Archive of Our Own ^beta

With a sigh, Beomgyu surveys the document in his hands one last time, the loud hustle of the airport and the sound of the wheels of his carry-on luggage filling his ears. He was now on his way to the gate written on his boarding pass after hearing his flight get called from the intercom, announcing that the aircraft was now open for boarding.

Around him, people of all ages walked around and about, catching their flights, getting ready for boarding like him, exiting airplanes, leaving the airport— so many things happening at once it was impossible to keep up. And as if the world decided to mock him, wherever he looked, he saw families giddily going on their way, probably on a trip or towards home, it doesn’t matter, really, because they were together.

That was something Beomgyu couldn’t have anymore, it was precisely the reason why he was here in the first place. A glaring reminder of what he lost forever, a time he could never turn back.

Mindlessly looking at the airport signs hanging from the ceiling, Beomgyu tries his hardest to tune out the rest of the world, gritting his teeth and reprimanding himself to pull it together unless he wants people to look at him as if he’d gone mad if he just starts breaking down in the middle of a busy airport, which is why he didn’t register that someone was calling for him until he had to make an abrupt stop when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

“Hold on!” Jolting at the sudden contact, Beomgyu looks behind him with slightly widened eyes, being met face to face with a stranger probably around his age, who seemed to have ran his way towards him.

Beomgyu was momentarily stunned when he got a good look at the stranger’s features. Fox-like piercing eyes, dyed dirty blonde hair parting in the center and curling around the side, plump lips that were slightly opened while he catches his breath and the height difference had Beomgyu looking up at him just a little bit. He’s pretty, Beomgyu’s mind supplies, and pretty boy seemed to be saying something that Beomgyu should listen to instead of being distracted by, well… his prettiness.

“You… dropped… your key.” The stranger says in between pants, holding out a set of small keys that Beomgyu recognized was for the lock on his luggage.

“Oh, thank you.” He quickly snaps out of his daze and takes the keys, pocketing it on the front pocket of his bomber jacket, bowing at the kind pretty stranger who took the effort to give it back to him.

The stranger waves him off, smiling. “It’s no worries, glad I could reach you. It would’ve been a pain in the ass if you lost it.”

Beomgyu was about to say something more when again, his flight number was announced, reminding its passengers of the boarding time, so he opted to make one last bow at the stranger, turning around and resuming his walk towards his gate, but just a few steps in and he already chanced a glance at where the stranger stood, almost stopping in his tracks when he found those fox-like eyes still staring at him as he go.

He waves awkwardly, attempting a smile that he was sure turned out more like a grimace to save face. “Thank you again, have a safe flight!”

With a nod from the stranger, he turned back around and never looked back again, hand unconsciously reaching up to the left side of his chest. Beomgyu doesn’t quite understand why his heart was beating so fast all of a sudden.

He blames it on the slight panic of missing his flight and almost losing his luggage keys.

—

He doesn’t know what he was expecting, but Beomgyu couldn’t hold back a surprised expression when he saw the aircraft he’ll be taking was a small passenger plane, probably not exceeding 20 passengers, which made it almost look like a private jet. But perhaps it’s understandable, the small town Beomgyu’s grandmother resided in wasn’t very populated after all, it was almost shocking they had their own airport.

Seeing the number designated to him, Beomgyu makes himself comfortable on the seat beside the window, looking out and watching as the airport staff get the plane ready for take off.

The weather outside was a bit gloomy, given how it was still morning, the sun was hiding behind dark clouds— a telltale sign of an incoming rain. Beomgyu hopes it wouldn’t be so heavy or else the flight would be delayed. He also checked his phone, seeing he received a message from his grandmother telling him to message her as soon as he landed so she could pick him up.

It had been two months since his parents passed away from an accident, yet it all felt like yesterday for Beomgyu. One day, he has his life together, just a week after his third year of university ended and the next, he was arranging his own parents’ funeral, having no idea what to do with himself anymore.

Life was really cruel and unapologetic.

Now, with the limited options he was left with, all he could do was leave everything behind and book a one way ticket to the small town where his mom spent her youth and where his grandmother still resides in, deciding to enroll in the town’s community college for his last year instead of the private university he used to attend.

He has never been there, having spent all his life in Seoul where his parents decided to permanently stay after they got married so it makes everything all the more terrifying. Changes are something Beomgyu normally welcomes in his life, but this… this was such a heavy adjustment especially after the tragedy that Beomgyu knew he would never recover from.

“Well, here’s my- oh, hello again.” Beomgyu whips his head toward the voice, lips parting in shock when it turns out to be the stranger from the airport, apparently also his plane seatmate.

“Hello,” Beomgyu greets back, still a little bit preoccupied with his thoughts, until he got a whiff of the stranger’s musky cologne and it’s all he could register, their shoulders touching with the limited space of the aircraft.

“If we meet a third time, I’d start considering it as fate.” The stranger says with a chuckle, eliciting a small smile from Beomgyu. “I’m Yeonjun, by the way.”

Yeonjun. Well, pretty stranger has a name now.

“I’m Beomgyu.”

“You must be a tourist? I’ve never seen you before.”

Beomgyu’s brows raised in realization. Pretty- Yeonjun must be a resident, then.

He shrugs. “I think I’ll be living there now.”

“Oh! Well, I hope to see you around.” Yeonjun grins, and Beomgyu had to stop himself from staring too much.

He can’t believe he still has the time to even be attracted to pretty boys in his situation. The past months, he barely felt anything at all.

In the end, he nods. “Yeah… me too.”

They fall into a comfortable silence after that, the both of them relaxing after the plane took off, Beomgyu reaching for his earphones and shuffling on his calming playlist after the pilot announced it would take them roughly two hours to get to their destination, given the size of the craft.

Halfway through the flight, he starts dozing off, too heavy with sleep to comprehend his head unconsciously leaning on to Yeonjun’s shoulder, barely catching on how the latter momentarily tensed, yet a small smile unconsciously grazed his lips when the other relaxes, Beomgyu finally succumbing into a sound nap after a while.

When the plane landed, Beomgyu didn’t have much time to converse with Yeonjun, the two of them going their separate ways with a wave and ‘see you around!’ as they part. Beomgyu called his grandmother to tell her where he was, a small smile forming in his lips when he spotted her old BMW.

“Nana! Good morning,” Beomgyu greets as he hops into her car, trying as hard to sound cheerful and okay, his luggages secured on the trunk.

She gave him a warm smile, probably seeing through him and chose to go along with it. “Good morning, Beomie. How was the flight?”

And for some odd reason, it wasn’t the flight itself that flashed in Beomgyu’s mind, but fox-like eyes and a warm smile.

He blinks, “it was great.”

Satisfied, she nods and finally starts the engine, driving out of the airport as an old song plays on the radio. Beomgyu looks out of the window, curious as to what his late mom’s hometown looks like. After all, it was one of the few things she left traces of herself in the world.

It was like what she used to tell him, shops lined on either side of the asphalt road, people of all ages going about their day, mingling like they’ve known each other their whole lives— they probably did. Beomgyu found himself smiling sadly.

“Here’s the college where you’ll be spending your senior year starting next week.” Nana makes a quick glance to the right, pointing at it for Beomgyu to see.

The entrance of the community college was enclosed by a steel gate and steel walls stretching from left to right, and through the gaps between the horizontal steel bars he could see a cemented path leading to the main building with two giant pillars and an arc bearing the school name. Everything was beige and green.

“It looks lovely.” Beomgyu comments, earning a small grin from his grandma.

“Your mom graduated here too.”

The mention of his mom got Beomgyu completely quiet, looking down on his lap where his hands clasped together and his fingers rubbed against each other.

Nana was quick to realize the effect of what she said and gave him a comforting tap on the shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, Beomie. It’s very hard, isn’t it?” Her voice was laced with sadness and grief, the silence surrounding them was almost deafening. Beomgyu lost his mom, and she lost her only child, a few years after she lost her husband.

He only nods, heaving a sigh before he looks out of the window again. They stayed quiet the rest of the ride.

The car passed by rows of trees after they slowly left the downtown area, until the side of the road pans out once again but this time, it was now lined by houses instead of shops.

His grandparents’ house was a bungalow with a brown and white bricks exterior and a wide lawn, enclosed by a picket fence which Beomgyu thinks was just really there for decor because the way to the garage beside the house was open, his Nana pulling up on the driveway with a low rumble from the engine.

The two of them unloaded Beomgyu’s luggages from the trunk and rolled it towards the front door, Nana refusing to let Beomgyu handle all his luggages despite his protests as she opens the door with another warm smile.

“I hope you like the house, it’ll be your home for as long as you want.”

Beomgyu feels his heart warming at that, truly grateful that his grandmother didn’t hesitate to offer him to move with her along with supporting him until he could get back on his feet.

“Thank you, Nana. Really.”

She beams, motioning the inside. “Of course, you are my grandson.” Leading the way, Beomgyu follows her into the house. “Let’s go inside so you can rest, okay?”

The interior was quite consistent with the white and brown, but there were also sparks of colors here and there thanks to the decorations, with the living room on the left and the kitchen and the dining on the right, a hallway leading up to four doors: his Nana’s bedroom, the common bathroom, a room which used to be his mom’s and a guest room where he followed his grandmother into.

“You’re free to put up decorations, since it’s pretty basic right now. You like bands, right?” Nana asks as she rolls his luggages beside the black wooden closet cabinet, turning to Beomgyu for his answer.

He nods, a grin pulling at the corner of his lips. “I do, thank you.”

She nods too, making her way to the door. “Alright, you can rest for now and then we can catch up later. I’ll prepare something so you can have something to eat when you wake up. Sounds good?”

“Yup, thanks, Nana.”

“Of course! Anything for my favorite grandson.”

“Nana, I’m your only grandson.”

She laughs but says nothing else, closing the door and leaving Beomgyu in the room.

He took the time to scan his room, chewing on his lip as he took notice that it was indeed plain. With the queen sized bed in the center pushed back against the wall, an empty shelf, a study table and the cabinet for his clothes. He decluttered most of his stuffs prior to his flight, so he’d have to ask his Nana for the shops he could buy decorations from downtown.

He’s a little shy around her since he only really sees her whenever she and his grandfather goes to Seoul while growing up but also somehow, Beomgyu knows that his Nana is a really cool and laid back person, him being the only grandchild meant that whenever they did visit, Beomgyu was always spoiled both by gifts and little trips.

Collapsing on the bed, Beomgyu lets himself stare blankly at the ceiling, no thoughts filled his mind, feeling like an empty vessel until he finally drifts to yet another sleep, the flight preparations which forced him to wake up way earlier than he normally does and the flight itself wearing him down and soon enough, he was snoring softly against his soft cotton pillows.

—

For the entire week before he starts his senior year, Beomgyu was cooped up in his room. He had originally planned to go around town so he could get his mind off of his loss, but he found himself having no motivation to even leave his bed. He told his apology to his grandmother when she tried inviting him to tour around, and she immediately understood and let him be. She is busy with her work at the local library too, so it was mostly Beomgyu in the house until her shift is done and he tries his best to clean around and tidy things up just so he wouldn’t feel so pathetic wasting away under his covers.

Today though, he woke up earlier than he did the past few days, the house still quiet as he fried bacon and eggs for breakfast before he left it covered on the table so he could prepare.

It was his first day at the college after all.

He was drying his hair when he saw his Nana already seated at the dining table waiting for him with a bright smile. She was also all ready for her work, motioning to the seat in front of her for Beomgyu.

“Did you sleep alright? You’ll need the energy to go through the day of being in a new environment on top of the new subjects you’ll be taking.” Nana asks while she puts food on Beomgyu’s plate first before her own; whenever she does this, Beomgyu feels both grateful and sad how she has the same caring energy his mother had.

He nods, “I did. The scented candles you bought really helped. Thank you, Nana.”

“That’s great to hear, I’ll make sure to buy more when it runs out.” She nodded to herself, and Beomgyu found himself smiling. “Also, I’ll be driving you to your new college, and nuh-uh, no buts, I can already see you declining but you still don’t know your way around so let me drive you there.”

Beomgyu purses his lips for a moment, his protests dying out from the tip of his tongue until he sighs out an approval, his grandmother beaming at him.

His mom described her as a very youthful and warm person, and staying here for a week now, he could truly tell how much of a happy soul his grandmother is. He admires her for that.

The ride to the community college took less than ten minutes, Nana parking the car just right by the entrance, giving Beomgyu a full view of the influx of students entering the campus grounds, talking animatedly amongst each other. The students were fewer than the ones in Beomgyu’s university back at the city but they were still enough of a lot for him to look uneasily for a moment.

“Here we are.” Nana announces, unlocking the car doors. “Good luck on your first day, Beomie! If anything happens, I’m just a call away.”

Beomgyu smiles, turning to her as his hand reaches for the doorknob. “Thank you, Nana. Drive safely!”

With a last wave after Beomgyu exits the car, she takes off, a gust of wind whooshing past Beomgyu. He looks around, quite overwhelmed with the unfamiliarity of both the place and the faces, something he didn’t have a problem about before, but he thinks he’s changed a lot over the past few months.

Taking a deep breath, Beomgyu marches toward the crowd, blending in and trying to find his way towards his class, sighing in relief when he was quick to find the Engineering building.

From the schedule on his phone, his first class would be on the fourth floor and for someone who doesn’t normally exercise, Beomgyu was left catching his breath as he pushed the last step to his designated floor.

The building was a little old, seen from the way some part of the paint on the walls were peeling and the benches and lockers scattered around the tiled hallways were marked with use. Still, Beomgyu could see it was well kept.

He knew he was getting a few stares, probably because he’s a new face they couldn’t quite recognize, but he ignores it for the sake of diligently finding his room, looking at the metal plates screwed above doors bearing the room numbers.

411. He found it.

Beomgyu enters from the door at the back, seeing that the room was still halfway full, he scans around to find a seat where he could avoid as much attention, not really in the merry mood to socialize. Seems as though the universe is in his favor, the seat on the farthest left beside the window was free.

Once he’s fixed himself on the chair with his bag under his desk, he looks around, the indecipherable murmurs of the students’ chatter filling his ears. Some were curiously looking his way, but Beomgyu pretends he doesn’t notice.

Around ten minutes passed when the once half-full room became full with students, most of the seats being occupied, until a middle aged lady walks in and introduces herself as the professor.

She was pacing back and forth in front as she discussed the subject and syllabus, Beomgyu quietly scribbling on his notebook while he half-listens, perking up when the professor stopped at the center to look at everyone with a big smile on her lips.

“Now that I’ve introduced myself and the course, should we move on to your self-introduction?”

Beomgyu braces himself for a very long day.

—

Beomgyu’s last class for the day was cancelled, he found out through the announcement pasted on the classroom door as he squeezed between rowdy students, the professor explaining he had matters to attend and they would meet next week. He sighs in relief, the day is finally over.

Nothing much happened, he had five classes and groups were formed for two; Beomgyu’s groupmates seemed nice and cheerful, hopefully they are also effective during group works.

He walks mindlessly along the hallway, lots of students out and about getting to their next classes or going home, until Beomgyu’s eyes once again graze the building map pasted on the hallway wall— he had been seeing it every time he walks to a class.

According to the map, the building has eight floors and a rooftop. If it was accessible, Beomgyu wasn’t sure.

Well, there’s only one way to find out.

Climbing the last floors through the stairs, Beomgyu came face to face with a small walkway with a single door telling him that it was indeed the rooftop. Twisting the cold doorknob, he almost gasped when it turned and opened.

The cold gust of wind quickly went past him and Beomgyu had to physically ground himself to stop the door from opening wide and slamming against the wall due to the wind, making his way out to the open rooftop and gently closing the door behind him.

Beomgyu scans the area, making sure he was alone before he walks toward the concrete railing, propping his elbows and letting out a deep exhale.

The view was beautiful. He could see the entire campus as well as the outside town, even the forest from a faraway distance. From where he is, the people below looked nothing more than tiny ants and up above, it felt as though the afternoon sky was just within reach.

Minutes passed, he didn’t really count, too engrossed with the peaceful feeling of the wind kissing his skin and the magnificent view of the town with the sun going down by the horizon, that Beomgyu didn’t immediately hear someone approaching, until that someone cleared their throat and he turned back in alarm.

“Oh- hello, it’s you again.”

And what do you know, it was the pretty stranger from the airport and the plane.

Yeonjun.

Beomgyu blinked, not knowing what to say, watching as the newcomer walked towards him, maintaining a good distance and mirroring his stance.

“Third time, maybe this is fate.” Yeonjun says with a chuckle, Beomgyu’s mind immediately understands it was about what he said back at the airplane. “Come on, no greeting? It’s not like we’re strangers anymore! We can almost pass as soulmates with how much we’re seeing each other.”

Beomgyu almost chokes in nothing. “H… hello.”

The other giggles, Beomgyu thought it was such a cute sound. “Hello.”

Not knowing what more to say, Beomgyu turns away from him and back at the view, looking up and feeling himself relax once he’s got a good look at the calm sky again.

“So you’re taking Engineering? Which one? I’m taking Mechanical. Senior year.” Yeonjun speaks up after a while of silence, Beomgyu almost forgetting he was there with him.

“Civil. Senior year too.” He answers, eyes not leaving the sky, watching the clouds slowly travel above.

“That’s cool, although it must be hard to transfer on your last year.” Yeonjun thinks aloud, more to himself than Beomgyu.

But Beomgyu hums anyway, “it is, but I don't have much of a choice. Seoul is very expensive.”

“That’s true, so how are you holding up? Found a place you liked most in this town already?”

When Beomgyu remained silent, Yeonjun was quick to realize why that is, his jaw dropping in shock. “You haven’t gone around town?”

“Hmm, no.” Beomgyu answers sheepishly, scratching his nape. “I didn’t really have a reason to.”

Yeonjun chewed on his lip for a moment, contemplating on what to say, until he decided to just shrug in the end. “I’ll be your reason, then.”

“What?”

He grins, seeing the dumbfounded look on Beomgyu’s face. “I’ll take you to the different places in town, you’d be surprised how many there actually are to see. Only when you want to, though, I’m just opening the offer. I know how hard it is to adjust to something so different from what you’re used to.”

Beomgyu found himself nodding, taking in Yeonjun’s words, an unfamiliar warmth pooling in his chest. “Yeah… it’s hard.”

The both of them stayed at the rooftop until sundown, the college still lit up and students littered the place for evening classes

“I enjoyed today with you, Beoms. Let’s do it some time again.” Yeonjun stood a good meter away, the two of them standing by the campus gates, their homes in different directions which meant they’ll have to part ways here.

“Beoms?”

Yeonjun nods, “cool, isn’t it? Beoms.”

Beomgyu found himself smiling, Beoms was a little silly in his opinion, but he thought he didn’t mind being called that as much, so he nods too.

“I’ll get going now.” Yeonjun waves, putting both his hands on his pockets as he turns around, walking in the other direction. Beomgyu stayed on his spot for a few moments, when Yeonjun looked back and gave him a grin. “You should smile more, it suits you a lot.”

He blinks dumbly, not knowing what to say, Yeonjun not really giving him a chance when he turns back around and walks away, leaving Beomgyu with his thoughts.

You should smile more, it suits you a lot.

Beomgyu enjoyed today too.

—

“I cannot believe you don’t like mint chocolate.” Yeonjun says dramatically, pointing the spoon at Beomgyu accusingly, his other hand protectively holding the cup of mint chocolate ice cream that Beomgyu previously declined. “This town’s mint choco ice cream is the absolute best. I’ve tried famous places in Seoul but nothing can compare.”

Beomgyu scoffs, eyeing the dessert as if it had personally wronged him. “I’m fine with my vanilla ice cream, thank you very much.”

“Boring,”

“Toothpaste.”

“Bland.”

“Should be in the hygiene section.”

“You little judgemental-”

Before Yeonjun could rise from how he’s seated on the cement floor, Beomgyu was already halfway across the rooftop, cackling evilly.

It had been two weeks since they first saw each other on the rooftop, the doing it ‘some time’ turned into everyday after class until it became a routine Beomgyu found himself looking forward to. They mostly just talk about their day and their lives, sometimes they would do their homeworks there together too, sitting side by side while their notes are scattered in front of them, different things pinning it down so the wind wouldn’t make it fly away.

Beomgyu found out Yeonjun spent his whole life in this town, but his family including both his parents and an older sister moved to Seoul when he graduated high school. He was supposed to go with them and attend a university there, but he wasn’t happy being in the big city. Yeonjun found himself so homesick that he asked if he could come back and would just visit Seoul during the breaks, which was why they both met each other in the airport.

Beomgyu understood the whole adjusting part. He had been in town for three weeks yet he still somehow feels a little out of place. He did try going around some places but he always found himself becoming too conscious of the curious stares that he always ends up just going home. The only time he ever becomes like his old self is when he’s on the rooftop, bickering with Yeonjun.

Just like right now, when Yeonjun decided to have Beomgyu taste some of the most delicious foods in town, starting with the ice cream.

“I’ll pass on the ice cream, I’ll just have the ramen, thank you.” Beomgyu sits back down in front of the food laid out on a blanket he brought from Yeonjun’s childhood home where he’s staying, Yeonjun on the other side.

The older squinted his eyes at him, but he did give him the cup of ramen, taking a spoonful of his ice cream while he watches Beomgyu’s reaction on the first slurp.

“Oh my god, this is so good, I can taste all the flavors.” Beomgyu’s eyes widened, looking down on the noodles, his eyes sparkling. He thinks he’s never tried ramen this good before.

“Thanks, I made it.” Yeonjun smirks smugly, visibly pleased.

“You’re kidding.”

“Are you insulting me?!”

Beomgyu laughs, taking another slurp and sticking a tongue out at him. It was fun teasing Yeonjun, it’s always as if a vein would pop on his forehead.

He tried everything Yeonjun brought, except the mint chocolate ice cream, the two of them eating until they were full with the amount of serving Yeonjun got. It was only when the orange hue from the sky darkened that Beomgyu took his attention off Yeonjun who had just cracked an awful joke but Beomgyu still found himself laughing to because of the look on Yeonjun’s face, seeing the sky slowly turn from such a light blue to navy, the sun bidding goodbye for the day.

“You seem to really love the sky.” Yeonjun observes as Beomgyu stares up at the sky, a faraway look on his face.

The younger hums, “when I was a kid, my parents said those who leave this world become stars. Until now, I hold on to that.”

“Your parents seem really sweet and loving people from all the stories you told me.”

Beomgyu smiles. “They were.”

“Were?”

“They became stars too.”

“Oh.” Yeonjun stares up at the sky too, the stars are beginning to show, the wind blowing around them calmly. “You think they met my grandparents?”

Beomgyu doesn’t know why, but that simple sentence from Yeonjun brought tears into his eyes, but it wasn’t out of sadness. It was almost… grateful.

He nods, smiling. “I’m sure they did. And I’m sure they shine the brightest.”

For the first time since his parents’ death, Beomgyu found himself at peace. He knows the pain they left will never really go away, and the wound will never completely heal, but as he took a glance at the boy across from him who’s staring up longingly at the sky too, he could allow himself to breathe a sigh of relief.

Beomgyu will be okay.

—

“Beoms!”

Beomgyu found himself smiling, leaning back from his position on the rooftop railings and turning around to face a beaming Yeonjun jogging towards him. He feels it, the noticeable skip of his heartbeat which only seems to happen either when he’s nervous or when Yeonjun looks at him like that.

“Hello,”

“Hello to you too.”

Yeonjun grins, the both of them falling back into their familiar spot by the rooftop railings, watching the sky calmly rotate while the people below rush to their schedules, the sound of vehicles setting in a particular direction still reaching their ears from where they are.

“Did the universe treat you well today?”

Beomgyu chews on his lips for a moment, reliving his day. “I suppose. At lunch today, someone from my class named Kai, he’s a total sunshine, had me taste the tuna pasta he ordered at the diner downtown. It was so delicious I almost hogged it all to myself.”

His mouth watered just at the mere thought. He doesn’t recall ever tasting a pasta that good before, he thought of visiting the place but he was still a bit shy going around town. He had already interacted with some students he shares classes with like the boy, Huening Kai, but he still feels a little… out of place.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” He asks warily, narrowing his eyes when he found Yeonjun staring at him with something indecipherable in his irises.

“Hey, Beoms.” Yeonjun’s eyes twinkled even more, the hues of the setting sun reflecting on his eyes. “What do you say about dinner at the diner with me?”

Lucy’s Diner is an old diner passed down from grandmother to granddaughter, with its black and white checkered tiles and booths with red cushions, a bar that stretched from one end to another lined up with black bar stools and staffs were up and about dressed in their black polo shirt and pants with the same checkered aprons, taking orders and serving meals to hungry customers that, like Beomgyu and Yeonjun, are here to have dinner.

“Oh, there’s an empty booth there. Let’s go,” Beomgyu was too busy looking around at the almost full diner when Yeonjun took his hand and led him to a booth by the far right of the place, his eyes catching whiff of the poster of the burger Yeonjun brought a month before during their rooftop picnic.

A tall boy with a button nose hovered on their booth, notepad in hand and a lopsided smile on his face. Beomgyu looked up at him, not expecting to be met with wide eyes trained on him.

“You must be Beomgyu!”

Beomgyu blinked. He knows me?

“Soobin!” Beomgyu confusedly turns to Yeonjun who was looking at the tall boy in front of their booth, squinting his eyes.

The boy, Soobin, caught himself. “Oh, my bad. I’m Soobin, Yeonjun here mentioned you a couple of times.”

“Couple, yeah, right. A couple hundred.” Beomgyu could only look dumbly as another waiter, a little shorter with blonde hair and big doe eyes, appeared behind Soobin, immediately leaving with the tray of food in hand onto the table a few steps away.

Yeonjun groans from his seat in front of Beomgyu, clutching at the ends of his hair. “Don’t scare him, my god.” He then looks at Beomgyu, an apologetic smile on his lips. “Sorry about my friends, they like teasing me.”

Beomgyu stared at him for a few moments, before he broke off into a smirk. “You talk about me a couple hundred times, huh?”

Soobin’s laughter that followed reverberated around the diner, causing some people to look their way, much to Yeonjun’s embarrassment with the way the tips of his ears started going red and Beomgyu’s amusement as he watched the older shrink in his seat.

Adorable.

“I like you!” Soobin laughs, then motioning to the spot at the edge of the table with the condiments and brochures. “The menu is there on the stand or are you both ready to order?”

Beomgyu grins, nodding. “I’ll have the tuna pasta, please.”

Soobin jots it down happily, then turns to the still flustered Yeonjun.

“The usual,” he grumbles, earning another round of laughter from Soobin and a giggle of amusement from Beomgyu before the former went off with their orders listed down for the kitchen.

Before he left, though, he sent one last smirk towards the two on the booth. “Enjoy your date!”

Beomgyu’s lips parted at that, not knowing what to say. He steals a glance at Yeonjun and saw he was equally flustered, eyes looking everywhere but each other. It went on for a moment, until Beomgyu just sighs, clearing his throat and dropping the thought.

Because, well, maybe it isn’t?

“Your friends are… fun.” Beomgyu comments instead, propping his elbows on the table and using his palm to rest his chin on.

Yeonjun blinks at him, confused, before he recovers and a scowl forms on his face. “They’re bullies. That’s what they are. You too.”

Beomgyu laughs at that, endeared at how the older pouts like a child deprived of candy, before a mischievous thought flashed on his mind and his eyes widened a little in anticipation.

“So what kind of things have you been telling them about me?” He smirks when Yeonjun choked on nothing, eyes darting everywhere but Beomgyu.

“Nothing,”

“Oh, but they both seem to know me very well.”

“Nope, not boosting your ego. No.”

Beomgyu laughs. “You’re adorable.”

Yeonjun turned even redder.

Their food came a little over ten minutes later, the both of them falling into a familiar mix of bickering and corny pick up lines because, Beomgyu was quick to find out, Yeonjun has the worst pick up lines one could find on the internet saved in his brain, using it any chance he gets.

“Hey, Beomgyu.” Yeonjun pauses from his slice of pizza to look at Beomgyu in the eye, his expression serious.

“Yeah?”

“Do you know why I took you to this diner?”

Beomgyu’s eyes furrowed, shaking his head. “Why?”

He should’ve known by this, should’ve known what followed, what was coming with the way Yeonjun’s serious expression turned smug.

“Because I would take you out for ice cream, but it might not be as sweet as you.”

Beomgyu blinked. One, two, three. Without a word, he took the tissue beside him and threw it at Yeonjun. “You’re so fucking corny, oh my god.”

Yeonjun threw his head back, doubling in laughter. “No, no wait. This one is better. Hear me out.”

“No.”

“Come on,”

“Keep it to yourself.”

“Beoms, come on.”

“I swear to god, Yeonjun.”

“Just one more and then I’ll shut up.”

“Ugh, fine.” Beomgyu concedes, rolling his eyes when Yeonjun visibly beams. He doesn’t tell him how it sent warmth to his gut, nor did it make him dizzy for a few seconds.

Yeonjun takes one of the brochures on their table, putting it beside his face and pointing at the three pieces of tomatoes drawn beside a plate of spaghetti. “I like you from my head to-ma-toes.”

I like you from my head to-ma-toes.

Beomgyu chokes on his pasta. Coughing and hitting his chest while Yeonjun laughed, yet he still leaned over to pat the younger’s back, giving him a glass of water after. And if Beomgyu’s cheeks reddened, he’ll tell you it was because his airway was momentarily blocked and not because that damn corny pick up line did something to his heart.

“Stop with your jokes now.” Beomgyu glared at him when he recovered, eyes focused on eating his half-finished pasta.

“It’s not, though.” Yeonjun murmured under his breath, more to himself and probably didn’t intend for it to reach the other’s ears.

So Beomgyu pretended he didn’t hear.

“You really didn’t have to walk me home, you know.” Beomgyu kicked at the stray pebbles on the sidewalk, the cool night air going past the gap between him and Yeonjun as they walked towards his Nana’s house, the older insisting to walk him home after they ate their dinner.

Yeonjun shrugs. “I like spending time with you.”

Beomgyu grits his teeth, not knowing how to react to that nor how to respond, so he settled on not saying anything— for a while that is. They both silently walked, only a few people were out on the streets like them, some houses’ lights were already out so it was mostly the street lamps lighting their way.

The thing with silence, though, is that it allows the entry of thoughts in the mind, and unluckily for Beomgyu, there was one that’s been nagging at him for the past hour they’ve been at the diner.

And it seems like it wouldn’t leave him until he gets it out.

“Yeonjun,” he calls, palms suddenly becoming sweaty and colder, the rush of air feeling harsher on his skin and his stomach seemed to be doing multiple somersaults.

“Yeah?”

“Is this… a date?”

Beomgyu held his breath, especially when Yeonjun visibly froze, the both of them stopping in the middle of the empty sidewalk, facing each other.

Yeonjun was biting his lip, looking at Beomgyu intently. “Do you want it to be?” He steps just a bit closer, the younger looking up at him a little with bright starry eyes. “Because I do.”

Beomgyu gasps under his breath, eyes widening just the slightest, watching as Yeonjun leans in until their breaths fanned each other’s faces, a small smile grazing his lips.

“Hello,”

Dazed, Beomgyu fluttered his eyes closed, letting out a breath. “Hello.”

It was then that he felt the faintest pressure on his forehead, slowly opening his eyes and seeing Yeonjun lean back, his mind registering that the older had kissed his forehead.

Yeonjun looks away. “I was serious about the tomato pick-up line.”

Slowly, a grin erupts from Beomgyu’s face, absolutely loving how flustered Yeonjun looks.

“I heard you.”

Yeonjun’s head snapped towards him, eyes widening. “You did?!”

Beomgyu nods, chuckling. “You weren’t exactly whispering.”

“This is embarrassing.” The older groans, hiding his face behind his hands, refusing to take it off even when Beomgyu tried to pry it away.

He chuckles again. “Why? I think I like you from head to-ma-toes too.”

Yeonjun peeks from his fingers, seeing Beomgyu beaming at him. “Really?”

Beomgyu nods, the tip of his ears turning red too. “Yeah.”

That night, they walked to Beomgyu’s home side by side, their pinky fingers intertwining, faint pink blushes on their cheeks they would blame on the cold, and they would replay everything in their mind, finally falling asleep with permanent smiles on their faces.

And tomorrow, and the next, they’ll greet each other hello.

end.