the stars that fall for you | taegyu

Chapter Five: The Hour Before Midnight

Perhaps it was bound to happen. Dipping your feet to test the waters can often end up with you jumping in.

The more Beomgyu saw of Taehyun, the more he wanted to see more—and it only got worse when a shift in their evidently cold interactions happened one day on a frigid night of March.

"Yeonjun hyung told me you were here."

"And that's enough reason for you to see me? He's been teasing the two of us for so long, you should've known better than to fall for it."

It made Beomgyu laugh; winter is still here to stay, but Taehyun's head seems to keep getting hotter and hotter as days go by.

"I wonder, too," Beomgyu said despite catching the hint that Taehyun had no plans on engaging in a full conversation with him tonight. "Why can't I stop wanting to see you?"

It didn't come unnoticed. Beomgyu was sure there was a wave of red on Taehyun's cheeks, but he chose not to comment on it.

Not when he, himself, can feel heat building up in his ear.

"How old are you, Beomgyu?" Taehyun asked, and Beomgyu stiffened as he was taken aback.

"Twenty-five."

"You're older than me," Taehyun lets out an aggressive breath in disbelief. "I'm twenty-four."

Beomgyu was puzzled as to where this was going, but he couldn't help suppressing a wide smile. "Call me hyung, then?"

"Beomgyu hyung."

"Beomgyu hyung. That sounds nice," Beomgyu mused before silence wrapped around them like a warm blanket—it's not awkward, just calm.

Amidst the solemn atmosphere were tiny specks of snow landing on their noses like eskimo kisses. Beomgyu completely forgot that they were standing outside tucked in their thickest jackets. If it weren't for Taehyun's adorable sneeze, he wouldn't have offered for the two of them to head back inside, where the others were staying.

But Taehyun shook his head. "It's too stuffy inside. You can go if you're cold."

"I think I'll stay—unless you don't want me to," Beomgyu crossed his fingers for a wish.

"I've been rude to you. The least I can do is to not push you away this time."

"Thank you," Beomgyu's lips curved with a smile, this time, decided that he didn't need to hide it. "I'm assuming parties aren't really your thing?"

"Yeah. I just go for Yeonjun hyung to stop pestering me about it," Taehyun said. "How about you?"

"It's good to go out sometimes. To destress, I mean. Back at Daegu my parents used to have a tight grip on me."

"So, here, you get to taste that freedom."

"Exactly."

Taehyun nods like he's absorbing all the information that surfaced. The tip of his nose was getting red as he sneezed for the second time that night. Beomgyu thought that he sounded like a cat, but since the latter just started warming up to him, he let it sit in his mind in peace.

Beomgyu slipped his hand in his pocket to grab his phone, and check the time.

An hour before midnight. How long had he been out with Yeonjun and the others when he swore it was still nightfall an hour ago.

"Is that your pet?" Taehyun perked up to the sight of Beomgyu's wallpaper. "They look adorable!"

"You like birds? His name is Toto. He's family."

"Where is he?"

"Do you want to see him?" Beomgyu played, but it made him feel bad when Taehyun looked like an excited puppy as he nodded his head frantically. "Ah, he's in Daegu, though."

"You got my hopes up for a minute," And the old Taehyun is back.

"I'm sorry," The sudden shift in mood got Beomgyu to release a sheepish laugh. "I miss him. When I miss someone, I set them as my wallpaper."

Taehyun turned his head to meet his eyes. "Not the smartest persé. Wouldn't that make you miss them more?"

"It does, but I don't think I want to stop missing Toto,"

"I see. I think that's nice. Maybe I'll do that, too," Taehyun bit his lip before turning away, leaving Beomgyu frozen on the spot as it only became apparent to him how Taehyun's eyes looked like they were sparkling when they were on his.

The moment felt like a dream—like Beomgyu was now deep in the waters he only planned on dipping his toes in, and he had no plans on swimming back up to save himself.

It didn't help that Taehyun's demeanor changed drastically like the whole world glitched. Or maybe, Taehyun was always this gentle and he's just deprived of that.

"I want to know more about you."

"I heard," Taehyun said in a daze. "For starters, I like the stars."

Beomgyu finds himself drowning completely.

_______________

And there was that. The abyss of space and waters. A never ending pit where he kept falling and falling as he got lost to the frequent welcome of Taehyun's eyes.

Beomgyu doesn't want to lift himself back into the surface again.

"What is beautiful to you, hyung? Mysteries? Discoveries?" Taehyun asked, lingering on what Beomgyu said previously. He didn't sound curious, but rather, just blatantly searching for an answer to a question.

It's midnight, yet the night sky still lacks the lines that shooting stars leave. Beomgyu probed for something to respond, grabbing bits of flying thoughts, but realized that he didn't need to do that when he saw the answers in the sight of Taehyun.

Happy. Inherently fascinated. Maybe he didn't need to search, because he looks at Taehyun the way Taehyun looks at the stars.

That conclusion burnt him in a sense that it makes it all impossible; that despite all the ambiguity, there was only one stand between them.

"The stars are beautiful," He whispered under his breath.

Beomgyu was Taehyun, and Taehyun was the stars. It didn't matter if he wanted him more than anyone, it didn't matter if he reached out in the tallest tower or mountains, and it didn't matter if he looked at him in every moment of his every day. He was, and will always, never be more than just an admirer.

"They are."

The stars are you.