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Taehyun hated him from the moment he laid eyes on him. Now, he didn’t go out of his way to make Beomgyu feel burdened or hated (Lord knew they all had to deal with that as trainees), but he didn’t make it a point to not make his feelings about the boy obvious.
Taehyun wouldn’t describe himself as a jealous person exactly, but it was different with Beomgyu. So much of him was desperate to debut and be popular, and that dream was so close he could taste it. And then Beomgyu came along and had to ruin that. Who would want a cat hybrid in a group when a tiger hybrid was much cooler and more awesome ?
If only he saw Beomgyu for who he truly was. A scared, nervous little tiger hybrid who was thrust into this new world of training and Kpop who just sought companionship through it all. If only he had seen the way Beomgyu’s ears were curled and his tail curled around his leg nervously when he was first introduced to the other trainees in the company.
💙
TXT was the first hybrid group in the KPOP industry to debut, and simultaneously the second group to debut under their company. There were a lot of uncertainties about the company while the boys were still trainees, but it ultimately paid off the two years before TXT debuted as the other group under their company gained immense popularity in America and received awards in Korea.
Beomgyu joined the group in 2016, just a mere three years before they debuted. He was immediately added to the debut lineup with the rest of TXT, mostly because of the fact of his unique appearance, even compared to the rest of TXT. It was obvious his hybrid pairing was a tiger, even when his tail and ears weren’t visible, as his iris’ were a mix of amber and a caramel color, astounding anyone who found themselves looking at the hybrid.
Not that the rest of them were bad-looking though. Taehyun thought his whole group was so incredibly pretty in an uncomplicated platonic way. His Yeonjun-hyung would’ve probably been the group’s visual if Beomgyu hadn’t come along; Taehyun was okay with not being the visual if it was Yeonjun. Maybe because of the way his hyung’s pupils shrank into slits whenever he got defensive over his dongsaengs or maybe it was the way his lips curled up into such an attractive smile where his corner fang stuck out, just a little so it wasn’t threatening but rather cute to anyone who had the honor of witnessing it.
Actually, Taehyun would’ve preferred anyone in their group to be the visual over Beomgyu. Kai with his obviously foreign visuals made the boy still seem Korean through and through, including his fluffy blond hair that only accentuated his golden retriever ears; he was a shoe-in for the group’s visual. Soobin with his gray bunny ears and freckles on his cheeks made everything about the bunny hybrid absolutely adorable. Even himself with his white-as-snow ears and two-toned tail, he wouldn’t have made a bad visual himself.
Taehyun didn’t bother paying attention to whatever Beomgyu had to say. As soon as he saw him he wrote Beomgyu off as a pretentious pretty boy who didn’t know what he was getting into. And frankly, he didn’t care if he was wrong. He was a green-eyed monster in the face of his jealousy.
The rest of the group was plenty nice and friendly toward Beomgyu. Taehyun thought that was enough to make the boy feel welcomed and happy as a trainee.
He mostly ignored Beomgyu; it was the easiest method to keep living his life and not let his jealousy consume him. Taehyun kept his distance from him, even after they debuted. If he had to, he put on a facade of friendliness and warmth for the cameras and then went back to being cold-as-Antarctica Taehyun once more.
💙
Their relationship was mostly static in its nature––never improving, never worsening. And then they debuted, and everything was so incredibly amazing. They were immediately donned 4th gen leaders after their debut MV reached 100 million views on YouTube, and the hybrid group took the world by storm. It wasn’t long until the fans flooded the group with positive comments on their content and fancams.
Taehyun saw how the fans loved everyone. Even him. Despite the ever-shining nature of his groupmates. They all had the same general number of views on their fancams as well! Taehyun was so happy actually. Maybe he could get along with Beomgyu if he stayed this popular.
And then they performed Blue Orangeade. And that happiness crashed down in one fell swoop as he checked the views on each fancam again. Beomgyu’s fancam had 200,000 more views than his. 350K. And, suddenly, the green-eyed monster was back again.
During that particular performance, Beomgyu got so excited to perform for their fans again, that his ears popped out and everyone thought it was so extremely cute, that they screamed for him to keep showing his ears during the performance; which then spurred the rest of them to reveal their ears and perform Blue Orangeade like that. But, of course, people couldn’t keep their eyes off of Beomgyu for the whole performance; and Taehyun felt a sort of cold, nervous feeling fill his chest. What about him?
It was hard to hold back his jealousy from there. He became passive-aggressive towards Beomgyu outside of their schedules, whispering backhanded compliments under his breath and critiquing Beomgyu while the others complimented him. Sometimes he even got so aggressive as pushing Beomgyu back when he walked past the older hybrid.
It seemed so unfair to Taehyun. Why did he even have to come along in the first place? Taehyun was already the designated feline of the group. Maybe Beomgyu was secretly evil and it was his plan to one day replace Taehyun and make him seem worthless. Or, maybe Taehyun was just a scared trainee who was so desperate to debut he would villainize anyone who seemed to get in the way of his dream.
💙
The resentment didn’t seem to get better. It only grew, exponentially , like the most devastating forest fire you could witness. Taehyun recognized that it was getting worse, but in all honesty, didn’t truly think about the consequences it would bring. Little did he think about the fact that it ruined his relationship with the other members.
The others saw his initial defensiveness toward Beomgyu and laughed, thinking that he’d eventually get over it and their friendship would bloom into something beautiful. But, that obviously didn’t happen. So, what did the others decide to do? Hope and pray that Taehyun would budge, ever so slightly, and open up to Beomgyu. They all knew how stubborn the cat hybrid could be, especially when it came to people he was defensive with. Not even they could help his stubbornness, even though they had been together for years now. They all got nervous when Taehyun was in a mood, and while he didn’t take it out on them, it was enough to make them not ask him anything they thought would even remotely upset him.
The only saving grace for Taehyun’s resentment seemed to be that they seemed to go through everything so fast. Their careers only built up from their debut, and despite the difficulties they all experienced, the dopamine brought by their fans was too addicting to give up.
They could even feel the dopamine rushing through their bodies when they were preparing for their comeback. Even now, as they were energetically learning the choreography for their bside, Drama.
Their instructor called for a fifteen-minute break to catch their breaths, and the others saw it as an opportunity to fill their water bottles at the water fountain on the opposite side of the company. Meanwhile, Taehyun saw this as an opportunity to rest and close his eyes, lying on the floor and scrolling through his phone. Beomgyu saw it as an opportunity to keep practicing since he was the instructor’s star pupil besides Yeonjun, Taehyun’s mind supplied him with.
Taehyun silently looked at Beomgyu as he continued practicing, sticking his headphones in his ears and pulling up the demo of the song he was set to record tomorrow. He laid down on the floor, sweat coating his back as he breathed heavily. He silently looked over to Beomgyu as he continued dancing, staring him down with a heavy glare.
Beomgyu continued to dance, not realizing Taehyun was looking at him as he critically stared at his moves in the mirror. His foot slipped on the floor as he jumped, sweat coating his body in a thick layer. His eyes widened, and the hybrid boy fell to the floor, falling onto his right shoulder and grimacing in response as he clutched it painfully. He lightly shook, biting his lip as sweat dripped from his face. He stayed on the floor for a minute, gathering his strength as he shakily rose from the floor, grunting out in pain.
Taehyun silently looked at the other hybrid as he limped over to his bag, a slightly worried look in his eyes as the other hybrid continued to clutch his shoulder painfully. His ears slightly twitched, lowering as a pang of guilt hit his chest. He watched as the older downed two painkillers, swallowing painfully before letting go of his shoulder and relaxing, sighing out. Taehyun closed his eyes once more, secretly hoping the injury was nothing and he’d be fine with just painkillers.
💙
Taehyun wasn’t able to forget that incident easily, no matter how much he pleaded with himself to. But, as their schedules went on, and they got closer to the next comeback, they became so busy it was hard to focus on anything but their jobs. Beomgyu seemed fine anyway, Taehyun reassured himself.
Eventually, Taehyun forgot about the incident and continued living with unfiltered resentment toward Beomgyu. And, like that, they continued their careers as hybrids. Taehyun found boxing helped him release his resentment and animosity towards Beomgyu. It definitely helped him become less critical of the other hybrid as time went on, to the point he would only mostly just seriously glare at the boy if he messed something up or ignore him if he tried to talk to Taehyun outside of their schedules (which was much better than the critical and harsh backhanded compliments Beomgyu would receive from the boy). Eventually, he even got used to living with Beomgyu, which was a huge milestone.
Before they knew it, they were almost finished preparing to release their third EP––Blue Hour. They were practicing the choreography for their bside, We Lost the Summer , and Taehyun was starting to get annoyed; they had to keep repeating because Kai kept getting off beat in one particular part. He loved the boy, but this was getting tiring.
“Okay! One more time, then we’ll break for lunch.” The instructor called out, a tired smile on her face.
The boys nodded silently, getting into their starting positions. The music blasted through the speakers, and the boys immediately engaged in the choreography. As Taehyun turned into his new position, he collided with Kai, causing him to fall forward, the cat hybrid reaching his hand out to cushion his fall. He crashed into the ground, his index and middle finger bending in a way that they definitely shouldn’t have been, causing the boy to yell out in pain as he curled into himself.
“Taehyun! Are you okay?!” Beomgyu immediately ran to the hybrid's side, lifting him up with an astonishingly worried expression on his face.
Taehyun groaned out, looking down at his shaky fingers as a deep purple bruise spread on them. He breathed out carefully, before looking at Beomgyu and hesitantly moving his fingers away from the other hybrid. Beomgyu silently disappointed, a sensitive expression on his face as his head slightly dipped.
Everyone stood around the room, astonished yet awkward silence filling the air.
“Can…can I see it?” Beomgyu asked, a careful, fearful, and hopeful tone in his voice.
Taehyun hesitantly sighed out, before bringing his fingers towards Beomgyu.
“It’s really bad, Taehyun-ah. We need to get him to a hospital, now.” He turned towards Soobin, the leader of the group already pulling out his phone to call their manager.
“Wait here, one minute.” Beomgyu stood up from his side, before running over to his bag and shuffling around it. He soon picked out a roll of bandages and ran back over to the boy.
“Here, they’ll feel better with the pressure of the bandages.” Beomgyu unraveled the bandages, soon tearing a piece away and starting to wrap the boy’s fingers with it, much to the boy’s disapproval.
“Why do you have bandages in your bag?” Taehyun criticized as Beomgyu wrapped his fingers together. He looked at the other hybrid as he slightly tensed, Beomgyu blinking his eyes up to Taehyun’s. Those damned captivating eyes.
And then Taehyun remembered. That damned incident. And part of his heart panged in guilt. The bandages probably have to do something with it. Okay, let’s be honest. The bandages had to do with that incident 100%. But it was up to Taehyun to decide whether it was a precautionary measure to ensure another accident wouldn’t happen to any of them or to treat that wound that should’ve been healed a long time ago. He’s tempted to go with the former.
“Uh…no particular reason. Come on, let’s get you to the hospital!” Beomgyu nervously blinked, before changing the subject and helping Taehyun stand up.
🩵
“Your finger is fractured. You’ll need to wear this cast for at least three weeks.” The doctor smiled surely, looking up from his clipboard at the group of boys.
They all sighed a collective sigh of relief. Taehyun silently deflated. Suddenly he couldn’t picture anything but that visual of Beomgyu curling in on himself as he clutched his shoulder. He didn’t register the doctor leaving the room.
“Did you hear that, Taehyun-ah? Only three weeks! Thank god.” Soobin patted his shoulder reassuringly, smiling widely in front of the other hybrid.
Taehyun looked at Soobin silently, then at Beomgyu. The other was smiling happily, relieved and overjoyed expression on his face.
How? How could he be so genuinely nice despite how Taehyun had shown him the ugliest side of himself?
Tears slipped out of his eyes silently. He cried as softly as he could, guilt shadowing his heart.
“Taehyun? Taehyun-ah what’s wrong? Three weeks is nothing!” Soobin panicked, looking at the others confusedly before rubbing Taehyun’s head softly.
“Yeah, Taehyun, it’ll be fine! I’m sure you can still dance. And…if it’s really challenging we can always help you…with whatever you need. Okay?” Beomgyu smiled, circling around to Taehyun’s side and looking at him surely as he softly grabbed his other hand.
More tears fell from his eyes as he cried out softly, lifting his good hand over his mouth. The others moved closer to him, laying their hands on his shoulders.
“It’s okay, Taehyun. It’ll all work out.” Yeonjun comforted, soft tone in his voice as he smiled.
“Yeah! We’ll help you with anything, Taehyun.” Kai energetically nodded, tail wagging behind him.
Taehyun looked at Beomgyu silently, before crying softly once again as he continued to stare at the other hybrid. Beomgyu froze, staring at the other hybrid for a minute silently. Then, something clicked in his mind. He stretched his arms out, before lightly shoving Taehyun into his stomach.
“It’ll be okay. No matter what. I promise.” Beomgyu spoke tenderly as Taehyun sighed into his stomach.
Taehyun continued to breathe out softly, wrapping his arms around Beomgyu carefully. Beomgyu closed his eyes, before patting Taehyun’s head softly, a thoughtful, hesitant, neutral expression on his face.
🩵
Their relationship improved a lot after that day. Taehyun stopped criticizing every little thing Beomgyu did in his mind. He noticed how he took care of the others as well, even if it was just in little ways. Giving Kai any and all of the seafood on his plate, conveying he was sick of seafood; Taehyun knew better, he would always gaze at the seafood on their plates almost lustfully when he thought no one else was looking. The way he would immediately be by his Yeonjun-hyung’s side if he even so much as caught a glance of an upset expression. The way he would taste test every batch of pastries Soobin made whenever he wanted to destress. He really was so Beomgyu through it all that Taehyun couldn’t believe how cruel he had been to this beautiful tiger hybrid.
Over time, Taehyun started noticing all of Beomgyu’s strengths in the team. How, despite everything Taehyun put him through, he was still hopeful to turn his relationship with Taehyun around. He really was so endearing to the younger boy.
Taehyun started feeling strange whenever he was around Beomgyu. A sort of burning sensation filled his chest if he looked at the older for too long. Was it guilt for all of the things he did to him? Or was it a sort of passion that made him want to be a better person to Beomgyu? Taehyun seriously couldn’t tell. All he knew was that if he made eye contact with the tiger hybrid as they talked to each other, Taehyun would feel a sort of flitter spread through his stomach and chest and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Time still continued to pass despite how Taehyun felt like a minute without Beomgyu was suddenly suffocatingly lagging. Time passed so quickly, they were now at the end of their fourth year since their debut, and they were at their last end-of-the-year award show. The sections they were nominated for had already passed, so they had no reason to be here really except to catch up with their other friends in the industry. Taehyun was looking at Beomgyu silently (as usual), who was looking at Yeonjun.
Something was wrong. Beomgyu could tell. Maybe it was the way his Yeonjun-hyung was a little too quiet or the way he wasn’t smiling and intently watching the other idols’ performances, but something was fundamentally wrong with his hyung.
“Hyung? Are you okay?” He whispered, intertwining his fingers in his hyung’s. He slightly flinched when he came into contact with his hyung’s elevated temperature.
“Huh? I’m fine. Don’t worry.” Yeonjun huffed out, a tired smile on his face.
Beomgyu eyed him suspiciously, before lifting his hand and feeling his forehead. Yeonjun silently relaxed as his cold fingers pressed against Yeonjun’s overly warm forehead.
“Hyung, you’re burning up! Come on, we’re going home. Soobin, call the manager to pull the car in front.” Beomgyu immediately stood up, linking his right arm and helping his Yeonjun-hyung walk from their table.
Beomgyu always took the lead on these kinds of things. He said he used to be sickly as a child, but since his parents had to work he learned how to take care of himself as best as he could so he wouldn’t burden anyone. Since his family was always stigmatized from the local hybrid hospital in Daegu he was their designated nurse because he studied all kinds of things at his school library and online.
Taehyun loved Beomgyu. That much was obvious by now. He loved every single flaw and strength. He loved when he bunched his hands up in his sweater sleeves when it was too cold; he loved when he laughed so hard his whisker dimples would come out; he loved how his beautiful eyes shined whenever they were talking about showcases, or concerts, or even MOA . There was so much to love about this boy Taehyun wondered how he couldn’t see it. But would he ever reveal it? That was for him to decide and Beomgyu not to know.
When it was made clear that Yeonjun had a simple cold that night, Taehyun watched Beomgyu clean out their basin from the bathroom and fill it with cold water, before dipping a washcloth into it and carrying it to Yeonjun’s room. He carefully wrung the washcloth out above the basin, before laying it onto the older’s forehead. The older’s fox ears slightly flickered, before his grimace lessened and he relaxed.
They certainly didn’t expect Soobin to fall sick the very next day. Blame it on his tactile nature with the older, or their ever-blooming relationship. It hadn’t been long since they started sleeping in the same bed, but it seemed not even a cold could stop them. Beomgyu confined them to Yeonjun's room, feeding them together and giving them medicine together. And as much as Taehyun or Kai insisted, he told them he would take care of them well so they should just relax and not worry since he didn’t want them getting sick as well. Luckily they had the week off for Christmas, so they could all relax without having to worry about missing any of their schedules.
It didn’t take long for Soobin and Yeonjun to heal from their cold.
But then Kai got sick after the New Year and all hell broke loose in their dorm.
Kai rarely got sick, so when he did get sick it was a sort of slow burn of panic and fear that filled the air. If Kai got sick, it meant anyone who got close to him would no doubt fall ill. So, with that being the case, Kai was quarantined in his room the whole time he was sick with the flu. Beomgyu was still his nurse; he would feed him, bring him medicine, and even check his condition every half hour or so. He just couldn’t stay long and couldn’t be tactile with Kai like he usually was when the maknae needed it. He wore a mask every time he came to Kai’s room, and as much as it hurt to not be able to physically comfort the boy, Kai always reassured him it was understandable.
Eventually, after a week and a half of being quarantined, Kai was fully healed and ready to tackle all the schedules awaiting him.
Taehyun’s love for Beomgyu only grew exponentially during that time. The way Beomgyu loved and cared for the members was so intensely evident that Taehyun felt like he could collapse in the boy’s passion if he let himself. Even he couldn’t deny it at this point, he was so achingly in love with this hybrid. But, his cowardice always won at the end of the day. He was a coward who would take this secret to his grave if need be.
💙
Time kept passing. They were now in their sixth year since their debut. They were in the midst of their U.S. leg of their third world tour. Sure, they were tired of their neverending schedules, but seeing MOA was worth the utter exhaustion.
They were currently getting ready for their show in New York. It was only a matter of time until MOAs started flooding the stadium and filling the air with their screams. They were so excited for the adrenaline rush. They all arose to the stage excitedly, waiting in anticipation as MOAs screamed loudly.
The concert was going so well. They were all instantly energized by MOAs’ energy and loved interacting with them by hearing their screams and waving to the MOAs on stage.
They were performing Ghosting and interacting with MOAs happily as they all sang their parts. Taehyun noticed Kai and Beomgyu jumping with some MOAs in one section and smiled widely, standing up from his crouching position to join them. Beomgyu smiled as he looked behind him, noticing Taehyun looking at them and quickly running over to join the boy. The confetti cannons around the stage went off, causing confetti to fly all around them and onto the stage. Beomgyu instantly slipped on the tiny pieces of paper, causing him to fall back and to his side. Taehyun froze in his spot as his eyes silently widened in horror.
The scream Beomgyu let out did not sound okay. The tiger hybrid of their group curled into himself, screaming loudly as he clutched his shoulder. Tears instantly sprung in Taehyun’s eyes as he collapsed to the older’s side, shakily reaching his hands out to the older. His ears rang as the screams and cheers instantly vanished, the stadium instead replaced by a jarring atmosphere.
“B––Beomgyu-hyung. Are you––” Taehyun breathed out, before panickedly looking at his members surrounding the two.
He looked down at Beomgyu once more, tearfully, before he flipped the older around to lay on his back. He screamed out in pain once more, tears falling from his eyes as Taehyun flinched back in horror.
“It––hurts…ahh…Taehyun-ah, it hurts so much! Ahhh…” He grimaced as he cried, sobs ripping from his throat as he automatically converted back to Korean.
Taehyun was pulled back to his feet, the boy looking at his members nervously as they pulled him away from Beomgyu. The staff instantly picked Beomgyu up from the ground as well, before helping him walk backstage. When did the staff even get here?
“Taehyun-ah, it’s okay. Taehyun-ah, focus. He’ll be fine, just look at me right now.” Soobin pulled Taehyun’s teary face to look at his.
“Beomgyu’s okay. Right now we have a job to finish. Go see MOA! Tell them he’ll be okay.” Soobin nodded surely, gravely emotional but with a serious expression.
He was right. They had a job. They had to focus on that. Even though it seemed like the last thing they should be thinking about right now.
Taehyun breathed out, drying the tears on his face and nodding silently. He smiled, ever so slightly, as he turned to MOAs and walked closer to them.
“It’ll be okay! Sorry if I worried everyone. Beomgyu is okay! I promise.” He smiled as he automatically reverted back to English, a cheerful expression on his face. Even if he wasn’t too sure if he could fully trust in his words.
He breathed out, before smiling and sitting down once again, singing his part in Ghosting acapella. Soon, the music started once again, and everyone continued to sing their parts.
💙
As soon as the concert was over, the boys were immediately rushed to the hospital after the staff explained that the injury seemed too great for their onsite medic. They scrambled into the waiting room, Yeonjun taking the lead on asking for Beomgyu in English.
“Where is Beomgyu Choi? Uh––what’s his English name––Ben!! Ben Choi!! Uh––the tiger hybrid with ears and a tail! Black hair, tall, small face…” Yeonjun nervously ranted, describing him like some panicked mother who couldn’t get his bearings straight.
“Ah, Beomgyu Choi. I’m sorry, you can’t see him yet. You’ll need to wait here.” The receptionist pointed her arm to a group of chairs still open, the boys hesitantly nodding and sitting in anticipation.
It felt like an agonizing eternity to see Beomgyu while they sat in that waiting room. In reality, it was only a simple forty minutes, but it’s not like that’s what mattered in this situation. When they were called into his room, they all scrambled in nervously, desperation to see Beomgyu evident on their faces.
Whatever they were prepared for, it certainly wasn’t this. There Beomgyu sat, a teary yet numb expression on his face as his arm was covered by some kind of contraption that spanned down his whole arm. Taehyun willed himself to not collapse and break down sobbing.
“Oh, Beomgyu! Oh, god, what happened? How did––” Soobin instantly went to hug him, before Beomgyu flinched back and Soobin instead chose to cradle his face softly. He looked at Soobin silently, tears welling in the older’s eyes.
“The…the doctor said all of the tendons in his shoulder were ruptured.” The manager hesitantly spoke, a devastated tone in his voice.
“Ruptured?! From a fall? That––that doesn’t make any sense!” Soobin shook his head tearfully, turning to their manager confusedly.
“They said…it’s likely if he’s had a shoulder injury before. And…Beomgyu said––” The manager turned to Beomgyu tearfully, the young hybrid curling into himself
“It was years ago. I’m sorry. I didn’t think it mattered. It was during Drama practice and you guys were getting water. I’m sorry. I should’ve told you.” Beomgyu shook his head, looking at them tearfully.
Taehyun suddenly felt sick as the visual of Beomgyu curling into himself crowded his mind.
“Yeah, you should’ve told us! You know how serious injuries can get! Now look at us!” Yeonjun yelled, overly emotional tone in his voice.
“No, it’s my fault! It’s all my fault. If…if I told someone…this wouldn’t have happened. If I just said something to anyone you would’ve gone to the hospital and gotten it checked out.” Taehyun emotionally blubbered, heat building in his chest and throat as he spoke.
“Taehyun, you––”
“I’m sorry, Beomgyu-hyung. I…I was just scared…and I thought everything would be okay. I’m so sorry.” Taehyun shook his head, walking closer to Beomgyu’s bed and untwisting Beomgyu’s hands from his lap and rubbing them softly.
Silence fills the room.
And then a single soft laugh. They all look towards Beomgyu.
“You? Kang Taehyun, scared? The Kang Taehyun? Really?” Beomgyu laughed at Taehyun tearfully, the younger’s eyes silently widening.
“Y––yeah! It was a stressful experience! Of course, I was scared to tell anyone!” Taehyun rationalized, incredulous expression on his face. Beomgyu laughed louder, slightly bending over as tears fell from his closed eyes.
“I can’t imagine you scared though. Especially over me.”
“Well, I was! Do you know how much your recklessness scares me sometimes, hyung?”
“Really? My sweet Taehyunie was really worried about me back then, huh? Aww, it’s okay. Hyung’s okay.” Beomgyu pat his face gently, Taehyun smiling tearfully in response.
“Stop fooling around, hyung! This is important!” Taehyun pleaded with the older, pouting slightly.
“Aww, you’re so cute when you’re worried, Taehyunie.” Beomgyu laughed, rubbing his head with his good arm softly as his whisker dimples stuck out.
Taehyun smiled endearingly, before looking at his other members who had tearful but soft expressions on their faces. They all laughed softly, before looking at each other simultaneously.
“Let’s not play the blame game, alright? Let’s just all agree to do better at telling people about injuries and take care of each other as best we can. Especially Beomgyu.” Yeonjun spoke, looking at his younger brothers as they all nodded, before patting Beomgyu’s head.
“It’s okay! It’s only for two months! We’ll be back in Seoul by then, so I just have to do physical therapy for eight months after!” Beomgyu smiled widely as he swayed his head back and forth reassuringly.
“The pain meds he’s on are pretty strong right now, so the doctor said he might seem sluggish and spacey for the next few days.” Their manager smiled tiredly, looking at Beomgyu continue to sway.
“Ahh, I see. But…does he really need that whole…thing on his arm? It seems so big.” Soobin nervously asked, looking between their manager and Beomgyu’s arm.
“Yes, he needs it.” A new voice joined the conversation, causing all of the boys to turn around simultaneously and gaze at the man walking into the room.
“Ah––hello?” Yeonjun confusedly spoke in English as he faced the American doctor.
“Hello, it’s nice to meet you.” The doctor replied in Korean, surprising everyone in the room.
“You speak Korean?” Soobin’s eyes widened, a shocked expression on his face.
“I studied at Yonsei University for college.” He nodded, smiling widely.
“Ah, what a relief. Wait, so, why does Beomgyu need this whole thing anyway?” Soobin continued, a confused expression on his face.
“Well, Beomgyu-ssi ruptured almost all of the tendons in his right arm, so we put a stabilizer on his arm to protect against harmful movement and partially immobilize it. This is an abduction sling, it keeps his shoulder lifted away from his body so he doesn’t move it under any circumstance. Okay? You cannot use this arm at all for two months.” He pointed to each part of his arm, explaining it easily so the group would understand.
“I––I guess that makes sense. Thank you, doctor.” Soobin smiled, before looking at Beomgyu and smiling softly as the other hybrid stared off into space.
“No problem. Now, I was able to pull some strings and get you the amount of medicine he’ll need for the next two months. He can only take two a day. After that, he has to stop taking it and go to physical therapy at Yonsei Hospital.” He pulled out four bottles full of pain medicine before handing them off to the manager, who put them in his bag. Afterward, he pulled out a clipboard and a pen.
“If you sign right here you’ll be able to take him back to your hotel. Hope you feel better, Beomgyu.” The doctor smiled, leaning down to the spacey boy. Beomgyu smiled widely, waving to the doctor silently.
“Okay! Come on, Beomgyu, let’s get you back to your hotel room.” The manager smiled, holding the clipboard in his hand before leaning down to the slightly delirious boy.
“Come on, Beomgyu-hyung. I’ll help you back to the hotel.” Taehyun wrapped his arm around Beomgyu’s left arm, helping the boy stand up as he leaned into Taehyun’s figure. Taehyun flushed, ever so slightly.
🩵
When they made it back to the hotel, Taehyun carefully set the older onto his bed before sighing out. Thank god they were sharing rooms this time.
“Okay, Beomgyu-hyung. I’m gonna wash your makeup off, then we can get you changed. Sounds good?”
“I’m so tired, Taehyun-ah.” Beomgyu leaned his head back, closing his eyes.
“I know, but we have to get you changed. We have the day off tomorrow, so you can sleep in then.” Taehyun spoke as he walked into their shared bathroom, before standing in front of Beomgyu once more and wiping his makeup off with a wipe. God, he was so pretty even half-asleep.
“Taehyun?”
“Mm?”
“Do you think MOAs are disappointed? That I couldn’t come back out?”
“Of course not, hyung. I’m sure they’re worried.”
Yeah. Twitter is probably blowing up right now with thoughts about Beomgyu. Taehyun’s sure every MOA knows about it now. He wonders if the company has already sent a notice out about it. He’ll have to check later. Right now, taking care of his Beomgyu-hyung is all that matters to him.
“Mm. Do you think I should send out a video message?” Beomgyu smiled at Taehyun tiredly.
Taehyun smiled widely, bunching the makeup wipe up in his hand. God, how could anyone not love him?
“I think MOAs would like that a lot, Beomgyu-hyung. Do you want my help?”
“Yeah! You can hold the camera! But…I wanna change first.” Beomgyu uncomfortably wriggled in his clothes, causing Taehyun to laugh as he threw the makeup wipe out.
Taehyun got Beomgyu’s pajamas from his suitcase, before walking over to the boy and smiling. Taehyun helped the older hybrid out of his pants, before sliding his shorts on silently. He unbuttoned the older’s shirt, a small blush on his face as his ears flickered nervously.
“Have your ears always been this cute, Taehyun-ah?”
Taehyun silently flinched, looking at the other hybrid silently as his blush deepened.
“M––my ears?” Taehyun tried looking at his ears, eyes trailing to the top of his head before Beomgyu leaned his head against Taehyun’s stomach area.
“B––Beomgyu-hyung? Are you okay?” Taehyun spluttered, a panicked blush on his face.
“I really screwed up this time, huh?” Beomgyu’s voice was subdued, something most people didn’t have the pleasure of hearing.
Taehyun instantly relaxed, blush lessening ever so slightly.
“No, Beomgyu-hyung. I––it’s…it’s fine! We’re here for you, so it’s gonna be fine. Two months is nothing.”
“Mm…ugh, get this itchy shirt off me!” Beomgyu wiggled his left shoulder as he lifted his head from Taehyun’s stomach area.
“Okay, okay!” Taehyun smiled, unbuttoning the rest of Beomgyu’s shirt and taking the contraption (as they dubbed it in the car) off of his arm, and putting a simple white t-shirt on his chest.
🩵
Beomgyu did indeed record a video message for MOAs, conveying he was okay in both Korean and English and that they didn’t need to worry. The agency had already uploaded the notice of Beomgyu’s hiatus before that, so Twitter was flooded with worried comments and wishes for Beomgyu to get better soon.
Hello, this is Big Hit Entertainment. This is a notice regarding Tomorrow X Together member Beomgyu.
After an unfortunate incident at today’s concert at Madison Square Garden, our agency and Beomgyu have decided to put Beomgyu on a ten-month hiatus starting today (June 2nd). A professional doctor has advised us that he will have to wear a sling for two months and go to physical therapy afterward.
We ask for your understanding and prayers for our artist during this time.
Thank you.
The video message definitely served to reassure fans after the announcement. MOAs all earnestly wished him well wishes and said they’d wait for him as long as it took so he didn’t need to worry.
Beomgyu got used to his painkillers three days after the incident. He obviously missed their next concert in Illinois, but the boy hadn’t been very lucid since they got off the plane, so it’s not like he could be disappointed too much.
Since Beomgyu couldn’t be left alone, the staff had to bring him to every concert despite the pain it provided the tiger hybrid. He still wanted to perform for MOAs so badly despite the tendons in his shoulder rupturing. He really was meant to be an idol.
Taehyun saw how he wanted to perform so desperately. How he softly cried when he assumed Taehyun was asleep and whispered I wanna perform again… it broke Taehyun’s heart. Nothing could compare to Beomgyu’s desperation to perform again and it was so evident in the sad smiles he showed the group when they went on stage. He thought of a way, any way he could satisfy the boy’s needs without worsening the situation they were in. How could he show the boy he loved just how much he truly cared about him?
🩵
Taehyun was starting to get a little sick of the silently disappointed expressions Beomgyu would revert to whenever he assumed no one was looking. It was near the end of their second concert in Illinois, the boys were getting ready for the next segment of their concert while Beomgyu was sitting on the couch in their green room, bored and slightly upset expression on his face. Taehyun sighed out, before grabbing Beomgyu’s hand silently. The older looked at him, a slightly confused expression on his face.
“Come with me.” He slightly pulled Beomgyu’s good hand closer to him.
The older stood up from the couch, before Taehyun led him through the twists and turns of the backstage carefully, mindful of his arm. He helped the older onto the platform as carefully as he could, the older instantly looking at Taehyun with the biggest glint in his eye. Taehyun smiled, squeezing his hand in affirmation.
“No dancing. Only waving with your left hand. Okay? I’ll be keeping my eye on you.” Taehyun firmly spoke, before smiling widely once more.
Beomgyu smiled widely, eyes wide with wonder as he nodded silently. The platform began to rise, Beomgyu shaking in anticipation. They all stood on stage, before walking closer to the front as screams erupted from the audience. Beomgyu instantly ran to the front, Taehyun following behind him with a satisfied smile on his face.
“MOA, did you miss me?!” Beomgyu screamed in English as Dear Sputnik started, to which MOA’s screams filled the stadium in response.
Beomgyu hopped around the stage as the others sang their parts, waving to MOAs with his left hand and reading their signs as he reassured them he was fine. Taehyun was so happy seeing the other hybrid this happy, that he didn’t even realize his ears popped out in admiration. When fans started screaming his name, that’s when he realized. He ran over to Beomgyu as his head bounced with some MOAs in the crowd, joining them excitedly.
After the concert and send-off ended, Beomgyu was still bouncing off the walls with newfound energy.
“MOA’s energy tonight was so amazing! Ahh, this is what I’ve been missing! Can we keep doing this? We just have one more concert in America, pleaseeee ? I promise I’ll be extra careful!” Beomgyu pleaded with their manager, cupping his hands together as he slightly pouted.
“Beomgyu, need I remind you that you’re technically on hiatus ? You weren’t even supposed to be up on stage today!”
“But look how happy MOAs were! Please! It’s just one more concert!”
“Beomgyu, I can’t just––”
“What if…we let him go on stage when there's no choreography for songs? He’s guaranteed not to get hurt then. Besides, we’ll be here to protect him if anything happens.” Taehyun suggested, a glint in his eye as he defended the older.
“Well…I guess. As long as you’re extra careful.”
“I promise!” Beomgyu swore, a wide smile on his face before he looked at Taehyun and smiled warmly.
🩵
“Thank you, Taehyun-ah. Truly. I would never be this happy without your help.” Beomgyu smiled widely as he sat on his bed, slightly sighing out as he closed his eyes contentedly.
“It’s nothing, hyung. Especially when I…” Taehyun trailed off, smile fading from his face as he walked closer to the older’s bed.
He looked at Beomgyu for a minute, who stared at him with a slightly confused expression on his face. Taehyun slightly sighed out, facing the other with a serious expression on his face.
“I’m sorry, Beomgyu-hyung.” He grabbed the older’s good hand, slightly tender expression on his face.
“Eh? Why?” Beomgyu confusedly widened his eyes, slightly astonished expression on his face.
“For…for always treating you so…aggressively back then. If I’m being completely honest I was…threatened by you at first. You’re a tiger, I’m a cat. Who would look at a cat when there was a tiger in the group? I was so desperate to debut I’d do anything to make sure I was loved. Even stigmatize you when you didn’t deserve it.”
Silence filled the air. Taehyun closed his eyes regretfully.
“I’m so sorry, hyung. Truly.”
Beomgyu doesn’t speak. Taehyun nervously opens his eyes, expecting to be hit by the boy. When he gazes at Beomgyu with tearful eyes, his soul is stripped bare.
“I’m sorry, Beomgyu-hyung! Please don’t cry! I’m so sorry!” Taehyun dries the tears from his eyes, a tender and vulnerable tone in his words.
“I’m sorry I made you feel that way, Taehyun-ah. I…always wondered why you were so critical of me during practices and in schedules. I just…thought you wanted us all to do our best no matter what.”
“I did! But I was always unnecessarily harsh to you alone. It wasn’t fair, especially when you were doing your best.”
“Funny enough…it inspired me to be the best version of myself I could be. You always made me want to be better in everything. So…thank you, Taehyun. I wouldn’t be like this if it weren’t for you.” Beomgyu smiled softly, tears drying in his eyes as he faced Taehyun.
“Eh? B––but––this…is not how I was expecting this conversation to go.” Taehyun slightly laughed, tears filling his eyes.
“Well, you know how unpredictable I can be. I think…we should promise to treat each other as best we can. For both of our sakes. Okay?” Beomgyu held his pinky out in front of Taehyun, the younger hybrid instantly intertwining his with Beomgyu’s.
“Promise.” He whispered, drying the tears in his eyes.
And then a knock reverberated through the room. And the two hybrids looked at each other somewhat confusedly, before Taehyun went to answer. He looked through the peephole in the door, before smiling silently and opening it, letting the rest of their team members into the room.
“Post-concert ramyeon party!!” Kai energetically ran in, bags and cups of various ramen in his arms.
Beomgyu laughed softly, standing up from his bed in response and walking over to the desk in their room where Kai was setting the ramen down.
“What about drinks?” He smiled as he looked through the different types of ramen.
“Got that covered right here.” Soobin walked to the desk with a bag of drinks from the convenience store.
“Okay! I want the cup ramyeon.” Beomgyu smiled easily, pulling the chair from the desk out and sitting down.
They all gathered around the table, their time together filled with laughter and easy jokes as the ramen cooked. They all ate and drank happily, simply happy by spending time together and sharing easy conversations.
Taehyun looked at Beomgyu as the older laughed while intermittently sipping on his beer. Beomgyu looked at Taehyun silently, a slight blush on his cheeks as he was starting to get drunk. He scooched his chair closer to Taehyun, shoulder flush against Taehyun’s. He linked his arm around Taehyun’s silently, before leaning in and snuggling into his figure. Taehyun silently blushed before relaxing and smiling at Beomgyu surely.
Now, it may have been the atmosphere of the moment, or the alcohol, or maybe even just for the hell of it. What happened next Taehyun could have never expected in the grand scheme of this whole day. Beomgyu leaned in closer to Taehyun’s face, closing the distance between the two of them as the older gazed at Taehyun’s lips silently. Taehyun’s cheeks instantly flushed, the boy looking at Beomgyu silently as he closed in proximity to the older. Beomgyu’s lips softly connected to Taehyun’s, the older closing his eyes as Taehyun’s eyes silently widened.
Beomgyu’s lips hesitantly disconnected from Taehyun’s, alcohol on his breath as he breathed out and looked at Taehyun with a glint in his eye. The younger breathed out, a glint in his eyes as his chest tingled with the feeling of unrestricted love. He stared at the older silently for a minute, before softly kissing him on the lips once more, closing his eyes as he let himself sink into the older’s warmth.
“Ooh~ the two lovebirds over here~” Soobin teased, a drunk smile plastered across his face.
“Get a room, you two,” Yeonjun smirked, before taking another sip of his beer.
“You’re technically in our room so technically you three should be the ones leaving!” Beomgyu pulled away from the kiss, defending the two of them with a pout on his face. God, Taehyun loved him.
“I love you so much, hyung,” Taehyun whispered under his breath, shaking his head as he smiled widely.
“I love you too, Taehyun. More than you could ever know!” Beomgyu abruptly turned to Taehyun, glint reentering his eye as he pouted and slightly yelled at the younger.
Taehyun’s eyes silently widened as he flushed. He hiccuped nervously, the cat hybrid instantly breaking eye contact with the older as he lifted his hands to his mouth.
“You’re so cute when you’re nervous,” Beomgyu smiled, lifting his good hand to Taehyun’s cheek.
“You’re drunk.” Taehyun refuted nervously, blush coating his cheeks.
“I may be but I’ve never been more sure of myself in my life. Kang Taehyun, I am in love with you. And I want to spend the rest of our lives together no matter what.” Beomgyu looked at the younger surely, confidence in his voice and on his face.
Taehyun silently flinched, eyes widening as his pupils dilated. After a moment of hesitation, he smiled, genuinely, vulnerably.
“I love you too, hyung.”
“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”
“Shut up, Kai! I’ll kiss my new boyfriend whenever I want to!” Beomgyu smiled widely, before kissing Taehyun after finishing his sentence. Taehyun laughed softly, before kissing his back tenderly as he closed his eyes and cradled Beomgyu’s cheek.
After Taehyun hesitantly left the kiss, he gazed at Yeonjun and Soobin, now kissing on the lips as Yeonjun’s fingers slipped up toward Soobin’s torso.
“Now they’re the ones that need to get a room,” Beomgyu smirked knowingly, a mischievous smile on his face.
“Fine, I’ll just go back to my room and cry about how single I am!” Kai fake cried as he ran to the door, before waving goodbye with a wide smile on his face.
“We should probably get out of here too. Congrats on manning up and confessing to each other!” Soobin smiled, patting Taehyun on the shoulder as he and Yeonjun simultaneously stood up from the desk.
“Thanks. See ya tomorrow.” Beomgyu smiled, waving his good arm back and forth as they left the room.
Taehyun looked at Beomgyu silently, cheeks heating up as the older smiled warmly.
“We––we should get ready for bed.” He nervously stood up, thinking weren’t the feelings supposed to get easier after you confess to each other? Apparently not.
“Mm. Can we…sleep in the same bed tonight?” Beomgyu asked with a shy expression on his face, blush deepening.
Taehyun’s eyes silently widened, before nodding happily.
“Y––yeah. I’d like that.” Taehyun smiled shyly, before grabbing the older’s hand and leading him to his bed.
Once they were both settled into the queen bed, Taehyun hesitantly intertwined his fingers in Beomgyu’s, blush on his cheeks as they both stared at the ceiling of the room.
“Taehyun? Can I say something else?” Beomgyu sounds unnecessarily nervous, despite the past thirty minutes.
“Of course, hyung. What is it?” Taehyun instantly stood up from the bed, looking at the older intently.
“Thank you. For letting me love you. And…loving me back. I…I never thought it was possible. Especially after your…confession earlier.”
Taehyun felt his heart aggressively rip out of his chest.
“I––I’m sorry, hyung. I don’t know how I could have ever brought myself to treat you like that. And…the fact that I was so unnecessarily cruel to you tears me apart every day. But…I want you to know that I’ll never stop loving you again, hyung. I truly…love you with my whole being, Beomgyu-hyung. Forever.”
Taehyun leaned back down to the bed, before kissing Beomgyu on the lips affectionately, the older instantly kissing him back. Beomgyu’s left arm wrapped around Taehyun’s waist, the other breathing into the kiss passionately in response.
“I’ll never stop loving you, Kang Taehyun.” Beomgyu smiled surely, a sweet tone in his words.
And Taehyun believed in those words. He would believe in those words until he collapsed into himself and the earth swallowed the two.
Fin