answered, smiling softly and trying not to shiver now that the cold is setting in again.

“Not a problem. It’s about time my anti-social flatmate met somebody new anyway,” he said with a chuckle, shuddering a bit as he continued to walk towards a series of nicer residential buildings.

“Who’s your flatmate?” Minho asked, relatively curious. It had actually been a while since he met new people, too… or rather, new people he didn’twork with. It hit him just then how much he lacked in a social life. Jonghyun looked to be about his age, and he surmised that the roommate likely would be as well. Maybe, if he was lucky, he’d walk away from tonight with two new friends to call his own.

“Aww, Taeminnie,” the shorter male said fondly. “He’s been my best friend since we were kids. He’s pretty quiet most of the time, and he generally favours being alone, especially since his jerk of an ex-” Jonghyun paused awkwardly, likely realising he said more than he meant to. “Ah, forget I said that. Just don’t be surprised if Taemin’s not making much conversation, I promise he’s friendly.”

Minho’s lips curled into a small smile. He liked how easily Jonghyun spoke to him, like they were already friends. It was a nice feeling after not having spoken to his old friends much back in Seoul. He idly wondered how Junmyeon and the rest were doing, but it was a passing thought as they finally entered the lobby of a new apartment building and he followed Jonghyun into a lift.

“I’m sure he’ll be just as nice as you,” Minho said, pulling his hands from the warm confines of his pockets to rub his arms a bit, still cold despite finally being inside. He really needed to buy a better jacket, and made a mental note to do so when Jonghyun stopped in front of a door and grabbed his keys.

“He is, I assure you,” Jonghyun cracked a wide smile as he opened the door and held it open for Minho.

The first thing he registered was the heavenly warm sound of the piano, playing some sort of bittersweet melody. He blinked in surprise and stepped inside after Jonghyun, not expecting the music but pleased nonetheless. “Wow, he’s a pianist?”

“Mhmm, he spends the majority of his time playing nowadays. It’s really nice, unless I’m trying to sleep.” Jonghyun chuckled softly, clearly trying not to disturb the pianist’s playing.

Taemin, he reminded himself mentally. He curiously wandered inside the flat after Jonghyun, entranced by the passion he could already sense, based off the music selection. Growing up, Minho had always silently respected musicians. He himself wasn’t blessed with such a gift, and thus, he marveled at those who were.

It was a rare chance for him to actually meet a musician, too. In his school years, he was an athlete. His father being a football coach almost made it impossible for him to follow any other path. He was often too busy to socialise outside of his circle, so that was what he blamed his childlike excitement on.

The second he saw him, Minho’s breath hitched slightly (not that he’d admit it to anyone, of course). The pianist before him had soft, almost fluffy looking blonde hair that fell cutely in front of his eyes. His small but slim fingers delicately worked  on the piano, poking through the long sleeves of his oversized jumper. His focus was downward on the keys, his expression relaxed but Minho could tell that the bittersweet melody meant something to the blonde… especially when the combination of keys and the slower tempo shifted to a darker, sadder sound.

“Taeminnie, you should stop playing that one,” Jonghyun quietly murmured, sitting down on the bench next to him. “You know it only makes it worse.”

The pianist ignored him entirely, continuing to play and not even looking up to meet Jonghyun’s gaze. After a few more sad sounding chords, the pianist’s fingers stilled, letting the note resound, leaving Minho wanting so much more.

“You’re really talented,” he found himself saying. He cleared his throat, surprised slightly at himself.

The blonde’s eyes flickered to him for a moment before going to Jonghyun and going back, seemingly confused. “Uh, hi. I’m Taemin, Jonghyun’s flatmate,” he said, clearly not expecting to meet anyone at this time, judging by the look he sent to the shorter male next to him.

“I’m Choi Minho,” he answered, silently scolding himself for using such a formal tone. He really needed to loosen up, this wasn’t a business meeting, it was a casual encounter. Thankfully he hadn’t held his hand out for a shake, that would have been embarrassing.

“He fell asleep on the bus and kind of got lost,” Jonghyun chided in, chuckling a little at Minho’s expense. So much for appearances. “I told him you’d give him a ride home.”

Only just now did Minho realise how comfortable Jonghyun and Taemin must be if Jonghyun had offered that… or maybe Jonghyun was being pushy. What if Taemin said no?

“Aigoo, you’re lucky I don’t have work tonight,” Taemin answered light-heartedly, though it did look a little forced if Minho had a say.

“Is that a yes?” the shorter male asked, sounding mildly surprised at how easily Taemin complied.

“I don’t see a reason not to. I would have picked you up from work if you had asked,” the blonde replied with a small chuckle, either of fondness or awkwardness, he couldn’t tell. “Minho, are you hungry? I did make pizza earlier, there’s plenty if you want some.”

“Wow, you actually cooked?”

Jonghyun looked so amazed, Minho couldn’t help but laugh in amusement, laughing a bit louder when Taemin elbowed his flatmate in the ribs. “Shut up, it’s not that hard to put a pizza in the oven!” He playfully rolled his eyes before looking back over to t