seventeen || two childhood friends

ʚ♡ɞ

"Yeon! Yeonjun, wait up!"

Yeonjun groaned loudly knowing exactly who was calling him, turning his head he took off one earbud and watched as Soobin chased after him like a little kid.

"Why are you following me, weirdo?" Yeonjun asked the male, waiting for the blonde to catch his breath as a wide excited smile showcased on his face. "How come you're not with your friends, huh?"

Soobin smiled cheekily, his dimples displaying brightly for the elder to see. "We cancelled today, I figured that since Beomgyu's staying after school with his boyfriend, I would walk you home!"

"Are you stupid?!" Yeonjun hissed at the male, immediately walking faster only for the younger to match his pace. "I can't believe you cancelled just so you could walk me home!"

A puppy like pout formed on the blondes lips, his eyes widening as Yeonjun walked away from him, but like a golden retriever he is the male grabbed the elders wrist and tugged him back, causing the poor unfortunate yeonjun to yelp loudly and crash into the males chest.

"Choi Soobin!" Yeonjun growled angrily, immediately turning around to face the male who had a smirk on his lips, but he couldn't ignore the fact that his heart was racing rapidly and that his mind was going a million thoughts per second. "What is up with you lately, you're being so clingy!"

"What?" Soobin chuckled, enjoying Yeonjun's reactions. "I can't enjoy some time with my childhood best friend?"

It was like a cage of butterflies was suddenly forced open inside of the males stomach, a heavy surge of a familiar tingly fuzzy feeling began to swirl around as he stared at the male in shock. Just something about those weirds sent him into a small panic, but there was also slight pain.

Just his childhood best friend.

"You've been oddly clingy towards me..." Yeonjun mumbled softly, a small wave of dread washing over him when he started to realize something. "You never wanted to spend time with me alone ever since we met Beomgyu, you would always ask me if he was there."

Soobin's smile faded slightly when Yeonjun had said that, seeing the males expression go from a satire expression to a saddened one sparked sudden sadness in his heart.

"That's not true," Soobin tried to deny it, even though he knew deep down Yeonjun was right. "I-I never asked only for Beomgyu, didn't I?"

A thin line formed on Yeonjun's lips when Soobin had said that, showcasing his doubt.

"How do you not remember...? I remember it all too well, Soobin you never wanted to spend time alone with me." Yeonjun scoffed, even though he was grateful Soobin was his friend since childhood, he couldn't help but feel hurt when he thought about how Soobin preferred Beomgyu over him.

-

"Yeonjun!"

Yeonjun turned his head around and saw Soobin coming after him, feeling his heartbeat increase he immediately smiled and waited for the male to catch up to him.

"Binnie," Yeonjun greeted the male happily once he caught up to him, just seeing the male in front of him felt so enchanting. "What's up?"

"Are you walking home?" Soobin asked him, tilting his head curiously, which made Yeonjun hold back his awe.

"I am."

"Alone?" Soobin asked again, which made Yeonjun's heart skipped a beat, was this a sudden sign he wanted to walk him home?

"Yeah, alone, why are you asking?" Yeonjun smiled widely, hoping that his thought was true.

But instead, his hopes were shattered when he got the opposite answer instead.

"Oh..." Soobin sighed softly, a small frown showcasing on his face. "I thought Beomgyu would be walking with you, I wanted to see him."

"W-What?" Yeonjun replied weakly, his voice cracking slightly in disbelief.

"Never mind that, I'll see you and Beom tomorrow, Yeon!" Soobin smiled happily, immediately turning around as he ran back towards the school where his friends were waiting for him by the gate.

Yeonjun stood there and stared at the male walking away from him, feeling his heart crack little by little.

That's when he knew, that the male he loved so deeply, would never feel the same way he felt for him.

-

Yeonjun sighed softly, mentally cursing at himself for remembering that specific memory from their second year of high school (a/n: if anyone forgot, they're in their fourth year of high school), the month when Soobin's crush on Beomgyu was forming so obviously, everyone in the whole school knew.

"I don't want to be a rebound for you, Soobin." Yeonjun confessed without a second thought, causing Soobin's eyes to widen.

"What do you mean rebound?" Soobin immediately caught up to him, grabbing the males wrist so he could turn him around and properly face him. "What are you saying?"

"Beomgyu rejected you right?" Yeonjun spat out, knowing that Soobin's confession to the younger was private, but after being stopped by the males two friends weeks ago and was told Soobin confessed, he couldn't help but piece things together. "Are you heartbroken, Bin? Are you using me as a getaway because your crush for two years rejected you?"

Soobin was left entirely speechless from Yeonjun's sudden words, a sense of dread and guilt began to sink into him when he finally realized what this whole situation looked like to Yeonjun, but if he was honest, he never ever viewed him as a rebound.

It did hurt being reminded that his former crush rejected him though.

Soobin looked around and noticed more people beginning to walk down the side walk, glancing to the side he saw a little convenience store open with tables out in front, which made it a great spot to sit down and talk.

"Let's talk properly about this, please?" Soobin tilted his head in the direction of the small tables which made Yeonjun glance over in that direction.

The male didn't want to, he felt his heart breaking by the second, but most of his heart still respected Soobin. So with a dreading sigh, he nodded and walked with the male over to the convenience store.

After a few minutes, the two of them took their seats and stared at each other awkwardly.

An awkward sigh finally broke the tense silence between them.

"I know... it might be... that this..." With every word Soobin spoke, his voice became weaker and weaker. Just the hurt expression on Yeonjun's face made his heart hurt for some reason.

"I don't want you thinking that I'm only using you as a rebound because Beomgyu rejected me... okay...?" Soobin said softly, watching as Yeonjun's eyes softened ever so lightly.

"Then why..." Yeonjun asked him, his tone solid as he started to become weak, his walls crumbling down slightly. "Why do you suddenly want to spend time with me after pushing me away for so long...?"

"Because we're childhood friends!" Soobin said in defense, but even though those were the words that came out of his mouth, he knew those words weren't the words his heart wanted to say. "I-It should be right for us to hang out!"

"Soobin," Yeonjun mumbled softly, "Ever since we met Beomgyu, you've never wanted to spend time with me unless he was there, I enjoy Beomgyu's company too I don't blame you, but you always constantly asked about him. Even when I started walking to school with him you began walking with us because he was there, not for me."

Soobin began to feel awful, he was never aware of his actions and Yeonjun's emotions, he had always assumed that the male was fine and happy with Beomgyu around when they were together.

"I-I thought you'd be more comfortable and happier if he was there."

"No Soobin," Yeonjun sighed. "That was you, you were more comfortable and happier when Beomgyu was there. We stopped hanging out together one on one when we left middle school."

It really does hurt to admit, but i've held it in for too long, but everything is a mess now that I know Beomgyu never liked Soobin in the first place. Yeonjun thought to himself, even if his best friend never liked him back, he knew there were others that were more compatible with Soobin.

"I don't know the exact reason why I want to spend more time with you, Jun," Soobin admitted, causing the elder to feel more disappointed. "But I can guarantee you the reason isn't Beomgyu at all, I don't know how to properly apologize for making you feel that way, but do trust me when I say I want to spend more time with you, alone."

Yeonjun looked up at the male, searching in his eyes for any glimpse of doubt, but all he saw was honesty.

"I..." The blonde croaked out slightly, "You've never been a rebound, at all, I don't even have a crush on Beomgyu anymore. Sure, I was hurt that he came out saying he was dating Taehyun the day after I confessed, but I grew to realize that he is more happier with his boyfriend than me. What kind of friend would I be if I were angry in my own emotions and thoughts and unsupportive of my best friend who found his happiness?"

Yeonjun's lips began to tremble slightly when Soobin had said that, it made him realize that from the start he really has been unsupportive of Beomgyu's love life when he denied his feelings for Soobin, he was just so angry that all of this time of watching the two pining over each other, one never even liked the other in the first place.

"That doesn't explain why you suddenly want to be alone with me more."

"Because I want to be alone with you!" Soobin admitted, "You... I... I don't know, I enjoy your company, Yeonjun. Not because you're just my childhood friend but because I-I admire you! Your company is... so comforting."

That was the moment Yeonjun wanted to break down in tears.

No matter how hard he tried to get rid of his feelings or deny everything, Soobin had always managed to somehow make his love for him start anew, making him feel those same emotions he felt when he first realize he fell for the male.

"Why..." Yeonjun's voice cracked as he immediately looked down to avoid eye contact, covering his mouth as his words became slightly muffled. "Why couldn't you just leave me alone on that day we met? Everyone else hates me, it makes sense that you should too."

Soobin's heart broke deeply when Yeonjun had said those words, he always knew people disliked Yeonjun but he never saw any reasons why there should be.

"Why would you ever say that?" Soobin asked him in disbelief, grabbing onto the males wrist to make him look at him. "I have no reason to hate you Yeonjun."

"Admit it Soobin, I'm second choice," Yeonjun weakly spat out, years of anger and sadness that he bottled up started to crack. "Why would you waste years of being my friend, why would you run to me on that night of the winter dance to go with me only when you had so many other loved and amazing friends?!"

It was the first time Soobin had ever seen Yeonjun break down like this, for years he had always seen the male as someone who was strong, never let the negativity get to him. But now it was like a whole new personality, his weak side was showing and he was finally expressing his emotions.

Did Yeonjun really hate himself that much?

"I became your friend willingly, not by choice." Soobin said, his voice becoming stern yet stayed calm so he wouldn't scare the male. "I have never, in my life, regretted being your best friend once. Even when we met Beomgyu, I still admired you deeply as my best friend."

"I ran to you on that night because I wanted to go with you!" Soobin admitted, a fresh new wave of new emotions took over him as he stared at Yeonjun. "Those friends that I had back then made me happy yeah, but they.."

"They didn't make me as happy as you did, Yeonjun."

Yeonjun stared at the male in shock as his eyes began to sting with tears, slipping his wrist out of Soobin's hold he scoffed slightly and shook his head, trying to refuse every word he was told.

If Soobin had always felt that way, then why express it now...?

He wanted to get angry, yell at the male, tell him how unfair it felt to him.

But fucking curse his weak heart and his love for the blonde.

"I'm sorry for making it seem like you were second choice, Yeonjun," Soobin got up from his chair and walked over to the male and stood in front him. "I never meant it to be that way, you must've felt so hurt, I'm sorry."

Extending his hand out, he smiled weakly towards him. "I can promise you now that I will treat you better, not because Beomgyu rejected me, but because you're my best friend and i've always cared for you."

Yeonjun glanced at the males hand, biting his lip gently he slowly nodded his head and took the males hand, being pulled up from his seat and forced into a tight hug from the male.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise! But for now, believe me when I say I will never ever hate you and that I will never ever consider you anything lower than my best friend, okay?" Soobin spoke gently, gently patting Yeonjun's head as the elder froze slightly.

Yeonjun didn't know what to do, it was such a long time since he was comforted like this, especially by Soobin. Taking his time to think about what to do, he felt the male pull away and look at him with the most comforting gaze ever, a gaze that just told him that it was okay and that he didn't lie at all.

With a deep sigh, Yeonjun nodded and allowed himself to trust Soobin's words.

"Alright," He mumbled slightly. "Stop being sappy, you smell like sweat."

A wide smile grew on Soobin's lips when he saw Yeonjun back to his little angry self again, with a happy nod the two of them began walking down the street where Yeonjun's house was.

"I heard there's this event coming up in downtown Seoul," Soobin suddenly mentioned after remembering it, hearing it from a friend.

"Okay, and?" Yeonjun scoffed, suddenly confused why the male was asking this and acting like he wasn't on the verge of tears when he remembered every single word Soobin said and replayed it in his head over five million times. "It's probably lame."

"It might be lame," Soobin chuckled, "But I think we should go together, it might be fun."

Yeonjun paused and stared at the male in shock, not expecting that suggestion at all. "What do you mean together? You don't want to ask Beomgyu to go with us?"

"I'm pretty sure he has plans with his boyfriend instead," Soobin chuckled at Yeonjun's reaction, but was a bit sad that the male immediately thought of Beomgyu only. "So why not us? It's a good opportunity to finally hang out together again after a while."

Yeonjun stayed silent for a few minutes, he didn't know whether he should accept or not. It would be okay, right? He shouldn't feel guilty at all because of his feelings, he knew that Beomgyu didn't like Taehyun anymore, and after what Soobin said, he shouldn't be angry that Beomgyu never liked Soobin.

After mentally battling with himself for a few minutes, he sighed softly and nodded his head after making up his answer.

"Alright," Yeonjun said. "I'll go with you, but if it's lame I'm leaving right away." He said, walking past Soobin with an annoyed expression to hide his happiness.

Soobin's smile grew so widely it began to hurt his cheeks, celebrating for a few seconds he turned around and caught up with the male.

"You won't regret it, It might be fun!" Soobin said excitedly, excited that he's going to finally spend time with his childhood best friend, a way to make up for the loss he made.

He was so excited.

That he completely ignored the fuzzy feeling that formed in his heart when he was with Yeonjun.

That same fuzzy feeling he had with Beomgyu.

ʚ♡ɞ

"Taehyun, do you need help cleaning up?" Beomgyu asked the male, watching as Taehyun sat there in front of a canvas that was covered with a white sheet.

"No," Taehyun replied dryly, looking over at Beomgyu who was covered in paint after dropping a palette all over himself. "Just go home and clean up, you've made a mess."

Beomgyu smiled awkwardly and chuckled softly, "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow, Taehyun!"

As the male wave goodbye to him, he watched as Beomgyu walked out of the club room, waiting for a good ten minutes to make sure that he was actually gone he turned towards the canvas and bit his lip nervously.

Grabbing the edge of the sheet, he pulled it off and got a good look at his painting he's been working on for the past days.

It was a flower field, a field adorned with multiple beautiful flowers that he found enchanting as butterflies were sketched around it to showcase the liveliness of the field.

And in the middle was a person he sketched, holding up their hand out as a butterfly landed perfectly on the tip of their finger.

For the past weeks, he's been getting more and more inspiration, and as he stared at the painting he couldn't help but have his stomach churn uncomfortably and his ears flush red.

It's almost perfect, He thought as he hesitantly picked up a palette to finish it up, unaware that he was staring at the person he had sketched onto the painting.

A person that oddly resembled Beomgyu, a lot.

ʚ♡ɞ