Work Text:
Han Dongmin, who goes by the name Taesan, is a typical office worker for a company named BND. He doesn’t expect too much income from the work and he enjoys every second. His boss, Myung Jaehyun is thankful for staying in the company. Without him, BND wouldn’t be in this place.
“Taesan-ah, you should accept the bonus salary for staying an extra shift.”
“No, I”m fine with the income I get every month.” He smiled with his mouth closed.
“If you say so, just come to me if you need more! I’ll be gladly helping you out.”
Taesan just bowed to the latter and walked from the office. He checks the time and sees it’s over 10 pm. He walks silently to the nearest playground by himself.
The harsh winter air attacks Taesan, making him have to pull his hoodie closer to him. He puts his hands in his pockets and walks forward until he sees swings.
He soon arrived at the playground he used to play since he was young. Taesan puts his bag on the sand and sits on the swing. It’s been a while since he’s relaxed. He looks at the shining stars above and leans on the side.
He glances at the see-saw nearby, it was once full of kids playing together and having fun. Now, it feels like the playground has shrunken smaller and smaller every time Taesan visits it.
Taesan recalled the time he and his friends used to play together when he was attending school in Busan. He misses the fresh ocean scent, he misses the time he first moved to Busan for education. In short, Taesan misses Busan more than anyone else.
He also misses the brown haired boy, whom he called “Leehan”. The last time they both said goodbye, it felt like fate was pulling them apart. Their goodbyes were not the best memories, Taesan doesn’t want to peel the wound again.
Like a bittersweet ending, Taesan sadly had to leave Leehan in Busan and move to Seoul by himself where he built his new life from square one.
Though his life in Seoul is ordinary, he met some amazing people while living there. He met Sungho, who’s in the same team as him at work. He met Riwoo, who’s friends with Sungho and taught Taesan some dances in between his job and his free time. He met Woonhak, who’s a brother of Jaehyun and would hang out with him during break times.
Taesan feels appreciated with them for filling the empty void in his heart. Days after days, all five of them would hang out and after, they all formed a friend group.
Back to the present time, Taesan is still subtly swinging back and forth. He felt a sudden cold dust on his nose. Not a moment later, white snow would fall from the sky. Taesan gets up from where he was sitting and goes back to his apartment.
The next day while walking to his work, he found a new coffee shop that was popular a day back. He thought about trying it, but he didn’t because he was late to his job. Now that he came earlier, he could go in and try a coffee for a morning.
The bell chimed when the door opened. Taesan slowly walks into the warm place unlike the chilly weather outside. He goes to the counter to order a drink and a dessert.
“Hi, what would you like?” The person sweetly asked Taesan while putting the money in the cashier.
Taesan assumes it’s the barista, so he says his order. “One iced americano and a chocolate cake for go-to, please.” He took his credit card from his wallet and was about to hand it to the barista when he was asked a question.
"What name should I write for you?" This time, the barista looked at Taesan and changed his expression from joyful to expressionless face.
Taesan feels like he has met this person before, but he can't remember from anywhere else. So, he has no choice but to say his name, "Taesan, Han Taesan."
The boy took his credit card and the machine showed "accepted card". Once after, he hands the card back and says, "Alright... I'll call out your name once the drink is finished."
The blonde boy who was wearing glasses and an apron walks back to the kitchen. Taesan, dumbfounded, walks to a table nearby to wait for the order.
A moment later, his name was heard loud and clear from the counter. "Han Taesan, your order is ready!" He puts his phone away and walks to the source.
He takes the dessert and the drink from the boy's hand and sees the familiar name, 'Kim Donghyun'.
"Leehan."
"Yeah, It's me."
"I'm sorry about the past." Taesan answered a beat late from the latter's words.
"Let's not talk about those here, you should probably go now. You have a job, don't you?"
"Right." Taesan scratches his head and walks out from the shop. He never thought this day would come.
"You look depressing right now, anything news?" Jaehyun leans on the pillar near Taesan's desk and crosses his arms.
Taesan debate on whether he should tell the truth, but without talking would be like staying in a suffocating place with limited oxygen. So, he makes a decision to tell it to him.
"I met my... old friend. We had a massive argument before I moved to Seoul so now we're both sort of distant with each other."
"You two must've been affected by whatever that is. I'm sorry for both of you." Jaehyun pats Taesan's back and wishes him good luck before returning to his room.
Taesan takes a sip of the iced americano Leehan made. If he was being honest, he was scared that Leehan would put random ingredients for his drink just so that Taesan wouldn't want to come back to the shop ever again. But after a taste, he felt like it was the best drink he's had in a while.
"Taesan-ah, is it something new? You never buy something to eat or drink at work." Sungho stands up and takes a peek from his chair. Taesan grabs his americano and chocolate cake from his table and shows it to Sungho who was sitting across from him.
"That looks delicious! Can I know the place? Or is it okay if you show the way this evening?"
"Sure do, hyung. Invite the others too, we need to share the happiness." Taesan then texts the group for today's plan.
After getting confirmation, Taesan puts his phone to 'do not disturb' mode and gets ready to dive into a sea of documents and papers.
Taesan looks at the time, it's time for his shift to end. He gets up from his chair and stretches his muscles. Afterwards, he puts the papers near his computer and puts his things in his bag. Taesan takes the empty americano cup and was about to throw it to the bin when he saw his name horribly written in black marker. He unconsciously smiles and cuts his name from the cup and throws others in the bin. For the name, he puts it in his wallet where he can see it every day.
Sungho waits for Taesan near the escalator. "I'm so hungry, I need to eat now."
"Do you wanna bet a strawberry shortcake that Woonhak will be there the earliest?"
"I don't think he would be there early, this kid would forget about the plan and get ready at the last minute." Sungho laughed, teasing Woonhak with affection.
The duo soon arrived at the destination. There, they saw Jaehyun in his work outfit, Riwoo on the other hand with a colorful fit and Woonhak with his school uniform.
"I told you, he didn't even change his clothes because he was late." Sungho whispered his Taesan's ears. They both giggle while walking towards the trio.
"These two didn't even change their clothes! I understand you and Taesan but, Jaehyun has his clothes at the office, doesn't he?" Riwoo complains playfully.
All five of them walk into the cafe with their brightest smiles. The cafe was quiet with almost no one in it. Taesan thinks it's because it just opened recently. All of them sits in a table, and after getting what each wants, Taesan walks to the counter to order.
"Hey, can I have..."
The waiter, who was again Leehan, serves their food and drinks. He goes back to the kitchen after and mops the floor.
Meanwhile, Taesan can't stop glancing at Leehan who looks bored. Jaehyun nudged his shoulders and whispered. "Are you judging or are you having a love at first sight?" He wiggles his eyebrows and Taesan brushes it off by saying "No, I'm just looking. Don't think too far."
"I can get his number for you." Jaehyun gets up from his sest and walks to Leehan. Taesan curiously tries not to look over so that Leehan wouldn't suspect it's him who asked for his number.
"Hey, Donghyun, right? My friend wants your number but he's too shy to get it so I'm here for him" Leehan stopped moping and looked at Taesan's table. Others are busy eating and talking while Taesan is scrolling on phone. He looks again at Jaehyun. It wouldn't hurt to give it, right?
The sunsets and the outside starts to darken every minute. It's time for the group to go back home. "It was full, thanks for the food!" Riwoo stretches his arms and waves goodbye. He walks home with Sungho. Taesan sees Jaehyun waving to him along with Woonhak. He waves them back, then walks straight to his apartment.
Immediately at home, Jaehyun sends Taesan a message. He assumes it's Leehan's number, because he remembered the conversation at the cafe.
Meong
Here's his number
+010 xxxx xxxx
Me
I didn't ask for it hyung
but thank you
Meong
GO TAKE YOUR CHANCE
Taesan giggles at Jaehyun's message. He thinks about texting Leehan, but with the past, he thinks he shouldn't while his heart is telling otherwise.
"Fuck it, I'm texting him."
Leehan is now back at his place after his shift. He takes a cool shower and rests in bed. He tries not to think about the black haired boy by shuffling around in his bed. But how can when he dress up so well? Just then, he remembered their conversation this morning.
"Leehan."
"Yeah, It's me."
"I'm sorry about the past."
"Let's not talk about those here, you should probably go now. You have a job, don't you?"
"Right."
Leehan admits he was being a little rude when he met Taesan after years. He feels sort of sad but his mind thinks he deserves it. Leehan is now at the crossroads, should he follow his heart or his brain? He sits up and looks at the fish tank next to his bed.
"What should I do, my child?" Leehan whispers to the blue corydora who was staying still in front of the tank.
The fish just keeps on swimming around the rocks and corals. Leehan flops back to his bed. He looks out the window seeing a busy city. It's just like his mind right now, every inch of his mind is full of Taesan just because he thought about it for one moment.
He wishes he could scream but he physically can't. Just in time, a text came from his phone. He looked at who it was and the number was unknown. He thinks it's the customer's friend who was interested in Leehan number.
+010 xxxx xxxx
Hi, is this Donghyun?
Me
Yes, who are you?
While the stranger was typing, he decided to change the contact name to 'stranger'.
stranger
Just call me San for now, I just wanted to say I liked your coffee and desserts.
Me
Thank you ^_^
I made them by myself
stranger
I thought we could be friends, is it okay?
Me
I don't know you that much yet, can I see your identity first?
stranger
I'll reveal when I'm comfortable.
Just like that, the text stopped coming from the other. Leehan thought the person was sleeping, so he put his phone near the fish tank and to the dreamland.
Taesan on the other hand, felt like something big was getting off his shoulders. He wishes he could stay anonymous with Leehan but, the truth is gonna be out one day.
Taesan's routine stays the same. Except, he wants to visit the cafe whenever he passes in front of it. He silences his urges to say a greeting to Leehan.
Taesan wants to rebuild their friendship, but he can't. What if Leehan is still mad at him? What if Leehan hates him? All the possibilities are negative outcomes. Jaehyun still asks him about him and the old friend he introduced as. He just ignores the question and works on his stuff.
One day at the weekend, he takes a short nap after getting everything done at the house. He lays down on the couch and closes his eyes.
"San! Aren't you hanging out with me?"
Taesan's frown turned into a small smile after seeing Leehan. "I will! Just wait till I catch you." Taesan runs after Leehan.
Taesan finally caught Leehan in his arms and giggled. Both of them stay still until Leehan talks.
"I want to go on a trip with you, maybe on my next school trip?"
Taesan finally remembers what he wanted to say to Leehan. The lump starts to form in his throat and somehow, he can't talk anymore.
"You're attending here until university, right?" Leehan looks up at Taesan who's avoiding eye contact.
"Yeah..." Taesan softly answered. His mind tells 'Just say it out loud'.
Both of them hang out everyday at school but for Taesan, his secret starts to uncover itself in his class.
"Did you hear Han Dongmin is changing schools?"
"What? Where's he going then?"
"To Seoul! He said he's going back there."
Leehan heard everything. He runs as fast as he can to his house while Taesan sees everything. There's no turning back now.
"Leehan let me explain-"
"I don't want to hear anything! Do you not know you're the only friend I have?"
"Wait-"
"Why didn't you tell me? I could've had time to prepare for it, why did you hide it from me?"
"Leehan. Listen to me first." Taesan firmly places his hand on Leehan's shoulders.
"Where did our promise go, huh? Where did our future trip plans go? I fucking hate you!" Leehan swore he said the words louder than he normally talks. He pushes Taesan's hands from his shoulders.
"You wanna be like that? Fine. I'll go to Seoul now and hope I'll never see your face again."
"Fuck it Kim Donghyun. I had to move because of my dad's job!" Taesan adds on, his words filled with anger and frustration.
Leehan feels his eyes water as he falls on the floor with his knees. His eyes still glued to the ground.
"Get out."
"I hope you spend your birthdays alone." Just like that, Taesan shut the door louder than Leehan ever heard.
Taesan wakes up in a cold sweat. He looks around his surroundings and sighs with relief. The nightmare has begun once again after seeing Leehan. He tries not to sob by distracting with the view outside, but the tears start to form in his eyes.
He opens the window and the cold December air hits him harder than before. It's karma, Taesan thinks. He stares at the starry night. Suddenly, a moment with him and Leehan flashes in his eyes.
"Leehan, do you wanna go see the stars?"
"Let's watch it from the rooftop!"
Both scrambled all the way to the top and their eyes filled with awe. Taesan leans on his hand as he watched the night full of shining stars.
"I name that star Leehan!" Taesan points out the brightest star in the sky.
"Silly, that's Polaris. It's the northern star!"
"My star, my rules."
Past Taesan would tell the present Taesan that he's being too emotional. He doesn't care if he's being emotional or not. He's reminded of something, he needs alcohol. The best thing to do when you miss your old best friend whom you hope to not see his face again is that you can always buy alcohol to not think about him anymore.
Taesan takes a walk to the nearest store to buy 3 bottles of soju. He has been a lightweight, he can't drink more than one bottle. Hell, he can't even finish one drink without being sober. Well, it's Saturday. He can drink as much as he wants.
He comes back home and prepares a place to eat. Ultimately, he chooses to drink on the kitchen counter.
First shot, no problems. Second shot. Again, no problems. Shots after shots, he starts to feel like his head is on a rollercoaster. He starts to talk to himself after a couple more. He phones random numbers, telling them about him and Leehan. He phones Jaehyun, telling him about how he feels without Leehan, how he feels when he had to abandon Leehan by himself. He phones Sungho, telling him about his problems with blind dates, how he wants Leehan to not date with anyone else. Poor Sungho, having to hear Taesan's slurred voice and hiccups and trying to piece together what he's talking about in the middle of the night.
Speaking of the devil, Taesan accidentally called Leehan with his fingers. The call went through, but Taesan doesn't know it.
Leehan prepared for sleep when he was startled by a call. He looks at the contact name, stranger it said. He curiously accepted the call. "Hello?"
"H-hey! Who is this c-cutie..?"
"I think you've got the wrong number."
"I-I do not think that~! I- hiccup -'m Taesanniee ... The giant m-mountain himself!"
"Taesan. What do you want?"
"I nee~d a friend to- talk."
"Do you not have friends?" Leehan grips his blankets harder.
"Noo... Taesannie has f-friends but hiccup 'm only best f-friend is Hannie~ My Donghyunie..."
"Taesan, quit acting." He feels his eyes daring to cry.
"What? I'm noot acting!! I o-only tell the truth..." Leehan can hear the cries from the other call.
"Taesan, go to sleep. Are you drinking?"
"Hm? Yes! I drank because I~ was m-missing hiccup Leehanniee."
"Where do you live?" Leehan gets out of his bed and turns on the speaker while he puts on a jacket.
"I live in my- hiccup house!"
Leehan gets out of his apartment and walks hurriedly to Taesan's apartment. He hopes it's the apartment Taesan told him years ago.
"Fine... I live a-at..."
Knocking is heard inside of Taesan's apartment. Taesan weakily walks to the front door and opens with his leftover energy. He didn't expect that the one and only Leehan would stand outside of his apartment.
Once Leehan walks in, his eyes flicker to the kitchen with 2 emptied bottles of soju. "Taesan, how much do I have to tell you to not drink more than a few shots? And you drank soju? I thought you were drinkin-"
Leehan's words get cut off when Taesan puts his entire body on Leehan and hugs him.
"I can't- hiccup walk~" Taesan rubs his face on Leehan's shoulders and hugs him harder. Leehan carries Taesan with one hand and walks to his bedroom where he gently puts Taesan into bed and tucks him with blankets. He was about to walk away from Taesan to clean the mess on the kitchen counter when he felt a tug from his clothes.
"D-don't leave... stay.."
He isn't sober, you can't stay Leehan's mind thinks. He lures Taesan to sleep by sitting on the edge of the bed and giving Taesan headpats. Once Taesan is sleeping, he walks to the kitchen to clean the bottles and every mess he made.
Afterwards, it was late. He made a decision to stay until morning and run away from Taesan's apartment. Until then, he decided to have a tour by himself of Taesan's apartment. He looks around the living room. There's some lp albums and some books near the lp player. He found Taesan's guitar, the one he gifted because he thought Taesan might like it. He found some pictures of him framed, some trophies and certificates found with dust on them. Leehan made sure to shake the dust on the pictures. After a tour, he lays down on the couch and sleeps peacefully.
Taesan wakes up with the worst headache in his life. He regrets drinking last night, but it was worth it. He stumbled on his way to the kitchen when he saw a sticky note on the fridge.
Take care of yourself next time.
- Leehan
Then, the realisation hits. Did he call Leehan last night? Did he do anything bad to Leehan? He pulls out his phone from his pocket and checks the phone numbers. He found numerous random numbers along side with Jaehyun's and Sungho's. Of course, Leehan's number is the last call he had before he wakes up.
Taesan remembers nothing from last night. He should treat a meal for Leehan as an apology. But then again, Leehan knows that number is Taesan now. What's there to avoid the question that the number is his anyways? Taesan makes a choice. One, he's going to text Leehan that he's sorry for last night and that this number is him. Two, try to hang out to hopefully forget about the event. Three, maybe try to gain their friendship back in progress. It's a perfect plan if there's nothing to go wrong.
Monday. Taesan hates mondays but he can't help it. He lazily gets dressed for work and continues his routine as usual. He walks to the company and sometimes glances at Leehan's shop. When he spots the dazzling smile outside, his smile makes him immediately energetic as if Leehan's smile is like witchcraft. He continues to walk forward to the company with a big smile on his face.
"Boss, who's got you smiling like that?"
Jaehyun flinches when he hears Taesan's voice. He puts away his phone from his eyes and looks around the office as if nothing had happened and whistles.
"Let me take a wild guess, Sungho hyung?"
Jaehyun stopped whistling and looked Taesan dead in the eyes. He sees Taesan with the brightest smile and slowly gets out of Jaehyun's office. "Han Taesan come back here!" But Taesan runs as fast as he can to his desk. Sungho looks at Jaehyun who was chasing after Taesan. Like magic, Jaehyun's face turned into a friendly expression to Sungho who was in confusion. After Jaehyun walks back to his office, Sungho asks him what happened. "It's nothing, Jaehyun hyung is just having a crush like a teenager over someone."
In the evening after his shift, he thought of visiting Leehan. He prepares himself with the best excuse just for Leehan to not hate him over stupid reasons.
"Hi, what would you like..." Leehan looks up to see the face of a man he took care of.
"Um, nothing. I just wanted to come in for... a warm place, yes! It's so cold outside so I had to come here." He says and slowly marches towards the table where he can see Leehan the best.
Leehan dismissed it and moved on to another customer. Taesan watching every move of Leehan. It reminds him of something, the time when Leehan had the first pet fish, he would watch it everyday with Taesan at his house. Now, it's like Leehan is the fish and Taesan is watching him do his work. It's oddly comforting, which Taesan doesn't expect.
Just then, a group of girls came into the cafe. One of the girls murmurs about Leehan and the shop. He pretends to stay on his phone while listening to their conversation.
"That guy, Kim Donghyun, is so handsome! I think I might have to ask for his number."
"Oh my god, do it girl! I can't wait for my friend to get a boyfriend."
"Don't expect much. But if he becomes my boyfriend, I'll introduce him to you guys!"
Taesan can't listen to the conversation anymore. He gets up from where he's sitting and walks over to Leehan.
"Are you free tonight?"
"Don't tell me you're going to drink again."
"I'm not, it's weekdays. I just want to apologise for it and I want to treat you to dinner as an apology."
"Alright then."
Taesan walks back to his table, hiding his small smile. Then, one of the girl goes to the counter and orders some. Taesan heard some words from the girl like 'interested' and 'number' but he heard Leehan respond with something like 'sorry' and 'taken'...? Is Leehan in a relationship? He has to ask about that tonight. For now, he seems to focus on brewing the drinks.
"You didn't have to wait for the shop to close just so that we could go together."
"Well, I wanted to."
"Where's the restaurant?"
"Not a restaurant, we're going to my apartment. I'll cook for you."
Both walk in silence. Taesan wants to start conversations but he fears something might go wrong, so now both are walking without a word coming from their mouth.
Soon, they arrived at Taesan's apartment. The jiggling sound of keys is heard from Taesan's hand. In the room, Leehan is presented with loads of origami and stuff. "Sorry, I didn't have time to put all my origami somewhere."
"It's okay, I'll sit somewhere else."
Taesan wears the apron he bought the other day. Leehan tries to look out the window but the view wasn't any better than Taesan cooking for him. Leehan's own voice in his mind tells him he looks like boyfriend material. Immediately after, a scent of vegetables filled the air. He can feel his stomach growling with hunger. Taesan hears a faint sound of it and teases him. "Is your stomach that impatient?" Leehan looks at Taesan who was focusing on grilling the meat. "I didn't eat lunch today, Maybe that's why."
After placing the dishes, Taesan gets a bunch of meat and puts them in Leehan's plate. "You need more protein than I do." He says as if he doesn't care about Leehan when in fact he's worried that Leehan skipped lunch.
"Thanks, I guess." Leehan slowly eats and fights back the urge to say the food is bad. Taesan has been good at cooking since he was young. Both used to make easy desserts for watching the movie together at home. Leehan misses how they used to be. At least, Taesan is the one who's trying to fix the mistakes he made. Leehan knows he should apologise for the sudden outburst in their argument. He doesn't know where to start, all he knows is he wants to say sorry for once.
"I'll do the dishes."
"No, I'll do the dishes. You're the guest in this situation."
"Let me do the dishes. It's an apology for the past."
"No, I'll do the dishes. Even if you apologise for it, it's rude for guests to wash dishes."
In the end, Taesan won by washing the dishes. Leehan is now chilling by himself on the couch. He feels bored, until Taesan talks. "Are you taken? I heard you talk about that in the cafe." Leehan whips his head to the sink to see Taesan still washing the plates. Leehan hesitates for a while and speaks up. "No, I just lied because... I don't like girls."
Taesan halted what he was doing and tried to look at Leehan, but he avoided it by looking at the TV screen. He continues and softly speaks back. "Thanks for coming out. I need to apologise to you for saying... stuff like that before I moved."
"It's alright, the past is in the past now."
"So, are we good now?"
"Yeah, you could say that."
Since that day, he has been too energetic. Everytine he goes to work, Jaehyun and Sungho would ask him what happened to his brain while Riwoo and Woonhak would ask him if someone has put a love spell on him. He finishes all the work way earlier than he usually does, he improves with providing service to the clients and most importantly, he gets to visit Leehan everytime he finishes his shift.
"Taesan hyung has really gone insane."
Woonhak decided to visit Jaehyun in the afternoon. There, he saw Taesan working like a maniac. Riwoo follows him after and tells him to not worry about the sight. "Ever since he bought coffee from the shop we went together, he has never been so focused on work while chugging on caffeine."
Since the Christmas holiday is coming up, Taesan has been more busy with work than taking care of himself. Sometimes, Leehan would text him saying to "drink water" or "don't skip lunch". One time, Taesan forgot to take his lunch box so he had no choice but to skip it by drinking coffee. Leehan knows Taesan often forgets to bring his lunch box and coincidentally, he made it and brought it to the company. On those days, Sungho would tease him, saying he has someone to take care of him and then seeing his face turn to bright red.
"Alright everyone, listen up! I want all of you to rest and I know some of you might want to go and hang out at the carnival that's taking part in Christmas, so I, Myung Jaehyun, give everyone three days off for holidays!" Jaehyun proudly declares and everyone in the office starts cheering up and thanking Jaehyun for the holiday.
Taesan immediately texted Leehan if he wants to go and hang out at the carnival near the city center at Christmas. Leehan replies back with a thumbs up emoji and a 'yes'.
A day before Christmas, Taesan goes to visit the carnival with his friends just in case. He saw colorful lights hanging in front of the shops, a calm music playing and tasty food. Riwoo goes to the game counter to play some and win a prize. Sungho and Jaehyun disappear into a thick crowd while Woonhak follows them, Taesan knows they're having their own date with their so-called 'child'. He looked around and saw a souvenir shop. He saw a fish keychain and reminded him of Leehan. He looked around other keychains and saw a black cat keychain along with matching rings beside it. Taesan doesn't hesitate to get them and buys the fish and cat keychain with two silver rings with their initials on it. When coming back home, the four didn't ask a question as if they already knew who he's going to give.
Taesan arrived at the cafe earlier than anyone. Leehan was cleaning the tables and looked up to find Taesan with a cozy sweater. "Hey, are you free this evening?"
"I am. You don't forget about your plan, I see."
"Why would I forget?"
After drinking the coffee he bought, Taesan went out to the nearest gift store to buy a box to put the keychain and the matching ring.
It's two in the afternoon. Riwoo and Sungho are now in Taesan's bedroom, helping with what clothes to wear.
"Will this look good?"
"Dongmin-ah, don't worry. He wouldn't even notice if you wear designer clothes or not." Said Sungho, who was sitting on Taesan's bed and looking at the panicked Taesan.
"Oh! What about this? Wear this on top of the shirt and put on ear mufflers, or headphones." Riwoo shows the clothes combination to Taesan. Taesan looks at Riwoo, soon after, he bursts into a big smile.
"Thank you Sanghyeok hyung! I owe you one for this."
"By the way, why are you acting like this is a date or something?" Sungho looks up and down at Taesan. Riwoo gets the hint and starts doing the same to off guarded Taesan. "It's not, we haven't hung out with each other for a long time."
"In a long time, my ass. You two have been hanging out more than I do with Jaehyun."
"So you do admit you've been hanging out with Jaehyun a lot?"
"This isn't about me and him!"
"We'll let you figure it out yourself, good luck!" Riwoo dragged Sungho away and left Taesan alone. Now, it's up to him to give a good impression, back to square one.
The piled-up snow and colorful illumination
In one hand, I hold the gift I bought to see your smile
In the crowd, far away, you wave your hand at me
My heart won't stop pounding, hoping you won't hear it
Taesan anxiously waits near the carnival. He looked around him, and all he saw were couples. He felt humiliated by them, but at least Leehan is coming. He wrapped his hand around the gift he bought and waited patiently. Just then, a blonde haired boy waved at him near the crowd. Taesan knew who it was and put on his best smile. He made sure to hide the gift behind him.
"Hi, you dressed up so well." Leehan spoke first. Taesan's mind is interrupted by Leehan's flirting. He could feel his heart beating loudly in his body, he hopes Leehan doesn't hear it. Taesan doesn't know it, but he takes Leehan's hand and gives the gift he's been preparing.
"Open it."
Like a command, Leehan untangles the ribbon and opens the gift. There, he saw the ring Taesan was wearing and a cute fish keychain. Leehan smiles with his eyes and puts on the ring on his left ring hand immediately. He looked at the detail and saw it had Taesan's initials. "Thank you for this, I won't forget about both of them."
Softly, snow falls on your cheeks, your white breath teasing me
I just want to keep looking at you like this forever
A tiny bit of snowflakes gets on Leehan's cheeks and nose. Taesan shakes them off Leehan's face and lets out a breath. After getting to the carnival, they both start with an easy one, a carousel filled with people. Both of them got a ticket and got on the horses immediately. Taesan takes out his phone when the carousel starts spinning and takes pictures of Leehan being joyful. A white air comes out of Leehan's mouth when he laughs softly. Taesan wishes he could look at their happy moments forever.
I wish, from now on, I'll always stay by your side, watching you over
You're more beautiful than anyone else, so show me your dazzling smile
"Hey... I still want to properly apologise because the last time wasn't enough for me." Taesan faces Leehan and anxiously says.
"I'm sorry for leaving you, I promise I'll stay by your side forever. I'm sorry for my past actions, if you still hold a grudge. I'll try to be a better person from now on. I actually miss talking with you like we're back in teenage years. I'm so sorry for everything-" Taesan can't finish his sentences before Leehan comes and hugs him with his entire body. Suddenly, he felt a tear on his neck. "Are you crying?" Leehan only nods slowly without any words.
"Don't cry, I don't want you to cry because of me anymore. Smiling suits you better."
The snow softly painted this town with snow and illumination just for us
Everything seems to shine today because I love you
After talking out their challenges, both are now walking around the carnival. Beside the carnival, they can see the town covered in snow. It looks somehow comforting to Taesan. He looks back at happy Leehan, who's buying food for both of them. Then, his heart aches, is he in love?
Just after rethinking about his feelings, the world looked much brighter and more refreshed. The lights hung on the shops look shining more than ever, the snow feels a lot warmer, the air feels more breathable and the only boy who's shining more than the stars itself is standing in front of him. Taesan doesn't know it, but his heart is telling him he's very much in love with Leehan.
Having you closer than usual makes me so happy
Even when we go back to our everyday lives tomorrow, I know I'll still feel this joy
So, we won't forget this once-a-year day
Let's capture these moments in our camera roll
"Come! Let's go inside the ghost house together."
Taesan knows him and Leehan aren't scared of ghosts, they simply don't believe in those. Before he could process what was happening, Leehan already bought tickets for the two.
Inside the ghost house, other people who were coming with the duo were screaming while Leehan and Taesan linked their arms together to pass the area. Taesan, having a flustered face, hides his face by looking away from Leehan's direction. Leehan, who was busy laughing at the people behind them, didn't realise how much he made Taesan blush.
"We made it!" Taesan takes his arm back to his comfort zone and celebrates with Leehan. Outside the house, there was a taiyaki shop. Taesan dragged Leehan to the shop and bought two for them.
"Wait! Stay like that." Leehan stops Taesan from eating the taiyaki and takes out his polaroid camera to take a snap. The photo came out hilarious with Taesan looking like a kicked out kitty. Leehan then takes a picture of him holding the taiyaki with Taesan behind him. After both photos were done printing, Leehan gave the photo of them together to Taesan while he took the picture of Taesan about to eat.
"Leehan-ah, don't put that in your phone case, please. My face looks so pathetic."
Leehan definitely didn't hear what Taesan said. He puts the polaroid in his phone case as a memory.
From now on, I'll always stay by your side, watching over you
Holding your hand tighter and not letting go
The snow softly painted this town, with snow and illumination just for us
Next year and forever, unchanged, just like this
"Hey, are you alright? You've been weird since the ghost house."
"Yeah, I am."
"If you still feel scared, you can just hold my hand, you know." Leehan takes his hand out to Taesan. Then, their fingers intertwined. As if they're meant to be, their fingers fit like a lock and a key. Taesan smiles but Leehan smiles harder.
"You wanna go over there?" Taesan points out the cotton candy machine where you can make your own cotton candy by yourself. "Let's go!" Leehan leads the way and Taesan just lets him do anything he wants.
Time flies when happy moments happen. Taesan doesn't want the day to end, nor does Leehan. They've spent the whole evening together, now it's time for them to part ways.
"Thanks for today, I had a fun time with you." Leehan holds Taesan's hands gently. Oh, how much could the little touches make Taesan go insane in an instant.
"You too, I feel a lot better with you."
Both are now standing awkwardly in front of the entrance of the carnival. Leehan was about to talk first when he was interrupted by Taesan's confession.
"Kim Donghyun, I'm in love with you!"
"You... love me?"
Snow white magic
Smile just for me
Say I love you (I love you)
"Yes, I'm in love with you so much I hate my past self for leaving you! I love you so much-"
Leehan shuts Taesan's mouth with his hand and whispers. "I love you too, Han Dongmin! I love you more than I do my fish!"
Taesan halted what he was about to say. He takes Leehan's hand from his lips and curls his fingers to make a fist. Then, he gently pecked each knuckles until he reached the ring he gave earlier. He kisses the ring more than anything else and continues till he reaches the pinky finger. Leehan, who was flustered by the action, had to look away to hide his racing heart.
"Do you wanna come to my apartment or should I walk to yours?"
Safe to say, Leehan chose to go to Taesan's apartment instead of his. The night unravelled with Leehan cuddling in Taesan's bed with the owner himself.
Snow white magic
Smile just for me
Forever, illuminate
("Did you get a boyfriend or something?" Taesan almost choked on his morning coffee when Woonhak asked him.
"Boyfriend!? Who got a boyfriend?" Jaehyun runs all the way from Sungho's desk to Taesan's.
"I bet 20 bucks he got Leehan as his boyfriend." Sungho smirked and kept working on the documents.
"And I bet a hundred that Sungho hyung got Jaehyun hyung as his boyfriend." Taesan says as if it's nothing. Riwoo, who was busy making his coffee, looks at Sungho, then at Jaehyun. The two look around the office to distract others. However, it doesn't seem like Riwoo is distracted. "Must've been the wind..." He mumbles under his breath and continues to make his coffee.
"So that's why they brought me with them to the carnival to not get suspicious!"
"You're such a smartie, Woonhak." Taesan snickers. He takes his phone out of his bag and texts Leehan to wait for him at the cafe so that he could flex on the customers.)