Sound of Winter || Taegyu

Chapter Forty One

"Beomgyu," Soobin pauses, hand resting on the car keys, not starting the car yet. "Are you sure you don't want to go in and talk to Taehyun? Maybe he—"

No, he most definitely does not want to talk to Taehyun right now. He's tried and failed. Now he's onto his next best option, who might just so happen to have a thing with his original best option. Absolutely perfect.

"Did you know?" Beomgyu asks, eyes not breaking contact with Soobin's dashboard. It's covered in a thin layer of dust and he drags his fingers across it, inspecting it on the tips of his fingers before rubbing them together, watching as the particles fall somewhere on the floor.

He feels so overwhelmed with emotions that he doesn't know which one is taking over. A searing pain courses through his veins like a toxic poison and all he wants to do is scream at someone, or maybe even throw something, which isn't usually like him. The weight of betrayal weighs heavily on him, leaving him breathless and confused. He feels like he has been punched in the stomach multiple times, all of the air expelled from his lungs. It hurts to breathe, a stabbing pain that courses through him every time he tries to take a deep breath.

Everything seems to flash before his eyes at once. Their high school memories together, all of their dates, walking home late some nights after going to the movies — all of it, and it hurts. Each time he pushes one memory out, another one is right behind it, crashing down on him and not giving him a chance to breathe before he's reminded of something else.

Which is stupid, especially considering he doesn't actually know what happened. But Taehyun is acting too suspicious for his liking, so of course he's going to jump to the worst possible scenario.

"It's not what you think," Soobin defends, pressing his lips together. "I mean, if you would just let Taehyun explain—"

Beomgyu cuts him off again. "If you won't drive me, I'll walk." He reaches up a hand to grab the door handle, prepared to open it and walk out in an instant. He doesn't care how far away Kai lives, if he has to walk, he'll do it.

He already gave Taehyun the chance to explain, and it went over worse than he could have ever imagined. Taehyun has never talked to him that way, nor has he ever made Beomgyu out to be stupid, or as Taehyun so perfectly worded it — paranoid.

The word rings in his head on a constant loop.

Soobin sighs, cranking the car. "It's five in the morning, Gyu. I'm not about to let you walk there." He backs out of the driveway, pulling onto the main road and driving quietly.

He pulls out his phone, sending a quick text to Kai. There's multiple texts and missed calls from Taehyun, but he ignores them, muting Taehyun's messages so he doesn't have to think about it.

"On the way."

It feels weird, like he's not even texting his best friend anymore, but rather someone he used to know. He feels hurt on multiple levels, the wounds fresh and raw.

Soobin pulls up to a stop sign and Beomgyu gazes out at the empty street. It's dark outside, seeming to mirror how he's feeling on the inside. His eyes are fixed on the window as Soobin starts to drive down the deserted highway. The radio is playing softly but he wouldn't be able to make out the song even if he wanted to, his mind too clouded with thoughts.

He feels numb, but at the same time he feels angry and scared.

The car glides smoothly over the asphalt, the only indication of Soobin's presence being the occasional flick of his wrist each time he adjusts the temperature or the radio. He needs everything to be quiet, to allow him to take in what's about to happen.