The Boy Next Door | Taegyu ✔️

24

Feeling as if butterflies in his stomach have calmed down a little, Yeonjun entered the sports hall. Taehyun, who was already there, had started on his cleaning duties.

"What took you so long?" He asked, not sparing a look at Yeonjun as his gaze was fixed onto the spot he was cleaning.

"Bumped into someone," Yeonjun replied, Taehyun raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Start mopping the floor, I'm taking this half of the court, so you take the other," he said. Yeonjun didn't object as he placed his bag down on the benches before grabbing a mop and a pail of soapy water.

Neither of them had spoken a single word for the past 10 minutes. It was dead silent- other than the constant splashes of water and the squeaks of their shoes moving against the court's smooth surface.

"Since when did you have extracurricular activities?" Yeonjun finally started, breaking the silence.

"I can only ask the same to you," Taehyun replied flatly in a monotone voice.

"Well, I was trying to get out of detention," Yeonjun spoke in a voice that implied it was obvious enough as to what the answer was.

"Well same here," Taehyun said with a scoff. Trying to drive away their conversation from a taboo, he then asked, "what are you doing in Korea?".

"I had to move because of my parent's business," Yeonjun replied.

Once again, silence ―accompanied by the sound of their mops running against the polished floor― filled the hall. It was obvious that the two were trying their hardest to divert the topic away from the taboo, but the quietness only served to make the tension between them even more unsettling.

"I'm not going to bother hiding anymore; do you like Beomgyu?" Yeonjun asked abruptly. Recalling the moment during dodgeball, the boy felt like he didn't want to be kept in the dark any longer. He needed an answer from Taehyun himself, rather than he, himself, making rash assumptions and delusions in his head.

Taehyun came to a halt as he stood there with the mop in his hands before answering, "So? What if I do?"

Yeonjun froze in his spot for a few moments; Taehyun didn't directly answer his question with a "yes," but he didn't deny the fact that he liked Beomgyu either.

"I'm taking that as a 'yes' then," Yeonjun said coolly, masking up how he felt his heart drop when the realisation hit him that Taehyun definitely liked Beomgyu too.

"Oh, well now you know," Taehyun spoke bitterly before dropping his mop onto the floor as he walked towards Yeonjun.

"I don't care whether you like him or not, but I'm warning you: if you dare hurt Beomgyu, you're going to regret coming to this very school," He said, staring straight into Yeonjun's eyes.

"As if I haven't experienced that back in America already," Yeonjun replied dismally before going back to mopping the floor. Taehyun let out a "tsk" as he walked back to his spot, picking up his mop. 

The two didn't speak a single word to each other after that.

»»—— ♡ ——««

By the time Taehyun had reached his neighbourhood, the sun had already started to set as he dragged his feet along the pavement gloomily. It seemed as if his walks back home felt much lonelier without Beomgyu around.

"Taehyun!" A voice spoke, one he was happy to hear. Taehyun immediately lifted his head to see Beomgyu waving at him who was seated on the bench at the park which was on the way back to his house.

"How long have you been waiting?" Taehyun asked as he placed his bag onto the grass, taking a seat next to Beomgyu on the bench.

"Not long," Beomgyu lied. "By the way, this is for you," he said, passing Taehyun a chocolate bar.

"Thank you," Taehyun said, taking the bar of chocolate from Beomgyu'd hand before keeping it in his pocket. "You've been waiting out here for a long time, haven't you? Your nose is red from the cold," He spoke, gesturing at Beomgyu's nose, its tip a little pinkish from the mildly cold weather.

"Ah, don't worry about me," Beomgyu said quickly, covering his nose.

"How can I not?" He replied coolly which made Beomgyu's heart fluttered a little. "Here," he said, passing the latter a heat pack, "it's getting colder now, I guess autumn's coming soon," Taehyun sighed as he stared into the horizon. Beomgyu took the heat pack from Taehyun, noticing the side of his face slightly bruised.

"What happened to your face?" He asked.

"Oh―it's nothing," Taehyun replied.

"No, it isn't. Let me look at it," Beomgyu said as he leaned in, lifting Taehyun's chin slightly to get a better look. Taehyun could feel his heart racing all of a sudden―Beomgyu's face was too close to his.

"It looks like it swelled," he said, his fingers brushing against Taehyun's cheek who could feel his face growing redder by the second.

"I really need to go now." He pulled away, checking his watch. A part of Taehyun wished the moment could've lasted longer.

"See you tomorrow!" Waved Beomgyu as he got up. "And remember to apply a cloth which has been soaked with hot water for your cheek!" He added.

Taehyun froze there for a few seconds before waving back a goodbye, slumping onto the bench as he took a deep breath. He rummaged through his pocket for the chocolate bar, taking it out as he held it in his hands, not realising a smile spreading across his face.