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Da On knows that his boyfriend can come off as a little weird to others. His straightforwardness, directness, and social awkwardness might make others uncomfortable but strangely enough, those are the traits that Da On absolutely adores in Tae Kyung. It was refreshing to have someone who is able to speak his mind and call him out on things that Da On may not even notice. With all of that aside, when Da On returned back to their seat with a slice of cake in hand and their drinks, Tae Kyung was looking offside, eyebrows furrowing with a faraway look in his eyes.
Now that’s weird to Da On. Sure, Tae Kyung tends to drift into wonderland once in awhile but the look that he was putting on seemed a little too intense for Tae Kyung. Was Math really that hard for him?
“Why? Are you having trouble?” Da On asked when he finally settled down in his seat opposite Tae Kyung.
When Tae Kyung shook his head, Da On frowned a little, confused at what could be preoccupying his boyfriend’s mind. The frown deepened when a familiar name came out from Tae Kyung’s mouth. It seems to be happening a lot lately. The mention of his vice-president and how Tae Kyung apparently can’t seem to take his mind off of him. Da On knows he was being irrational but it’s hard not to be when every single conversation he and Tae Kyung has seemed to be centered around the other boy.
“What do you think Da On?” Tae Kyung innocently asked, blinking his eyes at Da On.
“Huh?” Da On said as he snapped out of his inner musings.
“They say when a person changes suddenly, it’s time for them to die,” Tae Kyung continued, clearly unaware that he lost Da On for a moment. Honestly, at this point, Tae Kyung was probably just thinking out loud.
“You don’t think something will happen, do you?” The way Tae Kyung was looking back at Da On, sincerely concern about their mutual friend, he couldn’t help but melt a little.
“Aigoo,” Da On cooed as he reached out and affectionately ruffled his boyfriend’s hair, “Shin Woo has a hard time expressing himself and that’s probably just his way of attempting to make mends.”
“Don’t worry too much about it. You should save all that worry for me and how am I going to finish this slice of cake,” Da On swiftly changes the subject and brought Tae Kyung’s attention to the cake he got.
Tae Kyung smiled softly at his boyfriend, taking a hint and reaching out for the fork to get a bite out of the cake.
“It’s a new flavour that I thought we could both try together,” Da On said as he watched his boyfriend have a taste.
“Mmhmm,” Tae Kyung hummed his approval, “it’s good.”
“Is it? It must be really good to have it all over your face,” Da On teased. He leaned forward to wipe away the frosting on Tae Kyung’s lips. Tae Kyung’s breath hitched, eyes widened when Da On’s thumb made contact with his lips. Instead of pulling away immediately, Da On allowed his hand to hover near Tae Kyung’s lips. He gulped slightly, taking in Tae Kyung’s glossy eyes and pink lips. When his mind began to thread over dangerous territories, Da On decided it was time to pull away before he did something stupid like licking off the cream on his finger in public.
“I missed this,” Tae Kyung said, breaking the silence as Da On wiped the cream away with a piece of tissue.
“Hmm?”
“Going on dates. It’s been awhile since we’ve been on a date. I mean, we get to see each other more since I’m part of the council. But it’s not the same as actually being together.”
Da On understood what Tae Kyung was trying to say. He felt partially guilty for being the main reason for not being able to go on dates as often as both of them liked. “I know what you mean. It’s been an adjustment for both of us ever since school started. It’s like being able to be together every day over the break to suddenly having other priorities.”
“But I’m glad to have you in the student council,” Da On sincerely said, “even if it meant that our alone time is being shared with two other people.”
“How about we finish up our tutoring session so that we can go for a date date afterward?” Da On suggested as he picks his pencil, “There’s this restaurant that I’ve been wanting to bring you to, and after that, we can have a walk in the park. How does that sound?”
Leaning forward, Da On lowered his volume to a whisper, “and my parents are on a work trip and won’t be back until Wednesday night.”
”Maybe we could end our date at my place?”
Tae Kyung gave a small smile and nodded his head shyly, “that sounds perfect.”
Standing outside the empty classroom which is served as the school’s storage room, Da On wished he could go back to the weekends where he and Tae Kyung were literally inseparable.
Perks of having the house to himself most of the time, Da On thought to himself dryly. Reassuring Mr Seo that they’ll get the job done, their teacher left them to handle the task on their own. He surveyed the dusty classroom before looking at his friends (and boyfriend). “Well, let’s get to work. The sooner we get everything done, the sooner we get to have meat.”
“Meat!” Namgung cheered, throwing his fist into the air, “free meat!”
Chuckling at the former, Da On glanced at Tae Kyung who was looking at him. “Be careful,” Da On mouthed to which the latter smiled in acknowledgment and mouthing back a “you too.”. Tae Kyung then made his way towards a pair of wooden easels that was laying against the desks. Grabbing hold of it with both hands, Tae Kyung attempted to lift it up but to no avail. He frowned and shook his and attempted to try again. He wasn’t going to let himself be defeated by a piece of wood, a piece of heavy wood.
Of course, his boyfriend would pick one of the heavier things in the room. Just as Da On was about to take a step towards Tae Kyung to offer his help, someone else took larger strides and reached Tae Kyung first.
“Move,” Shin Woo said, gently pushing Tae Kyung to the side to pick up the easels that Tae Kyung was struggling with.
“Hey,” Tae Kyung called out in bewilderment.
Lips pursing slightly, “I can carry them too.”
“Then stop bumbling about,” Shin Woo told the latter off, face stoic.
“I get it. I’ll carry them.” Tae Kyung raised his hand out, signaling Shin Woo to pass him back the easel that he was carrying.
Da On watched the entire exchange quietly, watching how Tae Kyung pouted after Shin Woo who walked away without another word. The look that Tae Kyung was bearing was as if someone took his favorite toy away from him. Seeing that pouting isn’t lead him anywhere, Tae Kyung turned around and decided to place his focus on the stack of chairs on top of the desks, which he had more success in lifting it up on his own, albeit with some struggle.
This time, Da On didn’t bother lifting a muscle to offer his help because he knows…
“Gosh, just move over,” Shin Woo complained when he returned back to the classroom and saw Tae Kyung attempting to carry the chairs.
“I won’t let you take it from me,” Tae Kyung warned, tightening his grip on the chairs.
“Forget it then,” Shin Woo nonchalantly said as he sidestepped away from the boy. Tae Kyung grinned victoriously to himself. And in a flash, the chairs that he was holding on quickly went to Shin Woo’s possession.
Da On doesn’t offer his help because he knows that Shin Woo is more than ready to jump in. While it seems that Shin Woo is beginning to show his interest in Tae Kyung, Da On couldn’t find it in himself to step in and assert himself in the situation. It was nice seeing Tae Kyung comfortable with the people around him, more open, and more himself. The Tae Kyung that he knows from before wouldn’t even be bothered to argue with Shin Woo.
“Give it to me,” Shin Woo asked when Tae Kyung managed to carry another chair on his own.
“I don’t want to,” Tae Kyung whined, tugging the chair that he was carrying away from Shin Woo’s stealing hands.
“Ya Da On, stop stealing my popcorn!” Tae Kyung complained when the latter managed to sneak his hand into the bowl he was carrying. It was movie night for the two of them at Da On’s place and Da On had the audacity to attempt to steal Tae Kyung’s popcorn while Tae Kyung was focused on the movie.
“You said you didn’t want any snacks when we were at the store,” Tae Kyung pouted, “now you go bare and the consequence of being popcorn-less instead of stealing from me.”
Da On playfully stuck on his tongue at his boyfriend before quickly grabbing another handful of popcorn from the bowl and placing it into his mouth.
“Aish,” Tae Kyung grumbled. Desperate time calls for desperate measures. Tae Kyung placed the bowl aside and grabbed Da On’s face with both of his hands.
“My popcorn,” Tae Kyung said seriously, making sure that Da On was looking at him.
“Do I have your attention now?” Da On asked, a teasing smile present on his face.
“Huh?”
Before Tae Kyung could ask further, Da On leaned forward and place a kiss on Tae Kyung’s lips.
“I just wanted to make sure I still have your attention.”
“Da On, they’re leaving me out again!” Namgung cried as he pointed at the pair who were still arguing.
“It’s a good thing they get along,” Da On remarked, although the pinch in his heart is telling him otherwise, “I don’t think it was good for anybody when they were fighting.”
Namgung stopped his whining when he realized that Da On was right. “You’re right, I can eat in peace later.”
Da On smiled melancholy at the scene in front of him. While he is more than happy to let Tae Kyung expand his social circle to beyond himself, Da On never imagined that his social circle is going to consist a boy who doesn’t seem to see Tae Kyung as just a friend.
Tae Kyung-ah, do I still have your attention?