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Today has been relatively normal so far.
At least, that was what it felt like for a certain owner of a tattoo shop. He was humming, wiping down the sofa in the waiting room of his small establishment. It was the rare occasion that he had no booked appointments or walk-ins in the late afternoon of a weekday.
Honestly, the only complaint he had so far was that it was a little too hot. His pet doberman agreed that he did not enjoy it as well. The young dog sadly looked out the window of the shop while observing the visible heat waves from inside.
Then, both the shop owner and the dog jump up in surprise when the front door slams open and the bell above it dings loudly. There they found one of the shop's (and the dog's favorite) part-timer, visibly agitated and huffy, far from his cool and polite demeanor.
The shop owner looks at the younger boy with a confused look. He's sure that he gave Yeonjun a day-off today because he had too much overtime that week.
"Hyung-nim," Yeonjun suddenly whines at him with distraught laced between his knitted eyebrows, looking much younger than the 2-year gap they have together. "Please tell me Beomgyu is hiding in here somewhere."
"Yeonjun-ah, I thought I told you calling me just hyung is fine," the shop owner replies, leading the other to the sofa to sit. The doberman happily climbs onto Yeonjun's lap, to which the other absently pets his head and plays with his floppy ears. "And why are you even here? I believe I gave you the green light to get a day-off."
"Well, my best friend’s avoiding me, and since someone should be taking over my shift today, I figured he would be here,” Yeonjun reasons, glaring at every nook and cranny in the shop for signs of the long-haired boy. "Just whisper it in my ear Jungkook-hyung, I promise he won't know you snitched on him."
"I can’t tell you if the boy booked it out the back door when you slammed in here or if he stuffed himself in his locker because I'm supposed to be the unbiased boss, you know?" Jungkook says, eyes twinkling with mischief. “Why would he be hiding from you, anyway?”
"Because he kept laughing his ass off when I told him this thing I realized last night," the younger huffs, to which the older raises an eyebrow at. "He’s dead meat if I catch him."
“Goodluck on that, but don’t actually kill him because I still need you both,” the shop owner says, laughing. "But why look for him when there's two really great listeners in front of you?" he asks, while his dog Bam also looks at the young boy as if he knew what they were talking about.
Yeonjun thinks it over, a thoughtful pout on his face. "Only if you promise not to laugh."
"Wouldn't even dream of it," Jungkook reassures him.
The younger boy sighs and leans back on the sofa with his eyes closed. "Alright, so you see…"
Jungkook holds his breath.
Bam lays his head down on Yeonjun's lap, getting sleepy.
"I think I've been sleep-eating. Kind of like sleep-walking, but I eat food while I'm asleep?"
And then loud, near-hysterical laughter fills the room. Familiar laughter.
Yeonjun and Jungkook look at each other in surprise, because the sound didn't come from either of the two. Bam raises his head up and perks up at the source of the sudden noise.
The doberman leaps over to the source of the laughter, with Yeonjun close on his heels. Momentarily disappearing under the reception desk, Yeonjun hauls out one Choi Beomgyu, still laughing, by the armpits.
"You jerk!" Yeonjun exclaims, now placing the other in a chokehold. Beomgyu's laughter turns to choking noises that Jungkook is almost concerned he's going to be a witness to his murder. "You were here the entire time and didn't say a single word! Some best friend you are."
"Didn't… mean to…" Beomgyu croaks out, struggling to escape the other's hold on him. "Fell asleep… woke up when the door slammed open… would've been… awkward…"
Rolling his eyes fondly, Yeonjun lets him go. The long–haired boy sighs in relief as he slides down the floor, and Bam immediately proceeds to lick his face off.
"And you would've gotten away with it if you didn't burst out laughing like a madman," Jungkook comments with a light laugh. Beomgyu glares at him half-heartedly.
"I don't get it," he continues. "What's so funny about Yeonjun's story? It's not as far-fetched as your usual daydreams, Beomgyu."
"That's 'cuz you haven't heard the whole story, hyung!" Beomgyu defends himself. "It's so ridiculous how Yeonjun-hyung came to the conclusion that he's sleep-walking, it's crazy how dense he can be."
Glaring once more, Yeonjun maturely sticks his tongue out to the younger boy. Beomgyu, equally as mature, returns the gesture back at him.
"Don't listen to what this madman has to say, hyung-nim," Yeonjun huffs. "But as I was saying, I recently came to the conclusion that I must be sleep-walking every night."
It's no surprise that Yeonjun loves eating. The only reason he had a part-time job despite living on-campus with a scholarship was to buy food and drinks that didn't come from his meal tickets to snack on while studying. He only had a modest collection, neatly taking one corner of the huge kitchen cabinet for dry food that he shares with his roommate. Mostly packets of ramen, two of his favorite chip brands, cans of cola that didn't fit their mini-fridge, a beer or two, and a recycled biscuit tin filled with chocolates and gummies.
That tin of sweets was what he probably refilled the most on his bi-weekly trips to the mini mart near their college. Munching on something while he studied and typed away on his computer kept him awake during necessary all-nighters. But recently, his supply of chocolates had been depleting at a much faster rate than he expected. Even on days that he wasn’t cramming the tin felt a little lighter the next time he opened it.
So yesterday, he counted every piece of chocolate in it twice, when he woke up, and before he went to sleep. Last night, the chocolate count stayed the same. Then this morning, he carefully recounted every single piece, expecting nothing to change. That was until he came up short of one piece of strawberry-filled chocolate that was too sweet for his liking, but kept buying since it reminded him of someone.
Yeonjun was dumbfounded. He couldn’t figure out why it was happening until he was in the middle of class and a sudden thought struck his head.
He was sleep-eating. That had to be it. If his supply of chocolates didn’t lessen while he was at college during the day, then it made sense to assume they were eaten during the night. And since nobody had come over recently, then he was certain it could only be him. He knew from his parents that he used to sleep-walk as a kid, and so the thought of him doing various things like eating his own food in his slumber was possible. He’s now concerned his roommate might freak out if he finds in the middle of the night sleep-eating.
When Yeonjun finishes his story, his boss had found himself forming a thin line with his lips from trying hard not to interject near the end.
He didn’t doubt the other boy; sleep-eating is a plausible theory. But shouldn’t he have come to the more obvious and more possible theory first…?
He wasn’t sure how to say it, so Beomgyu says it instead since he also found the same crack in Yeonjun’s theory hours ago.
“Okay, but maybe consider this: your roommate’s eating your chocolates,” his friend pipes up.
Shooting Beomgyu a disgusted look, Yeonjun shakes his head so hard his vision spins when he’s done. “There’s no way Taehyun’s the one behind this, I can’t believe you would even consider that.”
Beomgyu rolls his eyes. “Gee, I don’t know hyung, maybe it’s because I’m not the one who’s head over heels with his roommate to think he’s above doing immoral things like stealing. He can be a serial killer for all you know, and you’d still have a crush on him!”
Yeonjun sputters at him with a flush, “That’s not true! He’s a good roommate that respects my boundaries, and he works part-time as well to easily afford buying his own sweets. I definitely feel like I haven't done anything wrong to warrant this if he feels petty about something.”
Jungkook definitely remembers the younger boy’s roommate. It’s hard not to, when Yeonjun constantly blabbers about him when he hands him the tools he needed while working on a client’s tattoo. When Taehyun came over once, it was crazy how he near-perfectly matched Yeonjun’s type — attractive, polite, charming personality, good fashion sense, and adorably round hazel-brown eyes.
“Ugh, haven’t you heard about how love makes you look at a person differently?” Beomgyu groans. “Or about how food tastes even better when it’s for free?”
“Shut it, Gyu, I don’t want to hear anything out of you,” Yeonjun grumbles, still blushing. “But what about you, hyung? What do you think?” he asks, turning over to his employer.
Uh-oh.
Jungkook averts his gaze from the other. “I mean… the sleep-eating theory doesn’t seem too bad,” he starts nervously. “But Beomgyu could be onto something. Isn’t there something you’re forgetting about Taehyun?”
“Like what, hyung?”
He sighs. Jungkook definitely didn’t open this shop with the intention to help his employees with non-work related problems. But he has to try and be a helpful boss nevertheless, right?
“From what I remember from your rambling about your crush, Taehyun has a sweet tooth.”
Jungkook swears he heard something crack coming from Yeonjun when he said that.
“And didn’t you say it was a strawberry-filled chocolate that went missing? Aren’t strawberries his favorite fruit?”
With that, the two other people in the establishment and the dog find Yeonjun crouched down on the floor, head in his hands and questioning life. The lack of noise and movement from him made Jungkook concerned.
“Bossman is right, Jjunie-hyung,” Beomgyu says, walking over and petting the other's head gently. “I know Taehyun isn’t the type of person to be stealing chocolate of all things, but the fact that there’s a small possibility that he could be still stands.”
“I still don’t think it’s him,” Yeonjun mumbles. “I’d give him my entire supply if he asked, so why would he have to sneak around like that?”
“He surely has his reasons,” Beomgyu replies. “But if you’re still not sure about it hyung, why not just see it with your own eyes?”
“What do you mean?” Yeonjun asks.
“Pretend you’re going to bed early, hide in the kitchen, and wait and see if Taehyun opens the cupboard to take your chocolates,” the younger replies. “It’s as simple as that, hyung.”
“Should I?”
“Well, it’s either that, or believe that you’re actually sleep-eating for the rest of your life. Would you rather Taehyun steal your food, or be found out by him that you’ll eat your own food in your sleep?”
He has a point, Yeonjun thought.
🐱🧡🐱
For someone who's been switching dorm rooms for a total of three times in his 4 years of college so far, Yeonjun has had his fair share of experience living with all sorts of roommates.
He's had roommates that didn't leave the room, roommates that were barely home, roommates that didn't help clean the common areas, roommates that skipped on money they borrowed from him, and roommates that always greeted him with scowl on their faces. He even had a roommate once that broke down while cleaning a whole chicken with a huge cleaver in the kitchen at 2 am, and remembering him still brings a shudder down Yeonjun's spine.
Needless to say, he's been through a lot. So it’s a downright blessing from the heavens above when he was able to room with the most decent roommate he’s ever had in his third year. Taehyun doesn’t bring anyone over unannounced, he doesn’t make noise at ass o’clock in the morning, and he’s pretty fun to be around with.
It probably helps that Taehyun was already someone he knew, being in the same course and all. He was a year below him, but he spent a lot of time with him since Soobin, a friend of Beomgyu’s friend, introduced him as his best friend and asked Yeonjun to take care of him as his senior.
Somewhere along the way, Yeonjun started to catch feelings for the younger boy. He found himself wanting to take care of Taehyun far more than a senior and a friend would. He’d rather spend time with him talking about anything while sharing food Taehyun made when cooking became his new hobby. He’d rather listen to the younger boy run through his notes than listen to his own lecturer during class. He would even willingly be dragged into those cramped noraebangs scattered near their college despite being tired from class if it meant he could hear Taehyun’s angelic singing voice flow through his ears. That healed him more than sleeping ever could.
So he was hesitant at first when Taehyun offered the vacant room his previous roommate left at his dormitory after Yeonjun moved out of another dorm. But beggars can’t be choosers. Desperate for accommodations, he agreed to move in with a promise to himself to keep his feelings in check.
It was a miracle he managed a year as Taehyun’s roommate without doing stupid things like lean on his shoulder when they sat close together in their small sofa while watching a movie, or secretly kiss him on the cheek when Taehyun fell asleep studying on their dining table.
The transition to merely meeting Taehyun on campus to waking up to a half-asleep Taehyun brushing his teeth while making breakfast was too much for Yeonjun’s rapidly beating heart. Everything was so domestic and it filled him with unexplainable warmth whenever the two of them found the time to do things together outside of studying. Buying groceries together, Taehyun cooking for the both of them when he felt like it, Yeonjun carrying the other’s laundry with him to the washroom downstairs when Taehyun had to work overtime on a weekend because they were understaffed. This new development to their relationship from senior and junior to roommates made Yeonjun fall harder for him.
Sometimes, he even indulged the thought that Taehyun started liking him back, too. There were times Taehyun’s gaze lingered on him for longer than platonically deemed necessary, the times when he came home from a long day of classes and work to Taehyun reheating food for him when he should be fast asleep by then, and then the time Taehyun was upset for his sake when he saw him working on so many projects and reports due by the end of the week.
Understandably, Yeonjun was nervous about catching Taehyun in the act if he really was the one stealing his chocolates. So many things could go wrong. What if this made things awkward between them? Would they start fighting? Would one of them make the rash decision to move out immediately? They were mostly irrational what ifs, but that didn’t stop him from considering them possibly happening.
But then again, he wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery, if he could even call it that. Curiosity might’ve killed the cat, but the cat wouldn’t hesitate to satiate its curiosity despite the warning around him not to. That’s because the cat was the type to see things through the end above everything.
And Yeonjun respects that damn cat in his head already typing out the message he’s sending to Taehyun about sleeping early that night on his behalf.
🐱🧡🐱
With how often Yeonjun gets jabbed at for his age by his friends as they're mostly younger, it's only proper to assume he has developed the patience of a saint at this point. But inherently? He's always been generally impatient. His high-spirited self and lack of shame makes it hard for him to stay in one place for so long. Despite this, he can be patient if he wants to.
And that patience has slowly been thinning as the hours tick by on the dull screen of his phone. It's currently 2:37 AM, and not a single sound has been made since he heard the door to Taehyun's room open and close at 11 PM, which was hours ago. Yeonjun's certain his legs have fallen asleep without him, where he's crammed him a bit uncomfortably in the supply closet near the kitchen area. He would've gone insane if he hadn't played loads of Sudoku puzzles the entire time on his phone, and even that currently only had 17% left of its battery.
Yeonjun is so irritated that he probably wasted his time staying up all night in such a cramped space that he almost taps his foot out of habit. But he will himself to take deep breaths and stay calm, like he always does when Beomgyu suddenly starts jabbing at him (whether physically or verbally) out of nowhere, seeking his attention like the clingy pup that he is.
For some reason, this plan backfires at him because now he's suddenly aware of how sleepy he is. Yeonjun knows he has to pinch himself awake again but boy, does closing his eyes seem so pleasant to do at the moment…
Before all hope is completely lost, Yeonjun finally hears something.
A soft, almost deliberately calculated, creak.
It's the sound of someone stepping on one of their many loose and worn floorboards all over the place.
With a sudden jolt of adrenaline traveling throughout his spine, Yeonjun sits up straight again.
It's Taehyun.
Nervously gulping saliva down his throat, he carefully rests an ear on the closet door. He can't jump to conclusions just yet. If anything, Taehyun was probably just waking up to get a glass of water. Yeonjun has done it himself numerous times.
Just like Yeonjun has always said, here's no way he's actually going to–
He hears another creak. It wasn't the same type as the one from walking on the floorboards, though.
No, this was the sound of one of their kitchen cabinets opening. But they don't keep their mugs and glasses in a cabinet; those had their own drying racks near the sink.
Yeonjun feels his heart pound faster.
You've got to be kidding me, he thought.
But stil, rationality finds a voice inside his head. Taehyun occasionally has late night snacks after he's done studying. Maybe he was taking out a pan to cook something. That's sounds about right–
Yeonjun really, really wishes he didn't hear the sound he just heard. He wanted to be ignorant and so not in a damn supply closet snooping at his roommate's business.
Shame on him. Because the moment he heard the unmistakable sound of a tin can opening, whatever the other boy was doing was also a part of his business.
Him and his stupid fucking head he really shouldn't be thinking anymore it's goddamn 3 AM and Taehyun is eating his chocolate–
Yeonjun wills himself to exhale heavily through his nose. He needs to calm down, and maybe start getting out of his hiding place for starters.
He carefully opens the closet door, thankful it's one of the few doors that didn't make creaking sounds at their place. As if he could try and betray his own ears, he takes a look at Taehyun's direction to confirm it once and for all. Unsurprisingly, with the faint glow of the kitchen room on, the younger boy had his back turned to him, half–eaten chocolate in hand, and Yeonjun's beloved tin of sweets opened beside him.
Yup, he can't deny that at all. Not when Taehyun seemed like he was enjoying what he was eating by the way he made tiny hums of delight.
Thankfully, this gave him a chance to sneak away and pretend he had just come out of his own room half-asleep; the supply closet rested on the wall next to the hallway where their rooms were, and a quick double side-step easily got him into position.
Feigning grogginess the best he could (though he was already a bit sleepy enough that he really didn't need to fake it), Yeonjun shuffled back to the kitchen with a hand rubbing his eye and a yawn signaling his presence.
"Taehyun-ah?" he asks at the end of his yawn. "Why are you up at this hour?"
Jumping half a foot into the air at the sound of his name being called, Taehyun quickly scrambles to face the older boy and hide the evidence – the wrapper that held the piece of chocolate – behind his back.
"H-hyung!" he greets, face visibly aflush under the light. "I just got up to get some water, that's all."
Yeonjun really wishes he could believe the younger boy, especially when his eyes were so round and innocent and–
The older sighs internally. Maybe Beomgyu was right after all about being far too gone for the other.
"But isn't our food cabinet open? You don't have to lie about getting a late night snack too," Yeonjun says.
"No I wasn't," Taehyun replies stiffly, eyes darting back in a panic at the cabinet door he carelessly left open.
Yeonjun fakes a small gasp of surprise, eyes honed in on the opened tin box that the other failed to hide in his haste. "Isn't that my box of sweets next to you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," the younger mumbles, slowly accepting he was caught in the act and losing confidence. He hung his head low, averting his gaze from the other. Taehyun seemed to be focused on something interesting on his cat-themed fluffy slippers, face still looking flushed with embarrassment.
It hurt Yeonjun to see the other like this. He didn't feel a single ounce of annoyance or anger at all for Taehyun. Sure, it was an interesting discovery, but all he wanted to know was why, and it seemed like he'd just get more words of denial out of him with such a tense atmosphere around them.
He hated it.
So, he slowly makes his way in front of Taehyun, the latter only realizing belatedly that Yeonjun was in front of him, letting out a surprised squeak. The younger boy was trapped; there was his hyung in front of him and his own back against the kitchen counter.
When Yeonjun starts reaching for him, he flinches and closes his eyes shut. However, his eyelids quickly flutter open in surprise when he feels the pad of Yeonjun's thumb brush against the corner of his lip. He shudders involuntarily.
The older boy retracts his hand back to lick his thumb, the gesture making Taehyun redden even more as he follows the sliver of movement.
"Hmmm," Yeonjun muses. "This definitely tastes like the strawberry filling in one of my chocolates. Are you still going to deny it, Tyunnie?" he asks, eyes twinkling with amusement.
God does Taehyun want to punch the daylights out of the older boy so badly right now. "I really don't like it when you do this," he mumbles.
"W-w-when I do what?" Yeonjun sputters, caught off guard.
The younger boy silently cheered at the way the other started turning a little pink in the face. At least now the both of them were blushing to some degree.
"When you tease me," Taehyun says, his lower lip jutting out a little. "You always act like you know something that I don't when you look at me. It's never hard for you to make me lose my cool and when I try to retaliate, you just backpedal immediately."
"But I know. I know you want to do something more and I'd rather you do it now than hold back and keep me hanging," he finishes, not really sure what he means anymore and letting the thoughts bubbled up inside of him come fizzle out.
Yeonjun gazes at him with what he would categorize as fondness, eyes shimmering and warm like he's staring at something precious enough to warrant that.
"T-then… what if I said I wanted to kiss you right now?" the older boy says timidly.
Feeling like his heart could escape the confines of his chest and soar into the sky from the sudden rush of emotions, Taehyun smiles with what he hopes carries the same amount of fondness being directed back at him. "Then I'd say I would want you to kiss me, too."
With no room left for words, Yeonjun moves to cradle the younger's face in his hands as he leans closer, and Taehyun meets him halfway. Yeonjun's lips feel softer than any marshmallow he's ever eaten, and tastes bittersweet like the americano he drinks everyday. It's so different from the tangy sweetness he tasted from the chocolate that he'd eaten, but he would rather kiss Yeonjun more than be offered to eat sweets for the rest of his life.
When they break the kiss much, much later, Taehyun notices how wide the older boy's smile is.
"Care to share why you're suddenly smiling so much?" he asks, absently rubbing the short hair on the nape of the other's neck. He didn't even realize his arms had gone around Yeonjun's neck during the kiss.
"Obviously because I'm happy. I can't help it," Yeonjun replies. "And also because you still taste like the strawberry-filled chocolate that you just ate."
Taehyun hides his flush by resting his head against the older boy's chest. "Shut up, hyung. And I'm sorry – I wanted to try teasing you back and see how long it'd take you to notice. I was supposed to replace everything by the end of the month but here we are."
Chuckling, Yeonjun simply puts his arms around Taehyun's waist and squeezes, earning him yet another adorable sound out of the younger boy. There's no way he was going to tell him that he almost fell for it. "You don't have to replace them, you can have what's left. And I'll only accept the apology if I get to take you out on a date this Saturday."
Taehyun giggles back. "Deal. Does this make us boyfriends now?"
"I hope so," Yeonjun says. "I don't go around kissing thieves you know? I've had a crush on you since the beginning, you idiot."
Taehyun smacks him weakly on the shoulder. "Me too, silly. I thought it was obvious because you kept teasing me."
"If I did, then I would've asked you out ages ago! I guess we're both idiots."
The younger laughs in reply, and the other shortly joins in. If they continued to kiss and make out by the time the laughter died down, only these two silly idiots in love knew the answer.