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“Your form is off,” Taehoon grumbled. His legs shot towards Hobin’s. Dodging was out of the question since it looked to be a blur until he felt the pain hit him. It’s as powerful as it was the first day he got kicked. The pain rippled throughout his body, mainly focused where Taehoon had kicked him.
He truly didn’t hold back. Before training through hell, he might've been able to withstand it, but in a much weaker state he was in his legs buckled and he fell to the floor. He could hear the thud before he could recognize the red flooring. It has been a rough hour; just barely being able to keep up with Taehoon.
Not even having to look up; Hobin could see Taehoons body sweating closely to what he was. Instead of collapsing as he had, he looked the same as when they walked in. Hobin’s tired body is still cursing for asking Taehoon to train early in the morning. He couldn’t have expected Taehoon to wake him up when the sun was barely rising.
“Get up, ya don’t have time to rest.” Hobin's ribs were poked by what he would think is Taehoon’s foot. He was just glad he landed on his back instead of his stomach. Groans shot out of Hobin’s lips as he wanted to signal to the taller man he was just done.
Of course, he ignored the shorter man's request. Multiple times.
At this point Hobin was just sore, no longer panting, but still sweating. “Just… give me a minute,” he let out. His eyes were threatening to close any minute now. Too tired to care about the tsk Taehoon directed towards him. Training usually didn’t last this long or was to the point where Hobin was ready to beg to leave. He already tried, Taehoon ignored him every time he did.
Was Taehoon mad?
One memory hit Hobin in the head when he had asked themselves that.
----
It had been a surprise rain, so when everyone ran for cover they hadn’t expected to meet Taehoon at a cafe. Him, Jiksae, and Gauel had come into the cafe to hide from the rain. They saw Taehoon near the window just sitting alone and sipping on something. He was wearing earbuds, and just looked peaceful.
Too bad Gauel hadn’t seen where she was going and bumped into his table. Hobin wanted to smack her, but they were in public. Taehoon’s drink fell, spilling it all over himself, wanting to fight whoever decided to bump him; he looked back only to see them. His face dropped from pissed to mild annoyance. With Jiksae hiding behind Hobin and Gauel rushing to get paper towels.
The taller man wasn’t sure what to do so just waved them towards him. Thinking of what he was going to do with the gang. Jiksae was the first one to speak, profusely saying his apology. It ended with Taehoon making a deal with them. The deal was for Hobin to pay for a new drink and Jiksae having to clean the mess.
Both couldn’t complain since it was either that or all of them getting kicked for Taehoon starting a fight. “So, why are you here.” It was barely a conversion as the yellow-haired man was cleaning. Both Hobin and Gauel went to the cash register to buy drinks. Not even thinking Jiksae opened his mouth to ask Taehoon’s opinion on Hobin and Gauel. “What?” “You think they would be cute as a couple?” he only turned around for a minute, but that minute was enough to show the cameraman a bloodlust gaze.
Once they've returned, Hobin thought of being a bit of a prankster and got Taehoon the most ridiculous drinks out there. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much of a selection, so decked-out hot chocolate was the best option. Raising an eyebrow at the drink option, he didn’t say anything and just took it.
Not wanting to find a different table at the crowded cafe they decided to sit next to the tall man. The conversation went as normal with less of a threat to kick their teeth in. Until Taehoon remembered the question Jiksae asked. He couldn’t let the girl ever take Hobin away from him, so he decided to put his arm around him. Reaching for his shoulder, but in a way, it could also be seen he just wanted his arm to relax on the other seat. Hobin being too distracted to see Taehoon's intentions.
He looked at the cameraman to signal to him 'he’s mine’. Him shooting back a confused stare, Taehoon would take that as a sign he won. “Hey.” A voice signaling to everyone that someone else was there. “Oh… hey Bomi,” Hobin answered back softly. Everyone could see his crush being apparent except Hobin himself. That fact in itself put a frown on Taehoon’s face.
Being tired of Bomi being there Taehoon used his finger to dab into his whip cream and smear it on Hobin’s face. Being confused he turned around to face Taehoon laughing his ass off. A stupid joke in itself, but making it worse he decided to lick the whipped cream off. Silence fell onto the group as Bomi laughed nervously and backed off. Sensing the mood being off Taehoon got up with a smirk and decided to leave.
Hobin in full shock didn’t respond until after the tall man had left. Being full-on confused and embarrassed he looked back at his 2 friends on what they had to say. Jiksae not looking at him in the eyes and Gauel whispering ‘the genre has changed’
---
That couldn’t have been it since it was Hobin being mad not the other way around. That still didn’t change Taehoon’s cold glare at him. Just daring the small boy to do something. One small nudge with his foot was just enough to push Hobin just to ask him at this point. “Why?” Taehoon’s body flinched back.
He just stared at the younger boy. “Why what?” he finally said. His shoulders were tense, as was Hobin. Hobin's body started to turn away from Taehoon, he could feel the pressure on his ribs now. “Hey,” the older man nudges him once more with his foot now poking his back, “What’s wrong?” His voice was even, too even. Bordering on concern and commanding.
Taehoon’s concern forced him to drop down onto the floor, as he no longer towered over Hobin. The tall man, now being forced into unknown territory, decides the best option was to be more gentle. “Hey...” Now much softer, “What’s wrong.” What Taehoon didn’t expect was Hobin to scream. It wasn’t very loud or long, but the fact he did made him lose his footwork. Making him sit on the floor fully with his legs spread out, and knees in the air.
With the most courage Hobin could muster he says, “You're mad at me. Why? I should be the one that’s mad at you for doing that thing… at the cafe.”
“Oh.”
“That’s it?” Rising, Hobin turns around to face him in the eyes, bringing his legs up into the fetal position. “I had to suffer hells training because you were pissed at me for doing nothing and the only thing you could say for yourself is ‘oh’.” His voice was breaking. He could feel the wetness of his cheeks.
This situation being foreign to both parties had increased the pressure in the room. “I-... I’m not sure what you want me to say tho...” It was more of a question than a statement. His voice just begged Hobin to answer for him.
“Why are you mad at me?”
“Do you not remember what happened after leaving the cafe?”
Silence fell onto the room as they both just sat there uncomfortably.
---
You could see Hobin was beyond pissed at Taehoon’s stunt. Not even thinking he got up to chase after the cheeky bastard. In his mad dash, he could see him at a corner. “WAIT!” yelled out the shorter boy. Curiosity got the best of the tall man and he looked up to see someone tackle him to the floor.
The streets were close to empty, the rain had just recently stopped so not many people were on the streets. That didn’t matter to either of the men as they were lost in their own world.
“Why did you do that?” Hobin asked. Not getting up until the man answered. “Shouldn we ya get up before I answer ya.” Pulling out his signature smirk to charm the man. To his chagrin, it didn’t work.
“Why did you do that?” Hobin asked. His patience became thin. He knew Taehoon was at best an asshole, so why did he have to ruin his chance with Bomi. “What are you talking about?” Taehoon asked. He kept up the innocent act. Not once acting like he was at fault.
“You, you. AHHH. Why did you do that while Bomi was with me.” Hobin got to his point with some fluster. Blush creeping onto him.
“Hmm… because I wanted to.”
“Why do you always act like that.”
His voice is getting a bit louder.
“What?” At this point, Taehoon wasn't sure what was happening. Confusion becoming adamant, and that pissed Hobin even more.
It looked like he wanted to just scream at Taehoon, but people were near. They couldn't get away with just having a screaming match in the middle of the streets. Not like that's going to happen. Taehoon preferred to fight then yell. At least it wasn't the others around. Hobin forced himself to calm down. After all, both of them had walked towards the dojo because Hobin left his stuff back there.
The walk after that was filled with awkward silence. Taehoon wanting to act how they normally would and Hobin just wanting to be as far away from him as possible.
---
They haven't talked about it since; there was nothing to talk about.
Hobin said sorry a few nights ago, while Taehoon just left him on read. He didn't feel like he had to respond. Taehoon never realized he had pent-up anger at Hobin until they had to practice.
Still, Hobin was sweating on the floor, and Taehoon was just staring at him. Hobin looked around, anything to distract him from the silence. The situation was not something he liked being in. Not wanting to stay standing he left out a sigh and sat down. He sat right next to Hobin who just looked tired more than anything. Any words on Hobin’s mind died the second they ventured onto his lips
With nothing to lose other than their friendship, Taehoon was the first one to speak.
“The day at the cafe…”
His palms were getting sweaty and the words he wanted to say were stuck in his throat. Being nervous was a rare occasion, for someone who lived by their rules. He looked back at Hobin, to see his back still turned. He looks like he's either listening or sleeping. A risk Taehoon would take. He continued.
“The reason why I did it was that…” What could he say? That he was jealous at something so small? “I-” Taehoon tried saying. This time Hobin actually looked back. While his eyes still were drooping; he looked more confident than Taehoon was.
“I've never seen you act like this,” and that caused him to just laugh at Taehoon. Not a full-on crackle but more of a giggle. Taehoon thought it was kind of cute. He wanted to hear more of it, even if his pride suffered because of it. Shutting his mouth he awaited for Hobin to speak.
“... Were you jealous?” he said in a meek whisper.
At this point, Taehoon would usually just talk high and mighty; saying that the other person was crazy. All of the words he wanted to say died on his tongue. He hadn’t expected that from Hobin. The small boy looked as if he wanted to run, but his sore legs wouldn’t allow him to go far.
Taehoon couldn't do anything but sit in the silence that he created. It was time, he had to just rip the bandaid so just nodded slowly Hoping Hobin wouldn't notice. He did. “Why?” Hobin asked. Still, in a soft whisper-like tone, he used before. “I’m not sure.” Taehoon's voice was much more even and confident than what he actually felt. A bad habit of his.
He wasn’t good around with crushes. He wasn't good around people, period. He grew up not having any friends; he wasn't equipped with how to deal with emotions or emotional people. Both came out when Hobin was near him.
Taehoon had to ask since it has been eating him up since the fight. “How do I act?” he uttered. Cocking his head sideways.
“What?” It was Hobin's time to be confused. “What are you talking about?”
“When you left the cafe, you told me ‘Why do you always act like that’. And I want to know how I act.”
“I-” He hadn't known that his word impacted the almighty Taehoon like that. Even during the fight, Taehoon acted as if he was over with it, to begin with. That the fight was just something he had to deal with at the moment and could forget about it. Hobin had to remind himself that Taehoon was the reason the fight started in the first place.
Meekly he said, “You always act like we're together.”
“Do you want me to stop?”
That caught Hobin off guard. He hadn’t expected Taehoon to just be forward with that. Hobin knew what Taehoon was asking. It was a really simple question after all, but his brain just couldn't catch up.
“What?” he asked. Taehoon repeated himself, something he doesn't do to many people. “Do you want me to stop?” It was such a simple question that he just couldn't answer.
Did he like it when Taehoon acted like that? At some points, it was annoying and downright creepy. But sometimes it felt that Taehoon was the only one who actually wanted him for who he was. Hobin knows he isn't the most attractive. So when someone acts like they're interested in him, it felt great.
He didn't even know if he could look Taehoon in the eyes now, so he just shook his head slowly. It's not gay if he's not attracted to Taehoon, right? Right.
The thing was, he did like Taehoon. Not in a friend kind of way. More like, he wondered more than one occasion what it would feel like for someone to protect him instead of him protecting others. How great it would feel to be in someone's arms, and to just stay like that.
“Hmm. Hobin, you're some weird motherfucker. You ask me why I act like this but then you do this shit.” Looking straight ahead he could see Taehoon looking away… and blushing. Muttering to himself. It was a bad thing for Taehoon that Hobin knew how to read lips. It had been essential if he had to listen to bullies, but couldn't hear what they said,
Taehoon muttered ‘It's a bad thing I like you then.’ Taehoon liked Hobin? In what way?
Getting a surge of energy he stood up as quick as he could. Both were just as confused why he did so. Both could notice his legs visibly shaking from their intensive training.
He wanted to sit back down, but explaining why he did that would be more embarrassing. “I....” he couldn't finish his sentence before the body discovered the floor. His legs just gave out on him, and Taehoon just massively confused. Hobin decided the best thing to do was just cover his face with his hands, and wait for death.
The taller man just sat there with his mouth a bit open. Not knowing what to do. “Are you okay?” He asked. Not getting a response he sees Hobin's hands go straight for his face as he just lays there.
“You're a fucking weirdo, but at least, you can pull it off,” Taehoon says as he makes his way to Hobin. He pulled on Hobin’s hand; it wasn’t a hard task to get down. Taehoon looked down to see him red as a tomato. “I’m guessing you heard what I muttered then,” Taehoon concluded. Shaking his head fast didn't seem to convince the other man.
Muttering ‘I might regret this.’ he leaned down.
Hobin just squinted one of his eyes in time to see Taehoon lightly peak his lips. It was a moment that made Taehoon look more human. There wasn’t any danger around him, he almost looked… gentle. The only other time Hobin saw this was when he had passed out after their fight.
Hobin's face heating up even more made Taehoon chuckle, and just call him cute. Just clenching his eyes closed. He went back to covering his face with his hands. He could hear Taehoon slowly getting up.
After walking a few steps, Taehoon could hear a small wait be spoken. He saw Hobin getting to his knees, struggling to get up. Just looking at him made him want to kiss him again, but he knew he already crossed a line when he did that in the first place.
“What do I put you as my contact number then.” Hobin cried out. “What?” he asked half giggling. This really was the idiot he decided to fall in love with.
“Do you...do-o you want me to change it to an idiot or-” Not being able to speak another word, he could feel Taehoons lips back onto his. He pulled back a bit. “You can call me your boyfriend,” he smirked. No words being able to come out of his mouth he nodded his head.
He was happy.
Extra:
“Can you even get up?” Taehoon asked. His concern was minimal but his smile showed off his cockiness.
“N-” Before he could finish he felt himself rising higher.
A squeak left him as he could see Taehoon caring for him, bridal style.
As Hobin was getting close to leaving this place he could hear Taehoon say, “Does this make you the bot-”
A hit to the head answered his question.