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It wasn't rare for Yeonjun to spot Soobin.
And that was because his best friend /Taehyun/ started going out with one of Soobin’s /Beomgyu/.
They haven’t talked before, as everytime the two love birds see each other, they depart from their friends with time ahead. But either way, Yeonjun has spotted Soobin several times.
And that wasn’t such a difficult task, not only because Soobin was one of the tallest of all colleague but also because he made Yeonjun's eyes orbit towards him.
Subconsciously Yeonjun started to notice some of the boy’s traits, such as how he scrunched his nose, or how he threw himself into his friends when he started laughing or the way he seemed on his own world every time he walked towards his classes as he would be munching on some type of food.
He also noticed the dimples that creeped on his face every time a smile stretched on his mouth or the way he always wore oversized hoodies and sweaters with different colours or patterns.
One day as he was walking with Taehyun the other turned to him abruptly.
“Hyung, I almost forgot. Beomgyu invited us to dinner.”
“us? as, me too?.”
“Yeah, he told me that it was weird that we haven’t introduced our group of friends even when we kind of know each other.”
“And when is that?.”
“Right now.”
He dragged Yeonjun towards their meeting place, a Cozy diner not so far from campus and known to most students.
They walked past the front door were they spotted Beomgyu and Kai who waved and /screamed - greeted/ them.
Yeonjun felt a little embarrassed as several heads turned their way but thankfully turned back just as fast. As they got closer to the table something didn’t add up; One of them was missing.
He knew Beomgyu as Taehyun introduced him one day after one of their practices, and he spotted him around their building several times given their majors; as for Kai it was a coincidental meeting.
He was on his way to his dorm when he decided to go to an Ice cream parlor to buy some since he was running out; there he saw the blonde boy, he was waiting as well when Yeonjun placed his order.
“I see that I’m not the only one who needs their dose of mintchoco”. he said to him as he was taking the bag out of the employee's hands.
After that the tall boy would greet him in the hallways just because they shared love for an unconventional type of Ice cream. And eventually he learned that he was Beomgyu’s and Soobin’s ‘bestest friend’ in his own words.
The two started to take a seat when Taehyun's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
“Where is Soobin hyung?.”
“Ahh he’s a little late but he will get here any minute.”
For some unknown reason, Yeonjun felt nervous at the thought, he couldn’t process the situation when a soft and uneven voice spoke on their table.
“I’m so sorry, Professor Kim got carried away again during his lesson.”
The others greeted him as he threw himself into Kai’s side.
He placed his backpack on the floor and when he lifted his face his eyes got stuck on Yeonjun. The older froze for a moment as Beomgyu began with the introductions.
“Soobin hyung, this is Yeonjun’s hyung and Tae's best friend. And Yeonjun hyung this is Soobin’s hyung.”
“Our Cutest hyung.” Kai added as he rubbed Soobin’s belly.
The two nodded awkwardly as a ‘nice to meet you’ left their mouths. Luckily the other three started chatting, dissipating the stiff air.
For Soobin it wasn’t hard to not know about Yeonjun either.
When Beomgyu told him about his crush on the oldest friend he got curious.
Said man was always dressed like he belonged to a runaway and not to the sad hallways of their colleague. He emitted a confidence he knew he lacked and the amount of people that wanted to be closer to him were half the school body.
But apart from all that, Soobin noticed a sadness behind the boy’s eyes; he seemed to be really outgoing as he watched him one day but there was something that he couldn’t pinpoint, so as he watched him for the first time too closely, he noticed he wasn’t at all wrong.
And as the curious person that he was, he wanted to know more.
---
It was already late when Yeonjun decided to go for a walk, he had been struggling with some things and he realized he needed a break.
He wasn’t too far from campus when a figure walking ahead of him dropped what it seemed like drinks. One of them almost reached his feets and he discovered that they were cans of coffee.
The mysterious figure reached towards it and the two faced the other.
Soobin was staring at him, wide eyes and mouth agape. He arranged the cans on his arms as he blinked rapidly.
“Yeonjun ... hyung right?.”
“Hey.” Yeonjun said a little shyly.
After an awkward silence, the two started walking in the same direction.
“What are you doing so late at night?.”
“The upcoming week is full of tests and It’s driving me crazy.”
“No wonder you bought so many cans of coffee.” Soobin smiled a little.
“What about you?.”
“I needed some fresh air.”
Soobin nodded but didn’t say more, Instead he handed one of his cans to the other.
“Here.”
Yeonjun took the beverage as Soobin opened another.
The two walked in silence as they sipped on their drink, Soobin realized that he couldn’t help but want to talk to the other.
“Did it work?.”
“what?.”
“the fresh air.”
Yeonjun stared at him with a poker face, Soobin was smiling curiously as his eyes sparkled under the streetlamp.
“Yeah, I think it did.”
Soobin then found out that Yeonjun was a creative writing student just like Tae. He told him that it was a fun and challenging path but he decided to try it anyway.
"I think it suits you." Was what Yeonjun told him when he said that he was a Psychology major.
"¿Really? And how would you know?." He asked intrigued as he eyed the older.
"I don't know how to explain it, but you have that type of aura.
Soobin hummed beside him, a little too content with the compliment.
"I thought you were a Performing Arts student when I first saw you."
"Why is that?."
"You have the looks." Yeonjun smirked under the night as the younger smiled back.
They stopped in one of the buildings after Soobin pointed out that this was his dorm.
“Thank you for the coffee.”
“No worries. I hope you are feeling better.”
Yeonjun felt something bloom on his stomach but tried his best to not show it.
“Good night Soobin, See you around.”
----
One wednesday Yeonjun found himself in one of the library aisles, he was done for the day but decided to pick some books in advance for his upcoming lessons.
He reached for the last one, as a mop of hair took his attention; after scanning the surrounding area and noticing no one was paying attention to him at all, he moved towards the figure.
When he was close enough he realized he didn’t see wrong and it was in fact, Soobin.
He had tons of books scattered around as well as his notebook and laptop. Apparently he was still writing something when he fell asleep as he had a pen clutched hard on his hand while the other was keeping an open page of a book.
His cheeks were pressed against the wooden table and Yeonjun couldn’t help but smile at the endearing sight.
He left his books beside Soobin and headed outside the library.
When he came back the boy was still sleeping; so after taking his book and giving him a last glance, he left.
When Soobin woke up it had been two hours since he came to the library, he glanced around, cheeks hot of embarrassment.
He moved his pile of books and was surprised to see a can of coffee. Once again he turned around to see If the person that left it was still around but no one seemed to care.
‘In case you need it :)’
Soobin smiled at the little note attached to it as he placed it in one of his notebooks, he then took the can and carefully opened it; and after a sip, he started working.
----
One day he found himself sitting on a table with Kai. He finished his lessons for the first half of the day and was craving Ice cream; so as he walked towards his usual place he found himself with the blonde. He was also free for the period and without a second guess the two joined.
"You know; today Soobin hyung got a love letter."
Yeonjun stiffed momentarily before taking a spoonful of Ice.
"not surprised."
"I know, he may be good at reading people but never when it comes to them liking him." He gave him a weird frown.
Yeonjun looked at his Ice cream cup; it was almost empty and the bottom was already melting.
Why was Kai telling him this? Was it just to strike conversation?.
He glanced at him as he dug into his own cup. Probably.
"Hum ... so what does he said?."
"About what?."
"The letter."
"Nothing, he pulled it on his backpack and went on with his day."
For an unknown reason Yeonjun felt relieved? Happy? Confused.
As they both finished their Ice, they waved goodbye and headed towards their respective lessons.
And all day all he could think of was that letter; would Soobin have the same feelings as the one who wrote it?.
They haven't talked that much so he didn't know about his potential love life; but why would he want to know?
The uneasy feeling remained with him for the next few days.
----
Soobin was already done with most of his quizzes so he decided to give himself a little reward. It was already late at night as he was walking towards his usual convenience store. He was almost there when he saw a very familiar black haired male. He was about to call him when another figure threw himself onto him. The two were hugging and suddenly Soobin felt the need to find another place to buy his things; he walked away trying not to think about the incident but as he reached his other destination he sighed. It was closed.
So he had no other choice but to walk back; inside, he hoped that the other two were already gone, and so it seemed.
He entered the place and when he turned to the beverage fridge, the same male was staring into the fridge lost in his thoughts.
“If you keep staring at them like that I’m afraid they’re gonna burst.”
Yeonjun turned around to face Soobin’s smiling face.
The two left the place after picking different things, to Soobin’s surprise Yeonjun bought almost the same amount of Coffee that he did on the day they enounter themselves on the street.
“It seems that you really liked the Coffee.”
“Yeah, I guess I found a liking to it.”
The streets were almost empty as they moved in them. Every time they were together the silence around them was always comforting. It was one of the things that Yeonjun liked about being with Soobin, he didn’t need to talk much. He was sipping on his drink as the silence was broken.
“You know, I saw you before, outside the store.” Yeonjun turned towards Soobin as wondering what he was saying. “with someone.”
“Ahh.” he took a pause before continuing. “but you came inside much later.”
“I felt like I would disrupt something so I headed to the nearest store but it was closed.” he left out a giggle. “Now that I’m saying it out loud it sounds a little dumb.”
The little feeling stored inside of Yeonjun’s awakened, and for some reasons he didn't want Soobin to misunderstand.
“It was one of my friends, his crush finally asked him out so he was really excited; and every time he climbs on me like a Koala.”
Soobin nodded, a small smile forming on his lips as he covered it with his can.
“What about you?.”
“What about me?.”
“The letters.”
Soobin tilted his head as if looking at his memories of what letters he was talking about but then it clicked. Kai.
The two turned their gazes to the road ahead.
“They are a little persistent, I voiced that I wasn't interested but I still don’t know who wrote them to reject them properly.”
Before they knew it they were already at Soobin’s building, he jumped on the first stair as he looked back at Yeonjun.
“I guess I'll see you around.” Yeonjun gave him a soft smile but before he turned completely he got interrupted.
“Ah Hyung! By the way, thank you so much for the Coffee the other day.”
Yeonjun cheeks tinted pink.
“No problem.” he said. “I thought you would need it.” The air around them started to turn warm, so after giving him another smile he walked away unaware of the blush creeping on the younger’s neck.
----
“Are you all going to the showcase?.”
“You ask as If you haven’t begged us ever since two weeks ago.”
“¡Ya!”
Beomgyu smacked Soobin’s arm as he turned back to the others.
“What about you Yeonjun hyung?.”
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
“See, that’s how you should be responding.” Soobin eyes found Yeonjun and the two started laughing at Beomgyu’s tantrum.
It has been months since the group started hanging together, and it was harder to watch them apart.
“You three have it easy, Soobin hyung and I are drowning in essays and projects.”
“I don’t see Soobin hyung complaining.” Taehyun added as he munched on his burger.
“He doesn't need to say anything, just look at him.” Kai cupped Soobin’s face as he pointed towards his eyes. “Look at his eye bags, he is like a panda now.”
“Is it bothering Soobin day or what?.”
“I think that’s on Wednesday.” Soobin turned towards Yeonjun who smirked at him innocently.
A buzz on the table made everyone turn as Soobin's eyes widened as he picked up his phone.
“Oh Shi —I have to go.” Soobin gathered all his things as he went to the exit. “I’ll see you around.”
The other four watched as he stormed out as he placed his phone on his ear.
“He has been ditching us a lot lately.”
“I told you before, projects and stuff, he has been working with this one guy from one of his final evaluations.”
At that Yeonjun raised a brow.
“So Is it a group project?.”
“A pair project.”
“Oh.”
When they parted ways, Yeonjun remembered a conversation he had with Taehyun the other day.
“So, Soobin hyung huh?.”
Yeonjun almos whipped his neck as he turned to the younger.
“What are you talking about?.”
“The other three may be oblivious but I’m not blind. I know that you have a thing for him.”
“— I don’t.”
“Keep telling you that. But If you want my opinion, I think you two are a good match, and If you don’t hurry someone might beat you.”
Maybe He was right.
He had to think about what he really wanted.
----
It has become more difficult to talk to Soobin these past days. He has been eager to see the younger but every time Soobin would cancel since he would be working on his project.
At first, Yeonjun didn’t want to think much about it, but the more he knew Soobin was alone with someone, the uneasy feeling would come back and stay in the pit of his stomach.
He was trying to distract himself one day as he went to the coffee shop inside of campus; not long ago, he realized that he associated Soobin with the taste of Coffee, not because he was bitter or strong, but because he kept him awake and full of energy.
And it was also because after their second encounter Yeonjun couldn't stop himself from drinking Coffee. All thanks to Soobin.
He placed his order on the counter and after paying the employee he took a seat nearby while waiting.
He started scrolling on his phone when a familiar laugh made him whip his face away from the device.
On the far back of the Café, he spotted Soobin; eyes shaped into crescents as he laughed at something. It wasn't until he awoke from the younger's laugh trance, that he saw the Male opposite him.
He had blonde hair that reached his shoulders and was styled in a half ponytail; he was dressed in all black and just like Soobin he was smiling all the way.
Yeonjun felt something pierce his heart, he stared a little too long that he didn't realize they were calling his name.
"Yeonjun ssi, black coffee for Yeonjun ssi?."
He removed his gaze and went to get his order. And without sparing another glare to the back; he headed out.
Once inside his dorm, he threw himself on the couch, eyes glued to the ceiling.
“Did something happen?.” Taehyun's voice came a little after.
“I think I’m Jealous.” The spot besides him plunged as the younger voice talked again.
“Of …?.”
“Soobin, or more of his ‘not so bad looking' project partner.”
Taehyun let out a laugh as he stared at Yeonjun's face.
“took you long enough.”
“What do you think I should do?.”
“I don’t know, that’s for you to figure out. But—once again, If I were you, I would tell Soobin hyung that.”
Yeonjun nodded and upon gathering his mind he sent a text.
----
Soobin was wearing one of his usual hoodies, it wasn’t as cold inside but when he stepped out he regretted not putting an extra layer of fabric . He brought the hoodie on his head as he moved in place. He started scratching the edge of his nails as he looked around.
He got a text from Yeonjun to meet him at their usual meeting spot at this time of the night; of course it wasn’t the first time he met the older alone but something about the way he wrote the text made him nervous.
He saw the other’s figure come into view and for some reason his heart stopped. He waved awkwardly at him as If he wasn’t 6 ft tall.
“c’mon.”
“Where are we going?.”
“You’ll see.”
The two walked besides each other, and for some reason Soobin wasn’t cold anymore, his eyes were on the road ahead but they would look for Yeonjun’s from time to time.
“How’s your project going?.” Soobin got a little startled as he returned Yeonjun’s gaze.
“Pretty good actually, we had been working really hard on it since our teacher It's quite picky with those.”
“I see, and how about your partner?.”
“He’s actually one of the best in my class, I was lucky I was partnered with him, even If it was awkward the first time.”
“Why is that?.”
“Remember the letters?.” Of course Yeonjun remembered those, they had been on his mind every time he degraded himself, but he only nodded. “Well, turns out he was the one sending them.”
“No wonder I didn't like him.” the words came out of his mouth before he realized.
“What?.” Soobin's voice was smaller that he remembered but as he looked at him, he noticed the redness on his cheeks.
Yeonjun stopped on his tracks and let out a sigh as he took Soobin’s hands, he felt his cold skin as well as the little flinch at the touch.
“The reason I wanted to see you today was because—.” he lifted his gaze that met Soobin’s. “I like you Soobin. I have been struggling, knowing that you have been spending time with someone else, and I know I am in no position as we are nothing but friends, but I— I don’t wanna be just friends anymore.”
Soobin blinked slowly as he lowered his gaze, half his face hidden on the edge of his hoodie. The warmth of Yeonjun’s hands still on his started spreading all the way into his body. The sound around them was muffled and all he could hear was his own heart beat.
“I—.”
“you don’t have to answer right now.”
Yeonjun teared his gaze away, he was about to walk away when Soobin’s hand kept him in place.
“You know, If you confess just like that you should at least hear what the other have to say, don't you think?.” Yeonjun's face lit up as he felt the tips of his ears turn red. “so, as I was saying. I don’t think we can be friends anymore.”
Yeonjun's heart dropped.
His face paled until he felt Soobin’s hand caressing his cheek.
“Yeonjun hyung, I like you too.”
Yeonjun's eyes widened as he stared at Soobin’s, his dimples on full display as his cheeks tinted pink. He felt the need to throw himself into the younger but restrained himself; instead, he pulled the edge of each side of his hoodie and pulled him closer, placing a soft kiss onto Soobin’s forehead. The soft skin against his made Soobin face hot, Yeonjun’s face was retracting slowly as he never took his eyes off him.
Yeonjun smirked at him as the younger face flushed red.
The two kept on walking together, this time their hands intertwined.
They spent the night chatting and laughing under the moonlight. And when it was time to say their goodbyes, neither of them wanted to part ways.
“Rest well.” the older say, but before he walked away, Soobin closed the distance, placing a Soft kiss into the older’s lips. The two teared apart slowly, Yeonjun’s face red as Soobin smirked back at him.
“Now we are even. Good night hyung.”
Yeonjun stayed there for a while, processing the fact that tonight indeed happened and that Soobin’s feelings for him were the same as his.
He smiled, the ghost of Soobin’s lips still on his, and with his heart full he headed back.
Soobin indeed had the taste of Coffee.
Sweet, Soft, Addicting, and he couldn’t wait to taste more of it.
.