Work Text:
the doorbell chimes, and taehyun looks up from his assignment as subtly as he can.
“taehyunnie— i am so sorry, yeonjun-hyung literally almost drove us into a tree while getting here, have you been waiting long?”
taehyun glares playfully at the flustered boy as he sits beside him. “hyung, if you were going to be this late, i might as well have studied in my dorm.”
soobin smiles sheepishly, another apology attempting to leave his mouth, but taehyun waves it away and redirects his attention back to the mess of papers in front of him.
“it’s fine, hyung, it really hasn’t been that long,” he says nonchalantly, although the empty cup of tea on the table may beg to differ, “just help me fix your part of the presentation? you know i dont really like internet cafes.”
a yell of triumph sounds from a vague corner of the room, making both of them wince.
“yeah, sorry hyunnie, just this once ? yeonjun-hyung’s been stressing about this competition for ages.”
a small smile forms at the corners of taehyun’s lips as he shakes his head fondly. their hyung has been exhausting himself recently, with a dance competition barely hours away, and even if he hasnt seen yeonjun in a while, the dark circles under soobin’s worried eyes say enough.
“are you sure you guys don’t need any help? i don’t mind coming over—“
“taehyun, i’ve told you! it’s fine,” soobin insists gently, “you have your finals next month, we’ll be fine, we always are.”
taehyun frowns at soobin, but drops the subject when the older boy shoots him a stern look. taehyun turns back to his assignment, a crease in between his eyebrows, and huffs out a loud sigh before attempting to finish his work.
they do their project in silence, and time slips by like sand in an hourglass, the endless chatter of the cafe slowly fading into the background. it’s when soobin knocks over his coffee while attempting to stretch his arms that taehyun finally blinks out of his focus, because it spills right onto taehyun’s lap.
“hyung—“
“oh my god, taehyun, are you okay?”
he is not okay. he woke up with a headache, university is destroying him, and these were his last pair of clean pants.
“i’m fine,” taehyun is not fine. in fact, he’s pretty sure if one more thing goes wrong, he’ll burst into tears.
soobin flutters haphazardly around him, apologies falling from his lips. “taehyun, i am so sorry, i—“ he grabs a tissue and pats helplessly at the stain forming on his shirt, “ok, it’s okay, just—“
sensing that his hyung is on the verge of panicking, taehyun sucks in a breath and pulls himself together. “hyung, it’s okay,” he says calmly, contrary to the anxiousness that’s burning in his chest, “i’ll just go to the washroom, it’s fine,”
soobin tries to speak but taehyun is up and headed straight to the men’s room before he could even get a word out.
taehyun rushes to the mirror to inspect the stain, sighing in relief when he sees that it’s mostly on his shirt, and starts to dab at it with the tapwater. he’s too focused on trying to get his shirt clean to hear the door creak open.
“hello?”
taehyun jumps, startled, turning to see a man, probably around his age, with dark, fluffly hair and a concerned look in his eyes, looking unsure at the door. he has a box of tissues in one hand, looking at taehyun like a lost puppy, and if taehyun were in any other situation, he might’ve found the other cute.
“i’m sorry i didn’t mean to scare you but, uh, i work here, and i saw..” the stranger trails off, gaze straying to the damp spot on taehyun’s shirt.
shame flushes through taehyun’s veins and he prays it doesnt show on his face, “oh, it’s okay, i’m fine—“
“you cant go home like that! come, let me help.”
taehyun hesitates, freezing as the man strides over. this is new, he thinks. taehyun stays unmoving when the other bends down a bit, softly grabbing at the hem of his shirt. his fingers graze the barest edge of his waist through the fabric, and for some reason, taehyun’s heart stutters.
“coffee’s a bitch to get out,” he mumbles half-heartedly, scrutinising the stain before gently patting at it with the tissue. taehyun makes a soft sound of agreement. why is he doing this?
“are you okay?” taehyun blinks, making eye contact with the man, who was wearing a small, reassuring smile. “it was hot coffee, right? are you hurt?”
“i— i’m okay,” taehyun says, eyes darting across the man’s features before dropping down to the stain on his shirt. the other follows his gaze before huffing frustratedly.
“i got most of it out, but it’s still visible,” he says, like the stain had personally offended him. taehyun stiffles a laugh.
“it was worse before,” he answers, “so thank you,”
the other lets out an unsatisfied hum, but stands up anyway. at full height, he’s just barely taller than taehyun, an upset scrunch to his eyebrows. taehyun wants to smooth it away.
“it’s no problem,” he mumbles, before facing taehyun again, and his head does a tiny, quick tilt that taehyun finds absolutely adorable.
“you’re really pretty.”
what now.
it takes a second for taehyun to register what he heard, but as soon as he does, heat flares up taehyun’s neck and his mouth falls open the slightest bit, and the man must’ve just realised what he’s said because his eyes widen and he waves his arms furiously.
“no! no, wait— i didn’t mean— well, i did, but i— oh fuck—“
the worker slaps a hand over his face, clearly cursing himself out, a blush high on his cheeks, and taehyun, despite the mess that is today, is inexplicably endeared.
“okay, let’s try again,” taehyun hears the man mutter to himself, and his fondness for the unknown stranger grows.
“my name’s beomgyu—“ the man starts, and—
beomgyu
taehyun likes it.
“i’m really sorry, i don’t know what came over me, i—“ he begins, but cuts himself off when he sees taehyun giggling into his hands.
“oh no,” taehyun says, a shy grin on his face, “do continue.”
“oh,” beomgyu says dumbly, and the corners of his lips tug into a playful smile as taehyun sees the confidence physically seep back into his body, and suddenly, taehyun finds himself smiling behind his fingers at a cute boy in the men’s room of some rowdy internet cafe. “what’s your name then, pretty boy? or do angels not have one?”
and god, that is disgusting. if this were any other day or any other boy, taehyun would’ve have socked him directly in the gut, but there’s something about this one, about beomgyu, that pulls taehyun just a tad bit closer.
still, taehyun makes a face. “i’m taehyun, and i bet you say that to all the cute boys.”
“none of them are as beautiful as you though,” beomgyu purrs,
and then, he winks. horribly, yet charming nonetheless.
taehyun is outraged, at the audacity and at the giddy smile that threatens to creep across his face.
“oh my god, that’s gross—“
“you like it—“ he’s right and it’s infuriating.
taehyun rubs a hand over his eyes, willing away the smile on his face.
“you’re prettier when you blush.”
taehyun looks back up, a snarky retort on the tip of his tongue, but he stops when he sees the look on beomgyu’s face, soft and sincere instead of the smirk he was expecting, and an entire swarm of butterflies erupt in his stomach.
beomgyu looks pleased with himself, and opens his mouth to speak before—
“taehyunnie! are you okay? it’s already five—“
taehyun blanches, they’re supposed to see yeonjun in thirty minutes.
he meets beomgyu’s eyes, fumbling for an excuse. thankfully, beomgyu seems to read his mind, and says in a low voice, “you have to leave?”
taehyun nods jerkily, ignoring the tiny ache in his chest when beomgyu steps to the side.
“hurry,” beomgyu reprimands, a tiny quirk on his lips, despite the slight slump to his shoulders, “you’re late!”
taehyun breaks out of his stupor and rushes to the door, only to hesitate a couple steps before the exit.
beomgyu tilts his head, confused, before he follows taehyun’s gaze to the still visible stain on his shirt and lets an audible sound of understanding.
“wait a minute, you could—“
without letting taehyun say a word, beomgyu pulls off his hoodie, offering it to the stunned boy. “you don’t have to, but here,” he mumbles, head bowed.
taehyun gapes, fighting the voice in his head that screaming at him to snatch the hoodie and run, but when beomgyu raises his eyes to look at taehyun through his bangs, taehyun all but melts.
“yeah, okay,” he agrees, a small smile blooming on his face, “yeah—“
beomgyu’s expression brightens, and taehyun thinks he’s so, so, gorgeous, before beomgyu crowds into his personal space and he blanks out.
“here! hurry—“ beomgyu pulls the hoodie over taehyun’s head and suddenly taehyun’s surrounded by warmth, flowers, and musk and despite barely knowing him, it’s so, incredibly beomgyu, that taehyun almost forgets how to breathe.
“taehyun!” soobins voice calls from outside, an urgency to his tone.
taehyun finds his feet moving without his permission, and he turns to thank beomgyu again. “thank you so much, you really didn’t need to—“
“i’m being quite selfish, really.” beomgyu grins, “now i get to see you again.”
he’s going to swoon right now, right this minute, and hit his head on the sink and die, sorry yeonjun.
taehyun shoots beomgyu a last smile, a real one, delighted at how beomgyu’s face tints red, before stepping out to rush to soobin’s side.
he hears beomgyu calling his name.
“taehyun!”
he loves the way it sounds with his voice.
“i work tuesdays and saturdays!”
a hysterical giggle works its way out of his lungs, and suddenly, everything is alright and he has a crush on a server at a pc cafe.
soobin’s waiting for him outside, his foot tapping impatiently. his face lights up when he sees taehyun burst out of the cafe. “finally,” he exclaims as they start walking to the car. “where were you, and who’s hoodie is that?”
“just someones.” taehyun turns his head to look back at the store, eyes widening when he sees beomgyu already watching him, chin resting in his hand. their eyes meet and taehyun poorly suppresses a smile when beomgyu blows him an exaggerated kiss.
“who is that?!”
taehyun ignores soobin, who has a dumbfounded look on his face, and allows a happy skip in his step.
“hyung, what are you doing on saturday?”