word count : 26,810

୨♡୧

Taehyun covered his ears tightly as he pushed through the crowd, his eyes squinting harshly as he tried navigating through the room without tripping or falling over anyone again, especially someone who was most definitely intoxicated.

He doesn't really remember how the hell he got himself lost in the most popular club in Seoul, one moment he was with his cousin then poof! The next moment, he had disappeared from his sight.

I really don't understand why I ever agreed to coming out. Taehyun mentally sighed to himself, pushing an intoxicated guy out of his way before making a beeline towards the door to breathe some fresh air and not some fucking muggy ass air full of the stench of booze and weed. This place isn't even my forte.

Once he was finally outside, the male ran to the nearest alleyway and gagged loudly, holding himself up by holding onto the wall as he crouched down, holding his stomach as he puked but not really puked up the sickening feeling of alcohol, sweat, and weed out of his system.

He really really did regret coming out, but why did he come out you may ask? Because his dearest cousin, Choi Yeonjun, had forced him to go! He honestly would've spent his entire Saturday night cooped up in his room eating this new brand of chips he's been wanting to try while watching 'All Of Us Are Dead' but instead, forced against his will, he went to a dumbass club instead.

I didn't even drink or inhale anything, but that sickening stench of drunk ass fuckers and mixtures of alcohol made me feel so sick. Taehyun frowned as he wiped the spit off of his lips, slowly lifting himself up so he could lean against the wall and inhale the air that smelled a bit funky.

Groaning loudly, he wiped his face and looked over at the street as people walked by, all happy because they got to party their fucking life away. He really wished he was at home, at least he got to leave before Yeonjun hooked him up with any of his weird ass friends again.

The male turned his head away from the street and closed his eyes and tried to breathe. If he didn't he was certain he would be on the verge of literally passing out if he doesn't get home right now.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Taehyun's eyes shot open as he snapped his head to the side to see where that voice had suddenly come from, his breath hitching in fear when he saw a shadow figure standing in front of him. Holy shit, was he about to die?

"H-Hey! Wait!" The voice called out for him when he stumbled back in fear, nearly tripping over some trash bag as he stared at the silhouette in fear. "I won't hurt you I swear!-"

"That's what a murderer would say!" Taehyun scoffed, regaining his balance as the figure began to slowly walk towards him, looking over to the side, he immediately picked up a random stick. "Stay back or I'll kill... y-you.."

"Seriously?" The stranger couldn't help but chuckle, and that's when Taehyun realized his voice was deep. "I don't think you would want to go to jail, plus that stick hurts!"

Taehyun stayed silent and tightened his grip onto the stick, prepared and ready to swing at this fucker who had suddenly started talking to him.

but when the mysterious figure came closer, that's when Taehyun managed to get a proper view of who the person he was talking to was...

... and holy hell, the person was absolutely breathtaking.

As the grip on the still slowly loosened up until it practically fell out of his hands, his eyes widened as all of his sassy remarks washed away in an instant when he made eye contact with those beautiful warm eyes that stared at him with worry and care.

The male looked absolutely gorgeous. Long light brown hair that was styled and parted in the middle, his eyelids sparkling with what it seemed to be faint application of glitter on them, his lips a light shade of pink, his facial structure was so perfect and define it was like the heavens had sent down one of their angels to him to save him from the lethal smell that invaded his brain.

"I'm pretty sure someone like you wouldn't want to be in jail, the smell is worse than the club, trust me." The mysterious male chuckled softly, looking over at the club's door where a drunk couple was making out... perhaps even more. "I was passing by and I saw you looking like you were about to collapse, are you okay?"

Taehyun gulped slightly, though he was extremely nervous being in front of someone so beautiful while he looked like an insane mess, he cleared his throat and toned down his aggressive tone.

"I'm... fine," He looked away, eye contact making him extremely nervous. "However, I'm curious about what you had just said about the stench about jail... are you speaking from experience?" He couldn't help but smile slightly.

A soft chuckle left the male's mouth as he shook his head in amusement at what he just said. "Maybe, maybe not, that's a story for later... Come on, let's go."

The beautiful male began to turn around and slowly walk away, most likely waiting to see if Taehyun would really follow him or not, and personally, to Taehyun, that seemed a little bit suspicious.

"I swear I won't kill you." The male said, as if he read what was in his mind.

"I don't even know you, let alone your name... are you sure you won't kill me the moment I'm caught off guard?" Taehyun raised his eyebrow, crossing his arms as he stared at the male who seemed amused by his words.

"You know, I can't even be mad at that," He chuckled softly, walking over to some huge case in the shape of a guitar. "I would be suspicious too, but you really do look sick, I want to get you some water and a snack from the convenience store."

That didn't sound too bad, now that the stranger mentioned it, he really started to feel the dehydration hit him when the word water hit his ears.

"Okay..." Taehyun breathed out, unsure whether he should regret saying that or not. "But if you kill me, I'll have you know my cousin is a cop."

The male didn't say anything after that, only an amusing smile growing on his face as he strung the strap of the guitar case over his shoulder, walking away from Taehyun who quickly walked behind him.

"Oh, by the way," The male spoke up after a few minutes of silence, looking over at Taehyun who stared up at him with curiosity on what he was going to say. "Want to tell me your name? Or I'll start calling you 'alleyway boy' after finding you puking your guts out in that area."

Taehyun couldn't help but snort loudly after hearing what the mysterious boy said, all of his uneasy feelings began to wash away the more he stared into the males eyes, as if they were telling him so many words without him saying it... one of those being that he could trust him.

"I'm Kang Taehyun." He said softly, looking away as his head began to clear, no longer throbbing because of the sickening smell. "Now do I get to know what your name is, mysterious possible serial killer?"

"Seriously? You could've at least come up with a better name than that." The male laughed loudly, which made Taehyun proud that he managed to make him laugh properly. "My name is Choi Beomgyu."

"Choi Beomgyu..." Taehyun softly repeated, the male's name rolling off of his tongue perfectly. He couldn't help but have butterflies swirl in his stomach as he did. "What a nice name for a serial killer."

"Please," Beomgyu chuckled, rolling his eyes after hearing that. "Well, do I get to know why I found you outside of Sarang Club this late at night?"

Taehyun huffed heavily, chills running down his body as he thought about the events of tonight. "My cousin forced me out, I honestly didn't have a choice, he wants me to meet someone... basically get laid, he thinks I'm lonely."

Beomgyu laughed loudly before covering his mouth, glancing over at Taehyun who flushed a shade of pink by how amused he was hearing that. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to laugh, it's just that..."

"...I didn't expect someone like you to be single and looking for a one night stand."

Taehyun immediately halted in his steps as he stared at Beomgyu with his jaw dropped, a full face of offense washing over him as he stared at the latter who looked curious as to why he seemed so offended.

"Are you implying I'm not desirable enough?" Taehyun crossed his arms, staring at the male who gasped softly after hearing that.

"No! No, not at all!" Beomgyu immediately said, sincerity in his tone as he shook his head to deny that accusation. "It's just that..."

"You're so... beautiful, it shocked me that you're single, I expected someone as... gorgeous as you would be taken."

All of the anger that Taehyun felt bubbling up in his blood washed away in an instant, immediately replaced with the feeling of shock and flustered when he realized and heard what Beomgyu had just said. He was so glad he wasn't intoxicated, if he was, he most definitely would've said something stupid. Instead, all of his words and thoughts faded right there and then as he was left speechless, the only thing he could do was look away and cough loudly as he covered his face in a failed attempt to hide how taken aback he was.

It was the first time someone has ever said that to him.

"If I weren't wrong," Taehyun finally spoke up after a short five seconds. "I would assume you're flirting with me, Mr. Choi."

"Mr. Choi?" Beomgyu repeated with a hint of laughter in his tone, looking away from the male so he could laugh loudly. "You don't have to be that respectful to me, Taehyun, I'm not even that old... I'm only twenty-two."

"Twenty-two?" Taehyun's eyes widened, he would've assumed that he was at least a bit older than him by a couple years, not just one. "I guess you're my hyung then."

"Ahh, you're younger? That explains why you barely kept conscious when you smelled alcohol and weed in the air."

Taehyun scoffed sarcastically and pushed the male slightly, the two of them bursting out in a fit of giggles as he did. Although he had met Beomgyu at least twenty minutes ago, he had never felt more comfortable with a stranger than he did now.

However, he was quite confused why the male had avoided answering his assumption of him flirting with him. Had he been too straightforward? Maybe he was overthinking it and made Beomgyu feel a bit awkward, he wasn't quite sure, and he certainly wasn't going to press on it.

After a good ten minutes of small talk and slow walks, the two of them finally arrived at the nearest convenience store, allowing them to settle down on a table outside as Beomgyu went inside to grab the drinks and snacks he had promised not so long ago.

Which finally allowed Taehyun to be alone for a short period of time, he didn't mind being alone, but honestly... he started to feel a bit lonely not having Beomgyu's liveliness around him... even if he was like two feet away.

I can't believe I actually walked with a stranger to a store for forty minutes, Yeonjun is definitely going to kill me. Taehyun sighed softly, knowing that the minute his cousin found out he left the club to get free snacks from a stranger, he would be dead.

"Hey, I didn't know which one you liked so I got all five." Beomgyu soon came back out with a whole ass bag full of water bottles and different chocolate flavors which sorta made Taehyun snort by how considerate he was.

"It's fine," Taehyun smiled, grabbing a water bottle and a strawberry flavored chocolate bar. "You really didn't have to get me all of this, I'll pay you back."

"Pay me back? Please, don't even bother with that, I'm just being kind." Beomgyu sat down across from the male, grabbing a dark chocolate flavored bar which made Taehyun mentally cringe at the choice.

"I see you've been carrying a guitar around, were you heading back home?" Taehyun spoke up, starting a conversation to avoid any awkward silence between them, which worked perfectly well in his favor.

"Oh!" Beomgyu's eyes lightened up brightly after he mentioned his guitar. "I just came back from a rehearsal in my band, I live like twenty minutes away from this store but I chose to walk since it's nice out."

"A band?" Taehyun paused his actions, glancing over at Beomgyu with. Now he really was curious about him and his life. "You're in a band? Like idol group?"

"No, nothing like that," Beomgyu chuckled, grabbing his guitar case as he pulled something out from the side of the pocket. "I'm in a band called 'Byeol', it's nothing too famous, but me and my band mates perform at Hydrangea Cafe."

"Byeol? As in star?" Taehyun's eyes flickered down to the paper he just pulled out, a paper written with what seemed to be song lyrics. "How come I never heard of you guys? Hydrangea Cafe is a really popular place."

"Well, we did just start three months ago," Beomgyu smiled fondly, proud of his hard work. "Here, let me introduce you to my members."

Beomgyu leaned down once again and pulled out a picture which made Taehyun's heart melt. He and his band mates seemed so close with one another it made his heart melt.

"In the center is obviously me, because I'm the amazing lead guitarist." Beomgyu smirked, which made Taehyun scoff and roll his eyes. "Anyways, to the left, this is Kim Chaewon, she's our lead vocalist, absolute sweetheart."

"She's very beautiful." Taehyun smiled widely, the blonde hair color suiting Chaewon perfectly, he could already tell that she was someone kind.

"Next to her is Lee Saerom, she's our rhythm guitarist, absolute sweetheart as well." Beomgyu smiled fondly, admiring his friends.

"What's a rhythm guitarist?"

"Ah! Sorry, a rhythm guitarist is someone who plays the chords of the melody in a song, helps them keep time and steady in the song." Beomgyu explained enthusiastically, his love for music showcasing brightly.

(a/n: i do apologize if this information isn't exactly correct.)

"Thank you for explaining, she looks really nice!" Taehyun smiled, trying to not be distracted by how adorable the male's smile was.

"Now on the far right, that's Sim Jaeyun, but he prefers to be called Jake. He's our drummer, he's very talented at the drums, handsome isn't he?"

"He's very handsome!"

Beomgyu felt happy that Taehyun was genuinely listening to him talk and wasn't getting bored so easily. Usually people would start to get irritated by how long he would take to introduce his best friends.

"Next to him is Han Taesan, he's our keyboardist, and our youngest! He joined the group when he was eighteen, and just turned nineteen in August." Beomgyu smiled, admiring the male as if he were his little brother.

"So young, did you force him?" Taehyun teased, smirking slightly as Beomgyu rolled his eyes.

"More like he forced himself into the group after finding out about it, he's obsessed with me you know? But I love him, he's like my sweet non biological little brother." Beomgyu chuckled softly.

"You don't have any siblings?" Taehyun tilted his head, which made Beomgyu sigh softly and nod.

"Mhm, just a bunch of cousins." He sighed softly. "How about you? Do you have any siblings?"

"I have an elder sister attending Crimson Heart University, her name is Kang Yuri!" Taehyun beamed brightly, immediately whipping out his phone to find a picture of his siblings, and once he did he immediately showed Beomgyu.

"She's beautiful, just like you, I guess good looks run in the family." Beomgyu smiled fondly, making Taehyun flush a shade of red once again.

"I-I also have a younger brother," Taehyun coughed softly to avoid talking about what Beomgyu had just said. "His name is Sunoo, he attends Dark Moon Academy."

"Your family members attend very high ranking schools, I guess your family has the brains, huh?" Beomgyu leaned his head onto his hand. staring at Taehyun with a fond smile.

"I...guess we do, we just work really hard. I attended Star Seekers Academy, how about you?"

"I attended Crown University to study music, I graduated very early last year." Beomgyu said softly, which made Taehyun admire the male even more, Crown University was a hard place to get into.

"So do you live with your siblings or no?"

"I don't actually," Taehyun chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I currently live with my cousin and his boyfriend, my siblings are in Busan right now, so it's been a while."

Beomgyu nodded his head, listening closely.

The male glanced down at the paper and saw that there was a sixth person in the photo that the elder hadn't mentioned yet, perhaps it was his fault for interrupting the male and not waiting for him to finish.

"Who's that person next to you in the picture?" Taehyun pointed out, his head tilting slightly. "The one cuddled up... next to you."

"Huh?" Beomgyu glanced down at the photo, his eyes lighting up immediately as his cheeks flushed red, it nearly made Taehyun... sick...? "Oh! That's Moon Seong-jin, he's my—"

bzzt bzzt! bzzt bzzt!

Right before Beomgyu could finish his sentence, the male was suddenly cut off when the loud sound of a phone ringing cut him off, making him sigh loudly as he grabbed his phone and looked at who it was that was calling him.

In that moment, Taehyun saw fear flash through Beomgyu's eyes as he immediately picked up the phone and held it to his ear. "Hello?"

The male stayed silent as the other person on the end began talking, Taehyun couldn't make out who it was but he definitely did hear some sort of yelling on the other side which made Taehyun a bit nervous.

"I..." Beomgyu croaked out, his expression dropping slightly. "I'm sorry, I...I got busy, you know-"

Beomgyu was cut off when the yelling on the other side became even more louder, causing the two of them to make eye contact awkwardly as the elder was forced to just sit and listen to what that angry person had to say to him, it made Taehyun feel so sick seeing how dull the male looked.

"Okay, I understand," Beomgyu mumbled softly, looking away from Taehyun and down towards the table. "I'll see you in a bit."

Beomgyu soon ended the call and placed his phone down, sighing heavily as he looked away and was deep in thought, it made Taehyun feel guilty even though he knew it wasn't his fault.

"Are you okay...?" He finally managed to ask after mentally fighting with himself whether he should ask or not. "That person seemed really angry, was that your mother?"

"Pfft," Beomgyu snorted loudly, his dull expression lighting up after what Taehyun said. "I wish, that was Seong-jin, he's my-"

Right before Beomgyu could finish his sentence another fucking phone call interrupted him once more, and if Taehyun were to guess, he would guess that it was that Seong-jin person calling the elder once more.

"I'm sorry, I think I should get going now." Beomgyu briefly stood up, causing Taehyun to flinch slightly by the sudden movement.

What Beomgyu said processed through Taehyun's mind in a flash, he didn't want the elder to go. He had suddenly become so intrigued by this stranger who had suddenly found him in an alleyway and offered him water and snacks, he was someone who cared about anyone despite how short or long he's known them.

"Wait!" Taehyun called out for Beomgyu who halted in his steps, looking back over at the male with sorrow in his eyes. "Will I ever get to see you again?"

Beomgyu's eyes widened as shock flashed through his eyes, he was caught off guard by the sudden question asked by Taehyun. After a few seconds of silence, the male glanced down at his phone which gave Taehyun the chance to see multiple messages spamming him which definitely doesn't seem good.

"Ah..." Beomgyu opened his mouth, as if he was unsure on what to say, looking back up at Taehyun, his worried expression eased down to a calm one.

"Hopefully soon, darling."

It was like someone had punched Taehyun in the gut so hard, all of the air in his lungs immediately flew out. Staring at Beomgyu with widened eyes, his heart began to pace slightly after hearing such a sweet word come out of his mouth, it made butterflies swarm in his stomach and the urge to stop Beomgyu from leaving even more.

Beomgyu stood there for a few more minutes, as if he were waiting for Taehyun to say something.

The two of them stared at each other, an unknown tension growing between them the longer their eye contact remained.

It honestly made Taehyun speechless by how ethereal Beomgyu looked, how could someone be walking around the city looking this beautiful and he had never seen him? Maybe it's because he doesn't leave his house...

"Taehyun!"

After hearing his name being called, they both were forced to break the heartwarming eye contact they had and forced to look over to the side where Taehyun saw— what the fuck- YEONJUN??

"Yeonjun hyung?!" Taehyun screeched in fear, his eyes widening as he noticed his cousin running at them at full goddamn speed, instantly snapping his head back over at Beomgyu the male grabbed onto his wrist and pushed him away (even though he desperately didn't want to). "You have to go, hyung! He's going to kill you!"

Beomgyu was a bit taken aback when Taehyun had pushed him, but when he looked over towards his cousin again, the instant downpour of chills and fear washed through him when he saw the literal flames lit up in the so-called Yeonjun's eyes.

"I..." Beomgyu croaked out, wanting to protest against what Taehyun had said, but after hearing his phone buzz once again and the sound of his cousin calling out for him, he had no choice but to inhale deeply and nod. "Alright, goodbye Taehyun."

Taehyun stared up at the elder with admiration in his eyes, he had barely met this person yet there was something about him that made him feel so comfortable, made him genuinely feel so happy. Now that it was finally time for them to part, he couldn't help but get a gut wrenching pain in his stomach.

"Goodbye," Taehyun breathed out, watching Beomgyu pick his guitar case back up and swing it over his shoulders. "Hyung."

The two of them stared at each other once more, as if there were so many silent words between them. One yearning to not let the other leave as the other yearned to stay.

but they both knew that couldn't happen.

"KANG TAEHYUN! DON'T IGNORE ME! I FEED YOU!!!"

Beomgyu smiled softly, a smile full of bitterness. Turning around, the male walked away fast, immediately answering his phone as he did.

Just seeing the elder walk away made his heart hurt, and after a little bit, he was gone from his view.

Goddamnit-

"HEY KANG TAEHYUN!" His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he was immediately body slammed to the ground by Yeonjun, causing him to scream loudly in fear. "HOW DARE YOU LEAVE MY SIGHT? I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

"GET OFF OF ME--" Taehyun screeched loudly, trying to peel off Yeonjun who had put all his body weight on him to keep him down, the male looked over to the side in fear and made eye contact with Huening Kai who stood there staring at them in shock. "WHEN DID YOU GET HERE?!? GET HIM OFF OF ME KAI!"

"Don't scream at me!" Huening Kai rolled his eyes, grabbing Yeonjun by the shoulder and easily lifted him up to which the elder protested loudly. "I chased after him when he was running at you!"

Taehyun groaned loudly in pain when he stood up from the ground, his eyes looking over at his cousin who was obviously drunk off of his ass. He should've known that Yeonjun would do some type of shit like this when he was intoxicated, but then again... Yeonjun always does random ass shit.

"Taehyun!" Yeonjun slurred loudly, wiggling out of Huening Kai's hold and stumbled over towards his cousin, practically falling into his arms. "Why did you leave!? Did someone hurt you? I'll kill them- actually.. I don't want my badge taken away... BUT WHO WAS THAT GUY SERENADING YOU WITH HIS EYES!??!"

Taehyun immediately knew that Yeonjun was talking about Beomgyu, it made him miss the elder even more now that he mentioned him.

"He..." Taehyun paused, he couldn't even call Beomgyu his friend because... they weren't. "He was just someone asking me about the time, I came here to buy a drink and snacks, you know I couldn't stand the smell of that club."

After hearing Taehyun say that, Yeonjun sobered up immediately and stared at his cousin with guilt in his eyes. "I'm sorry Taehyun-ah, do you want to go home?"

"Will he be coming with us?" Taehyun looked over at Huening Kai who looked a bit offended that he asked that.

"Of course he will!" Yeonjun rolled his eyes and walked over towards his boyfriend, smiling softly at the male who smiled back. "We were planning to bake something tonight, you wanna join?"

"I'm okay," Taehyun sighed, holding his forehead as he felt an upcoming migraine form. All he wanted to do was go home and rest his head, but all those recurring memories of how sweet Beomgyu was made him feel so sad. "Let's just go home."

Both Yeonjun and Huening Kai nodded as they turned around and walked in the direction of where the club was since his car was there with Taehyun following closely behind.

But before he could take one more step, the male looked over his shoulder and frowned, staring at the table where he and Beomgyu sat.

It was so out of character for him, he had never felt so much dread after having a stranger leave him. Choi Beomgyu, the mysterious man who found him puking his guts out in an alleyway and showcased immense care, a story that he wanted to unfold so badly. He wanted to learn so much more about the elder, but time was his enemy.

"Taehyun, let's go!" He heard Huening Kai call for him, sighing softly he forced himself to look away, the presence of the brunette slowly unwrapping around him, leaving him in a shivering longing mess.

With a dreadful exhale, the male forced himself to continue his steps, refusing to look back.

Because if he did and he saw Beomgyu, he was certain he would run back to him and abandon everything.

୨♡୧

"Taehyun, for the past two weeks, you've been visiting this convenience store and sitting at this table for hours, are you okay?"

After hearing a familiar voice next to him, the male closed his laptop and looked up at Soobin who smiled warmly. He wasn't surprised his best friend had questioned him after finding him at the store every day.

"I..." Taehyun opened his mouth, trying to think of anything to say as an excuse, but he honestly had none anymore. "I just like it here?"

"Oh please," Soobin rolled his eyes, sitting down in the seat across from Taehyun which made the male get a sense of deja vu. "You know I know you, something on your mind? You usually don't come out as much."

"You make it sound like I'm lonely," Taehyun rolled his eyes, smacking his best friend's hand softly. "It's honestly nothing."

He knew he was talking nonsense, just lying straight to Soobin's face. The real reason why he had constantly been visiting this useless convenience store was because he had hope, hope that he would catch a glimpse of the brunette who had captured his interest, the one who invaded his thoughts every single day.

Ever since he and Beomgyu were forced to leave each other, it was like every day was a silent fight for Taehyun. Fighting between confusion and dread, he felt so confused and dazed on why he had suddenly become so interested in someone like Beomgyu. Every single day, he visits the same spot in hopes that the elder would suddenly appear, that the two of them will talk once more and maybe that time... he can actually become close with him.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Taehyun looked up from his laptop and over at Soobin who stared at him with warmth in his eyes, he knew immediately that the blonde knew something was wrong with him, what could he expect though? Soobin was observant, too observant.

"Have you..." He started off, tilting his laptop down slightly so he could face Soobin properly. "Ever... been clouded by thoughts of someone you barely met?"

That question definitely had Soobin startled, he would usually answer questions in a flash, but he just sat there silently, staring at Taehyun as if he were... crazy.

"I have not," Soobin said truthfully, causing Taehyun to immediately regret what he asked. "I'm guessing you're troubled by that? Someone is on your mind?"

Taehyun nibbled on the bottom of his lip nervously, he hadn't spoken to anyone about it, not even his own cousin.

He felt so idiotic and foolish, he had become partially obsessed with that beautiful boy who found him in the alleyway two weeks ago.

"I met someone," Taehyun said softly, unaware of how Soobin's expression faltered. "He was... ethereal, he found me at my worst moment, but cared for me so well."

"A stranger...?" Soobin said softly, as if he were questioning what Taehyun had just said. "Are you serious? Are you sure he wasn't some weird serial killer ready to make you his next victim?"

Taehyun snorted loudly after hearing the elder say that, quickly covering his face, he laughed loudly and shook his head. "Don't worry, I had the same exact thought, but trust me he was the sweetest."

He didn't fail to see Soobin frown slightly, it made him a bit curious as to why his mood had suddenly fallen.

"Do you remember his name?"

"Of course I do!" Taehyun's eyes lit up excitedly. "His name is Choi Beomgyu, he's in a band called Byeol! They perform at Hydrangea Cafe--"

Taehyun suddenly stopped himself mid-sentence when he realized what he had just said, slowly looking up at Soobin with widened eyes, the male shot up from his seat and slammed his laptop fully shut, startling the poor male in front of him.

"T-Taehyun?" Soobin called out to the male who was stunned, "Are you okay?"

Hydrangea Cafe.

Had he been oblivious and dumb this entire time?

Instead of waiting hopelessly in front of some dumb convenience store every day, hoping he could meet the elder again, this entire time he could've gone to the one place where he one hundred percent could be.

"Soobin hyung," Taehyun looked at him with determined eyes. "We need to go to Hydrangea Cafe, now."

୨♡୧

Taehyun rushed out of the car as soon as it was parked, causing Soobin to worriedly call out for him which he purposely but accidentally ignored.

He rushed into Hydrangea Cafe, ignoring how busy it was, but the moment he had gotten inside his breath was taken away by how absolutely gorgeous the cafe looked from the inside.

The interior was like something he would see inside of a magical wonderland, beautiful hydrangeas hanging from the ceiling like dazzling lights. The pink, purple, and red shades of the flowers mixed well together, and amongst the hydrangeas were small illuminating white birds, giving the effect that there were certainly live birds flying around the beautiful open space. There were chairs in the perfect shade of light pink, crowded with people sitting down and talking to one another, soaking themselves in the comforting hue and aura of the cafe. From the far right, he noticed a small section where there were multiple people around, hearing the faint sound of music and someone singing, he automatically knew that that's where the stage was.

picture reference :

"Taehyun!" Soobin appeared behind him, out of breath and anxious about the amount of people inside of the cafe. "Could you at least wait for me? Why are we even here? It's too crowded to be here to sit down and eat."

"I'm sorry, hyung." Taehyun apologized sincerely, he did feel bad for suddenly dragging Soobin to a place where neither of them were familiar with, but his mind and thoughts were racing on cloud nine to find Beomgyu. "I just... I just need to check something, okay?"

Soobin grabbed onto Taehyun's wrist, which made the male smile softly knowing he didn't want to get lost in the crowd.

The two of them struggled, but successfully made their way towards the stage. Unfortunately for Taehyun, there were so many people in front of him he could barely even see what and who was on the stage, only the sound of a female voice singing softly as music played in the background, her voice was beautiful. Like a soft velvet pillow comforting him to a sweet midnight rest.

"Excuse us," Soobin suddenly stepped forward, flashing his iconic sweet smile towards the people in front of them, and just like a magic charm the people stepped away from the two and made a path for them to go to the front. "Thank you."

The two of them made their way towards the front, Taehyun's hope and expectations high as he finally saw five people on stage performing their hearts out.

His eyes lightened up once they got closer, his eyes scanning across the stage in search of the familiar brunette.

but instead, he found nobody.

In that split second and realization, Taehyun's heart clenched in the most gut wrenching way possible when he realized that Beomgyu wasn't on stage, which meant he wasn't at the cafe at all.

"Taehyun," Soobin gently placed a hand on the male's back when he saw how saddened he became. "Do you want to leave? Are you alright?"

The male opened his mouth, wanting to protest and stay in hopes Beomgyu would appear, but he knew better than to waste his and Soobin's time.

"Alright." He breathed out, his voice shaky as he turned around, the cafe suddenly becoming more quiet as the song the band on stage was performing came to an end.

Maybe he was a fool, how could he chase after someone he barely knew? Let alone barely even properly met, he felt so idiotic for letting someone as perfect as Beomgyu invade his mind, it was the first time he had done something so desperately stupid he wanted to crawl under a bridge and just die--

"Are you guys ready? Welcome our amazing lead guitarist and vocalist, Choi Beomgyu to the stage!"

Taehyun's eyes widened as his world suddenly froze, his aching heart slowly began to pump into a rhythm of panic as his bones were suddenly stiff. His breathing became uneasy as he slowly turned around as a new person walked on stage.

Beomgyu walking on stage.

"Hello everyone!" Beomgyu smiled widely as he waved towards everyone around them, a beautiful dark blue guitar hanging around his neck as he waved towards the crowd. "I hope you all didn't miss me during that one song!"

An explosion of cheers and applause echoed throughout the cafe once Beomgyu had finished his talk, it made both Taehyun and Soobin startled by how popular the male was.

But in all honesty, Taehyun just tuned out the useless applause, his eyes fixated on the brunette who stood just five feet away from him.

It was like for the past two weeks, Beomgyu had done nothing but get even more beautiful the last time he saw him. The male was dressed in a plain loose white dress shirt paired with black pants that hugged his legs perfectly. His wolf cut was styled perfectly, his bangs covered his forehead in a way that made him almost look like Howl from Howl's moving castle.

"Beomgyu hyung." Taehyun breathed out, his grip on Soobin's wrist loosening as he turned around and slowly stepped closer towards the stage when he saw the boy who had stolen his heart.

wait.

oh.

All of those negative emotions he felt for the last two weeks vanished in an instant, as if they were never there. As if Beomgyu was a healing light that derived any darkness away from him.

Just looking at the elder on stage made him feel so...

...happy...

Has he fallen for Beomgyu?

Taehyun's heart began to race as Beomgyu's eyes scanned the crowd, the male soon making eye contact with Taehyun, and in just that moment it was like their two separate worlds finally collided.

As if time had stopped once more, the loud chatter of others and the sound of music faded behind them, leaving them in silence as the two of them stared at each other with both widened eyes.

It was like Beomgyu hadn't expected Taehyun to be there at the cafe at all, his eyes were lingering on the male with full admiration in his eyes.

It made Taehyun feel weak, so weak.

His heart began to explode when he saw a small smile grow on Beomgyu lips, soon turning into one full of happiness.

In that moment, Taehyun's ticking time bomb of a heart finally exploded, releasing all of those emotions he had questioned for the past weeks.

He had fallen for the boy who had found him in an alleyway at his worst.

He fell for someone he barely knew for more than an hour.

He must've been real down bad.

Maybe even lonely too...

"Alright everyone," Beomgyu's voice cut through his trance, finally realizing that the elder was no longer looking at him. "How about a song, let's wrap it up for the night, yeah?"

The crowd began to cheer loudly, which startled Taehyun and caused him to step back and bump into Soobin who gently held him with a fond smile, but he noticed some odd sadness in them.

"Is that him?" Soobin turned Taehyun around, his eyes widening seeing how red and fascinated the younger looked. It made his heart hurt.

"It is!" Taehyun smiled widely, turning around to face Beomgyu again who was preparing to perform. All he wanted to do was drag the elder off the stage and hear that comforting sweet serenading voice again. "I knew he would be here."

Soobin had so many bad thoughts, but he stayed silent and stood closely by Taehyun's side to make sure he was safe from anything and anyone around them.

"Let's see," Beomgyu spoke once again after tuning his guitar correctly. "What song does the crowd recommend?"

"This is gonna take forever." The keyboardist, who's name Taehyun had forgotten, rolled his eyes which made the whole cafe laugh. "You guys really trust him choosing a song?"

"Beomgyu is indecisive," A girl to the left spoke up as well, she was holding a guitar, and the faintest memory came back to Taehyun. She could be that rhythm guitarist whose name he forgot again. "Why not choose a song?"

"How about you, sweetheart?" Beomgyu spoke up, pointing towards a little girl who seemed around ten or eleven. "You raised your hand politely and patiently, would you like us to perform a song?"

Taehyun's heart burst in awe seeing how red the little girl had gotten, not only Beomgyu was a walking angel on Earth, but he was also so gentle and kind with kids, it made his unconditional conditional feelings for him grow more.

"Can you perform Wonder by Adoy?" The little girl said smiling, which made Beomgyu gasp in shock.

"You know that song?" He smiled widely, the request making him beam with light. "I also love that song, I'll sing it for you!"

"I'll sing it..." Beomgyu repeated, his eyes slowly strolling back over towards Taehyun, the two of them making heart throbbing eye contact once again. As his face was in shock, a smile began to grow on his face, yet instead of it being energetic, it was full of adoration. "... for you."

Taehyun didn't know what he meant by that, had there been a secret meaning behind his words? He stared at him while saying that, could that possibly mean something?

All of a sudden, the boy standing next to his right came up to Beomgyu and gently hit him, causing the elder to snap his head to the side and smile cheekily, almost apologetically.

Taehyun noticed the shift in his eyes, they were full of... love...?

He felt his throat slightly close up after seeing that and he knew Soobin saw the sudden change in reaction. It made the blonde next to him slowly wrap his arm around the male in a comforting manner to somehow keep him calm.

"We can leave if you want to," Soobin leaned down, whispering into Taehyun's ear.

But Taehyun shook his head no, turning to the side, he looked up at Soobin and frowned. "I've spent two weeks trying to look for him, I'm not leaving right now."

Soobin sighed softly and nodded his head, his hold around him loosened slightly as the band began to perform the song that was requested.

"This is 'Wonder' by Adoy covered by Choi Beomgyu!" The girl who was singing earlier announced excitedly.

The lights in the cafe began to dim darkly, only the silhouettes of the people on stage were seen until the lights began to dim back brightly, a center light shining down on Beomgyu brightly who had his head down ready to perform.

tap. tap. tap.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

In an instant, the whole stage lit up brightly as a smoothing tune began to play. The beautiful sounds of the guitar, keyboard, and drums blending in together as Beomgyu prepared to sing.

After a few seconds of the opening, Beomgyu began to sing.

It hit Taehyun in an instant when he heard Beomgyu sing. his sweet deep yet soft voice echoing throughout the cafe as the soothing song in the background blended with his voice perfectly.

Taehyun was stuck in a trance, the melodic voice of Beomgyu hitting him like a siren's song, the way his deep yet soft vocals were wrapping around him like a blanket.

He could see the pure fire of passion in Beomgyu's eyes as he sang, his eyes shining brightly as his hands strummed the melody with his guitar. It was now all eyes on him as the customers in the cafe who didn't really pay attention to the band now had their eyes on them when Beomgyu started singing.

As the first chorus began to end, Beomgyu backed away from the microphone to allow the instrumental to play in the background which allowed the light to shine on the other members until he stepped closer to the microphone once again, starting the next verse.

That's when Beomgyu's eyes flickered down towards Taehyun, the two of them making that heart warming eye contact again as he began singing, causing the whole entire world to become silent in Taehyun's ears.

At that moment when they made eye contact, it was like nobody was in the room with them. As if the whole room had turned into a private little box with only the two of them in it, so close yet so far away. As every word that Beomgyu sang came out of his mouth, he couldn't help but have each and every one of them go straight to his heart, almost as if he were singing it for him and him only.

Soon enough, he was brought back to reality when Beomgyu turned his head and looked away onto another crowd of people, causing Taehyun to let out a heavy breath he didn't even realize he was holding.

Slowly bringing his hand up to his heart, he placed it down on his chest and felt how fast it was going, no doubt that it was because of the heart burning eye contact he and Beomgyu made.

As the second chorus began to finish up, Beomgyu smiled widely as he backed up and allowed the bridge instrumental to play, allowing the other members to shine brightly in their own talents behind him.

The calming sound of keyboard and guitar along with the sound of drum blended in together, creating that exact calming rhythm and music from the original song, and after twenty seconds of instrumental, he stepped back towards the microphone and began to sing the outro.

Within a few seconds, Beomgyu strummed the last few notes on his guitar as he finished up the song, his eyes closed as he stepped back from the microphone, waiting a few seconds before opening his eyes with a wide smile.

"Thank you for listening," He spoke up before the crowd burst into a fit of cheers.

The loud sound of cheering made Taehyun startled as he looked over at Soobin who seemed impressed by how well Beomgyu had performed, smiling widely, the male looked back over at the elder on stage who was staring at him with so much happiness.

And a really smug expression that screamed 'I did so well, didn't I?'.

"Thank you for listening!" Beomgyu spoke up, looking back over at his band mates and nodded his head.

"This has been Byeol!" They all said in unison, all of them bowing respectfully as the cafe exploded in a long long cheer that was so loud it powered over the sound of traffic outside.

Taehyun smiled widely when Beomgyu stood back up and looked at him with puppy eyes, the elder waving hi to the male awkwardly, perhaps because he didn't expect him to be here.

I'll meet you outside.

He saw the elder word that, and in an instant Taehyun's heart flared up as he looked over at Soobin who was clapping along with the crowd. "Hyung, we have to go outside now!"

"Now?" Soobin tilted his head, but he didn't mind going right now if it meant they didn't have to be in this crowded ass cafe anymore. "Okay, let's go."

The two of them made their way out of the cafe after pushing back a crowd of people, the two of them making their way towards a table near the left side of the window.

Within just a few moments, the cafe began to empty out as crowds of people walked out of it, all mostly there to watch the band perform which Taehyun wouldn't blame them for. wanting to just stay and watch.

Soon after around ten to fifteen minutes, Taehyun looked over at the door after hearing the bell ring again, his eyes widening and heart racing as Beomgyu immediately stepped out and looked over to the side, his eyes lighting up brightly as he walked over towards him.

"Taehyun!" He said happily, the male's heart bursting with joy knowing that Beomgyu had remembered his name. "You came! I was so surprised to see you in the crowd, did you like the performance?"

"Of course I did," Taehyun smiled softly, a warm hue of red washed over his cheeks. "You have a beautiful voice, Beomgyu hyung."

Beomgyu couldn't help but be so proud of the compliment, looking over towards Taehyun's side he saw Soobin practically glaring at him with a small smile.

"Who's this?"

"Oh!" Taehyun looked over at Soobin and smiled widely, pushing the blonde to step forward. "This is Choi Soobin, he's my best friend!"

"It's nice to meet you," Beomgyu stuck out his hand which Soobin respectfully took. "Thank you for coming."

"Didn't have much of a choice." Soobin smiled, his voice straining back with anger as his grip tightened on Beomgyu's hand which caused the brunette to immediately pull away.

At that moment, five other people who were on the stage came out of the cafe and walked over towards Beomgyu, all of them curiously looking at Soobin and Taehyun, probably wondering why Beomgyu had started talking to them.

"Right! Let me introduce you to my band mates again!" Beomgyu beamed brightly, stepping to the side.

"The one with blonde hair is Kim Chaewon, do you remember her?" Beomgyu pointed at Chaewon who smiled softly.

"It's nice to meet you," She waved at Soobin and Taehyun who waved back.

"Next to her is Lee Saerom, remember her too?"

"I do, it's nice to meet you Saerom-ssi." Taehyun bowed respectfully.

"It's lovely to meet you too, always a pleasure to meet one of Beomgyu's many friends!" She smiled widely.

"Then we have Han Taesan and Jake!"

Taehyun felt happy finally meeting Beomgyu's band mates, it was a different experience seeing them in person instead of on a piece of paper, they all looked so much more beautiful and handsome in real life.

"I can't believe you forgot about me." A male walked up to Beomgyu with a frown, slapping the male on the shoulder teasingly.

It was like there was a sudden change in the atmosphere when the two of them were together, something that immediately sent an uncomfortable wave of emotions through Taehyun's stomach when he saw how Beomgyu's expression shifted from an happy one to an almost relaxed and flustered one.

"I'm sorry," He gently patted the male's head. "This is my friend Kang Taehyun and this is his friend Choi Soobin, I had the pleasure of meeting Taehyun a few weeks ago!"

The male looked over towards Taehyun, and he could sense an uncomfortable feeling from the male.

"But I saved the best for last!" Beomgyu's hand wrapped around the male's waist next to him.

which sent Taehyun's heart into the goddamn gutter after seeing that sickening gesture.

He couldn't help but have his eyes linger down on Beomgyu's hand resting on the male's waist. Holding back a sickening sigh, he looked back up at Beomgyu who smiled brightly.

"This is Moon Seong-jin," Beomgyu said softly, it made Taehyun absolutely sick by how Seong-jin was practically cuddling up against Beomgyu. "He is our other keyboardist, I forgot to tell you that!"

Taehyun didn't want to think about what he was thinking right now, seeing the over the top expression of... live... in Beomgyu's eyes made him sick to his stomach when he started to realize what was between them.

Unfortunately, fate was not on his side as all of his hopes and prayers were shattered in an instant.

"Seong-jin was that person in the picture you asked about but I didn't have enough time to explain." Beomgyu explained happily before looking back up at Taehyun who was desperately praying it wasn't what he thought it was.

but he was wrong.

"He's also my beloved boyfriend!"

oh how sick he was right there and then.

୨♡୧

"Earth to my dearest cousin, you there?"

Taehyun snapped out of his daydream and looked up at Yeonjun who stared at him with a worried expression on his face, which was probably because he had been spacing out for at least thirty minutes now.

"I'm fine, why?"

"Well I called your name about three times, maybe even five but you didn't answer. Is something on your mind my little cousin?" Yeonjun sat down next to him, smiling at the male to make him comfortable.

Taehyun sighed softly, other than Soobin, he hadn't told anybody about Beomgyu, but ever since he found out that the male was...taken...he had been sick to his stomach ever since.

It's been like this for the past week.

I still can't believe I really started to have feelings for a man who's taken, Taehyun frowned, feeling ashamed of himself, but it just didn't make sense...when they made eye contact it felt like there was so much unspoken tension between them... unless he's just delusional. I should've known when he looked at Seong-jin on stage as if he were a diamond.

"It's no—"

"Don't you dare say 'It's nothing' when it's something, Kang Taehyun."

Taehyun put his hands up defensively and nodded his head. He knew he couldn't lie to his cousin who could tell he was bothered from a mile away, but what could he even say to him? Hey Yeonjun! I fell head over heels for a dude I barely met and I just found out today he actually has a boyfriend and was just nice to me for no reason and wanted to be a good citizen?

His cousin would kill him for liking someone who was taken.

But he should tell him! Even though his life was on the verge of life and death, it probably wasn't that bad!

Not a big issue, just liking someone who's fucking taken.

"Okay," Taehyun breathed out, preparing himself to mentally take in Yeonjun's reaction. "If I tell you, you can't get angry at me."

"I'll never be angry at you, my dearest cousin!"

Taehyun didn't believe that, but he decided to just admit to it sooner rather than keep it in later.

"Do you remember how you found me at that convenience store after you found out I left?" Taehyun started off, watching Yeonjun nod suspiciously which made him even more nervous. "Okay, I may... or may not have followed a dude... I didn't know..."

"Taehyun."

"I also uhm..." Taehyun ignored how Yeonjun's voice dropped down to the most serious tone ever. "I uh... caught... feelings... for that said stranger..."

"Kang Taehyun..."

"Who is uhm," Taehyun began to look away after seeing Yeonjun's sweet expression turn into a slightly angry one. "...who is... taken..."

"TAEHYUN!" Yeonjun yelled loudly, standing up from the couch in shock as Taehyun flinched from the sudden angry outburst. "You— YOU WHAT?! You... A STRANGER?!!"

"Well he's not really a stranger if I know his name--"

"THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS!?" Yeonjun stood up from his spot and stared at Taehyun with the most pissed expression ever, he knew he shouldn't have said anything, knowing the elder would get fuming mad. "I told you! When we were at the club, do NOT talk to the people outside! They could be tipsy and drunk and insane!"

"Isn't that the same thing inside of the club? There's no difference." Taehyun muttered under his breath, causing Yeonjun to scoff loudly with his attitude. "Plus! It's not like he killed me or even tried to hurt me! All Beomgyu did was be kind to me!"

"Beomgyu, that's his name?" Yeonjun crossed his arms, waiting for a nod from the younger. "You're telling me you like Beomgyu because he was nice to you? Seriously?"

"It's not only that!" Taehyun tried to defend himself, frowning as he crossed his arms. "I don't know what it is, it felt like an intense, overwhelming pull, like I was meant to be with him! But now I know he has... a boyfriend..."

"Do you know how wrong that is, Taehyun?" Yeonjun sat back down next to him, still fuming with anger but he managed to calm himself down. "You can't control your feelings, I get it, but do you know how wrong it is to like someone that is taken? Let alone a stranger who you barely have a personal bond with, all you did was talk to him."

Taehyun knew Yeonjun was right, he didn't have a personal bond with Beomgyu. In the brunette's eyes, he was most likely just a new friend he met, but in Taehyun's eyes, he was everything perfection was about. The main thing that made him fall for him was when he saw him perform, every word he sang, it felt like he was conveying them to him, as if they were the only ones in the room...

...but he knew he didn't see him like that.

"It's so frustrating," Taehyun's voice became shaky, the sickening memory of watching Beomgyu wrap his arm around Seong-jin replayed over and over in his mind, hurting his heart. "I... I know I barely know him to genuinely like him, but I know that he's a sweet person. What if he wasn't the one to take me out of that alleyway when I was barely conscious? It could've been someone so much worse, he's someone who made me so happy in just a short amount of time, that's why I always find myself trying to look for him."

Yeonjun stayed silent and stared at the male with an unreadable expression. He was deep in thought about what he wanted to say. It made Taehyun nervous by how silent his loud cousin was, but in a situation like this, he was most likely trying to think of the right words to say to not hurt him too much.

After a few minutes of silence, Yeonjun sighed loudly and leaned back onto the couch with an exhausted expression. "I can't be mad at you, I've done dumb things too when I liked Huening Kai, but you need to understand and I need to trust you that you won't make dumb decisions purely based on your feelings, okay?"

"What do you mean...?" Taehyun asked him, relieved that he didn't get yelled at but confused on what he meant.

"I mean that..." Yeonjun paused. "You know I love you, you're not a bad person, but you have to promise me that if you plan to get closer with Beomgyu, you cannot interfere with his relationship, okay? I know, feelings are so strong you can't control it, but remember... his lover was there before you."

That was a stab to the heart.

He knew Yeonjun meant no harm behind his words, he was speaking the honest truth, but if he was honest... he really wished he was there before Seong-jin. The male was... he gave him a bad vibe, and after putting two and two together and realized that it was Seong-jin who yelled at Beomgyu over the phone that night they met each other, he couldn't help but be sick to his stomach.

He wished it was him.

He wished that he was the one who Beomgyu stared so lovingly on stage.

He wished it was him who Beomgyu wrapped his arm around.

"Taehyun..." Yeonjun called out, grabbing the male's hand. "You have to promise me, say it, you won't interfere with his relationship."

The male glanced up at his cousin, pursing his lips tightly, he forced himself to nod. He knew that it was selfish, he shouldn't be thinking about anything, he wasn't selfish. He won't be driven by his emotions.

"I won't..." Taehyun said softly, his heart aching knowing that Beomgyu wasn't his. "I won't ruin his relationship."

୨♡୧

An official week had passed since Taehyun had last talked to Beomgyu, if he was honest, he was really missing the elder every passing day.

He never had time to go to Hydrangea Cafe to see him perform because he was so stuck on studying with Soobin for their upcoming midterms which were just in a few months, he had also not seen the elder walking home from work even though he always visited the convenience store in hopes to see him, but he guessed Seong-jin forced him to drive home.

It really did suck, he should've gotten the elders number when he had the chance to keep in touch with him, now he has to suffer everyday clouded with delusional imaginations about Beomgyu.

It's not really my fault for liking someone who's taken, Taehyun pouted as he thought about the elders relationship for the millionth time now. It's not like I'd intentionally tried to get someone to cheat, I know neither Beomgyu and I would ever do that, but I can't help but feel so upset that...I'm not him.

Taehyun groaned loudly, it made him sick to his stomach thinking about committing something as cruel as that, nobody deserves to be cheated on.

He knew that neither he and Beomgyu would ever do something as cruel as that, but he couldn't help but be so upset and jealous that it was not him who Beomgyu had fallen in love with, but then again... how could he? He barely knew anything about Taehyun, all Taehyun knew was that he graduated college early and is in a band.

Looking back up in front of him, the male grabbed two different flavored fruit drinks. He should be distracting himself instead of pouting over something he could not control.

But now he has to remember which drink Soobin would like, he had figured after a long week of studying he would give the blonde a small gift to show him how much he had appreciated him for helping out. However, he found it strange how quiet and frowny the blonde would get when he would start to mention something about Beomgyu, maybe he was uncomfortable because he didn't really know the brunette that well, Soobin was always a shy one ever since they met.

"I think you should choose the mango one, the grapefruit one tastes like cough drop medicine."

Taehyun's eyes widened when he heard that familiar soothing deep voice right behind him, immediately turning around, his breath hitched when he saw Beomgyu staring at him with a warm smile.

"Beomgyu hyung!" Taehyun beamed brightly, just the sight of him was able to make all his negative thoughts fly away. "What are you doing here? Did you just come back from a performance?"

"Hello, Taehyun," Beomgyu's smile grew even wider, most likely because he found Taehyun's reaction seeing him amusing. "Surprisingly, I didn't come back from a performance, I'm actually here to get a snack while on my way home from Taesan's house."

"Oh?" Taehyun tilted his head, totally not relieved that it wasn't Seong-jin. "What were you doing? I hope you weren't tormenting him."

"Ugh," Beomgyu groaned, rolling his eyes in a teasing manner. "More like he was tormenting me! That dumb kid didn't know how to correctly put together a new desk he got so I came over to help him and all he needed to do was read the instructions... but somehow he read them backwards so we had to tear apart the desk and do it all over again!"

Taehyun couldn't help but burst into a fit of laughter after hearing that, immediately covering his mouth as he barely kept his laugh hidden. "I-I'm sorry, what? You really managed to do that? How the hell did that happen!"

"I don't know! Ask Taesan when you see him, I swear that boy is in another world sometimes..." Beomgyu sighed, shaking his head. "Anyways, what are you up to, you busy?"

"Actually, not really," Taehyun said, placing the drink Beomgyu recommended to get into his basket. "I came by to grab snacks for me and Soobin, why?"

Beomgyu hesitated for a moment, but recovered quickly. "I... was wondering if you wanted to go out with me?"

...

pause.

Taehyun stared at Beomgyu in shock, silently processing what the fuck Beomgyu had just said to him.

It also seemed like Beomgyu had to process what he said, because when they both realized how awkward that sentence was, Beomgyu bursted into a shade of red.

"NO! NO! Not like that! I-I-" Beomgyu immediately tried to correct himself as Taehyun stared at him with widened eyes, clearing his throat he quickly looked away. "I meant that you and me should go out- not in a romantic way! You know, uh, friendly and cool and chill way haha!"

"Uh huh..."

"Ah- what- uhm. What I meant is that there's a new butterfly house that just opened up so- so I thought you would like to go together if you're not doing anything? As friends, you know uhm, yeah."

Taehyun was a little bit hurt he had been friendzoned, but he couldn't help but laugh by how panicked Beomgyu had became because of the small little words he chose. If anything, he didn't mind it at all.

"Sure, hyung." Taehyun smiled softly, seeing the relief wash over the males face instantly.

The two of them stood there staring at each other awkwardly, both somewhat recovering of how fucking awkward that moment was. Neither of the two were brave enough to talk incase one said another stupid thing.

. . .

"We should get going."

"Yeah."

The two of them paid for the things Taehyun wanted to buy, and how kind of Beomgyu! He decided that he actually wanted to bring his car around for once, so they both got inside of it and drove to the location of the new butterfly house Beomgyu mentioned.

Taehyun wasn't panicking.

Not at all.

He wasn't panicking by the fact he and Beomgyu were alone in his car together silently listening to a song from his playlist.

He wasn't staring at how FINE the elder looked while driving and how veiny his hands were.

"Do you have any song recommendations?" Beomgyu suddenly spoke up which snapped Taehyun back into reality. "I don't want you to be too bored."

"I'm not bored at all! Don't worry!" Taehyun waved towards him reassuringly, smiling awkwardly to ease the tension. "I like your music taste, it's so calming."

"Really?" Beomgyu smirked slightly, proudly taking in that compliment about his playlist. "Thank you, it means a lot, good songs are always the best to please our ears."

"What's this one called?" Taehyun asked as a new song started playing.

"It's called 'Paris in the rain' by Lauv, you know him?"

"I've heard of him, it sounds really good." Taehyun made a mental note to add this song to his playlist, because he liked it and it reminded him of Beomgyu.

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence as Beomgyu drove towards the butterfly exhibit, which was just a few minutes away. With the music in the background, it really made the atmosphere comfortable, as if the two of them were really driving through an empty street in paris in the rain, only the two of them comforting each other.

After a few minutes of driving, the two of them eventually arrived at the butterfly exhibit that they've been eagerly waiting for the entire car ride.

"I hope you enjoy this as much as I'm about to, I really love butterflies." Beomgyu said as they walked into the building.

"Are you really?" Taehyun nodded, making sure to mentally take notes on everything the elder says. "I haven't really been to one of these before, or I have, i'm unsure."

Beomgyu nodded his head, it seemed to make the elder even more excited to bring Taehyun here.

"You know, when Seong-jin and I first met, we went on a date to a butterfly exhibit as well in Gwangju." Beomgyu spoke up, causing Taehyun's heart to literally fall down to his ass when a certain someone was mentioned.

He knew he shouldn't feel upset, but just hearing that...name... come out of Beomgyu's mouth made him sick to his stomach, he didn't want to hear anything about the male who had stolen his heart.

It made him sick.

"I-Is that so...?" Taehyun managed to speak up after getting choked on his words. "How was it?"

"He hated it," Beomgyu snickered under his breath, but there was an underlying tone of bitterness beneath his laughter. "We had to leave after ten minutes because he had gotten so upset about being there."

"Are you serious?" Taehyun deadpanned, finding that action so selfish. "You had to leave the one thing you enjoyed because he didn't like it?"

"I mean, whatever makes him comfortable, if he didn't like it then that's okay." Beomgyu smiled brightly, as if nothing was wrong with that.

Normally, Taehyun would understand when someone would feel uncomfortable in an environment they don't feel comfortable in, but because he has a secret hatred and jealousy towards Seong-jin, he couldn't help but feel so pissed off.

"Seong-jin isn't a bad person at all," Beomgyu spoke up, as if he had read part of Taehyun's mind which honestly freaked him out. "He's just...He has strong emotions, he gets angered easily, but he's a sweetheart."

Sweetheart my ass, that bitch yelled at you because you weren't home on time.

"How lovely." Taehyun gritted through his teeth, ignoring the burning feeling of jealousy bubbling in his stomach.

It took a while for the two of them to be next in line for the exhibit, but when it was finally their turn, neither of them wasted any time as they both walked through a door that lead out to a huge glass dome full of different varieties of plant life and butterflies that flew around like a beautiful dance, luring you in to watch them dance all day long.

Taehyun looked over to the side and saw Beomgyu's eyes visibly light up like a child seeing their idol for the first time, just seeing that pure reaction made his heavy heart burst into joy, making him smile widely.

"Look Taehyun!" Beomgyu grabbed onto the male and pulled him close, pointing towards a random direction that caught his attention. "There's a family of monarch butterflies, do you see?"

"I do, hyung." Taehyun said as he stared at the family of monarch butterflies flying around near a tree. "They're very adorable."

"Yeah," Beomgyu glanced down at Taehyun, his gaze staying on the male as he smiled. "Really... adorable."

Taehyun's heart was racing, badly. It felt like it was about to explode at any given moment and just kill him from the inside from how close they were, he could also feel the elders eyes on him when he said the word 'adorable' which definitely made him start to over think everything.

Eventually Beomgyu released his hold on Taehyun and walked over to another spot where more species of butterflies were, which gave the male the opportunity to finally breath properly and gain control of his consciousness before he collapsed due to how down badly he was for the elder.

They both spent a good hour inside of the exhibit until their time was up, the two of them heading into a small butterfly theme cafe area in the next room, which Taehyun was grateful for since he was starving.

"So, Taehyun," Beomgyu spoke up as they sat down after grabbing their sweets that they chose to eat. "How do you feel about today?"

"Honestly," Taehyun sighed, trying to contain his excitement of how long he got to be with Beomgyu alone today affected him. "It was really nice, after a long week of studying for midterms, it felt nice to go somewhere relaxing."

"I'm glad," Beomgyu nodded his head, taking a sip of his drink before looking up at the male. "Tell me about how school is going, all is well?"

It made Taehyun feel so happy and giddy that the male was interested in his life, even though he knew it was a simple and common question asked he just wanted to feel special in that moment.

"It's going well," Taehyun took the chance to look up and properly stare at Beomgyu without it being weird, admiring every detail of his features. "I'm actually studying to become a psychiatrist, which is... really... draining, but fun!"

"Ah really?" Beomgyu's eyes lit up after finding out a new fact about Taehyun. "So you're smart, a talented one."

"I wouldn't say... smart..." Taehyun flushed red, scratching the back of his neck as he smiled embarrassingly. "But thank you, how about you hyung? How has Byeol been?"

"It's been great!" Beomgyu's happiness went up right away after hearing that. "We've recently been practicing for another performance next week Thursday, oh! By the way, can I have your phone number? I'd love it if you can go."

Taehyun had to process what the elder had just said for a split second before immediately getting his phone out, he wasn't going to waste any opportunity of denying that request.

Soon enough, Beomgyu had put his number into his phone, and when the elder wasn't looking, Taehyun immediately pinned his number and saved it as important. He felt so happy and successful that he had finally managed to get the elders number, now he can text him whenever he wants instead of waiting around at the convenience store everyday!

"Oh my gosh, you should've seen how hilarious Seong-jin was being yesterday!"

Taehyun's eye twitched slightly when he heard the male mention... HIM. He knew he couldn't be mad, but he was so jealous that he just tuned out Beomgyu's story about Seong-jin that he really didn't care about. But it did make his heart hurt, just how much does Beomgyu talk about that guy? Does he talk about him to others? Boast around about how hilarious, handsome, and beautiful his... Seong-jin was?

It made him so fucking sick.

He wished it was him that Beomgyu would tell stories about, not Seong-jin.

He knew the male was there before him, stole Beomgyu's heart first, but he couldn't help but feel so frustrated with bubbling jealousy and pain it made him wish that it was him instead. He wanted to take his place.

He hated it, really hated how Beomgyu's eyes were practically glowing. His expression displaying the most sincere expression of happiness and admiration as he talked about the male. It made him sick.

I wish I were him.

"Hey, Taehyun?"

Taehyun flinched slightly and looked up at Beomgyu again who seemed worried, most likely because he hadn't blinked the entire time he was talking. "Sorry, what's up?"

"Are you alright? You've been spacing out a lot."

"I'm fine, I swear, now what were you saying?"

"Ah right! I was—" Beomgyu suddenly paused when his phone began to buzz aggressively against the table, both of their eyes flickering down towards it as a bubbling feeling of anger formed in Taehyun's stomach. "...Sorry, let me take this real quick!"

"No issue!" Taehyun tried to cover up his anger with a smile, which worked perfectly as Beomgyu picked up the phone, mentally rolling his eyes when his guess was right.

"Hey, love." Beomgyu said softly, just hearing that nearly made Taehyun puke on the spot. "I'm out today, I just got back from Taesan's."

Beomgyu went silent as the other person on the line began to scream loudly, a scream in pure anger as he spewed so many profanities it made Taehyun's eyes widened by how loud it was and how much he heard.

His eyes flickered up towards Beomgyu whose happy expression faltered slightly, his eyes drooping and his smile began to fade, his soft and happy exterior slowly turning weak.

"I-I know but I just—" Beomgyu was cut off again when Seong-jin began to yell at him again, somewhere along the lines of 'you have to come home now!' It made Taehyun sick. "I... understand."

After three more minutes of yelling, Beomgyu finally hung up the phone after saying a small goodbye to the devil on the other side, slowly looking up at Taehyun with an embarrassed smile.

"Haha, sorry about that... he's... moody."

Taehyun couldn't fucking believe what he had just witnessed, he was taken aback by how calm Beomgyu was during that moment and how fucking stupid Seong-jin was. Was he upset Beomgyu had gone out again by himself to enjoy time with a friend? He had so many questions to ask, but he could tell the elder didn't want to talk about what happened.

"I think we should wrap this up now, I'm so sorry, if I could I..." Beomgyu paused, staring at Taehyun with a saddened look. "I would've spent all day with you."

Taehyun's heart melted at that, he really did know that Beomgyu was a kind person and wanted to do anything to please others, but it really broke his heart by how his... supposed boyfriend treated him.

"It's okay, hyung. I'm not that mad, i'm actually super happy I got to spend time with you, the best two hours of my life!" Taehyun said enthusiastically, trying to convince Beomgyu and himself that everything was okay.

It seemed to work perfectly in his favor since Beomgyu seemed to ease down and feel relieved that he wasn't upset.

"I... say the same, it was really nice spending time with you, let's do it again sometime." Beomgyu said warmly, standing up from his chair as he waited for Taehyun to do the same.

It didn't take long for the both of them to walk out of the butterfly exhibit, Beomgyu feeling somewhat saddened by it, but the both of them knew they had to eventually get back home to their own lives, it really did upset Taehyun.

"Hyung," The male called out to the brunette who looked over at him curiously. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Is it okay..." Taehyun knew he shouldn't do it, but it wasn't that bad right? He wasn't technically trying to ruin the elders relationship. "If we can text each other everyday... night... whenever. I really do like you......r company! I want us to be closer!"

Taehyun mentally punched himself for nearly confessing then and there.

Beomgyu seemed to not catch it though, in fact, the male seemed so happy that he asked that.

"I would love that! I want us to get closer too, I'll text you everyday when I have time."

Taehyun felt so happy that the elder had agreed to it, he felt successful as well that he was becoming closer to his crush, ignoring the toxic thoughts that clouded the back of his mind because of this opportunity.

"That sounds great! Are you ready to go now?"

"Mhm."

The two of them walked over towards Beomgyu's car until the elder paused, making the younger turn around curiously as to why the male suddenly stopped in his steps.

"Taehyun," Beomgyu said softly, his eyes gazing down on him with warmth. "Thank you for making my day better."

Taehyun's heart clenched tightly, unable to hold back his smile, he nodded his head.

"It's you who made my day better, hyung."

୨♡୧

Staying true to his words, Beomgyu had texted Taehyun every single day and night, checking in on him and asking about his day. It was a huge step up for their friendship as the two of them got to learn about each other more on a personal level.

It was no good for Taehyun's heart though, no matter how hard he tried to wash his feelings away for Beomgyu, they only came back stronger than ever.

It was frustrating and a struggle, having to constantly remind himself that the elder was a taken man and that he was in a... somewhat happy relationship.

He had recently found out from Beomgyu after a long night of a deep conversation that the male would get yelled at nearly everyday by Seong-jin if he weren't at his apartment on time, it resulted in the two of them calling each other, listening to each others voices for comfort until they both fell asleep.

Taehyun knew he shouldn't be doing this, purposely trying to get closer and closer with Beomgyu, having thoughts about just stealing his heart from Seong-jin, but it was so frustrating. His desires of wanting to be the one who has Beomgyu's heart grew everyday.

"Taehyun! Soobin's here!"

The male curiously sat up from his bed and looked at his door, he hadn't expected Soobin to be coming over today, no heads up either.

After a few seconds, Soobin had eventually entered his room with a small smile, also holding a few bags of snacks in his hands which definitely caught Taehyun's attention.

"Hello, hyung, what are you doing here?" Taehyun got up from his bed and grabbed the bags from the elder who had seemed to be struggling a little.

"I came by to check in on you, make sure you're not dead by studying all day and night." Soobin said while smiling, walking over to the males bed and sat down to ease his feet. "I stopped by the store to grab some snacks, how are you?"

"I'm fine," Taehyun replied shortly, keeping the whole 'Beomgyu has been texting me 24/7' topic in his head only. "Thank you for the snacks, I really do appreciate it."

Soobin and Taehyun stayed silent for a few minutes, the two of them just snacking on the little chips the elder had gotten until he finally decided to break the silence.

"Can... we talk about something?" Soobin asked softly, causing Taehyun to look up at him curiously.

"Of course, what about?"

It was like in that moment, the calm and quiet demeanor Soobin had always had turned into something more anxious and emotional, it made Taehyun's stomach twist by how genuinely upset the male looked.

"Do you... still like..." Soobin paused, glancing at Taehyun as if he wanted him to finish the sentence.

Taehyun seemed to complete it right away, his heart racing at just the mention of Beomgyu. "I... tried not to, but my feelings continue to grow everyday."

Soobin stared at Taehyun with a blank expression, pursing his lips tightly as he nodded before standing up. "I wanted to talk to you about something, that I hope won't change anything."

"What are you talking about? Is everything okay?" Taehyun looked up at Soobin with a worried expression.

"Taehyun..." Soobin breathed out softly, "...I have feelings for you."

In that moment, the males world had suddenly turned to stone, his heart stopping at that second as he stared up at his best friend with a shocked expression. He had never realized or thought that out of everyone, Soobin would have feelings, it made his heart hurt.

Hurt because he never once thought about Soobin as more than a friend.

"I..."

"Don't say anything, please," Soobin crossed his arms, turning his head away so he wouldn't have to face the male in front of him. "I know you don't like me back, but I at least wanted to tell you before I started drowning in it."

Taehyun didn't know what to say, a confession that was so soon and sudden, he barely had anytime to process anything. When he finally came back to reality, the male stood up and immediately brought Soobin into a tight embrace, hugging him tightly as if he'd disappear in any moment.

"I'm sorry," Taehyun apologized truthfully, his heart heavy with guilt and sadness that he couldn't reciprocated his best friend's feelings. "I'm sorry I don't have the feelings for you back, but I promise you I still love you as my best friend regardless of what happens."

It was like Soobin had practically melted in the males hold, his body easing down as his heartbeat increased slightly. "It's okay, I knew I wouldn't stand a chance after Beomgyu stole your heart."

Taehyun looked away, nibbling on the bottom of his lip before looking back at Soobin. "When did you realize you... had feelings for me?"

"Someone would have to be an idiot to not realize, you're smart and talented, kind and humorous." Soobin said softly, his eyes gazing down at Taehyun with so much care in them.

What Soobin said made Taehyun's heart ease down, but he couldn't help but still feel so guilty that he didn't reciprocate his feelings, he began to wonder if he had never met Beomgyu, would he have reciprocated Soobin's feelings?

He gave that a heavy thought.

But in the end, he concluded that he had always and will always see Soobin as just a best friend.

"I'm sorry," Taehyun said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I thank... you for telling me, but you know I... have feelings for Beomgyu."

"I know, that's why I confessed." Soobin smiled, trying to ignore the stinging pain in his heart. "...I knew I can't be him."

Taehyun looked up at Soobin, he couldn't contain his frown as he thought about something comforting to say, but nothing but silence came out.

"I'll be going now, I just stopped by so I could you... know... get this off of my chest." Soobin said as he walked towards the door.

"I know you like Beomgyu, he seems like a kind man," Soobin paused before looking over his shoulder towards Taehyun who stared at him with widened eyes. "But you... can't make dumb decisions okay? I know you like him so much, but for the sake of your feelings, don't try to disturb his relationship with Seong-jin."

Taehyun's throat began to close up when the elder had said that, for the past days he had been trying to get Beomgyu to finally realize how much of an asshole his boyfriend was being, but every time he tried to mention it, Beomgyu just brushed it off.

"I know."

"Then I'll see you later. Text me tomorrow on where you want to meet up for school okay?" The blonde smiled softly, watching Taehyun nod hesitantly.

Standing there for a few seconds to just stare at the younger, Soobin sighed and looked away, walking out of his room as he shut the door as softly as he could.

The moment Taehyun finally was alone, the male collapsed onto his knees and breathed out heavily, guilt overtaking him as he stared at the door where his best friend once was.

He felt sickeningly guilty, he knew it wasn't his fault, Soobin wasn't even mad, but he couldn't help but feel so selfish that he had to let him go like that.

bzzt bzzt!

Taehyun looked away from the door and over towards his bed where his phone lay, tilting his head when he had suddenly gotten a text message from someone. At first, he barely had any energy to get up from the floor after what happened, but after fighting with himself mentally he decided to pull up his big boy pants and just stand up.

Sighing softly, the male fell onto the bed, staring at the snacks Soobin had gotten him. He really did hope nothing will change between them, he adored and cherished their friendship so much, he really hoped what happened won't ruin anything.

In that moment, he was nearly about to fall asleep until his phone buzzed again, instantly knocking him awake as he sat up and looked over at his phone to checked who texted—

OH SHIT IT WAS BEOMGYU?!

"FUCK!" He screeched loudly and immediately grabbed his phone, fucking up on his passcode a few times before successfully doing it.

Maybe it was a selfish act, how his saddened feelings for Soobin instantly faded away in an instant when someone he had known for less than a month had texted him, but he couldn't control it... he couldn't help it.

Opening up their messages, the male looked at what the elder had sent him.

« Beomgyu hyung <3 »

Hey Taehyun! I'm wondering if you're free rn? My band is having a rehearsal at the cafe in about an hour, want to join in?

Taehyun's eyes widened reading the message, never had he expected that Beomgyu would ask him to come over and see what was happening.

Looking over at his bed at the snacks Soobin had got him, he nibbled on the bottom of his lip in guilt. He felt like it would be an asshole move if he were to just run for Beomgyu after his best friend literally confessed to him.

But then again... if he were to stay in his room he would be suffocated by his thoughts and emotions.

so maybe it wasn't a bad idea...

Slowly taking a deep breath, the male glanced over at his clock and saw that he had at least a bit of time to spare before he needed to go out to the cafe to watch Beomgyu rehearsal.

Picking up his phone, he leaned his head against the wall and sighed softly.

He really hoped this could ease his mind.

୨♡୧

Ding!~

Taehyun entered the cafe which was surprisingly empty, which wasn't a surprise since it was a week day and usually the band never really performs during the week days.

Walking over towards where the stage area was, he saw the rest of the band members that played with elder, but there was no Beomgyu in sight when he came up to them who recognized him in an instant.

"Taehyun!" Jake called out for the male, smiling widely as he placed his drumsticks down and hopped off the stage, walking over to the male who gave him a kind smile. "Beomgyu told us you'd be stopping by to watch us today, how have you been?"

"I've been better, how have you been?" Taehyun greeted him with a warm smile, excitement blooming in his heart when he had mentioned that Beomgyu had been talking about him.

"I'm great! We're just setting up a rehearsal right now!"

After having a brief conversation about their day, Jake eventually made his way back to the stage as the other members began to greet him, all looking very happy and welcoming that he came by to visit.

Which should mean that Beomgyu was definitely talking good about him!

It wasn't until a specific Seong-jin walked up to him, when he had gotten closer he instantly recognized the bitter smile placed on the males face as he came closer, which made him slightly irritated.

"Taehyun," Seong-jin smiled bitterly, his soft tone was most likely meant to fool him into thinking he was welcomed here, when in fact he wasn't. "It's great seeing you here!"

"Likewise." Taehyun gritted out.

The longer the two of them stared at each other, the more the waves of tension began to grow. It didn't take long before Chaewon had came by and dragged Seong-jin away to avoid any drama since... well... it was plain obvious neither of the two were exactly on great terms with each other despite only talking twice.

Good riddance. Taehyun thought to himself, finding an empty table near the stage to sit himself down at, since he knew he would probably be there for a while. What a fucking bitch.

Maybe he shouldn't be talking about someone's boyfriend like that... but he can't help it. After meeting Beomgyu, he has had nothing but the extreme disliking towards that Seong-jin, especially since the elder had told him how he would yell at him over little things!

But he also came here to distract himself from rejecting his best friend.

Man.

Just thinking about Soobin made his heart hurt, he felt awful he couldn't reciprocate his feelings, but he also felt awful that he chose someone he barely knew over him... but he wasn't going to be selfish. He wasn't going to lead someone he didn't truly love on, he can't do that.

"Taehyun! You made it!"

Just by itself, Taehyun's heart began to throb in excitement hearing that familiar deep tone. Looking over towards his side, his eyes lit up seeing Beomgyu approach him with the warmest smile and gaze ever, causing him to internally panic about how he looked.

"Hyung! Thank you for inviting me to watch."

"Thank you for coming!" Beomgyu smiled even wider, gently patting the males head which definitely did not make his heart go into a chaotic mayhem!! "Today we'll just be rehearsing some songs, feel free to get some snacks though! They're free!"

"I thought they were free for your band only?"

"Special privileges." Beomgyu said, smirking slightly which made Taehyun slightly nervous by how attractive he looked.

Just before Beomgyu could continue on any longer, he had heard his name being called by none other than that anNOYING SON OF A BITC—

ahem,

None other than his boyfriend, Seong-jin, which made his eyes widen slightly.

"I guess I have to start rehearsal now," Beomgyu smiled sheepishly, looking back at Taehyun as the male looked over the elders shoulder, noticing how Seong-jin was practically glaring at them. "Talk more after the show?"

"Of course."

After hearing that, Beomgyu began to glow like a little baby with candy for the first time. Stepping away from the younger, it was like he was battling an invisible fight just to look away from him, but once he finally did, he noticed how the elders glow dimmed down when he had to leave him.

It was adorable.

But Taehyun nearly slapped himself remembering that he shouldn't mess with someone who is taken.

It's not his fault though, Beomgyu is making this impossible!

Choi Beomgyu, the man who had randomly found him in an alleyway and saved him, was impossible to truly read.

No matter how hard Taehyun tried to see what the males intentions were, he had never came close to finding out what the true feelings between them were.

Now, he was a little dumb, maybe he was quite delusional because he had a massive crush on the elder... but he swore sometimes in the midst of midnights where it was only them two lighting up their dark world, he swore he had always found the elder flirting with him or intentionally trying to become close.

He wanted to discover that hidden meaning beneath the elders admiral exterior, he truly did. It made him so frustrated, had Beomgyu figured out he had feelings for him and started to flirt with him just for his entertainment? Certainly not, right...?

Or has he discovered that he truly didn't love Seong-jin and desired him like the same way he does...?

Perhaps not.

"What has you thinking so hard over here?"

Taehyun glanced over towards his side, a fond smile growing on his lips as he saw Saerom, if he could remember correctly, she was the rhythm guitarist of the group, coming closer to him.

"Hello Saerom-ssi," Taehyun politely bowed, watching as she pulled out a chair and sat down across from him. "You're not practicing with them?"

"Beomgyu wanted his little brat of a boyfriend to practice guitar, even though he absolutely fucking sucks at it." Saerom grumbled underneath her breath, making sure Taehyun had heard every word.

The males jaw slightly dropped after hearing such harsh things come from her, glancing back at the stage, he noticed how Seong-jin was struggling to keep up with the song and others (besides Beomgyu because he's oblivious) were getting annoyed.

"Are you allowed to say such mean things? I thought you liked him?" Taehyun suddenly asked, hearing a loud snort come from her.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but he is not a good person, you ever notice how he has an attitude with everything?" She asked him, causing him to become slightly taken aback.

He wasn't going to lie about it, maybe this was finally an opportunity to voice his sour and frustrating opinions on the motherfucker who calls himself Beomgyu's boyfriend.

"I have noticed actually," Taehyun spoke up, witnessing Saerom's eyes speak up in interest. "He's always so... bitter around me, I also find him glaring at me when Beomgyu talks to me!"

He decided to leave out the other topics about how Beomgyu had mentioned that Seong-jin had occasionally yells at him, he didn't want to bring it up just incase Saerom didn't know and he wasn't comfortable with that.

"Thank you!" She slammed her hands onto the table, rattling it. "I'm so glad someone outside of the band noticed! Seriously! He's a bitch, I don't know why Beomgyu chooses to stay with him."

"Have they..." He knows he shouldn't ask this, he knows he shouldn't meddle with another relationship. "Ever broken up... or has Beomgyu tried to...?"

The look he had received from Saerom had made a cold chill go down his spine, right before he could take back what he had asked, she had suddenly gotten up from her seat and signaled for him to follow her, which definitely made him a bit shocked.

Looking over at the stage, he noticed how Beomgyu's eyes were lingering on them as he played his guitar, as if he were confused on what was happening between them right now.

He decided to just look away and get off from his seat, following Saerom outside where they could talk privately without the others hearing.

"Was it necessary to bring me outside? I'm sure that they wouldn't be able to hear us from the loud music." Taehyun asked her the moment they sat down on an outside table.

"The moment the music stopped, they would catch us mid-conversation, the cafe had an echo." She explained briefly, which made him understand almost immediately.

"So going back to your question, I'd assume you're asking because you like Beomgyu, right?"

Taehyun's throat closed up as his eyes widened, the straightforward question instantly made his heart drop down to his stomach as he hesitantly tried to answer, his mouth opening and closing to say something to answer that.

After seeing his reaction, Saerom chuckled softly, finding it very amusing. "You don't have to lie, you can trust me. I know you're a good person."

Taehyun glanced down at the table, the words he wanted to say wavering in his throat. He felt scared, the only people he had told about Beomgyu so far was his cousin, his boyfriend, and Soobin... which wasn't a lot of people but he still told them!

"I mean..." He finally breathed out after internally panicking to himself. "I-I do... b-but I also feel bad because he has a boyfriend."

"You don't have to apologize, sometimes we can't control our feelings." Saerom smiled softly, which eased him down. "I won't tell Beomgyu, I promise, but just let me know... where did that idiot find you? How did you two meet?"

It was an embarrassing story, Taehyun didn't even want to tell her, but he knew he could trust her so... there wouldn't be any harm?

"A month ago I went to Sarang Club with my cousin, not by choice. I got really sick of the smell of alcohol and sweat everywhere so I went outside to nearly puke my brains out until... Beomgyu had found me, I was so certain if he hadn't arrived I would've passed out on the spot there. After that, he took me to a convenience store to get something to drink... then after that, he never left my head. He told me about the band so that's where I went to find him."

Taehyun continued on explaining the story of how he and Beomgyu met and how the elder treated him. Saerom listened closely, though she wasn't much of a talker, she was definitely a good listener. It made him feel like every word he said truly did go through her ear.

"Wow." That was all Saerom could say after he finished up talking.

It made Taehyun feel awkward, had he said too much?

"Between you and me," She spoke up once again, smiling slightly. "You're definitely a better person for him than that bratty bitch inside."

Taehyun's heart began to race again, just hearing that was a huge compliment in his eyes, but before he could get ahead of himself, he chuckled and shook his head bitterly. "I really do thank you for that, but there's no way. He really likes Seong-jin."

Saerom hummed softly, looking at the door before looking over at Taehyun. "I'm not supposed to tell you this... but since you're a good person I will!"

"Should I really be knowing all of this inside information about the band?" Taehyun chuckled a little, causing Saerom to shake her head in amusement.

"Everyone likes you, so consider yourself part of the band."

That warmed his heart a lot, knowing that he was on the good side of everyone.

"So you noticed how everyone outshines him, right?" She asked him, which made him think about it for a second.

When the band performs, it was always the one in the center shining the brightest, but when there's others and they rotate the spotlight, he had always noticed how Seong-jin stayed in the back, never really going near the spotlight.

"I think so, is it because he's bad at his instrument?"

Saerom snorted loudly. "Absolutely, he's horrible at his instrument, however..."

"He was never meant to be in the band in the first place."

Taehyun gasped softly hearing that, staring at her with widened eyes as what she said processed through his head. "What do you mean by that?"

"When the band was created, it was only supposed to be five members, that's how Beomgyu wanted it." She crossed her arms and leaned back into the seat. "It wasn't until he had come along, stolen Beomgyu's heart, and forced himself into the band."

Hearing all of that felt so unreal, he felt like he shouldn't even be hearing all of this because of how much deep information it was.

"How exactly did he steal his heart?"

"If you haven't noticed by now, Beomgyu is someone who has such a soft heart it's his own weakness, he sees the good in everything and everyone. With just a little of flirting and affirmations, he had him wrapped around his finger just like —" She snapped her finger. " — that."

"So with that, he had forced Beomgyu to allow him into the band, not the greatest choice in my opinion."

It all felt unreal, after hearing everything Taehyun remained speechless as his thoughts swirled around like an angry tornado, scrambling all of his senses as he stared at her with shock.

He wanted to just go inside and punch the shit out of Seong-jin, tell him that he didn't deserve Beomgyu at all and how he was an absolute stuck up.

Was he going to do it for real though?

Absolutely not.

"I'm just saying though, the band would be so much better without him there. You're more enjoyable to be around."

"Why are you telling me all of this? Especially since we don't know each other well?"

Saerom stared at him for a few seconds before looking away with a soft smile. "You still don't get it, do you?"

Taehyun was confused for a second, should he be offended or not? It wasn't his fault that all of a sudden she was dropping some deep shit onto him, but at the same time... he wanted it, he wanted to know more about Beomgyu and his relationship.

He just felt so jealous, envious, desperate to know what he had to do to earn a place in Beomgyu's heart. Sometimes, he wished he had never met the elder in the first place so he wouldn't be drowned into this ocean of feelings, choking him little by little as he tried to fight so hard to come back up to the surface.

"I think you'd be better with Beomgyu, not Seong-jin..." Saerom admitted softly.

Taehyun would be lying to himself if he said that didn't boost his ego just a little bit.

Just before he could ask something else, the door of the cafe opened as Beomgyu walked out, looking over towards them with a curious expression as he walked over. "What are you two doing out here? Saerom, we need you back on stage."

"I thought your little boyfriend took my spotlight?" Saerom yawned loudly, smirking slightly when she saw Beomgyu get a little irritated.

"I told you it's just for ten minutes!" Beomgyu sighed slightly, glancing over at Taehyun who stared at him with widened eyes. In that moment, it was like all his irritations washed away. "Don't tell me you're trying to steal my friends now."

"Pleaaaseee!" Saerom groaned loudly, dragging on her words as she stood up. "I like Taehyun, but I won't steal him from you, possessive ass shit."

Both Taehyun and Beomgyu turned slightly red by how she worded that, but neither of them dared to say anything about it.

"Anyways," Beomgyu cleared his throat, looking over at Taehyun. "Feel free to come in whenever! We'll be taking a break soon."

"Thank you, hyung."

A warm smile grew on Beomgyu's lips as he looked away, walking into the cafe which left Saerom and Taehyun alone like before.

"I'll tell you one thing before I go inside." Saerom said, glancing over at Taehyun who stared at her with curiosity.

"You have to promise me you won't tell anyone..." She paused, which made the curiosity grow in his stomach, which allowed him to nod.

With a small sigh, she continued on.

"What if I had told you, that Moon Seong-jin doesn't love Choi Beomgyu at all."

୨♡୧

When Saerom had told him that shocking information, it had stuck with Taehyun.

Nearly two weeks have passed since she had told him this, which meant for the past two weeks he has been carrying this heavy burden of a secret and keeping it away from Beomgyu every time the two of them hung out or talked.

Every single fucking time Beomgyu mentions that god forsaken evil boyfriend of his, all he wanted to do was grab the elder by the shoulders and kiss him til' he shuts up, expose Seong-jin's true intentions before he could get more hurt.

but he couldn't.

No matter how much his heart hurts, how badly the strings wrapped around it tightened more and more until it broke, he knew he couldn't do it.

When he had asked Saerom who had known that and why she didn't exactly tell Beomgyu first when she discovered it, she had explained to him that only Taesan knows.

She also knew how much Beomgyu liked the male, she didn't want to watch him become so heartbroken. Saerom knew she should've told Beomgyu the moment she found out, but she couldn't face the consequences and had always hoped that something would come in between their relationship.

Taehyun understood that feeling, keeping something away from a friend to prevent them from being hurt, but it's more painful to keep it to yourself instead of telling them! That's what frustrated him the most, he wanted to tell the elder.

Those nights where Beomgyu would call him out of breath, as if he had got done running a mile just so he could have some privacy and be away from his boyfriend to talk to him. The nights where they would meet up and just talk to each other about their day and how their own personal lives were going, it helped them grow their bond even more.

It really did impress him how Beomgyu hung on, how his strong passionate happiness didn't falter even a second when he was with his boyfriend who had yelled at him or complained very single day about something dumb.

He had always thought Beomgyu was strong.

Until the day he arrived at his doorsteps in tears.

"Beomgyu hyung...?" Taehyun gasped out in shock when he opened the door and saw the elder, surprised since it was nearly midnight.

"Hey sweetheart." Beomgyu smiled softly.

Even though he was smiling, Taehyun could tell behind that smile was an ocean of heartbreak and pain. Beomgyu usually put on an effort to look great anywhere he goes but this time, he was dressed in nothing but a plain black shirt and gray sweatpants, as if he had just ran out of his apartment and straight to Taehyun's house.

The elders eyes were red and glossy, his nose turning a light shade of red as he sniffled a couple of times as it was runny. Faint tears rolled down his face as it was stained with them, it made Taehyun's heart break seeing him in this state that was so rare to see.

"Wh-What happened? Are you okay?" Taehyun stumbled out of his house, immediately wrapping his arms around Beomgyu who collapsed in his hold.

The elder grabbed onto the male tightly, his breath shaking as he closed his eyes tight and buried his face into the crook of the males neck, Taehyun instantly feeling warm tears fall onto his skin.

It made his heart break little by little, it was the first time he had ever seen Beomgyu in his state and he wishes he would never have to again. The male was never one to cry in front of others, that's what he told him, just what happened for him to break down this badly?

"I'm sorry," Beomgyu's deep tone wavered softly, his words all airy. "I'm so sorry, I just didn't know who to go to."

"Don't apologize! Why are you saying sorry? You should never feel sorry about your feelings!" Taehyun held onto him tighter, finding what he said absolutely ridiculous.

The two of them stood there for a couple of minutes, just holding one another in their arms as Taehyun waited for Beomgyu to calm down, and once he did, the elder stood up and wiped his face.

"Can we... go somewhere? I need to clear my mind." Beomgyu asked him weakly, his eyes refused to stop the endless tears that formed.

"Of course," Taehyun looked up at him and brought his hands up to his face, cupping it as he began to wipe the elders tears with his thumbs. "Will you tell me what happened If I go with you?"

All Beomgyu could do was nod, which wasn't a big deal for Taehyun, he was glad he got an answer from him.

Right before they could leave, Taehyun had to go back inside and interrupt Yeonjun and Huening Kai's movie date and tell them that he would be heading out with Beomgyu. His cousin was a bit suspicious but allowed him to go either way, which gave him the perfect opportunity to grab the car keys.

Taehyun had decided to let Beomgyu drive since he was the one who wanted to go somewhere, so as the two were in the car, neither of them decided to say anything. It wasn't awkward, but Taehyun knew the elder wasn't in the exact mood for a conversation and he could respect that.

When the two of them finally arrived to their destination after at least thirty minutes, Taehyun was a bit shocked that Beomgyu had taken them to a park that barely had anyone there which seemed good since they needed time alone.

"Are you comfortable with telling me what happened?" Taehyun asked the elder as they walked down a secluded path, the faint dim light of the moon made it better to see where they were heading. "If not, don't worry."

Beomgyu sighed softly and looked away, ever since he broke down at his doorsteps, he hadn't really said anything since then.

"It's just..." He spoke softly before pausing mid sentence. "I..."

"I just got into another fight with Seong-jin, it's nothing."

Taehyun huffed out a frustrated sigh, he should've known that it had something to do with that fucking idiot Beomgyu calls a lover. It made his heart break when he just disregarded his feelings like that, like they were nothing but trash in this hopeless world.

The two of them eventually arrived to an open field area, which made it perfect to see the clear night sky where the moon shined brightly with thousands of dancing stars around them.

Taehyun looked over to his side and saw Beomgyu taking off his sweater, placing it down on the grass and sitting down on it, looking over at him to do the same in which he did almost immediately.

So there they were, the two of them sitting in silence as they stared up into the sky that looked so ethereal at night.

"I know I keep complaining about Seong-jin," Beomgyu suddenly spoke up, avoiding eye contact with the male. "But I just feel so suffocated, as if I don't say anything then I'll die."

Taehyun began to become worried about the elders mental health, he had always put on such a strong smile yet he had never showed anything about his mental state. Now it had him thinking, was it all just a mask?

"We had gotten into a fight," Beomgyu said, looking down as he held his legs close to his chest. "He had gotten angry that I've been spending more time with the band than him alone, that I should give him the spotlight more."

"Are you serious?" Taehyun scoffed in annoyance. "That sounds selfish!"

"He started to get more and more angry," Beomgyu continued on, which made Taehyun a bit sad he didn't say anything about his comments. "Until he had told me I should just disband Byeol, which got me so angry I started yelling back at him then—"

Beomgyu began to choke up, covering his mouth as he looked away from Taehyun to avoid how weak and pathetic he looked.

"He hit me."

It was like Taehyun's vision flashed red when Beomgyu had said that, immediately getting out from his spot, he grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to face him as he looked at his face frantically.

"Are you okay?!" How could I not notice? "He hit you?! Are you serious? What the hell, hyung! You didn't deserve that!"

As Taehyun panicked about whether Beomgyu was okay or not, the elder just stared at him and started to admire how beautiful the younger looked. He knew he shouldn't think that, but it was nearly impossible for his heart to avoid it.

"I'm fine," Beomgyu breathed out, grabbing Taehyun's hands. "He didn't hit me hard, he just slapped my face, but I'm sure it's gone now."

Taehyun felt speechless by his reaction, how could he just sit there and say that he was fine? It wasn't fine! How could he just say that?!

"What is wrong with you...?" Taehyun spoke softly, his voice cracking as he stared at Beomgyu who seemed startled. "How could you say that?"

"I don't understand—"

"How could you sit here and say that you're fine Beomgyu?! You're not fine!" Taehyun grabbed onto the males shoulders even harsher, staring at him with widened eyes that began to sting. "You put on such a beautiful smile everyday for everyone, yet you know deep down it hurts."

"You don't deserve this treatment from Seong-jin, you created Byeol! That's your band, not his! How could you sit here and say everything is fine when he hurt you, hyung!" Taehyun's anger slowly started to turn into despair.

Weeks of bottling up his emotions towards the elder slowly began to crack through, his heart that was flaming in anger began to be washed down in an unforgiving sadness that he knew he couldn't take back, but it made him so upset, he doesn't want to back seat anymore in the elders life.

"Just because he doesn't get a certain amount of attention from you doesn't mean it's a reason for him to hurt you, it doesn't mean that you should let yourself be treated so wrongly! You deserve to stand up for yourself, let yourself be angry! You should be angry!"

Taehyun's eyes began to sting even more as his vision began to become watery, the elder staring up at him in shock when he saw the angry tears form in his eyes, which made his heart hurt even more.

"It's not fair," Taehyun's voice began to crack as he slowly let go of the elder. "It's not fair that you force yourself to carry this heavy burden and act like everything is okay, when it's not."

"You deserve so much more better than him, hyung."

Taehyun began to break down in tears as he wrapped his arms around Beomgyu, falling into his lap as he cried onto his chest with so much pain, he hated it so much. How he could only sit back and do nothing, he wanted to be there for the elder and save him but he knew he couldn't overstep certain boundaries.

It wasn't until he felt a hand gently caress the back of his head, warm fingers running through his hair to calm him down, which made him look up in shock as Beomgyu stared down at him with gentle eyes.

"I had always thought that if I stayed happy, I could escape from the pain." Beomgyu spoke up, staring at him as if he were the most precious thing in the whole wide world. "I always thought that if I was happy, that if I made others happy, my pain would go away."

"I guess it doesn't work that way," Beomgyu admitted pathetically, chuckling with a bitter tone. "I thought being in a relationship with someone who captured my heart would make me happier..."

"...but it only made me feel worse."

Hearing that made Taehyun's heart drop, it was the first time that Beomgyu had started to sincerely talk about his feelings, what he truly felt. He knew he wouldn't allow this moment to past without comforting the one he loved so much.

"Do you want to know the truth, why I persuaded you to hang out with me when I met you?"

"Of course I do."

"On that night, I had gotten into a fight with Seong-jin, it pissed me off so bad I needed a breath of fresh air." Beomgyu began to explain, staring down at Taehyun who looked precious on his lap. "I passed by Sarang Club and saw you, at first, I wanted to just pass by and ignore you since you were probably drunk."

"...but until I saw how beautiful you were, I felt so drawn to you."

Taehyun's eyes widened as he suddenly sat up, sitting on his knees as Beomgyu leaned back and got a proper look at the younger, his head tilting slightly as a guilty smile grew on his lips.

"I couldn't bring myself to walk away, so I came to you... the moment I heard your voice... oh I felt like I was a sailor at sea being drawn to a sirens harmonic melody."

This wasn't good.

This wasn't good at all.

Taehyun's heart was nearly about to burst, hearing all of this felt so right yet so wrong at the same time. If Beomgyu had told him this beforehand, he was certain he would've fallen onto his knees for the elder and declared his love for him on the spot, but right now it felt so wrong knowing that he was saying all of this while in a relationship.

Which was why Taehyun was currently fighting between what was wrong or right.

"The more I spent time with you, the more that suffocating cloud that picked at me everyday began to hide away," Beomgyu paused, his voice trembling, as if he knew if he were to go on he wouldn't be able to stop himself.

"I began chasing that feeling, just to keep it around... and that feeling was always you. I felt myself being drawn to you continuously."

"Then... I eventually found myself fallin—"

Just before Beomgyu could finish the sentence that would break the both of them, he was suddenly silenced when a pair of lips began to make contact with his, causing his heart to drop.

Taehyun closed his eyes as he cupped Beomgyu's face, pushing his lips against the elders as tears began to roll down his face even more.

Eventually, after just barely two seconds, Beomgyu began to kiss back as he closed his eyes, gently bringing a hand and placed it on the back of the younger's neck and pushed him closer, causing Taehyun's body to fall onto his.

The two of them knew they shouldn't be doing this, it was like a voice screaming in their mind to stop what they were doing before things become worse, but their bodies didn't listen as the kiss began to become more passionate.

Taehyun's heart felt so full, so satisfied that he was doing this, yet the common sense in his mind knew that he had gone back on his promise and words.

It wasn't until Beomgyu grabbed onto his shoulders and pulled away, the two of them gasping softly as they stared at one another with hooded eyes. Both knowing what exact feelings they were thinking right now.

"We can't."

Those two words were like a knife driving deep into Taehyun's heart, causing him to back away in fear as Beomgyu stared at him with the most guilty expression.

what..?

"I'm so sorry," Beomgyu wiped his lips, causing Taehyun's heart to shatter even more. "We should've never done this."

"What do... you mean?" Taehyun's voice began to crack, his chest began to become heavier as the elder looked away in shame.

"I shouldn't have kissed you back, Taehyun."

Taehyun's world began to become dull, his heart breaking by the second as if someone had just chopped open his chest and started to rip it apart little by little, the males knees gave out as he fell onto his hands covering his mouth as Beomgyu looked away in shame.

He should've known... that loving someone who was taken would be the worst thing ever.

But it wasn't fair, it wasn't! Seong-jin had hurt him, the elder basically confessed he fell for him, so why couldn't he reciprocate his feelings?!

"It's not fair, hyung." Taehyun began to sob loudly, closing his eyes. "You walk into my life and pull all this shit on me, and you expect me to not fall for you?!"

"You know Seong-jin is no good for you, so why do you even stay? He doesn't make you happy, I make you happy, you said it yourself!"

All Beomgyu could do was remain silent, sitting there as he began to drown in guilt, his heart hurting so bad when he saw the younger break down in full tears.

"I've spent weeks waiting for you to realize that he wasn't good for you," Taehyun covered his face as his voice began to break even more. "I spent weeks bottling up my feelings so I couldn't lose you."

"It's not fair, it's not fair at all." Taehyun's head began to hurt by how hard he was crying. He genuinely couldn't breathe properly.

"We both know we love each other," He took his hands away from his face, looking up at the elder who stared at him in silentness shame. "I've spent so long admiring how Seong-jin stole your heart, every single night I imagined I was him! I wanted to love you, hyung."

"So why..." His voice trembled as he looked down. "...why is this... so unfair...?"

Beomgyu wanted to reach out and hold the male, but he knew he couldn't. All he did was sit there and listen to him sob, every single word broke his heart little by little.

Yet he couldn't do anything, and he felt so pathetic.

"I love you so much Taehyun..." Beomgyu mumbled softly, causing the younger to look at him with widened eyes.

yet the next thing broke his heart so much, he swore he almost passed out on the spot.

"...but I still love Seong-jin too."

୨♡୧

"It's been nearly two weeks since he went out with Beomgyu and he's been in this state ever since."

"What can we do? He's not telling us anything."

"Try something! He's missing class because of this, he refuses to talk, he refuses to eat! How could you not know anything?!"

"You think I haven't noticed that my own cousin is locking himself away, rotting himself mentally? I tried talking to him, yet he refuses to speak."

"Fuck."

Soobin sighed tiredly and looked over upstairs worriedly, for the past two weeks he had barely gotten messages from Taehyun or even seen him in classes, it made him so worried sick he finally decided to come over after all of his projects were out the way.

"I just don't know what happened." Yeonjun's voice broke as he wrapped his arms around him, his eyes teary. "My baby cousin is in pain yet he won't communicate, he has never acted like this."

"I tried talking to him," Huening Kai spoke up, wrapping his arms around Yeonjun to comfort him. "Yet he remains locked up in his room."

"I'll try talking to him." Soobin said, it was the whole reason he had came over anyway. "I'll see if I could get him to say anything."

After getting an approving nod from Yeonjun, the male breathed out softly and began to walk upstairs, the two of them didn't exactly talk a lot ever since he had confessed which was fine... they were both still processing everything.

But Soobin was very surprised, he guesses confessing to someone sooner than later definitely helps getting rid of feelings!

When he finally made it to the top floor, he walked over towards Taehyun's door and knocked gently, unsure if the male was sleeping or not.

"Tyun-ah," He said softly, making sure he heard him. "It's your hyung, let me in please?"

After hearing nothing but silence for the next five minutes, Soobin was about to give up and head back downstairs until he heard a small click from the door, causing his eyes to widen as he instantly opened it and saw Taehyun standing there, his appearance breaking his heart little by little.

The males hair was a mess, greasy and matted as if he hadn't bothered washing it for days. His face was slightly dry with chapped lips, underneath his eyes were dark bags along with puffiness surrounding them, the male looked pale and sick, it made him worried sick.

"Taehyun..." Soobin breathed out softly, his expression falling into a worried one as he stepped into the room as the male just turned around and walked back to his bed.

The male looked around his room and saw clothes everywhere, empty water bottles scattered along the floor. At least he was drinking well, but he couldn't say the same for food as there were no food, not even snacks, in sight.

As Taehyun fell back onto his bed and covered himself with his blanket, Soobin frowned and walked over to him, his nose scrunching up after sniffing a sour odor which was probably from the younger not properly showering for days.

"I know you're hurt," Soobin sat down on his bed, not bothered if it was dirty or not. "But will you talk to me? Yeonjun is worried sick, Huening Kai is worried, i'm worried... what happened?"

It was only silence in the room for a few minutes until Soobin had heard quiet sobbing noises, which immediately made him go on guard as he looked over at Taehyun who was visibly shaking.

"It hurts..." Taehyun finally spoke up, his sobbing becoming more and more harsh, his voice was raspy and low, as if he hadn't talked at all ever since what happened. "It hurts!"

Soobin got up from his spot and took the blanket off of Taehyun, grabbing the male and forcing him to sit up as he wrapped his arms around him and held him close, feeling the younger instantly melt in his hold as he began to sob even harder, the cries causing his heart to break.

He heard faint footsteps rush upstairs and the door slam open, looking over to see Yeonjun standing there worried as his eyes landed on his sobbing cousin, rushing over towards his side right away.

"Tyun-ah," Yeonjun whispered near the males ear, gently placing his hand onto the males head. "Breathe, breathe my moon petal."

Soobin gently let go of Taehyun and allowed Yeonjun to hold his cousin, watching as the elder whispered calming things into the males ear which eased down his sobbing just a little.

Soobin and Huening Kai took a step back from what was happening, the two of them seeming to communicate with their eyes until Taehyun finally spoke up.

"I kissed Beomgyu."

The world seemed to freeze when he had said those three unexpected words, causing everyone in the room to fall silent and stare at him in shock like he were an insane maniac!

he was.

"Taehyun..." Yeonjun's tone began to grow worried in panic. "Taehyun, oh... no no no— please don't tell me that's the reason—"

"He told me he loved me, he kissed me back, yet he still loves that... that boyfriend of his!" Taehyun's sadness began to bubble up into boiling anger, his tears that were once filled with despair began to fill with rage.

Yeonjun stared at him in shock, it was rare for the male to get this upset about something, but after understanding what had happened he couldn't help but become angry at that Choi Beomgyu who had broken his cousins heart.

Taehyun knew he had to tell them the whole story, and that's what he did. After sobbing his ass off for fifteen whole minutes he had eventually managed to explain the whole story to his cousin and friends without sobbing in the middle of it, which he was proud of yet his throbbing painful heart distracted him from being proud.

"It's just so unfair," Taehyun wiped his eyes, cringing slightly when he felt eye crust come off of it. "Seong-jin doesn't even love Beomgyu back! It's unfair, why... would he choose him...?"

"Woah, woah wait, what do you mean Seong-jin doesn't love Beomgyu back?" Huening Kai suddenly interrupted him, stepping closer towards the male who seemed a bit confused.

"One of Beomgyu hyung's band members told me that Seong-jin didn't truly love him, if I were to assume, he was probably using the elder for fame and money." Taehyun said, trying to ignore how Yeonjun was wiping away all the dirt off of his face.

Both Huening Kai and Soobin glanced at each other with a knowing look, as if they both had the same thought the moment the male had finished talking.

"So let me get the story straight," Yeonjun spoke up when he thought about it clearly. "Beomgyu came to you sobbing because his asshole boyfriend yells at him too much and even hit him, so he took you out somewhere privately so you two could talk then it somehow turned to a deep conversation about feelings and that's when he admitted he started falling for you while in a relationship then you kissed him...? Then he got upset and said you both couldn't accept each other's feelings because he thinks he still loves Seong-jin?"

"Basically," Taehyun sighed in defeat, leaning his head onto Yeonjun as his eyes were sore from how badly he was crying. "I haven't been able to properly think, I just feel so stupid... I should've listened to you, hyung. I should've never gone with him when he had found me."

Yeonjun and the others look at each other, all sorts of emotions swirling around the room as Taehyun remained silent, just leaning into his cousins hold before the elder sighed.

"I think it was a good thing you met him," Yeonjun spoke up, causing Taehyun to look at him in shock since he had suddenly switched up. "He really made you happy, I've never seen you so happy around someone before he came along."

"It's not your fault for falling for him Taehyun," Huening Kai jumped in, trying to make the male feel better. "Sometimes we can't control how we feel, and he also persuaded you!"

"But most importantly, you shouldn't ruin yourself over this." Soobin was the final one to jump in, which made Taehyun start to feel like he was being interrogated or something.

"I guess so," Was all he could say, yet his heart was in so much pain, no matter how bad he wanted to be angry at the elder and cut him off completely...

...he just wanted nothing more than to be in Beomgyu's arms again.

He still loved him so much, it was driving him insane.

"Have you told Beomgyu that Seong-jin doesn't love him?" Huening Kai suddenly asked, causing him to look over at him in shock.

Right before he could say that he did, he stopped himself and thought about it, he didn't.

"I-I didn't, but there's no use, he's madly in love with him."

"Because he thinks Seong-jin loves him too." Soobin suddenly interrupted, causing Taehyun's eyes to widen.

"What are you guys trying to imply here?"

"Beomgyu might've rejected you because he was already in a relationship before he met you, he had known Seong-jin longer than you which would explain why he trusts his heart more to stay with him, because he loves him."

"However, he said he felt upset around him, he's losing feelings yet he's denying it. If you manage to somehow tell Beomgyu that Seong-jin has been lying—"

"Then... I could... free him from that idiotic relationship." Taehyun finished the sentence, his eyes widening in realization.

This entire time, he could've just told Beomgyu the whole truth about what Saerom had told him, if he did he could've prevented the elder from being hurt! But then it hit him... would he even trust him if he had told him something so out of the blue?

Right before he could get ahead of himself, the male shook his head and sank back into Yeonjun's arms weakly. "It won't work, he probably hates me."

"You're saying the man who kissed you back even though he was in a relationship and fell for you... hates you? That would be impossible, if anything he probably misses you." Yeonjun snickered, trying to light up the mood.

"Yeonjun hyung is right, you shouldn't give up just yet Taehyun."

Taehyun sat there and thought about it closely. A part of him really wanted to go find Beomgyu and have a second chance with him, yet another part of him was terrified of being rejected again. He didn't want to face the same heartbreak he is experiencing currently again.

But after thinking about it for a few more minutes, he knew he couldn't leave Beomgyu to slowly suffocate in that relationship that's draining him. If his band members say he was better with him, maybe it was a sign.

So with a shaky sigh, the male slowly got up from his bed and nodded his head, trying to wipe away the gross greasiness on his face.

"I'll try to talk to him."

"That's my strong moon petal!" Yeonjun stood up and ruffled his hair, ignoring how it felt unpleasant since it was greasy. "You have to fight for what's yours, you two looked happy being around each other."

The male glanced over towards Soobin who gave him a soft reassuring smile, if it weren't for the elder finally coming over and convincing him, he was certain he would rot away in his room until he melted into his bed.

"But first, you need a good two hour shower, get your ass to the bathroom."

୨♡୧

Taehyun took a deep breath and sighed anxiously as he stepped into the cafe for the first time after two weeks, which would mean he has to face the elder who left him heartbroken soon.

He felt so fucking anxious walking into the cafe, he doesn't know what the outcome will be like, he was starting to regret even coming here in the first place.

But his heart... needed to at least mend something between him and Beomgyu.

As he pushed through the crowd and made his way to where the stage area was, the male successfully managed to get to a table that hadn't been taken yet by some random couple or person.

The male waited there at the table and looked on stage, disappointment flooding his senses when he saw everyone but Beomgyu on the stage, it made his heart break knowing he might not have a chance to talk to the elder again.

It made him so pissed though, that kiss wasn't just for nothing, he felt the emotions between them. How the butterflies in his stomach went crazy when the elder wrapped his hand around his neck and pulled him closer, it made his stomach churn in anger knowing that it was shut down so fast.

I really wished he didn't do that, I should've just told him the truth then and there. Taehyun groaned to himself, debating whether or not he should leave.

Eventually, he decided to just stay in the cafe and wait for the elder to appear at least once on the stage, but for the next two hours the male didn't pop up at all, which broke his heart by the second knowing he might've been too late to apologize.

So when the band finally wrapped up their show and all the people who were watching left, it left him with just the band and him alone.

Unfortunately, Seong-jin was still here as well.

"Taehyun." Saerom walked over to him, seeming relieved to see him again. "Where have you been? What's been going on between you and Beomgyu?"

"H-Huh?" Taehyun was a bit shocked she had asked that, had the elder told them what had happened? "I-I don't get what you mean?"

"He hasn't been coming to rehearsals nor performances, he's locked himself up in his apartment and refuses to talk to us." Chaewon was the first to butt into the conversation, walking over to him with a worried expression.

"The only thing we know was that he hung out with you last, so did you guys get into a fight?" Jake was the second to come over and ask him, which made him feel like he was being interrogated even more now.

"We..." He knew he couldn't tell Beomgyu's friends that he had kissed the elder when his boyfriend was literally a few feet away. "Just... a little bit of arguments."

"Seriously?" Taesan was the final one to jump into the conversation. "Whatever you did fucked hyung up, what happened?"

"Seriously, is all you ever do is lie? You know what you did."

All of them turned around and faced Seong-jin who seemed bitter with Taehyun's appearance in the cafe, in just that moment, it was like the atmosphere had gone tensed when the two of them made eye contact.

"Nobody really asked you to speak up." Taehyun said, causing Seong-jin to scoff in amusement.

The male began to walk closer, pushing past Taesan and Chaewon as he went up to Taehyun and stood him face to face with an annoyed expression.

"You're saying you had nothing to do with Beomgyu's behavior?" Seong-jin asked him, full attitude and irritation in his tone as he faced Taehyun whose heart dropped.

Was it possible... that Beomgyu had told him?

"If I do know," Taehyun's voice began to tremble, fear rising in his veins when he realized he might've been screwed. "Then that's none of your business."

"I think it is my business, as his boyfriend after all."

Just hearing that word made Taehyun's vision flash red, how could this fucker ever call himself Beomgyu's boyfriend when he doesn't even love him back?! That he's only using him for fame and money and taking advantage of everything!

"Come on Seong-jin," Saerom muttered, "That's enough." It was like she was trying to prevent a fight but in reality she was annoyed with him.

"For a boyfriend, you're a really shitty one." Taehyun spoke without thinking, causing Seong-jin's eyes to widen after hearing that.

It was like the atmosphere in the room went cold, the males breathing began to become uneasy as anger boiled in his blood. "A shitty one?! Who are you to say that?!"

"You yell at Beomgyu for every little thing," Taehyun took a step forward, causing the males breath to hitch. "You get mad at him, you yell at him, take your pathetic little anger out on him because what...? You want to feel powerful."

Seong-jin's eyes widened as he looked over at his band mates for help, but after seeing them turn away and pretend nothing was happening, the male scoffed in astonishment by how pathetic they all were.

"You think what I did was bad?" Seong-jin stepped up, an amused smirk growing on his lips. "Why not say what you did? You're worse than me."

"What?—"

"Do you think kissing someone's boyfriend is the right thing to do?"

It was now Taehyun's turn to become silent, immediately looking over at the others, he witnessed how their expressions became shocked as he stared at him. Anxiety began to bubble up in his stomach as Seong-jin scoffed in a knowing manner, as if he knew that would break him.

"I knew it," Seong-jin smirked, finding his reaction amusing. "You didn't care about spending time with Beomgyu for the sake of his company, you just wanted to steal him from me, didn't you?"

Taehyun opened his mouth to deny all of it, he wanted to know how he had found out, did Beomgyu really tell him about what happened? That just broke his heart even more.

"It wasn't like that," He finally breathed out. "I wasn't trying to steal him from you."

"Then why would you kiss him, huh?" Seong-jin took a step forward, a smirk growing on his lips which made him want to just punch it off. "Unless... you were trying to get him to cheat?"

Taehyun glanced over at Saerom who didn't seem bothered by what was happening, instead, she looked somewhat proud. In that moment, that's when their eyes met and it was like they both thought of the same thing right away.

Maybe it was time, to tell him the truth.

"I wasn't trying to get anyone to cheat, I did kiss Beomgyu and you know what?" Taehyun glared down at the male who seemed shocked by the sudden switch.

"I don't regret it at all."

That's when the anger that was bubbling in Seong-jin's blood began to rise to the tipping point, feeling embarrassment and anger because of Taehyun, he had ruined everything!

"I don't know who you are getting mad at me," Taehyun looked down at the male as if he were below him, all of the anger and sadness he had for Beomgyu began to bleed out, taking it out on the male in front of him. "But you have no right to treat me or Beomgyu this way."

For the past weeks, the last two months, he's been there for Beomgyu. His feelings growing every single day as every moment he spent with the elder was the best moment of his life, he had never ever wanted to see him upset or sob, he had always wanted to be his happiness. But this fucker in front of him has the audacity to get mad at him when he was the one who always broke Beomgyu?

"You have no—"

"You shouldn't even be talking, you don't even love Beomgyu!"

Seong-jin's face immediately paled when the male had said that, looking over at the others who seemed shocked except Saerom and Taesan who were smirking, as if they were glad that Taehyun had finally exposed him.

"You're only using him for money, aren't you? You never loved him in the first place." Taehyun glared down at the male stepping forward which made Seong-jin start to back up in fear.

It felt so good, Taehyun has never felt so proud seeing such fear in someone's face, but he knew everyone had to know the truth and he needed to expose the males cruel intentions. He never deserved Beomgyu!

Even if it meant severing his connections with him, Taehyun would do anything to keep Beomgyu's heart pure.

"I know you're trying to make him disband the group so you could get all the money, aren't you? You yell at him because he's submissive towards you and you know he'll listen..." Taehyun's jealousy began to become uncontrollable.

He hated it, he didn't want to stand back anymore.

"Taehyun!-" Taesan tried to call out for the male but he ignored it.

"You never deserved his love, ever."

That's when Seong-jin's head snapped up and his vision went full red, with an angry scream the male grabbed onto Taehyun's harshly and pushed him down, causing the male to stumble backwards and fall onto the floor in shock.

"Seong-jin!" Chaewon called out for the male, rushing over to stop him before he pushed her away as well, walking towards Taehyun with a murderous intent.

"You just had to ruin everyone's life didn't you?" Seong-jin screamed as he pushed off the other members who tried to stop him, Saerom heading over to Taesan after the male hit his head on a table. "You should've stayed in your place!"

"Beomgyu deserves someone better than you, you insane bitch!" Taehyun cried out, getting off of the floor to face the male who seemed like he was about to murder him.

Seong-jin bit the bottom of his lip hard before grabbing a random glass bottle left behind on the table, looking back at Taehyun who had fear flash through his eyes, the male raised his arm ready to strike.

"You should just die—"

"That's enough."

Right before Seong-jin could strike down on Taehyun and injure him heavily, the males wrist was suddenly held back when a strong hand wrapped around it, immediately pulling it down as the two of them looked behind him to see who had just stopped him.

That's when Taehyun's eyes widened as his heart nearly burst into fireworks, he felt that stinging pain come back to his eyes when he saw Beomgyu standing there with pure hatred in his eyes when he glared down at Seong-jin.

"B-Beomgyu!" Seong-jin gasped in shock, hesitantly letting go of the bottle before facing the elder with panic in his expression. "What are you?—"

Beomgyu let go of Seong-jin and walked past him without a word, walking over towards Taehyun who was internally panicking when he saw the elder come close.

It wasn't until he felt a soft hand cup his cheek, those soft eyes staring down at him with so much care, he nearly burst in tears when he realized how badly he missed the elder.

"Are you alright?" Beomgyu whispered softly, his eyes gazing up and down Taehyun's face to see if there was any injuries.

"I-I..." Taehyun stared up at the elder with tears in his eyes, his heart hurting by how badly he missed the elder, he could feel himself melting in his hold. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Beomgyu smiled gently, it was clear and obvious the male was exhausted, the red puffiness around his eyes along with the dark eye bags made it obvious. "... and I'm so sorry."

"Choi Beomgyu!" Seong-jin called out for him, causing the male to turn around in annoyance. "Get the fuck away from him! You... cheater!"

"Says the one who never loved me in the first place." Beomgyu deadpanned, causing the male to become silent and flush red as the others around them snorted loudly.

"You were right, Taehyun." Beomgyu looked back at the male who was starstrucked. "I deserve someone better than him."

"I deserve you."

Taehyun would've been dead on the floor long time ago by how much his heart has been exploding since he had met the elder, all of those nights and days where he locked himself away and secluded himself from society started to wash away as a new warm blanket began to wrap around him.

Seong-jin stared at the two of them in shock, embarrassment and anger bubbled up in him the longer he looked at the two, to save himself from embarrassing himself even more, the male turned around and walked away towards the door.

"By the way!" Beomgyu called over, looking at him. "I packed your shit from my place and you're out of the band, so... bye!"

Seong-jin's eyes widened even more before scoffing really loudly, leaving the group while saying a bunch of curse words under his breath.

After a little bit, the tension in the cafe began to die down as everyone awkwardly stared at each other, until Saerom burst out in laughter.

"Kang Taehyun the man you are!" Saerom said enthusiastically, walking over towards him and slapped his back in excitement causing him to flush in confusion.

"You finally stuck up to him!" Chaewon cheered. "All of us wanted to just punch his face, but we didn't want to upset grumpy over here."

Beomgyu stood there in shock seeing all of his band members cheer on Taehyun for sticking up against Seong-jin, it started to put a heavy burden on his heart knowing how much his friends were hurting while he was in a relationship. How could he have been so foolish?

"It's not your fault," Taehyun spoke up, looking over at Beomgyu who seemed surprised at what he said. "You loved him, you thought he loved you too... so it's not your fault for being unaware."

Beomgyu blinked a couple of times before slowly breaking down, tears forming in his eyes as he immediately grabbed onto Taehyun and hugged him tightly, he was so afraid to let him go.

"I'm so so sorry," Beomgyu cried out, burying his face into the males neck. "I should've never hurt you like that. I should've listened to my heart, you are the right one for me."

Taehyun breathed in the males scent softly before squeezing him back, his body went limp as his heart was in pain, as if thousand of needles were poking at him.

"It's okay," He muttered, even though they were left upset. "He was there before me, I knew I couldn't be him."

"I wish you were him."

Taehyun's eyes widened as Beomgyu looked up, immediately diving in for a kiss as he held him close, causing the other members to immediately look away and stroll on outside the cafe to give them privacy.

Taehyun was stunned for a few seconds before melting into the kiss, his eyes closing as he ran his fingers through the elders hair and held him close, his heart slowly healing the more he had Beomgyu next to him.

After two weeks of separation, the two of them finally felt secure enough to break down with one another, with so much heavy pain in their hearts of deciding what was wrong or right, they both knew what they wanted.

And what they wanted, was each other.

"I couldn't live with myself knowing how badly I hurt you," Beomgyu spoke up breathlessly after breaking the kiss, staring at the male with so much admiration in his eyes. "After thinking about what you said, suffocating in my regrets, I finally knew what was right."

"I love you more than I loved Seong-jin, and I'm so sorry for breaking your heart."

Taehyun shook his head, trying to not let those tears cover his vision once again, smiling bitterly as he tried to comprehend proper words.

"It's not your fault," Taehyun shook his head. "It was just not the right moment."

Beomgyu's lips began to tremble as he nodded his head.

"You're so strong hyung, anyone would be a fool to not love you back." Taehyun wrapped his arms around the elder tightly, sinking into his hold.

The two of them stood there silently, just embracing each other without a care in the world as the small sounds of sniffles and shaky breaths.

It was like their hearts finally intertwined, from the moment they met they both knew there was an unknowing pull that kept making them want to run into each other, and after so long... so so long...

Taehyun finally had him.

"I love you, Beomgyu."

Beomgyu looked up and stared at the male, his heart melting after hearing those words that just managed to hit him in all the right places.

After figuring out for so long, fighting a silent battle, he was finally free from a relationship that brought nothing but despair and pain to him.

Now, he had someone who cared about him.

"I love you more, Taehyun."

୨♡୧

"Hurry up hyung, you're going to be late!"

"I'm walking as fast as I can damn it!"

Taehyun rolled his eyes and walked into the cafe with a huge smile, the scent of fresh flowers flooding his senses as he walked down the familiar path over to the stage where his boyfriend was performing.

It had been three months since the two of them started dating, since Seong-jin had disappeared from sight.

In those three months... was the best ever.

Both Beomgyu and Taehyun became closer than ever, so close that the two of them were never seen alone without one another. Along the lines, Beomgyu had finally taken the male out on a proper date and asked him to be his official boyfriend, which he accepted right away.

Beomgyu's mental health had gotten so much more better the more he was with Taehyun and his band has been rising in popularity to the point the cafe has had to close early to due to how much people came in every night.

It made him so happy that he had finally made the elder feel happier.

Since Seong-jin left and was kicked out, Byeol was now five instead of six, which was much better since he didn't even contribute to the band that bunch besides complain and shit.

As Taehyun squeezed through the crowd, the male arrived at their reserved table across the stage and smiled widely seeing Soobin sitting there patiently, waiting for him.

"Hyung!" Taehyun rushed over, hugging him tightly. "You made it!"

"How could I not? You forced me here." Soobin teased, causing Taehyun to snort and punch him softly.

Soobin and Taehyun were still on close terms, all feelings between them soon faded away yet their friendship stayed strong as ever, and if he could remmeber correctly, he was certain the blonde was talking to someone from their class.

"I can't believe this place is so fucking crowded." Yeonjun groaned, pushing past people while dragging Huening Kai over.

Taehyun rolled his eyes, before he could joke around with the elder, the lights dimmed as cheers began to become louder as a specific brunette went on stage, causing him to snap his head in that direction as his heart never failed to flutter seeing him.

"Welcome everyone!" Beomgyu announced, his eyes immediately landing Taehyun, his eyes shining even brighter. "I'd like to thank everyone for coming tonight and I'd like to thank our opener, Ms. Kim Chaewon!"

The crowd began to cheer loudly as Beomgyu chuckled, allowing Chaewon to bow proudly before talking again.

"Tonight, we won't be taking suggestions, I apologize." Beomgyu said, causing the crowd to become a little disappointed. "However, I do have a song, for a very special someone."

The lights began to dim, signaling that their performance was about to start.

"This is a song called "you!" performed by Byeol."

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

The instrumental began to start, the music instantly giving an upbeat and calming vibe before Beomgyu came closer to the microphone, preparing to start the song.

The soft piano in the background along with the soft drums created such a calming atmosphere, once he started singing the elder immediately made eye contact with Taehyun whose heart was shaking.

As the elder began to sing, the heartwarming lyrics immediately had effect on Taehyun as he couldn't help but just stare at him with widened eyes.

Once the chorus came along, that's when the beat began to become more uplifting and the lyrics of the song he sang became more and more heart wrenching, grabbing everyone's attention and awe as his voice suited such meaningful lyrics.

In that moment, Taehyun knew who exactly the elder was singing for, why he had chosen this song.

He was nothing without him.

"You're light in the dark, you're the arrow through my heart. I'm nothing without you."

When those words processed in Taehyun's ears, his stomach began to twist in overwhelming excitement as he couldn't break the strong eye contact between him and Beomgyu. His eyes tearing up by how in love he was with the elder.

Soon enough, the song came to an end, allowing the crowd to cheer loudly as Beomgyu backed away from the microphone and bowed down. Allowing them to cheer even louder.

Once the elder stood up properly again, he looked over at Taehyun and nodded his head, a signal to which they both agreed to do when their performance was over.

Meet me outside.

"This was Byeol!" The whole band said, bowing once again which allowed Taehyun and the others to slip out of the cafe right before it got crowded again.

After waiting anxiously outside for a few minutes, Beomgyu was the first one to come out after everyone left, immediately running over to Taehyun like a happy little puppy full of excitement.

"Hello darling!" He immediately threw himself onto the younger and hugged the living shit out of him. "Did you like it? The performance!"

"I loved it so much, hyung, your vocals never fail to blow me away." Taehyun chuckled softly, kissing the elder's cheek before the others came out all happy.

As he greeted everyone else, the two of them were eventually left alone as Taehyun's cousin and friends decided to go hang out with Beomgyu's band members without them, which they both didn't mind.

"You seem more..." Taehyun hummed, looking over at the elder as the two of them walked down the street slowly to where their friends had ran off without them. "Glowy, you seem more brighter!"

"It's all because of you." Beomgyu said, pulling him closer as he squeezed the living shit out of him. "You made me better."

"You know, I'm so glad you found me in that alleyway, not because I was about to puke my brains out... but because it gave me an opportunity to meet you." Taehyun gently caressed his cheek, causing Beomgyu to flush red.

"I'm so glad I listened to my heart," The elder breathed out softly, leaning in for a kiss. "If I didn't, I'm certain I wouldn't be as happy as I am now."

Taehyun snorted softly and pulled his head down, instantly letting their lips to meet one another as they kissed passionately underneath the dim light. Only caring about each other in their world as others passed by them, but they didn't care.

After yearning for so long to be happy, to have Beomgyu his, his dream had finally came true.

He had helped the elder out of a relationship that drained him, that slowly made him lose his spark, he was so happy that he decided to force himself to give himself a second chance.

Just like the song Beomgyu sang...

They're nothing without each other.

"Shall we go now?" Beomgyu said as he pulled away. "I'm sure the others are waiting for us, I heard they wanted meat for dinner."

"Let's go, I want to see Yeonjun get wasted."

Both Beomgyu and Taehyun laughed loudly as they intertwined their hands with one another, walking down the street as they talked about their own things.

The two of them found each other by a coincidence, but they both knew that they'd never regret it. Even with their ups and downs and rough start, they knew they wouldn't want to trade their happiness with each other for anything else.

They had finally found each other, their own eternal happiness.

୨♡୧

inspired by the song "Can I be Him" by James Arthur :)