Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

[ Tuesday, October 13th. ]

"I just can't do it anymore," Yeonjun stated, frustration ebbing to the forefront of his words, emphasized by the heavy sigh he began his statement with, "I hate just sitting on the bench and watching everyone else play when I can't. All I want to do is play basketball, and now that I can't do that, I feel like everything has been for nothing."

"Come on," Beomgyu nudged his best friend in the ribs with his elbow, —not hard enough to cause pain or leave any marks, but just enough to get Yeonjun's full attention, "it's just for a little while. You know you're one of the best players on the team, and Coach already said that you can have your spot back as soon as you're cleared to play again."

"I know, I know," Yeonjun answered, "that's not what I'm struggling with. I know I have a place on team still, I just. . . Don't know what to do with all this time that I have on my hands all of a sudden. I spend so much time practicing, playing basketball with everyone just for fun, working out, going for walks, —and now I'm not supposed to do any of that. I can't do any of that right now."

"Maybe it's for the best," Beomgyu shrugged his shoulders.

"Huh?" His friend raised an eyebrow in confusion, his simple response dripping with the need for Beomgyu to clarify his statement; and quickly.

"I'm just saying Yeonjun, we both know that you overwork yourself a lot. In fact, I'm pretty sure everyone else on the team knows that too. Maybe this is a sign from the universe that you should slow down and let your ankle, and the rest of your body, heal for a while."

Yeonjun pursed his lips into a tight line, hardly giving himself the time to digest Beomgyu's sentiment properly before he was opening his mouth to respond again.

"Maybe," he played along as if he was genuinely considering that as a possibility, "but even then, —I still need something to fill up this time."

"Join a club then," Beomgyu suggested, slipping the corner of his turkey sandwich in between his teeth in order to take an oversized bite.

"A club. . . ?" Yeonjun pondered aloud, at the risk of sounding a bit silly in font of his best friend (who was as good at teasing him as he was at giving him advice.)

"But which one? I know there's a big selection to choose from at this school, but at this point in the year, most of them probably aren't accepting new members."

"Let's check the bulletin board in the freshmen hallway, then. That's the one all the open clubs advertise on when they're looking for new members," Beomgyu noted after swallowing down his mouthful of food, "you should be able to find something that interests you on there, I'm sure."

Yeonjun was still hesitant about the idea of joining a club, but he was desperate for something that wouldn't leave him alone at home every afternoon once school was out of session, and staying behind to help coach the basketball team only proved to make him feel even worse about his situation. Watching all of his friends play the game that he loved so dearly, but was currently incapable of joining in on, was something akin to tortuous in Yeonjun's eyes. He hated the feeling of not being able to play with the rest of them, —hated sitting on the bench with his ankle propped up on his backpack while everyone else got to indulge in his favorite activity without him. He couldn't spend another evening like that.

"Okay," he agreed, softly nodding his head, "thanks."

Beomgyu quickly gobbled down the rest of his sandwich and chugged a little over half of the water in his bottle, much to Yeonjun's horror (and slight amazement.) The elder male had never in his life seen Beomgyu eat so quickly, and the whole time he watched he was left with the lingering fear that the younger might choke on something and find himself in a dangerous position that Yeonjun wasn't anywhere near prepared to help in. Once that was over, much to his friend's relief, Beomgyu was quick to pull Yeonjun along behind him, keeping hold of him by the wrist as if he was a small child that was going to get lost in the halls of the big, bad high school. Even so, Yeonjun said nothing of it, just letting it happen because he knew that it would be over swiftly (or, as swiftly as the two of them could make it to their destination with Yeonjun's ankle in the shape that it was.)

"Right here," Beomgyu said, pressing the hand that had just been clutching on to Yeonjun's arm to the bulletin board they'd come to look over.

Just as Yeonjun had suspected, there weren't very many options available due to the unfortunate timing of his injury. Only a handful of fliers were left pinned to the wide board, leaving it majoritively barren, which hit a lot closer to home for Yeonjun than it should have. He knew he shouldn't have seen it as a visual representation for the current state of his life. He knew that he was just reading far too much into things. . . But that didn't stop his heart from dropping into the pit of his stomach.

"Uh. . . How about the art club?" Beomgyu asked, glancing over at Yeonjun to see his reaction.

"No," the older boy shook his head in disapproval, "that won't work out very well, —I can't even draw a stick person to save my own life."

Beomgyu visibly cringed at his friend's assertion, quickly turning back to the board, skipping over the miscellaneous things that he didn't care enough to read.

"Then how about theater?"

"I'm not much of an actor," Yeonjun deadpanned, blinking twice with a blank expression on his face.

"You could help with the backstage stuff," Beomgyu noted, "like the lighting, or the costumes, or the props and stuff like that. You wouldn't necessarily have to get on stage or anything like that."

It was considered, albeit very briefly, and by the end of his short contemplation Yeonjun was left shaking his head. Dance club was another option open to students, but given his own circumstances, that certainly wasn't a fit for Yeonjun either, —and obviously neither was joining the track team.

"This is hopeless," Yeonjun ran his hand through his hair, the strands of which he'd recently dyed a bright blue in the midst of what he felt to be an existential crisis.

"Maybe I should just go buy a bunch of new video games and hope that I end up getting addicted to. . ." his words trailed off to Beomgyu's momentary confusion, leading the younger male to follow the elder's gaze.

A flyer was lying face down on the ground, and with a quick glance between Yeonjun's face and the paper, Beomgyu took the hint and bent down to swipe it off of the hallway floor. He had less than two seconds to look it over before Yeonjun was stealing it from his hands, somehow knowing that it was his last hope.

"Astronomy club," Yeonjun read it aloud, eyes lighting up as he glanced over to meet Beomgyu's hopeful gaze, ". . . this works, right? I could have fun there, couldn't I?"

"I mean, I don't see why not," the younger boy shrugged his shoulders in response, "it seems interesting enough, right? It doesn't hurt to give it a try."

Yeonjun nodded.

"Right," he breathed the word out as if it were his saving grace, "so who do I talk to about it?"

"Uh. . . This says that the president of the club is Choi Soobin," Beomgyu pointed, "I know him. Or, I know what he looks like, anyway. We've never really spoken to each other, but he's in my geometry class, so I can point him out for you."

"Great!" Yeonjun's face lit up with a smile, one of relief and exaltation, "thank you. So much."

"No problem," Beomgyu returned Yeonjun's happy smile, "anything to keep you from making anymore rash decisions like this one."

A light tug on the elder's blue hair made it clear what Beomgyu was referencing.

"I don't want you to run out and get a nipple piercing or a tattoo on your ass or something. At least, not without you thinking it over."

"Shut up," Yeonjun slapped the younger's hand away from his head, "I wouldn't do that. My mom already freaked out when she saw my hair,  —I don't even want to think about how she'd react to me getting a piercing or a tattoo without her permission."

"That's probably for the best right now," Beomgyu laughed, "but besides that, we should both go get ready for our next classes. Meet me out front when the bell rings and we'll wait and see if I can spot Soobin. It's Tuesday, and the flyer says the club meets after school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so if he's not involved in anything else, he should be heading home after school lets out."

"Okay," Yeonjun nodded in understanding, "I'll see you then."

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝒏𝒂𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓 ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

Yeonjun wasn't the biggest fan of social studies, but even within that, he'd never glanced at the clock so frequently in that class as he did on that day. He even found himself annoyed when it seemed to be going far too slow for his liking. When the bell finally did ring, most people were kind enough to pause and let Yeonjun slip through the door before them, seeing as he was both well liked and currently injured, and he used that to his full advantage. As he walked, his ankle brace agitated the skin of his leg and squeezed his foot uncomfortably, —but he had no other choice than to wear it if he wanted his partial tear to get better as soon as possible, and he most certainly did.

The sooner he could play again, the better.

"Okay, just stand here," Beomgyu prompted, "you can lean on the flagpole if you need support. I'll watch for him."

"I feel like we're stalking someone," Yeonjun admitted with a small laugh.

"Don't be so dramatic," the younger boy rolled his eyes playfully in response, "it's not like you're planning on jumping him and stealing his lunch money."

"Definitely not."

From there, the two of them stood side by side, Yeonjun's weight steadied by the flagpole as Beomgyu had suggested. A sea of students flooded out of the doors, one after another, some walking sluggishly, other a few quick strides away from sprinting. For a few seconds, with everyone being so jumbled up, Yeonjun wondered how on Earth Beomgyu was going to locate Soobin among the mess of bodies and faces. However, only a few minutes had passed when Beomgyu stretched his arm out, his finger pointing towards a tall, brown haired male with a moderate walking pace.

"Right there," Beomgyu said, "that's Soobin."

"You're positive?" Yeonjun asked quickly, glancing over at his friend's face.

"I'm positive," he confirmed immediately, "now go. I'm tired of hearing you complain about not being able to play basketball and having nothing to do."

"Thank you again, Beomgyu," Yeonjun gave the younger male a light clap on the back before walking away from him, moving as quickly as he felt he could on his injured ankle.

The discoloration was mostly gone by that point, but the pain was always there, whether it was felt in sharp jabs that assaulted his sensitive nerves, or in a string of constant, dull pain that rang out at the frequency of white noise.

"Hey, Soobin!" Yeonjun called out, knowing that if the brunet didn't pause for a few seconds that it would be very hard for him to catch up.

Soobin flinched at the sound of his name being called out so unexpectedly, but he paused nonetheless, turning around to see who needed his attention. Needless to say, he was more than surprised to see Choi Yeonjun coming towards him with a slight limp in his steps, —hair dyed a striking blue. The two of them weren't even close to friends. In fact, they knew so little about one another that Soobin was shocked to even hear his name be uttered from Yeonjun's mouth, and the only reason he knew Yeonjun's name was because it was commonplace knowledge, really. Everyone knew Yeonjun because he was incredibly well liked, and his name was on the tips of many girls (as well as some boys,) tongues all throughout the school.

Soobin stood with a perplexed expression on his face, wondering why someone like Yeonjun would be interested in talking with someone like him. . .

"Uh. . . Hi," he greeted, awkwardly so.

"Hey," Yeonjun flashed him a smile, "I'm Yeonjun, if you don't know. Do you have some time to talk?"

"Actually, no, not right now I don't. I have somewhere I need to be, —sorry," Soobin apologized.

"Oh," Yeonjun's face faltered, but he was quick to recover from the slight blow to his ego, "well, can I have your number then? I can just call or text you about it later, —or you can call me, if you want. Whatever works."

Soobin seemed to hesitate, but decided that prolonging the situation with a denial wasn't going to do him any good. So, he simply rattled his phone number off to Yeonjun, who quickly typed it into his contacts, just praying that he hadn't messed the order of the numbers up, as there wasn't going to be a repetition or a second try.

"Thank you," Yeonjun said, "I appreciate it. Sorry for bothering you."

"No problem," Soobin replied, even and indifferently, and with that he turned his back to the blue haired male and continued on his way.

Yeonjun made a quick, overall statement of impression in his mind about Soobin. Hard to read was the first thing he thought of, —if a bit anxious. Not a bad communicator by any stretch of the imagination, but he was certainly someone that could more than likely do without it. Loyal, perhaps, if his statement about having somewhere to be was the truth and not just a means by which he could get out of talking to Yeonjun, and possibly punctual as well, based on the same minute details.

"Well, that was quick," Beomgyu noted, attempting to read Yeonjun's facial expression (to no avail.)

"Yeah, he was busy, so I got his number instead. I guess I'll just give him a call later this evening and uh. . . Hope everything pans out in my favor?" Yeonjun said, although his tone was riddled with uncertainty, and it was only then that his confident persona wavered, allowing his friend to read his emotions.

"Don't pull that face," Beomgyu frowned, "it's not like he turned down your marriage proposal. Just call him later on and talk then, —the world isn't going to end just because he couldn't stay and talk right now."

"You're right, you're right," Yeonjun admitted, "I guess I was just hoping to get that confirmation as soon as possible. But, you know what, I've been off the court for over a week now, so I can deal with a few more measly hours. It'll be fine."

Unfortunately, asserting that and truly letting himself believe it were two very drastically different things.

"That's what I like to hear," Beomgyu threw his arm around the elder male's shoulders haphazardly, "now go home and put your foot up. We need you back on the court as soon as possible if we want any chance of getting into the championships this year."

"Got it," Yeonjun gave a curt not, "make sure everyone practices hard while I'm gone. We don't have any weak links on our team, so let's not start creating them."

"Of course," Beomgyu confirmed that the pair of them were completely on the same page, "I'll stop by on my way home and bring you some pizza. Kai's buying."

"Okay, thanks. I'll see you then," Yeonjun adjusted the strap of his bag to a more comfortable position on his shoulder, and with that, the two friends went their separate ways for the time being.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ .𝒏𝒂𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓. ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

At home, Yeonjun sat on the couch with his foot propped up on his mother's favorite coffee table, an ugly throw pillow the only thing keeping his flesh from touching the cold wood. His parents were out of town for the week, gone in order to visit his paternal grandparents a few cities over. Originally, the plan was for Yeonjun to go with them on the  trip, but his ankle injury had obviously gotten in the way of that, —among many other things in his life. Yeonjun's mother had reservations about leaving him home alone while he was hurt, but after a heart to heart conversation where he expressed to her that he was seventeen now, and fully capable of taking care of himself, she caved in. It also didn't hurt that his father was completely on his side in regards to the matter, fully confident that Yeonjun would be fine on his own, and certainly not wanting to miss out on the dinner reservations he'd made to the fancy steakhouse he'd been gushing about since the trip was first brought up.

Therefore, Yeonjun was left to his own accord, which he was taking advantage of by committing the cardinal sin of using the coffee table in front of him as a footstool. But, his mother wasn't there to scold him or ask if he'd been raised in a barn, as if that didn't act as a subtle insult to herself as well. On the couch cushion beside of him was his phone, currently free from all notifications (aside from an automatic one telling him to come back and play a game that he hadn't touched in weeks, and frankly, just needed to delete off of the device because it was only taking up storage.) There was also a half eaten bag of green grapes that he'd declared his "pre-dinner" whilst he waited for Beomgyu to bring him the pizza he promised, a page of nearly finished notes that he needed to complete before school tomorrow, and the remote control he'd just been using to surf through the available animes on Netflix. 

Just when he'd settled on something to watch, his phone began to ring and Soobin's number lit up the screen. Yeonjun hadn't wanted to call until later, at around six or so, just in case Soobin needed time to do other things, —but it seemed that the brunet had other plans.

"Hello?" Yeonjun answered, pausing "Blue Exorcist" right at the beginning of an episode he'd seen too many times to count.

"Hey," Soobin spoke, and through the phone his voice was shakier, —but at that time, Yeonjun was more than willing to brush it off and chalk it up to a less than perfect phone connection.

"What was it that you needed to talk to me about?"

"Well, I was actually hoping to join your club," Yeonjun said.

Silence followed.

". . . Hello?" The blue haired male inquired slowly, thinking that their call had gotten cut off or something along those lines.

"Sorry," Soobin apologized, "I just wasn't really expecting you to say that. . ."

"I know it probably seems really weird," Yeonjun acknowledged, "and I know that the timing is really strange, —but the truth is that I just really need something to fill up all of this free time that I have right now. About a week ago, I sprained my ankle at basketball practice, and I won't be able to play for six to eight weeks. So, right now, I'm just kind of lost, and I have nothing to do after school anymore. But, I saw your club's poster on the bulletin board in the freshmen hallway, and I thought. . . That I could give it a try?"

"If you want to, I don't think anyone would have any objections to it or anything," Soobin replied, "but if you're just doing it to kill time, you probably won't find it very interesting."

"It has to be more interesting than sitting at home and doing nothing," Yeonjun answered.

"I think I'll be fine. I just want to give it a try, and when I can play basketball again, I'll never bother you again. Promise."

"Okay," Soobin agreed, although there seemed to be a slightly bitter undertone clinging to his words, "then, I'll just text you the information you need to know."

"Sounds good," Yeonjun agreed, "thanks a lot!"

"Yeah, no problem," the brunet answered, and Yeonjun felt a sense of deja vu cling to his skin as that response rang out.

Soobin hung up the phone after that, which worried Yeonjun a bit considering the fact that he didn't feel they'd had a proper end to the conversation. However, he was quick to note the three dots coming from their otherwise empty message tab, and with that, he took it as a win. Within a few minutes, all of which Yeonjun was left staring at his phone screen expectantly instead of just unpausing his show and watching until his message alert noise pinged, Soobin had sent him everything that he needed to know. Or, the basics of it, anyway.

Choi Soobin:
this month,
meetings every monday, wednesday, friday from 2:30 to 5:00
24th, trip to the planetarium
next month,
meetings every monday, wednesday, friday from 2:30 to 5:00
12th, star party
13th, 14th, 15th, camping trip

Choi Soobin:
that should be enough right? since you're only staying for six weeks or so

Choi Yeonjun:
yeah, i think so! thank you again, soobin!

Choi Yeonjun:
but won't it be a little cold next month for a camping trip?

Choi Soobin:
we're going then because it's been predicted that we'll be able to see a meteor shower

Choi Soobin:
you don't have to come on trips if you don't want to though

Choi Yeonjun:
oh okay

Choi Yeonjun:
i'll think about it :)

Satisfied with that, the conversation ended there. Although Yeonjun did have other questions, like what a star party was and what it entailed, for example, —he thought it was better to ask in person later on. So, he sat his phone aside once more, unpaused the anime he was rewatching for God knows what time, and he picked his notebook back up in order to finish scribbling down the rest of his notes, remaining unmoving from his spot until Beomgyu knocked on his door to give him two slices of pepperoni pizza.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝒏𝒂𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓 ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

[ Wednesday, October 14th. ]

Soobin would have been lying if he said that he wasn't at least the slightest bit annoyed by Yeonjun's sudden presence in his life. It wasn't that he didn't like the blue haired male, as Soobin didn't even have enough information about him to make that kind of judgement yet, —it was that Yeonjun was actively using Soobin's club with no intention of staying for the long run that made the brunet feel. . . Bitter. It didn't seem fair that Yeonjun thought he could come and go when he pleased, moving with the changing seasons only when they suited his taste.

With a soft sigh, Soobin closed his locker and made his way down the hall, only to be stopped by the very boy he was just internally monologuing about.

"Do you want to walk to the club meeting together?" Yeonjun asked, to which Soobin shook his head in reply.

"I can't," he replied vaguely, "but meetings are held in the health room, right across the hall from where the art club meets. You can head there first, —just find Taehyun, tell him your name, and say that I said you could join."

Soobin didn't wait around for anything more, and he left a dejected looking Yeonjun standing by himself in the middle of the hallway. By that point, after three curt interactions, Yeonjun was beginning to fear that Soobin just didn't like him one bit. Of course, he wasn't sure why that would be the case, seeing as they'd never really interacted before, and since they'd begun to do so, Yeonjun had been sure to put his best face forward.

"You're overthinking again," he mumbled just under his breath, attempting to push those intrusive thoughts to the very back of his mind.

In doing so, Yeonjun forced himself to let things go for the time being. Torturing himself with the idea of someone harboring grave dislike for him was a product of his own insecurities, and he had to remind himself that he was doing fine. . . Soobin didn't have a reason to hate him, as far as Yeonjun was aware.

Leaving his worries behind, Yeonjun made his way to the meeting room (which he hadn't stepped foot in since he was a freshman, and somehow, that felt like a lifetime ago to the present junior student.) Slipping through the door, his eyes were instantly drawn to a blond haired boy with a clipboard in one hand and a pencil in the other. Yeonjun went out on a limb to assume that he was Taehyun, the vice president of the astronomy club, seeing as everyone else in the room so far were simply scattered about the space at random, and none of them had the same air of responsibility.

"Are you Taehyun?" Yeonjun inquired, to which the blond stared at him questioningly for a few seconds, eventually nodding his head in confirmation.

"That's me," he said, "do you need something?"

"Uh, my name is Choi Yeonjun," he introduced himself, "Soobin said that I could join the club, so. . ."

At first, Taehyun looked skeptical of the claim, but he was quick to realize that Yeonjun had no real reason to lie about anything. There was nothing to gain from pulling a prank of that nature, after all.

"Okay, I'll write your name down," Taehyun said, and he did so, scribbling it down on the paper attached to his clipboard with the penmanship of a serial killer.

"Let me introduce you to everyone."

Taehyun placed his pencil and clipboard on an empty desk, and he beckoned for Yeonjun to follow him.

"Everyone," he caught the attention of the people in the room, "this is Yeonjun, and he's joining our club. I expect all of you to be nice to him, and to help him figure things out for the first few meetings."

From there, Taehyun went around the room and told Yeonjun everyone's names, starting with Minju, who's medium length, light brown hair complimented her elegant appearance. Next was Seungmin, with carob brown hair and a cute, almost childlike appearance that was only further cemented when he smiled, his eyes turning into little crescent moons. Then there was Renjun, with mid tone brown hair, the color falling neatly between that of Minju and Seungmin's own, who donned a pair of glasses on his small face. And finally there was Yuna, with long, blonde hair and a very charming smile. All in all, everyone seemed to be very kind, and Minju even offered up the seat beside of her in hopes of making Yeonjun feel welcomed.

He took the offer, gratefully so, and was left to wonder for a few split seconds when the last time he was able to make a friend without the catalyst of basketball was. . .

"Does Soobin not attend meetings?" He spoke to Minju in a quiet tone, not wishing to draw attention to a question that he knew could come off as rude or critical.

But really, Yeonjun was simply curious about the answer.

"He does," Minju assured him, "but, he always comes in a little late."

"Late? But, isn't he the president of the club?"

"Yeah," Minju nodded, "he is, —and I think he does a really good job. He teaches us lots of things, and he makes everything seem super fun and interesting. He really does love the club, but I guess something in his life has to come before it."

The way she shrugged told Yeonjun that Minju was simply making an educated guess about Soobin's priorities. Then again, that's all he could do as well, especially since he and Soobin were by no means close enough for Yeonjun to ask him anything about his personal life outside of school.

Since it wasn't quite time for the meeting to officially begin yet, everyone sat around, just chatting and making silly jokes. Thankfully, everyone seemed to be very open to the idea of having a new member, and they actively included Yeonjun in every conversation so that he wouldn't have to fight for his place in it. The environment, when compared to that of the basketball team, was incredibly different, and Yeonjun deduced that it was probably because everyone's personalities were light years away from the personalities of those like Beomgyu or Kai. Everyone on the basketball team was on the extroverted side, —very loud, rambunctious, and incredibly funny in their own ways.

But a shocker to many would come in the fact that Yeonjun himself was not an extrovert. . . He was by all practical means, an ambivert with extroverted qualities, and although he loved being a member of the basketball team, there were many times when that completely wore him out (not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.) Yeonjun could always play along and match the tempos around him, and he did so with moderate ease, —but it was tiring. So, really, the vibe of the astronomy club was more than welcome. It was much slower, tempered and even without being boring, and Yeonjun found himself relishing in it right from the very start.

Maybe it was the way Yuna pulled silly faces to make her friends laugh, or the way Taehyun as the vice president of the club was more than willing to join in on their antics. . . It all just felt like a safe little space away from the rest of the school, —away from the rest of the world. It was comforting for Yeonjun to realize that he could find joy in people outside of his basketball friends. It was reassuring for him to think that, just maybe, he was capable of likability and capable of drawing people in who didn't have the slightest bit of interest in how he performed on a court.

So Yeonjun smiled to himself, and he was left to wonder if having to stop playing basketball for a little while really was, like Beomgyu had suggested, —for the best.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝒏𝒂𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓 ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

[ Monday, October 19th. ]

As different as the astronomy club was when Yeonjun compared it to basketball, he quickly managed to integrate himself into the space. With the help of everyone, Soobin included, —Yeonjun quickly felt a true sense of community and camaraderie with everyone. Minju was sweet and informative, always the first one he turned to when he was looking to start a conversation. Seungmin was kind, as well as incredibly intelligent, and despite being a year younger than Yeonjun, he'd helped the elder male with his homework on more than one occasion by the end of his first week with the club. Renjun was charmingly sarcastic, very easy to joke back and forth with, and Yeonjun thought that they complimented one another quite nicely. Yuna was the most outgoing member of the club, as well as the youngest, —but she also had a serious side that tended to come out whenever there was real work to be done. From what Yeonjun could see, she was a fantastic addition to the club despite her young age, and she always tried her best to contribute wherever she could.

Then there was Taehyun, the vice president who certainly lived up to his title without being overbearing about it. He was a dynamic person with a mature side that he used when it was called for, and a silly side that he would show the others when there was room to be playful and funny.

And then there was him. . . Choi Soobin, President of the Astronomy Club, —always late to meetings by fifteen to twenty minutes, but a fantastic leader despite that. He was incredibly intelligent, especially when it came to matters of the stars and planets, and it took no longer than half a singular meeting for Yeonjun to understand wholeheartedly just why Soobin was the president.

He spoke about the stars as if they were his eldest friends, with an everlasting respect for them and everything they'd taught the inhabitants of planet Earth. When Soobin spoke of them, or of the constellations they formed in the night sky, it seemed to Yeonjun that he was in his most prized state, —that he was directly in the middle of his comfort zone. It was beautiful, in Yeonjun's humble opinion, to watch someone passionately describe something to an audience, no matter how small.

Still, Yeonjun couldn't help but to believe that Soobin just didn't like him. Not that the brunet had ever been outwardly mean, cruel, or vicious towards him in any capacity, —much the opposite, in fact. However, it was just an instinctual gut feeling on Yeonjun's part that told him Soobin always had something on the tip of his tongue that he didn't dare to say when they spoke to one another. So, finally, Yeonjun made the decision to speak to Soobin about it at the risk of making himself seem foolish if it had all been a misunderstanding. Even if that were to end up being the case, Yeonjun wanted to be able to put his mind at ease, and he knew very well that he couldn't do so unless he heard the answer straight from Soobin's own mouth. If he was tired of making assumptions, and tired of feeling unhappy with the conclusions he drew on his own, —then the only way to negate that was to go directly to the source.

Roughly ten minutes before the meeting was to let out, Yeonjun took a few seconds to gather up all of his courage. He knew that he would need it in order to approach Soobin and ask him, straightforwardly, if there was any animosity between them for a reason unbeknownst to Yeonjun himself.

"Hey, Soobin," he sat down next to the brunet, who had a black binder in his lap that he was absentmindedly flipping through.

The club president looked over at Yeonjun, face blank and nearing a state of stoicism, —but somehow, there was still an underlying emotion that felt unnerving.

"Do you need something?" Soobin inquired, voice level.

"Well I. . . I was just wondering if you like me?" Yeonjun asked, and it took him no longer than the time by which Soobin's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in surprise to realize that he'd worded that incredibly wrong.

"Excuse me?" The brunet gawked, his pitch raising a few octaves.

"No, no, I'm so sorry," Yeonjun apologized quickly, "that came out wrong, —completely wrong. I've just gotten the feeling that you don't like me, or that you don't like that I'm a member of the club, so I. . . Sorry."

He was flustered beyond belief, but Soobin wasn't much better under those circumstances. Yeonjun's face was undoubtedly the redder of the two, understandably so considering the fact that he was the catalyst for both of their embarrassment, —but that didn't save Soobin from the shame at all. His cheeks were tinted a light pink, and he was actively trying to avoid Yeonjun's eyes, even after the explanation had been stuttered out.

"It's not that," Soobin mumbled, "I don't know you, so how could I say that I dislike you? And I don't really have an issue with you being a member of the club. . . I just didn't like the way you framed things. That's all."

Managing to put his mortification to the side, Yeonjun found his voice once more, needing for his own peace of mind to keep the dialogue moving.

"What do you mean by that?" He pressed further, cocking his head to the side like a confused puppy.

"It's really not that important," Soobin attempted to sweep everything under the rug.

It was just in his nature to do so. He didn't like conflict of any kind, no matter how benign. It always made him uncomfortable when he was put into a position where his feelings had to be justified and elaborated on, especially in cases where he knew that he was being irrational himself.

"But I still think we should talk about it," Yeonjun said, "I mean, if it's not that important, than we don't need to make a big deal out of it, right? So let's just talk it over. I'm sure we can work it out."

Soobin sighed, but he had to agree. Dragging things along now that his small contention with Yeonjun had been aired out in the open was, frankly, pointless.

"Listen," Soobin practically breathed the word out like he was preparing for the end of the world, "I opened this club so that I could connect with other people who like learning about astronomy. It's been a really big part of my life for as long as I can remember, so being able to open this club, no matter how few people have joined, —it means a lot to me. So when you told me that you just wanted to join because you hurt your ankle and couldn't play basketball for a while. . . It rubbed me the wrong way. It just gave me the impression that you didn't actually care about the things we do in here, —that it's just disposable fun for you."

Yeonjun's first instinct was to be defensive, but he had to remind himself that Soobin wasn't exactly manipulating any of  the details. It was true that he'd joined the club because basketball was off the list for the time being, and he'd said as much directly to Soobin over the phone. But things had certainly changed, in Yeonjun's opinion. While his initial intention for joining the club may not have been the most pure, he could easily say that he was no longer just going to the meetings because he didn't want to be at home alone with nothing better to do.

"I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely, "I really am. I can see that everything you do in here really does mean a lot to you, —and I completely respect that. I get it. I won't backtrack now and say that you're wrong or anything, because we both know you're not. I joined the club on a whim because I felt like it was the only option for me. But since then, I really do appreciate the club, and I appreciate all the members and how welcoming they've been to me. I appreciate getting to hear you talk about everything you like, and I. . . I appreciate you for even letting me join in the first place, when I obviously didn't deserve to."

A small silence fell between the two boys, but Yeonjun felt his heart unclench the moment Soobin's lips tugged upwards at the sides.

"Do you know your zodiac sign?" Soobin asked.

Though he was rightfully confused by the sudden change in topic, it was also a welcome feat, and Yeonjun paused. He was fairly certain that he knew himself to be a Virgo, but he was left with a lingering worry that he would assert it as a fact, only for Soobin to correct him and explain that he was actually a Taurus or an Aries, or any of the other signs besides the one he'd thought himself to be since middle school.

"Uh. . . I think I'm a Virgo," Yeonjun said, phrasing it in that manner on purpose.

That was his safety net. If he turned out to be wrong, he could turn to the fact that he'd said I think, rather than I am.

"We can check," Soobin replied, flipping the binder in his lap back open.

"When's your birthday?"

"September thirteenth," Yeonjun answered, and he then watched as Soobin trailed his finger along a laminated paper.

"You're right," he gave the blue haired male a small smile, "you're a Virgo."

"So, is that good or bad?" Yeonjun raised an eyebrow, and his question made Soobin giggle lightly.

"Neither," the brunet replied, "zodiac signs aren't inherently positive or negative, —they're defined by the annual path of the sun across the sky. The twelve signs derived from the constellations that mark out the path that the sun travels over the course of a year. As the Earth orbits the sun, the sun appears to pass through different constellations. These days, your date of birth doesn't always correspond with the constellation the sun will be in on that day, or even in that month. But, because we use the traditional system to determine what we call our personal zodiac signs, that's pretty much overlooked in the long run."

"But, don't our zodiacs tell us certain things about our personalities and stuff? So, shouldn't they be accurate to what constellation we were born under?" Yeonjun questioned.

"You're getting into astrology with that," Soobin gently corrected, "and I think it's fine if you believe in your zodiac sign defining parts of your personality and stuff like that, —but I don't really believe in that. In astronomy, the zodiac divisions are used as measures of Earth's yearly journey, and I think it's easier to not put too much of an emphasis on behaving certain ways just because you're a certain sign."

"That makes sense," Yeonjun threw in a soft comment to show that he was still listening.

"The Virgo sign is represented by the maiden. It's the second largest constellation in the sky, and the brightest star in Virgo is Spica, or the Alpha Virginis. Spica is the sixteenth brightest star in the night sky, but it's not just visible because of its size. We can see it so vividly and brightly because it's relatively close to Earth, —about two hundred and sixty light years away."

"What about your sign, Soobin? Or, are you a Virgo too?" Yeonjun inquired.

"Not a Virgo," the brunet shook his head, "I was born on December fifth, so I'm a Sagittarius, —represented by the archer. It's the largest constellation in the southern hemisphere, and the fifteenth largest constellation in the night sky overall. It's brightest star is Epsilon Sagittarii, and it's the thirty sixth brightest star in the sky."

"And you just. . . Memorized all of this?" Yeonjun asked, thoroughly impressed with all the tidbits and facts that Soobin was able to spout off on the spot, right off the top of his head.

"Well, I've had a big interest in astronomy for. . . For as long as I can remember, really. It's always been my favorite thing to learn about, whether that was through reading or through watching documentaries; —I loved it all, and I still do. So, after a while, you pick up on things, and they stick with you."

"I like hearing you talk about it," Yeonjun smiled, "because it's clear that you genuinely enjoy it."

"I do," Soobin agreed, "more than anything else in the world."

"Anyway, the meeting is almost over, so we should go pack our things up."

They did, and soon after Yeonjun left first, alongside Seungmin and Minju. Soobin stayed back with Taehyun to get a quick plan for the next meeting, but the both of them ended off on a new, much more favorable note.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝒏𝒂𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓 ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

[ Tuesday, October 20th. ]

"So," Beomgyu grinned as he began, opening a bag of potato chips in the process, "do you like the star club better than playing basketball?"

"Astronomy club," Yeonjun corrected.

"Fine," the younger male caved, "do you like the astronomy club more than you like being on the team?"

"I don't really think it's a fair comparison," Yeonjun dodged the question for the second time over, —because he himself wasn't even certain of the answer, and in every sense of the word, that scared him.

He'd been playing basketball since before he was even big enough to get the ball through the  hoop on his own. His father would lift Yeonjun up on his shoulders, and he would throw the ball with very little coordination, and to him, every single time that it went in was like a revelation that he would never be able to find anywhere else. From such a young age, he put everything into playing that sport to the best of his ability. . .

But with astronomy, it was a new playing field. It was a court that he'd never ventured to before, and with each meeting, he found himself more interested in the world up above him that he hadn't thought twice about in his entire lifetime. If you were to ask Yeonjun just two weeks prior if he thought he would ever care about the brightest star in the constellation Hydra, he would have said no. . . Now, however, that just wasn't the case. He'd unlocked an appreciation for the heavens that he never knew he could be so enamored by.

"Is that just a fancy way of saying yes?" Beomgyu joked.

"No," Yeonjun said, firmly so, "it's not."

"Relax," his friend backed off a bit, "I'm just teasing. I actually think it's cool that you're getting into something besides basketball, —it's good for you to have more than one interest."

The blue haired male exhaled deeply.

"It's fun," Yeonjun stated.

"But not in the same way that I think basketball is fun. It's a different vibe, —a completely different feeling altogether."

"As long as you're enjoying yourself, I say it's a win. But, besides that, do you have a meeting today?" Beomgyu inquired.

"Nope," Yeonjun shook his head, "today is Tuesday. We meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays."

"Do you want me to walk you home today then?" The younger offered.

"No, that's okay," Yeonjun shook his head, "I'm waiting on Soobin. I noticed that we go the same way, at least for a little while, so I'll go with him today."

And as if on cue, Yeonjun spotted Soobin making his way out of the school, heading in the same direction that he always went, —like clockwork. With a quick goodbye to Beomgyu, Yeonjun was calling out to the astronomy club's president, moving as quickly as he could on his less than perfect ankle (which was getting better, yes, but still far from fully healed.)

"Oh, Yeonjun," the taller boy said his name, leaving the shorter to wonder why it sounded so pretty as it fell from Soobin's full lips, "do you need something?"

"No, nothing like that," Yeonjun shook his head, "I just thought we could walk together, since we both go this way. If that's okay with you, anyway."

Soobin looked hesitant, but there wasn't really a way for him to turn down the offer without, one, feeling rude (which was the last thing he wanted so soon after they'd sorted all their problems out the day before,) and two, feeling suspicious by all respects. So, he nodded slowly, thinking that whatever happened would happen, and he would cross whatever bridge was needed when he came to it.

"Is your ankle doing any better?" Soobin asked, both because he knew it was common courtesy to do so, and because he genuinely cared.

All members of his club were like members of his extended family, and even if Yeonjun didn't care of him in the same way, —it didn't matter. He didn't feel that way for it to be reciprocated, he felt that way because he just did, and frankly, he didn't feel as if he needed a reason.

"Yeah, it is," Yeonjun confirmed, "sometimes there's a little bit of swelling after I walk on it for the day at school, but it's nothing that doesn't go away with some ice and rest. Thank you for asking."

The brunet hummed in acknowledgment of the thank you he'd received.

"I'm excited for the trip to the the planetarium, though," Yeonjun noted, "I didn't even know there was one around here."

That came as no surprise. Obviously, as someone who was just getting into the world of astronomy quite recently, Soobin didn't expect Yeonjun to have known.

"It just opened up last summer about thirty minutes away from here. I've been wanting to go ever since I heard about it, but something always came up, and eventually, I think I just stopped trying. But now, Yuna agreed to have her family's driver take us there, so there's nothing stopping any of us. Plus, it's a great mini trip for the club," Soobin explained.

"Yuna's family. . . Has a driver?" Yeonjun arched a singular brow, "is she rich?"

"She's. . . Certainly very well off, from what I know," the brunet replied, which was taken as a less direct way of saying "oh yeah, she's loaded."

"But, that means you're actually coming on the trip with us this Saturday, right?"

"Of course!" Yeonjun said, enthusiastically so, "I mean, unless you think I shouldn't. If you don't want me to go, I won't."

"No, it's not that!" Soobin was quick to elaborate so that Yeonjun wouldn't get the wrong idea, "I just. . . Didn't know if someone like you would have other plans for a Saturday."

"Someone like me?" The elder male echoed with a tone of obvious confusion that was evident in his inflection as well.

". . . Popular," Soobin detailed faintly.

Any reply Yeonjun would have given died in his throat as awkward atmosphere surrounded the two of them on all sides. It wasn't inherently tense, but neither of the boys could say that they liked the way it laid across their skin, sinking into their pores, and wrapping around their bones like twisting vines. Yeonjun wasn't often left speechless, but he couldn't seem to force any words out, nor did he have a solid idea of what he should have even responded with. To say Yeonjun was relieved when Soobin paused on the sidewalk would have been a grave understatement, and the blue haired male said an internal thanks for the crack that finally appeared in the thick cage encasing them.

"Soobin!" A shrill, childlike voice called out, obviously and unabashedly excited.

Before Yeonjun could process the situation properly, Soobin was crouched down on the ground, one knee touching the sidewalk, and arms spread open. Quickly enough, they were filled by a little girl who Yeonjun estimated to be around seven to eight years old. A pale pink, butterfly adorned backpack hung from one of her arms as she quickly made her way over to Soobin, who Yeonjun was assuming to be her older brother. Arms thrown around the brunet's neck, the girl's thin pigtails settled atop Soobin's shoulder, wispy bangs shifting as her head tilted to the side.

"Did you have a good day?" Soobin asked her, and she nodded her head quickly.

"Mhm!" She gave him a bright smile as she pulled away from his hug, eyes drifting up to where Yeonjun was standing.

"Who's he?" The girl asked, pointing a smile finger at him, to which he quickly crouched down beside of Soobin to make her feel as if they were on the very same level.

"I'm Yeonjun," he smiled, introducing himself softly.

"He's my friend," Soobin gave a brief explanation before turning to Yeonjun, "and this is my little sister Sooyun."

"It's very nice to meet you, Sooyun," Yeonjun said politely, and the young girl reached out with a curious hand, taking a small section of his hair between her short fingers.

Before Soobin could speak up and tell his sibling not to touch someone's hair without permission, she beamed at Yeonjun happily.

"Blue is my favorite color," Sooyun said to him, and he grinned.

"You like my hair then?" He inquired playfully, pointing up to his own dyed strands.

"Mhm!" The young girl nodded her head quickly and animatedly, "I love it! It's so pretty! Right, Soobin?"

The brunet's face fell for a second as two expecting stares turned to look at him, —awaiting his answer. Sooyun was certainly the more outwardly expressive of the two, but somehow, Yeonjun's felt far more intense, and it had Soobin swallowing roughly to wet his suddenly dry throat.

"Yeah," Soobin stated, slipping his sister's backpack into his own grasp.

It was a common occurrence, an action that he performed every single day after school, —but in that moment it acted as a reason for his hands to be busy and his eyes to be anywhere but held in time by Yeonjun's stare.

"Very pretty."

His words were as soft has his personality, but Yeonjun was able to hear them anyway, and he bit back a smile as the two of them rose to their feet in tandem. Sooyun's tiny hand, the one she'd used to take hold of Yeonjun's hair just a few moments before, found its way into Soobin's own, and she held onto it tightly (the way he'd taught her to do when they were walking near a road of any kind.)

"So, this is why you come in late to meetings? You walk your sister home from school?" Yeonjun asked quietly, quickly putting two and two together.

"Yeah," Soobin nodded, "that's the big secret, I guess. I would have explained myself a while ago, but I was worried it would lead to questions about my home life, and I just. . . Don't feel comfortable answering, honestly. That, and I kind of liked to think that the other members might figure I'm some kind of double agent or something."

He and Yeonjun shared a laugh, which made the blue haired male feel elated. He was beginning to think that Soobin was genuinely coming around to him. . .

"Hey Yeonjun," Sooyun reached out for his hand as she spoke his name, and before her brother could protest the action, he watched as Yeonjun smiled softly and folded his fingers over the back of his sister's hand.

"Hey Sooyun," he parroted her, and because he seemed to be so naturally good with kids, Soobin couldn't help but to wonder if Yeonjun had any siblings of his own.

"What's that thing on your foot?"

Of course, she was referring to the ankle brace that Yeonjun had on, which he'd stuffed inside of his corrective shoe that fit snug around his injured ankle in hopes of keeping it from giving out. And, so far, it had done a very good job.

"It's an ankle brace," Yeonjun told her, but she still seemed a bit perplexed by that.

"I have to wear it because I sprained my ankle. Basically, what it does is that it gives my ankle extra support to help me move around while I heal completely, and because there was no way for me to miss a bunch of school while I wait for it to get better, I use the brace to help me with moving around. The shoes I'm wearing are also kind of special, because they help to give my ankle even more support than what the brace would on its own."

"I like your shoes," Sooyun smiled, glancing down at his colorful laces, "red is my third favorite color!"

"Thank you," Yeonjun grinned, "I like yours too."

Sooyun kept chatting with Yeonjun for the rest of the walk, and Soobin listened in majoritive silence. He threw in a couple of "yeah"s, and he hummed in agreement every now and again, but for the most part he was content with just listening to the conversations. In doing so, he learned that Yeonjun liked dogs, that he liked chocolate cake the best, and that his favorite color was (unsurprisingly) blue. Despite their age gap, neither Sooyun nor Yeonjun missed a beat in their responses to one another, and Soobin suspected that they could have kept going for hours on end if it weren't for the trio arriving at the siblings' home.

"Go change out of your uniform and I'll be right inside. Then you can help me make dinner if you want," Soobin prompted.

"Okay!" Sooyun nodded animatedly, "it was nice to meet you, Yeonjun!"

"It was nice meeting you too," he gave her a final smile before she was running through the front door that her brother had just unlocked a few seconds prior.

That left Soobin and Yeonjun alone on the brunet's porch, and the former bashfully met the latter's gaze to speak.

"Thank you for being so nice to her," he said, —gratefully so.

"Oh, you don't have to thank me. I liked talking to her. I've always wanted a little sibling," Yeonjun admitted.

"Are you the youngest?" Soobin inquired.

"I'm an only child," Yeonjun replied, "but, I should get home now. I have a quiz in my first period that I need to study for."

"Of course, yeah," Soobin almost stuttered, but managed to keep himself from stumbling over his own words, "good luck with that, I hope everything goes well."

"Thanks," the elder male gave a small wave, and Soobin would have been lying to himself if he said that he didn't notice, as well as fully internalize, the fact that Yeonjun had to walk back the steps they'd already taken in order to reach his own house.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝒏𝒂𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓 ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

[ Saturday, October 24th. ]

That Saturday, the astronomy club all congregated in front of the school at ten minutes until eight in the morning, waiting for Yuna and her driver to arrive and pick them up to take them to the planetarium. Though it was early, nobody seemed to mind, and the group was more than ready to get a jump start to their day as long as it included the experience they would have at the planetarium, —a trip that everyone had been looking forward to without a shadow of a doubt.

It was also the first time that Yeonjun and Soobin had seen one another in clothing that wasn't their school uniforms. Odd as it was, Soobin thought that Yeonjun looked more handsome in casual wear. . . A loose black t-shirt paired with a pair of blue jeans, as simple as it may have been, looked good on Yeonjun, and Soobin couldn't be faulted for taking notice of that. Much to that same impact, Yeonjun couldn't just not notice the way that navy blue and white stripes complimented Soobin's entire being so nicely. That, and the fact that faded jeans looked good on him in a way that Yeonjun had never expected them to.

"Are you tired?" Soobin inquired when he caught Yeonjun attempting to stifle his fifth yawn.

". . . Just a little," the shorter boy mumbled, a light blush tinting the apples of his cheeks.

"If you need to sleep a little more, you can do it on there ride there," Soobin told him, "it'll take us about half an hour to get there anyway."

Yeonjun nodded in understanding.

"Okay," he said, "I actually might do that."

A few minutes later, Yuna's driver pulled up in a sedan limousine, which had the whole of the astronomy club something akin to awestruck. Obviously, they understood that having a driver meant she was well off in terms of finances, —but somehow, none of them expected her  to pull up in a limo. . .

"What are you guys waiting for?" She questioned, opening the door up so that her friends could slide into the back with her, "let's go! I don't want to be late to the planetarium."

With split shared glances, the six of them piled in, and they each greeted Yuna (as well as the driver) politely. Seungmin and Renjun were quick to continue the absolutely riveting conversation they'd been having on the sidewalk about some online game that none of the others had ever heard of, Minju and Yuna huddled together over something on the younger female's phone, giggling and snickering like the schoolgirls they were, and Taehyun simply slipped his earphones in with the intent of listening to music until they arrived. That left Soobin and Yeonjun to their own little space. . .

"I'm gonna sleep, if you don't mind," Yeonjun noted, "wake me up when we get there?"

Soobin nodded at the request, and with a quick smile of gratitude, Yeonjun laid his head back against the seat of the limo and closed his heavy eyelids. Soobin's gaze lingered for a bit longer than he would ever like to admit. But really, he couldn't stop himself. Yeonjun was a captivating beauty, —full lips with an obvious cupid's bow, flawless skin that Soobin couldn't help but to be jealous of, a sharp nose that complimented the rest of his softer features beautifully, and a head full of soft, electric blue hair. It was undoubtedly a hard color to pull off on most people, but Yeonjun did it with such ease and charm that Soobin couldn't help but to stare, and whether it was in awe, envy, or admiration was completely up for debate (even in Soobin's own mind.)

Finally pulling his gaze away, Soobin met Taehyun's eyes for a split second before resting the side of his head against the limo's window and setting his sights on whatever was happening outside of their car. He caught sight of a stop sign and focused on the bright red color, letting his mind wander so that he wasn't forced to acknowledge that his friend had just caught him staring at someone.

Someone. Yeonjun. . . His club member. His friend. Someone that Soobin had truly come to like over the past two weeks or so, —because Yeonjun was just so damn easy to love that it hurt. He was fucking intoxicating, and Soobin didn't have the slightest clue what to do with that information.

He lost himself in that thought process. Yeonjun had crashed into his life in the most inopportune way, at the most random time, and yet Soobin was beginning to wonder what it would be like to walk into the meetings after Yeonjun had returned to the court and not see him sitting at Minju's table anymore. . . It shouldn't have hurt. They weren't that close, —not more so than Soobin was close to the likes of Seungmin or Yuna, and yet when he thought of them not being there anymore, it hurt in a much different way. It was painful, of course, but it didn't seem to cut as deep. It didn't make him feel empty the way Yeonjun's loss did.

A light weight falling onto Soobin's shoulder pulled the brunet back to reality. Breathing out sharply, he looked over, and his heart skipped a beat at the sight of Yeonjun angelic face resting on him, using his shoulder as stability. The warmth that pooled in the pit of his stomach wasn't normal, and Soobin was almost sure he knew why it was there, —but admitting the truth of the matter to himself would undoubtedly change the course of his life, and he wasn't sure that he wanted that. Soobin wasn't sure if he was ready for such drastic changes.

Even so, he didn't move. He didn't want to disturb Yeonjun's rest like that, and the elder male wasn't doing any harm by just sleeping there on his shoulder. . . No harm to anything other than Soobin's heart rate, as it were.

As promised, when they arrived, Soobin shook Yeonjun awake. He seemed mildly embarrassed by the situation they'd ended up in, but with an everlastingly energetic Yuna urging them to hurry along inside, the two boys simply didn't have the time to address it (which, frankly, Soobin was thankful for.) Entering the building as a group, Taehyun and Soobin approached the front desk in order to take care of the finer details, leaving the rest of the club to stand somewhere off to the side, questioning one another about what they thought it would be like when they finally got in there. Needless to say, Yuna and Renjun had very extravagant ideas about that aspect of things.

After Soobin and Taehyun finished checking everyone in and all was clear, the group was led to a dim room that vaguely reminded Yeonjun of a theater. The chairs were red with black arm rests, but how those would be used comfortably was still a mystery given just how close in proximity every chair was to the next. Everything was positioned in a circular manner, surrounding a hexagonal center piece with a strange device erected from the middle of it, —which Yeonjun could only assume was something that would aid in projection. The attendant brought them to a row of seats, and Taehyun filed in first, followed by Minju, then Yuna, Seungmin, Renjun, and when it was down to just Soobin and Yeonjun, —the latter opted for filing in first, because he had a sneaking suspicion that the former would have felt incredibly uneasy being sandwiched in between himself and Renjun.

Not many others joined in their viewing session, but that was chalked up to the fact that it was a bit early in the morning. After all, not everyone wanted to be out and about, viewing a fake galaxy in a dark building at eight thirty in the morning. . .

Still, despite the early time (especially given that it was a Saturday,) Yeonjun could feel the excitement practically seeping out of Soobin's pores. He was easily the most excited one of the bunch, and although he was doing his very best to hide it, his bouncing knee and expectant eyes told Yeonjun everything he needed to know. He thought it was cute. . . It was a new side of Soobin, one that was brimming with enjoyment for something that he wasn't even experiencing just yet, —but the idea of it alone was enough to make him need to actively bite back his own grin. Yeonjun just hoped that everything would live up to Soobin's high expectations. He would hate to see the downtrodden expression that would undoubtedly paint the younger boy's face if everything turned out to be less than stellar.

However, Yeonjun's worries were wiped away the second the regular, yellowish lights went off and were replaced by ones that were blindingly white. In the following moments, a beautiful night sky was plastered above their heads,—a deep, pitch black, inky expanse loomed overhead, a solid backdrop for the main performers of the show. . . The stars.

A universe had erupted around them.

They were a dazzling, creamy white at the center with pale yellow outlines, illuminated against an obsidian background so effortlessly. The most beautiful part of all was that they seemed to work together, in beautiful harmony, as if each one knew so well that they were valuable in their own rights and didn't feel the urge to fight for the attention of onward looking eyes. Admittedly, Yeonjun more than likely would have found the dark room to be incredibly eerie if it weren't for all those stars. . . Well, the stars and the tall, shy, but incredibly passionate boy beside to the right of him. Though they weren't real, the projected stars were undeniably beautiful, —milky speckles twirling and dancing along the "sky" like graceful ballerinas. The only thing more stunning than that in Yeonjun's opinion was glancing over so innocently and getting lost in the way those artificial stars imprinted themselves upon Soobin's glossy eyes as if he was the center of their universe, tying their constellations together like a cherry stem on his tongue.

There was something impossibly vulnerable about Soobin as he watched the spectacle. Or maybe it was just how different he looked with that kind of wonder written all over his face.

Feeling Yeonjun's stare, Soobin looked the elder male's way, and he felt his breath nearly catch in his throat as he too saw the stars as they were reflecting off of Yeonjun's boyish gaze. It was then that Soobin wondered, for the first time in his entire life, if something more beautiful than the cosmos itself could present itself to him. He was by no means overly sentimental in most aspects of his life, but the way in which Yeonjun's irises encapsulated twinkling lights like an elliptical galaxy was easily one of the most gorgeous things that Soobin had ever encountered. . .

Eyes locked in a vernal stare, the both of them were left to wonder if they'd just unlocked a part of themselves that they would never be able to close shut again. Perhaps that was for the best, though. Some things just aren't meant to stay buried forever. Certain parts of the human condition just shouldn't stay a mystery forever, and that was only further cemented in Yeonjun's mind the moment that Soobin gave him a sheepish smile in the weak lighting of the planetarium.

The both of them finally broke away from the other when the scene up above them began to change. Colors were introduced as a true galaxy was pictured for their viewing pleasures, —a range of oranges, blues, and purples seeming to stretch for as far as the eye could see. Of course, it was only an illusion to everything looking on, but Soobin chose to pretend that it was the real deal for just a few split seconds. . . And who could blame him for wanting to experience the humble cosmos itself with someone like Yeonjun sitting right beside of him the whole way? Who could fault Soobin for wondering what it would be like to see the blue haired male with all the constellations alighting his skin like pixie dust from a fantasy movie.

Sometimes, it's cruel to deny ourselves the right to dream. And if Soobin's dream involved Yeonjun sprawled out before him, bare skin on full display with the Apus, Bird of Paradise, settled on his inner thigh, the Lepus, Hare, dotted along his good ankle, and the Hydra, Sea Serpent depicted across his shoulder blades, —then who was anyone to say he was wrong for that? Who was ever to say that Soobin was wrong for yearning to count the stars in Yeonjun's eyes?

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝒏𝒂𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓 ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

[ Monday, October 26th. ]

"What's in the bag?" Kai asked, pointing a skinny finger at the medium sized, galaxy adorned gift bag in Yeonjun's hand.

"A present," the blue haired male answered vaguely, pulling it closer to his body so that neither of his friends could see inside of it.

"Thanks, but my birthday isn't until March," Beomgyu joked, which had Yeonjun rolling his eyes in mild amusement.

"Good thing it's not for you then, genius," he responded sarcastically.

"Oh, so it's for me then?" Kai presumed cheekily, reaching over to snatch the bag out of Yeonjun's hand, who had no time to prepare for it.

However, he didn't bother to try and fight for it back. As much as Beomgyu and Kai loved to tease Yeonjun to hell and back, they'd been friends since middle school, and he knew that neither of them would do anything to disrupt his plans. Yeonjun knew that they were just quenching their curiosity about what was in the bag, and that was fine by him. . . For the most part, anyway.

"Yeonjun," Kai deadpanned with a present that most certainly wasn't his held in his two hands, "what even is this thing?"

"Something that's not yours," the elder male reached out, swiping the gift bag and the gift itself away from the raven haired boy.

"He's buying presents for the people in the star club because he likes them more than us," Beomgyu asserted.

"Yeah," Kai agreed jokingly, "you never buy us presents, Yeongjun. What's up with that? You join a random club for three weeks and you're already buying them presents, but you're friends with us for years and you've never gotten us anything."

"Idiots," Yeonjun slipped the unopened box back into the decorative gift bag, "I get you gifts every birthday, and every Christmas. I usually bring you candy on Halloween too, so unless you want me to forget your kitkats," he glanced at Beomgyu, "and your skittles," his gaze turned to Kai, "at home on Friday, —then I suggest you stop complaining."

"We're so sorry," Beomgyu spoke quickly in response, "please do not deprive me of kitkats."

"Better," Yeonjun replied, his expression contorting to one of smugness.

"Still," Kai kept the conversation moving, "who's that for, and what does it do?"

"None of your business," Yeonjun stuck his tongue out at the younger males like a small child, "I need to get to my meeting now."

Despite protests from his friends, the blue haired boy walked away, throwing the duo a small, mocking wave as he made his way down the hallway. Upon entering the meeting room, Yuna was the first to speak up about the bag in Yeonjun's hand, inquisitively asking what was inside of it.

"Secret," he told her, flashing his charming smile in order to soften the blow.

"Who's it for then?" Minju inquired.

"Not you," Renjun chimed in, and if it had been anyone else, the brunette might have been offended.

But, it was Renjun, and everyone knew that he was just kidding around. Plus, Minju wasn't the type to be offended by an off the wall joke. Everyone shared a quick laugh, and Yeonjun took a seat across from Minju before Taehyun spoke up.

"It's obviously for Soobin," the blond noted, "as thanks for letting Yeonjun use his shoulder as a pillow the other day."

Yeonjun laughed along, but his cheeks reddened at the bluntness of Taehyun's words.

"Well, whatever it is and whoever it's for, I'm sure they'll love it," Yuna gave him a cheerful smile, which Yeonjun was grateful for.

"I hope so," he returned the gesture.

The conversation then switched from what was in Yeonjun's bag and who it was for, to the more setting appropriate topic of when the club's telescopes were going to be arriving. Apparently, they'd ordered three of them with the budget that the school had offered up to them (with help from a few bake sales that Yeonjun could remember purchasing a brownie or two from at the beginning of the year.) Everyone seemed to be excited about their arrival, but Taehyun expressed a concern about them arriving on time, since they seemed to be taking much longer than what had been promised by the website.

"They better show up before the star party," Yuna frowned, "I wanna see the rings of Saturn, and you can only do that with a telescope."

"The star party is still about three or so weeks off," Seungmin said, "and we ordered them soon enough, so they should be here before then. . ."

"Can I ask what a star party is?" Yeonjun spoke up, finally asking a question that he'd been meaning to since the first meeting, —but it always seemed to slip his mind.

"It's basically a sky gazing gathering," Taehyun explained, "we all get together and observe the sky together, talk about whatever we see."

"Have we decided who's bringing the snacks?" Renjun asked, glancing around at everyone.

"I can," Yuna offered, "since Soobin and Taehyun are buying all the ones for the camping trip and all. I don't mind doing it for the star party."

"Let's split it," Minju said to her with a smile, and Yuna nodded in approval.

"I'll write that down," Taehyun noted, doing his due diligence as the vice president of the club, "thank you both for offering."

Falling into their usual rhythm, the members of the club chatted amongst themselves in the time it took Soobin to join them. It was always comfortable for Yeonjun in that room in a way that it never was with the basketball team. The environment was different, and wildly so, but he couldn't help but to believe that there was more at play than just a different setting. The people in the astronomy club just seemed to be much more perceptive. . . To say that they were more caring would have been a disservice to especially Beomgyu, who was extremely caring when he put in the effort to be, —but Yeonjun simply found that his basketball friends tended to be more aloof to the smaller things, whereas the astronomy club members picked up on them with apparent ease.

"Soobin," Yeonjun approached him about halfway through the meeting, when everyone else was making a list of things that they wanted to spot during the star party next month, "can I talk to you for a second?"

The taller boy looked almost nervous for a second, but he quickly found his footing and nodded his head. He was the leader of the club after all, the one that everyone was supposed to be able to come to. . . Even the prettiest members that happened to make Soobin's knees feel like jelly. Both of them stepped out into the hallway, with only Taehyun noticing as everyone else was too busy chattering amongst themselves.

"What's up?" Soobin asked, attempting to be casual, but it was hard to look Yeonjun in the eyes after everything that he'd thought about on Saturday.

It was hard to look at someone that he found to be so stunning, someone that he wanted to map the stars out for and on, —and not feel jittery as if he'd downed an unholy amount of caffeine.

"I don't feel like I've said this, really. . . At least, not in the way that I need to after everything you've done for me. So, I want to say it now, even if I'm not the best with words. I'm really grateful to you for letting me join your club, and for giving me the opportunity to meet everyone. For giving me the opportunity to be friends with them, —you included. Saturday was the most fun I think I've ever had on a school trip type of thing, and I don't ever want to forget being there with you. I'll really cherish that memory forever. . . So, I got you something," Yeonjun held the bag out to Soobin, "I hope you like it."

"Y-You didn't have to. . ." Soobin stammered, a pink color tinting his cheeks and the tops of his ears as he tried to avoid Yeonjun's eyes.

"I wanted to," the elder male smiled sweetly, "as a way of saying thank you for everything."

For letting me join your club, for teaching me so many beautiful things, for including me at times when we both know I simply didn't deserve it. . . For letting me sleep on your shoulder, for letting me walk you home, for letting me meet your sister, for letting me see you smile. . .

With hands that shook ever so slightly under Yeonjun's gaze, Soobin peeled the lips of the galaxy imprinted bag apart, revealing a boxed item. Pulling it out, he soon realized that it was a mini planetarium projector; —on that would (hopefully) recreate the magic they'd experienced together on Saturday in the comfort of Soobin's own home.

"How expensive was this?" The brunet gawked.

"Don't worry about it," Yeonjun brushed that question off without a proper answer, "it was on sale anyway, and it reminded me of you, so I couldn't help myself. Do you like it?"

"Of course I do," Soobin answered, but he wasn't just saying it to be polite.

He was saying it because he genuinely did love the gift that Yeonjun had given him, and even more so, he loved that it represented an intimate time shared between the two of them. It made his heart skip a beat just looking back on everything.

"Thank you," Soobin said, voice earnest, "so much. I really love it."

Yeonjun's heart mimicked Soobin's as the strings pulled taut, and Soobin seemed to play them effortlessly like a lifelong musician.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝒏𝒂𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓 ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

"What is this, Soobin?" Sooyun asked quizzically, her head tilting to the side like a small puppy as she inspected the new device on her big brother's desk.

He never barred her from his room like so many other older siblings did to their younger sisters and brothers, so Sooyun had seen the contents of Soobin's desk a thousand times over at least. She was certain that she'd never seen the mini planetarium projector before, —and she was right.

"Oh, that?" He smiled at her, setting his phone aside to give Sooyun his full attention.

"It's called a planetarium projector," Soobin explained, "Yeonjun bought it for me. You remember him, don't you? The boy with the blue hair?"

The small girl's eyes lit up at the mention of her brother's colorfully haired friend.

"Yes, I remember!" Sooyun did a little jump of excitement, which had Soobin grinning almost from ear to ear, "his hair was so cool, and it felt so soft! I think I might dye my hair just like that one day!"

"You want bright blue hair like Yeonjun?" Soobin asked, ruffling her natural strands as he took a moment to imagine what she'd look like with hair that mimicked his friend's.

"Yeah!" She confirmed, nodding her head as if it was the most sure she'd ever been about anything in the entire world, "just like Yeonjun!"

"You'll have to ask dad about that first," he told her, and it seemed to him that she'd let that little factor slip her mind for a moment, because the mention of their father had her smile fading ever so slightly (probably due to the fact that she knew he'd never approve of her dying her hair a crazy color so young.)

"Anyway," Soobin changed the topic of conversation, reeling it in before Sooyun could go too overboard with her future hair plans, "do you wanna see how this works?"

Unsurprisingly, she jumped at the chance to see the mini planetarium projector in action, but she insisted that they try it out in her own room, rather than in Soobin's. Which he was fine with considering the fact that he already had stars on his roof, and he didn't want anything to get in the way of the experience, or add something in that was unnatural to the setting. Turning off the light and closing the door, the sibling duo sat down on the floor, smack dab in the middle of Sooyun's room. Since he'd planned on testing the item that night anyway, everything had been set up beforehand with the batteries, and all Soobin had to do was flip the switch.

When he did so, a bright, an almost magical seeming light spewed up from the small object that Yeonjun had purchased just for him. It lit up the entirety of the room with a beautiful show of changing colors, saving speckles of brilliant white for the glory of humble starlight. Soobin let his eyes wander over the once plain ceiling and walls, a smile breaking onto his face, —unstoppably so. The colorful glow around the gleaming stars changed in order of the rainbow, candy red, then sherbet orange, lemon yellow, to emerald green, cobalt blue, then mauve purple; all bleeding into one another in a cycle that seemed to never end.

"It's so pretty!" Sooyun smiled, perhaps almost as brightly as Soobin himself.

"Isn't it?"

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝒏𝒂𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓 ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

[ Wednesday, October 28th. ]

"What are these papers for?" Seungmin inquired, his eyes glancing up to the front of the room where Soobin and Taehyun were standing.

"We're starting a little project," Taehyun prefaced.

"It's short, and it should only take up two meetings or so, —probably a little bit less," Soobin continued on, "everyone will pick a constellation that isn't one of the twelve zodiac constellations. If this goes well, maybe we'll do another set in the future with everyone's personal zodiac signs, but for now, we're using this as a learning activity for everyone. We'll each use the paper Taehyun handed you when you walked in the door to fill out some fun facts about the constellation you choose, and then the next meeting is where the most fun part will come in."

"I'm gonna pass this sheet around to you guys, so just read over it and check off what constellation you want to research about, and write your name beside of it. The zodiac constellations aren't on there, so don't worry about that," Taehyun said as he laid the paper in front of Renjun.

By the time the paper came around to Yeonjun, Canis Major, Cassiopeia, Aquila, Delphinus, and Ursa Major had all been claimed. The only two people who hadn't chosen yet were Soobin and Yeonjun, so the blue haired male did a quick scan over the available options, and he swiftly decided on "Grus," the crane constellation. Handing the paper over to Soobin, the younger boy looked at his voice and smiled at him softly.

"The crane, huh?"

"Yep," Yeonjun nodded, "how about you? Do you know which one you're gonna choose?"

"Mhm," Soobin nodded, turning his eyes to the paper in order to scribble his name down next to the constellation he wished to claim.

Yeonjun peered at it, spotting Soobin's name next to a bird constellation as well.

"The phoenix?" He said, but his tone portrayed it as more of a question than a statement.

"The phoenix," the brunet confirmed, "but besides that, I have something that I need to ask you about."

Staying in place while Soobin handed the paper off to Taehyun, Yeonjun couldn't help but to notice the way the very cells that his body was mas made up of seemed to fizzle with anticipation. He thought it was strange, really. . . Yeonjun thought that he and Soobin had been friends long enough for those feelings to fade, but instead, it seemed that they'd just morphed into something different. He couldn't catch a break, Yeonjun supposed. In the beginning it was a question as to whether or not Soobin would let him in the club. Then it was a question of whether or not he enjoyed Yeonjun's existence as an entity in itself. But now, it seemed to be something more than that, —a desire to hear more from Soobin, to listen to his words when he spoke. It was now a question of why his heart was beating so quickly all of a sudden. . .

"So, the thing is that we leave for the camping trip the morning after the star party. The grounds we're staying at are about an hour and forty five minutes away, because we didn't want to risk being too close to any kind of light pollution from any cities, —that would obviously defeat the purpose of going. In order to minimize the time we have to wait around to leave, all the members are having their own sleepovers. Minju is staying with Yuna, Taehyun and Renjun are staying with Seungmin. . . And that leaves just us, so I was wondering if you'd want to spend the night at my place? You don't have to or anything, but. . . It would probably make things easier, you know?" Soobin said, though he felt as if he'd rambled on a bit too much by the end of it.

"You're sure I wouldn't be intruding or anything?" Yeonjun asked, —just to be sure.

"No, of course not," Soobin assured him.

"Then. . . Okay," The shorter boy tried to bite back a happy smile, but was only half successful in doing so, "sounds good to me."

It certainly wasn't going to have Yeonjun's first sleepover. In fact, during the summer, Beomgyu, Kai, and Yeonjun often took turns hosting them each weekend. . . However, when Yeonjun thought about sleeping over at Soobin's house, it didn't feel the same. Perhaps it was just because he knew he'd never been there before, and it would be a completely new sleeping environment, —but something in the back of Yeonjun's mind told him that that just wasn't the case. Something else was eating away at him, and the undying truth behind it scared Yeonjun in a way that he couldn't even fully wrap his mind around.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝒏𝒂𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓 ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

[ Friday, October 30th. ]

Yeonjun watched as Soobin gave his mini presentation with admiring eyes. He truly did think that it was beautiful the way that the brunet spoke so passionately about the stars, —as if he thought he would one day be able to take then into his hands like a delicate lover.

"The phoenix constellation can be seen in the southern sky. It gets its name from the phoenix, the mythical bird that rises from its own ashes. It was originally introduced in the  late sixteenth century. It's a relatively small constellation, but it's relatively easy for anyone in Australia and South Africa to see during southern hemisphere summer. Unfortunately, it generally can't be seen by anyone living north of the fortieth parallel, and it lies very low in the sky for observers north of  the equator," Soobin flipped to the back of his note card, but Yeonjun had a sneaking suspicion that he had already memorized most of the information and could have easily performed the same way without it.

"Phoenix contains quite a few notable deep sky objects, like the Phoenix Cluster of Galaxies and Robert's Quartet, —a compact galaxy group. It's the thirty seventh constellation in size, and it occupies a space of four hundred and sixty nine square degrees. It's located in the first quadrant of the southern hemisphere, and it has five stars with known planets, but has zero Messier objects. Phoenix's brightest star is Ankaa, or Alpha Phoenicis, but it also has two other named stars; Nenque and Wurren."

Placing his paper and note cards to the side, Soobin picked up a piece of card stock that had a template printed onto it. It was a dark shade of red that bled into black where coniferous trees met a setting skyline.

"Once you finish your mini presentation just like Soobin, one of us will give you your print," Taehyun explained, "all you have to do is cut and glue along the lines as they're presented. You'll end up with a little cube. Once the glue is dry on yours, you can go in poke holes in the places it says to with one of the thumbtacks in this container."

The blond shook a small, clear container made of plastic, rattling the colorful tacks inside of it.

"I don't think I need to say this, but I will just in case, —be careful when you poke holes through the card stock. Don't stab the thumbtack into your fingers, please."

"Yeah, please don't do that," Soobin laughed, "but after your constellation has been poked out into the card stock, you can come get one of these little LED candles. You flip the switch to turn it on, stick it inside your cube, and then close the top so the light is centered inside. That'll illuminate the holes you poked in the card stock from the inside out, and it'll make your constellation glow."

"All clear?" Taehyun asked, to which all members of the club nodded in confirmation.

"Alright then, you're up first, Yeonjun."

The blue haired male didn't complain about being chosen first, just stood up from his chair and went to stand beside of Soobin at the front of the classroom. A short glance from the brunet told Yeonjun that Soobin was giving him moral support on the inside, but the true shock wave came in the form of a hand, palm first, pressing against the small of his back for just a few seconds, —and yet it was enough to send Yeonjun's heart into a frenzy.

Clearing his throat, he spared a glance at the male next to him before opening his mouth.

"The Grus constellation lies in the southern sky, and its name means crane in Latin. The stars that make up Grus were once a part of the constellation Piscis Austrinus," Yeonjun struggled with the pronunciation, but quickly found his footing again.

"It's the forty fifth largest constellation in the sky, taking up an area of three hundred and thirty six square degrees. It's located in the fourth quadrant of the southern hemisphere. The brightest star in the Grus constellation is Alpha Gruis, named Alnair. Gliese eight three two is another star in Grus, and it's the star in the constellation that's closest to Earth, at about sixteen point fifteen light years away. Gliese is also one of six stars in Grus to have known exoplanets."

Daring another fleeting look towards Soobin, Yeonjun was pleasantly surprised to see that he seemed to be. . . Proud.

"Grus has four formally named stars, Aldhanab, Alnair, Itonda, and Tiaki. It doesn't contain any Messier objects, and there aren't any meteor showers associated with the constellation."

Shyly, Yeonjun took his piece of card stock with the Grus constellation craft template on it, and he pretended that his stomach didn't feel like it was being infested by a million winged insects when Soobin's fingers brushed against his in the process.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝒏𝒂𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓 ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

[ Thursday, November 12th. ]

Yeonjun's presence was sudden and unpredictable. He popped into Soobin's life out of nowhere, and somewhere along that line, the younger male had begun to care a little too much. A lot too much, actually. And he wasn't sure exactly when everything had rightfully begun. . . Maybe it all started when he watched Yeonjun interact with his little sister, —the person he cared about the very most in the world. He was gentle with her, and he spoke to her as if they'd known one another forever. Yeonjun made her feel comfortable, and perhaps Sooyun had truly been onto something with that line of thinking.

Or maybe it took flight the moment Soobin glanced over at Yeonjun during the planetarium showing, and thought to himself so fiercely, that the cosmos itself might be even more beautiful when reflected off of Yeonjun's bright eyes. Maybe it was the way his head rested on Soobin's shoulder as if it were always meant to be there, maybe it was the willingness Yeonjun showed to have a genuine interest in all of the clubs activities, or maybe it was the little light up cube of the constellation Grus that Soobin found attached to his locker one morning with a little note that read "take care of it for me, yeah?" that had Soobin so completely and utterly enamored.

Whatever the case, it was far too late to turn back.

"Do you wish on stars, Soobin?" Yeonjun inquired curiously, pulling the brunet from his web of thoughts.

"Uh. . . Sometimes," the younger male admitted, "I don't take it too seriously, but it's nice to do it from time to time. It's nice to think that the universe might actually care about us enough to give us what we want, —or what we need, from every so often, you know?."

"I think I wished on stars when I was younger," Yeonjun replied, "but I haven't done it in forever. Honestly, I stopped paying attention to the stars a really long time ago. But, joining the astronomy club has made me like them. A lot."

Soobin smiled at the admission.

"I'm glad," he mumbled in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

"Me too" Yeonjun answered wistfully, and it was then that his heart sent an unheard wish up to the glittering heavens, asking them to keep Soobin in his life far into the future.

In the background, Yuna could be heard gasping loudly over something in the night sky that Taehyun pointed out to her with a smile on his face. Seungmin was snacking on a bag of chips that he was sharing with Minju, but she was too preoccupied studying the beauty above her to really care about sour cream and onion flavored lays, and Renjun was just trying to work one of the three telescopes himself (because he'd turned Seungmin's help down originally and was still at the stage of being too prideful to ask for his assistance.)

It was chilly, but comfortable despite that. Yeonjun felt at home with everyone, —especially the brown haired, almond eyed boy right beside of him. They shared a blanket under the hefty starlight, less than an inch of space between them as they stargazed. They weren't really looking for anything in particular. . . Especially not when they both had an inkling that everything their souls had been searching for, albeit unbeknownst to them, was now right in front of them. Or, beside them, rather. November air kissed their skin with a frigid bite, the gentle wind less of a breeze and more of a whisper against the skin they bared. The sky was black, —jet black, a gaping hole peppered with lights that lead to an unknown place, and the stars were bright that night. . . Brighter than they normally would have been.

Soobin allowed himself to entertain the less than fleeting thought that the stars might be pulling out the biggest stops because they knew Yeonjun to be awake, gazing up at them from the place as their greatest competition. Even if he didn't know that to be the case.

"Hey Soobin," Yeonjun said, finally deciding that the words on the tip of his tongue needed to be spoken sooner or later.

"Hm?" The younger boy hummed in acknowledgement, lolling his head to the side to meet Yeonjun's calm, steady gaze.

He'd entered into a state of misty, grey indifference. He was scared, but so much so that he was composed within it. . . Whatever happened next would happen, and he had no say in anyone's actions other than his own.

"I'm gonna say something," Yeonjun prefaced, "and you can totally feel free to tell me if you think I'm crazy."

". . . Okay," Soobin replied, uncertainty lacing itself through his tone.

He heard Yeonjun inhale deeply, as if he thought it was the last breath he'd ever take in his lifetime.

"I think I like you."

Soobin shivered from head to toe, and he could have sworn that every hair on his body stood straight up in the wake of those words.

"And I'm sorry if you've felt me staring at you tonight, but I've been trying to stop myself from asking to kiss you since we laid down, and I just thought you deserved to know that."

Reality seemed so far away from Soobin at that point. Right beside of him was Choi Yeonjun, —someone that he hadn't ever expected to befriend, nonetheless feel things so strongly for. Yet everything they'd been through together in the short time they'd been able to claim the label of friendship between them had mounted up into something more. . . Much more.

". . . Why didn't you ask?" Soobin whispered, glancing ahead of them to them to check on their group of friends, just to make sure no one was currently looking their way.

"I didn't want to mess things up," Yeonjun answered, "and I think a part of me was scared to know the answer."

Soobin sat himself upright before looking back at the elder male.

"Ask," he prompted, but it wasn't commanding by any stretch of the imagination.

It was gentle, —almost desperate, if either of them were to think too much about it. Yeonjun followed Soobin's movements, sitting up so that they were closer once more. Eyes flickering between the bow of Soobin's full lips and the moonlit highlight in his deep, brown eyes, Yeonjun swallowed the fear in his throat and opened his mouth to speak.

"Can I kiss you?"

"Yes."

Yeonjun could have sworn he forgot how to breathe in that moment, with Soobin's eyes on him and a starlit sky above their heads. It seemed too good to be true, in every sense of the phrase. Just too perfect, and he began to wonder if he'd gotten everything wrong, —if he'd just made up the entire scenario in his head. When he didn't make a movie, frozen in place by the ice inside his veins, Soobin moved closer and sealed the gap between their mouths.

That's when Yeonjun knew it was real, and he was certain that he'd never felt so alive. Soobin's lips were cold, and their kiss was awkward and shaky at best, —but it was theirs. Their hearts pounded in their cages like drums in a marching band, and Yeonjun brought his hand up to Soobin's warm neck, gracing the skin there with his chilled touch.

When they pulled apart, their cheeks and the tops of their ears were flushed for reasons other than the cold air, and Soobin ventured to look forward, breathing an internal sigh of relief when it didn't seem that anyone had seen them. It could remain their moment in time and theirs alone, witnessed only by the two of them and the heavenly bodies up above. . .

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝒏𝒂𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓 ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

"Those stars," Yeonjun pointed up at Soobin's bedroom ceiling, "do they glow in the dark?"

The younger male glanced up in a manner that was almost quick enough to be considered frantic, —his cheeks tinting themselves a light shade of pink as he blushed in embarrassment.

"Y-Yeah," he stuttered, "I know it's kind of childish, but. . . Having them up there is just. . ."

Soobin wanted to explain, not only to ease his own embarrassment, but because he felt close enough to Yeonjun to tell him the truth. However, his ever present anxiety stopped him from doing so.

"You don't have to tell me," Yeonjun said, "not if you don't want to, or if you're not ready or something like that. I think they're cool, and I'm sorry if I made you feel weird by asking about them. It's your room, and I'm a guest. You don't have to explain anything to me."

The heat of Soobin's cheeks began to temper as he watched Yeonjun turn on his heels to place his bag beside of the desk that was situated in the very corner of the taller boy's room next to the window. Though they hadn't known one another for long, Soobin thought he and Yeonjun had gotten close quite quickly. They'd gotten to know one another very well over the past few weeks, and it left the both of them wondering why they'd never bothered to reach out and befriend one another. Lost time couldn't be made up for, but they could certainly try their best.

". . . My mom really loved the stars," Soobin spoke up, only hesitating slightly in the decision to tell his friend the truth the moment Yeonjun raised his gaze to meet the former's, "and when I was younger, she would always tell me about them, and she would take me outside at night to show them to me. She'd point out constellations, point out the north star to me, —everything. But on the nights when it was cloudy, we wouldn't be able to see the stars, and I would be sad. So she started buying those glow in the dark ones for me, and we would put them on my roof together. When I was twelve, my mom died of breast cancer. . . And one of the ways that I keep her memory alive is by always making sure that the stars are on my roof."

Yeonjun wasn't sure how to respond, but he thought it to be a very beautiful sentiment, and the fact that Soobin had trusted him enough to tell him that was both humbling and solidifying of their bond in the most pure way imaginable. It was something that Yeonjun knew he would never be able to forget, no matter where the world took them from that point onward.

"Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable by saying that," Soobin spoke up when Yeonjun remained silent, fearing that he'd read the room incorrectly and gone a step too far, "I didn't mean to."

"No, no," Yeonjun was quick to shake his head, his hand reaching out to grasp Soobin's for comfort as if it was second nature to the both of them, "not at all. I'm not the best with these situations, so I wasn't sure what to say, and I didn't want to be insensitive or make a mistake, but. . . I'm honored that you told me something like that. Really. It means a lot to me."

Silence fell over the both of them, but they smiled through the slight awkwardness. Yeonjun watched Soobin's face perhaps a bit too intently, and the younger male broke eye contact almost instantly, —but he never faltered in his visible expression of happiness.

Letting his skin linger against Soobin's for much longer than what was needed, Yeonjun finally pulled his hand away, but he had to wonder why everything felt so incredibly different when it came to Soobin. With Beomgyu, or any of his other friends for that matter, being so close and feeling their flesh against his wouldn't have set his insides on fire, —but in that moment Yeonjun could feel flames coursing through his veins, searing every blood cell in their path, and it was as terrifying as it was beautifully chaotic.

"I should finish packing for the trip," Soobin finally spoke up, breaking the heady silence.

"Oh, right," Yeonjun nodded, "do you need any help?"

"No, that's okay," the brunet gave a shy smile at the offer, "I just need to grab something to sleep in and an extra change of clothes, and then I should be good to go. You can shower now though if you want to, the bathroom is the first door down the hall on your left. There's towels and washcloths in the cabinet."

"Okay, thanks," Yeonjun said, leaving Soobin to rummage through his closet in search of an outfit to pack, whilst the elder male came to the slightly mortifying conclusion that he hadn't accounted for the night he'd be sleeping at Soobin's when he packed his own bag for the camping trip.

Zipping his bag back up, he tried to ignore the knots in his stomach as he made his way over to Soobin once more.

"Could I borrow something to sleep in for the night, if you don't mind?" He requested, pulling it off like a bandage.

He wasn't sure why he was so nervous about asking, as if Soobin wasn't his friend. . . As if he thought the younger male would say no to him. . .

"Sure," Soobin's reply was as quick as it was expected, and it took him very little time to pull out a pair of plaid pajama shorts and an oversized white t-shirt, "here you go."

"Thank you," Yeonjun said, taking the clothes into his own hands, "again."

Soobin giggled at the tacked on word, leaving Yeonjun to wonder why the sound made his heart skip a beat.

"I'll go take a shower now. Be right back."

With a small nod of acknowledgement, Soobin went back to choosing his clothes, whilst Yeonjun made his way for the door. He couldn't feel the brunet's lingering gaze on his back, —or perhaps he was just too far gone within his own thoughts to pay any mind to it. Either way, as soon as Soobin was left alone in his room, he couldn't stop a light smile from spreading across his face, and he found himself glancing up at the glow in the dark stars dotted along his ceiling with a newfound appreciation.

Yeonjun collected a single towel and washcloth from the cabinet, not wishing to use anything more than what was needed. He was a guest, after all, in someone else's home, and he wasn't keen on making any trouble for Soobin or any member of his family, one of which was working late and wouldn't be home until later, and the other was staying at a friend's house due to Soobin's pre planned trip. Eventually, the two of them got everything together. Both of them showered, Soobin's bags were packed, the snacks that needed to be taken on the trip were set out and ready to be loaded into Yuna's car. . . All that was left to do was sleep.

"It works, doesn't it?" Yeonjun asked.

". . . What works?" Soobin drew a blank, a confused expression painting his features.

"The little planetarium projector," the blue haired male elaborated, "it wasn't broken or anything, right?"

"No, not at all," the brunet replied, picking it up in his hand, "it works fine. Do you wanna see?"

Yeonjun nodded, a childlike sense of curiosity sparking up behind his eyes.

Soobin grinned back at him, closing his bedroom door and turning off the lights so that everything was dark. That changed, however, when he flipped the switch on the mini projector and watched as Yeonjun's face lit up with an indescribable display of wonder. From his spot on Soobin's bed, Yeonjun watched the colors change in order of the rainbow, and he admired the ever present stars in all their artificial glory. Originally, Soobin thought that his own glow in the dark stars that were always attached to his ceiling were going to hinder the experience, but in all actuality, they provided a steady stance of beauty, and they accentuated everything nicely.

"Thank you for getting if for me, Yeonjun," Soobin said as he took a seat beside of the blue haired male on the bed.

"You deserve it," Yeonjun replied, and his heart soared at the sound of his name falling from Soobin's supple lips.

The lips he'd kissed for the first time that very night, under a starry sky. . .

"We should sleep," the brunet tugged on Yeonjun's sleeve, "it's almost two in the morning."

"I can turn it off-"

"No," Soobin's light grip tightened considerably on the ivory fabric adorning Yeonjun's torso, "that's okay, let's just. . . Let's leave it on."

But won't the batteries run out? was right on the tip of Yeonjun's tongue, but Soobin's soft voice and the way he seemed to beckon for the elder boy to just lay down beside of him, close his eyes, and drift off to sleep side by side.

And who was Yeonjun to say no to that?

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝒏𝒂𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓 ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

[ Friday, November 13th. ]

Soobin woke first that morning. He didn't bother to wake Yeonjun, knowing by then that the elder male was the type to need all of the rest he could get. Slipping out of bed, he turned the mini planetarium projector off, which has surprisingly not run out of battery, and proceeded to place it on his desk. By no later than noon, everyone had been picked up and the group was well on their way to the campground. Yeonjun didn't sleep on Soobin's shoulder again, but they sat closer than need be, —knees knocking far too many times to count. Upon arriving, everyone was excited to get out and stretch their legs, and even more excited to make memories together as a group.

It was fun and games, laughter ringing out so cheerfully from each of them as day bled into nightfall. Tents were pitched, though not without many struggles (especially on Seungmin's behalf, seeing as Renjun almost took his eye out with one of their tent's flexible poles not once, —but twice.) When the world around them darkened, the sun slinking behind the horizon as the moon came to take its place in the sky, Taehyun stoked a fire and the group all sat around on the small, uncomfortable benches that the camping grounds provided for them, roasting marshmallows over the open flame.

"Yuna, it's in your hair again," Minju informed the younger female, who looked over at her with a bewildered expression (and smudges of chocolate from the s'more she was chowing down on dotted along the sides of her lips.

Everyone laughed, —not at Yuna, but with her, and Yeonjun couldn't help but to think that the astronomy club felt like a second family to him in a way that basketball team never had. There was warmth amongst the company of so many kind souls, and Yeonjun got lost in the atmosphere. He hadn't been camping since he was much younger, and while Beomgyu had oftentimes begged he and Kai to go with him one summer, that just hadn't happened yet. . . Still, the not so distant chirping of crickets, the periodic croaks of a frog somewhere in the weeds, and the hefty glow of the fire lit before him was almost painfully nostalgic. It only took one glance at Soobin, who was carefully putting a marshmallow on a stick, for Yeonjun to know that it was going to be one of those nights that he would remember forever.

It was one of those nights he would look back on in a few years and think "I miss that." But even so, he hoped that he wouldn't have to say the same about Soobin. He wondered if they would still be friends in five years time, or if they would forget one another swiftly. . . Yeonjun wondered if they would be off in the world together, maybe sharing an apartment in the city. He wondered if they would come home to one another each day, sleep in the same bed each night, —if they would always look up at the stars together and think that the world was in a proper place simply because they knew themselves to be under the same sky.

"This is nice," Yeonjun finally spoke up, his soft gaze falling on Soobin's pretty face as it was illuminated by the yellowish light of the campfire.

Soobin glanced over, giving the elder male a sheepish smile.

"It is," he agreed, and wholeheartedly so.

Between the crackling fire and the rustling of the leafless tree branches above them, there was a longing in the gentle November breeze that caressed them like a mother to a newborn child. Something about Soobin, something about Yeonjun. . . Something about them, whatever they could classify themselves as. There didn't seem to be a rush, —no urgent need to put a ring on Soobin's finger or climb into their tend and rush into something that neither of them were ready for. They were just two kids experiencing something magical for the first time, and it was only then that they had to wonder if all those fantasy movies they loved watching as a child were inspired by such feelings.

Soobin could hear the song of the glittering stars overhead. Yeonjun could hear the rustling of their youth.

"I'll miss you," the brunet said, voice low, but more than loud enough for Yeonjun to hear his words.

His heart clenched.

It was in the cards from the very beginning that Yeonjun wasn't going to be staying past the point of his ankle healing, and it had been more than long enough by then. That meant it was nearing time for Yeonjun's departure from the club, —for better or worse.

"Me too," he replied, short, to the point, but nowhere near indicative of everything Yeonjun truly wanted to say.

"Soobin, Yeonjun!" Minju called out to them, breaking the boys out of their own little world and forcing them back into reality, "come get in the picture!"

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝒏𝒂𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓 ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

"You're thinking," Soobin said later that night as the two boys lay side by side in their shared tent.

A tent made for stargazing, as it were, —with see through plastic for the roof that allowed Yeonjun and Soobin to see right up to the heavens.

The elder male hummed in acknowledgment.

"I'm thinking."

"About what?" Soobin edged the conversation along, keeping a tempered tone so that his question didn't come off as if he was asking too much.

He wanted to make sure that Yeonjun knew he didn't have to answer if he wasn't prepared to do so.

"Everything," the blue haired male lolled his head to the side, and they caught one another's eyes like starlit lovers.

Soobin pursed his lips into a tight line.

"Your ankle is doing better, right? That means you can go back to playing basketball soon," he forced a smile, but there was something else lurking behind his eyes, —something much less happy than the front he was trying to uphold.

"Yeah. . . Guess so," Yeonjun replied, and while he was absolutely ecstatic about being able to play again, so excited to get back out there on the court with his team, there was a part of him that had begun to dread the day when he could be a full time star player once more.

Sure, he loved basketball. He knew he did, and just because he'd been injured and hadn't played for a little while didn't mean he was keen on being lazy now. Rather, Yeonjun was very happy that he'd soon be reunited with everyone as their shoes squeaked against the polished court, and he was more than prepared to work his tail end off to make up for lost time. However, within that would come sacrifices, and while Yeonjun had been perfectly okay dropping just about anything for the game he loved so dearly before. . . Things were just different for him now. Things had changed. He'd come to realize that he truly did like astronomy, and he loved being a part of Soobin's club. He loved the trips they all went on together, from big to small, he loved the relaxed nature of group, he loved the conversations they could have for hours on end without anyone being excluded. . .

He loved the astronomy club, and he simply wasn't ready to give it up.

"You don't seem as happy as I thought you'd be about it," Soobin noted, "is everything okay?"

"Well. . . I just don't want to have to give this club up," Yeonjun admitted honestly as he sat up, to which Soobin did the same, "at first, I just needed a club to kill time with. I needed something to fill basketball's place in my life so that I didn't drive myself crazy. But now things are different. This isn't something I think of as just something to pass the time, —it's something I'm actually, genuinely interested in learning more and more about. I love hearing you talk about the stars, I love this club, and I love. . . Being with you."

He hesitated, but the words came out before he could filter them anyway. And it was true, in every sense of the word. Yeonjun loved being with Soobin, in so many ways and for so many different reasons. Too many to get straight, if he was being honest with himself, —and with Soobin.

"I feel like I let basketball control my life because I thought I wasn't capable of anything else without it. I met all my closest friends through basketball, I kept my grades up so that I could always stay on the team, I kept myself healthy so that I could play at the top of my game. . . But I did all of that without basketball this time. I joined this club, and I didn't have basketball to fall back on until my ankle got better. Almost seven weeks, and I haven't stepped foot on that court to actually play, but I've made so many new friends, and my grades are still completely steady. In fact, in a few of my classes, I've raised the grades recently, —so they're higher than they have been in my entire life. Even with the ankle injury and not being able to work out like I wanted, I still managed to keep myself healthy by eating well and keeping myself happy. I did all of it without basketball for the first time in I don't know how long, and I've really come to understand that I don't need basketball to do any of it like I originally thought I did."

"So. . . Are you saying you want to quit playing?" Soobin inquired.

"No, not that," Yeonjun shook his head, "I still love basketball, and I'm pretty good at it, so quitting now after all these years would be a waste, really. I'm just saying that I'd really like to keep other avenues open for myself. So, even though I said I wouldn't be staying permanently when I joined. . . I'd like to ask you, Mr President of the Astronomy Club; —would you let me stay for good?"

Soobin smiled warmly, and Yeonjun could have sworn that he saw stars in that boy's eyes. Snaking his arms around the elder males neck, Soobin pulled Yeonjun into a tight hug.

"Of course I will," Soobin whispered, "you didn't even have to ask."

Fingers curling around the fabric of the younger's shirt, Yeonjun did his best to press his body as close to Soobin's as humanly possible. He wanted to test the limits, wanted to pull him so close that their skin would sink into one another's, —wanted to watch as they melted into one.

"Yeonjun," Soobin spoke up, and the elder boy could feel the vibrations of those words in the taller's firm chest, "I have something to ask you too."

The strength that it took for Yeonjun to be so open that night really rubbed off on Soobin. Each time, things were always one step ahead of him, and for once, he wanted to be the one to make a move. He wanted to be the one to act on something that they'd both been feeling for long enough to come to terms with it, —something that had blossomed among goodnight texts, bashful glances, warm words, and a singular kiss that left them both reeling and begging for more.

"Okay," Yeonjun responded quickly, "I'm all ears."

"Would you be my boyfriend?" Soobin dared, not missing a single beat.

Despite everything they'd done together up to that point, the growing closeness that was just too close to be labeled as simple friendship, —the question still shocked Yeonjun in every sense of the word. Really, he figured that he'd be the one to ask eventually, but there Soobin was, cocked, loaded, and ready to shoot his shot.

Pulling away from the long lasting embrace, Yeonjun looked Soobin directly in the eyes. He could tell that the younger boy was incredibly nervous, and who on Earth could blame him?

"Your boyfriend?" Yeonjun inquired, "you want to be boyfriends?"

"Yes," Soobin nodded, "I do."

"Then your wish," Yeonjun leaned in close, the tips of their noses a needle's width away from touching ever so gently, "is my command."

Soobin barely had the chance to breathe out a sigh of relief, the tightening of his chest informing him of the fact that he'd been holding his breath. Yeonjun's hand graced the skin of the younger male's neck, fingers raking up to bury themselves in Soobin's chocolate strands of hair. Tilting his head to the side, Yeonjun pressed their lips together, and Soobin followed his lead. It wasn't fast or desperate, —just a genuine expression of love between two people, no matter their gender or what label they placed their own sexualities under. Even if the world around them hadn't come as far as they wished, even if the society they'd been born into wouldn't understand them right from the start. . . They didn't mind. Good things, as they knew very well, take time, and until their world could come around, they would find refuge within the little universe they'd crafted together, —just for them.