Uncalculated | Beomkai

5.

By the time that Kai gets out of band practice, the sun is already starting to set. As he runs toward the front gates, he can see Taehyun leaning against the wall, browsing through his phone.

"Taehyun-ahhh!!!" Kai yells joyfully, rushing to evelope Taehyun in a big hug. The tension before all forgotten, Taehyun chuckles while hugging Kai.

"Hey, Kai! How'd band practice go?"

Kai's smile seems to get even brighter when Taehyun asks the question.

"Come on, I'll tell you everything that happened on the way home," Kai tugs on Taehyun's sleeve, so they start walking along the way home.

Kai tells Taehyun about all of the little details, from him almost falling down the stairs (which Taehyun gave him a good scolding for), Beomgyu saving him and carrying him to the music room, him meeting Yeorum and Jiwoon, and finally getting to play music with the band. The whole time, Kai is so animated while telling the events, constantly hand gesturing and squealing with the occasional description of Beomgyu. And Taehyun smiles along because he's glad to see Kai so happy.

Eventually growing in resolve, Taehyun clears his throat when they reach Kai's house. "Hey Kai... remember what I said at lunch?" Kai's expression suddenly falls when he remember's Taehyun's words: "I don't think I can trust Beomgyu-hyung to not hurt you."

"Yeah, I do," Kai responds uneasily, "What about it?"

Taehyun reaches for both of Kai's hands and holds onto them. "I just wanted to let you know that you're my most precious friend, and I don't want you to get hurt because you gave away your heart to the wrong person, okay? So don't get too mad at me when I say these things. I'm just concerned for you is all." Taehyun's eyes sparkle, asking for forgiveness, or at least a reconciliation. And Kai's shoulders release their tension,  softening up to his best friend.

"Of course I know that dummy," Kai softly laughs. "I just- I don't want to think about the past anymore. I think I'm ready to move on from that now," he mumbles while fidgeting with Taehyun's small fingers. "I know I'm still getting to know Beomgyu-hyung, but for some reason, everything feels so right when I'm with him. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. So I want you to trust me in this, too."

Taehyun wants to say more, but Kai already seems to have made up his mind, and there's no going back now. "Alright," he sighs, ruffling the younger's fluffy hair. "Now hurry up and go inside! I'm freezing and I wanna go home already!" Flashing an bright smile, Kai hurriedly runs inside his house, waving his hand and shouting, "See you tomorrow!" at his friend. Taehyun heartily waves back.

But once the front door closes, Taehyun is again left alone in the cold outside, deep in his thoughts. I hope... Beomgyu-hyung isn't what I think he is, Taehyun thinks to himself, his expression stone cold as he briskly paces towards his own home.

☆ ☆ ☆

The next weeks pass by in a blur for Kai. Every day that he goes to school, he's only waiting for band practice to come around. The moment the bell rings after the last class of the day, Kai bolts straight to the music room in excitement (while also being careful not to crash into anyone in the hallway a second time). He's usually standing by the keyboard and already warming up by the time that Jiwoon and Yeorum stroll into the room, holding hands. They always make sure to greet Kai with a big smile, a couple of cheek pinches or a pat on the head, which Kai loves. And lastly, Beomgyu saunters in a few minutes later, throwing his backpack onto the couch, usually with an expression on his face that says I'm-so-sick-of-school-and-I'm-just-about-ready-to-give-it-all-up. But when Kai chirps a loud, "Hi, Beomgyu-hyung!" a wide smile blossoms on his face everytime. And every time, Yeorum and Jiwoon never fail to snicker that Beomgyu's obvious change in expression, although they do have to admit that Kai could make anybody's day better, regardless of who they are.

For starters, the band has been practicing "You Were Beautiful" by Day6 after Yeorum excitedly insisted on playing this song first. Practice has generally consisted of figuring out chords and rhythms, making some last arrangements to the music, and practicing altogether. Of course, there's also the task of splitting up the vocal parts, which is ultimately distributed between Beomgyu, Yeorum, and Kai. Jiwoon isn't exactly the best singer; playing the drums is enough for him. 

Although the song is new to him, Kai really does have lots of fun learning the keyboard part. And most memorably, he's thrilled beyond words after they have fixed the puzzle pieces into place, rehearsing the whole song for the first time. After the last note on his keyboard softly fades away, a warm, powerful feeling wells up inside him. It isn't like anything he had felt before, not the fluttering or the floating. He feels moved beyond words when he realized that he was making music, music with people he liked and dare he say it... loved? People he considers his new friends, maybe even family. He looks around him at the others, and he can sense that the others are feeling the same rush of emotions: Jiwoon can't stop grinning, Yeorum's eyes are sparkling, and Kai thinks he might have been just imagining it, but he swears he saw the slightest bit of tears welling up in Beomgyu's eyes.

But band practice isn't the only thing that lights up Kai's weeks. When he has the time, he's been eating lunch or hanging out with Taehyun, Yeonjun, Soobin, and occasionally Beomgyu, growing closer to his new friends. And even between breaks and after school, sometimes Kai is able to catch Beomgyu in the hallway or on the way home. Frankly, the older thinks that he's seeing more of Kai than his best friends, but he doesn't really mind. In fact, seeing Kai everyday always gives him another reason to smile and take his mind off of stressful things momentarily. Kai is like his breath of fresh air, and not very surprisingly, the people around Beomgyu are starting to notice it, too.