Two Worlds Collide - Chapter 4
Two Worlds Collide
Authors: amalious & paradigm_twist
Chapters: 4 of 20
Pairing: Eunhyuk/Henry
Rating: PG-13
Genre: School!AU
Summary: Two people. Two worlds. Same goal. Same dream. Their similarities lay in their differences. They just don't know it yet.
A/N: More info about the collaboration fic here.
1 | 2 | 3
Chapter 4
Hyukjae sighed as he stared at the text he had just received from Siwon.
From: Siwon 10:58am
Hyukjae-ah! Could you get 4 cups of Americano on your way back from the store? Heechul-hyung and Kyuhyunnie just showed up :)
He tucked his phone back into his front pocket as he continued to push the shopping cart along the aisle. Truthfully, he never understood why this place was called a convenience store. A convenience store reminded him of 7-11. This place felt more like a grocery store or a mini hypermarket to be even considered as a convenience store. Because really. Who needs to push carts in a convenience store? The little ironies in life amused him to no end.
Checking through the shopping list one last time, he headed towards the cashier to pay for his shopping. At least this week's shopping list was pretty short. Trying to perform a balancing act with four cups of steaming hot Americano and bags of groceries was not how he planned on spending his Saturday morning. In fact, if he had his way, he wouldn't have made this shopping trip till after lunch or late afternoon. It was just his luck that their damn neighbour across his room had decided to sing out loud while doing her laundry. So what if it was 9am in the morning? Haven't these people ever heard of sleeping-in? It was a Saturday for crying out loud.
At least one good thing came out of the entire ordeal. He got to meet Henry on his way down to the store. Henry. He thought with a slight grin as he paid for his shopping and carried the two bags out the door. Now he actually had a name to attach to that interesting high school student he saw every Wednesday. He would have tried picking up the name if someone actually called out for him. But since Hyukjae was the only one who seemed to know that he was a high school student hiding out in a university lecture, the chances of him ever finding out his name without a proper introduction was nil.
As he walked into the cafe that was a block from the convenience store, he couldn't help but noticed the "HELP WANTED" sign that was hanging in front of the door. Maybe he should try applying for it. It was about time that he got a job anyway. He was already into his second year and had learned how to balance and deal with his university workload. Having extra pocket money never hurt anyone. Having made up his mind, he stood in line and waited idly for his turn. He wondered what had brought Heechul and Kyuhyun to their apartment on a Saturday morning. These people weren't exactly known for being morning people after all.
"Good morning. What can I get you today?" A cheery voice interrupted his inner musings.
Hyukjae snapped out of his thoughts and found himself staring at a really tall cashier with a wide grin and black hair that was tinged maroon. He had a pair of black squared rimmed glasses perched on his slightly large nose. On closer inspection, he realized that the glasses were merely a fashion accessory rather than a necessity. But instead of coming off looking frivolous, it had looked surprisingly good on the man.
"Can I get 4 regular Americano to go please?"
"Sure." A few taps on the computer screen. "That will be 36000 won please."
As Hyukjae paid the cashier, he decided to take the plunge.
"Actually. I just saw your "HELP WANTED" sign on my way in. I was wondering if the job is still available?"
The lanky cashier looked up as he counted the change he held in his palm.
"Yes it is. But our manager isn't in for the weekend. Could you just leave your name and number so that he can call you back about the job?" The cashier answered with another dazzling smile.
"Sure." Hyukjae tilted his head a little and squinted. "Zhou Mi-sshi? Just let me get a paper a-" His words were cut short by the paper and pen handed over by the cashier.
"Here you go." His grin stretching wider as he nudged the pen and paper across the counter.
Hyukjae laughed a little before picking up the pen and started writing down his name and phone number.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you're trying to pick me up." Hyukjae said with a chuckle as he handed the pen and paper over once he had finished writing down his details.
"Would you be surprised if I answered yes?" The lanky man replied with an amused glint in his eyes. "Anyway, the manager's name is Kim Jongwoon and he'd probably call you by Monday morning. Good luck with the interview!" Mi said with a wave as he welcomed the next customer after Hyukjae.
Hyukjae chuckled as he left the cafe with the tray of hot coffee. Despite the rough start in the morning, this day seemed to be turning out better and better.
Shaking the remnants of the encounter in the cafe from his mind, Hyukjae leisurely walked back to his apartment building. It was one of those rare autumn days where the sun still shone brightly, with the light breeze lingering in the air. The trees planted along the sidewalk were still shedding some of their leaves as they danced teasingly together with the breeze before settling down gently on the ground. Splattered with red and orange, the streets looked like they were lit up by a warm flame. Hyukjae wondered if Henry's run was as enjoyable as his walk back to the apartment. The warm colours of the autumn day would be relaxing and calming to look at as one ran, easy on the eyes before the world would be blanketed by the colourless dull winter. And the cool temperature was just perfect: not too hot, but not too chilly either.
Hyukjae's lips gave a slight twitch as he thought about the boy. He was feeling a little panicked and disappointed when he realized that the boy hasn't shown up for class on Wednesday after executing his 'fool-proof' plan of showing up just five minutes before lecture started. It was then that he realized what the flaw was in his plan and mentally smacked himself: it could only work if the boy had actually shown up for class. The mild panic attacks only started once the lecture had started. What if the first words he had spoken to Henry that morning had scared him off? While they might have exchanged friendly smiles before, it hadn't actually gotten to the point where they were exchanging mindless chatter. Heck, he didn't even know what the boy name was, nicknaming him 'The High School Kid' in his head while Sungmin had nicknamed the boy 'Hyukjae's pedo experiment' every time he mentioned the boy. He should have known better than to confide something like this to a sociology major. They tend to twist things around a lot.
Walking into the lobby of the apartment building, he had half-hoped that Henry would somehow be done with his run and they would be taking the elevator up together. But he shook his head at that fanciful thought. It had only been 45 minutes since they last saw each other. He doubted that he would have finished his run by then. If Siwon was any indicator, he probably wouldn't be done for at least another hour or so. So instead of sharing the elevator with the brown-haired school boy, he had found himself standing in the cramped space with the old lady who owned that freaky Persian cat on the second floor. Seeing the cat up close was creepy to say the least. It looked like it wanted to jump right onto Hyukjae and scratched his eyeballs out at the slightest movement that Hyukjae made. He didn't realize he was holding his breath until the owner and the freaky cat had walked out of the elevator when it reached the second floor with its soft 'ding'. This was why he never wanted to take the stairs. That cat freaked him out a lot even from afar. And after seeing its owner, he had a fair understanding why the cat was bought. Like owner like cat.
Exiting at the fourth floor, he made his way towards his apartment, fishing for his keys in his pockets, all the while mentally preparing himself for the two weirdos that were his friends. He still couldn't understand how a person like Siwon could be friends with a person like Heechul and doted on someone like Kyuhyun. It was one of life's mysteries he would always try to solve endlessly if he was a philosophy student. Thank God he wasn't. Otherwise he would have to get a doctor's prescription to treat those constant major migraines.
"YAH. LEE HYUKJAE. It's about time you came back. What took you so long to bring me my coffee?"
Hyukjae sighed as he walked into kitchen and laid down the groceries, rubbing his temples as he went along. Heechul walked into the kitchen and promptly gave him a smack on the back of his head.
"Yah. Don't make me repeat myself."
Suppressing the urge to groan, he turned around and flashed what he hoped was a winning smile towards Heechul.
"I was at the store when Siwon texted me. And I was applying a job at the cafe since they had a job vacancy. Thought I might give it a shot." Hyukjae replied, handing over one of the coffee cups to Heechul before turning around and started putting the groceries away.
"Since when did you decide that you wanted to get a job?" Another voice asked from behind Heechul.
Turning his head away from the fridge, he found Siwon reaching for both of the coffee cups sitting on the table, before handing one of them over to a sleepy looking Kyuhyun who trailed into the kitchen last.
"Since I saw the 'HELP WANTED' sign when I was heading into the cafe." Hyukjae answered, finally done with the groceries. "Got a problem with that?"
Siwon raised his right hand, as if trying to push those words back towards Hyukjae with his hand. "Of course not. Just thought you'd share with your housemate about life-changing decisions before actually making them. So did you get the job?"
Hyukjae shook his head. "The manager wasn't in so I just left with my name and number with the cashier. He told me that the manager would call me on Monday morning to schedule an interview."
"Well I hope you don't get the job. Because you'll mix up a lot of order just like what you just did with mine." Heechul scowled. "What the hell did you just give me?" Heechul demanded with a glare.
Hyukjae raised his hands in defense and took two steps away from Heechul. "Your support warms me hyung. But it's not my fault. Siwon texted me and told me to get four cups of Americano. Which speaking of which, all of you now owe me 9000 won each for the coffee."
Heechul immediately turned out and started raining punches on Siwon's arm.
"What the hell you stupid horse? I wanted coffee with liquor in it. Not some stupid American sorry excuse for coffee. If I wanted black coffee, I'd have gotten some dark roast with quality Brazilian beans. Not this diluted crap. I. WANT. MY. JAMAICAN. COFFEE." Heechul huffed, menace dripping heavily over his words, each word punctuated with a sharp jab at Siwon's chest.
"Hyung. Would you please just shut up? I didn't let you drag me out of bed and all the way from our apartment, running on four hours of sleep just to hear you bitch more. If I wanted that, I'd have just stayed in bed and ignored you." Kyuhyun interrupted with a roll of his eyes.
"It's your own fault for planning stupid matches with people across the globe. Why can't you find a nice team here in South Korea where the whole world knows is filled with professional pro-gamer champions is something I'd never understand." Heechul shot back as he took another disdainful sip of his coffee.
Hyukjae figured that now was the perfect opportunity to interrupt the starting of a pretty nasty cat fight. They really didn't need more brownie points deducted from them by the landlord after what happened the last time that Siwon didn't managed to stop them in time.
"So what exactly brought you two sunshine here to our humble abode anyway? On a Saturday morning too no less." Hyukjae asked.
"Why monkey? Got a dirty little secret you don't want anyone to know?" Heechul smirked while Kyuhyun scowled at the side, clearly irritated that he just lost the chance to rile Heechul up even further.
"If his secret involves a certain high school kid with squinty eyes, it's a very boring secret. Though I suppose the high school part might hint at the dirty part." A teasing voice supplied.
Everyone turned around and greeted the newcomer with nods while Hyukjae looked on, mildly outrage.
"For the last time Min-hyung, LET. IT. GO." Hyukjae hissed.
Sungmin merely brushed off his words as if they were dust lingering on his shoulder as he joined the cramped kitchen space and leaned on the table.
"And that must be my coffee. Thank you Siwon!" Sungmin beamed as he took a sip of the warm drink, shuddering slightly as he savoured the taste. "Still hot. Lovely change from that blasted chilly wind outside."
"And that is 9000 won you owe me for coffee. You still owe me lunch from Wednesday hyung!" Hyukjae said bitingly.
"What is this about high school kid? You're not a closet pedo are you Hyukjae-ah? I expected much more from you." Heechul snickered.
Siwon patted Heechul's shoulder before Hyukjae had a chance to retort. "It's just this kid that lives in this apartment building. Hyukjae sees him every Wednesday on his way out to his 9am lecture. It's no big deal." He emphasized.
"You take the fun out of everything Siwon. This is why I had to move out." Heechul said with a huff.
"And here we were, thinking that it was Kyuhyun's charming personality and stellar fashion sense that prompted you to leave." Sungmin teased.
"Ugh. Please don't mention the clothes. Yah Cho Kyuhyun. You'd think that after living with me for almost two months, you'd have absorbed some sense of style through osmosis or something." Heechul glared at the youngest in the kitchen, clearly offended by the choice of clothes he had chose to wear today.
Hyukjae ran a critical eye over Kyuhyun's outfit. He was wearing an oversized black fuzzy sweater, paired with a pair of faded blue jeans, brown hair a little wild with rampant curls. Compared to Heechul, who was sporting a fashionable dark blue coat over a purple shirt, matching them with a pair of bright red pants and studded black fingerless gloves and a small braid in his raven locks, Kyuhyun looked like he was a lost sheep in the midst of all that shapeless fuzziness.
"If you can invent some sort of fashion serum and inject it into my bloodstream, I would have no doubt be the next Captain America with better fashion sense." Kyuhyun replied deadpanned, obviously used to Heechul's rants about his clothes.
"When we get back, I'm going to donate all your clothes to charity. You're going to give me your credit card, and I'm dragging you to Myeongdong to shop at SPAO or something. Polos are still better than whatever is it you think you're wearing right now." Heechul waved his free hand with traces of agitation. Though Hyukjae didn't miss the soft look of resignation in Heechul's eyes. He snickered slightly. Who knew Heechul had a soft spot for the baby?
Hearing the snicker, Heechul whipped his head back and flashed Hyukjae a contemplative look. Hyukjae, feeling uncomfortable under his steady gaze, squirmed a little internally before involuntarily reaching out to smack Heechul lightly on the arm, in a vain attempt to stop Heechul from staring at him like that.
Instead of smacking him back like Hyukjae had expected, Heechul merely broke into another one of his infamous smirk and laid his elbows on the table, one hand holding onto to his coffee cup, the other hand tapping his chin gently.
"So. Care to tell us more about your new boy toy?"
Hyukjae groaned.
"God damn it Lee Sungmin. I hate you."
Said person only laughed in that annoying cute way of his that seemed to draw in more sighs of adoration than actual contempt. "I love you too Hyukkie."
Hyukjae banged his head on his table before looking up. Staring at the expectant looks of the other four occupants standing in the kitchen, he knew that he won't be able to wheedle out of this one that easy this time. He sighed.
"His name is Henry and he lives on the seventh floor. My guess is that he's an only child since I've never seen him with anyone else heading out to school when I see him every Wednesday morning. Other than the fact that he sneaks into my Korean Society and Culture lecture at 3pm every Wednesday afternoon, I know absolutely nothing about him."
Siwon raised his eyebrows. "Henry. Is that his name? How do you know that anyway?"
"I ran into him when I was heading out to the store earlier. Decided to take the stairs since the elevator was taking too long. Nearly had an accident because he was running down the stairs. We talked. Exchanged our names. I went off shopping. He went for a run. The end." Hyukjae ended with a flourish, arms wide open as if it was a dramatic ending.
"So you have no idea which school he goes to or where is he from?" Kyuhyun questioned.
"Nope. I only know he's a high school student because he's been wearing the school uniform when I see him in the morning. His bag strap covered the badge quite well. And I'm guessing he might be from out of town because his accent is a little heavy." Hyukjae explained.
"What does he look like?" Heechul inquired, with a look in his eye that gave Hyukjae a sense of foreboding.
"Taller than Hyukjae. Brown hair. Small eyes. A little on the thin side." Siwon listed off his fingers. "Also cute as a button." Siwon added as an afterthought.
Sungmin snickered behind his cup of coffee. "Figured that Hyukjae would target the innocent looking gullible ones."
"I think it's more likely that the tables would turn on Hyukjae-hyung. The height advantage is already a good start." Kyuhyun reasoned.
Hyukjae threw his hands up in defeat. "Could we please just drop it? I am just trying to be friendly with our neighbours. Something that you didn't even bother to do when you lived here." Hyukjae said, finger pointing accusingly at Heechul.
"Why bother? I'm already a winner at life." Heechul said with a shrug.
Hyukjae groaned again before banging his head on the table again. Seriously. Why was he even friends with any one of these insufferable idiots?
"As of this very second, I am ignoring every single one of you and staying in my room to study. The next two weeks is hell week and unlike some people, the rest of us have to study." Hyukjae ground out before storming out of the kitchen.
He didn't missed the raucous laughter that followed his leave and fervently prayed that somehow, in some miracle, this whole Henry matter would drop by the time the new school week started.
He really doubted that.
---
Wednesday morning. The seventh one since their first meeting.
Hyukjae had gotten up in the morning, feeling more awake and refreshed than he had ever felt since autumn had abruptly made its presence known. After their accidental meeting and conversation on Saturday morning, he was looking forward to seeing Henry even more than he did before. After living here with only Siwon and the landlord for company for the last four months, it was nice to have someone else for company here in this place.
Nerves drumming with excitement, he waited for the elevator to reach his floor as he shuffled his feet.
Ding.
He looked up expectantly when the door opened and was feeling a little surprise at the newest occupant in the elevator.
"Hi Hyukjae hyung!" Henry said brightly.
"Hi Henry." He smiled in return as he stepped in to the elevator.
He must be staring quite intently at the newcomer when Henry interrupted his reverie.
"Haven't you seen a guitar case before hyung?" Henry asked, amusement evident in his voice.
Hyukjae looked away from the sleek black guitar case and blushed. "I'm trying to figure out why would someone be carrying a guitar case after seven weeks of only carrying a school bag." Of all days that he decided not to read.
Henry chuckled. "I was about to ask you the same thing. What happened to your book?"
"Thought I'd talk to this interesting person I see every Wednesday instead." Hyukjae replied, mentally slapping himself for depriving himself out of his only defense. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. He chanted in his head.
"So what theories have you come up with?" Henry asked, interrupting his internal self-sacrificial ceremony.
"Uh. Either you have a girl you want to impress. Or you have a music exam today." Hyukjae replied distractedly, still intent on berating himself internally, before realizing what he just blurted out.
Henry must have missed his embarrassing reaction because he was smiling and stroking his guitar case lightly. "Good guess. I'm having an exam today. The guitar is the accompaniment to the song I picked."
"No girls huh?"
Henry shook his head. "Let's just say that the girls in my school are not my type."
Hyukjae frowned a little. Well that cast a really wide web. What was wrong with the girls at Henry's school?
The elevator let out a soft 'ding', signaling their arrival at the ground floor. Henry picked up his guitar case as he made his way out ahead of Hyukjae. Hyukjae blinked his eyes for a second before hurrying out to catch up with Henry.
"Hey. Do you want a ride to school? A friend is driving me. I'm sure he won't mind dropping you at school on the way." Hyukjae blurted out.
Henry froze at the question before turning around to face Hyukjae with an unreadable look. He saw a flash of internal conflict reflected in Henry's eyes before he hid them.
"It's ok hyung. School isn't that far away. The bus is fine." Henry finally replied after a long awkward pause.
Hyukjae scratched his shirt sleeve, trying to erase the slight disappointment before realization dawned on him. Oh. I don't think he realizes that I know that he's a high school student. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
"Alright. I'll see you at class later ok? You are going to class later right?" Hyukjae asked, feeling a little unsure. The exam could be held after school. It was likely since music exams tend to take a long time.
Henry nodded and smiled, bringing in a wave of relief along with it.
"Ok. Good luck with your exam. Fighting!" Hyukjae grinned before running out of the apartment building. Damn if he was not late. Siwon was so going to nag at him about his time management skills again.
But even the impending lecture could not deter him away from the skittering joy coming from learning more about Henry. He could almost feel the fragile beginning of a new friendship as he watched Henry walked towards the bus stop, arms cradling his guitar case gently.
---
Hyukjae walked into class five minutes before lecture started. He pumped his fist in victory in his mind when his previous plan had worked. Henry was sitting by himself at his usual spot at the back of the lecture hall. He quickened his pace just a little, this time passing by his usual spot and moving towards Henry.
"Hello. Is this seat taken?" Hyukjae asked with a wide smile.
"Yes. I'm waiting for a certain blond hyung to come." Henry teased.
They both laughed as Hyukjae pulled out the chair and sat down. He took out his notebook and pencil from his bag and set down on the table before turning his head around to stare at Henry.
Seeing the black guitar case from this morning, he asked. "So how did your exam go today? Was it good?"
Henry smiled and nodded. "I did ok. I made a few mistakes but it was still alright."
Hyukjae hummed in response. "My best friend plays the guitar too. I should introduce you two the next time. He's pretty good at it too. He's just too modest to admit it."
Henry's eyes brighten up. "Really? That'd be really nice Hyukjae hyung. Do you play any instruments?"
Hyukjae picked up a pencil and started twirling it. "Not really. I only know to play the piano. Just a little though. I'm not really good at it. I'm better with my words."
Henry looked as if he wanted to reply but just then, the lights in the lecture hall dimmed signaling the beginning of the lecture.
When it finally ended, they started to pack their things in silence before walking out of the lecture hall together.
This time, it was Henry who spoke up.
"Hyung. Are you going home now?"
Hyukjae shook his head a little before replying. "I have some things to do before going to an appointment." He said, feeling a little apologetic at the crestfallen expression on Henry's face.
"Oh. Ok. I'll just go home by myself then. See you next week?" Henry said, looking a little disappointed.
Hyukjae reached out and patted his shoulder. "Or earlier if we happened to bump into each other again." He said, hoping his words would alleviate the sad look on Henry's face.
Henry nodded silently. "Bye hyung." He said softly before turning to leave.
Hyukjae remained rooted on the spot as he watched Henry's back slowly shrink before disappearing from his sight. He sighed. He would love to go home together with Henry if it wasn't for the pile of assignments that demanded to be written.
That and he had an appointment with a certain Kim Jongwoon later. Just as Zhou Mi said, the manager had called him on Monday morning to schedule an appointment on Wednesday evening. He didn't gave much details about the job description on the phone but Hyukjae figured he could just ask later during the interview.
He took a deep breath and exhaled. Adjusting the strap of his backpack on his shoulder, he made his way towards the Arts Library, directing his focus and attention towards the sky high pile of assignments, letting the image of Henry's retreating back sit quietly at the back of his mind.
---
A/N: OTL I am so sorry for the one day delay in posting this. I had to scrap my original because I didn't like how it ended. Quick notes to point out: Heechul's outfit is the one taken from SJ's Superman comeback on Inkigayo seen here. And also, yes. Hyukjae thinks Henry is Korean. Thus, all of their conversations have been in Korean.
IMPORTANT: As amalious's workload has increased quite a bit, there is a chance that this week's update would be late. Just a heads up for anyone wondering.
Cross-posted at my_prection and sapphiresuju.
Authors: amalious & paradigm_twist
Chapters: 4 of 20
Pairing: Eunhyuk/Henry
Rating: PG-13
Genre: School!AU
Summary: Two people. Two worlds. Same goal. Same dream. Their similarities lay in their differences. They just don't know it yet.
A/N: More info about the collaboration fic here.
1 | 2 | 3
Chapter 4
Hyukjae sighed as he stared at the text he had just received from Siwon.
From: Siwon 10:58am
Hyukjae-ah! Could you get 4 cups of Americano on your way back from the store? Heechul-hyung and Kyuhyunnie just showed up :)
He tucked his phone back into his front pocket as he continued to push the shopping cart along the aisle. Truthfully, he never understood why this place was called a convenience store. A convenience store reminded him of 7-11. This place felt more like a grocery store or a mini hypermarket to be even considered as a convenience store. Because really. Who needs to push carts in a convenience store? The little ironies in life amused him to no end.
Checking through the shopping list one last time, he headed towards the cashier to pay for his shopping. At least this week's shopping list was pretty short. Trying to perform a balancing act with four cups of steaming hot Americano and bags of groceries was not how he planned on spending his Saturday morning. In fact, if he had his way, he wouldn't have made this shopping trip till after lunch or late afternoon. It was just his luck that their damn neighbour across his room had decided to sing out loud while doing her laundry. So what if it was 9am in the morning? Haven't these people ever heard of sleeping-in? It was a Saturday for crying out loud.
At least one good thing came out of the entire ordeal. He got to meet Henry on his way down to the store. Henry. He thought with a slight grin as he paid for his shopping and carried the two bags out the door. Now he actually had a name to attach to that interesting high school student he saw every Wednesday. He would have tried picking up the name if someone actually called out for him. But since Hyukjae was the only one who seemed to know that he was a high school student hiding out in a university lecture, the chances of him ever finding out his name without a proper introduction was nil.
As he walked into the cafe that was a block from the convenience store, he couldn't help but noticed the "HELP WANTED" sign that was hanging in front of the door. Maybe he should try applying for it. It was about time that he got a job anyway. He was already into his second year and had learned how to balance and deal with his university workload. Having extra pocket money never hurt anyone. Having made up his mind, he stood in line and waited idly for his turn. He wondered what had brought Heechul and Kyuhyun to their apartment on a Saturday morning. These people weren't exactly known for being morning people after all.
"Good morning. What can I get you today?" A cheery voice interrupted his inner musings.
Hyukjae snapped out of his thoughts and found himself staring at a really tall cashier with a wide grin and black hair that was tinged maroon. He had a pair of black squared rimmed glasses perched on his slightly large nose. On closer inspection, he realized that the glasses were merely a fashion accessory rather than a necessity. But instead of coming off looking frivolous, it had looked surprisingly good on the man.
"Can I get 4 regular Americano to go please?"
"Sure." A few taps on the computer screen. "That will be 36000 won please."
As Hyukjae paid the cashier, he decided to take the plunge.
"Actually. I just saw your "HELP WANTED" sign on my way in. I was wondering if the job is still available?"
The lanky cashier looked up as he counted the change he held in his palm.
"Yes it is. But our manager isn't in for the weekend. Could you just leave your name and number so that he can call you back about the job?" The cashier answered with another dazzling smile.
"Sure." Hyukjae tilted his head a little and squinted. "Zhou Mi-sshi? Just let me get a paper a-" His words were cut short by the paper and pen handed over by the cashier.
"Here you go." His grin stretching wider as he nudged the pen and paper across the counter.
Hyukjae laughed a little before picking up the pen and started writing down his name and phone number.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you're trying to pick me up." Hyukjae said with a chuckle as he handed the pen and paper over once he had finished writing down his details.
"Would you be surprised if I answered yes?" The lanky man replied with an amused glint in his eyes. "Anyway, the manager's name is Kim Jongwoon and he'd probably call you by Monday morning. Good luck with the interview!" Mi said with a wave as he welcomed the next customer after Hyukjae.
Hyukjae chuckled as he left the cafe with the tray of hot coffee. Despite the rough start in the morning, this day seemed to be turning out better and better.
Shaking the remnants of the encounter in the cafe from his mind, Hyukjae leisurely walked back to his apartment building. It was one of those rare autumn days where the sun still shone brightly, with the light breeze lingering in the air. The trees planted along the sidewalk were still shedding some of their leaves as they danced teasingly together with the breeze before settling down gently on the ground. Splattered with red and orange, the streets looked like they were lit up by a warm flame. Hyukjae wondered if Henry's run was as enjoyable as his walk back to the apartment. The warm colours of the autumn day would be relaxing and calming to look at as one ran, easy on the eyes before the world would be blanketed by the colourless dull winter. And the cool temperature was just perfect: not too hot, but not too chilly either.
Hyukjae's lips gave a slight twitch as he thought about the boy. He was feeling a little panicked and disappointed when he realized that the boy hasn't shown up for class on Wednesday after executing his 'fool-proof' plan of showing up just five minutes before lecture started. It was then that he realized what the flaw was in his plan and mentally smacked himself: it could only work if the boy had actually shown up for class. The mild panic attacks only started once the lecture had started. What if the first words he had spoken to Henry that morning had scared him off? While they might have exchanged friendly smiles before, it hadn't actually gotten to the point where they were exchanging mindless chatter. Heck, he didn't even know what the boy name was, nicknaming him 'The High School Kid' in his head while Sungmin had nicknamed the boy 'Hyukjae's pedo experiment' every time he mentioned the boy. He should have known better than to confide something like this to a sociology major. They tend to twist things around a lot.
Walking into the lobby of the apartment building, he had half-hoped that Henry would somehow be done with his run and they would be taking the elevator up together. But he shook his head at that fanciful thought. It had only been 45 minutes since they last saw each other. He doubted that he would have finished his run by then. If Siwon was any indicator, he probably wouldn't be done for at least another hour or so. So instead of sharing the elevator with the brown-haired school boy, he had found himself standing in the cramped space with the old lady who owned that freaky Persian cat on the second floor. Seeing the cat up close was creepy to say the least. It looked like it wanted to jump right onto Hyukjae and scratched his eyeballs out at the slightest movement that Hyukjae made. He didn't realize he was holding his breath until the owner and the freaky cat had walked out of the elevator when it reached the second floor with its soft 'ding'. This was why he never wanted to take the stairs. That cat freaked him out a lot even from afar. And after seeing its owner, he had a fair understanding why the cat was bought. Like owner like cat.
Exiting at the fourth floor, he made his way towards his apartment, fishing for his keys in his pockets, all the while mentally preparing himself for the two weirdos that were his friends. He still couldn't understand how a person like Siwon could be friends with a person like Heechul and doted on someone like Kyuhyun. It was one of life's mysteries he would always try to solve endlessly if he was a philosophy student. Thank God he wasn't. Otherwise he would have to get a doctor's prescription to treat those constant major migraines.
"YAH. LEE HYUKJAE. It's about time you came back. What took you so long to bring me my coffee?"
Hyukjae sighed as he walked into kitchen and laid down the groceries, rubbing his temples as he went along. Heechul walked into the kitchen and promptly gave him a smack on the back of his head.
"Yah. Don't make me repeat myself."
Suppressing the urge to groan, he turned around and flashed what he hoped was a winning smile towards Heechul.
"I was at the store when Siwon texted me. And I was applying a job at the cafe since they had a job vacancy. Thought I might give it a shot." Hyukjae replied, handing over one of the coffee cups to Heechul before turning around and started putting the groceries away.
"Since when did you decide that you wanted to get a job?" Another voice asked from behind Heechul.
Turning his head away from the fridge, he found Siwon reaching for both of the coffee cups sitting on the table, before handing one of them over to a sleepy looking Kyuhyun who trailed into the kitchen last.
"Since I saw the 'HELP WANTED' sign when I was heading into the cafe." Hyukjae answered, finally done with the groceries. "Got a problem with that?"
Siwon raised his right hand, as if trying to push those words back towards Hyukjae with his hand. "Of course not. Just thought you'd share with your housemate about life-changing decisions before actually making them. So did you get the job?"
Hyukjae shook his head. "The manager wasn't in so I just left with my name and number with the cashier. He told me that the manager would call me on Monday morning to schedule an interview."
"Well I hope you don't get the job. Because you'll mix up a lot of order just like what you just did with mine." Heechul scowled. "What the hell did you just give me?" Heechul demanded with a glare.
Hyukjae raised his hands in defense and took two steps away from Heechul. "Your support warms me hyung. But it's not my fault. Siwon texted me and told me to get four cups of Americano. Which speaking of which, all of you now owe me 9000 won each for the coffee."
Heechul immediately turned out and started raining punches on Siwon's arm.
"What the hell you stupid horse? I wanted coffee with liquor in it. Not some stupid American sorry excuse for coffee. If I wanted black coffee, I'd have gotten some dark roast with quality Brazilian beans. Not this diluted crap. I. WANT. MY. JAMAICAN. COFFEE." Heechul huffed, menace dripping heavily over his words, each word punctuated with a sharp jab at Siwon's chest.
"Hyung. Would you please just shut up? I didn't let you drag me out of bed and all the way from our apartment, running on four hours of sleep just to hear you bitch more. If I wanted that, I'd have just stayed in bed and ignored you." Kyuhyun interrupted with a roll of his eyes.
"It's your own fault for planning stupid matches with people across the globe. Why can't you find a nice team here in South Korea where the whole world knows is filled with professional pro-gamer champions is something I'd never understand." Heechul shot back as he took another disdainful sip of his coffee.
Hyukjae figured that now was the perfect opportunity to interrupt the starting of a pretty nasty cat fight. They really didn't need more brownie points deducted from them by the landlord after what happened the last time that Siwon didn't managed to stop them in time.
"So what exactly brought you two sunshine here to our humble abode anyway? On a Saturday morning too no less." Hyukjae asked.
"Why monkey? Got a dirty little secret you don't want anyone to know?" Heechul smirked while Kyuhyun scowled at the side, clearly irritated that he just lost the chance to rile Heechul up even further.
"If his secret involves a certain high school kid with squinty eyes, it's a very boring secret. Though I suppose the high school part might hint at the dirty part." A teasing voice supplied.
Everyone turned around and greeted the newcomer with nods while Hyukjae looked on, mildly outrage.
"For the last time Min-hyung, LET. IT. GO." Hyukjae hissed.
Sungmin merely brushed off his words as if they were dust lingering on his shoulder as he joined the cramped kitchen space and leaned on the table.
"And that must be my coffee. Thank you Siwon!" Sungmin beamed as he took a sip of the warm drink, shuddering slightly as he savoured the taste. "Still hot. Lovely change from that blasted chilly wind outside."
"And that is 9000 won you owe me for coffee. You still owe me lunch from Wednesday hyung!" Hyukjae said bitingly.
"What is this about high school kid? You're not a closet pedo are you Hyukjae-ah? I expected much more from you." Heechul snickered.
Siwon patted Heechul's shoulder before Hyukjae had a chance to retort. "It's just this kid that lives in this apartment building. Hyukjae sees him every Wednesday on his way out to his 9am lecture. It's no big deal." He emphasized.
"You take the fun out of everything Siwon. This is why I had to move out." Heechul said with a huff.
"And here we were, thinking that it was Kyuhyun's charming personality and stellar fashion sense that prompted you to leave." Sungmin teased.
"Ugh. Please don't mention the clothes. Yah Cho Kyuhyun. You'd think that after living with me for almost two months, you'd have absorbed some sense of style through osmosis or something." Heechul glared at the youngest in the kitchen, clearly offended by the choice of clothes he had chose to wear today.
Hyukjae ran a critical eye over Kyuhyun's outfit. He was wearing an oversized black fuzzy sweater, paired with a pair of faded blue jeans, brown hair a little wild with rampant curls. Compared to Heechul, who was sporting a fashionable dark blue coat over a purple shirt, matching them with a pair of bright red pants and studded black fingerless gloves and a small braid in his raven locks, Kyuhyun looked like he was a lost sheep in the midst of all that shapeless fuzziness.
"If you can invent some sort of fashion serum and inject it into my bloodstream, I would have no doubt be the next Captain America with better fashion sense." Kyuhyun replied deadpanned, obviously used to Heechul's rants about his clothes.
"When we get back, I'm going to donate all your clothes to charity. You're going to give me your credit card, and I'm dragging you to Myeongdong to shop at SPAO or something. Polos are still better than whatever is it you think you're wearing right now." Heechul waved his free hand with traces of agitation. Though Hyukjae didn't miss the soft look of resignation in Heechul's eyes. He snickered slightly. Who knew Heechul had a soft spot for the baby?
Hearing the snicker, Heechul whipped his head back and flashed Hyukjae a contemplative look. Hyukjae, feeling uncomfortable under his steady gaze, squirmed a little internally before involuntarily reaching out to smack Heechul lightly on the arm, in a vain attempt to stop Heechul from staring at him like that.
Instead of smacking him back like Hyukjae had expected, Heechul merely broke into another one of his infamous smirk and laid his elbows on the table, one hand holding onto to his coffee cup, the other hand tapping his chin gently.
"So. Care to tell us more about your new boy toy?"
Hyukjae groaned.
"God damn it Lee Sungmin. I hate you."
Said person only laughed in that annoying cute way of his that seemed to draw in more sighs of adoration than actual contempt. "I love you too Hyukkie."
Hyukjae banged his head on his table before looking up. Staring at the expectant looks of the other four occupants standing in the kitchen, he knew that he won't be able to wheedle out of this one that easy this time. He sighed.
"His name is Henry and he lives on the seventh floor. My guess is that he's an only child since I've never seen him with anyone else heading out to school when I see him every Wednesday morning. Other than the fact that he sneaks into my Korean Society and Culture lecture at 3pm every Wednesday afternoon, I know absolutely nothing about him."
Siwon raised his eyebrows. "Henry. Is that his name? How do you know that anyway?"
"I ran into him when I was heading out to the store earlier. Decided to take the stairs since the elevator was taking too long. Nearly had an accident because he was running down the stairs. We talked. Exchanged our names. I went off shopping. He went for a run. The end." Hyukjae ended with a flourish, arms wide open as if it was a dramatic ending.
"So you have no idea which school he goes to or where is he from?" Kyuhyun questioned.
"Nope. I only know he's a high school student because he's been wearing the school uniform when I see him in the morning. His bag strap covered the badge quite well. And I'm guessing he might be from out of town because his accent is a little heavy." Hyukjae explained.
"What does he look like?" Heechul inquired, with a look in his eye that gave Hyukjae a sense of foreboding.
"Taller than Hyukjae. Brown hair. Small eyes. A little on the thin side." Siwon listed off his fingers. "Also cute as a button." Siwon added as an afterthought.
Sungmin snickered behind his cup of coffee. "Figured that Hyukjae would target the innocent looking gullible ones."
"I think it's more likely that the tables would turn on Hyukjae-hyung. The height advantage is already a good start." Kyuhyun reasoned.
Hyukjae threw his hands up in defeat. "Could we please just drop it? I am just trying to be friendly with our neighbours. Something that you didn't even bother to do when you lived here." Hyukjae said, finger pointing accusingly at Heechul.
"Why bother? I'm already a winner at life." Heechul said with a shrug.
Hyukjae groaned again before banging his head on the table again. Seriously. Why was he even friends with any one of these insufferable idiots?
"As of this very second, I am ignoring every single one of you and staying in my room to study. The next two weeks is hell week and unlike some people, the rest of us have to study." Hyukjae ground out before storming out of the kitchen.
He didn't missed the raucous laughter that followed his leave and fervently prayed that somehow, in some miracle, this whole Henry matter would drop by the time the new school week started.
He really doubted that.
---
Wednesday morning. The seventh one since their first meeting.
Hyukjae had gotten up in the morning, feeling more awake and refreshed than he had ever felt since autumn had abruptly made its presence known. After their accidental meeting and conversation on Saturday morning, he was looking forward to seeing Henry even more than he did before. After living here with only Siwon and the landlord for company for the last four months, it was nice to have someone else for company here in this place.
Nerves drumming with excitement, he waited for the elevator to reach his floor as he shuffled his feet.
Ding.
He looked up expectantly when the door opened and was feeling a little surprise at the newest occupant in the elevator.
"Hi Hyukjae hyung!" Henry said brightly.
"Hi Henry." He smiled in return as he stepped in to the elevator.
He must be staring quite intently at the newcomer when Henry interrupted his reverie.
"Haven't you seen a guitar case before hyung?" Henry asked, amusement evident in his voice.
Hyukjae looked away from the sleek black guitar case and blushed. "I'm trying to figure out why would someone be carrying a guitar case after seven weeks of only carrying a school bag." Of all days that he decided not to read.
Henry chuckled. "I was about to ask you the same thing. What happened to your book?"
"Thought I'd talk to this interesting person I see every Wednesday instead." Hyukjae replied, mentally slapping himself for depriving himself out of his only defense. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. He chanted in his head.
"So what theories have you come up with?" Henry asked, interrupting his internal self-sacrificial ceremony.
"Uh. Either you have a girl you want to impress. Or you have a music exam today." Hyukjae replied distractedly, still intent on berating himself internally, before realizing what he just blurted out.
Henry must have missed his embarrassing reaction because he was smiling and stroking his guitar case lightly. "Good guess. I'm having an exam today. The guitar is the accompaniment to the song I picked."
"No girls huh?"
Henry shook his head. "Let's just say that the girls in my school are not my type."
Hyukjae frowned a little. Well that cast a really wide web. What was wrong with the girls at Henry's school?
The elevator let out a soft 'ding', signaling their arrival at the ground floor. Henry picked up his guitar case as he made his way out ahead of Hyukjae. Hyukjae blinked his eyes for a second before hurrying out to catch up with Henry.
"Hey. Do you want a ride to school? A friend is driving me. I'm sure he won't mind dropping you at school on the way." Hyukjae blurted out.
Henry froze at the question before turning around to face Hyukjae with an unreadable look. He saw a flash of internal conflict reflected in Henry's eyes before he hid them.
"It's ok hyung. School isn't that far away. The bus is fine." Henry finally replied after a long awkward pause.
Hyukjae scratched his shirt sleeve, trying to erase the slight disappointment before realization dawned on him. Oh. I don't think he realizes that I know that he's a high school student. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
"Alright. I'll see you at class later ok? You are going to class later right?" Hyukjae asked, feeling a little unsure. The exam could be held after school. It was likely since music exams tend to take a long time.
Henry nodded and smiled, bringing in a wave of relief along with it.
"Ok. Good luck with your exam. Fighting!" Hyukjae grinned before running out of the apartment building. Damn if he was not late. Siwon was so going to nag at him about his time management skills again.
But even the impending lecture could not deter him away from the skittering joy coming from learning more about Henry. He could almost feel the fragile beginning of a new friendship as he watched Henry walked towards the bus stop, arms cradling his guitar case gently.
---
Hyukjae walked into class five minutes before lecture started. He pumped his fist in victory in his mind when his previous plan had worked. Henry was sitting by himself at his usual spot at the back of the lecture hall. He quickened his pace just a little, this time passing by his usual spot and moving towards Henry.
"Hello. Is this seat taken?" Hyukjae asked with a wide smile.
"Yes. I'm waiting for a certain blond hyung to come." Henry teased.
They both laughed as Hyukjae pulled out the chair and sat down. He took out his notebook and pencil from his bag and set down on the table before turning his head around to stare at Henry.
Seeing the black guitar case from this morning, he asked. "So how did your exam go today? Was it good?"
Henry smiled and nodded. "I did ok. I made a few mistakes but it was still alright."
Hyukjae hummed in response. "My best friend plays the guitar too. I should introduce you two the next time. He's pretty good at it too. He's just too modest to admit it."
Henry's eyes brighten up. "Really? That'd be really nice Hyukjae hyung. Do you play any instruments?"
Hyukjae picked up a pencil and started twirling it. "Not really. I only know to play the piano. Just a little though. I'm not really good at it. I'm better with my words."
Henry looked as if he wanted to reply but just then, the lights in the lecture hall dimmed signaling the beginning of the lecture.
When it finally ended, they started to pack their things in silence before walking out of the lecture hall together.
This time, it was Henry who spoke up.
"Hyung. Are you going home now?"
Hyukjae shook his head a little before replying. "I have some things to do before going to an appointment." He said, feeling a little apologetic at the crestfallen expression on Henry's face.
"Oh. Ok. I'll just go home by myself then. See you next week?" Henry said, looking a little disappointed.
Hyukjae reached out and patted his shoulder. "Or earlier if we happened to bump into each other again." He said, hoping his words would alleviate the sad look on Henry's face.
Henry nodded silently. "Bye hyung." He said softly before turning to leave.
Hyukjae remained rooted on the spot as he watched Henry's back slowly shrink before disappearing from his sight. He sighed. He would love to go home together with Henry if it wasn't for the pile of assignments that demanded to be written.
That and he had an appointment with a certain Kim Jongwoon later. Just as Zhou Mi said, the manager had called him on Monday morning to schedule an appointment on Wednesday evening. He didn't gave much details about the job description on the phone but Hyukjae figured he could just ask later during the interview.
He took a deep breath and exhaled. Adjusting the strap of his backpack on his shoulder, he made his way towards the Arts Library, directing his focus and attention towards the sky high pile of assignments, letting the image of Henry's retreating back sit quietly at the back of his mind.
---
A/N: OTL I am so sorry for the one day delay in posting this. I had to scrap my original because I didn't like how it ended. Quick notes to point out: Heechul's outfit is the one taken from SJ's Superman comeback on Inkigayo seen here. And also, yes. Hyukjae thinks Henry is Korean. Thus, all of their conversations have been in Korean.
IMPORTANT: As amalious's workload has increased quite a bit, there is a chance that this week's update would be late. Just a heads up for anyone wondering.
Cross-posted at my_prection and sapphiresuju.