Pandora's Box

Chapter 30

He thought he would've gotten used to the sound of Taehyun knocking on his cabin door, but Beomgyu's stomach still gave an annoying jolt every time it appeared. 

The door revealed a soft smile he'd never get sick of. He was grateful Taehyun wasn't letting the dread of tomorrow control his mood; Beomgyu couldn't say the same.

"Hey."

He tried to sound warm, but he knew Taehyun would see right through him. If the other noticed, however, he said nothing. Beomgyu was grateful for that, too.

In some sickening trick of the universe, he'd found more and more to be grateful for the boy standing in front of him. The boy, he reminded himself, who he only had one last night with.

"Can I stay here tonight?" The insecurity in Taehyun's voice didn't fail to reach him. "I feel weird about being separate before...tomorrow." He nodded. Taehyun didn't need to give an explanation, surely he knew that.

Beomgyu stepped aside and watched him walk timidly into the cabin, wringing his hands. "Also, I'm pretty sure Kai and I just had our only fight, like, ever. So I'm sure he'd rather be alone."

Beomgyu's heart stung at the sound of Taehyun's voice. Despite his optimism about Taehyun having a chance to make up with Kai, it still hurt to know he was likely the cause of such a rupture.

"Was it because of the battle?" He cursed the childishness in his voice as he sat down on his own bed.

Taehyun nodded. When he saw Beomgyu wilt, he quickly joined him and placed his arm around the others shoulders. Beomgyu leaned into the touch, trying not to think about how few they had left.

"You really do smell good, you know."

As embarrassed as he'd been to say it the first time, he never failed to notice the scent Taehyun carried every single day after.

He felt the other laugh, with his head on Taehyun's shoulder. He had started to sift through Beomgyu's red hair, careful not to pull on a single strand. It made him want to break, the care that Taehyun was showing him, only to become violence the day following.

"I'm glad you think so, considering it was only for you."

He brought his head up and stared at the other. "What?"

The smile he was met back with made him melt. "I usually only wear firewood. But that day, I randomly decided to add vanilla from Kai's mix. It worked, so I went with it." He sighed. "Then, when you said something about it, I was sure. I wore it every day after."

Beomgyu didn't know what to say. What was there to say to something like that? Instead, he leaned back into Taehyun's shoulder and grabbed his hand. Tracing the other's fingers with his own, it occurred to him.

"Why vanilla and firewood?"

"I'd always used firewood because it made sense for me. It was Hell. Dark, fragile."

Beomgyu watched then, as he thought about the other scent.

"From all of Kai's perfume scents, vanilla was really the only scent that made sense to choose. There's a reason everybody loves it, and not firewood. It's sweet, but there's a surface to it. Like if you look closer, it becomes something else entirely." He whispered the last part, and continued to trace the lines in Beomgyu's hair.

"I guess I liked that they were opposites. Firewood is dark, vanilla is sweet. It made sense."

Beomgyu paused his motion on the other's hand.

Firewood is dark. Persevering. Vanilla is sweet, simple. Naive.

Not naive enough not to know that they were no longer talking about perfume scents.