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Paring: SunggyuxSungyeol
Inspiration: Dedicated to: KC-Kit (prompt was given to me on a Infinite Secret Santa Event)
Rating: K+
Description: Cafe drinks were never Sunggyu's preference, but slowly, he finds them to be more tolerable than he normally would. 

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Sunggyu never really liked coffee, well consuming it. Highly caffeinated drinks always got his heart pumping a little too fast, made it almost impossible for him to sleep at night. His best friend in such cases was the couch in his apartment because whenever he got over such a high, it had been the first place to provide him with a place to sleep on. Sunggyu was into healthier drinks and seemed to prefer the small bottle of ginseng drinks to a grande salted caramel mocha frappe.

It was ironic that he worked in a coffee shop at the university he had taken time off from. But then again, he welcomed every job opportunity that he could get. A student could only live so long on a government loan, in which more than three quarters was invested back into the school. Although he took time off from school, he had other expenses. He had the apartment, the electricity, the water bills.

Being the first in his family to enter into university meant that he was on his own. Being the son of a poor widowed tailor meant that he sometimes had to send money back home. While the other kids were partying, he was at his small apartment trying to study in order to qualify for a scholarship.

His family of two always had it hard. When he was too young to realize that when mommy had gambled their twelve years of savings away, they were basically left with nothing. Being five, he was too young to know what the word 'Bankrupt' meant without explanations and too young to understand why the bank had thrown his family into the streets as they foreclosed their home.

At a young age he was thought that education paved roads to possibilities and riches. His father had always been a stickler for education, constantly encouraging him to be the best in class, sometimes seeking the aid of a belt to remind the boy.

For as long as he could remember, he had strived to be the top. Abiding by his father's wishes, he managed to earn a scholarship into a university cities away from his hometown for a business program. But the more time he had spent away from his father and at campus, the more his need to find his own identity had increased.

Sunggyu was so caught up in trying to please his father that he did not realize that he did not want to go into the field of buisness and management. He did not know what he wanted to do, actually. Like a race horse, he was so eager to make his dad proud that he forgot about himself. When he realized that, he took time off from school, hiding the fact from his father. He could not bring himself to see the look of utter disappointment in the old man's face, as if all his dreams being crushed yet again. Maybe after a year, Sunggyu would be able to explain, but not now. He was running from one problem, while trying to battle another.

--

Sunggyu stood by the counter, brown eyes watching as a group of students entered into the coffee shop. They were having a special buy one, get one free event today so there were more customers than normal. Sunggyu didn't mind that, it was just the complexity and the number of orders that managed to make him stumble on his feet every now and then.

"Let me repeat your order for you. So, One tall cool lime refresher, one venti peppermint mocha frappe with whipped cream and soy milk, one venti strawberries and cream frappe with skim milk and no whipped cream. Is that right?" He had heard his manager at the cash register ask the group of customers and he almost swore under his breath.

Two more hours and you're done. He thought to himself as he got the endless list of orders that needed to be done yesterday. He mistakenly glanced at the line after his umpteenth drink and regretted it immediately. Two more hours. He thought, lips pressed into a tight line as he reached for the pitcher of milk. As a nervous barista just starting her first day accidentally bumped into him, his hand missed the handle by a few centimetres, knocking the whole pitcher on the table. Two more hours.

When Sunggyu went home that night, he did not know that he would be in for a great surprise. After yet another mediocre day at work, a long nights rest was in order. But he found himself doing the exact opposite as he stared at the letter that he received from his landlord. The A4-sized letter that was sent out to every tenant was a letter about a hike in the apartment rental fees, by at least 1000 won more.

He had heard that there were hikes all over the city, but he did not expect that the rent of his small one-bedroom apartment would end up being way too expensive for his salary to cover. He had trouble getting everything settled and this only added on to it. That night, he had decided to get a roommate.

He was certain that there was at least one person out there in South Korea who didn't care about sharing a room and would be willing to split costs with him. Considering the number of students, he was sure that he would get many responses. With those thoughts in mind, he managed to find much-needed sleep at around 3 in the morning, waking up four hours later feeling really regretful.

---

It took a while before he actually did get a response, around five weeks, unfortunately. Better late than never, he had always heard his father say and although he never really cared for the principal, he was sure appreciating it a whole lot more now. Contrary to what he thought, a lot of males were not comfortable sharing a room with another male to which he thought was a load of bull considering that many university kids spent life inside non-coed dorms.

Although he had wanted to meet up with the kid right away, it seemed like the meeting would have to wait until after midterms were over for the university students. The thought displeased him, but only slightly. He did not want to scare away his only potential roommate, he couldn't afford to.

With the good news uplifting his spirits considerably, he looked forward to work, surprisingly. He thought that maybe today would not be so busy and that maybe fate could cut him some slack. The notion was considerably farfetched. Save for the manager, he was the only barista on the team who did not have university to think about. As all the kids called in favours, the hours of work seemed to pile up on him and although he managed to score a higher salary pay-off, it meant that he was stuck in the dingy coffee shop for at least a good twelve hours.

Sunggyu was worn out even before the store hours were halfway through. Even with the breaks that he was given as compensation, he felt completely and utterly drained. His legs continued to hurt even after the ample time of rest, and his arms felt sore from all the labour that he did. Closing did not come soon enough, but he had never been more thankful for it when it did.

He stayed behind, sending his manager off with a tired smile. The elderly male looked like he needed rest, covering shifts while Sunggyu was away on his own breaks. The least he could do was clean up, he thought, although his arms begged to differ as he moped the floor.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Sunggyu whipped around as he heard something gently hit the glass doors. His eyes met with chocolate brown eyes that held a look of innocence and curiosity in them. Another set of tapping broke away his concentration on those brown eyes, and he walked to the door.

The male standing on the other side of the glass door was a student, he was sure of it. "We're closed." He had said to the male, his voice bouncing off of the glass. The male had a slim build, unblemished white skin and was considerably taller than Sunggyu, he had noted as he looked up at the male's face when he reached the door.

His eyes narrowed slightly when he saw the male pout, not intending to leave. Most people left with just the two words, but the unfamiliar male seemed persistent about getting whatever drink it was he wanted.

"It's my birthday." Accompanied by those moistened, pleading eyes that looked like they would tear up if he didn't comply and those pouting lips, the combination of words were enough to compel him to open the door. Making sure that no one else was there, he opened the door and pulled the male inside.

Sunggyu tried to pull off a tough exterior, but the truth was that he was more sensitive than he intended people to see. Just moments he had wanted the day to end, but he thought that maybe another or two would be fine. The more time he spent with the male, the more he wanted him to stay.

The truth was that he did not have many friends, most too busy to continue contact unless they really needed him. So as the birthday boy conversed with him, he could not help but want to stick around more. It had been a while since he managed to hold a conversation for an hour without the awkward pauses, he had thought, finding a lot about the male in that hour than he knew about any of his other friends.

The birthday boy was studying to become a teacher and wanted to teach grade-school. Sunggyu thought that it suited him well. The male was childish, playful, cracking the cheesiest jokes that Sunggyu had ever heard in his life and the worst part of it all was that he actually laughed at each one.

The day didn't go by fast enough, but this moment did. He thought somewhat bitterly to himself as he sent the male off. Time always flies when you're having fun. Too bad he didn't think to ask for a name while they were together, it seemed almost impossible that the two would meet again anytime soon, he thought to himself as he finished whatever needed to be finished a t the shop.

As he closed up shop, he spotted a small note by the store's front doors. Picking it up immediately and unfolding it, he read through a phone number, addressed to him. Immediately, as if the note would disappear the next second, he shoved it into his pocket, his mood instantly lightened from earlier. While on his way home, Sunggyu smiled secretly, aware of the ripped piece of paper with the male's number on it inside of his pant pocket. Sleep came easier this time around, although it took a while as he thought of the male and the smile he was able to put on his face just by giving him a cup of coffee.

---

There were times in his life that he wished he was more assertive in areas other than school. This was one of those times. Sunggyu was sure that the male he saw the other day shared /some/ interest in him, but he wondered if it was too late to partake in that same interest.

The birthday boy gave his number to him, but he could not bring himself to call or even text him back to say that he received it. Sunggyu sighed softly, steps heavy as he trudged over to the shooters and pumped the matcha tea flavouring into the blender to make the green tea frappacino that the manager loved so much.

The store was empty, the open sign was flipped over to the other side as the manager decided that it was time for a much needed lunch break. Sunggyu's shift was over anyway, so this was his last order for the day.

"If you keep frowning any more than you are right now, I'm convinced that it'll reach the ground any time now." His manager said to him, distracting him from his train of thoughts as he turned to face the elder.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He was always straight to the point with the male. Placing the jar back on the base unit, he pressed the small grey button, turning to lean against the counter with his arms crossed while he waited.

The elderly male looked at him with unconvinced eyes that were crinkled upwards as he smiled knowingly. "You know son, I may have not known you all your life, but I have a reputation for just...well..knowing and right now, I see a sulking male. Now what is he sulking about? Well, for the last day or to, I seem to have recalled you staring at your phone every now and then, which leaves me with one option to pick from. Now sonny, make the call before you miss your chance." His manager said as he took a step forward and gave Sunggyu a pat on the shoulder before he grabbed the jug from its base unit and poured the contents into a clear, tall cup.

"Now, son, you march on home and give whoever it is you're thinking about a call, okay?" The manager said before sighing in content as he took his first sip from his drink, to which Sunggyu responded with a grunt before he took his leave.

He had other things to think about, like the meeting scheduled for today. The person interested in the apartment was coming to see the place out and well, Sunggyu needed to clean up a bit. He needed the roommate and in order to make sure that the deal would end well, he needed to make a good first impression.

To say that he was on the edge was an understatement as he sat down on his plain white couch, constantly switching his attention from his phone to the wall clock. The apartment was clean, he was bathed, all that was left was the potential roommate. Lee Sungyeol, was his name. He remembered from the e-mail that he had received. He was transferring to the university that Sunggyu worked near and he needed an apartment since commuting was too much of a bother.

Lee Sungyeol, he thought to himself, trying to get acquainted with it as he laid back on the couch to catch his breath, his eyes closing as he exhaled slowly. At that moment, he heard a soft knocking at the door.

He's here. Sunggyu thought as he jumped to his feet from the couch. With quick, somewhat shaky steps, he made his way to the door, a nervous feeling settling itself in his stomach. He did not know what to expect as he opened the door to see the familiar gummy smile and those deep brown questioning eyes once more.

"Hyung." Sunggyu heard the male say, clearly surprised, although he welcome the surprise with a large smile. "I guess this is what you call fate's phonecall?" Sungyeol said as he stood by the door, arms crossed as he looked at the elder accusingly.

He did not know what to say, in all honesty. Upon sight of the male, he seemed to have forgotten his manners, or how to talk. "Birthday- Sungyeol, Wow.." Sunggyu said, exhaling sharply before he opened the door wide for the younger to enter.

"You know...you never did call me." Sungyeol said the moment he took his first step inside, trying to play off as if he was hurt.

Sunggyu never did manage to get a hold of himself, the surprise silencing him, but it seemed like Sungyeol did not care either way as he turned to the male with a thumb raised even before he saw the whole layout of the apartment.

"I'll take it, hyung." Sungyeol said, his lips parting into yet another gummy smile as he glanced at the silent elder. "My only condition is that you make me coffee every morning."

Sunggyu never really liked coffee, well consuming it. Highly caffeinated drinks always got his heart pumping a little too fast, made it almost impossible for him to sleep at night. He never really liked the taste of coffee either, but maybe he thought that maybe, just maybe he could learn to.