#|| interactions.

     as much as taeil enjoyed sporting vibrantly dyed hair, his minimal income made keeping it so colourful a difficult hurdle to jump. what was once a bright, fiery red had faded into a sort of peachy tone which might have been cute enough to keep if it wasn’t for the additional jet black where his hair had continued to grow over the weeks. only able to rely on hats for so long, and with the majority of his money going towards new paint supplies and snacks to feast on, taeil had resorted to a desperate attempt at box dyeing instead of a professional job -- enlisting the help of one of his housemates along the way. 

     stood in the communal dining area with an old towel draped across his shoulders, taeil methodically displayed the contents of boxes of bleach and dye in an almost aesthetically pleasing arrangement on the table in front of him ( as if that would actually help ) his tone playful as he chattered away with eleonora who had oh so graciously agreed to join him on this journey. 

          “ aha, you know, i really hope all these bottles and packets make more sense to you than they do to me. i’ve... never actually done this by myself before and for the sake of my scalp, i’d kind of like to keep it that way. ”

     picking up a bottle labelled peroxide, he squinted at it suspiciously like it had caused him a personal offense. 

          “ science was my worst subject at school, and this is just chemistry thinly veiled as fashion, i’m sure of it. ”

          “ hey, let’s get something to eat. “ 

     it’s an offer he knows minjun likely can’t refuse, using it as bait for his attention as he watches the other for any kind of reaction. he seems to be blatantly immersed in something else on the screen of his computer ( either with some kind of game or with some kind of editing, taeil can’t quite tell from the angle he sits at ) but the elder of the two isn’t quite ready to give up just yet. 

     sitting nearby, taeil gently kicks out to nudge at minjun’s leg in the hopes that being an annoyance will get his attention a little faster, the smallest of mischievous smiles hidden by the hand he uses to prop his chin up; his other arm folded comfortably against his chest.

          “ we can order in, or go out somewhere, i don’t know. it’s super boring right now! “

    taeil is convinced his plan is a genius one. he hadn’t even finished explaining his train of thought to jonas, but his expression was already one of great pride, like he’d just cracked the code to something brilliant that no-one in the world had ever thought up before. to be fair, a lack of proper sleep and some late night delirium tended to do that to people. 

          “we build a fort. a good fort. the best fort. we watch some movies. get some snacks. we become the envy of everyone around here... what do you say?”

     it wasn’t as if any of this food was for him after all ( not unless he asked very, very nicely ) though he was a little inspired to make a proper meal for himself instead of cramming down packs of unhealthy snacks for once.

          “ ah, whatever it is you’re making, it already smells really good! do you cook a lot? “

          “ugh.”

      eyes opening blearily, it took another good five minutes of grumpy contemplation before he managed to pull himself up from that chair, leaving his bag and jacket behind in order to investigate. brows furrowed almost comically like an angry toddler -- even if he wasn’t sleeping in the best of places, the music was an awakening his tired brain didn’t appreciate. the closer he got, the better he could hear the notes being played, and even taeil had to admit that as much of a disturbance as it was, it sounded damn good.

     eventually locating the source, taeil could only bring himself to linger nearby in silence until the music died down before clearing his throat to announce his presence. his expression seemed conflicted. he’d come here to complain, but now he was just more interested than he was annoyed. 

          “dude... you wake me up with all the noise then you make me like it? seriously not cool man.”

     and so, taeil’s grand plan had been put into motion. wishing to get along, but not wanting to force his presence on anyone, he’d offer something else instead to show his well meaning, friendly spirit towards his elusive housemate. growing up in the environment of a family owned restaurant, taeil was well aware of just how happy some good food could make someone -- so there he stood in front of junseo, a giftbox containing a delicate ( store bought, thankfully ) strawberry tart held offered towards him with both hands and a warm smile. 

     it was, as far as he was concerned, absolutely foolproof. 

          “ hey! just the person i wanted to see. here, i got you something! open it up! “

     too new to properly memorize any work or class schedules of his new housemates, taeil could only hope for the best that at least someone was around and idle enough to want to join him. starting in the most obvious place, he proudly stood outside the entrance of room 1a, arms a bit too full to let himself in or even properly knock, instead carefully kicking at the door with the side of his shoe to announce his return. 

          “hellloooo? food delivery! open up!"

     with a beaming smile, he rustled the bags for good measure.