Chapter SEVEN

“Alright, class dismissed. Please remember to start on your self-compositions soon so I can check your draft to see if you’re on the right track.” Professor Shin said as her class began organizing their desks, getting ready to leave the room. “Have a nice weekend and don’t party too hard!” The students shared a laugh at their prof’s witty comment and began exiting the class.

Taehyun, among the students, was in a hurry to leave as he begins his first shift at Munch Box in approximately two hours. And beforehand, he still has to go home to get ready. He finally stood up from his chair, muttered a ‘see you later’ to his dear friend Seunghoon, and heads for the door once he finished organizing his backpack. However, he was stopped by two familiar faces.

“Oh! Hello Jinwoo-shi and Minho- shi.” Taehyun immediately greeted with a slight bow. After all, they ARE his sunbaenims in school AND at work.

“Whoa whoa! What’s with the formalities?” Minho suddenly said, surprised by Taehyun’s humbleness towards him and his friend. “Just drop it! We’re classmates! Besides, we work at the same place now!” Minho grinned and swung his arm over Taehyun’s shoulder. Taehyun looked at the two and gave a small smile.

“Speaking of which, did you start your first shift yet?” Jinwoo asked out of curiosity.

“Not yet but I will later at 3PM.” Taehyun replied, trying to stealthily glance at his watch to see the hand ticking quickly on his watch. He didn’t want to be rude and ditch Jinwoo and Minho right now but at the same time, he was running out of time.

“Seriously??” Minho’s eyes beamed and then a smile decorated his face. “Guess you’re going to have your first shift with Jinwoo and I.”

“Oh my! That’s awesome!!” Jinwoo exclaimed as his excitement seeped throughout his ‘manly’ hormones and began laughing and smiling like a crazy person. It was a totally new side of Jinwoo which Taehyun noticed today.

Taehyun thought he would have been weirded out by their enthusiasm but he somehow felt relieved. He was never good with words. He wasn’t someone who could adapt well but the sudden new information helped his guts feel… maybe a tad bit less jittery—if it’s even possible. He knew it was Seungyoon’s day off today so he wasn’t feeling comfortable with the fact of starting his first shift with complete strangers. But since he acknowledged the fact he is starting his first shift with someone he knows and particularly these two dorks, who are Seungyoon’s friends, made him feel a lot more calm and comfortable. 

Of course, he doesn’t plan on letting them know how he was feeling so he continued the conversation with a composed posture and slight smirk. “That’s nice. I guess I’ll catch you guys later then?”

“Hey hey, why don’t you have lunch with us then we can go to work together?” Minho suggested, resting his arm right on Taehyun’s shoulder as the trio continued walking. “You need to eat, we need to eat too.” Minho finished up his sentence with a toothy smile.

“Oh.” Taehyun replied. He liked the offer but he needed to go home first. After all, he promised his roommate earlier in the day he would cook them lunch before he heads off for work. “Sorry, I can’t go with you guys.”

Jinwoo looked dumbfounded. “Oh.” He silently observed Taehyun from head to toe and his big round bambi eyes suddenly popped out. He pulled Minho closer and whispered into his ears. “Maybe he’s one of those.” Taehyun almost winced at Jinwoo’s fail at muffling his loud voice.

“Eh?” Minho responded and shook his head at the eldest.

“One of what?” Taehyun questioned, instantly having a bad feeling with what Jinwoo said.

Minho sighed and answered before Jinwoo can embarrassingly stop him. “He thinks you’re one of those guys who are constantly on a diet.”

It took a while for his words to register in Taehyun’s mind because it sounded so off. “Me? Diet?” He wanted to laugh at Jinwoo’s way of thinking. “So in other words, you think I’m fat?”

Jinwoo immediately waved his hand in denial. “No no no that’s not what I meant!”

Taehyun laughed. “Diets and I don’t mix well for your information. It’s funny how you would say that. No one has ever said that to me before.”

“Yeah well, we are talking about Jinwoo hyung here.” Minho rolled his eyes. “What do you need to do anyways?”

“Uh… I need to go home.” Taehyun answered, looking off to the side.

“Oh. Why though?” Jinwoo pressed further with an extremely curious face—a face adorned with a pair of innocent puppy eyes and a pouty mouth. He was probably trying to give the maknae an aegyo look so he wouldn’t be mad from his ‘insult’ earlier. Taehyun wasn’t mad, but he wasn’t going to tell his hyung about it. He might as well have some fun while at it.

“OH!” Minho snapped his fingers once he has an idea of what Taehyun needed to do at home. “You want to go number two?” Taehyun stared at Minho while the elder stares back casually. “Omo, did you eat something bad this morning? Do you have diarrhea?” Minho’s expression turned sour and actually looked concerned for the maknae’s well-being.

“No!”Taehyun didn’t believe he heard his hyung right but Minho’s voice replayed in his head for a second time and he was positive he didn’t hear it wrong. “Uh…  I need to cook lunch for myself… and Seungyoon hyung.” Taehyun rubbed the back of his head awkwardly at his lame reason.

It was Minho and Jinwoo’s turn to stay silent for the first time. The trio avoided each other’s gaze but felt as if the silence was burning and eating through their skin alive instead. Nope, it wasn’t any better. However, Minho suddenly smiled. “You mean you’re going to cook for us as well??”

Jinwoo caught on quickly after Minho’s words. “Oh thank goodness! Thank you Taehyunnie! The food at the cafeteria can kiss my !”

“Tae… Taehyunnie?” Taehyun was at a loss of words by his new friend’s choice of nickname for him. Never in his life has he heard the term ‘Taehyunnie’ before. Not even his mother calls him that for God’s sake! He didn’t want to be rude though and simply ignored the fact Jinwoo coined the worst nickname for him ever. But what can he say? It’s Jinwoo after all. And almost nothing good ever comes out of this hyung’s mouth. Just saying.

Minho literally went crazy and huddled closer to Jinwoo and the two began jumping on their feet in excitement. “Are you a good cook?” He quickly asked the maknae.

Taehyun was at a loss of words. For one, he didn’t intentionally invite his two sunbaenims over for lunch. And two, he was shocked at the sight in front of him—two grown up men giggling and hopping on the ground from the mere fact of a home cooked meal. Taehyun didn’t want to disappoint his sunbaes so he decided to oblige and said, “Uh, I don’t know. But you guys can come over for food if you don’t mind.” He shrugged it off in the end. He was going to cook for himself and Seungyoon anyways so it wasn’t like he had to do a lot of extra work. Plus, Minho and Jinwoo are Seungyoon’s friends as well… the more company the better, right?

The duo didn’t even respond to Taehyun’s words. They practically pulled Taehyun behind them as they guided the maknae the route towards his apartment. Within minutes, the trio arrived at the door of the Seungyoon and Taehyun’s apartment. Taehyun fiddled around for his key and quickly opened the door for his guests. “Um, welcome? I guess you guys have been here before.” Taehyun signaled at the duo to take a seat at the sofa. “Sorry, the place is kind of messy so—“

“Taehyun is that you?” Seungyoon’s voice made its way into the living room from inside his bedroom. No one responded to his words as they were all too busy living in their own world.

“Whoaaaa! You call this messy?” Jinwoo plops himself down onto the couch and relaxed immediately, spreading out his body so Minho wouldn’t have any space to sit. “This place is spotless! Definitely way cleaner than when Seungyoon used to live alone.”

“Scoot over you brat.” Minho kicked at Jinwoo’s leg and the older yelped in pain as he pulled his leg up to huddle it closer to his body, making space for Minho to sit.

Jinwoo pouted. “Who’s the hyung here, huh?”

Taehyun cocked up an eyebrow and shook his head. Are they even Seungyoon’s friends? Maybe his roommate was actually as crazy as they are but he just hasn’t seen it yet. He wasn’t sure if he should consider himself lucky or not. It was then when he noticed Seungyoon coming out of his room to see what the ruckus was about.

“What the... Minho and Jinwoo hyung, why are you guys here?” Seungyoon looked astonished to see a few uninvited guests over at his apartment.

The duo simultaneously pointed at the maknae. “He said he’d cook for us.”

Seungyoon turned to face his roommate, who seems to be the only sane one, and made a ‘what’s going on’ expression. Taehyun simply shrugged. “Apparently I’m starting my first shift with them.”

Seungyoon cocked up an eyebrow involuntarily, but Taehyun didn’t catch it. “So?”

“Well, we decided to save our poor stomachs from the greasy food in the cafeteria.” Taehyun filled in with more information for the seemingly lost brunette. He opened the refrigerator to take out some food and soon started to prep for their first meal together as four.

Seungyoon kept quiet. “But I thought WE are having lunch together.”

“The more the merrier?” Taehyun continuously said in a monotone as he busied himself in the kitchen, leaving poker face Seungyoon in the middle of the living room. The roommates were silent for a moment, but the space was adorned with a hint of Minho and Jinwoo still talking to each in the background.

Seungyoon rolled his eyes. He wasn’t so sure what was happening before him. His roommate just invited his two best buds over for a meal. Awesome! However, he felt the whole scenario being a little odd. Shouldn’t HE be the one to invite his friends over instead of Taehyun whom met his two friends not too long ago? For some reason he couldn’t explain, the situation was a little off for the brunette but nonetheless he let it slip and tried not to think too much about it. He was happy Taehyun is getting along with his buddies! The worst thing he feared was if his roommate doesn’t get along with his friends. Then he wouldn’t be able to hang out with his friends at the comfort of his apartment—which actually happens way too often to his liking.

“So what are you making?” Minho asked from the sofa as he nonchalantly opened a bag of chips as he continued sitting on Jinwoo’s lap as if it’s another normal day.

“Yah!” Seungyoon snatched the snack away from his hyung. “That’s my favourite! Off limits yo!”

“But it’s my favourite too!” Minho jutted his bottom lip out, in hopes of Seungyoon changing his mind. But all he received from the younger was a glare and a shook of his head. “Whyyyyyy?!” He began to complain. “I’m hungry!”

“Sorry, I’ll try to hurry up.” Taehyun yelled over from the kitchen, feeling a little apologetic. He was still new to cooking and only used to cooking for himself or for two people maximum when he lived with Seunghoon. But now he has to cook for four ravenous males, he didn’t expect it to be such an increasingly overwhelming amount.

“Oh no, I’m sorry. Don’t rush it. Please take your time.” Minho exclaimed, regretting saying he was hungry to Seungyoon. He pouted even more when he saw Seungyoon’s smirk.

Jinwoo strutted his way over to the kitchen to assist the chef. “Taehyunnie!! What can I help you with?”

Seungyoon immediately took a step back from where he was standing once he heard Jinwoo’s choice of words. “Did you just call him Taehyunnie??”

Jinwoo smiled at his friend. “Yeah I think it suits him well. What do you think?”

Speechless. The brunette was speechless. Taehyun turned toward his roommate and gave a look of displeasure. “Please don’t question me about it. It wasn’t my choice.”

Jinwoo giggled. “I like it though. Aren’t I so smart for making it up? Points for Jinwoo!!” He began to make peace signs with both hands right next to his face while wiggling his fingers.

“No.” Seungyoon answered bluntly with a straight face. “It sounds odd... Plus, Taehyun is too manly for that name.”

“Thanks for the back up.” Taehyun said as he gives his roommate an appreciative smile.

Jinwoo was taken aback and gasped. He ran over to the couch to where Minho was and pretended to cry. “Only you will understand me!”

Minho popped a few pieces of chips into his mouth. “No, I actually don’t.”

Seungyoon noticed his precious snack in the palms of his hyung once again. “Yah! Why are you still eating it!?”

Minho dropped the bag on the floor and sneered mockingly, brushing back some fake long hair backwards flamboyantly. “Oops… Sorry.” (notice the ‘You Who Came From the Stars’ reference? LOL)

“Okay well uh, lunch is ready.” Taehyun announced as he brought a huge pot of soup onto the table. Seungyoon voluntarily scooped out four bowls of rice and set it around the pot. Jinwoo and Minho’s mouths gaped apart as they stared at the concoction Taehyun managed to make in just a mere fifteen minutes.

“Are you… God?” Minho whispered as he immediately took a seat and brought the bowl of rice right in front of him. “Yah Seungyoon-ah, why have you not told us your roommate can cook so well? Why haven’t you invited us over for meals yet huh??”

Taehyun snickered as he brought out some banchan and placed it on the table as well. “I try. I learnt how to cook from my friend Seunghoon.”

“Can I learn from the master too?” Minho asked quickly.

“Omo, can we move in here too?” Jinwoo questioned rhetorically.

Seungyoon said as he takes a bite of his rice. “Don’t you dare.”

“Jeez... Take a chill pill there.” Jinwoo said as he prepared to take a scoop of the kimchi beef short rib tofu soup before him. He blew on his food impatiently and quickly took a bite. After a few bites, he stopped chewing and turned slowly towards Taehyun.

It was the first time Minho sees Jinwoo’s expression like this. He couldn’t tell what was going on but he assumed it meant the soup was heavenly delicious and brought Jinwoo temporarily out of this world, hence, being in a trance. Minho’s mouth watered and he took a big gulp from his bowl. After a few chews, Minho had the same reaction as Jinwoo.

“Whoa. Is it that good?” Taehyun questioned as he himself finally takes a bite of his creation. His face immediately turned sour as he spits his food back out. “Holy it’s so spicy!”

 “That was SO BAD!” Minho exclaimed as he continues rinsing his mouth with water. “Oh man I’m tearing up.” He sniffed and attempted to rub his eyes. “My poor manly tears.”

Jinwoo began to gargle some water as well. “Were you trying to kill us Taehyunnie!?”

“I didn’t know what happened! I made it the same way as usual and it’s not like this…” Taehyun pouted, trying to figure out what went wrong with his dish.

Seungyoon patted his roommate’s back. “It’s okay man, things happen. Could be a different brand of hot pepper paste or something.”

“No way. I use the same brand all the time!” Taehyun retorted, feeling extremely bad for ruining his hyungs’ taste buds. “I’ll order take out. It’s on me!” He immediately went to the fridge to take a look at the take out menus sticking on the fridge via magnets. “Uh… Jajangmyeon anyone?”

“Yes please. I don’t want any spicy food for at least a week.” Minho said as he tiredly muttered out, his body exhausted from putting up with the heat he had to bear with minutes ago.

Taehyun felt extremely bad but tried to keep himself calm and collected. He eventually frowned. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you guys to come over for food.”

“Don’t worry about it. You tried! Maybe you’re not used to serving so many people so you overestimated the amount of spices.” Jinwoo said with a slight grin to his best effort despite feeling the burning sensation still numbing his tongue.  

“I don’t understand. What’s wrong with the dish? It’s not even as spicy as you all make it seem.” Seungyoon declared as he took spoonful after spoonful of the spicy soup in his mouth. He swallowed another bite to prove his words.

“Wow. Bravo.” Minho slowly began to clap. “Seungyoon-ah, you’ the real MVP!” Jinwoo was terrified and silently gaped at his maknae enjoying the way-too-spicy soup. His face cringed by imagining what he had went through moments ago.

To Taehyun’s horror, he instantly yanked Seungyoon’s arm away from feeding himself another mouthful on the soup. “Don’t eat it!”

“Why? But I don’t want to waste it! Plus I can handle the spiciness!” Seungyoon retorted, fetching his arm back and continued what he was doing.

Taehyun stared in disbelief and muttered to himself, “I was right. You’re bat crazy too, just like them…”

The three glanced at each other to see if they caught what Taehyun said. “What did you say?” They asked in unison.

“Uh, nothing. Anyways, I’m not responsible for anything that may happen to you.”

---

Being an incredibly quick learner and having well organization skills, Taehyun ended his first shift at Munchbox with ease. He was already able to pick up using the till as well as opening the restaurant and doing cash out afterwards. He was also brisk at noticing customers’ needs and rushed to the tables in need before Minho and Jinwoo could even provide them the required attention. Their manager was surprised by Taehyun’s speed and attentiveness and even praised him despite being thrown off earlier by his quiet and mysterious composure.

The maknae was also able to leave work the same time as Minho while Jinwoo and some of the staff have to stay to close the restaurant. As they departed Munchbox, Taehyun checked his watch which displays 8:03PM and decided to give his roommate a call before returning home to see if Seungyoon has eaten dinner yet. To his dismay, the call simply went straight to voice mail. Not giving up yet, Taehyun sent him a message on KakaoTalk.

‘Hyung, have you eaten dinner yet?’ Message sent.

Zipping up his jacket, Taehyun mentally scolded himself for not wearing an extra layer of clothes before heading out this afternoon. He didn’t expect the weather to drop so suddenly. Minho mimicked what Taehyun did and the two unconsciously huddled a little closer for warmth.

“You want to grab dinner before heading home?” Minho asked casually as he checks out the restaurants still open upon the dark streets.

Taehyun didn’t reply him and simply held onto his phone a little tighter, trying to feel the slightest buzz or vibrate which may indicate a reply from his roommate.

Noticing the way Taehyun stayed quiet, Minho looked over to the younger. “Wow. Are you always not hungry or something? I feel like a pig now.” He chuckled to himself.

“No it’s not that. I’m wondering if Seungyoon hyung ate yet but he hasn’t replied me.” Taehyun informed.

Minho was about to ask how Taehyun can keep such a calm and straight face all the time but decided against it as there are more important business to take care of. “Who cares about Seungyoon! He’s old enough to take care of himself. Plus, he’s probably finished dinner and is passed out with a food coma or something.” Taehyun stay silent as Minho continued. “Let’s go grab something fast to eat I’m freaking starving.”

Taehyun shrugged and nodded to the older’s words. Minho knows Seungyoon better, and Seungyoon IS an adult after all. Taehyun shouldn’t worry about whether or not he had his meals yet! In the end, Minho pointed at a local restaurant across the street. “Let’s go there, I’m so hungry I don’t want to walk anymore.”

Taehyun laughed. “Sure. I’m hungry too.”

Minho smirked. “Since you treated us to lunch today, I’ll treat you to dinner tonight.” They sat down at an empty table. “Pick anything you’d like to eat!”

It was Taehyun’s time to smirk. “Are you sure? Because I can empty your wallet with the amount of food I order.”

“Oh yeah? Let’s see who can eat more!” Minho quickly waved down an ahjumma and ordered a bunch of the restaurant’s signature dishes. Her eyes widened at the amount of food for two people but nonetheless complied and immediately rushed their order in.

Taehyun poured themselves tea and then sit quietly, waiting for the food to arrive with a bored expression.

“So how’s living with Seungyoon so far?” Minho asked to fill in the time during the wait.

“It’s alright. He’s a little annoying at times and likes to nag too much.” Taehyun answered after thoughtfully seeking the appropriate words to tell his hyung. “Could be worse, I guess. But overall he’s nice and easy to get along with.”

Minho chuckled at his answer. “Well, truthfully, I’m glad to hear that because I know it could be a pain in the to live under the same roof with that son of a .”

Taehyun snickered. “Seems like you do know him well.”

The elder grinned and took a sip of his tea. “Well, I do know him for a few years now. Ever since high school.”

“That’s a long time.” Taehyun nodded in agreement. “He seems like the type to always be in trouble.”

Minho sneered. “I guess you do know him a little too now huh? He’s a good kid though…” He trailed off and sighed. “And always so passionate for music. I remember this time in high school when he got in trouble with our principal because he stayed behind after school just so he can practice playing the guitar. In the end, he locked himself in school overnight because the janitor didn’t know he was still there.”

The maknae’s eyes widened. “That’s pretty hard core. Can’t he bring the guitar home to practice or something?”

“School policy. And Seungyoon’s family wasn’t well off in the first place so they couldn’t afford a guitar for him to use at home.” Minho shook his head as if in disapproval. “It’s sad, come to think of it. His parents always fought and had problems so he didn’t like to be home. And he would always opt for something else to do instead of staying home to witness his parents fighting.” Minho paused and pouted at his words once he recalled the story again. “I guess that is when he picked up playing guitar and using music to bury his kind soul.” Minho said dramatically as he clutched at his heart, his face cringing in a painful manner.

Taehyun watched silently in amusement but listened attentively at Minho’s words. “Poor kid…”

“Man, why am I even telling you this. Seungyoon’s gonna kill me if he finds out.” Minho knitted his eyebrows together but relaxed once he saw Taehyun making a motion of zipping up his lips, letting him know he will keep his mouth shut. On cue, Minho continued with the story. “But his mom knew he loved playing and secretly saved up to buy him an acoustic guitar. He still uses it now, I think. It’s the black one sitting in the living room.”

He recalled Seungyoon using the exact same guitar the night he returned home to find Seungyoon playing and singing alone. “Oh I remember that one. He was playing it a few weeks ago.”

And that’s when Minho stopped talking and stared at Taehyun. “What?”

“What what?” Taehyun was confused at the elder’s question.

“You saw Seungyoon playing the guitar?”

“Mhmm… He was singing some song. It was good. He’s an awesome singer.” Taehyun nodded, feelingly slightly uncomfortable under Minho’s stare.

Minho gasped. “I can’t believe he sang in front of you. He has never sung in front of anyone after what happened.”

“What? After what happened?” Taehyun finally had the courage to ask. It was the perfect moment and it was what he has been dying to know and he is finally going to find out what happened from Minho!

“Excuse me!” The ahjumma from earlier came back with the food they ordered. Taehyun rolled his eyes, cursing at the timing the ahjumma coincidentally chose to interfere with their conversation.

“Whoa!! Food!” Minho exclaimed as his eyes brightened at the sight of the feast. Taehyun was also salivating at the numerous dishes placed in front of him. “Let’s eat!”

Taehyun nodded. Food first and talk later, he reasoned with himself and the duo began stuffing their faces and feeding their poor starving stomachs with nutrition.

“Oh wow, I gotta come here more often, this is freaking delicious!” Taehyun declared as he swallowed another piece of mandu.

Minho nodded. “Seungyoon, Jinwoo and I always come here after work if we get off around the same time. Nothing beats these kinda home cooked foods after a long work day.” He pointed at the mandu Taehyun is picking up with his chopsticks. “Seungyoon eats at least a dozen of those. And that’s only appetizer.”

At the mention of Seungyoon’s name, Taehyun can’t help but to wonder why his roommate still hasn’t reply his message or return his call yet. Seungyoon is usually a responsible person and Taehyun has never experienced this before. It was usually the other way around—Seungyoon’s head exploding just trying to contact Taehyun.

Karma is a indeed.

They soon finished with their meal and as promised, Minho paid for dinner. However, Taehyun did order take out in the end for Seungyoon. He reasoned with Minho his roommate may be too lazy to cook for himself so it was ‘just in case’ he is hungry. Somehow, the conversation about Seungyoon’s past didn’t continue. Minho simply talked about school work for the rest of the meal to Taehyun’s disappointment. However, he still considered it as knowing his roommate a little better.

The two parted ways after their meal as Minho lives a few blocks on the other side of the restaurant, whereas Taehyun and Seungyoon’s apartment is on the exact opposite side. Bracing the cold alone this time yet with a full tummy, Taehyun unconsciously sped up his footsteps in hopes to go home faster. It was an odd scene, because he always takes his time and never speed walk. Was it because of the cold temperature or was it because he wanted to check up on his unresponsive roommate? It was most likely a mixture of both factors. He wasn’t sure why, but he was having a bad feeling about Seungyoon not responding.

Based on what? He doesn’t know either. Call it a roommate’s instinct.

The take out bag hangs loosely from Taehyun’s fingers as he reached his apartment. He immediately hops on the elevator and hits the button for his floor. As he impatiently wait to reach his floor, he checks his phone one last time to see if he received any missed calls or messages. But there was none.

As he was about to arrive his designated floor, he retrieved his keys from his pocket as he exits the elevator and quickly unlocked the door. The apartment was pitch black, indicating no one was home.

“Seungyoon hyung?” Taehyun yells into the apartment but he doesn’t hear any reply.

‘Maybe he actually isn’t home?’ The maknae thought as he switched on the lights.

But that was when his jaw dropped, along with the take out bag which he was holding. It was then when he noticed Seungyoon lying lifelessly on the living room floor.

A/N:

Oh dear. I’m so sorry that you all had to wait so long for this update! I initially wanted to post a new chapter for new years but I couldn’t due to my overwhelming schedule… I sincerely apologize D: and thank you so much for bearing with me!! But I finally updated omg yesssss.

A slightly longer chapter, and we take a peek a little further in with Seungyoon’s past. Taehyun still continues to be a curious cat. Minho and Jinwoo are still epically awesome just being themselves aka. silly hyungs. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

And so therefore, i present to you the dorky roommates and all its glory:

so damn epic.

By the way, since you all know how I love and often get inspired by kangnam pics/ videos, feel free to send some in so I can get more inspirations to keep writing this fic XD just comment below with a link or smth, I’ll be sure to check it out :D

THANK YOU FOR READING, AND HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!