"Today is the day I'll come out of this as the winner!"

A black-haired man shouted and pointed his finger at a vending machine, but the machine didn't say anything back, of course.

"Alright, here I go... Prepare yourself!"

The man pressed his index finger and middle finger at two buttons on the vending machine at once. However, only one cola fell down at the receiver compartment. He sighed in annoyance as he took out his drink.

"Tsk, today might not be my day, but just you wait and see, I'll definitely win someday!"

He confidently proclaimed and pointed his finger at the vending machine. Again, the machine answered him back with silence. He huffed and lightly kicked it before walking away.

.

.

.

On the fourth floor of a building situating opposite of the vending machine, Kyuhyun closely watched the fight between a man and a vending machine unfolding with a smirk. It had been two weeks already since he first saw this guy trying to rig the poor machine but failing hilariously every time. The weird guy and his attempts were so entertaining and endearing in a way that made him smile fondly.

"Maybe I should tell him that what he tries to do is impossible? I really feel bad for the poor vending machine."

Musing to himself, Kyuhyun finally decided to approach the man the next time he declaring a fight with that vending machine.

*************************************

"Alright, today is the day I'll win!"

A black-haired man boldly declared against the vending machine. As usual, the machine didn't respond to his provocation. It stood there cluelessly as he inserted a bill into it and all buttons lighted up. Aiming at the two buttons labeling 'cola' and 'milk tea', he took a deep breath and pressed his fingers at the two buttons.

"Come on! Come out already!"

But only one cola dropped down.

"Arghhh! Why!?"

The man kicked the vending machine out of frustration. He was about to bang his fist on it too for a good measure, but someone's laughter stopped him.

"Hahaha! Did you seriously try to pick a fight with a vending machine?"

Kyuhyun brushed laughing tears out of his eyes. The weird guy glanced at him for a second before turning his attention back to the cola in his hand. Kyuhyun was a bit miffed at the man who pointedly ignored him. He was one of the most popular freshmen in SM college and no one ever ignored him. Who was this guy and how dare he ignored him, the great Cho Kyuhyun!

"Hey, you know that what you do is useless, right?"

"So what?"

"It's useless so why do you still insist on doing it?"

"I have my own reason."

"Well, what reason is so important that you have to let your anger out at the poor vending machine?"

"... I'm gonna prove to someone that getting two drinks at once is possible."

Kyuhyun blinked confusedly at the man. Just now, his tone was a bit softer when he talked about 'someone'. It made Kyuhyun feel even more curious about the reason behind his action. Moreover, he had nothing better to do for the time being anyway. Why didn't he entertain himself by observing this weird guy?

"Ha, you're really funny! I made up my mind now. I'll keep an eye on you because I know you won't success!"

Kyuhyun was surprised when the man suddenly turned around. Then he was stunned when he saw how the man looked; short messy black-hair, perfectly drawn dark brows, intense dark brown eyes, small nose, and pale pink lips. Something about that lips stirred his heart in a strange manner, but he concluded that it was probably because this weirdo was totally his type.

"Then I'll succeed and show it to you!"

The way the shorter man said that with so much fierceness despite his cute face really amused him.

"Cho Kyuhyun, you?"

"...Kim Jongwoon,"

"Alright, nice to meet you Jongwoon."

"...I have to go now, bye."

Kyuhyun stared after Jongwoon's retreating back dumbfounded. Jongwoon was the first person to ever run away from him while they talked. He didn't get it. Almost everyone wanted to talk with him yet Jongwoon didn't even return his courtesy!

"Just you wait and see, Jongwoon, I'll make you never want to run away from me again."

Cho Kyuhyun was a very determined person. If he had his eyes on something then he would definitely get it and nothing could stop him.

**********************************

"Today is the day you'll surrender, you evil vending machine!"

"Yeah, yeah, I wish you the best of luck."

Kyuhyun said uncaringly as he watched Jongwoon talking with the same old vending machine. The black-haired man ignored him and inserted a bill into the machine. All buttons on the machine lighted up. Jongwoon took a few deep breath while cracking his fingers as if to prepare them. Then, with so much passion, he pressed his fingers at the two buttons at once.

But only one cola dropped down.

"Noooooooo!"

Jongwoon grabbed his hair in despair and fell down on his knees, all the while Kyuhyun was laughing his head off. He laughed so hard that he got a stomach pain but the man on the ground paid him no attention. Actually, Jongwoon had never turned around to face him even once ever since he arrived here. The man acted as if Kyuhyun didn't exist which made Kyuhyun feel annoyed. So, he decided to tease the man until he got some reaction from him.

"See? I told you it's useless."

"I don't care."

"Even though it's useless and waste your time?"

"It's not for me."

"Can't you answer me with something longer than one sentence?"

Jongwoon went quiet for a while so Kyuhyun thought that the man was probably considering his question. However, Jongwoon suddenly ran off after taking his cola from the vending machine, causing Kyuhyun to stare dumbly at the air. Did... did Jongwoon just run away from him, again?

"Kim Jongwoon..." Kyuhyun said through his gritted teeth, "this will be the last time I let you run away. I swear in the name of Cho Kyuhyun!"

It seemed like this cutie weirdo would be the greatest challenge to put his charm to use.

*********************************

"Hey, I've been your royal customer for a long time now. Don't you think you should give me a free drink for once?"

"You know that vending machines can't talk, right?"

Kyuhyun teased Jongwoon hoping to have him turn around so he could see that cute face again. However, Jongwoon promptly ignored him as usual while inserting a bill. Then, the shorter man braced himself (for what, Kyuhyun didn't know) and harshly pressed the two buttons on the vending machine. As usual, only one cola dropped down. Jongwoon sighed and took the drink without saying anything, while Kyuhyun kept his eyes on him closely. After that, Jongwoon set out to walk away as usual but Kyuhyun didn't let him go this time. He caught Jongwoon's hand (and secretly appreciated how small and cute it was) so the man couldn't get away. Even so, Jongwoon still refused to look at him which irritated Kyuhyun to no end.

"Wow, are you really gonna leave without talking with me?"

"Why are you so persistent about that?"

"I'm bored. I have nothing better to do. I want to know you and why you hold a grudge against the poor vending machine. What else?"

"...There is a family of goose at the pond in the garden behind the science building. Its eggs just hatched not long ago."

Kyuhyun blinked confusedly at what Jongwoon said. He was so surprised that his hand loosened up and let that small hand free. Jongwoon immediately seized this chance to run away without glancing back at once. A minute or two later, Kyuhyun who realized that he let Jongwoon escape, again, cursed his own carelessness for failing to gain the man's attention. He didn't get it. Why was Jongwoon so determined to ignore him? Had he ever done something to Jongwoon that he had forgotten?

No matter how hard he tried to think, Kyuhyun didn't remember ever meeting Jongwoon before. In the end, he decided that Jongwoon was just being weird and went to see the said family of goose (he really had nothing better to do).

*************************************

"The goose family is really cute. However, I'm pretty sure that only science students are supposed to know about that goose nest. So how did you find out about it?"

"I often hang out there so..."

"Huh? You often hang out there? But that pond is opposite of my faculty building, how come I've never seen you?"

"Who knows..."

Kyuhyun nodded while observing the shorter man. Jongwoon didn't even say anything to the vending machine this time. He silently inserted a bill into the machine and silently pressed the two buttons. Again, only one cola dropped down as usual. He heard Jongwoon sighing defeatedly before picking up the cola. He expected Jongwoon to just run off again. However, the black-haired man stood still in place. Kyuhyun knew that Jongwoon was hesitant just looking at that back. Without turning around to face him, Jongwoon quietly spoke up.

"... Aren't you going to stop me today?"

"Nah, I'm not in the mood for now. You're free to go."

Kyuhyun waited for Jongwoon's reaction with anxiety. Yesterday when he went to see the goose family, he learned that sometimes it was smarter to let your prey approach you instead of chasing after them. He had never met someone who was determined to ignore him as much as Jongwoon before, so he wasn't sure if his plan would work. What if Jongwoon actually walked away?

"...Y-You know, the owner of Sapphire cafe has a very cute dog. I always play with her when I visit the place. So, you know, maybe you want to check it out, w-with me?"

"Sapphire cafe? Is that the one beside my faculty building?'

"Yes, so, will you...?"

"Why not? I don't know what to do anyway."

Kyuhyun shrugged as if he didn't mind either way, but he was actually making a victory pose in his head. He finally made some progress with Jongwoon! Kyuhyun grinned as he quickened his steps following after the black-haired man.

.

.

.

Kyuhyun and Jongwoon stepped into the cafe. The place was decorated in white; white wall, white ceiling, white tables, white chairs, and white counter. It felt as if someone dropped this cafe in a white paint can. While Kyuhyun was checking the place, Jongwoon politely greeted a middle-aged man who dressed in white too.

"Good afternoon, hyung,"

"Good afternoon, Jongwoon-ah! The usual, right?"

"Yes. Kyuhyun, what do you want to order?"

"Hmm... An iced chocolate with whip cream then."

Kyuhyun ordered and frowned curiously when he saw the cafe owner smirking at Jongwoon. Jongwoon had to a push the owner himself to the counter to make the older man stop smirking. Kyuhyun followed after Jongwoon to sit at a wooden counter by a window. Soon their orders arrived. Jongwoon ordered a piece of cheesecake beside his iced cappuccino. Looking up from his drink, Kyuhyun noticed that he could clearly see the first floor of the science building from here. It was a large open space with many tables scattering around. Kyuhyun often hung out there with his friends when he didn't have classes to attend.

"Hey, the view is quite nice here."

Kyuhyun spoke up without thinking much about it. However, Jongwoon suddenly choked on a cheesecake he just ate. The black-haired man coughed unstoppably in pain. Kyuhyun hurried to give him a drink and helped rub his back to chase the pain away. It took some time but Jongwoon eventually felt better.

"Ah," Kyuhyun exclaimed while looking at the drink in his hand, "oops, I gave you my iced chocolate instead of your drink. You don't mind that, right?"

Jongwoon whose face was still red from coughing stared at him in disbelief. Then, his chubby cheeks somehow turned redder. Kyuhyun was about to ask if he was still in pain but Jongwoon suddenly stood up and ran out of the cafe, leaving him to sit dumbfounded there.

"Please forgive Jongwoon-ah. The view here is just too nice for him to handle it."

Kyuhyun turned to see the cafe owner smiling suspiciously at him, a small white dog lying in his arm. He turned back to the window and stared at his faculty building which was opposite of this place. What? Did Jongwoon really run away just because the view was too nice? Really?

It seemed like he had another mystery about Jongwoon that needed to be solved.

***************************************

"Oh, you're back! Where have you been in the past week? Did you know that I came here every day waiting for you?"

"...You did?"

"Yep, I even went to the pond and that cafe looking for you. How come I can't find you at all?"

"Because I was avoiding you... My heart wasn't ready yet..."

"Did you say something?"

"No..."

Kyuhyun frowned but let the matter go. The day they went to the cafe together was the last day he saw Jongwoon before the man disappeared without any trace for one week. Kyuhyun hated to admit it but he missed Jongwoon. He especially missed Jongwoon and his silly fight with the vending machine. That was why he was grinning ear to ear now, staring at Jongwoon who muttered something to the vending machine. The shorter man inserted a bill into the machine. This time, he raised up his fists and banged them on the two buttons at once.

But nothing happened.

The light on the button panel disappeared but no drink dropped down to the receiver compartment. Kyuhyun watched Jongwoon kneeling down and putting his am in the receiver compartment, checking to see if the drink got stuck in there. However, he soon took his hand out and stood up with sagging shoulders.

"I can't believe it... How could you steal my money when I've been nothing but your royal customer?"

"Yeah, a royal customer who tries to skim the poor vending machine."

He was caught off guard when Jongwoon suddenly turned around. The black-haired man looked at him with sad puppy eyes and pouted.

"Kyuhyun, do you really enjoy my failure that much?"

Kyuhyun didn't even know what Jongwoon said. He only paid attention to that bottomless black eyes and that protruding pinkish lips. That lips again. Something about them really bothered him but he didn't know what and why. He didn't know how long he had been staring at Jongwoon. He only knew that Jongwoon was really cute and he couldn't take his eyes off. But, something was off about Jongwoon. It took Kyuhyun some time to realize what was wrong about the shorter man.

"Let's go to the cafe."

"H-Huh?"

"You haven't had any drink yet, right? Let's go, it's my treat."

"You'll treat me...? Really...?"

Nodding nonchalantly, he enjoyed watching that sad smile slowly changed to a happy one. Jongwoon beamed brightly at him before running off to the direction of the cafe. Kyuhyun followed after the exciting man with a fond smirk.

I knew it. Jongwoon looked cuter when he smiled.

*******************************

"Hello Jongwoon, still not giving up yet?"

"Kyuhyun! Hi! Well, of course not, I won't ever give up!"

"If only you could use half of that determination with your study, you wouldn't come crying to me about failing the basic math one-zero-one class."

"Kyuhyun, you are so mean!"

Kyuhyun chuckled while Jongwoon pouted at him. It had been about one month since Kyuhyun got to know Jongwoon. They became a good friend now even though they studied in a different faculty, him in science and Jongwoon in philosophy. Apart from talking on the phone, they only met during a free class which wasn't often since most of their schedules contradicted. So, they actually met twice a week only at this same old vending machine. Kyuhyun had come to enjoy being with Jongwoon to the point that he missed the man when they couldn't see each other. For that reason, he always spent his time wisely when they met, by staring at Jongwoon until that small smile burned into his mind.

Clang!

"Sigh... only one can drops down again..."

"Why are you so insisted on doing this again? Why don't you just buy the second one?"

"Well... Do you remember what I told you? That I want to prove to someone that getting two drinks at once is possible?"

"Yeah, and who is that 'someone'?"

Jongwoon looked down at a can in his hands, his cheeks slowly getting redder. Kyuhyun suddenly had a feeling that he might not like the answer.

"H-He is someone I have a crush on... I want to succeed and give the drink to him..."

Okay, Kyuhyun definitely hated that answer, though he didn't understand why it bothered him. It bothered him so much that he accidentally spit out his venom thought that was supposed to be hidden.

"You'll never succeed. I just know it."

He regretted it as soon as the first syllable slipped out of his lips but he couldn't stop himself. His stomach churned and he felt a hand griping his heart when he saw Jongwoon's smile fading away. But he didn't apologize for what he said, couldn't bring himself to apologize for what he said, even though the sadness glimmering in Jongwoon's eyes hurt him so much. However, it was soon replaced with a spark of determination that Kyuhyun didn't like it, not even one bit.

"Then I'm going to succeed and prove it to you, Kyuhyun."

Kyuhyun used to think that Jongwoon's misplaced determination was really cute, but not so much anymore.

***********************************

"Just give up Jongwoon. This is a waste of time."

"No, I won't give up and it's not a waste of time."

"Why are you so stubborn?"

"So are you, Kyuhyun."

Kyuhyun tsked in annoyance. He once hoped that Jongwoon would chat with him normally like what friends did, but not like this, not because Jongwoon was so adamant about proving this stupid theory to his crush. He watched with wavering heart how Jongwoon repeated the same old ritual, inserting a bill and pressing two buttons on the panel. It took only a second or two for the drink to drop down but it was enough to send his anxiety skyrocket. He sighed in relief after seeing only one cola dropping down.

"I told you. It's impossible." He said quite eagerly.

"Today I failed, yes, but it won't be the same tomorrow."

"Sigh... Whatever, wanna go to Jungsu hyung's cafe?"

"I'd love to, Kyuhyun, but..."

Kyuhyun hated the word 'but'.

"But I have some research paper to do with my friend. We agreed to meet and start on it today, so..."

"Whatever, just go, I just recall that I have something to do anyway."

Kyuhyun waved his hand nonchalantly at Jongwoon. The black-haired man glanced at him hesitantly for a while, but eventually bade him a farewell and walked away. He kept staring after Jongwoon's small frame and turned his back at the man. He shoved his hands in his jeans and took a step forward.

...Only to stop and turned around with a scowl on his face, before chasing after the shorter man.

.

.

.

Kyuhyun didn't know that it was possible to hate someone this much in the first meeting. Hiding behind a book shelf, he was tempted to throw some book at the horse-like man who stared at Jongwoon dreamily, though Jongwoon didn't seem to realize it. The black-haired man only focused on a book he was reading while jotting down non-stop. His research partner, on the other hand, was busy observing Jongwoon with a smile that irritated Kyuhyun. He knew who this guy was, Choi Siwon, the most popular freshmen of Business Faculty, also Kyuhyun's enemy in aiming to be the most popular guy in SM college.

What is he doing here with Jongwoon? Didn't they study in a different faculty? Did they have a class together? And why the hell did Choi Siwon smile at Jongwoon like that?

Questions after questions swam around in his head and annoyed him further more. He frowned upon seeing his enemy eyeing Jongwoon's hand that was resting on a page with a gaze full of ulterior motive. Just as Siwon's hand began to move, Kyuhyun quickly took out his phone and randomly sent a picture of that goose family to Jongwoon. His smirk grew wider when he saw Jongwoon took his phone out to check the message, causing Siwon's hand to grab nothing but air. Then, his smirk changed into a fond smile instead after seeing Jongwoon giggling at the message.

Ah, Jongwoon's smile is nice. I want to protect that smile forever...

A sudden realization hit Kyuhyun precisely at his gut. He retreated from observing Jongwoon with a start. Just now, did he subconsciously think that he wanted to protect Jongwoon's smile forever? Did that mean... he actually had a crush on Jongwoon? Kyuhyun didn't want to believe it, but his annoyance toward Siwon who obviously had the hots for Jongwoon made him unable to deny it. He wouldn't feel that annoyed if he didn't like Jongwoon in the first place. Hell, he even followed Jongwoon here and secretly watched him like a creepy stalker! So, Kyuhyun somehow stupidly fell for Jongwoon even though he knew that the man already had a crush on someone else.

Hey, that doesn't mean that I'm entirely hopeless, right? I just have to make Jongwoon fall for me instead!

Making up his mind, Kyuhyun turned around to continue watching over Jongwoon and the horse Choi Siwon. He messaged Jongwoon whenever Siwon made a move on his crush to completely getting rid of any moments before it ever happened.