if i could tell you | taegyu🔞 | [COMPLETED]

Chapter 4

This chapter is dedicated to @BeomhoE <3. Thanks for voting for my story!!

Beomgyu waits at the table outside the library, fiddling with a drawing he's working on for his Instagram account. He's early this time, set on keeping his promise to Taehyun.

It's not long until he hears faint murmuring and footsteps that gradually get closer.

"Gyu?" a voice says. Beomgyu looks up to see Taehyun, closely followed by Heeseung. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to walk you home?" It sounds more like a question than a statement.

Early in their relationship, Taehyun had confessed he hated walking home alone, that he felt like the eyes of strangers were always following him. Beomgyu offered to walk with him after each shift and Taehyun gratefully accepted.

From then on, Beomgyu always waited for him near the bench outside the library and would tell him little anecdotes from his day while swinging their intertwined hands between them to keep Taehyun distracted.

"Did you not get my message?" Taehyun asks. "Heeseung and I are finishing an assignment tonight, so he offered to drive me home."

Beomgyu keeps his phone on silent when he's busy, so he only sees the message as he pulls his phone from his pocket. The tiny writing glares up at him.

taehyunnie<3
Working late with Heeseung tonight. Don't worry about picking me up.
4.45 p.m.

The air around him is stifling as he clears his throat, rife with embarrassment

"I'm sorry, I didn't see it," Beomgyu rushes to say. "You know my phone is always silent when I'm working. I swear I wasn't ignoring you."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Heeseung cuts in. "If you're willing to wait, I can drop you off, too. It won't be an issue."

It's typical that Heeseung offers him a ride; he's only ever kind to Beomgyu. It was one of the many things that Beomgyu begrudgingly admired about him.

Beomgyu goes back to his drawing and Taehyun and Heeseung settle next to him and work on their assignment.

Beomgyu tries to stay focused; his Instagram is his primary source of marketing and he's proud of the work he posts there, but he couldn't shake the awkwardness he felt at intruding.

He can almost feel the reproach radiating off the pair in waves at Beomgyu's presence. It's obvious they're on a study date and Beomgyu sticks out like a sore thumb.

"Ready to go, Beomgyu-ssi?" Heeseung asks. It snaps Beomgyu out of his daze. He glances at his phone and is surprised to see how much time has passed.

"Yeah. Just give me a second to pack my things."

Heeseung leaves to fetch his car, leaving Taehyun and Beomgyu alone for the first time that night. The awkward tension in the air is so palpable Beomgyu's sure he'd be able to taste it. He can't remember the last time things were this stilted between them.

"I'm sorry for intruding. I swear I didn't mean to." Beomgyu says all of this without ever lifting his eyes from his bag, where he stuffs his sketchbook. He can't bear to see the expression on Taehyun's face. If he looks and sees annoyance scrawled across Taehyun's features, it'll be his worst fear confirmed; that he's being overbearing again and becoming a nuisance.

"Don't worry about it, Gyu. Miscommunications happen all the time. Besides, there was nothing to intrude on, anyway." Taehyun sounds uncaring, but he could be faking it to make Beomgyu feel better.

"Are you sure?" Beomgyu hates how small his voice sounds, even to his own ears.

"Of course," Taehyun says, like it's the simplest thing in the world. "I don't mind and neither does Heeseung."