Dear Sputnik

XXIII

- BEOMGYU -

Midterm evaluations brought along a large sense of insecurity and nervousness to Beomgyu as the days continued to wind down on their fall semester. He kept telling himself that once this week was over, he could relax for two whole weeks before next semester began. Of course, this didn't seem to comfort him too much. Along with the countless projects, he also had to worry about midterm exams. Luckily, the guys had intense study sessions with Taehyun and Soobin being the main tutors. Their study sessions usually turned into long fits of laughter between the five of them, but Beomgyu felt a lot better about passing his classes than he did before. His nerves was slowly starting to dissipate, however, once he got back into the classroom, they seemed to come back. He could only imagine the ball of nerves he'd be on test day.

To say the least, he was in a lot better position with his knowledge now than before. Beomgyu even had a slight bit of confidence that seemed to wash away when he couldn't figure out a question. This was something he hadn't ever experienced before when it came to his midterm exams. With all the studying he was doing and the immense amount of pressure put on him, he felt like he would be able to pass the first semester of all of his classes. His father had warned him that he would be punished severely if he didn't pass his classes. That threat lived in his mind all day and all night, but especially during his classes. He was being more attentive in lectures, even taking detailed notes on the points his teachers were trying to get across.

It was a Monday night, on the eve of their first midterm tests in the morning. The guys were getting one last study session in at Soobin's house while they devoured multiple slices of pizza. Their study sessions would get off track multiple times and it usually took Taehyun to have to get them all back on track.

They had another fit of laughter when Huening Kai admitted that he had absolutely no clue what had happened the entire semester. He desperately tried to plead his case with no avail.

"It feels like I'm in a time warp, you know?" Huening Kai said, balancing a plate of pizza on his thigh, "Like, what if an alien entered into my body and stole all my memories?"

"That's your excuse for not studying?" Yeonjun said with a laugh while unwrapping his arm around Soobin to grab another slice of pizza.

Beomgyu chuckled a bit and watched the two of them bicker. After his panic attack in the car, he had come to the conclusion that Yeonjun was happy with Soobin and no matter how much it broke his heart, he had to be unselfish and appreciate the newfound happiness in his friends. They weren't keeping their relationship shy anymore, which Beomgyu approved of. Yeonjun had called him to ask if he would feel awkward if he and Soobin went public. Beomgyu shut down his concerns and approved. He felt oddly at peace with everything, which was something that Taehyun had helped him with.

Oh, Taehyun, Beomgyu thought to himself. His eyes drifted over to Taehyun. His mouth was open, as usual. His large eyes were concentrating on his notes below him as he held a slice of half-eaten pizza in his hands. He was dressed in a striped sweater and ripped, faded blue jeans. Everything he wore just looked amazing on him. Beomgyu had seen him shirtless before, he knew what he was hiding under his large articles of clothing.

Beomgyu snapped out of his trance and glanced over at the wall, trying to distract himself from the thoughts that Taehyun was causing him to think about. He truly did help him, which made everything that happened at the cafe even more special. He wouldn't forget what he said anytime soon. In fact, Beomgyu had been replaying the words in his head every night before he fell asleep. After everything that had happened that day, the two of them grew closer. They texted, sat next to each other, and even went out to eat lunch on a weekend. It was a newfound friendship that felt almost deeper than what their emotions were visibly showing to each other. Was it possible that Taehyun seen Beomgyu as something more than just a friend? He chided himself after realizing that the possibility of Taehyun liking him was less likely than it seemed. Still, it kept Beomgyu's mind wondering.