eight || an unexpected offer

ʚ♡ɞ

Yeonjun was conflicted.

He was so certain that Beomgyu liked Soobin, he examined the two for months on end and there were so many signs that the two shared the same feelings for one another!

But all of a sudden the announcement of Choi Beomgyu, his best friend, suddenly has a crush on Kang Taehyun, the kid who is always cold and quiet. It just doesn't feel right at all to him.

There's no way that he actually likes him... Yeonjun thought, frowning at the reoccurring memory of Beomgyu confessing to the world how he liked the pink head.

He just couldn't bring himself to believe it, something in his gut was telling him
that there was something else.

It sucks though, I could've talked to him about it today if he didn't stay back at the clubs. He grumbled, grabbing a spare juice box out of the side of his bag as he looked up.

It wasn't unusual for the two of them to walk home together, however, it wasn't unusual for one to walk alone. The male was slowly starting to wish that Beomgyu was here though, so he could talk to him about what was happening between him and Soobin.

They've been so distant, I know it's bothering Beom, he's so bad at hiding it. Yeonjun snickered, pulling his phone out of his pocket to change the song he was listening to then putting it back in so he could pay attention to what was in front of him.

It wasn't like he lived far from the school, he just took the longer way because he needed to ease his mind. The past few days have been so hectic for him and his mind he just needed time to cool off alone, he would definitely plan to talk to Beomgyu soon though.

I hope he's okay, Yeonjun frowned, grabbing his phone to look at the time, only seeing that it had been thirty minutes since clubs had ended. There's been countless rumors about how mean and cold Kang Taehyun was, his poor heart doesn't deserve that treatment.

"Hey! Choi Yeonjun! Is that you?"

The male furrowed his eyebrows a little, hearing a muffled voice somewhere behind him he took our one headphone and turned his head, seeing two males running towards him. Seriously? I wanted to be alone, who even are these weirdos?

"It is you!" The first male gasped out in excitement, slowing down and stopped in front of him so he could catch his breath. "We saw you walking and we knew it would be a perfect time to tell you! Since Beomgyu isn't here and all."

Yeonjun eyed them suspiciously, a judgmental frown slowly forming on his face as the way too bubbly boys in front of him smiled like their lives depended on it. "Who the hell are you guys?"

Weirdo #1 in front of him gave him an awkward frown, almost as if he didn't expect that question, but weirdo #2 next to him just kept smiling widely, stepping closer towards Yeonjun which caused the male to back up right away.

"I'm Jung Wooyoung!" Weirdo #2 — Ahem, Jung Wooyoung announced, a large smiling on his face as he tapped his chest softly, as if he were taking a stance while introducing himself. "And this over here is—"

"I can introduce myself Wooyoung," Weirdo #1 interrupted the male, turning back at Yeonjun he smiled awkwardly. "I'm Hwang Hyunjin."

"We're Choi Soobin's friends!" Wooyoung announced proudly, causing Yeonjun's jaw to drop slightly in annoyance.

Did Soobin send his damn minions after me? I know the dude loves annoying me but damn... Yeonjun thought, feeling anger bubbling in him. He paused his music for this! "What do you guys want from me?"

"Hah!" Hyunjin scoffed playfully, staring at Yeonjun as if he were crazy. "You're acting like we're about to take your lunch money! Ease down, I swear we're not here to annoy you, we've seen enough from Soobin!"

"We actually have something to tell you!"

"If it's a confession I don't want to hear it."

"Wah! You assume too much Choi Yeonjun!"

Even though the two of them were showing very obvious kindness, Yeonjun still felt like he had to put his guard up. It's not like he was a rude person in general, he was just very cautious around those he weren't that familiar with, you never know what could happen with someone you don't know very well. It just bothered him so much, why did Choi Soobin's friends approach him? He was usually avoided by Soobin's friends.

"Okay, what do you need to tell me? I swear if it's something about Soobin I'm leaving." Yeonjun said, even though he would really like to know one thing about Soobin...Just who did the male like?

"It's actually about Choi Beomgyu!"

Beomgyu?! The males eyes widened, hearing that unexpected name come out from Wooyoung's mouth. His mind began to run fifty thoughts at the same time, all about Beomgyu. It made him even more cautious, what if they heard something bad about his best friend?

"Whatever you heard they aren't true, now if you'd excuse me I'd like to continue listening to my girls generation playlist and go home." He scoffed, he didn't want to hear

Turning around, he put his airpod that he took out back in his ear and began to walk away from the two weirdos, he didn't want to hear anything about his best friend—

"It's about Choi Soobin and Choi Beomgyu!"

Yeonjun paused his movements, his eyes widening as he looked back at the two. Staring at them in shock an odd weird feeling began to form in his stomach, he knows he shouldn't believe things others say about his friends but after everything... He couldn't help be interested.

Contemplating it for a few seconds, he gave up and sighed, taking out his AirPod and turned to face the two. I'm sorry Beom.

"You guys have five minutes."

ʚ♡ɞ

"I thought you liked me, Choi Beomgyu."

What...?

Did he hear that correctly? Had he been spacing out too much?

"Choi Beomgyu?"

The male snapped out of his bubble of shock and stared at Kang Taehyun as if he were the most insane person on earth. Perhaps he looked crazy in the other males eyes but right now he couldn't believe what he just heard! Did this... Is he serious?

"What?!" Beomgyu finally screeched out, startling the male in front of him, but that was the least of his worries! Right now he just wanted to know why Kang Taehyun had just said that! "What do you mean you thought I liked you?! Are you insane?!"

"Why are you acting so shocked?" Taehyun asked him, staring at the male like he was deeply offended by what he had just said. "You're the one who said it."

Beomgyu eyes furrowed slightly, his shock increasing more and more. What was this dude on about?! Was Kang Taehyun really so full of himself he would really assume that he liked—

"You're the one who said it, in the cafeteria."

"What?" Beomgyu blurted out, processing what he said. It didn't make any sense! When did he ever say he liked—

Wait.

Beomgyu's heart dropped as his hands froze, the grip he had on one of the canvas immediately gave out, causing the canvas to drop to the floor creating a low thud. It was like the air went thin and the tension began to increase immensely.

It all began to come back to him.

The memory of him... saying... all of that in the lunchroom...

"I LIKE KANG TAEHYUN!!!!"

Those four words that kept ringing throughout his mind, a constant reminder of what disaster he had gotten himself into. It was repeating over and over again, it nearly made Beomgyu pass out on the spot!

"Oh... my... god..." He gasped out, his legs starting to feel like jelly. Grabbing onto the closest thing around him he fell onto the ground with a dazed expression, and maybe it was because he was super close to passing out on the spot but he swore it looked like Kang Taehyun was about to reach out to him. "You heard all.. of that...?"

"It was hard not to," Taehyun replied back casually, as if Beomgyu nearly passing out wasn't a big deal. "Everyone is talking about it in our class, how could I not hear something that involves my name?"

Beomgyu couldn't help but feel so foolish, he hadn't thought about whether or not Kang Taehyun would hear about his little lie or not, he just announced it without a second thought because he didn't want to tell Seong-jin and Yeonjun he likes Choi Soobin!

"You got it wrong..." Beomgyu mumbled, a wave of guilt began to wash over him. It was better to make sure all misunderstandings were clear, he didn't want Kang Taehyun to think the wrong ideas. "I...I didn't mean what I said?"

"You sound confused."

"I am confused!"

"Why?"

"I don't know!"

"Then what do you mean you didn't mean what you said?" Taehyun asked him once again, slowing down his words as if he were trying to make it make sense.

"I..." Beomgyu croaked out, a sudden lump in his throat formed. He hadn't told anyone about what he had been doing, and if he were to admit now that he had lied about everything...

What if Yeonjun found out...?

"Listen, I know you like me, you don't have to be nervous because I—"

"No! Don't say you like me back! Please!" He immediately begged the male, standing up right away and stepped closer to Taehyun making the male in front of him quite shocked by the sudden reaction.

Usually people would be so excited that their crush liked them back.

Not in Beomgyu's case though.

It was the wrong person.

"I...I..." He mumbled, backing away from Taehyun, finally giving up. He knew he lied too much. "I'm sorry, Kang Taehyun, you got it all wrong."

"What? Do you not like me?" Taehyun asked him, making the male slightly annoyed by how much he was pushing it.

"I don't like you!" Beomgyu finally blurted out, the moment he did he felt like all of the heavy burdens he was carrying finally began to break loose. "I don't like you at all, Kang Taehyun! I'm sorry, but I lied about liking you!"

And just like that, the whole room went silent, causing Beomgyu to feel even worse.

"What do you mean you lied about liking... me?" Taehyun spoke up, his tone was monotone yet Beomgyu could pick out the slight hint of confusion.

It's now or never, Gyu, you just have to be honest.

"Yes! I did!" Beomgyu groaned loudly walking away from the male back over to the seat he held onto.

"I actually like someone else, not you! I only lied because I didn't know what to do when my friend asked me if I had a crush on anyone and I almost told him until my best friend in the whole entire universe, my Choi Yeonjun, interrupted and said HE LIKED THE SAME GUY I LIKED! And then my friend who asked who I liked also confessed that he liked the same guy me and my best friend liked but that didn't really matter... But I began to panic because my best friend likes the same person I liked and obviously i'm going to feel bad because he's been hiding it for how long who knows what when! The two of them known each other longer than I have, and then I was asked AGAIN WHO I LIKED!!! I felt so so pressured I didn't know how to respond so — so I ended up saying the first name that came to mind and that name was your name for some reason but don't get it twisted I don't like you one bit! I like someone else! I just lied on impulse and now I don't know what to do because all I can do is lie and not tell the truth so my best friend can be happy and get with the guy he likes!"

Wow. Okay he did not expect to blurt out that much stuff.

But it really did feel good to finally let all of that stuff out, he was pretty sure Kang Taehyun didn't pay attention at all so it was okay!

"Wow." Taehyun said, quite shocked by how fast and panicked Beomgyu was when he ranted. "I didn't expect that, so you're saying you lied on impulse because your friend, Choi Yeonjun, likes the same dude you like and you didn't want to ruin the friendship so you decided to lie about your own feelings for the sake of his?"

Beomgyu's eyes widened in shock, he didn't expect that Kang Taehyun really listened to a word he said, he just summarized it better than he ever could. "You actually...Listened?"

"Every word of it, so you really don't have any feelings for me?"

"Of course I don't!" He cried out, ready to rip his hair out. Looking over at the window where he saw Soobin he couldn't help but feel relieved that he wasn't there. "It doesn't help that I announced it in the cafeteria where the whole entire school was there too! I don't even know you for gods sake!"

Taehyun chuckled softly, but it was almost in an annoyed tone. "You told the entire school you had a crush on me when you don't even know me?" He asked the male, staring at him like he was a complete idiot.

"It's stupid I know! I just... It's so hard when everyone thinks that I like you when I actually like someone else!"

Taehyun stayed silent for a few minutes, his eyes just staying on the male in front of him who was one shade away from turning into a living cherry. Sighing softly he crossed his arms and leaned back onto the window frame, casting out the perfect golden line between them.

"So, let me get this straight, you actually like someone else and not me."

"One hundred percent! I'm sorry if I offended you by using your name in a situation that doesn't involve you at all, I just panicked!" Beomgyu ranted on, but he was embarrassed, so so embarrassed that this was happening and how he just spilled all of his guts and problems out to the male in front of him. He doesn't even know what goes on in Kang Taehyun's mind, he would probably consider him foolish and idiotic to which he is.

"Alright, I believe you." Taehyun said, which made Beomgyu sigh heavily in relief that he wouldn't have to fight his way for the truth. "But let me ask you something."

Beomgyu stared at the male, tilting his head slightly in confusion.

"What exactly did you achieve by lying to Choi Yeonjun and the entire school?"

"What...?" Beomgyu breathed out in confusion, that question repeating in his head as he tried to look for a possible answer.

"I mean, you don't care at all if Choi Soobin dates someone else? That you're completely disregarding your own feelings because your best friend likes him too?"

Is he... worried for me...? Or just being annoying. Beomgyu thought, completely thrown off guard by how unexpected that question from Kang Taehyun was. Looking away he couldn't help but frown and nod his head shamefully.

"I wouldn't say disregarding my own feelings, i'm just...I'm not being a burden. If that were all to happen I wouldn't mind anyway. I don't even plan on dating, especially somebody my best friend has feelings for."

Sitting there for a few minutes in silent, Beomgyu couldn't help but feel something bothering him. Repeating what Taehyun had said to him just a few minutes ago his eyes widened as he suddenly realized who the male mentioned.

"W-Wait! How did you know I liked Choi Soobin?!" He bounced up in shock, staring at Taehyun while the male stared at him with a very blank expression. "I swear I didn't say his name...!"

"I had a feeling, it's very obvious." Taehyun replied shortly, shrugging his shoulders like he didn't care one bit that he made Beomgyu panic.

That's embarrassing, is it really that obvious...? If it really was obvious, just how long has Yeonjun kept his feelings hidden from him when everyone talked about how he and Soobin were a perfect match for one another. I should've seen all of the signs beforehand.

"Does Choi Yeonjun even believe all of the bullshit of a lies you've been spewing out?" Taehyun asked, making Beomgyu grumble slightly by the profanity that came out of his mouth and the way he put it.

"It's not BS, Kang Taehyun!" Beomgyu scoffed, quite offended...but he knew he was right. It was all bs. "But...If I'm honest...Not at all, he doesn't even believe me one bit!"

He really did wish that Yeonjun would buy the lie, it pained him so much to just straight up lie to his best friends face every time a question about Choi Soobin pops up. At this point he wasn't even lying, he was insisting that he liked Kang Taehyun to Yeonjun!

"It just makes me a bit upset...Yeonjun hyung keeps disregarding all of this and wants to act like nothing happened, even though he talked to me about everything I can't help but feel so upset that he hasn't been around Choi Soobin more..." He confessed, he felt like all of his little efforts to make sure him and Soobin would be happy together were never going to happen.

"Perhaps all of this would've been different if I never found out that Yeonjun likes Soobin..." He continued on, noticing how attentive Kang Taehyun was when he talked. "But now that I do know he likes Soobin, it's so hard to pretend to not know that and be around Soobin like before. I just really wished that Yeonjun would be convinced I do like someone else."

Noticing how quiet Taehyun was, the male flushed pink in embarrassment, had he over shared once again? It wasn't everyday that he would get the chance to spill out the discomfort in his mind and heart but the way he spilled it out in front of someone who he barely knows? How foolish could he get? This is why he always keeps things to himself.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I dumped all of this on you." Beomgyu chuckled softly, finding how interesting it was when he saw how soft Taehyun's gaze became.

"I just..." He breathed out, almost desperately. "I just really wish it would all be resolved soon. Soobin and Yeonjun together while I..."

He became silent after saying that, if Soobin and Yeonjun were to be together in the future, what would he do? Sure, it would be painful to see but if his best friends were happy...

Then so was he.

"Do you want me to help you, Choi Beomgyu?" Taehyun spoke up, cutting the awkward silence.

"Huh?" Beomgyu said in confusion, looking around the classroom he did notice that some things needed to be cleaned. "You want to help me tidy things up in the classroom?"

"What? Of course not, you already dropped one of our canvas, who knows what else you can break." Taehyun scoffed, both of them looking down at the canvas Beomgyu dropped earlier during his little panic.

"Ah..." Beomgyu mumbled out awkwardly, "well what exactly did you mean?"

"Just let me clear it up, you don't care what Soobin thinks."

"Uhm...I guess."

"And you want to convince Choi Yeonjun you like someone who isn't Choi Soobin?"

"Correct...?"

Taehyun pursed his lips for a few seconds, his eyebrows furrowing slightly as if he were deep in thought about something. That didn't matter though, he just knew that Yeonjun wouldn't be convinced by anything at all and eventually the whole school will find out about everything!

"I'm sorry, Kang Taehyun, i've been a bother. I'll leave now." Beomgyu stood up, bowing respectfully towards the pink head and turned around to head towards his bags.

"Go out with me, Choi Beomgyu."

..............................

what.

The males eyes widened so so widely he was certain that they were about to pop out. Slowly turning his head he stared at Kang Taehyun who just had a calm expression, as if what he had just said didn't just send Beomgyu's sanity to another universe.

"Wh-What did you just say...?" He mumbled out loud enough for Taehyun to hear.

"You want Yeonjun and the whole entire school to believe you, right?" Taehyun asked, making Beomgyu nod in response.

"Okay, then they'll believe you..." He spoke slowly, almost as if he himself weren't certain about it. Shaking his head, he looked at Beomgyu with a serious expression.

"...If we're dating."

ʚ♡ɞ