blind star // txt taegyu

starry night

And that's how their story began.

Beomgyu and Taehyun had gotten closer over the last week, and Beomgyu had grown to be more comfortable with the boy. Taehyun had eventually told him that he was still questioning his sexuality and wasn't all about figuring it out and labelling himself yet — which was perfectly fine. Beomgyu had this innate desire to accept and love Taehyun for everything he decided to do, which was the decent thing to do, in his opinion.

Jay felt a little excluded, but he was somehow okay with it because Beomgyu genuinely seemed to like Taehyun. Like said before, Beomgyu wasn't really close to anyone so he wasn't as affected as he thought he'd be. He let Beomgyu and Taehyun be, having their little get-togethers wherever Taehyun decided to show up, like the absent human he was.

Beomgyu neared the library with excited steps. It had been just over a week since he decided to step forward and tell Taehyun that he wanted to get closer. They were no longer awkward with one another, and Beomgyu gathered exactly what type of person Taehyun was. Despite his silence, he was really nice and was more gentle than Beomgyu anticipated.

Taehyun wasn't perfect, of course (although he was awfully close). He was nice and sweet, but he was extremely competitive and teasing whenever he came out on top of something. It didn't help that Beomgyu was exactly the same. It resulted in a lot of unhealthy competition between the two boys whenever they made a bet.

Taehyun was seated near the end near the windows and Beomgyu waved before nearing the boy, sitting in the seat beside him. "You're here early."

"Getting some reading done," Taehyun replied, taking his Samsung Buds out his ears and putting them in the charging case hanging from his bag. "How are you? I saw you had fun over the weekend on your Instagram."

"I just went to a water park with my brother and his girlfriend," Beomgyu replied. "I wanted to bring you with, but... I wasn't sure if we were that close yet so I just brought Jay."

"It's fine, I didn't want to tan anyways," Taehyun responded, putting his book into his bag. "Beomgyu-ya, buy me something."

"Rock paper scissors."

The boys played a speed game and Taehyun ended up winning immediately by playing rock over Beomgyu's scissors. "Great, buy me cup ramyeon."

"Aye, you're so lazy," Beomgyu sighed, standing up. "Come with, at least."

Taehyun stood up, and the two walked out together. Taehyun scrolled on his phone as they walked together. Beomgyu wanted to talk, but hardly knew what to say. Taehyun was concentrated on his phone, anyways, and it felt weird to constantly demand his attention.

"Taehyun," Beomgyu began, earning a hum from the shorter boy. "Uhm... I've been meaning to ask... what's your absolute favourite thing? Like, what's one thing you absolutely can't let go. Except food. Everyone likes food."

Taehyun hummed with a laugh. "Except food? Let's see... hmm... the stars."

Beomgyu looked at him with a frown. "The stars?"

"They're always there when no one else is," Taehyun responded, pocketing his Samsung device. "You can watch them, track them, gaze upon them... they never leave. They'll always be there, even if things go wrong."

Beomgyu clenched his hands by his side, biting his lips together. "I... could be a star."

Taehyun smiled, immediately detecting the implication. "Hm. Would you want to be with someone who could possibly be a monster?"

"Ay, there's now way my Taehyun is a Scher. You're too perfect."

Tahyun giggled slightly as he walked ahead. "You're right, I am perfect. There's no way I could be a Scher, because I would have hurt you by now." He smiled back at Beomgyu, tikting his head. "Well, come on — I'm hungry."

Seeing Taehyun smile made Beomgyu happy.

•

"The Scher exist among us, taking the form of normal humans that don't seem that different from the rest of us. In fact, one could argue that they are almost perfectly human, as they have the perfect image of one. They have human bodily functions, including a digestive system with a singular stomach and a gut. So why are we so afraid of them? Because they've replaced us at the top of the food chain."

Beomgyu was bored as he listened to the supplementary lesson the school gave every term to keep the students up to date. He had heard everything before, and was well aware of what the Scher could do. He hadn't met one - truthfully, he hoped he didn't because they seemed rather scary — but if they were practically nonexistent, why were they so afraid?

"The Scher tend to be alone and isolated, even while blending in with humans," the teacher continued. "They know the view society has on them - murderers, criminals, all those negative things. This is because the Scher use human soul essence to survive. What is the soul, exactly? It's who you are as a person - it's what keeps you alive as a human. They seep out your personality, your memories, your reason for joy, your emotion - everything. They are to be avoided at all costs."

A student put their hand up, catching everyone's attention. "But sir - they're practically unidentifiable. How are we supposed to avoid them when the person next to me is just as capable of being a Scher as I am?"

"That's a very good question," the teacher nodded. "Firstly, there is one key thing to note - not everyone that avoids people is a Scher, they could just be an introvert. However, there's one way to tell if someone is a Scher - their eyes are mellow and the iris is a little larger than normal. Also, they have special abilities that give them power when they consume souls."

"Powers? Like what?"

"Just things that normal humans such as yourself and I cannot do. For example, fly or make things levitate." The teacher changed the slide and looked at the students again. "Fortunately, they only consume good souls that bear little to no negativity. Mature souls are better, as attacks mostly range from those aged 18 to 37. Those who bully, steal, or just hurt others make themselves unworthy for both humans and Scher alike. Just be a nice person."

"And get eaten? No way."

Beomgyu hardly paid attention. All he could think about was Taehyun.