twenty-six || golden lanterns above

✧˖*°࿐

drip. drip drip. drip. drip.

A low irritated groan rumbled inside of Beomgyu's throat, the male swatting around the cool air when the odd sensation of... water... dripping onto his face had stirred him half awake, interrupting his dream land sequence.

Maybe it's just my imagination, sleeping outside is not for the weak. He thought, still swinging his hand around everywhere in a failed attempt to chase away whatever was dripping onto his face, he was certain that it wasn't going to rain, there were no signs beforehand. I'll figure it out later.

drip. drip. drip drip.

Okay. what the fuck

The males eyebrows began to scrunch in frustration, the feeling of little water droplets falling onto his face while he was trying to sleep peacefully was really starting to tick him off, his facial expression slowly shifting into an angry scowl when he breathed in heavily, inhaling the scent of... wet... fur???

Now that was a bit weird.

Maybe he should just ignore it, yeah, that's what he's going to do since a few hours of decent sleep was much needed, even though sleeping on the rough ticklish grass wasn't very... fun... he knows he needs this rest, especially after meeting deaths door the day before.

The male stayed still, secretly hoping that the odd droplet sensation would just evaporate, but after a few more seconds of the water not going away and the smell of wet fur becoming stronger — it was driving him insane to the point he shifted in his spot and laid on his back, slowly opening his eyes which was quite painful due to the bright sun shining directly onto him.

His patience had ran thin, snapping near instantly when he forced his eyes open a little more, exhaling a ragged breath as he covered his eyes with his hand to see what the fuck was above him dripping water —

ew it's soobin.

"Oh," Was all he could say, his words breathy and raspy due to how tired he was. "It's you, Soobin... horse Soobin... the fuck you want?"

The large white horse above him that, or Soobin, was soaking wet head to... hoof. His blonde fluffy mane sticking to his white furry neck while large fat droplets of water rolled down to the tip of his black nose, dripping directly onto the males forehead while his eyes turned into angry slits, a loud frustrated huff blowing out of his nose and directly onto Beomgyu's face which made his face scrunch up in disgust... horse breath.

Beomgyu raised his eyebrows, maybe he should get up and run or something since this damn horse tried killing him multiple times, but the exhaustion in his body was just too strong. So instead, the male hummed and closed his eyes, a smug smile twitching on the corner of his lips as he placed his hands behind his head, ignoring the horse that became angrier by the second.

"Well," Beomgyu spoke up, a cocky tone lingering in his tone. "I hope you're here to apologize for almost killing me, thanks for covering the sun though, fleabag."

A heavily offended expression washed over Soobin's face, the male flinching back before he gritted his horse... teeth... aggressively, steam fuming out of his ears like a classical cartoon character as he stepped back.

The sight of Beomgyu, a wanted thief, acting all cocky made his vision flash red.

"AAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Taehyun's eyes shot wide open the moment he had heard a loud walrus like scream interrupt his beauty sleep, the male immediately kicking into action as he grabbed his frying pan next to his head, stumbling up onto his feet as he looked in the direction of where the scream had came from, his face morphing in horror when he saw—

...what the hell.

The tight grip around the frying pan's handle had loosened just a bit when Taehyun saw the sight before him, slowly bringing it down as he tilted his head in pure confusion.

"Why are you just standing there?!" Beomgyu cried out, trying to grab onto the grass tightly to secure himself, only to be dragged back by Soobin who was biting his damn shoe. "Help me, Taehyun! Get this horse off of me!"

Taehyun stood there in shock, his mouth gaped open as he watched a large white horse try and drag Beomgyu to who knows where, wait a minute... that's the same horse that chased them back at the dams! Should he really help him...? What if that horse tries to—

"Taehyun!"

"Sh-Shit!" The male snapped back into reality when he heard the elder desperately cry out, dropping the frying pan as he ran over towards the two. "What the hell did you do to it?!"

"I didn't do anything!" Beomgyu cried out.

I seriously doubt that... Taehyun thought, gritting his teeth as he launched forward and grappled onto the elders hands who immediately hung on tight, pulling back as hard as he could, but this horse would just not give up!

They began pulling the elders back and forth, stretching him out beyond his muscles can compare, as if they were playing some weird game of tug-o-war but with Beomgyu's body, which wasn't very fun.

"Hey! Let go of him—" Taehyun strained, wishing he had some sort of shoes on right now so his grip on the floor wasn't slipping every second. "You goddamn horse, let go- woah!"

A loud sound of a 'pop' echoed out, the males eyes widening when he suddenly flung back along with Beomgyu, who had screamed loudly as he flipped and flew into a large tree, the elder groaning loudly from the harsh impact, feeling a bit too much air on his left foot.

"Ow! What the hell?!" Taehyun exclaimed angrily, sitting up as he looked up towards the horse with... Beomgyu's... boot... in its mouth...? "Uhm, hyung, the fuck you do to the damn horse?"

"I didn't do anything!" Beomgyu cried out in fear, backing himself up onto the tree bark, ignoring the way it dug into his skin. "Maybe I'm just too handsome, and Soobin hyung, is jealous that i'm more handsome than him!—"

"Wait a minute, did you just say Soobin?"

Taehyun immediately turned his head back over towards the large white horse, his eyebrows scrunching as his eyes began to squint, staring at the horse that seemed pissed off having Beomgyu's shoe in his mouth, it wasn't until he had looked up with an angry glare that resembled more of an angry bunny than a horse, which hit him near instantly when he saw the resemblance.

Okay, what the fuck, they turned Soobin into a horse?! Better than being a crab... maybe....

That crabby attitude seemed to stay though, why is horse Soobin so bitchy?

"Oh god... Taehyun..."

Taehyun immediately look down towards Yeonjun who was right next to him, his little chameleon eyes blown wide open with... stars in his eyes...? The fuck?

"What's with you? Why are you turning... pink...?"

Just before he could get a reply from Yeonjun, a loud whine echoed out from in front of him, his head snapping near instantly towards the direction — seeing Soobin take a readied stance as his teeth were sinking into the boot with so much force it was kinda scary... his eyes squinted and ready to pounce towards Beomgyu who was shrieking in fear.

Seriously, they just had to wake him up from his beauty sleep for this?!

It wasn't until Soobin had backed up and started running towards them, more specifically Beomgyu, which made Taehyun's fight or flight mode immediately activate as he shot up onto his feet and quickly blocked the horses path, spreading his arms while the elder in the background screeched in fear, trying to climb the damn tree to escape.

"Hey! Calm down — what the fuck?!" Taehyun shrieked when Soobin had jumped onto his hind legs, which made him flinch back when the dude grew ten times taller. "Oh my god calm down — what is wrong with you?!"

"That fucker tried to drown me!"

. . .

pause.

did soobin just fucking talk.

"You can talk?!" Both Beomgyu and Taehyun exclaimed in unison, their eyes widening when Soobin went back down onto his front legs with a heavy huff.

"Move aside fair maiden, this criminal is wanted for robbery and treason against the kingdom!" Soobin exclaimed angrily, spitting out the boot, hopping to the side so he could get past Taehyun — only for the male to quickly cover him.

"I didn't even do anything — treason against this kingdom?! I don't even live here!" Beomgyu cried out, hugging the bark of the tree as he stared at Soobin with fear.

Oh god, He seriously felt a headache rushing in.

How could someone so comforting and not so very brave like Beomgyu who went alone through a dark forest to collect wood... be so scared of a stupid ass fucking horse?!

The male sighed angrily, ignoring the way Yeonjun had hopped onto the top of his head. "Okay, well, I kinda need him for something important today so could you arrest him... maybe later?"

"Later?! Taehyun what are you—"

"I can't do that," Soobin huffed angrily, hopping to the side before being blocked by Taehyun again which was really making him more angry. "My fair maiden, he's a wanted criminal and I serve my loyalty and honor to the rulers of this kingdom!"

"I am not a fair maiden, goddamnit!" Taehyun finally snapped, slamming his foot against the ground, why does everyone keep mistaking him as a girl?! Just because of his long ass hair?!

It was really pissing him off, Soobin was pissing him off, Beomgyu... was kinda pissing him off... not really.

Curse his damn heart!

"Okay listen," Taehyun raised his hands up carefully. "If you hear me out, then this will go by faster!"

"No, he's a wanted criminal and you helping him will get you arrested!"

Taehyun felt his eye began to twitch while a surge of annoyance washed over him. "Can you just fucking listen or I'll knock your disgusting smelly horse head out!"

Soobin was a bit taken aback by that statement, his eyes widening before he looked towards Yeonjun who was on top of Taehyun's head, raising his cute little chameleon paws hands pads whatever the fuck they are, easing the horse down while he turned fucking pink.

In that moment where both Soobin and Yeonjun met eyes, it was like sparks flying everywhere, the eye contact causing the horse to slowly sit down calmly.

Now what the fuck.

This has got to be the freakiest shit Taehyun has ever seen.

Okay well that was easy. The male grimaced, glancing back over towards Beomgyu who was equally confused as to what had just happened

"Okay, listen, Soobin," Taehyun spoke up, turning his head towards the horse again only to see that he was too enchanted by the goddamn chameleon. "It's kinda my birthday...ish today, and you know what the best birthday gift is? For this loser —"

"Loser?!"

" — to take me to the kingdom so I could see the floating lights," He continued on, ignoring Beomgyu's devastated cries in the background. "So if you'd just... I don't know, chill out for a couple of hours it would be great, stay here or something."

The mention of today being his birthday made Soobin's face twist in a bit of guilt and consideration, which was really good on Taehyun's part! The sooner they see the lights without any conflict then the sooner they are to going back home!

Since the happily ever after wasn't a kiss anymore, something different, it just had to be the floating lights!

After a few minutes of silent consideration and Beomgyu slowly retrieving his boot without startling the crazy ass horse in front of them, Soobin eventually sighed softly and nodded his head, giving into the guilt.

"Okay, fine."

Taehyun's face lightened up near instantly, rushing over towards the horse — giving him the biggest hug ever while smiling. "Thank you, Soobin, you're the best!"

Soobin huffed and looked away, nodding his head and seeming content with the hug received from Taehyun, but when Beomgyu laughed loudly and tried to walk over towards them — he had given the male a sharp glare which made him freeze in his spot, terrified.

"Okay, you just stay here and we'll be back—"

"Wait, Taehyun wait!"

Taehyun's head shot over towards the ground where he saw Yeonjun, pink as ever, signaling for them to go behind a giant tree which made him a bit confused, but after a few seconds he slowly started to realize that the male wanted to privately talk.

"Alright, listen up you idiots!" Taehyun spoke up, looking over towards Beomgyu and Soobin who were glaring at each other. "I'm going to talk with Yeonjun for a few minutes, please don't kill each other in the next five minutes!"

"But- but Tyun!" Beomgyu whined, rushing over towards the male, wrapping his arms around him. "Don't leave me with him! He's evil, a monster! He's going to kill me!"

"Shut up, you wanted criminal!"

Taehyun suppressed an annoyed eye roll, grumbling a few curse words under his breath. Now this was just straight up annoying, was this how his friends felt whenever he and Beomgyu would get into fights...? Now that he thinks back on it, he does remember Huening Kai and Yeonjun easily spacing out whenever he would complain about the elder.

But now here he was, turning red and feeling his goddamn stomach flutter up with butterflies when he felt his arms around him so securely.

Quickly snapping himself out of that horrifying trance, he scoffed softly and pushed the elder off of him, quickly following Yeonjun behind who was an even more bright pink, what the hell is wrong with this chameleon?

"Okay, what was so important that you needed to talk to me privately?" Taehyun asked right away the moment they were behind the tree.

It was kinda hurting his neck, having to look so far down because of the major height different... size difference... whatever it was, but he could tell right away that something was bothering the poor lizard.

"Do we really have to leave him?" Yeonjun squeaked, turning a bright shade of red now. "Can't we bring... Soobin with us to the kingdom?"

Taehyun squinted his eyes, a bit confused as to what even sparked this reaction, but after having some familiar memories hit him right away, reminding him of a certain crush of Yeonjun's... he couldn't help but be baffled even more.

A horse and a chameleon, what an odd combination.

"I don't know," Taehyun replied, testing the waters... his theory that was lowkey confirmed already. "He's a palace horse, he could get Beomgyu arrested or something, I don't want to ruin my chances of seeing the lanterns."

"Please, Taehyun! Please!" Yeonjun immediately started to beg, flushing purple as he clasped his little feet together. "Just this once! He's not even that bad, he's just a grumpy horse, but he's so sweet!"

A grimace began to wash over the males face, his eyes squinting in disbelief, was this seriously happening right now? His chameleon best friend was begging for him to keep a crazy Soobin horse around all because he was infatuated with him?! That's a little...

"Okay, fine," He sighed. "I think he could help us avoid the guards so I guess he can come along, but don't be weird about it!"

"I won't, thank you Taehyun!"

The male rolled his eyes, turning around and walked past the tree, finding it oddly quiet... no yelling... no shout—

"GET OFF OF ME YOU WACK ASS HORSE!"

Never mind.

Taehyun groaned loudly, stepping over his long hair so he doesn't embarrassingly fall on his face again, storming over towards Beomgyu and Soobin who were both hitting each other, with Beomgyu struggling to keep the horse in a headlock while slapping him.

He left them alone together for five minutes, five!

Wow, maybe this is what Yeonjun and Huening Kai felt, this really was annoying!

Taehyun was quick to pry Beomgyu off of Soobin, holding onto the elders wrist tightly while Soobin stepped back with an angry glare, he's dealt with an angry crabby Soobin attitude before but this version was just straight up crazy!

"What is wrong with you?" Taehyun hissed, grabbing onto Beomgyu's shoulders as he forced him to look at him, ignoring the way his stomach began to bubble up. "I told you not to fight!"

"But Tyun-ah," Beomgyu pouted, snaking his hands around the males waist which definitely didn't make him slightly panic. "This mean horse was bullying your knight in shining armor, I was trying to get rid of the pesky beast for my darling princess!"

"For the last time, you're not a knight in shining armor!" Taehyun scoffed while also panicking, his face turning red as he pushed the elder off of him. "You screamed like a little girl when he started dragging you around!"

"He- he just caught me off guard!"

Taehyun rolled his eyes, stepping away from the elder who whined in dismay, since when had Beomgyu become this clingy...? Maybe it was his newfound feelings causing him to overthink every single thing but he couldn't help but feel so... confused.

Falling in love with Beomgyu out of everyone in his life was the last thing he'd ever expect, and it terrified him.

Navigating through this new path alone was the hardest part, to figure out his own emotions and thoughts, because he knew deep down that the elder most likely didn't feel the same.

"Okay," He breathed out, shaking his head to snap himself out of those heavy thoughts. "Let's head out to the kingdom, we can't waste anymore time, Yeonjun— huh?!"

The minute Taehyun turned his head to the side, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped when he saw Yeonjun on top of Soobin's head, practically cuddling into the male as the horse stayed very still, as if he wanted this to happen.

Okay, now this was really weird.

Looking back over towards Beomgyu, the elder smiled cheekily, extending his hand out which comforted him. After the talk last night about their feelings and admitting the truths, it just felt better being around him and not so suffocating anymore.

Taehyun wasn't going to deny his feelings anymore for now, it was far too late to change them, so for now... for the remaining time of this fairytale fiasco, he'll just cherish the moments he has with the elder.

Because he's certain the moment they leave... everything will go back to the way it once was.

he doesn't know if his heart could handle that future.

"Alright, my princess," Beomgyu said, smirking in amusement when Taehyun groaned from the annoying pestering nickname. "Shall we go to the kingdom now?"

The male glanced down at their hands intertwined with one another, a small smile growing on his lips as he nodded.

"Let's go see the floating lights, hyung."

✧˖*°࿐

It had taken them about two hours to finally reach the kingdom, occasionally stopping from time to time to take a break or to break up a fight, which exhausted Taehyun.

But the moment the arrived at the front of the stone bridge connecting the wild life land to the beautiful kingdom, the male had never been so star struck in his entire life.

Beomgyu noticed this right away, the way he noticed how the younger's eyes sparkled with pure fascination, which made his heart spark up with an electric rush.

At this point, he's accepted the weird emotions he was starting to feel around Taehyun, noticing the smallest things and habits the male does which he has never noticed before, it was strange.

yet it made him feel happy.

The way the younger's eyes would widen ever so slightly and be filled with the most fragile and precious stars ever when he saw something that fascinating, the way a childish smile would grow on the males lips when he would find something that interests him, the way his face would flush a soft shade of pretty pink whenever he felt flustered.

Oh how much it took effect on his heart.

"Are we just going to stand here and admire the kingdom from this spot or shall we go in, fair maiden?" He heard Soobin speak up, a heavy smelly huff being made from behind him which made his eye roll.

Now, there are plenty of days in the real world where Soobin would piss him off, but it wasn't anything near as bad as this! The male... or horse... was a total psychopath in this fairytale, always hunting him down just because he stole a crown?! That's a little mean!

Also, he doesn't even know where the hell the male was in the last fairytale, which was weird since he would always see Soobin somewhere... but now here he was as a snobby ass horse!

"Oh... uhm..." Taehyun soon spoke up, snapping out of his enchantment. "Yeah! Let's go, are you ready hyung?"

Beomgyu looked over towards the male who was basically glowing with excitement, causing his heart to fall weak the moment he saw that pretty smile on the males face, so forcing out a calm expression instead of freaking out, he nodded.

"Mhm, let's go, it's your day after all."

Taehyun bit on the bottom of his lip to contain his excitement, he doesn't exactly know why he's so excited... it was just some kingdom, something he's seen before plenty of times, but something inside of him was just so happy to be out of that tower to finally see the floating lights.

Not wanting to spare anymore time, the male instantly took off which startled both Beomgyu and Soobin, the male rushing down the bridge in excitement while his long golden hair dragged from behind.

Well, Beomgyu certainly has no other choice than to follow him, he has to make sure he's okay and not... randomly die or something.

He began to slowly walk behind Taehyun who was bouncing around everywhere, his head turning in all sorts of the direction while the golden sun from above shined down perfectly, causing him to practically glow even more than before.

Every little thing about Taehyun that once annoyed Beomgyu slowly started to turn into something he... admired.

He thought he would die because of Taehyun's annoying chihuahua voice, but now here he was yearning to hear the younger laugh and talk with his soft spoken daydream voice.

He wanted nothing more than to never see the males disgusting face in front of him again, but now here he was admiring every detail of the males face, Taehyun was always pretty.

He wanted nothing more than for the male to disappear from his life, but now... he wanted nothing more than to stay by his side forever and after.

How strange it was, that everything he once hated about the male, was now something he adored.

"Your eyes are about to fall out from how hard you're staring at him."

Beomgyu's little admiration daydream was unfortunately cut short when Soobin just had to speak up! His face turning into a scowl as he looked over towards the horse who smiled wickedly, maybe he was the true villain of this fairytale instead of Taehyun's crazy ass fake mother that's somewhere in the kingdom.

"Shut the hell up." He grumbled angrily, but he was more angry about how he was caught staring at the younger, it wasn't his fault! "Stay quiet, keep your gross mouth shut."

Ignoring the way Soobin snickered loudly, he turned his head over towards the side before pausing when he saw another wanted poster up on the wall with his... unfortunate portrait on it again, come on! This time they messed up his lips, this paper makes him look like the Joker or something!

Quickly ripping the paper off of the wall, crumbling it up into a ball, he looked back after towards Soobin who was practically glaring at him, most likely because he just took down a wanted sign put up by the royal knights but who gives a fuck about that? Certainly not him!

So with a cocky smirk, Beomgyu shoved the crumbled up ball of paper inside of the horses mouth which caused Soobin to yelp loudly and stumble back, his eyes widening before turning into slits before spitting out the paper right away — causing it to fly straight onto the males face.

"Okay! That's it!" Beomgyu growled angrily, quickly grabbing the wet piece of paper off of his face before he grabbed Soobin and started hitting the horse.

Soobin was quick to growl angrily and start to thrash around, hopefully fling the male into the huge ocean underneath them, ready to hit him even more—

"You fuckers! Hurry up and come over here!"

Both Beomgyu and Soobin suddenly paused when Yeonjun's squeaky ass voice echoed out from in front of them, the both of them looking over towards the lizard who was a bright shade of red while Taehyun, who was still distracted by everything, thankfully didn't notice they were fighting again.

So with an annoyed grumble, Beomgyu pushed Soobin off of him and quickly rushed over towards the younger's side.

"I've never seen you this fascinated before," Beomgyu spoke up the moment he was safely next to the male. "Is the kingdom that pretty? I think it smells like shit not gonna lie."

Taehyun scoffed softly, ignoring the way his heart fluttered up when he felt Beomgyu's hand snake around his waist, squeezing tightly yet so possessively it made him nearly gasp in shock.

The two of them walked through the gates of the kingdom, the male soon realizing that he hadn't answered the elder just yet, oh fuck his heart!

"I-I uh..." He croaked out, heat burning on his face. "I don't know, It just feels good to be out of that tow- OW!"

Taehyun suddenly yelped loudly as his head was yanked back, pain shooting throughout his entire scalp, his head snapping back to see a bunch of townsfolk stepping on his hair or kicking it around, causing him to hiss in pain.

"Ow! Fuck! Oh fuck this long hair!" Taehyun hissed as he grabbed onto his hair the moment the people passed by, holding up a bundle of it to his chest. "I wish could cut this damn hair!"

Beomgyu frowned a little as he quickly picked up more of the younger's hair, hearing Soobin rush over towards them in a worry. Just hearing the younger in pain was enough to make his heart weak, so looking around, the male tried to find a solution, perhaps scissors?

It wasn't until his eyes landed on a group of kids in the heart of the town, all giggling happily while doing each other's hair by the fountain, which made an idea form in his head... well it wasn't necessarily his idea he just remembers it from the movie.

"I have an idea, princess," Beomgyu spoke up, ignoring the way Taehyun's face scowled. "Follow me my darling!"

"Oh will you please stop with those dumb names!"

"Nope!"

Taehyun's eyebrows scrunched in confusion, a little bit scared as to what the elder had planned, he had no other choice but to follow the male who swiftly passed through people who were passing by while he, being fucking clumsy, kept bumping into everyone... he just can't wait to go home.

"Hey! Uh... kids!" Beomgyu greeted loudly, gaining the attention of four kids attention. "How much do you guys charge to braid hair, say... zero dollars?"

"Get lost old man!"

what the fuck.

Beomgyu stood there for a few seconds, registering what the hell he had just heard before he bloomed red in anger. "The fuck you mean 'old man'?! I'll have you know I'm eighteen, barely even twenty! Don't you dare call me old—"

"Blah blah blah," One of the kids spoke up, continuing to braid her own hair. "Unless you got something for us, we aren't braiding your hair!"

Okay, Beomgyu didn't expect the kingdoms kids to be such assholes.

"My hair?! What no!" He exclaimed angrily, unaware that Taehyun was near about to laugh his ass off. "It's this guys hair you need to braid, for free!"

The kids all looked up one at a time, their eyes landing on Taehyun's figure — mainly his hair, in that moment it was like a total switch as they all gasped in fascination, their eyes lighting up like a thousand stars.

"Woah!" One of the kids exclaimed loudly, jumping down from the fountain and rushed over towards Taehyun. "Is this your real hair, ma'am? You're pretty!"

"I'm not a woman!" The male exclaimed, flushing red in embarrassment. "I just have really long hair, okay?"

"This is the prettiest hair I've ever seen!" Another one jumped down and rushed over towards Taehyun. "Can we braid it? Pretty please? For free!"

"What the hell?!" Beomgyu exclaimed angrily, watching the kids start to surround Taehyun so easily. "I asked you guys to braid his hair- stop ignoring me!"

He has never felt more devastated and so annoyed in his entire life, he felt a little bit bitter that these kids straight up started bullying him when he was kindly asking them to braid his princess' hair, but now they're ignoring him?! How rude! Maybe he should convince Soobin to drag them to the dungeons!

"Hey mister," One kid spoke up, gaining his attention, maybe this time they'll be nice to him, since he's amazing and all! "Are you going to leave? You're creepy."

Well, there goes his hope and pride.

Beomgyu bitterly bit his lips, scoffing softly as he let go of Taehyun's hair to allow the kids to do their wack ass job, walking away over towards Soobin who was near a shady area, that was perfect since he's a wanted criminal and all.

"Looks like everyone doesn't like you," Soobin snickered, his goofy horse smile appearing. "Maybe it's 'cause you're a wanted criminal, kids don't like bad guys."

"Shut up, you stink like a wet dog."

The male sighed softly and tilted his head back, leaning onto the hard stone wall as he closed his eyes to bask in the summer warmth, they were so close yet so far from achieving the happily ever after... which would be... seeing the lanterns... right?

There was a strange uncomfortable feeling bubbling inside of his stomach, something telling him that just seeing the lanterns wouldn't exactly cut it, but he doesn't want to ruin anything... he doesn't want to ruin the mood.

He really wish he had a clock or something to see the time, but if he were to guess it would take a good five hours until sunset, until the lanterns.

The sudden sound of a lighthearted giggle danced through the air and straight to his ears, causing him to instantly open his eyes and titled his head back down, his eyes landing on the younger not far from them who was kneeling on the ground, surrounded by the children who were braiding his hair really well.

In that moment, Beomgyu felt his heart stop as well as his breath hitching, his heart fluttering up with a swirling storm of butterflies when he saw Taehyun smiling widely. The way his eyes were sparkling like beautiful rare diamonds under rhe moonlight, how his smile was so wide he could see his fangs and precious dimples, how his eyes scrunched slightly.

His mouth felt dry, his heart racing against his chest so hard it felt like it was about to explode, all of his thoughts began to blank out and all that he was worried about beforehand was now gone in the wind.

The whole world became a blur, people passing by were nothing but slow motion blurs while the conversations around were muffled and useless.

All he could focus on, was how pretty Taehyun looked when he was genuinely smiling.

He wanted nothing more but to continue seeing that smile every day.

It wasn't until he felt a gentle tap on his leg, forcing him to snap out of his trance as he looked down and saw one of the evil kids in front of him holding out two baskets full of what he assumed was decorations.

"What do you want, brat?" Beomgyu said in a snarky tone, he was still bitter that they were so rude to him!

"Since you're Mr. Kang's husband," The kid said, holding up two wooden bowls. "You get to choose what we put in his hair!"

Wait a fucking damn minute.

what did this kid just say?

All of the cocky attitude that built up in the male had crashed down and flew away, now being replaced with nothing but pure shock as his eyes widened, standing there frozen in time while the words this crazy ass kid said repeated in his mind like a broken record.

what the fuck- holy shit- huh????????

Why the fuck do these kids think they're... they're husbands?!

Beomgyu instantly looked up over towards where Taehyun sat, which was just in time since the male had turned his head over towards his direction. The minute they made eye contact, Taehyun began to smile even more, waving ever so adorably towards him which made his mind blank out even more, his face flushing a light shade of pink in response.

Was it... Taehyun who told them that they were husbands? No way, right? There's no way, he doesn't... why would he...? Nope! It wasn't Taehyun who said it, it's probably the kids- yeah! The kids are dumb and have very creative mindsets- but- but...

Beomgyu paused when he heard another sound of laughter echo out in the wind, like a beautiful melody serenading him, which forced him to look back over towards Taehyun who was covering his mouth and turning red from how much he was laughing.

Oh how his heart burst out into a new flame at that moment.

Maybe... he doesn't mind... being Taehyun's husband.

hold on wait what?

"Uhmm... sir," The kid spoke up again, a bit impatiently this time. "Are you going to choose or not? Hayoung was right... you are creepy..."

"Okay what the hell?!" Beomgyu snapped, staring down at the kid with an angry expression. "I'm not even creepy — you guys are such brats!"

The kid gave him an unamused expression, clearly done and annoyed with his attitude. "So... are you going to choose or not...? I can always ask someone—"

"NO!" Beomgyu said a little bit too loudly, causing Soobin to huff in confusion and the kid to flinch. "I... uh... mean...—"

The male quickly cleared his throat, compressing himself once again and breathed out softly before he looked down at the two wooden bowls the kid held, crouching down onto his knees to get a better view.

In the first wooden bowl were hundreds of delicate white and light pink pearls, their surfaces sparkling ever so beautifully in the sunlight. However, despite their beautiful appearance, Beomgyu could tell that these pearls were not real at all. They were most likely crafted from glass or plastic, coated in the most expensive paint the kingdom had to offer to give them that pretty rich pearl appearance, so it didn't spark his interest at all... his Taehyun doesn't deserve fake pearls.

As he moved onto the next wooden bowl, his eyes widened in awe when he saw the stunning assortments of flowers inside. It was filled with flowers of every beautiful color, from the delicate blue of a morning rich sky to the warm hues of a golden yellow sun, each flower was definitely chosen with care and was loved to the fullest. It was perfect for Taehyun's beautiful golden hair.

"This one," He spoke softly, pointing towards the wooden bowl full of flowers. "This is perfect for him."

The kid nodded his head and quickly rushed over back towards the others who were just about done with Taehyun's hair, which made Beomgyu slowly stand up, finally releasing a breath he was unaware of.

"You have such heart eyes!"

"Shut the fuck up, Soobin."

Beomgyu walked back over towards the horse, making sure he was hidden from any palace guards in sight, this was so risky... why did he have to be the thief of this fairytale?! Running from a palace horse is one thing but a whole group of them is terrifying! He just hopes that Huening Kai doesn't find him.

After ten more minutes of staring blankly into the sky, a soft gasp echoed out which caught his attention, instantly making him look over towards Taehyun in a worry—

holy shit.

"Thank you guys, so much!" Taehyun beamed brightly, standing up as he looked over his shoulder, his eyes sparkling seeing his new hair which was a bit heavy, but he felt more free.

Beomgyu however, was stuck in a trance. The minute the younger stood up, his eyes instantly fixated on the delicate beauty of his hair which was braided ever so carefully and properly, decorated with the array of flowers that he had chosen for him. He was right, the flowers matched the males golden hair so perfectly, he was proud of those snarky ass kids for doing such a good job, for free too!

He was so mesmerized by the males beauty, he hadn't even realized that Taehyun was now standing in front of him with a fond smile.

"Are we ready to explore now?" The male asked, which caused Beomgyu to flinch and flush red, why was he so... so much prettier up close now?

"Uhm- ye-yeah uh..." Why the fuck am I stuttering so much?

Quickly taking a deep breath, Beomgyu tried his best to compose himself, ignoring Soobin and Yeonjun's loud snickering in the background while he looked back over towards Taehyun who was a bit confused.

"You look pretty, princess," Beomgyu said confidently, wrapping his hand around Taehyun's waist. "Maybe now I know why you're so fit for this role, you're beautiful."

Taehyun's breath hitched when the elder had said that, heat rising up all over his face as he quickly grabbed onto the elders hands and pushed them off of his waist, quickly walking away.

"Stop- stop wasting time- you idiot!"

Beomgyu bit on the bottom of his lip to hold back a loud laughter, quickly following after the male who was definitely way too flustered to be close to him.

It made him happy, but he was completely aware of how his heart was racing so much... how his strange feelings for the male began to grow even more.

The first hour that they spent in the kingdom was more of a relaxing hour, walking around what the town had to offer while also stopping by a few shops who were selling some food that looked absolutely delicious.

However, there was only one downfall of this amazing adventure, which would be that they had to hide from the royal palace guards every time they passed by, especially if they see Huening Kai.

But that didn't stop them from walking around.

"What about that?" Taehyun spoke up, pointing over towards a stand with some odd looking food. "That looks good!"

Beomgyu looked over that direction and grimaced, shaking his head. "Their potatoes are purple, Taehyun, what the hell do you mean it looks good?"

Taehyun rolled his eyes and gently nudged the elder. "It could be sweet potatoes you idiot, do you seriously not want to try anything around?"

It wasn't that he didn't want to try anything in this kingdom, he was certain there were things that were delicious but honestly... he didn't have much of an appetite at the moment, he also wanted to save the limited gold coins they had to spend it on Taehyun.

How strange, he never realized how he started to prioritize Taehyun over himself.

The two of them walked over towards the shady food stall with the purple potatoes, being greeted by someone from their school who they could barely remember the name of... this was... oh wait!

"Tsuki Fukutomi?" Beomgyu gasped out, his eyes widening when she had looked up at him.

He remembers her now, she was his partner for a project in his third year of high school, he had heard strange rumors that she had liked him or something but thank god those were false! Although... he never bothered checking in with her personally, but at least they're still friends!

"Hello! How could I help you two?" Tsuki beamed brightly, putting on some gloves.

"Oh uhm..."

Taehyun watched as the two started to smoothly talk about what she has to offer, falling silent as he closely examined their behavior, slowly noticing how strange Tsuki was acting. He doesn't know her well, but he did hear about some rumors which included Beomgyu.

For some reason... he started to become annoyed.

The way her eyes were sparkling, maintaining eye contact so well, how her wide smile wouldn't falter for even a second when she was talking to Beomgyu... it annoyed him a lot.

Maybe it was because deep down in his heart, he felt threatened and scared that the elder would be more interested in someone else more than him, was it because of his feelings for him? He was still figuring all of this out.

"Thank you so much, Tsuki," Beomgyu spoke up which caught his attention, the elder receiving a nearly wrapped sweet potato from her. "It was lovely talking to you!"

"Come back again soon!" Tsuki beamed brightly, unaware of how red her face was.

Now that just angered Taehyun even more.

Without even thinking, he immediately wrapped his hand around Beomgyu's wrist and dragged the elder away from the stand before she could say anything else, which startled the elder from the sudden action.

"Is everything okay?" Beomgyu asked right away once they were in a secluded area. "Why do you look so mad?"

Taehyun was quick to let go of the elders wrist, looking away in embarrassment because of what he had just done. "I'm just... uh... hungry." what a lie.

Beomgyu pursed his lips into a thin line, still a bit confused but decided not to question further more, only lifting up the sweet potato that Tsuki had given him.

Taehyun glanced down at the savory food before looking up at the elder who nodded his head and gave him a sweet smile, normally he would've just smacked the dumb potato out of his hands and scoff... but seeing how pretty his smile was made his heart race even more.

He slowly took the sweet potato from the elder and unwrapped it carefully, feeling that anger he felt slowly wash away the longer he was around the elder alone, feeling more happier as he took a bite out of it.

His eyes widened slightly, he has eaten sweet potatoes before but there was something about this one that tasted even better, maybe it was because it was freshly grilled in front of them, maybe it was because Tsuki had given them a fresh one because of Beomgyu's charms, which annoyed him slightly.

"Is it good?" Beomgyu spoke up, tilting his head slightly while smiling seeing how Taehyun had practically beamed after taking a bite.

Just before he could respond, Taehyun suddenly froze when he felt a some warm hand cup the side of his face, his eyes widening in shock when he felt the elders thumb gently trace the bottom of his lip before slowly moving towards the corner of his lip, wiping off what he assumed were crumbs.

Such a small action... was enough to make his heart go into a crazed frenzy, instantly causing him to flush red.

Right away, that comforting sensation was all gone when Beomgyu had pulled his hand away from the males face, which made Taehyun nearly frown from the action, but he was quick to compose himself again.

With a deep breath, the male looked up towards the elder, smiling softly as his heart began to race even more, oh how stupidly in love he was with him.

"Yeah it's..." He hesitated for a second. "It's... great."

Beomgyu was happy hearing that, completely ignoring the way he just wanted to wrap his arms around the younger and hold him close for the rest of the time.

After an hour of walking around the town and finding stalls to eat at, it came down to their second hour of activities which was something that Taehyun had chosen, a painting activity.

Now, he wasn't one to be interested in art at all but for some reason... being in this fairytale and being the role of Rapunzel really made his interest in art increase even more, especially since he found out he was actually decent at it.

The both of them had stopped near an open area near one of the plazas where a huge painting session was set up, the male instantly dragging the elder over who quickly paid for their fee and sat down on some stools in front of the multiple canvas' around.

"I didn't know you were into painting," Beomgyu said as he sat down on the stool across from the younger. "I thought you didn't really care for this at all."

Taehyun scoffed softly and looked over towards the elder, grabbing onto some paint. "It's something to pass by the time isn't it? You wouldn't understand, you creepy old man."

"Hey! Don't mention that again! Those kids were so... horrible and evil!"

Taehyun let out a soft breathy chuckle before looking back at the canvas in front of him, he doesn't have any idea of what the hell he wanted to paint, so was this for nothing?

"Hey, give me an idea of what to paint." He spoke up, looking over towards the elder who seemed uninterested in this activity.

"I don't know, draw Soobin drowning or something."

Well, he was no help at all.

Taehyun sighed in frustrated and glanced back at the canvas, his eyebrows scrunching slightly while he tried to conjure up any ideas but his mind was just blank.

Beomgyu looked back up over towards the younger who was definitely frustrated, his heart clenched slightly when he saw how upset he looked

Beomgyu slowly started to notice the long silence between them, looking back up over towards the younger who seemed frustrated that no new ideas were coming into his mind, so with a soft sigh he stood up from his seat and dragged the stool on over towards the males side.

"I think you should draw something you love the most."

Taehyun was a bit startled to see the elder suddenly next to him. "What do you mean?"

"I think... you should draw something you're passionate about, you love, so it has more of a special meaning."

Taehyun was a bit confused for a second but soon realized what he meant, a fond smile growing on his face. "But hyung..."

"...I would just end up painting you."

. . .

Realization crashed down onto Taehyun right away, causing the males eyes to widen in horror as his blood went cold. Holy fucking shit — why did he just say that?! Oh shit- oh shit- he wasn't thinking when he said that oh shit did he just expose himself—

"I would end up painting you too, Tyun." Beomgyu spoke up softly, smiling warmly. "But you're prettier than any artwork I've seen."

Well, there goes his heart.

Taehyun was now a dark shade of red, the bottom of his lip trembling since he was beyond speechless as to what the elder had just said. His heart was beating so fast he could practically puke it up right now while his thoughts were jumbled around, looking down at the ground to avoid eye contact.

Oh fuck you, Choi Beomgyu for making my heart feel this way.

But Beomgyu's idea wasn't all that bad, so for the next few minutes he started painting something basic and simple while listening to the elder talk about something random for the time being.

Once he was done, the male sat back and admired the artwork he had created... a huge flower field with the most prettiest colors ever, along with two butterflies dancing in the center of it, flying ever so freely together.

Butterflies... which represented him and Beomgyu, how he wanted to fly free with the elder forever and after.

But he won't admit that outloud, even if Beomgyu constantly asks for hours.

How stupidly in love he was with him.

✧˖*°࿐

By the time sunset arrived, three hours had passed by in a flash, neither boys realizing it since they were too absorbed into their own little world together, spending those last three hours doing all sorts of activities the kingdom had to offer.

The two of them walked around the kingdom for a couple of minutes before finding a nice secluded area inside of a small library where they checked out the books that were published, finding a book named 'Love Disaster' which Taehyun deemed absolutely stupid, whoever the author was really chose a dumb topic!

The next hour, the both of them were just about to go on towards stalls that had the most delicious looking sweets ever until Beomgyu had quickly grabbed onto the younger and pinned him against a random surface, the both of them hiding behind a wall as multiple palace guards passed by.

It was safe to say that Taehyun nearly passed out during that moment having the elder so close again, but the two of them decided to grab the sweets they desired, quickly hiding in a secluded area.

Beomgyu really loved the way Taehyun smiled whenever they did something so accelerating, the sound of his pretty laughter, oh how far gone he was for the male, always wanting to hear it.

The next hour, the both of them stumbled upon a group of people near the heart of the town who were dancing around the area while the sound of a live band close by played a beautiful lively piece which caused them to all dance around.

Beomgyu noticed right away that Taehyun's eyes seemed to light up in curiosity when he saw the townsfolk dancing around, the two of them stopping near the area to watch them dance, he knows that the younger didn't enjoy dancing as much anymore... but something about seeing his sparkly wide eyes made his heart race.

"Do you want to... dance?" Beomgyu spoke softly, lifting his hand up towards the male who looked at him right away.

Taehyun was hesitant at first, he didn't really want to dance especially with the amount of people around them, but after having a memory of how comfortable he was dancing with the elder and him only, he eventually gave in and took his hand.

For the next few minutes, the both of them began to dance around happily as the music began to become more lively, the crowd becoming more energetic as the two of them danced around to the upbeat kingdom music, falling into their own world only.

Beomgyu, whose eyes had never once left Taehyun's figure no matter how far apart they became, adored the way the male would become so energetic and match the flow of the music. How he would twirl around and smile widely, allowing the music to take over his sense, encouraging the elder to give more energy as he held onto him and spun around.

Soon enough, the elder gained enough confidence to grab onto the younger's waist and hold onto him tightly, the both of them smiling widely as they bounced and danced around like maniacs, their adrenaline running high as the music became faster and faster, reaching its end.

Beomgyu took the chance to spin the younger around when he realized that the song was soon ending, intertwining their hands tightly as he spun him around before holding onto his waist tightly, pulling him so close that their chests bumped against one another the moment the song ended.

A loud roar of cheers echoed out around them as the both breathed heavily, staring into each others eyes so longingly without realizing it.

The longer he stared at Taehyun's pretty face, glistening under the sunlight due to the thin layer of sweat, he couldn't help but feel so speechless as the feelings in his heart grew even more, slowly making him realize what he felt.

"To the boats, the lanterns are going to start soon!"

Beomgyu was quick to pull away from the younger, his eyes widening when he had heard that before looking over his shoulder and up towards the sky to see that the sun was setting quite rapidly.

"I think it's time," He spoke up, looking back over towards the younger. "Shall we go now?"

Taehyun watched breathlessly as Beomgyu extended his hand out, an invitation to come with him, a sign that their way out... the happily ever after was so close yet so far. So with a small, flustered, smile he gently placed his hand on top of the elders, their hands intertwining right away.

"Let's go."

Beomgyu wasted no time dragging the younger down the road, quickly rushing over towards where he hoped were the docks, catching sight of Soobin with Yeonjun on his head following them not so far away.

He had managed to slip away while Taehyun was distracted for a short while, he knew that this would be a special moment for the both of them, and seeing a bunch of pretty lanterns with a huge crowd of people around them wasn't a very pleasant idea in his eyes, so he decided that he would rent a wooden boat for them, so they could be alone.

It's what his Taehyun deserves after all.

After a few minutes of rushing down the street, they eventually arrived at a secluded wooden dock with a pretty stable wooden boat waiting for them, a smile growing on the males lips as he tightened his hold on the males hand and guided him.

"Is this why you suddenly disappeared on me?" Taehyun asked, carefully getting into the boat with Beomgyu's help. "You wanted to be all fancy and get us a boat?"

"I think it would be better to see the lanterns alone together instead of around a bunch of people." Beomgyu replied fondly, looking over towards Soobin who stood close, keeping an eye on them.

Taehyun didn't mind that actually, he felt his heart skip a beat when the elder had said that, it was actually... kinda sweet and considerate.

Being alone with Beomgyu made him happy.

The elder carefully got into the boat once Taehyun was settled, carefully sitting across from the male as he picked up the wooden paddle and looked over towards Soobin who tilted his dumb horse head slightly, with Yeonjun resting on top of his head.

"Hey, Soobin!" Beomgyu called out, grabbing a brown bag before throwing it towards the horse who stumbled back, his eyes widening seeing a bunch of apples fall out. "Have yourself a treat!"

Soobin huffed out a suspicious breath, squinting his eyes towards Beomgyu who scoffed softly.

"What? I bought them!" Beomgyu said, reassuring the horse who seemed content with his reply, happily eating them before an amused smirk began to grow on his face. "...most of them."

Ignoring Soobin's shouts of anger, Beomgyu turned back over towards Taehyun who was too distracted by the scenery around them. Only the soft sounds of the low tide waves crashing against their boat echoed out along with the faint sounds of birds flying away to rest for the night.

"How far are we going to go?"

"Far enough, you deserve the most perfect view."

That reply seemed to be the right one, the way a giddy smile began to grow on Taehyun's face after he had said that made him feel so prideful and happy.

All these emotions... these weird feelings... they were growing more by the hour, he was no longer able to run away from it, how it confused him so yet he was so... so... close to discovering to what exactly it was.

It started out small, near the end of sleeping beauty only increasing more and more throughout the little mermaid, and after he nearly lost him once... the feeling only grew stronger, becoming unbearable by the time they entered this fairytale.

The promise he made, all of his words from the day before, were certainly not just bullshit... they were spoken from the heart, his heart, every single one of them.

It was a bit scary for Beomgyu, how someone he used to hate so much... someone he viewed as unbearable and unreasonable, someone he viewed as pathetic and incapable of anything... was now so... so precious in his eyes.

After a few minutes of endless rowing, Beomgyu eventually found the most perfect spot they could find. It was the perfect view of the entire kingdoms island in front of them along with some large boats not so far from them, this way, they could see every single lantern that'll float throughout the night sky soon.

Taehyun was beyond happy... yet... he couldn't help but feel a bit scared, a small frown formed on his face while an uncomfortable gut feeling began to grow.

"Is everything okay, Taehyun-ah?" Beomgyu asked right away when he noticed the frown on the males face.

"Yeah, it's just..." He paused, his eyebrows furrowing slightly as he looked up at the elder. "I'm just... scared... what if seeing the lanterns isn't the happily ever after? What if it's something else...?"

Beomgyu hummed softly, nodding his head, he also had that strange gut feeling that something wasn't right, there was no way that seeing lanterns was the easy way out of the fairytale, he would rather kiss Taehyun again than find a whole new ending.

"Then we'll find the real happily ever after together," He spoke up, looking over towards the male who was startled by his response. "Even if it takes forever, It'll be worth it with you."

Taehyun felt so... so speechless, he couldn't even process any words at the moment, only his face turning red was enough of a reaction he could show, was the elder doing this on purpose...? Saying things that made his heart so... so crazy?

Beomgyu, who noticed his silence, took the chance to lean forward and gently intertwine their hands together, admiring every feature that the male had. Even with really long hair braided into the prettiest braid, decorated with pretty flowers, the younger was still pretty... he never realized how well long hair may suit him.

The sun was long gone now, the clear starry night sky now took over the horizon as the bright moon shined down upon them like a mystical light, but since they were out in the middle of the ocean it was more darker where they were, yet Beomgyu... who was too focused on the younger, was so mesmerized by the males beauty.

The two of them just stared at each other, a fond smile growing on their lips as that same unknown feeling he felt earlier surrounded the both of them, the warmth of Taehyun's hand in his own just felt so right... the thoughts of having him in his future felt so right.

He didn't want to let this moment go.

It wasn't until something had caught Taehyun's attention right away, the males eyes widening like a cat who was interested in something, looking over the elders head which made him a bit confused, slowly turning around to see what had caught his attention.

That's when he saw it, a golden glow floating high in the night sky which caught his attention near instantly when he realized what it was, the first lantern.

"Oh my gosh!" Taehyun gasped in excitement, instantly standing up from his spot before he rushed over towards the thick bowsprit, which caused the boat to aggressively tilt side to side, but he didn't care at all. "Hyung- it's so- oh my gosh!"

Just as the one lantern began to float up higher, hundreds more soon followed after, floating up high into the night sky as more townsfolk began to release them, creating a sea of golden lanterns that began to fill the night sky.

Large boats all around them soon joined in as even more golden lanterns painted the sky, some even releasing them into the waters as the whole dark scenery around them began to illuminate with that golden hue.

Taehyun, who was absolutely breathless, stared at the sight in pure awe. Admiring the way the golden lanterns began to float up even higher in the sky, creating sea lines of pretty golden like stars, illuminating that golden hue down upon them ever so perfectly.

He has seen the lantern scene in Tangled before, but something about seeing it now in person... before his very eyes, felt even more precious, especially with Beomgyu by his side.

Taehyun soon started to realize how quiet the elder was, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion as he slowly turned around to look over towards him, immediately becoming breathless when he saw him.

"Should we join them, princess?" Beomgyu asked sweetly, holding two golden lanterns in his hand with the prettiest designs.

Taehyun, who felt overwhelmed with happiness, immediately nodded as he scrambled to sit down across the elder, his eyes wide and sparkly like the golden lanterns around them.

That's when he looked up directly towards the elders face, noticing how the golden limelight around them kissed his face so perfectly, making him so... so pretty.

"I'm really happy," Taehyun breathed out, biting on the bottom of his lip. "I was so scared...but now... being with you... it- it just comforts me in a way I can't explain...y'know...?"

Beomgyu's eyes began to soften, a fond smile growing on his lip as he nodded. "I'm starting to."

Taehyun took the other lantern off from the elders hand, staring down at it with full admiration, this was it... his 'dream' that he's been looking forward to. The possible happily ever after that'll get them out, hopefully.

"Let's release together," Beomgyu said. "Three... two... one!"

Right as he reached one, both boys lifted up their lanterns high into the sky, allowing for them to float away while swirling around like they were performing a pretty dance. Even in the midst of a huge lantern sea, the two lanterns they released stayed close towards one another, unable to leave one another's side as they swirled around like a pretty dance.

Beomgyu who was smiling warmly, slowly began to glance down towards the younger who was mesmerized by the scenery above, the way that golden hue kissed his face ever so perfectly, bringing out his beautiful features even more — bringing out that smile he loves.

In that moment, the feelings that had left him so confused for so long began to slowly reveal themselves, his heart racing as butterflies danced all around his stomach, his thoughts only becoming one thing only, that being Kang Taehyun.

"Hyung! Look!"

The elder stared at him fondly, his eyes visibly softening while he watched Taehyun quickly lean over the side of the boat, extending his hand out towards a lantern that was slowly falling close to the waters, using the tip of his fingers to push it back up towards the sky which made him even more adorable.

Taehyun soon turned back to look over at him, a beautiful smile growing on his lips as his eyes shined brightly.

Which was enough for Beomgyu's unknown feelings finally come to life, his eyes widening in realization as to what those feelings were.

There was a reason why he began to feel so weird after finding out Taehyun had saved his life, there was a reason why his feelings had suddenly shifted from everlasting hatred to weird fluttery sensations, there was a reason why he wanted to forgive the male and fix their past mistakes.

Every awful moment that they went through, he was always by his side, every ugly view that he had towards the younger changed, everything that he once hated turned into something he adored.

He's starting to realize why he was so frightened to lose him, why he wanted to try being friends again, why he felt so mesmerized and stuck, so enchanted by the younger's voice and beautiful smile.

There's a reason why... his heart flutters and races everytime he's around the male, why all of his thoughts only became him, why he wanted him to stay by his side in the future so badly.

"Taehyun-ah..." Beomgyu croaked out softly, his eyes widening as realization hit him so hard, his mind blanked out. "I..."

Taehyun stared at the elder with a bit of confusion, tilting his head in the most heart clenching way it made the elder choke up. There was something about how he was sitting there so beautifully with golden lanterns that surround them, making the moment even more precious than before.

Beomgyu finally realized why he wanted Taehyun more than ever now.

So without anymore hesitation, the words left his mouth without him even realizing it, allowing the truth that he held back for so long to finally slip out.

"...I think I'm falling in love with you."

✧˖*°࿐