The Boy Next Door | Taegyu ✔️

28

Taehyun ran down the stairs towards the first floor, deciding to check the library. He had already looked through all of the toilets―well most of where Beomgyu could be at least; the library was one of the very few places he still hasn't checked.

Bursting through the door, Taehyun speed-walked through the library, checking every table and bookshelf before moving to the next. After searching the place, he turned to the librarian, feeling defeated and lost. "Have you seen Beomgyu?" He asked.

"Who―"

"Nevermind, have a good day," said Taehyun before running out of the library.

»»—— ♡ ——««

As Yeonjun was about to head to his next class, he accidentally eavesdropped on a conversation between two girls passing by in the hallway. He knew it was wrong, but he allowed his curiosity to get the best of him as Yeonjun came to a halt.

"Did you hear?" He heard a girl voice speak.

"What?" Another one replied.

"I heard –not one– but two students from class 10A are playing truant!"

"What do you mean?"

"Apparently, one of them ditched school first, then his friend got out of literature class to find him."

"Wow, they sure have some guts to do that. Who are they anyway?"

"If I'm not mistaken, one of them is Choi Beomgyu –the one who left school first– and his friend Kang Taehyun,"

Beomgyu? Yeonjun thought to himself momentarily in disbelief. For all he knew, Beomgyu would never be the type to break the school's rules–let alone ditch the remaining half of the day. Something wasn't right...

"For real?" She laughed, "I thought Beomgyu was always a goody-two-shoes–"

Unable to contain his anger, Yeonjun stormed out of his hiding place, his fists balled he slammed the girl against the wall, cutting her off her sentence as she let out a shocked squeal. "What did you just say?" Yeonjun spoke darkly under his breath just loud enough for her, and only her, to hear. His cold eyes fixed upon her scared expression.

"N-nothing," she stammered nervously, not daring to look at him in the eye.

"If I ever hear you talk foully of Beomgyu one more time, I guarantee that it will be the last thing you'll do," he threatened. The girl nodded her head shakily as Yeonjun walked away.

"What a jerk," he heard her friend spat. But Yeonjun didn't care, he was too worried about Beomgyu at the moment to even bother as he walked down the hallway with a million thoughts racing through his mind.

»»—— ♡ ——««

Taehyun had lost all track of time during his search through the entirety of the school, not realising that by the time he had checked all the toilets, the canteen, the library, and the science labs twice, the school day had already ended as the bell dismissed their last class. The hallways immediately swarmed with students who were heading towards the school gates.

Maybe he's outside of school, Taehyun thought to himself, running to his literature class to fetch his school bag before sprinting out of the school gates.

»»—— ♡ ——««

The situation felt completely hopeless after searching through all the cafes, convenience stores, and restaurants that were near his neighbourhood before finally surrendering to his exhaustion as Taehyun headed home.

As he passed the park in his neighbourhood, he recognised a particular ash-blonde haired boy sitting on the benches. He recognised the particular hair colour―he knew it too well for him to be able to miss it. 

Taehyun walked up towards the bench, taking a seat next to Beomgyu who was in a horrible state; his eyes were puffy from crying; his nose a bright shade of red.

"What are you doing out here? You're going to catch a cold," said Taehyun warmly as he stripped his coat off before wrapping it around Beomgyu. He cupped Beomyu's cold hands with his, blowing warm air to them as he rubbed them gently.

Beomgyu didn't spare a single glance at the latter, hanging his head low as he was about to get up and leave before being stopped by Taehyun holding him back. 

"Why do you keep avoiding me? Do you know how much it hurts to see you ignoring me like this?" Taehyun said, his voice quivering at the end.

That was the moment where the house of cards Beomgyu had built crumbled into debris as he let out every emotion he has bottled up for the entire day.

"I-It's just that -hic- I don't want to -hic- be a burden to you..." Beomgyu admitted in between hiccups as he buried his face with his hands. Taehyun's expression softened as he gestured Beomgyu to sit back down onto the bench.

"You're not a burden to me, and you never will be," Taehyun said softly.

"D-don't lie," Beomgyu replied in a muffled voice.

"You have no idea how precious you are to this world– to me. I just don't understand why such a loveable person like you would even question your self-worth," Said Taehyun as he patted Beomgyu's back comfortingly.

"Beomgyu, look at me," he asked. The latter lifted his head reluctantly, resting his gaze upon Taehyun's delicate face.

"You mean the world to me, and I absolutely hate seeing you like this...." 

There was a moment of silence resting in between the two as Taehyun gazed into Beomgyu's glassy brown eyes. They were so beautiful, yet, so dejected―reflecting a fragile soul beneath its faint twinkle. If only he could show how much the boy means to him.

Taehyun inched closer, cupping the boy's tear-stained cheeks as he leaned in. Beomgyu could hear his heartbeat ringing loudly in his ears, feeling Taehyun's lips pressing softly against his.