Chapter FOUR

Many cars drove past the two as they continue their journey home, breaking the silence amongst them each time. However, none of the two wanted to even communicate at the moment. Perhaps they were exhausted, or more likely, seeking for the correct words to say to the other. Since they weren’t exactly ‘friends’, it was extremely difficult for them to carry on a conversation. But the silence has been going on for too long for Seungyoon’s tired brain to even register that he is currently walking home with Taehyun so he finally decided to speak. “I actually didn’t expect to see you there tonight.”

“I didn’t have a choice. I was forced to go by a friend.” Taehyun grunted, crossing his arms in annoyance. “What about you?”

“OH CRAP! I totally just left my friends at the party!” Seungyoon exclaimed in fright, mentally giving himself a face palm. “Oh well, whatever. They’re having so much fun they probably forgot about my existence already.”

“I hate parties.” Taehyun continued, kicking a pebble lying so conveniently along his path. “They’re so meaningless.”

Seungyoon unconsciously snickered at his roommate’s response. “I guess we do have something in common.”

Taehyun turned to the other and raised an eyebrow. “Why? You seem like you go to a lot of them.”

Seungyoon chuckled at his roommate’s words. “Have you been stalking me or what?” Taehyun simply grinned and focused on his path again. “I do go, but it’s not like I enjoy them much. I go because my friends drag me there.” The brunette turned around to face his roommate but the latter was silent. “You seem to have a grudge against them.”

Taehyun didn’t reply to his roommate’s implied question. He simply quickened his steps as their apartment came into view. Grabbing his keys from his pocket, he nudged Seungyoon by the arm and whispered, “Come on, I’m so tired I think I can sleep for days.”

Seungyoon pursed his lips at the lack of response from Taehyun. He was curious about Taehyun’s past since he truly did want to know more about the mysterious person whom he barely knows. Living under the same roof doesn’t help the situation either. Nonetheless, the elder decided to shut up since Taehyun was so keen on heading home and quietly entered their apartment once the door was opened.

---

The next morning arrived in no time and Seungyoon was doing the impossible. Was it a challenge for himself, perhaps?

Seungyoon shivered and rubbed his palms against the side of his arms in an up and down motion to keep himself warm. He wasn’t entirely sure if it was a good idea or not to come out and he began to mentally scold himself for his stupid spontaneous actions. There he stood on an empty street, stretching and getting ready for a morning run. He wasn’t able to sleep last night and frustratedly got up half an hour earlier just to come up with the idea that a morning run would do him some good.

Boy was he wrong!

He yawned as a couple ran past him and he continued to stand on the same spot. ‘I’d just go for a thirty minute jog… That should be doable’ he convinced himself. He placed the earphones in his ears and chose an upbeat song before he started to jog down the block.

Ten minutes in and he was panting heavily already. Actually, it was more like a mixture of yawning, eye rubbing and an occasional heavy inhale and exhale. He regretted his decision to come out. How the heck did he even come up with the idea of running in the morning? Perhaps it was when he figured out he was out of shape while running for his life last night with Taehyun. Looking at all these regular runners out on the streets running past him only discouraged him further. He sighed as he watched an old grandpa, probably in his sixties, ran past him with an encouraging smile. Seungyoon wanted to dig a hole and hide. 

“Why do I keep bumping into you?” A figure shuffled up next to him.

Seungyoon immediately turned around and came face to face with none other than his mysterious roommate with mid split hair- which is now tied up to a bun. He quickly wiped off the bead of sweat that attempted to drip down his temple and replied, “What are you doing here?” He noticed Taehyun in his running gear as well. “Don’t tell me you’re running too?”

“Uh, what else would I be doing while wearing this?” Taehyun rolled his eyes. “Bad idea though. I don’t even know why I decided to run this morning.”

Seungyoon cocked up an eyebrow at his roommate’s words. “Don’t tell me you couldn’t sleep last night either and decided running would be a good start to the day?” At this point, the duo has already given up on the exhaustive activity and is walking back towards their apartment.

“Are you sure you’re not stalking me?” Taehyun suggested with a worrisome expression on his face, scooting himself inches away from the brunette.

“The ?”

“Jokes.” Taehyun simply said.

Seungyoon wasn’t sure if he should take that personally but ignored it in the end. Taehyun laughed but his usual poker face took over again when silence flooded the air around them. It seemed like they both dreaded the walk back home.

It wasn’t because Seungyoon disliked Taehyun or Taehyun disliked Seungyoon. It was the fact that they somehow ended up as roommates without knowing anything about the other person in the first place. They were forced to do things together now, but they didn’t know how to talk to each other. Heck, if they weren’t roommates in the first place, they probably wouldn’t even put in the effort to know about one another.

Luckily, they returned home soon enough and Seungyoon quickly hopped into the shower before Taehyun was able to complain about it. Seungyoon was sticky with sweat so there was no way he would give up the luxury of showering first to Taehyun. “Damn it! I call dibs for next time!” Taehyun exclaimed in front of the washroom door and walked away. Seungyoon chuckled.

When the brunette walked out of the washroom, the first thing that greeted him was the waft of succulent bacon and pancakes coming from the kitchen. In no time, Seungyoon ran to the living room and noticed Taehyun sipping a mug of coffee while pouring maple syrup on his stack of sugary carbohydrates.

“Could you pass the remote?”

Seungyoon simply stared at Taehyun. As expected, a piece of toast was dangling from his mouth.

“Aish.” Taehyun got tired of waiting for Seungyoon and walked over to the living room himself, retrieving the said item with the piece of toast still hanging from his lips.

“Ah… That explains the crumbs on the floor.” Seungyoon finally said.

“What?” Taehyun sounded annoyed but sat down on his seat again.

Seungyoon stopped talking and sat on his own seat, across from Taehyun’s, and looked at the food on his plate. “You cooked this for me?” Seungyoon grinned and reached for a knife and fork.

“No, I made extras for dinner.” Taehyun stated plainly. Seungyoon stopped cutting up the pancakes and stared at Taehyun. The latter rolled his eyes. “But you can have it if you promise you’re doing the dishes.”

“Oh.” Seungyoon continued what he was doing. “Fine.” There was no way he would pass on the opportunity to have such a scrumptious meal, especially after that morning ‘jog.’

“I read your notes by the way. Seriously? Post it notes?” Taehyun suddenly said, chewing on his piece of food slowly, head down facing his plate. He carried on with cutting up the pieces of bacon, his knife squeaked against the ceramic plate, deafening the two boys as they cringed at the sound.

Seungyoon stopped eating. “I never see you at home and I didn’t know how to tell you otherwise.”

“I was busy with rehearsals.” Taehyun replied, finally making eye contact with Seungyoon. “Anyways, it’s just that I am always late in the morning. I’ll try to clean up before I leave now.”

“Thanks. I’ll appreciate that.” The brunette didn’t know what to say anymore so he ate his breakfast while avoiding Taehyun’s gaze.

They didn’t talk anymore. What was left to break the dreadful silence was the screeching knife sounds that Seungyoon is making and suddenly felt very appreciative towards.  He felt guilty for doing what he did the previous morning. Was all those post it notes necessary? Seungyoon mentally shook his head.

He tried to think in Taehyun’s shoes, whom just moved into the building and began living with a complete stranger. Maybe he could’ve tolerated it a little longer. The poor guy needs to adjust too, right? Seungyoon pouted, feeling even more regretful for his actions. He finally finished eating and placed his utensils down. He looked up to see Taehyun looking at his phone while munching on some pancakes. Seungyoon cleared his throat. “Thanks for breakfast. I don’t think I had breakfast in a while.”

“But breakfast is important.” Taehyun stated, not looking away from his hand held device.

“Sleep is important too.” Seungyoon retorted.

Taehyun was about to open his mouth to speak but he closed it after second thoughts. He cleared his throat while looking at Seungyoon, took a sip of coffee from his mug and looked down at his phone again.

Seungyoon wanted to get up and head back to his room but he promised he would do the dishes. He sat at the table, fidgeting with his fingers, waiting impatiently for his roommate to finish his meal. He quietly glanced up to watch Taehyun eat in silence. He didn’t take his eyes off the younger male but soundlessly examined his movements and the way the other chewed. Moments later, Taehyun caught Seungyoon staring at him and the elder immediately moved his head elsewhere, suddenly very interested in the corner of the kitchen. Taehyun raised an eyebrow and then placed his fork down. “I’m done and I’m going to shower.” Seungyoon simply nodded at the retrieving back of his roommate and he stood up to clear the table.

---

“When’s your first class?” Seungyoon asked when he sees Taehyun walking into the living room, who threw his back pack down next to the table.

“Uh, like in ten minutes.” Taehyun huffed out, obviously stressed from the limited time as he rushes in and out of his room, retrieving more and more items each time. “You?”

On the other hand, Seungyoon looked composed and watched his frantic roommate with his arms crossed. “I still have forty minutes, but I’ll probably head to school now. We can go together—” He paused as he watched for Taehyun’s reaction. “…if you want, that is. I mean we don’t have to but—“

“Sure, just give me another minute!” Taehyun yelled from inside his room and then hopped out on one foot while attempting to pull his socks over his other foot.

“I see what you mean by being in a hurry and having no time in the morning.” Seungyoon laughed at the sight before him. “Man… And I thought I was the one always late for classes!

Taehyun glared at the other but didn’t respond. And just as Taehyun said, when the minute was up, the duo was out the door already.

“Where’s your first class?” Taehyun asked while speed walking on the street towards campus. Thank goodness he now lives two blocks away from school.

“In the Psychology building.”

“You’re majoring in psych?” Taehyun said. “Why don’t you switch faculty? It’s never too late!”

“Are you trying to persuade me to get back into Music?” Seungyoon questioned, a smile tainting his lips as they entered campus.

“Ha! So you DID want to major in Music!” Taehyun exclaimed. However, Seungyoon didn’t look too pleased. “I’m just saying. What happened anyways?”

Seungyoon knew Taehyun was asking due to curiosity of his past, especially that time when he flipped once he realized Taehyun watched him sing at home. He gently gave Taehyun a push to the left. “Here’s the Music building. I’ll see you tonight!”

Taehyun stood still on his feet, watching Seungyoon continue his way to class. He knew Seungyoon didn’t like talking about his past so he decided to let it slide— for now. “When are you off? We can go home together…?”

Seungyoon turned around and yelled, “I have work so don’t wait up for me!” He waved goodbye and walked even further away.

“Yah! Aish… That kid. Why is he always like that? Acting mysterious and all!” Taehyun began complaining to himself.

“Who’s so mysterious? And who were you talking to?” Taehyun whipped his head around to see Seunghoon grinning behind him. “Oh yeah! Where did you run off to last night? Wait a minute… I remember seeing that guy just now at the party last night! Don’t tell me…”

Taehyun scoffed at the taller male and made a face which clearly represented something along the lines of ‘this !’ “Seriously hyung? Speaking of which, I’m NEVER going to another party with you ever again! I almost got my beaten up by some dude!”

Seunghoon laughed even harder at the outburst, clutching at his chest. “Oh man, I love that face on you. You look so adorable when you’re mad.” He attempted to pinch the maknae’s cheeks only to be swatted away by the victim’s arm.

“Aish, stop being annoying hyung. Can we just get going? We have two minutes before class starts! I don’t want to be late for my first class this semester!” Taehyun groaned. Seunghoon made a salute to his forehead and swung his arm around Taehyun’s shoulder to continue walking.

---

As per usual, Seungyoon swung open the door to Munch Box that evening. Once inside, he was greeted by two cheeky smiles.

“What’s up our cute maknae!” Minho greeted, lifting up his fist for a fist bump. Seungyoon rolled his eyes in annoyance and ignored his hyung. Minho immediately made a sad and painful face, clutching at his chest due to rejection. No, none of the other two males reacted to it. Yes, they both were used to Minho’s weird behaviour by now.

“Oh. Maknae is grumpy today.” Jinwoo whispered out with a worrisome expression- a little too loud to be a whisper yet a little too soft to be a statement.

“Classes were long and boring.” Seungyoon finally commented as he ties an apron around his toned waist.

Minho chuckled. “Told you so. Just come back to us baby! Music is more fun obviously!”

Seungyoon glared at Minho, a look so intense even the elder wanted to back away with his two hands lifted up in defeat. Jinwoo jumped in to ease the heat. “Aish, just let Seungyoon do whatever he wants. He’s old enough to make his decisions!”

Minho immediately countered back. “I know! But still… He’s so talented yet—“ Seungyoon bit his lips and walked away to the other side of the kitchen.

Jinwoo stared at Seungyoon’s figure and quickly hit Minho in the arm. “Can’t you just shut up for a sec?” Within no time, the youngest popped back into view and Jinwoo quickly sealed his lips and regained his posture.

“Well, how were your classes then? Anything interesting going on?” Seungyoon questioned suddenly.

Minho shrugged. “Not much. There’s a new guy though and he looks so familiar. But I just can’t pinpoint where I saw him before.”

“Oh him? I talked to him today, he seemed nice.” Jinwoo added. “Think his name’s Nam something. Nam Taehyun?”

At this point, Seungyoon’s ears perked up and he turned around at his two friends. “Oh yeah? What’s so special about this guy?”

They shrugged. “How the heck do I know? We just met him today!”

“He does have a very interesting hair style though.” Jinwoo rubbed his chin in a thoughtful manner.

“And he has a very nice voice.” Minho added.

“Oh. Nothing else to add?” Seungyoon pressed a little further.

“Yah, what’s with you and this dude? If you’re so interested in him then— Wait. What?” Minho paused for a second and looked at Seungyoon skeptically. “This is a little creepy. You don’t even know him.”

“Nam Taehyun right?” His hyungs nodded anxiously. “He’s the one who gave me THIS.” He pointed at his dark circles.

A shocked Jinwoo rushed up to his dongseng. “Omo! You got into a fight? Did he give you a black eye? I’ll go teach him a lesson!!” Jinwoo then attempted to hop on his toes and did two punching moves with his fisted arms.

Seungyoon had to hold onto his hyung before he could get away in the middle of his shift at work. “NO. He’s my god damn roommate is what I’m trying to say!”

“WHAT?” Minho yelled in shock. “No way! He’s so different from you!”

Seungyoon sighed. “Exactly.”

Jinwoo shook his head and encouraged. “That’s fine. You two can still be friends and work things out as roommates!”

“Dude… That guy looks so mysterious! Do you know anything about him?” Minho questioned.

Seungyoon looked up thoughtfully but shook his head in the end. “That’s why I wanted to know if you two can fill me in with anything. I only know that he’s majoring in Music, loves creating messes in the morning and hates running.”

“Okay…” Jinwoo trailed off, trying to think of something encouraging to say. Bu he couldn’t think of anything positive so he decided to keep his mouth shut.

Minho pursed his lips. “You have no idea! At least I can read Jiho hyung easily. His thoughts are written all over his face!”

“I thought you said you don’t know anything about Taehyun.” Seungyoon eyed his hyung skeptically.

“I don’t.” Minho said. “But he’s the type of person where it’s hard to read what he’s thinking! And that can get dangerous!”

“Omo!” Jinwoo gasped. “Remember that Roommate movie we watched? What if he’s bat crazy??”

“Yah!” Minho smacked the back of Jinwoo’s head. “Shut up, don’t scare maknae!”

Seungyoon simply shook his head at the two. “And I thought you’re my hyungs…”

Jinwoo pouted. “I thought when you said your roommate is different, you meant it as in bubbly different… Not secretive different!”

“I thought you said he was nice.” Seungyoon claimed.

Jinwoo paused. “Well that’s true. He has a nice smile too.”

“Well, even if he’s nice, it doesn’t mean he can’t be a serial killer!” Minho added quickly.

“Oh for God’s sake, just stop talking about my roommate, please!” Seungyoon finally exclaimed and walked over to a table with their food.

Once he was out of sight, Minho immediately began to laugh while trying his best to hold it in. “Oh man it’s so fun to scare Seungyoon! Did you see his face?”

Jinwoo shook his head. “Why are we doing this? Should I feel bad for Seungyoon or Taehyun-shi? Taehyun is actually such an awesome person!”

“I know I know. It’s just fun to tease maknae. Oh act worried, act worried! He’s heading back this way!”

Minho bit his fingers as Seungyoon entered the kitchen. He then exhaled exaggeratedly and walked to the back area. Seungyoon raised an eyebrow and bit his lips at Minho’s actions. He nudged at Jinwoo’s arm. “Should I be worried…?”

Jinwoo gulped. “To be honest… You should just try to get to know Taehyun more.” He then walked away, leaving Seungyoon alone.

He sighed and suddenly wished for his shift to end a little later.

---

When Seungyoon got home, it was around ten in the evening. Munch Box normally closes a little later but since there were no more customers, the kitchen decided to close down earlier. Seungyoon had no choice but to return home. He must admit that Minho’s suggestions bothered him a little and he suddenly realize how little he knows about Taehyun. What if he really is a weirdo? What if he really does have weird habits and es that he doesn’t know about? Worst of all, what if he really is a serial killer?

Seungyoon shivered as he opened the door to his apartment. The area was pitch black but he noticed the light in Taehyun’s room peeking out. Faint music was heard coming from his room as well so he assumed his roommate to be home. He slowly tiptoed his way over to Taehyun’s door and tried to eavesdrop on any sound coming from inside.

Suddenly, the lights to the living room switched on and Seungyoon sees Taehyun standing right next to him, about to swing a baseball bat onto his precious face. “AHHHH!”

“Whoa!” Taehyun exclaimed and retrieved the bat away just in time.

They stared at each other in shock. “You scared the outta me!” They screamed out at the same time.

Seungyoon brought his hand over his chest to calm down his heart rate while Taehyun loosened his grip on the bat and dropped it on the floor.

“Why didn’t you turn on the lights when you get home? I totally heard a noise and thought it was some kind of intruder!!!” Taehyun immediately accused.

“How the heck did you appear right beside me anyways?” Seungyoon questioned with concern. “I thought you’re inside your room!”

“Oh, I was napping on the couch. But I heard a noise and I was like ‘OH THE THIEF IS GOING TO MY ROOM’ so I took this random baseball bat and… yeah.” Taehyun looked apologetic.

Seungyoon heaved a sigh of relief. “Why were you napping on the couch anyways?”

“I was waiting for you to come home.”

Seungyoon was taken aback by his blunt answer but Taehyun looked indifferent.

“You’re waiting for me to come home?” Seungyoon repeated what he just said.

“I didn’t know when you’ll be off work and I was getting sleepy.” Taehyun shrugged and opened the door to his room, about to walk in. “There’s dinner in the fridge if you’re hungry.” And with that, he walked in and closed the door.

Seungyoon stared at thin air when his roommate was out of his sight. He dropped off his backpack in his room, got changed, and walked out to the kitchen. Normally, Seungyoon would just skip dinner and go straight to sleep after a night shift. He didn’t mind it and it would save him some money. But since Taehyun cooked him dinner and he felt slightly hungry from stressing his mind too much this evening, he found himself looking into the fridge.

Just as Taehyun said, a plate of food was neatly covered in plastic wrap on the top shelf. He took it out and noticed a post it note on it.

‘Here’s your dinner so you don’t starve.’

It was just a simple sentence yet Seungyoon found himself chuckling at the message. And for the first time that evening, he felt relieved- that his roommate most likely isn’t a serial killer.

Or the fact that he knows someone will be waiting for him at home and will take care of his meals.

Author’s Note:

Hey guys! I’ve been bad and didn’t update last week. Sorry! I tried to make up for it by writing this chapter a little longer!!

So… let’s see. Minho and Jinwoo now knows who Taehyun is. Hurrhurrhurr this will be interesting ;)

Oh man. I actually really liked the tension KangNam had in the beginning of the chapter. The walk home from the party, the random bumping into each other in the morning run and at the breakfast table. Ah. So good. So funny. So awesome.

And to end this chapter, I present to you all, my favourite picture of the week- KangNam selfie.

^with the only duck face that i approve of. 

Oh my. Have no fear my lovely readers, KangNam ship is sailing steady!