Chapter Text
Today was not his day, no. Taehyun was desperately looking forward to finishing his last class just so this nightmare of a day would finally end. Bad days don't usually disconcert him that much, he tries not to dwell on them too much, but today was an exception.
He woke up late and was hit with the worst migraine of this month--he gets them often, and he should see a doctor soon--he had to run after the bus in light rain, ruining his white sneakers. The morning was just a taste of what was about to be a hell of a bitter day. His professors scrutinised every note in his semester-end project, rejecting all revisions he came up with. He was supposed to love music, but college made it difficult to stick to his art. He has always known the ups and downs of pursuing your passion and how, if mishandled, he'll lose it. He knew what he was getting into making music his job and not just a hobby: it was a gamble solely based on his love for the craft. He was pursuing another online degree just in case the "musician nonsense does not pan out," as his parents had lectured him, which was another burden on top of the three long lectures today.
It is pitiful knowing he cannot even afford to catch up on lost sleep because he has to finish his remaining coursework during breaks. The second lecture lasted longer than anyone expected, and he was about to get a stress headache before he made his way to the student notice board. He doesn't have much of a life outside of assignments, really, so imagine when he finds out he's been appointed as the head organiser for the music fest. It was in--did he read that right--three weeks; great, his semester break will constitute running around making props and booking bands for a local college gig. He should have joined the student council instead of the music club. He feels the aforementioned stress headache coming on. He was having a shitty day. Taehyun is so glad he turned down the three-week summer internship; he will be too pre-occupied with his online finals and this fucking festival for pretentious university students. He has encountered enough pompous indie fanatics for a lifetime. Ugh, who was he to govern people's music tastes? He's annoyed at the wrong thing--he just needs to attend one more lesson and then sit down with the professor to iron out meeting details. Then he'll only have to deal with this for 2 more days, complete his evaluations and preferably get shit-faced the following night.
Music Theory II might have just been the highlight of the very low-quality reel that is his day. He knew of Choi Beomgyu, one of the top music students with him and Kai. He, however, did not notice that Choi Beomgyu has gorgeous long hair now, holy shit. He hadn't been so attentive to him, he's not observant of anyone but the professors, he can not afford to miss a thing. However, today his eyes drifted from the chalkboard when the object of his newfound interest burst through the door. He started bowing profusely to the professor, apologising for his tardiness and seating himself on the only chair available. Beomgyu had (cute) blonde highlights, probably done recently based on their shine, and his hair was done in a half ponytail. What the fuck , Kang Taehyun, where was your mind running off to? He'd never imagined Beomgyu as a date or any boys in general. Saying 'I'm sorry, I'm not interested,’ was his answer for whoever asked to go out. He refused to date because he knew everyone deserves quality time, something Taehyun is incapable of providing with the predicament that is his life. Hell, he doesn’t even have time to develop a crush. Even when he does think someone is cute, like Jungwon from Dance, he quickly stops himself from catching any sort of infatuation, shutting his brain down to study.
He was busy making a career, thank you very much. The stubborn boy might change his mind today, however, work-life balance or whatever these self-help books in the library said. Taehyun is curious why he hasn't approached the boy before--why aren't they friends as the top music students? Taehyun has two friends. With the semester nearing the end, he can afford to mingle, and he needs to give Kai and Soobin a break anyway. He's not afraid they're sick of him, just knows they have other friends to plan hangouts with.
He thinks he'll say hi to him after the class ends, maybe go to the meeting together; he'd really like to be his friend. He won't dwell on the fact that he finds him cute and attractive. He also loves people with intellect, and he'd like a new acquaintance. He'll ignore how adorable he looks while concentrating. Everyone with a pair of eyes can see Beomgyu is the most handsome face on campus, he turns heads, Taehyun's included. They did a project together before, but Taehyun's all business and so was he. They exchange greetings in corridors sometimes, a "Sup?" or "Hi" or "Nothing much, how are you?" every other week was normal. He wouldn't even be nice to him if it weren't for the fact he actually gets along with him (academically and intellectually).
He knows Beomgyu is pretty, also quite sharp. However, as he said, he couldn't afford to date, knowing he won't be able to treat them well. He might make an exception in his no-crush-rule for the break, he will allow himself one fleeting crush. He hasn't had the opportunity to have one all year, he doesn't hang out with many people, and he'd prefer if they knew each other first. Best friends to lovers, or at least friends to lovers, Taehyun likes to know what to expect. He'd like to know them well, with no fear of making impressions--people are so much more than what they can offer as a romantic partner. Knowing people beforehand always makes it easier in his opinion, romance might be new territory, but it's easier to explore with a friend. Caring for people and showing up with nothing keeping you together except a promise of friendship is beautiful to him. He loves that, and he desires that in who he ends up with, you need to be a good friend. Friendship is the foundation for any strong relationship. He had considered thinking of Kai as his boyfriend once, just as an intrusive thought he likes to call it, but quickly shook it off. Not Kai, his sweet caring best friend. He’s also pretty sure the said best friend has a crush on Yeonjun, the resident hot guy on campus. Too deep in thought at this point, he did not even know when he put his palm on his cheek, staring off into the distance in a dream-like trance. He sat comfortably like that, redirecting his eyes to the board.
The lecture felt like it passed by in a breeze when it was the same number of hours as his usual ones. His eyes wandered back to the boy's hair, finding his cute rubber band has a tiny heart charm, and oh god. "Kang Taehyun," he realised he had zoned out while staring at the back of Beomgyu's head.
"Sir, yes," he cleared his throat, immediately coming to his senses and straightening his back. "I need you to announce the members of the fest organisation committee since I'm sure most of you didn't read the notice board." He gestured vaguely towards all 30 of his students. Maybe going to most of his office hours turned out to be fruitful. "Uhh, could I refer to the picture I took of the list?" After a nod from Mr Song, he started calling out names, "Okay, Choi Yeonjun, Choi Beomgyu,” he paused “Um, Hwang Yeji, Huening Kai, Choi Soobin, Shin Ryujin and Lee Chaeryeong. You will all hear from me about the meeting details by tomorrow." He sat back down and let the realisation sink in, he'll get to hang out with cute boy Choi Beomgyu with this as an excuse.
…
The day ended soon after, and as the professor was finishing up, Taehyun was psyching himself up to say a simple ‘Hi, how are you? Do you want to get a coffee? Do you want to be friends? I will work at the coffee shop this semester break, come visit me. I love your hair, by the way. Fuck.’
He had spoken to Beomgyu before, for 4 hours at a stretch once too. They’re both very passionate about soft-rock, one of the sub-topics of their project. Why was he suddenly nervous? As he walked down the hall's aisle he realised, it was because Beomgyu looked too cute. There was simply no other word to describe him today. Was that a slight peach blush on his cheeks? He didn’t know he did makeup. Taehyun’s internal dialogue only repeated ‘cute’ when he saw him stand up and saw him in his whole glory. He was wearing a navy sweater with a white stripe on the hems, and an adorable teddy bear embroidered on the right chest-pocket. God fucking damnit, Taehyun, start being normal. And he did, he was normal and eloquent. All his nerves dissipated when he released he truly wanted to get to know the guy. People assume he’s unapproachable because of his stoic, bitch face as Soobin says--but he’s actually an outgoing guy. He likes to talk, he’s never antisocial at parties, he just chooses to have a smaller circle to interact with. He's not nice to anyone, but he's not mean to them either. Having spoken to Beomgyu before made it easier, he was a decent guy. This might be Taehyun's gay tendencies talking but he thinks they might actually get along.
He thinks he may have been a little direct, suggesting they should get coffee sometime, but Beomgyu received it well--and dare he say, he sounded genuinely interested! He said he'll text him, and Taehyun was glad to hear that. He sounded a little too glad maybe, so he mentioned how he'd "like to be friends, get to know you more," for the sake of hiding his very apparent red cheeks.
A win for Taehyun today. Finally.
He has a lot of revisions to make and a few more papers to write, but he’ll ride this successful-social-interaction-with-Beomgyu high all day.