“Honestly though, Taekwoon hyung, you’re the only one who knows how to work that machine apart from Kihyunie, and when he stopped cooking and everything, that machine just sat there collecting dust.” It had been almost a week since Taekwoon moved in and everything was going well. Classes didn’t offically start ’til next month but there were some precourse events that Taekwoon loved.

They were sitting in the kitchen again after Taekwoon and Kihyun had strung out coffee after coffee for those in the dorm who smelt the coffee aroma. Hongbin continued, “Jooheonie was right, you guys do make a good pair.” He was a photography major and was Jooheon’s roommate. He had wandered into the kitchen after seeing a constant stream of students come and go and stayed ’til now to join Taekwoon, Kihyun, Hakyeon and Wonshik.

When Kihyun had stumbled across a dumbfounded Taekwoon in the kitchen that morning with a line of people presumably waiting for Taekwoon’s coffee, he’d wordlessly grabbed the second group handle and started helping Taekwoon ease the stream of people. 

“This was always my Sundays when I used to cook regularly. I did this thing where there was a coin box on the countertop and they would drop their donations in there and I would use that to get the milk and coffee beans and stuff, the ingredients. Then when there was left over change, I’d save it for when I felt like cooking for the dorm and used that to buy whatever I needed to cook it.” Kihyun explained throughout the day and he seemed so at bliss when he was talking about cooking or making coffees for others. Taekwoon could understand as he, too, felt this certain joy when his friends and family had enjoyed the foods and drinks that he made. He quite liked this idea of cooking for the dorm house occasionally. 

“Sometimes there would be a lot of money left over so I just donated it to the day care centre nearby. Minhyuk actually asked me one time why I didn’t keep the money as profits. I told him that it would ruin my love for cooking. I would eventually just fall into the trap of cooking just to earn money. That’s not what cooking means to me. I think you would understand that, Taekwoon hyung. I’ve seen the way you make coffees and watch people’s reactions with that slight smile of yours. Cooking, for me, was a way to express myself, much like music but I found early on in high school that it was easier to express myself in my cooking rather than music. I couldn’t wrap my head around the different forms or styles of music until the last two years. Because of this, I leant more towards cooking and decided to do it in uni.” Hearing Kihyun’s story was like feeling a connection with him. He could understand and relate to what Kihyun said. 

“That’s true, I actually said roughly the same thing to my friends when they asked why I wouldn’t work in a restaurant or even open my own.” Taekwoon decided to open up to Kihyun seeing how he had told him his story. “To me, cooking is a way for me to relax, to destress. If I did work in a restaurant, there would be set recipes I’d have to follow, and that’s not what I want. In high school, I picked up cooking when my music teacher told me I couldn’t continue the course until I learnt how to express my feelings in my songs. He said they were too structured, too generic, needed more personality, raw emotions. There were a few assignments for cooking where you had to create your own dish, or modify a recipe to suit a dietry requirement. These assignments sort of unlocked some part of me and after the fifth one, I wrote a new song from scratch and my teacher smiled proudly at me. From then on, I’ve always cooked when I was feeling stressed or unsatisfied or just downright upset. Cooking helped relieve most of the tension that I never let out.” 

Taekwoon was a relatively quiet person who didn't really initiate any social interactions so it was relieving for him that Kihyun took it upon himself to make him open up. When Taekwoon first went into the kitchen to make himself a coffee that morning, he didn't expect to be almost running a café and he certainly did not expect to have learnt so much about Kihyun. He found this strange as there was never anyone else around him who understood what it was like for him when he cooked, what cooking actually meant and there were even less people who knew enough about cooking AND music to compare the two. 

Feeling content with all the happy customers today, Taekwoon leant on the counter half listening to Hakyeon telling Hongbin off while Wonshik tried to distract Hakyeon for the sake of his friend. Unconsciously, his mind began to wonder as to why Kihyun gave up his cooking major when he looked so content whenever he talked about cooking. He thought things like: Maybe his parents didn't agree? But then is a major in CG really any better? Perhaps something had happened to him while he was cooking and was kicked out of the course? Ugh I'm thinking too much about this pink-haired cutie. Did I really just think that?! What the heck brain?! Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he tried to focus on Hongbin and Kihyun's conversation as Wonshik had successfully done his job.

Soon, it was getting late and there was an idea floating around in his head so he excused himself from their little group and went up to his room to jot down his idea before the flicker of inspiration ran away.

A/N: I know, it's short. Sorry! xx 

Next one will be a bit longer. I just wanted to give an insight to Taekwoon and Kihyun's lives. This is a crappy chapter I know, I'll try to write better ones to come!

Also if you have any suggestions please don't hesitate to leave a comment!! All comments are welcomed! <33