Work Text:
Choi Beomgyu was never the touchy one. He spoke and thought of physical touch with disdain, a certain bitterness following the train of thought thereafter. He was quite literally untouchable. Beomgyu knew not of the exhilarating feeling of warmth from his family members, physically recoiling because of the pain that came with his affliction.
Enter Kang Taehyun. From what started as a faraway puppy crush, to a budding relationship with Beomgyu. Beomgyu longed for him, Beomgyu only knew him. Taehyun was him. The him romance novels talked so highly about. The him that romance comedies sought after. The boy in his fantasies whose face was always a blur to Beomgyu until the moment Taehyun made himself known to him.
Sitting on the healthy grass of a nearby lake, the couple was close yet held such a distance.
Beomgyu's skin ached for contact from his own lover, the skin that prohibited Beomgyu himself from ever experiencing what physical affection was. His heart strained, his throat felt constricted. Every awkward dialogue sat upon the tip of his tongue, dying to escape his lips. Beomgyu was not good with words, he never was. Beomgyu's eyes darted to the other, taking in every major and subtle detail on Taehyun's face. Beomgyu always thought Taehyun was pretty. The way his mouth curved into a knowing smile? Pretty. The way his eyes lit up just at the slight mention of the things he indulged in? Ethereal.
But Choi Beomgyu could only take so much. Why waste a life without taking the risks? Why should he continue to painfully ache for the sensation of finger pads gracing over his skin or hands carefully cupping his cheeks just like in the movies? Beomgyu only had but a single life.
So fuck it.
The older threw himself at the younger, his arms wrapping around Taehyun's neck. The younger was taken by surprise, which was then replaced by a certain panic in his eyes. Taehyun knew of Beomgyu's condition. He tried to find the right words to get Beomgyu off before he started hurting, but it was too late.
Beomgyu, who ached for touch, began to burn in it.
So what if tears stained his cheeks out of pain? So what if his skin was burning? So what if his breathing started getting erratic? Choi Beomgyu finally experienced the thrilling roller coaster of physical affection. Beomgyu's hands, which bloomed in an angry red, cupped Taehyun's cheeks—running it over every detail he only dreamed of feeling.
The older ignores the desperate pleas of his body to stop. It burns.
Taehyun desperately tried to get Beomgyu to release him, knowing too well what would happen should he continue to embrace him as if it's the last day on Earth.
Alas, the last bit was true for Beomgyu.
Salty tears found its way to Beomgyu's lips, his face dusted a light pink hue. He felt his throat tighten at the burning pain. And that's when the world blacked out for him.
A short-lived glimpse of what he could've felt all those years ago.