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“Dude, you flirt with everything and everyone that has a pulse, but Your Boy smiles at you and you act as though you’ve never spoken to a single human being in your entire life.”
Tragically, Yeonjun can’t fault Beomgyu.
Because Kang Taehyun (and his adorable best friend Huening Kai) had just walked into the dance studio, where Yeonjun and his friends had already been doing their own stretches, getting ready for rehearsal. And Yeonjun would have been more capable of controlling his ‘disaster gay’ tendencies if it hadn’t been for Taehyun’s choice of rehearsal outfit today-
Taehyun. Crop top. Taehyun in a crop top. Kang Taehyun in a crop top (and a singlet underneath, but still) looking absolutely gorgeous and ethereal and-
Yeonjun had been getting back up from doing his butterfly stretches (his legs and feet still positioned perfectly) when he saw his crush walk in. And upon the moment their eyes met and Taehyun shot him the sweetest smile ever, he smiled back shyly (trying to maintain his cool) but immediately dropped back to his original position, hiding his burning red cheeks from the world (and a teasing Beomgyu).
Yeonjun wants to shake Beomgyu for being cheeky, but Soobin is just across the room talking to their dance instructor, and he’s not in the mood to challenge Soobin’s physical strength.
And unless Yeonjun wants his countless panicked text messages (spanning several months) of “DID YOU SEE TAEHYUN” “LOML LOOKS SO GORGEOUS TODAY OMGJKLHGDSFD” “HE’S SO CUTE I WANNA CRY LOOK AT HIS LITTLE SWEATER PAWS TTTTTTTT” leaked to the entire school by a vindictive Soobin fighting for his boyfriend’s honour, all he can do is to flop onto the floor and pretend he hasn’t been stretching his back and hips for an excessively long 5 minutes.
“Nnnngh” Yeonjun groans eloquently, his face still planted into the floor. He feels Beomgyu reach out to pat him on the shoulder sympathetically, but he doesn’t need to look up to know that his friend would be wearing the biggest shit-eating grin on his face.
“I’ve truly never seen you being such a mess, hyung.”
Yeonjun whines, fists hitting the floor childishly as he pushes himself up to glare at Beomgyu.
“Shut up, Choi Beomgyu.”
“He’s right, you know,” Soobin singsongs, reaching over Yeonjun to grab at his water bottle in his bag. He lets Beomgyu reach for his hand and drag him down to sit by his side, and leans into the arms wrapped around his waist as Beomgyu clings onto him.
“Both of you shut up, go be boyfriends somewhere else,” Yeonjun ends up grumbling in return, stretching his arms above his head.
Beomgyu simply sticks his tongue out and Yeonjun does the same in retaliation. Soobin smacks a kiss onto Beomgyu’s cheek, nuzzling his nose into Beomgyu’s neck and cooing about how adorable Beomgyu looks, right in front of Yeonjun’s salad.
Yeonjun wonders whether he still has time left in the school year to apply for new best friends.
The thing is, as much as Yeonjun is embarrassed at times to admit it out loud, he knows the level of his own ‘power’ in the school. Being coined the so-called “IT BOY” of BH University with his roguishly handsome looks, the captain of the dance club at their university, and all those achievements coupled with a friendly and caring personality…. It was no surprise that Yeonjun had slowly amassed a small following of admirers over time.
And while most of the confessions had been sweet, all said from decent people he wouldn’t mind dating casually, all of that stopped mattering once he set eyes on the most beautiful person ever.
He hadn’t noticed Taehyun (what a feat, even Yeonjun himself was quite surprised, to be honest) until the second term of university, when Taehyun and his friend Kai had signed up for auditions to join the dance club. When the blonde boy walked into the audition room, and when the music started and the boy started moving, Yeonjun’s brain stopped functioning at a normal capacity.
“Yeonjun-ssi? Anything to add?”
Yeonjun, having missed out most of his fellow judges’ feedback because the daze he was caught in, blinked slowly.
“You’re really pretty- wait- I MEAN YOU DANCED WELL-“
His co-captains giggled beside him as Yeonjun buried his face in his hands in shame. When Yeonjun finally summoned the courage to look back up at Pretty Boy, Taehyun was smiling shyly at him, a tinge of pink dusting his cheeks as he rubbed nervously at his neck. At least he looked almost as flustered as Yeonjun.
“I mean…. Thank you. We’ll get back to you in a week. Have a great day.” Yeonjun managed to get out. Taehyun nodded eagerly, said his thank yous, and left.
And as the door to the audition room closed, his dear co-captains turned towards him with curious (and scheming) expressions on their faces.
“So-“
“Wooyoung, Yeji, not one damn word gets out about this-“
“Aww, but this is the first time any of us has seen you like this!”
So maybe he hasn’t always been as slick as he would like to be in Taehyun’s presence, but at least Wooyoung and Yeji could keep secrets from the general public.
(Didn’t stop them from letting Soobin and Beomgyu into the tormenting-Yeonjun-party though.)
Regardless, that was how it all began. And Taehyun and Kai did pass their auditions with flying colours (solely because of their dance skills, not just because of Yeonjun’s stupid crush).
But Yeonjun didn’t know how to take the first step.
Sure, he was definitely used to people approaching him instead. But he? Making the first move with someone he genuinely liked? It’s less likely than you think.
So he resorts to sneaking quick glances at the love of his life during rehearsals. It’s not creepy, no matter how much Soobin and Beomgyu say otherwise. He’s just…. watching out for Taehyun. Because he’s the dance captain and he should be looking out for the welfare of his members. Of course.
If you ignore the fact that one time he was so busy looking at Taehyun that he accidentally bumped into Soobin while dancing, sending both of them tumbling to the floor and causing a fuss.
Beomgyu scolded his ear off about it, but when Yeonjun sheepishly revealed the real reason for his distraction, Beomgyu just sighed tiredly and the conversation ended there. Before he smacked Yeonjun on the back of his head one last time for hurting his boyfriend, of course.
Maybe one day he’ll have the guts to actually hold more than just casual conversation with Taehyun, but who knows when that day would come.
That day would come sooner than he thought.
“Taehyun-ssi, you do popping outside school, right?”
Their dance instructor called out, examining the names of the members on the whiteboard and glancing towards the table he had drawn, listing the number of items that would be in the dance team’s annual recital. It had come time to decide what kind of dance pieces would be going into the concert, to showcase the members’ versatile skillsets and talented synchronisation.
Yeonjun himself, being the team captain, had at least one solo and a trio piece that he clamoured for with Soobin and Beomgyu, along with the other group performances that every single member was a part of.
“I do,” Taehyun replied smoothly, from where he was sitting on the floor of the studio next to Kai, his head leaning against the taller boy’s shoulder.
“That’s great!” Their dance instructor smiled, clapping his hands together. “I have a proposition to make. Yeonjun-ssi?”
Yeonjun looked up in surprise. “Yes, Hoseok-seonsaengnim?”
“I think this would be a great opportunity to showcase your hip hop skills along with Taehyun-ssi’s popping skills! How about the both of you do a duet together?”
A….. a duet?
Yeonjun could hear Soobin and Beomgyu’s soft gasps behind him. He himself was shell-shocked.
“Uh….” He managed to get out.
“Sure!” Taehyun chirped out loudly, and then upon realizing the enthusiasm in his voice, quietened down a little amidst Kai’s unabashed laughter, looking bashfully at Yeonjun. “I mean…. I think it’ll be a good opportunity to learn more from Yeonjun-hyung too, heh.”
God, why was he so cute?!
Yeonjun could feel his ears getting redder and redder as he struggled to gain control of his senses again. Duet. Duet with pretty Taehyun. Them getting to spend alone time together, just the two of them-
“Yeonjun-ssi?” Their dance instructor prompted again, interrupting Yeonjun’s panicked train of thought. Now all eyes were on Yeonjun, waiting for him to make his move.
Yeonjun cleared his throat, looking a little sheepish from the attention. He lifted his head up, and met Taehyun’s curious gaze. The younger boy looked back at him with sparkling doe eyes and the sweetest smile on his face, and Yeonjun was sold. God, he was so whipped for this boy.
For the sake of his dignity, he summoned up what was left of his boldness.
“Of course,” he smiled, winking at Taehyun and fluttering his eyelashes, “I’ll never pass up on an opportunity to spend more time with a pretty boy.”
Taehyun’s wide eyes, gaping mouth and pink cheeks were worth listening to his friends gagging exaggeratedly behind him. The rest of the dance team broke out into hushed whispers.
Their dance instructor just grinned, writing their names next to each other on the board.
“Hyung, you’ve shown us 10 different outfits, just choose one.”
Yeonjun pouted, resisting the urge to throw the shirt that he held in his hands towards Soobin’s face.
“Can you just help me out just this once?!”
Beomgyu snorted from beside Soobin. “As if we haven’t already done so for every practice Kang Taehyun would be attending.”
A groan resounded from Yeonjun as he flopped onto the bed, startling the couple. “Ughhhhhh,” he whined, “I just want to make a good impression on him, is that so much to ask?”
“Hyung….” Beomgyu smiles sympathetically, “I think you’re worrying too much. The boy literally said he wanted to learn from you. That means he must have also noticed you for quite some time already. Don’t beat yourself up so much about it, yeah? Just be the Yeonjun we know. You’ll be fine.”
Soobin matches Beomgyu’s smile, standing up and nudging Yeonjun aside to reach into Yeonjun’s closet. He pulled out a black and white shirt and a pair of blue jeans. “This outfit always looks good on you. Just pair it with the beret and you’re good, okay? Now go get your man.”
Yeonjun slumped, nodding slowly.
“Have I told you two that you’re my best friends in the whole world?” He shoots them a grateful glance, his worry lines disappearing while looking at the reassuring looks on his friends’ faces.
Soobin grins. “Exactly. Aren’t we the best for actually putting up with your annoying ass?”
This time, the shirt actually hits Soobin’s face.
When Yeonjun peered through the windows of the dance studio he and Taehyun had booked for their duet practice, he felt his breath catch in his chest.
It seemed that Taehyun had already gotten there much earlier. Familiar hip hop songs were playing from the speakers, and Taehyun’s eyes were closed as he paced around the room, nodding his head to the beat of the music. Even by doing the bare minimum, he was just…. breathtaking.
Yeonjun entered the studio slowly and quietly, careful not to make any excessive sounds that would snap the boy out of his daydream. He smiled, placing his bag at the side and making his way to sit with his back against the mirror, watching the blonde boy move about the room.
He hadn’t noticed how long he was staring until Taehyun’s eyes opened, finding Yeonjun’s. Taehyun smiled, an amused glint in his eyes. “So how long are you going to stare at me like that?”
Yeonjun snapped back into reality, his shoulders jolting upwards in shock. Taehyun giggled again softly.
“Oh my god, sorry for being a creep, it’s just that I- erm- you….. you look really good and it should be illegal to be so handsome and charming and- wait……”
Yeonjun wondered whether he could hail a taxi to the airport right that instant to fly to somewhere far away from the embarrassment he was facing. And then he would sell all of his worldly possessions and renounce his Korean citizenship. Maybe he could start his new life in New Zealand and change his name to Daniel Choi and become a sheep farmer, fading into obscurity for the rest of his life. That would be a peaceful resolution to his life.
He merely blinked in confusion when Taehyun started to giggle at his words, cheeks flushed a pretty pink. Even the delicately beautiful sounds had Yeonjun’s heart clenching in his chest.
“God, you’re so cute.” Taehyun commented smoothly, a grin on his face.
Yeonjun was positive he was going to melt into a puddle of nothingness on the spot.
(Sure, he had definitely heard it a few times before, but coming from Taehyun? It was as if the gates of heaven had opened and Taehyun was standing there, welcoming him through the gates, angel wings and halo and all.)
Yeonjun stuttered out a thanks, his face burning red.
Taehyun chuckled before turning around to walk towards the speakers in the room.
“Come on, we gotta decide on a song. Let’s take things slow, shall we? We haven’t even gone on a date yet.”
Yeonjun choked on his sip of water as Taehyun turned slightly to wink at him, gesturing Yeonjun to join him. Shoving his water bottle haphazardly into his bag, Yeonjun scrambled quickly to his feet before joining Taehyun, still feeling rather dazed.
Just like that, weeks flew by.
Thursday evenings became Yeonjun and Taehyun’s regular rehearsals. Most of the time, they would be focused on perfecting the choreography they had decided on. But in the few minutes and the dinners they shared after rehearsal time was up, they could just… talk. And they grew even closer than before.
Yeonjun learnt that Taehyun had a pet cat in his family home and a pet snake in his apartment, which was closer to campus. That he learnt English from a very young age and was even involved in a few educational videos promoting English. That he didn’t refuse the existence of aliens, loved the colour yellow, and enjoyed sweet foods like caramel macchiato and bingsu. And so much more.
Sweet, just like him, Yeonjun mused to himself dreamily.
He also learnt that Taehyun has a habit of scratching the back of his neck, that he makes little sounds when he gets excited and has a smile that can light up the entire room.
So maybe Yeonjun is falling into the trap of being in love with Kang Taehyun. The casual flirting between the two of them just continued to cement that fact into him.
And then performance day arrived.
Yeonjun held the hands of his co-captains as they rushed onto stage for their final bows. The recital exceeded all expectations, the things that went wrong were outweighed by the things that did not, and Yeonjun stood, smiling at the audience as they gave the entire club a standing ovation. No feeling could ever challenge that.
Well, that was what he had thought.
Taehyunnie ✨💛
hyung!
can i meet you in dressing room 3? i have something for you 💛
Yeonjun bid his members a hurried goodbye, packing up his things and yelling out how he would see them at the after-party later. He paused along the way to say hi to Soobin and Beomgyu, who had also gotten even closer to Huening Kai over the past few weeks (Yeonjun suspects something going on, but he’ll pry eventually. Right now, someone’s waiting for him.)
He knocked onto the door of Dressing Room 3, slightly slumped over to catch his breath.
The door opened and Taehyun’s round head popped out, before the younger boy broke out into a large grin and pulled Yeonjun inside. The room was empty except for the two of them.
“Y-you wanted to see me?”
Taehyun looked up at him through the messy bangs on his forehead. He had changed out of his final stage outfit, but his makeup was still on, and Yeonjun felt himself stop breathing for a moment at the shy look on Taehyun’s face. His bright eyes shining like the stars in the sky, the soft tilt of the corners of his mouth into a sweet smile.
“I….” Taehyun hesitated, his hand reaching up to rub at the back of his neck in nervousness. Yeonjun, observing how red it was turning, couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to circle his hand around Taehyun’s wrist, pulling the hand away. His hand drifted, and their fingers interlocked.
“What is it, Taehyunnie?”
Taehyun was staring intently at their interlocked hands. Yeonjun, realizing how physically close they had gotten, panicked and tried to pull away, but Taehyun’s grip on his hand tightened.
And then Taehyun pulled him close, cupping his cheek with his other free hand to pull Yeonjun into a gentle kiss.
Yeonjun stiffened for a moment, taken aback, but when Taehyun tried to pull away, he gained back his senses and kissed back, hard. He tilted his head so as to deepen the kiss, soaking up Taehyun’s surprised noise.
They kissed and kissed until Yeonjun’s lungs were burning, and then they finally pulled away, staring at each other with flushed faces and heaving for breath.
“God, why are your lips so soft?” Yeonjun was the first to break the silence, and then he wished he wasn’t.
But he got to hear Taehyun’s giddy giggles one more time before he pressed in closer, stealing another kiss from Yeonjun. As he pulled back, he smiled, looking down at where their hands were still clasped together.
“There’s more where that came from, if you’re interested.”
Yeonjun started to nod his head frantically, still too flustered to speak. They broke out into giggles as Taehyun grabbed his bag, tugging Yeonjun out of the dressing room.