Taehyung hates coffee. He actually loves the smell, but as what he'd always say, the smell is just a disguise to hide the bitterness it contains. He'd always prefer hot chocolate over coffee any day. 

That's why his friends (and him, of course) found it ironic how he agreed to work in the university's coffee shop. "Good pay," was what he said just to hide his embarrassment from his friends who found the whole situation amusing. 

Taehyung was a typical third-year, Medical Laboratory Science major student who barely had the money to buy himself decent meals three times a day. He fed himself ramen every other night (bless his internal organs for putting up a strong fight), and if by any luck his brother, Seokjin, would drop by his apartment, then that would be the time he'd eat 'real food'. 

He was aware of his unhealthy lifestyle, but, he really couldn't do anything about it, could he? That's why he'd always end up getting nagged on by Seokjin; the latter even making an effort to teach him how to cook the simplest meals with the ingredients he has left, but, all efforts were wasted the moment he almost set his dorm room on fire. 

("Okay, now that we've established you not being able to cook, how about you get a part-time job? The money will help you fill in that empty stomach of yours, Tae. You know I can't be with you all the time, right? I'm in my last year and I still have this internship program going on andㅡ" Before his brother can ramble on, he cut him off with a pat on the shoulder. 

"You're such a worry wart, hyung. I'm going to be fine. I don't want to depend on you all the time so maybe I'll consider your suggestion and look for a part-time job to help with the finances. I know mom and dad are also doing their best to pay my tuition on time but I can't ask them for extra money anymore. They're old, hyung. I can't let them work their asses off like they're 25 or something," Seokjin chuckled before looking at him lovingly. 

"Say that to their faces, you'll surely get a good beating for calling them old." The two of them exchanged giggles. 

"You've really grown up, Tae. I'm glad you want to do things on your own now. But hey, I'll help you find a job, okay? I'll ask some of my friends if they know a place that would hire an undergrad," Seokjin assured him, squeezing Taehyung's hands which were now on top of the table. 

"Thank you, hyung. I'll ask around, too. Maybe Namjoon hyung knows some place. I just hope it's not some strip club or something," Taehyung scrunched his nose. Don't get him wrong, he does not think lowly of someone who works at a strip club but the job's really not for him. 

"Namjoon and strip clubs? Well that's interesting," Seokjin said, wiggling his eyebrows. Taehyung rolled his eyes as he slapped his brother's shoulder playfully. 

"I don't even want to know what's running inside that head of yours at the moment. I can't believe you really developed a big fat crush on my Bacteriology tutor!"

"What I don't understand is why you've managed to get a tutor when you don't even have any failing grades! You're an intelligent student, Taehyung." Taehyung sighed, not really knowing what to do with the compliment being thrown his way. 

"It's not like it's my choice, hyung. They assigned us tutors like we're in elementary, but hey, Namjoon's good company, plus, my grades in Bacteriology are even better now. Why are you even complaining when you /love/ ogling him everytime he's here?" It's rare seeing Seokjin get flustered so Taehyung's quite satisfied with himself when he saw the blush on his brother's face. 

"Shut up and start finding a job or something!" Taehyung's own laughter filled the room when Seokjin started denying his feelings for the said tutor. 

"Whatever you say, hyung. Whatever you say.")

"I have a predicament," Taehyung said in one of his and Namjoon's tutoring sessions. Namjoon struggled to put down the book on the side.

"Is that predicament more important than me reciting the culture mediums used for Neisseria gonorrhoeae orㅡ"

"I'm low on cash, and I really need a job." Taehyung managed to cut him off before he can even blurt something about N. gonorrhoeae being inoculated on CHOC (Chocolate) Agar. And no, it's not made of real chocolate, in case you're wondering. 

"Taehyung, I know where this is heading. And no, I'm not gonna be your sugar daddy," Namjoon retorted, catching Taehyung completely off-guard. He opened his mouth for a second, then closed it again, contemplating whether to smack Namjoon on the side of his head or indulge him about the sugar daddy thing some more. He went for the former.

"Ah! What was that for?" Namjoon asked, squinting his eyes at Taehyung.

"That's what you get for assuming things, headass. Anyways, as I was saying before I got rudely interrupted, I said I needed a job and the coffee shop here on campus is surprisingly hiring part-timers!" The younger clapped his hands in delight, cheeks bulging from grinning too wide.

"And you're telling me this because?"

"I'm just saying, you know, just in case I get the job and my schedule's gonna get messed up again. We might have to adjust our little sessions," Taehyung smiled sweetly, batting his eyelashes as if it's enough to persuade Namjoon. 

"Tae, both our schedules are already messy enough. You do know I'm only free during Tuesdays and Thursdays, right?" Namjoon looked at him apologetically. Well, as much as he wanted to help the younger out, he, too, also had deadlines to catch up. There's not enough time to spare if you're a medical studentㅡ let alone, an intern. 

"But hyung, that's why weekends exist!" He's now grabbing onto Namjoon's arms, shaking it lightly. 

"Why would you even work in a coffee shop? You don't even like coffee!" 

Taehyung scoffed at that, "As far as I know, whether I drink coffee or not is none of their business. So, please, hyung? I'll give you my employee's discount once I get hired."

'That should do it,' Taehyung thought, knowing Namjoon's soft spot for Iced Americano. 

Namjoon actually felt torn; he was a busy man and the demands of his and Taehyung's course is no joke. Weekends were supposed to be his rest days where he can ride his bike around his favorite park, or maybe read a book or two. Now if Taehyung wanted to move their sessions on weekends, it will be a pain in the ass not just for him but for Taehyung, too. But, the sound of discounted (or maybe even free) iced americano really sounded appealing to him. 

So, with a loud sigh, he gave in, "Okay. Just make sure to tell me if ever you get hired so that we can talk about adjusting our sessions."

"Hyung, have I told you how much I love you?" Namjoon internally screamed at that, his face showing nothing but pure disgust because of the sudden confession.

"I didn't have to know that."

"Well, I do love you as a brother, but Seokjin hyung probably loves you more than that," Taehyung teased and winked at his direction. If Seokjin blushing was a sight to see, then Namjoon was a whole damn view.

Things went fortunately well for Taehyung after he decided to try his luck and applied for the coffee shop. He got hired and immediately went to work the day after he received the message from his boss. He definitely had a rough start, but his co-workers were nice enough to teach him the basics of customer service, making coffee, but he still ended up in front of the cash register. 

There were days when the shop's full, students flocking in and out and Taehyung can clearly see their desperation for a cup of coffeeㅡ iced or not. However, there were also some days with little to no customer, just like today, where most have already gone home to spend their winter break. 

Taehyung was too caught up with his thoughts to even notice that a new customer had come in. Two, at that. 

"Taehyungie!" He snapped out of his reverie the moment he heard the familiar voice calling out his name. Namjoon. 

"Hyung! I thought you went home already?" He asked, a small smile adorning his lips. Namjoon walked towards the counter, dimpled-smile and all. 

"Changed my mind, Tae. My cousin's staying, too so I thought, why not spend winter break together?" He shrugged at the end. The thing about Namjoon is that he's too tall and Taehyung ended up not seeing the cousin he was talking about. He thought his hyung was alone, but someone coughed behind Namjoon, startling him. 

"Oh yeah, sorry 'bout that Guk. By the way, Tae, this is Jeongguk my cousin. Guk, this is Taehyung, a friend of mine andㅡ

"His future brother-in-law," Taehyung said as he extended his arms for the other boy to take. He could hear Namjoon stuttering excuses in the background but he could hardly focus on anything but the boy in front of him. Now Taehyung is not good with describing people, but he knows beauty when he sees one. 

"Uh, hi. I'm Guk. J-joonie hyung's cousin," the boy repeated like he, too, was in some kind of a daze. 

"I know. Namjoon just told me," And the two of them started grinning and giggling like two idiots in love. 

"Guys come on. I don't want to see the two of you flirt in front of my own eyes. It's barely even 10 minutes since I introduced you to each other," Namjoon whined but the other two couldn't care less. They were currently lost in each other's eyes. Like puzzle pieces, they know they were fit for each other. 

During Namjoon and Jeongguk's stay in the coffee shop, Taehyung couldn't help but throw shy glances towards Jeongguk, blushing like a madman when he saw the latter already staring at him and just waiting for him to catch his longing eyes. Namjoon caught them ogling at each other thrice, hence, the nasty looks they received from the older. 

They had to go home after an hour and a half though, making Taehyung sad, wondering if he would ever have the chance to take Jeongguk out and get to know him more. However, before they could even go outside, Jeongguk slipped a tissue paper in front of Taehyung, winked and turned around to leave. Namjoon gave him an amused smile before taking his time to say goodbye to Taehyung. 

Once the two were out of sight, Taehyung immediately looked at the tissue paper, heart skipping a beat when he saw Jeongguk's phone number scribbled along with a tiny heart and a pick-up line that says:

'You make my heart melt faster than a marshmallow in a mug of hot chocolate.'

P. S. I was about to write a pick up line about coffee but Joon hyung said you don't drink one. 

Taehyung bit his lip to stop himself from smiling too much. He doesn't even know the boy that well but he instantly knew he was a goner. 

Yeah, Taehyung hates coffee, but he certainly, undeniably likes Jeon Jeongguk. 

ㅡ♡ㅡ

Loving Jeongguk was something he had seen coming. It wasn't hard to love him because the younger did everything he could to let Taehyung feel how much he loves him back. That's why they ended up getting married, in the first place. 

Taehyung always thought that everything would go accordingly, but alas, he really had to suffer a tragedy that took almost everything away from him. Almost, because he still had Jeongguk.

That's why even though he had caught him multiple times talking on the phone with this person called 'Jiminnie', he never really doubted his husband. Because Jeongguk will forever be his… 

The talk he had with the person responsible for Jeongguk's distant demeanor, however, was already enough for Taehyung to draw a conclusion: Jeongguk's heart doesn't belong to him anymore. 

The moment his husband stepped outside the bathroom, Taehyung instantly pretended to be asleep. He rolls over to his side, hearing Jeongguk's footsteps stray further away from him and outside the balcony.

"Hey, minnie. Yeah, he mentioned you. Why did you go there? I know, min. I was caught off-guard and dropped the spoon. You think he noticed? Sorry, I'll be careful next time. You too, okay? See you tomorrow. I miss you too…"

Taehyung clutches his chest tightly, his heart throbbing with so much pain he's afraid he'll go numb. He's having a hard time stopping his tears from falling that he had to bury his face on his pillow just to silence his cries before Jeongguk can even see him in such a state. 

It's in times like this one, that Taehyung would rather be deaf than blind.