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Waking up in the middle of the night was not something Jo Jinho enjoyed. It was certainly hard enough to fall asleep when Ko Shinwon and Kang Hyunggu slept in the room next to his because those two did almost everything other than sleeping. However, when the bed next door stopped creaking, Jinho fell asleep almost instantly. Unfortunately, he was woken up by a rather loud sound of something clanging against the floor next door. Jinho grumbled to himself as he pushed off his snug covers, slipped on his slippers and cursed at the floor for the fact he’s a light sleeper. The troublemaker next door better be worth the October cold.
He shuffled quietly out of his room and into the communal kitchen for his floor. Jinho winced at the light that was on in the kitchen, which was not that bright in reality, although it seemed that way because his eyes were unused to the light. He opened his eyes, anger bubbled in his chest and ready to direct at the intruder in the communal kitchen.
Jinho wasn’t sure what he was expecting. Maybe Hyojong was high again and decided he needed to try mixing bananas and mac n cheese, but instead of finding cheese everywhere, Hwitaek freaking out and Hyojong passed out on the floor, he found a rather handsome guy stood in front of the sink, a metal bowl in hand, who was staring at him with wide eyes.
Jinho knew this guy, except he didn’t. He’s definitely seen him before because he roomed with Hyojong at the end of this floor, and maybe bumped into him once or twice in the hallways. He’s never spoken to this guy directly before, but he knew he was good friends with Hyojong and very good looking. However, that didn’t give him a free pass to roam around in the kitchen in the middle of the night.
“What the hell are you doing-” Jinho started saying, and the guy in front of him put a finger up to his lips, forcing Jinho to stop in his sentence. Up close, Jinho could see the oversized band tee that draped over his wide shoulders and built chest-
“I’m making cookies. Do you want some?” The stranger whispered, a playful glint in his eyes. Jinho gulped, but then remembered he was angry and shook his head angrily. His stomach rumbled at that moment, and Jinho’s cheeks reddened with embarrassment. The guy smiled, going back to measuring ingredients for cookies. It seemed like nobody will disturb them because Jinho was in the room closest to the kitchen, and it was unlikely Hyunggu and Shinwon would come out into the kitchen in the middle of the night. Jinho looked over his shoulder, trying to figure out what he could do to help because he might as well.
The person noticed Jinho looking, so he handed a spatula to him to mix the dry ingredients together. Jinho was not well-versed in the art of cooking, but from the way, the guy next to him was mixing butter and sugar, he could tell he was experienced with cooking and that he worked out. When the mixture of butter and sugar was soft and creamy, Jinho resisted the urge to praise him.
“Can you pass me the dry ingredients?” The guy asked gently, his chocolate brown hair fallen into his eyes. He shook his head to keep his fringe out of the way, and Jinho passed him the bowl of flour wordlessly. Their fingers brushed against each other and in that moment Jinho wonders if it's a sin to get a boner from just that. Hongseok starts mixing the dry and wet ingredients together, leaving Jinho to watch him. Jinho wasn’t sure if the guy didn’t talk because the room was quiet or because he was quiet, but Jinho kind of wanted him to talk to him.
The guy looked up to see Jinho staring at him, and smiles again, his smile dashingly bright. “Ah, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to neglect you, but I’m not very good at multitasking. I’m Hongseok, by the way.” Hongseok said in a voice as soft as his hair looked, returning to mixing the ingredients when he was done speaking.
“I’m Jinho,” Jinho replied, and stood next to him to watch. Hongseok was a bit taller than him, but that didn’t mean much because almost everyone was taller than him. His forearm bulged as he mixed the dough like mixture, and his biceps were on display, courtesy of his short sleeved t-shirt. He was quite obviously, a frequent visitor of the gym. Jinho, on the other hand, preferred practicing the piano and guitar at the music room.
Hongseok hummed something familiar to Jinho as he worked the dough. He split off small parts of the dough and rolled them into a ball before he set them neatly on the tray lined with parchment paper. Hongseok already smelled like something sweet, like freshly baked goods in a bakery. Jinho washed his hands and started helping him, and they got through all the dough quickly. They didn’t exchange a word through the whole process, but it wasn’t awkward between them. Hongseok placed the bowls and spatulas in the sink and started washing them as quietly as he could, while Jinho fumbled with placing the cookies into the oven.
They finished their tasks at the same time, and Jinho rustled around the communal cupboards. He fished out a pack of gummy bears labeled Hyunggu with a sticky note in his scrawny handwriting and spun around to see an amused Hongseok.
“From what I remember, your name isn’t Hyunggu, is it?” Hongseok teased, and Jinho ripped open the pack of gummy bears in response. They moved down to sit at the kitchen table, and Jinho popped a gummy bear in his mouth.
“Hyunggu and Shinwon... didn’t let me sleep... so this counts as payback,” Jinho said in between gummy bears. Hongseok didn’t eat any and just watched in amusement, squishing one between his fingers.
As the pack of gummy bears turned to a lone gummy bear in the packaging, Jinho and Hongseok talked. They talked about school, their floormates, their interests and found they had a lot in common. They both preferred hamburgers over pizza, shared the same birthday and agreed that Hwitaek and Hyojong are secretly getting it on. Jinho was extremely tired from a long day at school, and Shinwon and Hyunggu keeping him awake did not help, nor did waking up in the middle of a Tuesday night to bake cookies.
“Wow, the cookies smell good...” Jinho laid on the table, as Hongseok nodded in agreement, as the smell of freshly baked cookies wafted in the air. Someone was bound to figure out they baked cookies tomorrow and eat them all. It was usually Shinwon unless Hyojong figured out where the poor owner hid it first.
“You should sit up, you’re going to fall asleep,” Hongseok warned, a perky tone in his voice. Jinho groaned, shook his head and closed his eyes.
Hongseok was about to protest when the ding of the oven distracted him. He stood up, grabbing oven gloves and leaving the oven open for the cookies to cool after checking they weren’t burnt. When he spun back around to check on Jinho, he was already snoring away softly.
Hongseok couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. He thought about shaking Jinho awake, but that would probably result in him getting annoyed. So Hongseok walked over to where Jinho was sprawled on the table, shifted the chair, and swooped him into his arms, bridal style. Jinho didn’t weigh that much, and his room was just next door. Hongseok crept quietly into the room next door, placing Jinho down softly on his bed. He rearranged the covers onto Jinho, made sure he was snug under the duvet and stood back up.
Jinho’s room was illuminated with some fairy lights strung on the walls. Hongseok could see the various photographs tacked onto the wall, and mementos and trinkets scattered on his desk. Hongseok picked up a pen, paused for a moment to think and scribbled a note on a piece of paper. He placed in the center of Jinho’s desk and looked back at him with a smile. Hongseok turned off the lights and left his room, making sure to close the door softly.
Jinho wakes up the next morning to the sound Hyunggu storming into his room. Jinho blinks open his eyes, trying to make sense of what Hyunggu is talking about. Hyunggu walks over to his bed and shakes him animatedly.
“Jinho! Did you eat my gummy bears? I swear… I was saving them for today’s movie screening!” Hyunggu practically yells, and Jinho winces. Hyunggu is going to guilt trip him for the rest of his life if he doesn’t make it up to him.
“You and Shinwon were keeping me up last night… Fine, I’ll buy you another pack of gummy bears later...” Jinho says sleepily, and Hyunggu seems satisfied, although also a bit embarrassed.
“Good. Now get ready for class. You should be glad I woke you up!” Hyunggu finishes and breezes out of the room. Jinho rubs his eyes. He’s ten times sleepier than usual because he barely got any sleep last night. That was right, he made cookies with… Hyojong’s ridiculously hot roommate. Jinho racks his brain for a name, but it just doesn’t come. He’s too sleep-deprived to think straight. What was his name again?
Jinho decides to get ready instead, maybe he’ll bump into him in the dorms. He gets up and changes, grabbing his stuff to shower when he notices a note on his desk. Jinho’s heart starts beating faster, but he tries not to think about it when he opens it.
Inside is a set of digits, presumably the phone number of the handsome stranger. Jinho fumbles for his phone, entering it onto his phone before he forgets. Then, he goes into the dorm bathrooms and takes a long shower after remembering what happened yesterday night.
Jinho dries his hair with a towel and throws on some old shirt and sweatpants, yawning as he shuffles down the hallway. He puts down his toiletries in his room and walks out, looking down the hallway both sides. He spots Hyojong bursting out of Hwitaek’s room, yawning before turning around and spotting Jinho. His eyes widen and he tries to force a smile on his face.
“G’morning Jinho. Lovely weather today. I'm late for class, bye!” Hyojong manages to say before he dashes down the hallway to his own room, slamming the door. Jinho totally called it, Hyojong was definitely doing the dirty with Hwitaek behind everyone's backs.
Jinho smirks. The first personal victory of the day. He continues to the kitchen in search of breakfast with his hair still half wet. He preferred going to the communal kitchen over the cafeteria because it is built conveniently next to his room.
When he walks into the kitchen, someone was brewing coffee on the coffee maker. Jinho barely spares them a second glance. It’s probably someone from upstairs with a feeble excuse to use their coffee maker. Jinho didn't mind, he’s looking for food.
He scours the fridge first, looking for his orange juice. Unsurprisingly, a chunk of it is gone, probably because of Hyunggu. That twerp is endearing enough that Jinho lets it slide. He grabs the half empty carton, yawns again, and starts walking over to the sink for a mug. A light pink mug is handed to him before he can get to the sink.
“Thanks…” Jinho looks up to see which kind soul offered him a mug and his favorite mug at that. Instead of maybe Hwitaek or Hyunggu or even Shinwon, it’s the cookie guy.
“You're welcome.” He beams, holding a mug of coffee in hand and Jinho thinks his whole being is about to melt. Jinho turns to the table and pours his orange juice. He's not sure how to continue the conversation because he somehow forgot the cookie guy’s name.
Jinho turns around to look for actual food to eat when the cookie guy hands him a Tupperware of cookies. Jinho smiles and takes the cookies from him. He's about to say something when someone bursts into the kitchen. Two of them.
“Woah woah woah! What's going on here?” Hyunggu says, fingers in the shape of a gun. Hyojong is next to him, eyebrows waggling. They're both wearing the biggest smirks Jinho has ever seen on people.
“Shut up.” Jinho and the cookie guy say in unison. They look at each other for a moment before Hyojong and Hyunggu burst in laughter.
“Oh man, why didn't I see this coming before? Jinho is the only person who can out-nerd you, Hongseok!” Hyojong says, and Hyunggu collapses in even more giggles. Hongseok. Right. Jinho spots Hwitaek walking into the kitchen.
“Hwitaek! Why are you limping? Did you hurt yourself? Or is your ass too sore from Hyojong last night?” Jinho smirks after he delivers the punchline. Hwitaek’s eyes widen to the size of plates and Hyunggu redirects his laughter towards Hwitaek. Hyojong tries to laugh it off but he glares daggers at Jinho and his telltale red ears give away the truth.
Jinho turns back to the cookie guy. Hongseok. He's been smiling quietly the whole time. He looks at Jinho as if Jinho has a question, attention focused solely on him. Jinho considers asking him on a date right then and there, but chickens out after fumbling for the right words.
“Uh… thanks for the cookies.” Jinho settles on says with a sweet smile. Hongseok touches his heart and returns the smile with “you're welcome.” He pushes past Hyojong and Hyunggu to leave the kitchen, and Jinho feels compelled to follow, which he does.
In front of Hyunggu, Hyojong and Hwitaek, Hongseok stops at the kitchen door, turns around and embraces Jinho. Jinho ignores the Hyojong and Hyunggu’s hollering behind him, and what nestling in Hongseok’s sturdy chest and feeling his muscled arms wrapping around him is doing to his body. He enjoys the feeling of Hongseok’s affection instead, and when he pulls away, it feels if all the snow in the world suddenly dropped on him.
The smile Hongseok gives him afterward make it all melt away though. “You better text me!” Hongseok says with a wink, and he turns and continues walking down the hallway like nothing happened.
“What happened?” Shinwon bursts out of his shared room with Hyunggu and turns to Jinho in confusion. Jinho gives him a shrug, a blissed out smile on his face and the tips of his ears red.
“I have absolutely no idea, but I'm going to eat these cookies in my room.” Jinho glides into his room, closing his door. Yesterday was the only time being woken up in the middle of the night led to something good, but to be fair, that was the only time he's ever woken up to someone not drunk, high or dying.
Bonus:
“Jinho! Hongseok! You two made it to the “finally lost your virginity” party we set up for you!” Hyunggu says Jinho and Hongseok walk into the communal kitchen. Their friends are sat around the kitchen table, eating chips and snacks and donning party hats.
“Aww. You shouldn't have!” Hongseok says sarcastically, patting Hyunggu on the back. Jinho, however, is staring at a plate where “not a virgin” is spelled out in broken pieces of chips (because they’re college students.) He's never going to live this down.