They got into Jeongguk's car and had to drive for half an hour to get there. Taehyung wanted to open the window so he could see outside, but Jeongguk didn't let him, so he pestered him for five minutes straight.

To be honest, it was freezing outside, and Jeongguk just didn't want him to get a cold, but after so much whining, he yielded and opened the damn window.

Overall the drive was quiet after that, and they reached their destination soon enough. Once Taehyung stepped out of the car, his eyes widened in awe and his jaw hung open. "Wow," he breathed out as he eyeballed the place in depth.

"You like it?" Jeongguk asked with a chuckle, already sure about his response.

"I love it, it's so beautiful!"

Not as much as you. His eyes were anchored on his aglow face at all times and a smile was engraved on his lips. "I know," he said as they resumed walking further and found a place to sit.

The good thing was that they were alone there. It was too cold to be outside, but the two boys didn't care because Taehyung was loving the place — it was indeed downright beautiful — and Jeongguk was there with that boy so he couldn't ask for anything else.

"You know, I was always curious about this," Taehyung spoke after ten minutes of halcyon silence. "Why do you eat takeout food twice a day?"

Jeongguk lifted a brow at his question as he didn't expect he would care about that. "It's too bothersome to cook, and I'm too lazy to do it."

"You live alone?"

"Yes, my mom has her own house."

"Why?"

"Because I want my privacy and I can afford to live on my own."

"But don't you miss her? I think if I had a mother, I wouldn't be able to leave her and live on my own," Taehyung murmured and took another bite of his food.

"I do miss her. But I like living alone too."

"Eating takeout food twice a day isn't so healthy, you know." His tone indicated mild criticism blended with playfulness.

"You should take care of yourself before scolding others about their lifestyle," Jeongguk replied in the same way, adding a derisive smile as well.

"That applies to you too!"

"I'm not starving myself at least."

"Eating unhealthy food twice a day is just as bad."

"No, it's not."

Taehyung cast him a glower. "I don't like you," he hissed with a disdainful moue.

"I can say the same thing," Jeongguk snapped back with a contemptuous wiggle of his brows.

Taehyung only huffed at his words and focused on his food again. They continued eating in silence as an awkward and somewhat tense mood settled between the two.

The silence carried on strong for another ten minutes, and Taehyung sighed as he finished his food. "Are you done?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, let's go." He pulled himself to his feet then.

Jeongguk glanced up at him as a muted sigh seeped through his lips. He placed the trash in the bag and rose from his seat as well, gazing at Taehyung who had already walked away.

Taehyung went near the lake and got down on one knee. He propped his elbow against his knee and rested his chin in his palm as he dipped his fingers into the ice-cold water. A brooding expression had taken over his traits and a tiny pout was painted on his lips as he stared at the serene waters.

Jeongguk observed the boy for a moment with curious eyes and inched closer to him. He crouched down next to him and rested his hands against his knees as he kept on peering at him with a fond gaze. "Obviously you want to stay here more. Why did you say you want to leave?"

Taehyung only sighed at his question. He put more weight on his right leg as he wanted to stand up, forgetting it was his injured leg. He lost his balance as his leg gave in, and he was ready to fall forward, which meant into the lake, but a robust arm was draped over his belly and yanked him back.

He sucked in a breath when his ass collided with the ground, but his back never came in contact with it as Jeongguk placed his arm behind him, making sure to protect his head.

They stayed still for a moment as Jeongguk gaped at his startled expression, concerned. "Are you okay?"

No words came out of his mouth; instead of thinking about an answer to his question, he was too caught up on how Jeongguk's body was pressed against his side and how close their faces were. Looking back at his brimmed with concern eyes, he felt his heart hike up its tempo.

"Tae?" he questioned in a whisper as the other stayed silent for a while.

Taehyung was so captivated in his gaze he couldn't hear anything at that moment. His eyes traveled the tensed features on his beautiful face and ended up on his parted lips, suddenly feeling a great urge to inch closer.

His eyes fluttered closed as he moved just a tad, but a hand on his shoulder that shook him lightly ripped him straight out of his reverie.

In a split second, he felt heat sprawl on his cheeks, that definitely painted them with a hue of pink, and he ducked his head as he scrambled to sit straighter. He palmed his blazing cheeks in an attempt to disguise his flushed state from the younger, his embarrassment swallowing him whole.

"Did you get hurt?" Jeongguk asked worriedly as he scanned his face, not failing to notice how flustered he was.

"No, I'm okay," he mumbled as he twisted his head away from him and chewed on his bottom lip. You weren't just ready to kiss him, no, Taehyung, no, no, no—

"Why are you so weird?"

Oh my God, he noticed, he noticed because you're acting like a freaking fifteen-year-old, Taehyung scolded himself mentally and panicked even more if that was possible.

"Tae, what's wrong?" he asked, his worry only waxing, as he set his hands over his with tentative moves.

Freaking out at the contact, the older swatted his hands away, maybe a little harsher than he should.

Jeongguk stared at him moon-eyed at his bizarre behavior and his lips puckered in a pout as a fog of gloom enwrapped his traits.

Waves of remorse surged through Taehyung as he discerned the puzzled, hurt look on his face. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking."

Then Jeongguk saw it. He saw his subtle reddish cheeks and rucked his brows in thought. "Why are you blushing?" he bluntly asked; he wasn't the type that would let something like that pass without questioning.

"Um, I was about to fall, that was embarrassing," Taehyung said, anxious, sparing no effort to hide the true reason.

Jeongguk found a solid amount of logic in his words, and so he believed him right away. "It's okay." He offered him a reassuring, sweet smile. "No reason to be embarrassed about that, but be careful next time."

And Taehyung could only titter and feel a ton of relief since the younger believed his rather lame excuse, as he thought at that moment.

"Come on." Jeongguk heaved himself to his feet and stretched his hands out, waiting for him to grab them.

Taehyung warily eyed his hands and then his face, causing him to frown. Before he could complain, though, he held onto his hands, and Jeongguk pulled him off the ground.

"Your leg is not strong enough to support you fully," he said with such delicacy it made Taehyung feel warm inside.

"I forgot for a moment," he mumbled and bit his lower lip as he glanced away, timid.

"At least I was fast enough to catch you."

"Thanks for that." Another titter burst out of his mouth, still avoiding his gaze.

Jeongguk, of course, noticed his odd behavior again but didn't comment on it. "You still want to leave?"

"Um, yeah, I'm kind of tired," Taehyung lied with a forced smile. He just couldn't handle being with him at that moment. The unexpected thought of kissing him that slammed into his head before was something he couldn't deal with. It drove him into a maze and caused a stir inside him.

He shouldn't like Jeongguk. No, he would only get his heart broken if he liked him. Jeongguk wouldn't like a poor boy like him.

"You think you can sleep early tonight?"

"Yeah," another lie rolled off his tongue. Of course, he wouldn't be able to sleep early, and especially after what happened.

Jeongguk nodded and pivoted on his heel, heading towards the car as the other trailed behind him. Once they got inside, he reached for his bag and pulled out an envelope Taehyung could recognize with ease.

"Will you take it back?" Jeongguk asked as he fixed his hesitant gaze on him.

"I don't want to."

"But will you?"

He snorted at his question as he shook his head. He took the damn envelope, and a beam flashed up onto Jeongguk's face right away.

"Thank you, Tae."

"I'm only doing it so you can sleep at ease."

"I know you don't like this. So thank you," Jeongguk uttered and started the engine soon after that, feeling finally at ease.

The older shrank in his seat and redirected his gaze out the window, lost in a ream of thoughts that ran riot in his head. It didn't mean anything. I shouldn't dwell on it because it didn't mean anything. I don't like Jeongguk. He's obnoxious and curt most of the time, so why would I like him? No, I don't like him. He appeased himself and nodded vaguely at his thoughts.

This whole time Jeongguk stole subtle glances of him, and without realizing it, his brows drew together at his actions. "What are you thinking about?"

His voice jolted him out of his engrossed state and attracted his eyes to him. "Um, nothing."

"You just nodded. It looks like you're having a conversation with yourself."

"No, I'm not." He couldn't tell him the truth of course, and thankfully, the younger didn't question him further and focused on driving again.

Deciding to put aside what happened before, a question that occupied his mind for a while now invaded his mind, and although he was unsure about vocalizing it, he did at the end. "So how did you become so rich?" He perceived how Jeongguk tensed up at the inquiry, and he couldn't help but regret opening his mouth. "If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay."

Jeongguk heaved a sigh as he fidgeted in his seat, uneasy. "My dad was the CEO. From a young age, I was trained by him for this job. When the plane crash happened, his workers put people for investigation and found out that the airline company was at fault. The plane was defective so the families of the victims got a lot of money.

"My mom didn't want to use the money, and I didn't want to use it for myself either. So I decided to use it for the company. I expanded the company, I made a lot of investments that luckily went well, and I thought about helping others to start their businesses with that money."

Taehyung stayed silent as he let everything he just said sink in. "But how did you become the CEO?"

"He had made it clear that if he wasn't there, I would handle the company. So when he died, I just did."

"He had faith in you."

"Not really. He just wanted to make sure that the company wouldn't go to some stranger's hands."

"I'm sure he's proud of you."

"And I'm sure he's anything but that." A bitter chuckle accompanied his remark.

"Why?"

"He never accepted who I am. And when he found out that I like boys, he rarely left me out of his sight. I couldn't live a normal life because of him."

Taehyung couldn't relate at all. His grandmother had accepted him right away and supported him completely in everything. "I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"It's not fair. You were a kid and you couldn't live like one."

"Yeah, that sucks." He snorted, but something wistful traveled through his chest at his words.

"Do you live the life you want now?"

"It's... good."

"But is it what you want?"

Honestly, Jeongguk had never thought about that. He didn't choose his life. This life was handed to him, and he didn't protest in living it. It was the right thing to do back then, and as time went by, he got used to it. "I don't know. Do you live the life you want?"

"To be honest, I always wanted to be a photographer. If you take this out and the fact that I'm ridiculously poor, then yes, I'm okay with my life." Both chuckled at his lighthearted tone.

When Jeongguk stopped at a red light, he gazed at the boy fondly as their smiles faded. "You can start taking classes now. You have a stable job."

"I have to pay off my debt first." Taehyung sighed as he gloomed at the words he spilled, but then he darted him a glare. "Don't even think about doing anything funny." His voice was cautionary and serious.

"I wouldn't dare without your consent," Jeongguk reassured with a small snicker, managing to mellow his stern expression.

"Good."

 
They arrived a while later, and Jeongguk pulled over in front of the building.

"Thank you for the food and for driving me." A warm, bashful smile formed on his lips as he laid his eyes on him.

"Don't worry about it."

They remained still for a few seconds, peering at each other as tiny smiles embellished their faces, both of them absorbed in thoughts and intoxicated by each other's gaze.

Jeongguk was the first to look away, thinking he was probably making him feel uncomfortable with his unrelenting stare.

Taehyung snapped out of it as well and released a diffident laugh as he opened the door. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he whispered and kept his eyes on the boy until the very moment he couldn't see him anymore.

⚜✳⚜