Having the elevator in his apartment building is both a blessing and a curse. When Hyukjae first moved in, the elevator was working perfectly considering that the building was not particularly a new one, still the kind old landlady valued her tenant’s safety and comfort. Also, he was staying on the fourth floor of a six-floor apartment building, so having an elevator can be considered a luxury. 

Admittedly, riding it the first few days, Hyukjae was a bit wary of its safety. But after reading the recent certificate of elevator inspection several times to make sure it wasn’t forged, and a brand new can of fire extinguisher hanging by the corner next to the buttons, riding the elevator soon became one of the things he looks forward to every day.

After a long tiring day at work, unexpectedly, is one of the things Hyukjae looks forward to. There was just something about the faint sounds from the fan inside the elevator and the smooth ascent that just puts him in a relaxed state. 

Unfortunately, that one luxury Hyukjae indulges in, had to come to an end. Hyukjae just knew that gut feeling he had when he met with the then-new arrivals at his floor was bad news. After all, you get gut feelings to warn you, right? So, about three months after the new arrivals have settled in, when two police cars, a firetruck, and about a dozen men in police uniforms and protective gear welcome him in front of his apartment building after spending hours waiting on customers, he knew exactly what his gut feeling was telling him. 

After spending an hour and a half sitting on the plastic chairs outside the convenience store a short walk from his apartment building, a cup of his favorite instant ramen paired with two solo cartons of strawberry milk (normally he’d only get one, but given the circumstances, he’s in desperate need to consume something sweet and comforting), officials deduced the “accident” was due to a malfunction of the internal software of the elevator. Given that the building was already more than a decade old, the authorities don’t doubt that conclusion. 

So when the tenants and Mrs. Cho (the kind old landlady) were given the go signal to enter the building and go back to their respective apartments, Hyukjae’s eyes immediately went to the two physicists and saw them both sigh a breath of relief, further validating his gut feeling. 

But before he could explode into a rant and accusation, one of the two culprits, the smaller one named Baekhyun, clears his throat and asks all the tenants to stay for a while longer as he and his roommate—Chanyeol, had something to say.

They both started out with sincere apologies to kind Mrs. for almost causing her to lose both her home and source of income, as well as extending it to each of the tenants for the inconvenience they’ve caused. Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s eyes linger on Hyukjae a little longer, to which he gives them a reassuring smile. Huh, maybe I’ve judged them too soon. 

“You’re forgiven boys, thank you for owning up to the accident. Now, it’s been a long day everyone and I’m sure you’re all dying to hit the hay so let’s all get back to our units and get a good night’s sleep.” Everyone disperses after that, Mrs. Cho pats both the boys on the back and ushers them inside the complex, they both look less guilty and genuinely relieved at the end of the day.

Well, it’s been a long day and an equally long one the day after, he better start climbing the stairs if he wants to get some sleep as soon as he can.

The day after, when he was about to key into his apartment, Chanyeol and Baekhyun approach him with a big bowl of tteokbokki with another round of apologies. Before he could let out a reply, Baekhyun bashfully confessed that they both knew Hyukjae wasn’t particularly fond of them moving into the building. Hyukjae turns red at this revelation, he didn’t think he was making his dislike that obvious, so he apologizes to his fellow tenants for not giving them a chance first.

Hyukjae enters his apartment with a bowlful of his favorite comfort food and two new friends.

3 months later…

Hyukjae wakes up to incessant knocking and alternating chants of hyung from voices he has grown accustomed to the moment he accepted the bowl of tteokbokki. Normally he’d rush to the door without much thought on his appearance, but since he’s positive it’s just Baek and Yeol at his door, he takes his time stretching this sleep-addled body, then proceeds to look at himself in the mirror to tame his bed hair and goes out of his bedroom to finally answer the door. But not without steering quickly to the kitchen to drink a glass of water. 

“Good morning gentlemen. What can I--”

“Hyung! The elevator is getting fixed!” Chanyeol and Baekhyun push past him, he could tell they were both overexcited cause they’re both literally vibrating with identical grins on their faces. 

He’s suddenly having flashbacks of his pets back at home, choco and bada, a chocolate brown Pomeranian, and a white and brown mix Shih Tzu. The two pups would never fail to welcome him home with excited barks, jumping up and down on their hind paws trying to reach up to his face to give him welcome home kisses. He’s going to have to give his mother a call after talking to his two visitors.

“Hyung~ Pay attention to us.” there’s now a pout on Baekhyun’s lips now that they’ve realized Hyukjae isn’t listening to anything they’ve said so far. Hyukjae chuckles at the sight, now he’s more sure that they were both puppies in their past life.

“Sorry, I literally just woke up. You have to give my mind a few seconds to catch up.” he lightly shakes his head to help him focus, “What was the thing you said at the door?” 

The grins on Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s face return, “The elevator is finally getting fixed! Channie saw repairmen talking to Mrs. Cho earlier this morning. They’re probably taking a look at it now as we speak.” Chanyeol nods all throughout.

“Wow.” Hyukjae is a little breathless; all those times he hated living on the fourth floor just all due to him being overly emotional when he’s bone tired from work, and for the past three months, and with the elevator broken Hyukjae is forced to exert the little to no energy he has left in his being to climbed four flights of stairs just to get to the bed in his apartment on the fourth floor. 

Hyukjae remembers shedding a tear or two on more than one occasion. But in his defense, their delivery day coincided with their busiest day of the week. So you could only imagine the amount of adrenaline coursing through his veins just to get the orders correct and delivered while sorting through the boxes upon boxes of goods to see if everything arrived safely and in the correct quantity.

“No more extra cardio after work.” he voices out, then a relieved chuckle bubbles out of his chest. It sounds ridiculous from someone else’s point of view, but if you had Hyukjae’s work ethic you would surely sympathize with him. 

Which is what Baekhyun and Chanyeol do, completely encasing Hyukjae’s body between theirs, the boys’ arms wrapping themselves around his own lithe form. And there’s just nothing Hyukjae could do but let his two favorite neighbors bounce his body with theirs in a happy little circle they’ve formed in celebration. Sometimes you have to find joy in the little things.

The usual playlist is blasting through Hyukjae’s well-kept earphones. There’s a skip to his step, he had a hearty breakfast due to the leftovers from last night, kimchi jjigae, and bossam courtesy of his loyal customer and closest friend Leeteuk hyung, whom he thanks God for picking up an interest in taking cooking classes. The older loved being able to cook new recipes so much that he even took it further as to taking the intermediate and advanced level classes. In fact, after being a taste tester for that one time his hyung’s boyfriend was out on a business trip, it was only right that he continued being a source of honest opinion for all those times Leeteuk was trying to recreate the recipes he’s learned in class. It’s safe to say that Hyukjae gained a few healthy pounds.

Anyway, on his way to the elevator (which was fixed two weeks ago but the excitement of riding it like it’s brand new is still fresh), an irritated grunt manages to sneak past the beats of his playlist, halting him midstep to check if there was another person with him in the hallway or if it was another one of those weird brain farts Hyukjae experiences when his brain wants to mess with his revere. 

It all happened so fast that all Hyukjae was able to catch was a loud thud, followed by the clanking of what seemed to be pots and pans and a few strings of profanities from the man where the disarray came from. Without much thought, he pauses his playlist and pockets his phone and earphones, and reaches for the pot that has rolled all the way towards him. 

“Moving just isn’t complete without dropping a box or two.” Hyukjae shares a chuckle with the stranger, crouching down and helping him pick up the kitchen utensils that have scattered around the man. 

“God, tell me about it. Had I known I owned this much stuff I would’ve hired a moving crew. Thank god this building has an elevator.” 

“Well had you moved in two weeks ago you’d have one more thing to complain about.”

“Why, was there something wrong with the elevator?”

The moment he lifts his head to finally look the stranger in the eyes, Hyukjae is immediately struck with all the rom-com movies and drama series his noona has made him watch with her when her husband is too busy with work to do it instead. 

The scene that unfolds before him is a textbook cliche. In front of him was a man that has, for sure, a face the divine had taken his sweet time to create. The stranger had smooth, soft-looking skin that, although was not without any blemishes, somehow it added to the charm that the man was naturally radiating. Along with skin that seemed to glow in daylight, the man also had dark almond eyes that had a natural sparkle to them. Hyukjae could picture himself looking into those eyes all day and not get tired of losing himself in it. Damn. 

“Uhh, the elevator gave out since it’s been here for more than a decade already—I’m Hyukjae, Lee Hyukjae from apartment 403.” Nice voice and breathing control Hyukjae, now chill on the eye contact we wouldn’t want to scare him away. 

“Nice to meet you, I’m Lee Donghae. I guess I’ll have to get used to seeing your face first thing in the morning.” Did I hear that right? I haven't thought that far along but I guess if that is where—

“Sorry,” Donghae’s abrupt chuckles wake Hyukjae from his inner monologue (borderline very detailed daydream involving the fine specimen bestowed upon him this morning) and completely unaware of the confused facial expression he showed when the said man introduced himself. “I meant I’ll be moving in the apartment opposite yours, 404.”

“Ah,” what a pity “404? That apartment has been vacant for so long, I even forgot who the previous tenants were.”

“Ahjumma said the same thing! It’s such a shame, it’s a corner apartment as well. It’s a good thing no one picked it up or else I wouldn’t be walking distance from where I’ll be working at.” Donghae says then he does this thing wherein he smiles but with his lips sealed together and his eyes turn to crescents. Just when Hyukjae thought he couldn’t get any cuter, he had to see him look like that adorable Samoyed dog his nephew has been begging for him to get for his sixth birthday since his noona promised her son she’d get it for him when he turns ten.

And just when his mind was still scrambling to find something for him to say to further stretch the conversation, Hyukjae’s phone started violently vibrating against his thigh. He mutters a sorry one sec and throws a quick smile towards Donghae and turns to answer his phone. “Hell—”

“Yah, where are you? You complain so much about not seeing me work but when I do, you’re nowhere to be found! You’re clearly playing favorites here just because Taemin is younger—“

“Hyung, hyung, I’m already on my way. I was just helping my neighbor with some stuff, plus, it’s not my fault I always catch you napping in the breakroom even if it wasn’t your break yet.”

“And of all those times, have there been customers at the cafe? Don’t lie! I only do that when I am sure that there wasn’t anyone who needs my attention.”

“And what about that time I really needed you with the delivery and you just slept through all the yelling I’ve done from across the cafe?”

“Hey, I already paid you back for that! And you know how thick the walls are at the breakroom, I honestly couldn’t hear you.”

“Whatever you say hyung, anyway I’ll be there in ten minutes. See you then.”

“Sorry about that, anyway—” but when Hyukjae turned to where Donghae was, the handsome male was no longer there. There’s also no noise of boxes being moved from Donghae’s apartment, which Hyukjae takes as a sign that the other was resting. So he just plugs his earphones and continues to whichever song it was before. There are plenty more opportunities to get to know him, he tells himself while he waits for the elevator. For now, there’s a very adamant Heechul hyung he needs to oversee. What a way to start the morning

“Hyung! Have you heard the news?”

“Good morning to you too Baekhyun, Chanyeol.” he hears the taller of the two chuckles and mutters a good morning hyung in reply. Baekhyun, however, is too hyped up to notice that Hyukjae has purposely ignored his question and is practically still bouncing on the balls of his feet like a toddler waiting for his parents to notice him. Cute. “Alright Baek, what’s the news?”

“We’re getting a new neighbor!” Baekhyun announces, his arms moving animatedly as he’s telling them the good news, “Turns out we don’t have to wait that long for a newcomer since mrs. Cho’s nephew’s friend has been looking for a place to move into. Plus I heard from ahjumma that her nephew’s friend is quite the looker.” then he accompanies that statement with a suggestive wiggle of the eyebrows, as well as a nudge on his elbow. Oh if they only knew how much Hyukjae knows. 

“I can’t believe I’d live to see the day you two are late to the news.” the look on both his neighbors-turned-midnight-snack-buddies’ face was hysterical, Chanyeol’s eyes went really wide and any wider Hyukjae was sure they’d fall out of its socket while Baekhyun sputters and fails to get something out and results to just leaving his jaw ajar at his disbelief. Oh dear, it seems he’s finally broken his two favorite neighbors (his new neighbor is his favorite too, but that was in a different kind of sense. winks). 

Hyukjae met Donghae on Tuesday, it was now Friday, which is three days after. And during those days in between, Hyukjae had been blessed with so many opportunities to run into the said male. Well, not all of it was entirely on accident, some were on purpose. Like how Hyukjae purposely sets aside a freshly baked banana and almond bread and assembles some grilled chicken and tomato-basil pesto sandwiches that they weren’t able to sell out that day. 

The confidence Hyukjae had built up, however, was starting to dwindle when he had already knocked a total of three times and there seems to be no one to answer. Hyukjae was ready to turn and open his own door instead when the door opened and revealed a flustered-looking Donghae. Hyukjae was so enamored with how adorable Donghae looked with blush spreading across his cheeks, he almost missed the fact that the other was only wearing a muscle tee and basketball shorts. Oh, and did he mention that the man was covered in sweat?

“Were you waiting long? Sorry, I didn’t hear you, I was in the middle of a workout.” 

That’s totally fine, just out of curiosity do you normally workout around this time? “That’s fine, I actually thought you were still out for work.“ that’s right Hyukjae, focus on his eyes and not on the impressive fireARMS he has.

“Still, I’m sorry you must have waited long. No, actually I took leave until tomorrow just so I could have my things settled.” Donghae says (this is where Hyukjae is sure God, the world, and any other higher being out there is testing him) and casually crosses his glorious arms over his chest, to which Hyukjae (says a strong you to the universe) smiles in reply and instead puts all his focus into ing the paper bag in his hand towards temptation aka Lee Donghae. “I got these as a welcome to the building gift for you. They’re my best sellers, hope you like them.”

“Woah, you made these? I actually really love banana bread, thank you so much!” Hyukjae can’t help the chuckle bubbling from his chest as Donghae takes a sniff at the banana and almond bread, and he hears the latter sigh in content, complete with his eyes closing for a moment and a smile across his lips. “You know something tastes amazing when it smells just as amazing.”

“You flatter me, there are also a few sandwiches there for you to munch on. I didn’t know if you were a sweet or a savory kind of person.”

“I’m okay with both really, but I try to balance them since it would be a waste to lose the muscles I build from overindulging.”

“It’s a good thing I have such a fast metabolism then, cause I don’t think I could last a day without having at least one ramen to cap the night.”

Hyukjae goes to bed that night constantly replaying the childlike laughter Donghae has and tries not to think about other ways he could get his neighbor to laugh like that again. 

“Oh hey, good morning Hyukjae. Good morning as well Hyukjae’s friends.” Donghae sends the two one of his signature blinding smiles, all the while his right hand landing on Hyukjae’s shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze as a greeting. He unconsciously leans back and watches as the duo begin to look like goldfishes abruptly taken out of the aquarium, their mouths opening then closing. Hyukjae could practically hear the gears in their heads turning trying to get a word out but failing to do so, how are you feeling smug when you were like that when you first saw him? Shut up brain.

“Good morning, let me introduce you to the tenants of 401, Byun Baekhyun, and Park Chanyeol. Guys this is Donghae.” that seems to shake the two out of their stupor and take turns shaking Donghae’s outstretched hand. “It’s nice to meet you Donghae-ssi, sorry we haven’t been good neighbors we didn’t know you already moved into the building. We were just planning what to get you for a housewarming gift.”

“It’s no worry guys, and please just call me hyung, we just haven’t crossed paths until this morning plus the only times I leave the apartment is when I have to go and get home from work.” Donghae sheepishly chuckles, his hand coming up to rub at his nape looking like those shy boy next door type of protagonists. I’ve got to stop comparing him to romance protagonists, it’s not good for my health.

“When did you move in hyung? Usually, Hyukjae hyung is never early for news involving the apartment building and yet he knew about you moving in earlier than us.” oh dear Lord up above, it may seem to be an innocent question to those who don’t know who Baekhyun is, boy you have a lot to learn. There is a reason why these two were the culprit of the broken elevator, and it’s not as simple as you think it is. 

But let’s set that aside for another day, Hyukjae’s main concern right now is to convince Baekhyun and Chanyeol that it’s not what they’re thinking. (Let’s be honest though, Hyukjae already had a big fat crush on Donghae ever since the pots and pans encounter but he’s not ready for his two neighbors to know as that would be like unleashing Pandora’s box, if instead of evil intentions and misery it were full of suggestive innuendos and relentless teasing with and without the other party involved—aka Donghae.) Although Hyukjae is trying really hard to remain calm, his chuckle comes out a little shaky, and Baekhyun’s grin, which was subtle at first, is now full-blown teasing. 

“We met on the day I moved in actually, I dropped my last box and he helped me with the cleanup. Oh—sorry guys I really need to go, it’s nice meeting you both let’s catch up later alright?” Donghae says a quick goodbye, waving at all three of them as he sprints to catch the elevator coming down from the 6th floor. All three tenants were quiet the whole minute Donghae took to enter the elevator. 

“So Donghae hyung, huh?” 

“I was being a kind future neighbor, you guys know how helpful I am.”

“Hmm, you sure are hyung but that doesn’t explain why you never told us someone finally moved into apartment 404.” Hyukjae would very much like to wipe that smug look on Baekhyun’s face, it’s making him feel small and that’s saying a lot when they’re both the same height. “It must’ve slipped my mind, you know how busy I am with the cafe.” Instead, he tries to reason out, keeping as much eye contact as possible but failing to maintain it when Baekhyun cockily raises an eyebrow at him as if asking him, you sure about that?

“Okay Baek, you’ve made your point now stop making Hyukjae hyung sweat. I’m sure hyung didn’t mean to keep Donghae hyung to himself, he just can’t help it when he must’ve been exactly his type.” now at this point as much as Hyukjae tries to keep up with the annoying facade paired with a hard and stern glare at the pair snickering like a pack of hyenas, the blush that has completely covered his face and neck betrays him.

“Oh my god hyung you do like him!” Baekhyun shouts as if they were the only ones on the fourth floor, then next thing he knows is that he is enveloped in a tight embrace of shaking limbs and lets his form be swept in the mess of bodies bouncing on the balls of their feet. They must look like a bunch of fools right now, too bad Hyukjae doesn’t really care when this feels so good. “Wait, how did you guys know exactly?”

“C’mon hyung, is there another Lee Hyukjae who eats midnight snacks and watches Netflix dramas and movies with us? You swoon every time the lead actor takes really good care of their partner—”

“—you like it when they look muscular but not too much that it would feel like you were cuddling a bag of rocks—”

“—oh! You’re not really impressed with grand gestures but you lean in when you see that the lead actor doing simple acts like bringing flowers to their partners just because or that one time—”

“Okay! I think you guys made your point, I’m surprised you pay so much attention to my ideal type but you’re both clueless with yours.” Chanyeol looks like he’d been shot with lightning with how fast his head shot up in attention while Baekhyun just deadpans a what?, his confused face a vast contrast to Chanyeol’s panicked one. Hyukjae snickers at that and is a little surprised that the taller was able to pick that up when he purposefully whispered the last part.

“I said you guys know me so well, it’s kind of sweet I must admit.” he gives them a sweet smile and tries to hug them both for as much as his arms could reach. The duo reciprocates the act immediately and Baekhyun teasingly lands a loud, wet kiss right on his cheek, making Hyukjae shriek and try to pry the smaller of the two’s arms around him.

When all the laughter and teasing has died down, Chanyeol asks him if he has any plans on asking Donghae out. He stays silent for a few seconds, looking back at their previous interactions, Hyukjae hasn’t really thought of that. Sure, he finds his new neighbor attractive and yes, he seems to like the sound of Donghae’s laughter but asking him out? That hasn’t crossed his mind. We’re barely even friends.

“I think it’s too early for that. Don’t get me wrong, I do think he’s handsome and before you guys say it, yes he ticks about everything I’ve listed for my ideal type but we barely even know each other. I kind of want to get to know him first, enough for him to call me his friend. Plus, he just moved here, let’s give him time to settle in first. Heck, we don’t even know he might already be in a relationship.” 

“Oh c’mon hyung,” Baekhyun whines, he pulls and shakes at Hyukjae’s sweater sleeves like a little kid asking his parents to add one more chocolate bar into the shopping cart at the grocery store, “don’t you think if he was in a relationship, his partner would move in with him here as well?”

“What if he was one of those traditional types where they wait until marriage before they live together?” Chanyeol’s input makes him think about it for a moment but then again, Donghae doesn’t really look like the traditional type.

“I think we’d just have to wait guys, all I’m saying is that I know I have a crush on him but I don’t think it’s strong enough for me to think about making a move. What if in the end, what I’m feeling right now is just a happy crush?”

“Well I think you guys would be cute together, I can already imagine it! You’re already blushing so much from us teasing you, how long do you think it’ll take for Hyukjae hyung to turn into a human tomato when they become a couple?” Hyukjae grumbles at that last part, sometimes he wishes to just smack Baekhyun hard with a pillow just to shut him up for a second to a minute. 

God he just hopes those two would tone it down with the teasing when Donghae is around, he doesn’t need a legitimate reason to make the pillow thing into reality.

---

You guys probably didn't expect an update this early but I managed to finish the first chapter cause I was just too excited to get this out and I was just feeling really good overall (〃▽〃)۹⌤_⌤۹

Please please please leave any type of feedback or comment, it doesn't matter how short or long it is I just really want to know what you guys think of the first chapter ⊂(◉‿◉)つ Until the next update, see you guys~ <3