Archive of Our Own ^beta

Fall

Life is clockwork, made of routines. 

When the tiny numbers at the bottom of his laptop show 18:00 and people begin to pack up their desks and bid their goodbyes, Beomgyu knows it's also time for him to finish up the last email, close his laptop shut and slide it into the cabinet underneath his desk. Twist the lock shut, hook the keys back onto his lanyard and pack his bag. Bid his colleagues goodbye and headed to the car park.

The traffic jam is always terrible at this hour, so he turns on the radio and listens to the evening news. Answers a few emails he couldn't get to in the office. By the time he clears the expressway and turns into the area near his home, it's nearly eight, almost an hour since he left his office. 

The path straight ahead would lead to his apartment complex, but Beomgyu will make a right turn two traffic lights before his apartment instead to pick up dinner. Today, he's having Chinese takeout. Yesterday was Italian. 

It's all clockwork.

The moment Beomgyu taps his access card on the reader by the gantry is the moment he switches his brain off. When he slips into his car and puts on the seatbelt, it's muscle memory that gets him home. He doesn't have to think. And he's happy he doesn't get to because when he does, his thoughts slip back to her. 

How long has it been, three months? Four? Maybe four months since she walked out of his apartment. Beomgyu hasn't kept count. Keeping count of the days serves absolutely no purpose and will only make things worse. At least her apology sounded sincere. He wonders how she's doing. Is she doing fine or does she live every day tormented by the memories of their relationship and eaten away by guilt? It's been a while since he saw her too, his traitorous brain thinks. Beomgyu quickly shakes the thought out of his head and slaps himself. Don't jinx it. 

The traffic is a lot clearer today, and he exits the expressway half an hour earlier than usual. So Beomgyu does something he hasn't done since four months ago, he breaks his routine and makes a turn early for another Chinese restaurant. It's further away, but their sweet and sour pork is ten times better than the one near his apartment—a trade-off for convenience. 

The restaurant is bustling when he pulls up. There are families having dinner—parents still in office wear while the children are in their daycare uniforms. Couples having a meal together before heading home. Some individuals are picking up dinner just like he is. 

Egg fried rice with salted fish and prawns, and a side of sweet and sour pork to go, he tells the lady owner. She gives him a ticket, and he stands to the side, a hand stuffed into his pocket while he scrolls aimlessly through his Instagram Explore page. So many cute puppies. He smiles at a video of a cute Samoyed playing in the field and sends it to Soobin. 

The owner calls his number out a while later and he thanks her with a smile. And perhaps today is one of those days where he can say his smile is genuine, as the fragrance of egg-fried rice fills his nose as he makes his walk back to the car. He's been working on counting his blessings lately, as small as they are. Today’s blessing is this box of takeaway in his hand. He’s also broken his routine and gone out of his way to treat himself. That’s another blessing. 

And it's as if the universe knows he's finally healing in his own way, it sends the one person that started it all to begin with, the one person that still feels like the missing half of him, right to his doorstep.  

“Beomgyu?”

It's funny how one person can have so much power over you. To love, he found through the hard way, is to give someone the power to destroy you, while at the same time trusting them that they will not use it. Just one word—the utterance of his name, and everything he's done to heal, to forget, to move on vanishes within a second. Feels himself being dragged right back to where he started by the collar. Beomgyu’s blood runs cold and he freezes, hands hovering over the handle of his car door.

“Beomgyu? Is that you?”

He turns around—it's her. 

Sohee looks awkward and shy, her hand clutching tightly onto her handbag. Beomgyu hates that his heart still stutters when she smiles at him as if nothing has ever changed and he physically can't bring himself to even hate her. She talks and asks him questions, all of which he barely registers. His ears feel like they’re stuffed with cotton and his body is moving on its own accord, and he’s just watching everything unfold through gradually dimming lenses. 

“Hey sorry to cut this short, but I really have somewhere to rush to,” Beomgyu tries to put on his best apologetic smile, though with seven years between them, she probably can see through his mask. “Someone’s waiting for me.”

Beomgyu doesn’t know what compelled him to lie. Her lips parted for a moment, surprise on her features before it melts into a bittersweet smile and she nods.

“Better not to keep them waiting then. It was a good catch up Beomgyu.”

“See you soon,” Beomgyu says, and both know it means see you never. This is truly the end for both of them. He takes one last look at her before he steps into his car and drives off. 

Good fucking fuck he really jinxed himself earlier.

Beomgyu doesn't even realise he's shaking until he reaches his front door and has to fish for his keys from his work bag. He drops them three times and misses the lock five times from how hard he's trembling, and the next time he drops the keys, he lets out a cry of frustration. 

“Fuck,” Beomgyu mutters, “fuck!” he exclaims again, louder this time. His stupid, useless hands wouldn’t stop trembling and he holds them close to his chest, head falling forward against the door with a thud. Why… why did she have to approach him? The audacity after everything she had done to waltz back after only several months, trying to converse with him as if nothing ever happened between them, as if she never took a huge chunk of him with her when she left. That look of surprise as if she had never expected him to move on, that bittersweet smile as if she had every right to even feel that way about him moving on. It’s just… how dare she. 

And how dare he allow himself to crumble like that, fumbling for his keys like a fucking loser in the hallway. He curses his useless self, his useless hands, and the hot tears welling in his eyes. 

The jingle of keys is followed by a tiny meow and Beomgyu looks at the source of the noise. His eyes widen in surprise when he sees a black cat next to him, his house keys by its feet. Its tail swishes behind it slightly as the cat looks up at him with its round yellow eyes, and meows again when he doesn’t respond. With both its paws, it pushes the keys closer to Beomgyu. 

What a sight. Beomgyu promptly bursts into tears.

He hasn’t cried like this in forever, not even when she came up to him that evening and broke things off. He’d sat on his balcony for hours in a daze, the hollow in his chest eating him alive from the inside as his mind reeled with reasons as to why. With her belongings gone, the apartment no longer felt like his. It’s dull and empty, colours stripped from the walls, yet the memories of her still linger around the apartment. It's a living hell to go home every day and still be able to smell her scent on his sheets, see her toothbrush in his bathroom that she accidentally left behind, and the imprint she had made on his worn-out sofa after sitting in that same spot for so many years. Even so, he didn’t shed a single tear. 

Perhaps the last straw had been seeing her again after the breakup. She looked fine, too fine for someone who had simply lost feelings and walked out after a seven-year-long relationship. Or maybe it’s this little furry friend, with its act of kindness. How pathetic he must have looked, for a cat to help him pick up his keys. 

An ugly sob crawls up his throat, and he presses his palms into his eyes as if that will stop the tears from flowing—it doesn't. His knees weaken and his back slides down the front door, ass hitting the ground with a painful thud. The ache in his chest threatens to swallow him whole, trapping his lungs together, because it’s as if all of a sudden the air in this hallway isn’t enough for him to get by. God it fucking hurts. 

Through his sobs he hears the cat yowl in alarm, pacing around him anxiously as he pushes his face into his knees and curls even tighter into himself. He wants to disappear—let him disappear. The cat meows again and places its paw on Beomgyu’s knees as if it is trying to comfort him. It must be a sight to behold—a thirty-year-old office worker curled in a pathetic heap in front of his apartment door with a cat next to him while sobbing his eyes out. The tears do not stop flowing—pushing relentlessly out of his tear ducts as he digs his nails into his forearms attempting to ground himself with the pain. 

The cat lets out a loud angry meow, displeased, and it paws at his side until it manages to wriggle into the tight gap between his chest and thighs. 

“Hey!” Beomgyu gasps, uncurling himself quickly to make space for the cat. It shakes its fur out with a huff before sitting on his lap. The cat lets out a tiny meow, so gut-wrenchingly adorable Beomgyu whimpers, fresh tears welling in his eyes as it rubs its head on Beomgyu’s chest. It’s all too much, too many conflicting emotions swirling within him and he continues to sob into his palms, much to the feline’s dismay. It continuously paws at his hands until he lowers them. 

“Kitty…” Beomgyu sniffles, rubbing his fingers over the cat’s head. Its fur is unbelievably soft, its owner must take good care of it. “Are you trying to comfort me? Thank you kitty.” 

The black cat meows in reply, large round eyes trained on his face. The cat almost looks concerned. Beomgyu smiles despite his tears. 

“I’m sorry I’m a mess,” he runs his hand down the kitty’s back, feeling its fur between his fingers, “I’m not usually like that but… things have been so shitty lately.” 

The cat sits back on its hind legs and cocks its head to the side as if to prompt him to elaborate on his story. Beomgyu sniffles, wiping away his tears and snot messily with one hand. 

“I broke up with my ex a couple of months ago, and I met her earlier while picking up dinner.” Beomgyu lets out a bitter chuckle at the memory. “I guess I've been bottling it up since then and seeing her earlier kind of… you know.” He motions at himself and the cat meows in what seems like understanding. It carefully places a paw on his arm. 

Beomgyu looks up at the ceiling and sighs, searching for the right words. He had desperately wanted to talk to someone, to let them know that he’s been hurting and having a hard time, but now that he’s got a chance to, it’s hard to articulate his thoughts and emotions. 

“I think…” Beomgyu says quietly, staring absently at the kitty’s tail, “I would have felt better if we had a major fight about it, but we didn't. She sat me down for a talk and told us we should break up. That was it. And I couldn’t even find it in me to ask her why or plead for another chance to make it work together because I already knew I’d lost her months before.” Beomgyu sucks in a shuddery breath. He doesn’t know why he’s dumping it all on a cat of all things, but it’s been something he’s held in for months, unable to approach anyone to talk about it because how does he even talk about this? Everyone thought they were going to eventually get married. They had been the poster couple for love. His parents would be disappointed, and Beomgyu doesn’t think he’s ready for his friends’ questions. 

“I nodded, she apologised, and she left. Came back the next day when I was at work to pack up all her belongings. Left her key behind and that was it, the end of a seven-year relationship.” the cat meows loudly, as if surprised, and it pulls a bitter laugh out of him. “Did it really matter? I knew I’d lost her even months before we finally broke up. I think… I think she was emotionally cheating with her coworker.” 

Beomgyu remembers how she had begun to spend a lot of time after work and on weekends out with her colleague, how she was glued to her phone even while they were together. She stopped communicating with him about deeper issues and then stopped communicating altogether. It felt like they were strangers living under the same roof, acquaintances at best, and when she was going through a hard time, she left home instead, leaving Beomgyu behind to finish the ice cream he had bought to cheer her up. It drove him crazy wondering where did it start to go wrong—was his job taking up too much of his time? Did he neglect her needs? 

But it was too late, and what they had for seven whole years was wasted away in front of his eyes in months. That was what he had thought. Thinking back about it, it had been extremely easy for him to shift the blame onto her to make himself feel better about the breakup. He had been absent first, so preoccupied with work he neglected her needs first . Cancelled on dates for work first. Was it also truly too late to salvage his relationship, or did his cowardice convince him to think it was too late? Did he really want to salvage it? If he had the courage to sit her down and talk about this from the very beginning, would it have played out differently? 

Beomgyu looks down at the cat in his lap, tears still dripping off his chin. 

“I miss her,” he whispers, and his chest aches . He presses a hand to his chest. If he could dig his fingers in and rip his heart out along with his emotions he would. 

“Now that she’s gone, I feel lost. I don’t even know who I am anymore. Everything feels so empty and I’m just going through the motions every day, living life with no meaning. It hurts to come back home because this place used to be filled with her belongings, but now that she’s gone, my apartment is just… grey.” 

The cat meows again. It pushes its head underneath Beomgyu’s hand and purrs when he scratches behind its ear. It’s strangely calming and therapeutic, petting a random cat that decided to sit with him through a breakdown in the middle of the hallway. He’s always known that cats are intelligent beings, but this cat seems to be even smarter than the rest, intelligent in a way Beomgyu thinks it can somehow understand his emotions and words. He doesn’t even realise the tear tracks on his cheeks have dried and his breathing has evened out until the kitty meows again and places a paw on his chest. 

“I'm feeling a lot better now, thank you kitty.” Beomgyu leans down to press his face into its fur, giving it a hug. Even its fur smells nice and oddly like perfume. He receives a satisfied trill in reply. “I don’t want to cry over our break-up anymore,” Beomgyu mumbles into the cat’s fur.

When his ass can no longer stand the pain of sitting on cold hard ground, he lowers the cat to the ground and pushes himself into a kneeling position. He checks his watch—shit, had he really been sitting in the hallway for a whole hour? It's a miracle no one walked past and caught him in the midst of such an embarrassing moment. Beomgyu quickly gathers his belongings.

“Bye kitty, thanks for sitting with me tonight. Hope I'll be able to see you again soon?” Beomgyu gives it one final head pat before he rises to his feet and unlocks his front door. The black cat silently watches him enter his home with its big round eyes, only getting up to leave when it sees that Beomgyu enters his home. He waves, one last time, and closes the door behind him. He's engulfed in silence once more.

Life is clockwork, made of routines. 

When his alarm clock rings and he sees the number 06:30 on the screen, Beomgyu knows it’s time to get up, wash up, and get ready for a new day. Styles his hair with a bit of product—he has to do at least that much, spritzes on cologne, and grabs a slice of plain bread. It’s not exactly very pleasant, but he’s short on time and doesn’t plan on sacrificing ten minutes of sleep just to butter his toast in the morning. 

The traffic is always terrible at this hour, that’s why Beomgyu always leaves before the roads get congested to avoid the morning crowd. He gets into his car by seven-fifteen, and if he hits the expressway before seven-thirty, he’ll reach the office in forty minutes compared to the usual hour and a half.

When he reaches he always parks by the same lot—the one nearest to the lift lobby. Take the lift up to the tenth floor, and the office is on the right. Drops his bag, greets some of his colleagues (those that arrive early to avoid rush hour too), and heads towards the pantry to make his morning coffee. He’s always the first to use the coffee machine and thus will be the one to start it every morning. 

It's all clockwork, routines ingrained into him turning it into muscle memory almost. So when he sees a man he’s not seen before seated at the desk behind him, he freezes in his steps. Who is this?

The first thing that catches Beomgyu’s eyes is his jet-black hair. It's so intensely black it almost looks artificial, the fluorescent light from above reflecting off the inky strands. Despite that, his hair doesn’t look greasy, instead so nicely blown out it makes it seem so… soft and fluffy. It reminds Beomgyu of the day Yeonjun dyed his hair unnaturally black after the company implemented strict guidelines on hair colour out of nowhere. A need for more professionalism, the higher-ups had called it—Beomgyu didn’t bother paying too much attention to that crap. As someone who was seemingly allergic to blending in and expressed himself largely through hair and clothes, Yeonjun had been absolutely heartbroken. Out of “sheer fucking spite” as the older had said it, he picked out the blackest black hair dye he could find on the shelf. The next morning when he strutted into the office pink hair replaced by black it had certainly been extremely eye-catching, even more so than the colours everyone had been used to seeing on him. Beomgyu’s just glad that made the older feel better about losing such an important part of himself. 

The guy must have noticed his presence because he turns to give Beomgyu a polite nod. “Good morning.” 

Oh god. Beomgyu barely swallows the audible gasp that threatens to escape him, because the man before him looks like he was sculpted by Michelangelo himself. His small face, his high cheekbones, his chiselled nose and jaw—it’s as if the angels had taken their time with him the day he was conceived. When his eyes travel up to meet the other's, Beomgyu is immediately mesmerized by his large round orbs, so beautiful that they have Beomgyu breathless. 

Beomgyu realises a second too late that he’s been staring at the stranger for much longer than he should have with his mouth hanging slightly open.

“G-good morning.” He barely squeezes out an awkward greeting before he quickly deposits his bag on his desk and hightails it out of there. He needs coffee. Extra hot, extra strong. Black. 

When Beomgyu’s back with a cup of coffee in his hands and feeling slightly saner, the office is significantly more filled, and he spots a crowd around his desk. All eyes are on him as he approaches and he spots his manager eagerly waving him forward. 

He introduces the newbie—a twenty-seven-year-old man named Kang Taehyun, who had recently transferred from another company. Everyone claps, and Taehyun bows with a polite smile, thanking them all for their warm welcome. Taehyun’s gaze meets his and there’s that jolt again, which has Beomgyu looking away in slight panic. 

“He's good-looking.” A voice pops up by his ear and Beomgyu nearly jumps. The culprit is none other than Yeonjun, his only friend in the office, work husband if you will, who throws an arm around his shoulder and snags himself a sip of Beomgyu’s coffee without his permission. Beomgyu grumbles and snatches it back, holding it protectively to his chest. Yeonjun pays no mind, and instead nods at Taehyun, “he’s really cute too.”

“Date him then,” Beomgyu mumbles lowly into his coffee—they are still in the presence of other coworkers after all, “ask him for his number under the pretence of work-related issues.” 

“Nah, he’s not my type. Just appreciating the view.” Yeonjun nudges him with a grin, “he’s more your type though.” 

Beomgyu raises his eyebrows in alarm, staring at Yeonjun with widened eyes. Was he that obvious? He casts a panicked glance at Taehyun before he looks back at Yeonjun. “He’s not—”

“Right, right,” The older waves him off and cuts across him with an apologetic sigh, seemingly unaware of his internal panic, “I forgot about Sohee. My bad.” 

Beomgyu falters. “That’s not—” 

Yeonjun continues to speak, “You guys are happily in love, I shouldn’t be discussing such things with you.” 

Right, Yeonjun doesn’t know. Beomgyu chooses to remain silent. 

Dinner tonight consists of a burger and fries. Beomgyu’s aware he shouldn't be having takeout almost every day, but he doesn't have the luxury of time to prepare home-cooked meals or someone waiting for him at home with dinner. 

He plugs his phone into the aux and puts Twice on shuffle, the first few notes of What Is Love blasting through his speakers. The music is loud and distracting enough to drown out the thoughts in his head, leaving him only enough room to focus on the road. However, it does nothing to dull the hollow ache in his chest, the lethargy weighing down on his shoulders and the tiredness that seeps into his bones—the kind that doesn't go away with just sleep. 

You guys are still in love. 

When he finally pulls up in the parking lot, he’s utterly drained. He can feel the familiar burn of tears behind his eyes and he presses them into the heel of his palm. Just two days ago he hadn’t been able to cry, and now he’s crying too much. Twice is still playing and Jihyo’s voice fills the car, telling him to cheer up and Beomgyu can’t help but let out a bitter chuckle. Cheer up a little more —he wishes he could. He doesn’t even know why he teared up, to begin with. 

Patting his cheeks dry, he makes sure he looks a little more presentable before he finally switches off the engine and steps out of the car. To his surprise, the black cat from yesterday is waiting for him by his front door curled up atop his doormat. The cat picks up on his footsteps and perks its head up cutely, letting out a loud meow when it spots Beomgyu. It trots over to rub itself in between his legs and Beomgyu nearly tears up again at such a cute display of affection from the kitty. Curse his overreactive tear ducts. 

“Kitty! What are you doing here?” Beomgyu bends down to pat the cat and it meows happily, rubbing its head against Beomgyu’s hand. The black cat is definitely a breath of fresh air, its large yellow eyes a burst of colour in his dull, grey life, something that brightens up his day even though there are only several hours left. The swish of its fluffy tail and its large boba eyes pull a genuine smile out of him, so painfully adorable he feels his heart squeeze. 

“Did you come to check up on me out of pity? Because of yesterday?” Beomgyu coos jokingly, scratching its chin. The cat huffs and regards him with narrowed eyes, seemingly annoyed by his answer. 

“No? You came here because you like me?” The kitty meows. “Aww, thank you kitty. I really like you too!” And he ruffles its fur. 

The cat preens under Beomgyu's attention, head raised and eyes closed in a smile. It's the cutest thing he's ever seen a cat do, and Beomgyu feels himself go soft and emotional, sight slowly growing blurry. Turns out he couldn’t keep the tears at bay after all. He squats in front of the cat, cupping its head with both hands and scratching behind its ears. 

“Thank you for coming to see me again. Wasn't feeling the best today either but your presence made everything better.” Beomgyu admits softly, a smile on his lips. The cat lets out a concerned noise, then bumps its nose against Beomgyu’s hand. It only lets out a satisfied meow when he returns to stroking its fur. 

“I feel like you can understand me sometimes, it's amazing. Do you understand humans kitty?” The cat blinks up at him and lets out a tiny meow. 

“Okay… I don't understand cats, so… but it’s nice either way. I feel understood.” Beomgyu says, voice barely above a whisper. It really is nice, and just like yesterday, he bends down to give the feline a hug. It moves closer and rubs its cheek into the crook of his neck with a soft meow.   

Winter

Beomgyu loves Decembers. It's the time of the year when the whole world begins to slow down, take a collective breather from the hustle and bustle of city life and indulge themselves in the warm festive mood. He loves visiting Christmas markets, soaking in the mood as he enjoys some heavily overpriced food and gluhwein. He used to enjoy walking along the streets at night with Sohee, under the fairy lights that lined every street while Christmas carols played softly through the speakers. 

Not anymore though.

He no longer has Sohee with him this year, obviously, but his boss has also changed since last December. And this boss of his is clearly a single, unmarried freak with no family nor does he understand the concept of respecting his employees’ need for personal time and rest because he piles on even more work on them. As if he knew the Christmas break is approaching and wanted to give them something to bring home as a gift. The stupid dollar-store paper snowman hung up on the wall before him almost looks like it's mocking him as Beomgyu desperately tries his best to clear his to-do list before the break. 

Frankly, Beomgyu has never been more stressed out by work in his life. He’s been having trouble falling asleep and he even broke out, something that hasn’t happened to him since he got past puberty. The only reason why he’s even keeping it together is because of the black cat which has been consistently waiting for him every night by his front door. 

Every day after work, Beomgyu would come home to the cat curled up on top of its doormat. It would meow in greeting, come forward to greet him, and then patiently wait for Beomgyu to open his front door to let the cat in. It doesn’t stray too far, remaining just by the doorway to watch Beomgyu set down his bag, switch on the light and strip off his jacket, before returning to play with it. 

As cute as the cat is, it’s… odd. The way its large round eyes stare at him whenever he tells the cat about his day makes him feel as if the cat understands what he’s saying. It reacts to Beomgyu’s words as if it is having a conversation with Beomgyu. It huffs, rolls its eyes, and sniggers at him and Beomgyu wonders if he’s been so starved of human affection lately that he’s starting to see human traits in a cat. 

Nonetheless, he is grateful to have the companionship of this peculiar kitty. When he’s with the cat his mind quietens, stress is lifted off his shoulders and for a moment, nothing exists beyond just him and his tiny friend. When days are good, Beomgyu either plays with the cat or talks to him about his day. On particularly bad days where it feels like too much, he can’t breathe and tears threaten to spill over as it balances the line of overflow, Beomgyu doesn’t speak. When that happens, the kitty sits patiently in his lap and watches him silently with its round eyes. Not a single sound, just its presence and the tiny paw over Beomgyu’s chest. 

Unfortunately, he has to bring home the gifts from his boss. Other than Soobin and Kai who wished him merry Christmas, it's merely another Tuesday, and the lack of decorations in his home makes it a lot easier to ignore the fact that he's spending it alone at home, working. The day won't have any meaning to it if he doesn't assign it meaning. 

It’s about midday when the doorbell rings. He groans as he stretches his arms above his head, taking his first break since he started four hours ago. His eyes burn and tear up when he closes them.

The lunch he ordered thirty minutes ago must have arrived, and his stomach growls hungrily in excitement at the prospect of food. 

However, Beomgyu didn't expect to open the door to a rather concerned-looking delivery man pointing at a black cat sitting by his feet.

“This cat was uh… sitting here the whole time. Is it yours?” Beomgyu’s eyes widened in surprise and recognition, and both he and the delivery man watch in silence as the cat gives him a simple meow before squeezing past their legs into his home. The delivery man has his jaw slightly dropped. 

“No… but uh, thanks anyway, I'll deal with it.” The man nods, still looking very much in disbelief. Beomgyu supposes he should have looked more concerned that a cat which isn’t his trespassed his home. When Beomgyu finally closes the door behind him and approaches the coffee table, the cat is stretching languidly on his couch, mouth stretched wide open in a yawn.

“Merry Christmas,” Beomgyu places the food on the coffee table, deciding to join the cat this time. “Does your owner know you are here?” 

The cat gives him a small meow. Beomgyu guesses that’s a yes. He reaches out to tickle the cat's belly and laughs when the cat tries to catch his finger with its paws. “You're cute.” 

The noodles he ordered are still piping hot when he opens the lid, steam rising from the container and fogging up his glasses. The smell of it is absolutely mouth-watering, and it attracts even the cat which hops onto the coffee table to have a sniff.

“No,” Beomgyu warns, swatting the cat’s naughty paw away, “not yours.” 

If cats could pout it would have, its ears drooping while it gives Beomgyu the saddest look he's ever seen on a cat. It immediately makes him feel like the worst human being on the planet. 

“Can you—can you not?” Beomgyu whines. “You're making me feel terrible right now.”

The cat blinks, eyes teary. 

“Stop guilt-tripping me. I know you're doing it on purpose.” The cat meows sadly. “These aren't meant for you, you know that.” 

Sighing, Beomgyu lifts the cat into his arms and presses a kiss into its fluffy head, “I'll buy something more suited for your diet next time, okay?”

The cat gives him a small meow, pressing its face into his chest. It does, however, look more appeased, and Beomgyu lets the cat off to do whatever it wants and turns back to finish his meal. 

The sun has set by the time Beomgyu finally finishes his work, casting an orange glow across his apartment when he finally looks up from the screen. Tiredly, he stands up from the desk with a loud groan, his bones cracking when he raises his arms up in a stretch. 

The apartment is dead silent, and he realises belatedly that the cat is still in his house. 

“Kitty? Where are you?”

He hears the sound of nails on the parquet floor before the cat dashes out of his room, coming to a halt right before his feet. Its tail swishes behind it as it stares at Beomgyu with bright round eyes, seemingly trying to convey something to him. Unfortunately, Beomgyu’s not as well versed in cat language. 

“What is it, baby?” Beomgyu squats down, bringing himself closer to the cat’s eye level. It meows loudly and stands up on its hind legs, placing its front paws on Beomgyu’s knees. 

“What?” Another meow. 

“I don't understand you but okay.” Beomgyu doesn't get what the cat wants but he picks up the cat anyway, cradling it like he would a baby. Satisfied, the cat purrs happily and nuzzles its cheek against his shoulder. It's so damn adorable Beomgyu wants to scream. 

“So that's what you want huh? For me to carry you?” Beomgyu coos, carrying the furry baby over to the couch, “You're so cute my little baby.” He cuddles it close to his chest and gives it a loud smooch on its head, “My tiny tiny fluffy baby.” The cat meows and purrs, giving him slow blinks that look very much like a smile. Beomgyu sags into the couch with a loud sigh. The cat is a warm and heavy weight on his chest, the sound of its slow breathing lulling Beomgyu into sleep too.  

He spends his evening like this, curled up on the couch with the cat in his arms. A Christmas movie is playing on the television, but Beomgyu’s not paying much attention to it. The soft murmurs from the television create a nice background noise while he drifts in and out of sleep, body and mind finally having a chance to take a rest in what seemed like months. 

When he wakes up, he’s still on the couch, but the sun has risen and is shining through his curtains. Beomgyu realises with a start that he had slept through dinner and the entire night, a crazy total of fourteen hours. The door to his balcony is slightly ajar, and the cat is no longer around. It must have gone home by itself last night. 

Feeling refreshed for the first time in forever, Beomgyu gets up and gets ready for work. 

Spring

The sight of his manager is always bad news. The sight of his manager standing by Taehyun’s desk and waving him over when he spots Beomgyu is seriously bad news. 

“Oh Beomgyu, good morning. Just about time, I was telling Taehyun about the new client and the project that you both will be in charge of.” Beomgyu shoots Taehyun a quick look before looking back at his manager. 

“A new project?” That means more work. Beomgyu tries not to let his grimace show as he sets his work bag down and pulls out his laptop.

“Yep. All details have been forwarded to you via email so please take a good look through that. I am rushing off for another meeting, so I’m sure Taehyun will be able to fill in any questions you might have.” His manager pats Taehyun on the back, who nods at him with a quiet, “Yes sir.” Sure enough, sitting amongst his three million unanswered emails is one from his manager, sent just forty minutes ago. 

“If there’s still anything else you both need or any questions you both have, feel free to drop me a text or come find me at my office.” 

“Yes sir,” Taehyun says again. 

“Will do,” Beomgyu politely bows and watches his manager leave, before letting out a small sigh. His list of work to be done never ends and Beomgyu can only imagine this will mean more work brought back home or more overtime for him.   

He turns to Taehyun. They should probably go through the project brief together as early as possible so that they could try to work some time for this project into their schedule. Beomgyu’s head already hurts at the thought of having to fit this into his already-packed schedule. Honestly, what was Eunkwang thinking? 

“Hey, Taehyun right?” He turns to properly acknowledge the younger man, and he realises that this is the first time he’s said anything to Taehyun other than a simple ‘Hi’ or ‘Bye’. 

He feels his throat dry up when he’s met with a smile from Taehyun, who sticks out his hand, “Hi, I’m Taehyun. It’s a pleasure to be working with you.” 

He’s so pretty, so devastatingly pretty up close, Beomgyu feels himself beginning to sweat under his collar. He can see the canines peeking from beneath Taehyun’s upper lip and the dimple on his right cheek. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he slides his hand into Taehyun’s warm, calloused palm. “I’m Beomgyu. Nice meeting you.” 

Taehyun gestures at his laptop, “shall we?” he suggests and Beomgyu nods dumbly, backing up to give Taehyun space to pull up a chair. 

God, he feels faint. 

Despite it being about a month since Taehyun joined and a month since they became cubicle neighbours, Beomgyu hasn’t had much interaction with the younger beyond polite smiles and the occasional greeting. It’s hard because Beomgyu’s always running from meeting to meeting either in the office or out with clients, and if he’s back at his desk, he’s literally drowned in work. Also because Beomgyu’s weak and useless in the presence of pretty people and Kang Taehyun is really pretty. Jaw-dropping, devastatingly pretty. Intimidatingly pretty. 

But Beomgyu’s also nothing but a professional when it comes to his job so he powers through the gay panic and forces himself to be normal around Taehyun. The younger is a diligent worker with a great work ethic and Beomgyu thoroughly enjoys working with him. There’s great chemistry between them, work gets done smoothly and quickly and Beomgyu knows he can always trust the younger to produce quality work efficiently.

Except that… there’s just one problem. Their client is not so easy to work with, to put it nicely. A fucking bitch, if he’s being honest.

Last minute changes, making phone calls in the middle of the night and not respecting their boundaries. Expecting them both to be at their beck and call, disregarding the fact that they’re both very busy outside of this project with other clients of their own to handle. Under these circumstances, it’s hard to think of anything beyond work, wanting to wish ill upon the client and praying for her downfall. He doesn’t of course, karma and all that but it is a very tempting thought. 

Beomgyu blinks slowly, eyelids threatening to slip shut. The office is mostly silent save for the gentle hum of his laptop, the fan in this ancient device working overtime to prevent it from overheating. His office chair is by no means the cosiest, but Beomgyu could melt into it at any moment now. He shouldn’t have agreed to have such a heavy lunch with Yeonjun earlier—now he has to pay the price for his stupidity. God, he’s so tempted to close his eyes and give in to the drowsiness. Should he? The higher-ups are having a meeting, nobody should be walking around the office floor anyways. Perhaps he could give himself five minutes… just five minutes…

“Beomgyu?” A head pops into his line of sight just before his eyelids slip shut and it startles Beomgyu, his eyelids flying open in panic. He straightens his spine immediately, arms flailing and hands darting out to grab his laptop, nearly knocking over his mug. Thankfully, someone catches it before it could spill. 

“Yes! Yes, I’m working, yes—” Beomgyu smooths out his shirt and clears his throat. “How can I help you?” 

“It’s me.” Oh, it’s Taehyun. Beomgyu sags in relief, though he feels himself heat up underneath his collar. “Oh, it’s you… thank god. Come, pull up a chair.”

Taehyun politely declines. “It’s okay Beomgyu, it’s a quick one. Are you okay though?” 

Beomgyu hums out a noise of confirmation, embarrassed that he was caught sleeping on the job. “It’s the food coma. I ate too much for lunch.” 

Taehyun’s mouth forms an ‘o’ shape as he nods. He steps back to his desk for something, and passes Beomgyu what seemed like a box of pocky, “Here, do you want a snack? You look like you could use one to keep awake.”

Beomgyu takes the box offered. It’s plain and salted, the exact same brand and kind he eats on the regular. Beomgyu couldn’t help the surprised gasp he let out, jaw dropped. “Wait Taehyun— Oh my god, it's my favorite snack!” 

“Really? I had no idea.” Taehyun tilts his head, a little embarrassed by Beomgyu's outburst and scratches his neck awkwardly, “It’s one of my favourite flavours too.” 

“Amazing,” Beomgyu mutters looking down at the snack. This snack will definitely help keep him awake now. “Thank you so much Taehyun, I’ll enjoy it later.” 

The younger shakes his head, a small smile gracing his features when he sees how excited Beomgyu looks. “It’s nothing Beomgyu, just a small box of pocky. And here— do you happen to have past year’s copies of this list of documents we could use as a reference?” Taehyun hands him a sticky note. “I don’t have access to the archives yet.” 

“You don’t?” Beomgyu frowns, “But you’ve been here for a few months.”

Taehyun shrugs. “I don’t know what the IT department is doing. In fact, I have no idea who to even approach to solve this issue at all. Nobody seems to be answering my emails.”

Beomgyu curses, “Well shit, you made me realise I don’t know too. But I’ll help you ask around.” Beomgyu takes a look at the list. Easy. He doesn’t even have to look for them, he could get Yeonjun to send these to him with no problem. He looks back up at the younger and raises the note. “And I’ll send you the documents once I get my hands on them.”

Taehyun beams, and presses his hands together in thanks. “That’s great, thank you Beomgyu! Enjoy the snack.” 

“I will.”

That night when he shows the kitty the snack Taehyun got him, it meows and looks at him with a little smile. What the hell is that supposed to mean?

Spring

With a whole day packed full of meetings, it’s nearly four pm by the time his boss remembers that they’re all human beings with a need for air, food and water to survive. He’s got air and water, but Beomgyu hasn’t had food since seven in the morning and he’s so fucking hungry he might pass out. His hands are trembling and his stomach hurts from gastric pains, and yet his boss looks absolutely unapologetic as he bids them all goodbye and takes a leave first. Beside him, Yeonjun looks almost dead on his feet, and Beomgyu winces when he realises the older only had an Americano since this morning. Beomgyu’s no doctor, but even he knows that's definitely bad for the stomach lining.

“You good?”

“Stomach hurts,” Yeonjun groans, “coffee on an empty stomach was a bad idea. I didn't think the meeting would drag this long.”

“Wanna get lunch now then?” Beomgyu asks worriedly, but Yeonjun shakes his head with a sigh.

“Sorry, I have a call to make in fifteen minutes, so I’ll just have cup noodles at my desk,” Yeonjun says apologetically. 

Shucks, that's rough. Beomgyu pats his back in sympathy and nods in understanding. He gathers his belongings. “See you then.”

“See you, Beoms.”

His mind wanders to his lunch menu as he heads back to his cubicle. What should he have today? Sushi? A sandwich? Beef noodle soup sounds great as well. Yeah, maybe he’ll have Taiwanese beef noodle soup today. His belly grumbles in excitement at the prospect of finally having food. He’s technically done for the day, but he doubts he will be able to last another hour driving home on an empty stomach. He’ll eat first, maybe clear a few emails, and then return home with a full stomach. 

Taehyun is seated at his desk when he returns, visibly stressed. He has one hand carded through his hair and gripping tightly onto his dark inky strands. His brows are furrowed as he pours over the document on his desk, and a quick glance at the post-its stuck to the walls of his cubicle tells Beomgyu that Taehyun is probably far from being done with his work. He probably should leave the younger alone, but Beomgyu’s legs bring him towards Taehyun before he could even think twice. 

“Are you alright?” 

Taehyun looks up at him in surprise with wide eyes. “Beomgyu.”

“You look stressed.” Beomgyu jabs a thumb at the to-do list. “Is that what you have to complete by today?” 

Taehyun nods his head and presses his face into his palm with an exasperated groan. “Yeah. All of them.” Oh dear… Beomgyu can empathize with the pain.

“Have you eaten at all then?” 

Taehyun sighs. “No.” 

“No?” Beomgyu repeats, shocked, “Want some cup noodles then? I’ve got some at my desk and I’ve not eaten as well.” 

He sees Taehyun’s eyes light up at the suggestion for a fraction of a second before hesitance settles on his features. “It’s alright really, I—” 

Almost in protest, Taehyun’s stomach growls loudly, and the younger hurriedly grabs it with an embarrassed gasp. Beomgyu feels a rush of fondness at the sight and tosses his head back with a little laugh. 

“Sit tight Taehyun, I’ll go prepare them.” 

The sparkle in Taehyun’s eyes, as Beomgyu returns with two steaming cups of noodles, is a testament to just how hungry the poor guy is. He feels the happiness and pride of a mother as he watches Taehyun receive the noodles with a small thanks and a look of bliss on his face as he takes the first bite. 

“Happy?”

“Very, cup noodles have never tasted so good, thank you Beomgyu.” Taehyun smiles brightly, eyes crinkling. The same canines peek from underneath his lips and that same cursed dimple appears on his right cheek again, creating an image so painfully adorable Beomgyu is doing his all not to press his face into his palms and scream. 

“Y-you’re welcome.” 

The first bite of his own noodles tastes like heaven with how hungry he is. It doesn’t matter if the MSG sucks all the moisture out of his mouth and the noodle is undercooked—it’s the tastiest meal he’s ever had right now. As tempting as it is to scarf it all down and finish the noodles in three bites, he doesn’t. He’s not an animal, plus Taehyun is sitting right there and he feels a little self-conscious. Just a little.

There’s a small buzz and Taehyun’s phone lights up with a notification. Both Taehyun and Beomgyu turn their attention to it and he notices that the wallpaper is a photo of a grey cat.

“You have a cat?” Beomgyu couldn't help but ask.

“Oh…my wallpaper?” Taehyun tilts his screen to give Beomgyu a better view, “This cat isn’t mine, it’s my sister’s. I do like cats but I can’t have any now that I live alone.” 

“So you had one in the past?”

Taehyun nods, “Yeah, a grey cat, just like this one, when I was much younger. Its name was Hobak.”

So Taehyun’s a cat lover as well. Beomgyu thinks back to his feline friend. “Me too. I like cats but I can’t have them since I live alone now. My neighbour’s cat visits me pretty often though! It’s really cute.” 

“Ah…” Taehyun trails off. “Your neighbour’s cat visits you?” 

Beomgyu hums in agreement. “Almost every day? Except for weekends, which is when I suppose the owner is home. It's really really cute Taehyun, it waits for me by my doorstep every day after work and last Christmas it spent the entire day with me too.” 

Taehyun looks amazed, “That's cute.”

“It really is. And it's a really particular kitty because it can understand me? Or at least I think it can understand what humans are saying?” Beomgyu taps on his chin, “Come to think of it Taehyun, you remind me a lot of that cat.” 

The younger immediately chokes on his food, bits of noodles landing grossly on his palm as he coughs his lungs out. Beomgyu makes an alarmed noise, scrambling for tissues and a bottle of water for Taehyun who gratefully accepts the water, ragged breaths escaping him as he tries to recover from it. 

“You good?” Beomgyu asks worriedly, rubbing Taehyun’s back. 

“Sorry,” the younger wheezed, voice hoarse, “went down the wrong pipe.” He takes another gulp of water. “What were we talking about again?”

“The cat?”

“Right, the cat that looks like me,” Taehyun coughs, “h-how? Why?”

Beomgyu isn’t sure they should be resuming their conversation just yet when Taehyun looks like he’s seconds away from dying, but he gives in and ponders about Taehyun’s question. 

“Why?” Beomgyu hums, “Well, you kind of do that thing where your eyes get really round and big when you're curious or excited, and they narrow when you're upset or stressed. I noticed that a lot when we were working on stuff together. You also have the habit of tilting your head, like my neighbour's cat.”

Taehyun blinks confused, and Beomgyu points excitedly at his face, “See! You're doing it again.”

The younger quickly straightens his head with an embarrassed cough. “I'm not—I’m not a cat.”

“Never said you were, just said you reminded me of one.” Beomgyu scrolls through his gallery, and he realises with dismay that he never took photos of his neighbour’s cat. “Aww, too bad I don't have photos of it now. I'll take some photos tonight for you, I promise. The cat really looks like you, trust me.” 

Taehyun laughs, despite the coughs that still wreck his system. “Looking forward to it. I’m curious how this cat looks like me.” 

By the time Beomgyu makes it back home, he’s downright exhausted, ready to melt into a puddle and not get up again for the next fifty years. Too many meetings and things to do for his feeble self, and he collapses onto his knees dramatically once he kicks off his shoes. The kitty meows in alarm and headbutts him. 

“No no, kitty? Stand here.” Beomgyu beckons the cat over to a particular area with better lighting. “Can you stay here?” He pats the ground.

The black cat lets out a confused meow but follows his instructions nonetheless, moving over to where Beomgyu wants it to stand. “Okay sit here.”

Beomgyu whips out his phone and opens his camera. Under the lighting, its eyes stand out, so round and so pretty it’s almost luminous. He quickly snaps a couple of photos before pocketing his phone.

“Thank you, baby,” Beomgyu bends down and presses a kiss to the cat’s fluffy head. It meows and stands up on its hind legs, asking for Beomgyu to carry it. “You’re so pretty you know that? Especially your eyes. My pretty little baby.” He coos, unable to help himself as he presses a loud smooch to the kitty’s cheeks. It’s so easy to forget that’s not his own cat sometimes, and some part of him wishes this cat could just move in with him forever. 

The kitty, now perched on top of his shoulders, watches curiously as he takes out his phone to send the photos to Taehyun.

Me

Hey

Here are the cat photos as promised!

[Image attached]

[Image attached]

[Image attached]

“Look, I sent my colleague photos of you,” Beomgyu lifts his phone up for the cat to see, “he likes cats too.” 

The cat lets out a little meow. “Don’t worry, I only selected the best photos of you.” 

The cat returns home and Beomgyu busies himself with dinner and washing up. Curled up under his fluffy comforters, Beomgyu’s almost about to doze off when his phone buzzes in his hand. Taehyun’s name on the screen wakes him right up immediately and he quickly opens the younger’s message. 

Kang Taehyun 

Omg

He’s so cute

Look at his eyes

Me

It’s so pretty isn’t it 

This is the cat that reminds me of you

The typing bubble appears instantly as Taehyun types in his reply. 

Kang Taehyun

…

I don't look like that cat

But he really is pretty

Me

Look at it acting all silly earlier

[Image attached]

[Image attached]

Belly rubs!

I think it really likes it

Kang Taehyun

Aww 

He does 

Look at his fluffy belly 

Me

Its fur reminds me of your hair tbh

Look at this

[Image attached]

That's the adorable head tilt I talked about earlier

Kang Taehyun

Are you saying I’m cute?  

Beomgyu freezes and his heart rate immediately spikes. Taehyun’s probably just joking but Beomgyu feels himself grow nervous as he struggles to come up with an answer and fails. What is he even supposed to say to this? Yes, I think you're cute, or No, I was only referring to the cat. Either answer sounds horrible. He deletes the message about six times before he sends the text. He hopes Taehyun doesn’t notice how long he’s been typing. 

Me

I’m saying you behave like that cat

But if that’s what you want me to say then sure

Neither a yes nor a no. 

Kang Taehyun 

I’ll take it as a compliment then

Thank you 

So Taehyun’s taking it as a yes then. Beomgyu lets out a deep breath, feeling nervous and tingly inside. 

Me

🙄

Okay cat boy Taehyun

Kang Taehyun

Meow?

Beomgyu lets out an embarrassing squeal and kicks his legs

Me

I’m screenshotting that

Kang Taehyun

Please don't 

Me

Too late

Damage has been done

Kang Taehyun

Please don't send it to anyone else 

My reputation will be ruined

Me

Honestly???

I think those ladies in HR are going to love it

You're quite popular with them and catboys are a hot topic these days

They will love to see you meow for them

Kang Taehyun

I had no idea

But still please don't 

That's a very horrifying imagery 

Me

Kidding!

Anyway rest well Taehyun

Don't worry, your secrets are safe with me. 

😉😉😉

Kang Taehyun

😔😔

Rest well

And see you tomorrow

Beomgyu lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Good fucking god. Why does he feel so giddy?

Spring

“Beomgyu~” 

Beomgyu looks up from his laptop to see Yeonjun peeking over the divider, a grin stretching from ear to ear on his face. He looks a little too happy for someone who's still in the office, and Beomgyu’s unable to mirror his enthusiasm as he gives the other a deadpan stare and turns back to his computer.

“What is it?”

Yeonjun rounds the divider and when he does, Beomgyu spots a stack of white pearlescent envelopes. The older sifts out one from the stack and passes it to him. 

“For you, and for him. Please fill Taehyun in when he's back.” Yeonjun drops another envelope on Taehyun’s desk. The envelope is clearly made from quality paper, thick and much sturdier than the regular A4 printing paper they use in the office. His name is written in neat cursive at the front, and the back is sealed by a gold wax seal.

“This is—”

“Wedding invitations.” Yeonjun cuts across, still looking oddly excited about this particular set of wedding invitations.

Beomgyu stares at him. Excitement, wedding invitations—

“You're getting married?”

“No!” Yeonjun exclaims, loud enough for several heads to turn and he shoots them a quick apology. “No!” He repeats, much softer this time. “It's Eunkwang’s. He told me to pass these along on his behalf.”

That answers one question but raises more. “ Okay, so why are you so excited about our manager’s wedding?” 

“Because it's going to be a paid trip to Mexico, Beomgyu!” Yeonjun pulls out an opened envelope, probably his own copy, and taps on it aggressively. “Three days and two nights!”

Beomgyu laughs. With this salary he could probably afford a trip for two but for a whole team of twenty, family, friends and a wedding? No way. “You're lying.”

“Why would I lie?” Yeonjun’s eyes nearly bulge out of his eyes at the accusation. He jabs a finger at the ivory envelope in Beomgyu’s hands, “Open it and read it for yourself.” 

Sure enough, their manager did invite them on a fully funded trip to Mexico for his wedding. He reads it thrice to make sure he didn't get it wrong and lets out a low whistle.

“I know right? Fully funded.”

“Crazy,” Beomgyu murmurs in awe, “how is he affording all these with this job? Dude this is Mexico, not a staycation in Seoul.”

“Loaded family? Loaded fiance? Passive income from investments?” Yeonjun guesses. “Anyway, it says there you can bring a plus one if you want. You should bring Sohee along.” 

Beomgyu freezes. He panics. “I don't think she will be tagging along.”

“Why not?” Yeonjun frowns in confusion.

“Busy maybe,” Beomgyu mutters. 

“You didn't even ask.”

“I know her schedule.” He fires back. 

Yeonjun looks unconvinced, but he lets it slide. “Whatever you say, Beoms.”

Feeling just a tad bit defensive and uncomfortable with the attention on his ex, he fixes Yeonjun with an accusatory glare, “Well do you have a plus one?” 

To his surprise, Yeonjun flushes red. “Y-yes! I do. I have someone in mind.” 

Beomgyu drops his jaw. “You traitor. Since when?” 

Yeonjun flushes a deeper shade of red, hands coming up to wave frantically in front of him, “It's recent! it's not something stable enough to tell you about yet…” 

“And you wanted to invite them to the wedding?” Beomgyu hisses.

“The wedding is six months away!” Yeonjun says defensively, eyes darting around, unable to hold eye contact with Beomgyu. It’s awfully suspicious, and it has Beomgyu narrowing his eyes. Before he could interrogate the older further, however, Yeonjun’s eyes shift over to Beomgyu’s screen. His eyes fix themselves on something and Beomgyu knows he’s fucked when Yeonjun’s mouth stretches into a devilish grin. “Oh, what's this?”

Beomgyu forgot that his chat with Taehyun had been left open. He hurriedly closes the chat, and tries not to look too panicky, “We were discussing client details. It's confidential, don't peek.”

“Your client’s a cat?” Yeonjun raises a brow. Beomgyu curses internally. Yeonjun’s lips are still crooked in a stupid smirk.

“Oh shut up, we got sidetracked, that’s all.” They’re just colleagues who occasionally text about non-work-related stuff right? Beomgyu thinks. It is to be expected that they got close immediately given how close they are in age, right? “T-There's nothing going on! I swear.

Yeonjun raises a suspicious brow. He straightens back up and pats him on the back, “There's nothing wrong with making friends with another colleague, Beomgyu ah. I'm not going to get jealous because my work husband found another husband.”

Beomgyu stares at him, stunned. Friends, right. Beomgyu chuckles, relaxing his grip on his laptop. Right, it makes sense that Yeonjun would only assume they are friends. He nods. 

“Yeah yeah, I made a new friend, okay? Now shoo, go back.” He waves Yeonjun off with a shooing gesture. 

The older fakes a tear, “So proud of you Beommie, you're finally making your second friend.” 

“Go!” Beomgyu cries. 

“Alright, alright, I'll go. Remember to tell Taehyun about the invite!”

“Yeah, yeah, bye.”

Heaving out a sigh, he opens back his chat message with Taehyun.

Me

You wouldn't believe what Yeonjun just dropped off on our desks

Wedding invites

Taehyun

He’s engaged???

Me

No, it's Eunkwang’s

Taehyun

Oh

Oh okay that makes more sense

You should have said that earlier

I almost spat my coffee onto a client

Me

He is seeing someone though 

And it's serious enough for him to bring them as a plus one for the wedding

Taehyun

What.

Me

I know right? That traitor didn't even inform me about it

And it's to Mexico, so if anything goes awry, that person can't exactly “escape”

There's a lull in Taehyun’s response as he watches the typing bubble pop up, pause, and then appear again several times.

Taehyun

Sag rhat adisn

Daytjatdagain

Say fhat again

???

Me

Three days, two nights. 

Fully funded trip 

Taehyun

Are you joking?

How does he even afford that?

Me

Come read the invitation for yourself

Why would I lie?

Taehyun

This is absolutely crazy.

And everyone gets a plus one too?

Wow…

Me

I know right.

Taehyun

Well, are you bringing a plus one?

Because I'm not

I don't have anyone

Beomgyu receives a call from his manager just then, with an urgent last-minute request for several documents and a report to be sent out by latest midnight. He’s filled to the brim with annoyance at the thought of being tasked to do something so last minute but there’s nothing he can do about it if he wants to keep the job. Thankfully, he’s got old copies from last year which he can edit instead of rewriting from scratch. Work smart, not work hard. 

It’s almost seven by the time he’s done sending everything to Eunkwang. Relieved that he managed to get it done (kind of) early, Beomgyu raises his arms behind him and takes a nice long stretch. 

“Done for the day?” 

He turns around to Taehyun setting his belongings down on his desk as if he had just arrived back in the office. 

“Why did you return? It’s nearly seven you could have gone home straight.” Beomgyu lazily spins his chair around, sagging into the cushion.  

“I was back a while ago but, I got held back by the ladies from HR,” Taehyun grimaces, stowing his laptop into the bottom shelf and locking it. “And I didn’t want to bring all these home so.” 

Beomgyu breaks out into a laugh. “Your fans.” 

Taehyun doesn’t reply, instead, he picks up the ivory envelope and opens it. Beomgyu watches as he scans the invitation, eyes widening two times its usual size. 

“See? I wasn’t kidding.” Beomgyu says, lips stretching into a grin.

“So it’s real then? Mexico in August?” 

“Yeah.”

Taehyun reads the invitation three more times, word for word, and Beomgyu can’t blame him. It’s hard to imagine how someone in their line of work could possibly be able to afford this unless they’re the CEO or something. Even then, Beomgyu wonders if CEOs earn enough to afford a wedding of this scale. They probably do. 

 “About the plus one…” Taehyun trails off, pointing at a particular section of the invite, “Are you bringing anyone?” 

Beomgyu bites his lip, “No, probably not.”

“Do you want to be my plus one then?” 

There’s a pregnant pause between them both as Beomgyu fishmouths at Taehyun’s request. Even Na Jaemin from two cubicles down peeks his head out to stare at them in shock. Realising the implications of his words, Taehyun flusters. 

“I—I mean, we’re both going alone so why not go together you know? L-loner’s alliance!” 

Beomgyu clears his throat and tries to keep his expression neutral. “Of course… loner’s alliance. I’ll be your plus one then.” 

“O-okay.” He takes in the way Taehyun’s ears are adorably red, an angry flush covering the back of his neck as he whips around to shove the invitation into his work back and hastily zips it up. Beomgyu barely holds back a smile, feeling slightly giddy inside. 

“I’ll be going!” He barely gets in a word of reply before Taehyun hightails it out of there. It’s a stark contrast from his usual calm demeanour, and it leaves Beomgyu more confused than anything else. 

That night, the kitty does not visit him. 

Spring

Their beloved client proves themselves to be the worst client of the century as Taehyun and Beomgyu are met with obstacle after obstacle, having to deal with their unreasonable requests, customer-is-always-right attitude and their indecisive, flaky, ass. 

Beomgyu’s just about had it and Taehyun has considered quitting at least three times within just one week, but their manager begs them to stay on the project with a promise of promotion. A pay raise does sound enticing, and they both begrudgingly stay on the project. 

Still, it doesn't make dealing with the client any easier. Beomgyu is admittedly very stressed out, especially when the demands are growing more ridiculous by the minute and they are so close to the finishing line. Taehyun seems to be taking it a lot better than he is, and yet Beomgyu is beginning to see the cracks in his composure and a gradual loss of level-headedness he usually possesses. 

Even so, Taehyun is the one who cheers him on most of the time—his source of light and encouragement as they both struggle together during this tough period. He gets Beomgyu his favourite snacks, coffee, and chocolate muffins before work, and sends him cat videos after work when he knows Beomgyu is stressed. One day, when the client makes a change that wastes almost twelve hours of hard work, Taehyun is the one to smooth out the wrinkles on his forehead with his fingertips and reassure him quietly that they will get through this together. And they did, with Taehyun staying back till nearly nine pm with him to make the amendments. 

It does confusing things to his heart and fills him up with emotions he’s admittedly not ready to address yet. He recognises what those are—he’s not stupid and inexperienced, but it frightens him, especially when it still very much hurts whenever he thinks about Sohee. What does his feelings mean then, if Sohee still occupies a spot in his heart?  

So he shoves it all aside. Work comes before all else, and Taehyun’s just a friendly colleague. When he’s done for the day and all his tasks are checked off his to-do list, Beomgyu knows it's also time for him to close his laptop shut and slide it into the cabinet underneath his desk. Twist the lock shut, hook the keys back onto his lanyard and pack his bag. He bid his colleagues goodbye and heads off to the car park. When he reaches home, it’s just him and his feline friend, nothing else exists within their little bubble. 

However, he does not get the fortune of unwinding with the cat today because he’s midway through washing the dishes when his phone begins to ring. The kitty gets to his phone before he does and it yowls in alarm, staring at Beomgyu with wide panicked eyes. It's the client’s secretary, and Beomgyu lets out a loud cry of frustration before he picks up the call. 

“Hi, this is Beomgyu, how may I help you at this hour?” Beomgyu sincerely hopes the man on the other end of the line is able to pick up on his sarcasm. 

Sadly, he doesn’t. Beomgyu spends almost an hour on the phone with the secretary, with no end in sight as the man continues to drone on and on, relating messages from his boss. Beomgyu knows there's no point shooting the messenger, but he wants to yell and cut the call, frustration metre rising by the minute as his patience wears incredibly thin. The kitty watches him with concern, ears drooping as if sensing his negative emotions. It's the sole reason why he hasn't exploded yet and Beomgyu takes a deep breath before cutting the man across the line off.

“Mr Lee? It's getting late now—it's nearing ten and I think both of us need our rest. Whatever's left we can discuss on Monday hmm?” 

“Ah yes, but—”

“Have a good night Mr Lee. Goodbye.” Beomgyu jabs down on the red button angrily and lets out a frustrated groan. He's aware that wasn't quite professional of him, but fuck the client, fuck their secretary, fuck their stupid (not so) little company and this stupid fucking project. 

“Fuck them! Seriously god damn.” Beomgyu runs his hair through his hair in frustration and grimaces at the greasiness of it. Nine forty pm and he hasn't even showered yet. 

“Come here baby, were you scared? Sorry, I got a little scary earlier didn’t I?” Beomgyu crouches down and the cat comes over to rub itself against his outstretched hands with a small meow. 

“It’s the client I told you about. He has a knack for making his secretary contact us slightly after working hours but this is the first time they’ve called me this atrociously late. Annoying isn’t it? I hope he’s not doing the same to Taehyun.” He sighs and the cat meows again in agreement. Pushing himself off the floor, he trudges back into his bedroom, feeling way more exhausted than he did an hour ago. The kitty immediately hops onto his bed while he rummages through his closet for clean clothes. Depositing them in the bathroom, he heads back into his bedroom where he strips himself down to his boxers and tosses them into the laundry basket. 

“Maybe I should start leaving my phone on do not disturb once I leave the office, regardless of how urgent it is, right kitty? Baby—what are you doing?” 

The cat is seated in between his pillows facing the headboard, politely turned away from him as if to give him privacy while he undressed. He didn’t think much about it since he now lives alone and he didn’t think the cat would get shy. Beomgyu bursts out laughing at the sight, reaching over to give it a little head pat. “Did your owner teach you to turn away to give others privacy when they are changing? That's cute.” The cat refuses to look at him, turning its head away and letting out a loud agitated meow. Beomgyu leaves it be, giggling at how adorable the cat was being. What a peculiar cat. 

“Okay then, I'm going to shower. You can turn around now.” 

As June rolls by, it feels good to be able to put on lesser layers as the temperature rises and Beomgyu drives to work that day with the windows down to enjoy the morning breeze before it starts getting sweltering hot in July.

When he arrives at the office, Taehyun is already seated at this desk. He’s dressed in long-sleeved green and white striped polo, dark blue jeans and white sneakers. It looks surprisingly good on Taehyun and it makes him look way more like an intern-slash-undergrad than a full-time working adult. He greets the younger with a little smile, “Good morning, you look cute dressed like that today.” 

To his surprise, Taehyun flushes the moment he sees Beomgyu, ears turning red rapidly. He stutters out a quick good morning before rushing off to the pantry, claiming he had to grab a hot drink. It's so uncharacteristic of Taehyun, it leaves Beomgyu startled and confused. It even has Na Jaemin from two cubicles down giving them a weird look. However, the next time they speak after Beomgyu’s morning meeting, the younger is back to normal and Beomgyu decides not to question him.

“The client’s secretary called to discuss RSP matters, did you manage to get back to him? It may affect the quotation numbers.” 

Beomgyu pauses and stares at the younger. “No… and how did you know he called?” He doesn’t recall telling the younger about it. 

Taehyun blinks at him. “You told me.” He says after a beat of silence. 

“No, I didn't.” Beomgyu insists, getting a little spooked out. “I was going to tell you yesterday but I fell asleep before I could text you so I—” 

“So you told me this morning, don’t you remember?” Taehyun insists, “Were you still half asleep because you haven't had coffee yet?” The younger laughs and turns back to his laptop. Beomgyu stares at him, extremely confused. Had he? He doesn't remember it at all.

“You must have been half awake this morning when you told me about the call. Don't worry too much about it.” Taehyun says kindly, and Beomgyu can only nod. Maybe he’d really forgotten about the conversation from this morning. 

“I’ll call him back after this.” 

The slow ticking of the clock above his head is driving Beomgyu nuts. His brain feels wrung dry, squeezed till its last drop with nothing left to offer. His brain hurts. He’d spent all morning on a call with his client’s secretary, then another hour or two on the million other things he had to do that were steadily piling up over time. Screw this, Beomgyu slams his laptop shut. he's giving up. 

Looking around him, most seats are empty save for Taehyun behind him who's working on something. He rolls his chair over to the younger and leans his head on the wall of Taehyun’s cubicle.

“Taehyun, lunch?”

The younger looks at him, the time, then takes off his headphones. “But it's only eleven thirty.” 

“Thirty minutes doesn't mean anything. We can leave early and come back early. Let's go.” Beomgyu has to swallow the whine that nearly bubbles up his throat when Taehyun frowns at him, “I'm serious it doesn't matter. Let's go.” 

The younger doesn't look convinced, but Beomgyu tugs at his wrist and he relents, sighing as he saves his work and shuts down his computer. Beomgyu cheers, making a silly little fist pump and Taehyun rolls his eyes. “You're driving, I'm not walking today.” 

“Yes sir!”

Beomgyu had driven them to the nearby mall, unable to get over his cravings for Taiwanese beef noodles soup. “This is good.” Taehyun hums, taking a bite of the noodles. Beomgyu watches the younger eat, feeling a sense of satisfaction bloom in his chest when Taehyun closes his eyes in bliss. He gets what people mean now by watching someone eat makes him full. Taehyun takes another bite, “This is seriously so good.” 

“I’ve been craving this for weeks, ” Beomgyu says as he finally digs in. He moans when the flavours burst on his tongue, tasting like straight heaven. “I was about to start getting really cranky if I didn't have this soon.” 

“I’m glad we came today then. A hangry Beomgyu, I wonder what that's like.” Taehyun fakes a shudder. 

“Terrifying, you wouldn't want to experience him,” Beomgyu says, playing along. 

Taehyun shakes his head, an amused look on his face. “I’ll cook for you so you'll never be hangry again.” The younger says it so softly with such a gentle smile on his lips it makes Beomgyu fluster, heart rate picking up speed. Why does Taehyun keep doing this? 

“T-thats nice” Beomgyu stutters. 

Saving him from his mini-crisis, Taehyun points at his phone, “Show me new videos of the kitty.” 

“Huh? Oh—yeah, alright— wait,” Beomgyu opens the folder in his gallery that he had affectionately named ‘kitty’ with a yellow heart emoji, and passes his phone over to Taehyun. 

“I recently got the cat a bunny chew toy online,” Taehyun perks up at that, eyes wide and Beomgyu explains himself, “Yeah, it's on the way. I thought why not since this cat seemed to be spending longer hours in my home.” Beomgyu points at the screen. “There should be videos of the cat hanging around my home in there. Also, it's really obsessed with cardboard boxes for some reason. I recently bought something online and the kitty absolutely refused to let me toss it away.” Beomgyu recounts the incident of how the cat had yowled and screeched for it, even accidentally scratching him in the process. 

Taehyun mumbles, ears a little red, “Cardboard boxes are great.” 

“Cardboard what?” Beomgyu didn't catch that, too busy slurping his noodles. 

“Cats love cardboard boxes. This kitty is adorable, and he has a personality.” Taehyun notes, watching a video of the kitty gagging after taking a sniff of this herbal concoction Beomgyu’s mom had sent over. 

“It does, I've never met a cat this human .” Beomgyu agrees. Beomgyu swipes through his gallery till he lands on a photo of the cat giving him the stink eye. “Look at that sass.” 

“If you could, would you want this cat to turn human one day?” Taehyun asks out of the blue. It takes Beomgyu a little aback, and he pauses, setting his chopsticks down. He ponders the question. Would he want the kitty to turn human? 

“Uhm, that’s a tough one. Well, the word ‘want’ implies that I wish for it to happen… which isn't true—I don't really think I would wish for the cat to turn human. I’m happy with it as a cat. At the same time, I don't mind if the cat turns human…? I think it will be cool to be able to finally converse with it you know?” 

Taehyun nods, a thoughtful look on his face. “Will you be freaked out if it did?”

“Freaked out? Of course, I mean—a cat turning into a human, won’t you freak out too? But if you’re asking if I’m going to freak out and kick the kitty out… no, I won’t. It will take me a while to get used to the idea of course but I won’t.” Beomgyu says, “Is there any reason why you asked?”

“Just curious.” Taehyun offers him a smile, “My friends said they would be extremely freaked out and would run if that happens, so your answer is an interesting change of perspective.” 

Beomgyu frowns. “That's not very nice for the kitty.” His heart aches just at the thought of it. Wouldn’t the kitty feel sad, abandoned and confused, considering the bond they had already built before? “I would never do that.” 

Taehyun looks at him for a second before he smiles, “The kitty would be thankful then.” 

That night, Beomgyu sits on his couch and scrutinises the cat. It tilts its head with a confused meow. 

“Say, kitty, you’re not going to turn human one day are you?” The cat blinks at him and Beomgyu immediately feels stupid for asking. 

“I mean, of course not right? Taehyun’s question from earlier has been bugging me sorry.” He gives its chin a little scratch, “If it does happen, however, I won’t abandon you, I promise.”

The cat slowly blinks and gives him a happy meow. 

Summer

“Why am I nervous?” Beomgyu asks, wiping his sweaty palms on his slacks. He feels slightly nauseous and ready to jump out of his skin at any moment. “I’m so damn nervous holy shit.” 

Taehyun, on the other hand, looks dead calm, face void of any emotions as they both make their way from the parking lot up to their client’s office. He turns to look at Beomgyu, “Why are you nervous?” 

“Why are you not nervous?” Beomgyu hisses. 

Taehyun shrugs. “I guess I was so nervous yesterday I feel dead calm inside right now.” 

Beomgyu groans, feeling like he might just keel over and die. He’s so sick and fucking tired of this client he might genuinely burst into tears and rip his hair off his scalp if today doesn’t go the way it should go. He slaps his own cheeks and groans into his palm. “I’ll be fine. It will be fine. It will be fine right, Taehyun?” 

Gentle hands pry his own away from his face. Those hands slip into his, warm and calloused and bring it down to between their bodies, where Taehyun gives it a light squeeze. Beomgyu nearly forgets how to breathe when the younger gives him a reassuring smile and smooths the back of his hand with his thumb, “You’ll do great Beomgyu. We’ll do great. We worked so hard to make this a success so let’s believe in us.”

Us. Beomgyu positively flushes right down to his neck, nervous for an entirely different reason now. “R-right…let’s believe in us.” 

God must be on Beomgyu’s side because goes wonderfully. It almost feels like a dream. 

No stupid questions, no last-minute changes or requests that will guarantee to make Beomgyu scream. If it weren’t for the fact they were still in their client’s office, Beomgyu would have skipped all the way down to his car while sprinkling confetti everywhere. He was so fucking relieved it all went smoothly that he nearly sobbed when the client shook their hands and thanked them for nearly half a year of close collaboration. They both stayed for a bit for some light refreshments and networking, but as it nears evening time they bade the client goodbye and were escorted by the secretary to the lift lobby. The moment the lift door closes on them, Taehyun immediately pulls him into a hug and Beomgyu stumbles into his embrace with a loud relieved cry.

“Oh my god Taehyun,” Beomgyu exclaims, “oh my god.”

“We did it,” Taehyun says in disbelief.

“We really did it.” 

“Oh my god, we did it.” 

“We did it!” Beomgyu feels weightless, the anxiety and worry that had been weighing him down since the start of the project temporarily lifted. He knows it will all be back on Monday when he has to face the work he pushed aside just for this project but he’ll take this win for now. All the different emotions from the past few hours crash down on him all at once and Beomgyu sags in Taehyun's hold, exhausted, resting his cheek against the younger’s shoulder. He’s so damn relieved he could cry. 

“We did it Taehyun, we really did it,” Beomgyu mumbles into his shoulder. 

“We did,” Taehyun says and Beomgyu feels a small weight resting on his head. 

The ding of the lift has them pulling away immediately, both having forgotten that they were still in public. Clearing his throat awkwardly, Beomgyu strides out of the lift lobby, suddenly feeling extremely embarrassed even though there wasn’t anyone to witness what just happened. Taehyun looks unbothered as if nothing had happened, but the red flush on his cheeks gives him away. 

“Uhm… where are you headed right now? I could send you there.” Beomgyu asks, turning out of the parking lot onto the main street. 

“It’s okay, you can drop me off at the nearest station. I have to grab dinner anyway so I can head home myself.”

If Beomgyu was a puppy, his ears would have perked up at that. “You’re having dinner alone?” Hope blooms in his chest. Beomgyu hadn’t planned for this to happen. He had honestly assumed they were both going to part ways after the meeting but if he played his cards well he could… 

Taehyun nods, “Yeah, I live alone, so…”

Great. So great. Beomgyu begins to grow nervous as he navigates another turn. When he stops at the red light, he carefully chooses his next words, “Then uhm… would you want to grab dinner now? Together? I have to have dinner too and I live alone too so…” Beomgyu swallows nervously, wincing internally at how awkward he sounded. Out of his periphery, he sees Taehyun turning to look at him, but his gaze remains stubbornly on the road. He hopes he’s not sweating down his forehead or anything. 

“Sure, why not? Do you have a place in mind or should I search for something?” Beomgyu can’t believe his ears. He tries his best to not grin and kick his feet happily. 

“You pick! I don’t have a place in mind. That would be great, thank you.”

The place Taehyun picks out turns out to be a quiet family restaurant, run by an elderly German couple. The interior is warm, homely, and dim, mostly lit by the individual candles on every table. Beomgyu tries not to let his thoughts run too wild when they’re shown to their tables, but his palm sweats and his heart rate pick up when he slides into the seat opposite Taehyun and picks up the menu. 

“Should we get individual dishes or share?” Taehyun asks. 

“There’s a sausage platter for two if you want to share. We could get some sides too, like a spaetzle or a rosti.” Beomgyu replies, scanning the menu, “Oh—there’s pretzels too. That sounds amazing.” Everything sounds amazing when you're hungry, and Beomgyu is famished. 

“Sausage platter and a rosti?” Taehyun suggests. 

“Sure,” Beomgyu’s good with anything. He waves down a waiter, who comes and takes their orders. Once the waiter leaves, Taehyun takes off his suit jacket and removes his tie, and wow, all of a sudden the paintings on the walls look beautiful. 

“You’re not taking your jacket off?” 

“Huh?”

“I asked, are you not taking your jacket off? Might not want to risk staining it.” Taehyun nods at his chest, an amused look on his face as he undoes the first button and folds his tie neatly. Beomgyu looks at the younger and then at himself and realises what Taehyun means. “Oh right, yeah, let me take it off.” 

Beomgyu decides to roll his sleeves up too—because why not, it really is getting hot in here, and it gives him another excuse to not look at Taehyun. He doesn’t know why he feels so awkward and nervous. This isn’t the first time they both went out for a meal but something about this feels different. Maybe it's the dim lighting, or the individual candles on the table or the white tablecloths—or maybe it’s the fact that there has been something between them both for the past few months or at least something on his end. Maybe just entirely on his end. Beomgyu quickly shakes away those thoughts. 

The drinks they ordered come first, along with a complimentary bread basket. Beomgyu’s grateful for the bread because it gives him something to occupy his mouth with, suddenly incapable of starting a conversation. There’s just something about the way Taehyun’s seated across him with his jacket off, collar loosened and his tie undone, a picture of a man relaxing after a hard day’s work. That combined with the way the candle flame flickers gently to cast shadows and golden light across Taehyun’s skin, pieces of carefully gelled hair falling into his face after holding up for nearly ten hours completely steals Beomgyu’s breath away. Why does this feel like something that he, a mere colleague, shouldn’t be allowed to see? 

Taehyun is thankfully the one who brings up a topic and starts the conversation. Beomgyu learns that the younger does ramble sometimes, eyes wide and hands moving animatedly as he recounts that one time in college when a squirrel had climbed him like a tree and jumped off his head. It's a funny story and Beomgyu laughs, but the way the candlelight reflects off Taehyun’s eyes is awfully distracting and Beomgyu realises—he looks beautiful. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Taehyun asks mid-ramble. He’s got a light flush on his cheek from his beer but it makes him look adorably embarrassed. Beomgyu doesn't even realise he's looking at Taehyun in some sort of way. 

“Like what?” 

“Like, like… ugh I don't know,” Taehyun stutters, looking down at his plate, “like… you're… I don't know.” 

“Admiring the view? Sorry, you’re simply too mesmerising for me to look away.” Beomgyu says boldly. If their texts and jokes from before skirted the line of flirting, this is three bold steps way past the boundary.

There was a small hitch in Taehyun’s breath as his eyes widened at the statement. For a moment, neither of them speaks, and Beomgyu feels his confidence fall the longer he goes without a reply. It’s a risky move, considering that there’s a very high chance Taehyun might not see him that way. 

Beomgyu speaks up first. “Was the joke too much? I’m sorry.” 

“Oh…it was a joke?” Taehyun asks, and if Beomgyu isn’t dreaming, he would say Taehyun looks almost… disappointed. 

“It’s a joke only if you want it to be.” His heart begins jackhammering in his chest. 

The younger goes quiet for a moment, eyes pointed at a particular spot on the tablecloth. The air is tense and Beomgyu feels like his heart might just jump out of his throat at the implications behind this conversation. 

“What if I don’t want it to be a joke?” Taehyun mumbles, so quietly Beomgyu almost misses it. 

“Then you’re really pretty, Taehyun. Mesmerising in a way that steals my breath and renders me speechless every time I am in your presence.” Beomgyu admits in one breath, voice laced with so much honesty and earnestness that it’s hard for him to now backtrack and label it all as a joke. He hasn’t felt this vulnerable in years, and Beomgyu has to swallow down the lump forming in his throat. 

Taehyun has a bashful smile on his face when he says, “Thank you for the compliment. And uhm, you too.” 

Neither of them bring up this incident, not even a single mention of the dinner they shared. The energy, however, between them both has grown undoubtedly weird, tense enough for even Yeonjun to pick up on it and ask Beomgyu if they were fighting. Lingering touches and prolonged stares—and Yeonjun thinks they’re fighting? Beomgyu’s honestly kind of impressed. 

It’s equal parts frustrating, maddening and relieving, especially when this purposeful avoidance of whatever’s going on between them gives him more questions and insecurities as days pass without them addressing it. It is then also relieving because Beomgyu’s not sure if he’s ready to address them at all. Does Taehyun also have feelings for him? Is this far too soon after the breakup? How does he still feel about Sohee? Is Taehyun merely a rebound, or does Beomgyu actually have feelings for him? And if so, is he ready for a new relationship?  

And as if God was trying to chip in a little opinion of his own, he dreams about Sohee. 

Sunlight streams through his translucent curtains, casting his room in a soft yellowish glow. The sun feels warm on his face, not blinding, and the comfort of it all nearly lulls him back to sleep, if not for someone stirring awake next to him. 

He sees hair first before he recognises the person. It’s Sohee. The corner of her lips lifts into a sleepy smile when she sees him staring, and she slowly turns around to give him a kiss. 

“Morning baby.” Her voice is still hoarse from sleep, and she slides her arms around Beomgyu’s neck to pull him into a hug. Her hair smells like coconut apricot, soft as silk under his touch. He hugs her back, arms sliding into their familiar place around her waist. She nuzzles into his jaw and Beomgyu sighs, wrapping his arms around her waist tighter. 

“I miss this,” She says.

Beomgyu hums non-committedly. He’s so sleepy, the mattress underneath him feels ten times more comfortable than usual. Sohee’s weight on him feels like a weighted blanket and he feels his eyelids slowly droop shut…

“Beomgyu?” It’s a male voice. 

He shoots wide awake, sitting up rapidly on his mattress. Sohee hits her pillow with a soft oof, but he doesn’t spare her a glance, not when he just heard Taehyun’s voice. It was Taehyun’s voice, right? 

“Taehyun?” There’s no one else in his bedroom other than him and Sohee, but Sohee screams all of a sudden and Beomgyu whips his head to see the black kitty standing by the foot of his bed.

“Why are you here?” He says at the same time she shrieks again, latching tightly onto his arm. Right, Sohee’s afraid of cats. 

“Get it away! What are you doing Beomgyu, get it away!” Despite Sohee’s screams, the cat remains calm and stares unblinkingly at him. It makes Beomgyu somehow feel awful and ashamed like he was caught in bed with someone he shouldn’t be with. Slowly, he climbs off his bed to scoop the kitty up into his arms. 

“Thank you, thank you, now get it away— throw it out of our house—”

“Get out.” The words are out before he realises he said that. 

“What?” 

Beomgyu swallows, looking down so he wouldn’t have to see her hurt expression. The cat reaches up to bump its nose against his chin. “Beomgyu, what are you saying?”

“I said get out.” 

The resulting silence is suffocating. Sohee doesn't say a word, Beomgyu doesn't dare look up at her and the kitty continues to stare at him unblinkingly. His heart thumps violently in his chest, against his ribcage. The silence is broken by the tiny meow the cat lets out before it turns its head to stare at Sohee. 

“Get out.” Someone says, but this time, it isn't Beomgyu’s voice.

Beomgyu bolts upright in a cold sweat. Sunlight streams through his translucent curtains, casting his room in a soft yellowish glow. The black kitty is curled up under his coffee table, and the end credits of a movie are running on his television. A quick look at the clock tells him it's five thirty in the evening. He must have accidentally fallen asleep mid-movie.  

The kitty, sensing that he’s awake, hops onto the sofa to greet him, sitting right in between its crossed legs. He sighs, giving the back of its ears a little scratch.

“You know, I just had the weirdest dream ever.” Beomgyu mumbles, “I dreamt of Sohee, of you, and I think Taehyun too.”

Taehyun… He was certain it had been his voice calling for him earlier. 

The cat gave him a curious meow and tilts its head in question. 

“I don’t know why I dreamt of that. I woke up in bed with Sohee it was so realistic she was all over me in my arms like we never broke up and all of a sudden you were there by the foot of the bed. Sohee has a fear of cats so she screamed at me to get rid of you, but I didn’t and then I woke up. Weird isn’t it?” Beomgyu asks the kitty. It gives him a little huff of agreement. 

The dream sure is a weird one, and it leaves him feeling much more confused than ever. There's an odd dull ache in his chest, one he has not felt in months. It does not feel pleasant to see Sohee again, but his chest aches with something akin to longing. Does he still miss her? Or does he only miss the memory of them together? 

Standing up, he heads over to his desk where he hastily shoved the photos of them together into the drawers fresh after their breakup. He takes out the entire stack of photos and sits by the foot of his bed, laying them across the mattress. The cat hops onto the bed to join him. It sniffs at the photos in distaste, giving him an unhappy meow before it moves to sit right in the middle of his crossed legs. 

It’s all the photographs Sohee printed to decorate their home with, ranging from photos of when they first got together, to their graduation, their first trip together overseas, and many candid shots of them together. He smiles at the memory each of them brings—he truly did love her at some point. She was his best friend and his lover, but somewhere along the way, their love fizzled out into nothingness. They both grew bored of each other, and Beomgyu grew complacent. She had loved him for so long that he took it for granted, and she in turn found solace in someone else. Both of them had their faults, it wasn’t just her, and he feels a weight being lifted off his shoulders when he looks at their photographs one last time. 

He misses what they had. He regrets having to end it that way, but there’s nothing Beomgyu can do to alter the past. He tosses the photographs into the bin. 

Summer

It's finally three days before the wedding.

There was supposed to be a day of activities and a pre-wedding party before the actual wedding the next day. However, Beomgyu arrives much later than everyone else due to an important meeting with a client, so he joins the party almost an hour after it has begun. 

Frankly, Beomgyu was too tired to attend, wanting nothing more than to head straight to his room and crash for the night. He almost did, when he first arrived to deposit his luggage and saw the tempting sight of a plush king-sized bed waiting for him. However, this is his manager’s wedding, one he paid fully for, so Beomgyu had no choice but to show up out of courtesy. 

Yeonjun finds him almost immediately when he steps into the venue, a heavy weight crashing into his side when he flings himself at Beomgyu. It's clear that the guy is already several drinks in, face flushed red and eyes lidded. It's to be expected—Yeonjun can't hold his liquor well. What he doesn't expect is for Choi fucking Soobin to come rushing after Yeonjun and pull the older into his arms.

“Choi Soobin.” Beomgyu enunciates each syllabus lowly, voiced late with a threat. He glares at the older man who freezes upon seeing him, eyes widening stupidly like a deer caught in the headlights. 

“Oh, Beomgyu, hi.” Soobin winces, readjusting his hold on Yeonjun, “It’s not what you think—”

“Soobinnie! My baby bunny!” Yeonjun turns around in Soobin’s arms and presses a loud, sloppy kiss against his cheek, “You found me.”

Soobin continues to cast panicked glances between the drunk man in front of him and Beomgyu, “I swear I was going to tell you about it but I forgot.” 

“You forgot.” Beomgyu deadpans. 

Soobin opens his mouth to retort, but Yeonjun lets out a pained moan and grabs his stomach. Both of them panic and Beomgyu quickly shoves a plastic bag into Soobin’s grip while the other readjusts himself out of the spray zone. 

“I’ll tell you everything tomorrow, I promise! Just, let me settle this first okay?”

Beomgyu waves them off with a sigh. He would never have imagined his best friend and colleague were dating. Does Kai know about this? Beomgyu makes a mental note to text him later. 

“Beomgyu hyung?” His thoughts about Yeonjun and Soobin were cut off by someone else calling his name, and Beomgyu whips around to see Taehyun standing close with a drink in his hand. He's wearing a loose, flowy shirt with beige pants, his neck adorned with a thin silver chain, almost choker-like. The outfit causes Beomgyu’s brain to short-circuit, and he remains stock still for a couple of seconds, forgetting that there are a couple of people including Taehyun himself watching him ogle the younger. 

“Oh—Taehyun, hi,” Beomgyu greets, slightly breathless. He tries to keep his gaze on the younger’s face, but it keeps dropping down to the thin chain around his neck and the collarbones that peek from underneath his collar. 

“Hey yourself, you're finally here.” Taehyun takes a sip of his drink, and unlike Beomgyu, he allows himself to shamelessly drag his eyes down Beomgyu’s body. He hums a little, as if satisfied with what he sees before he flicks his gaze back up to meet Beomgyu’s gaze. 

It’s a clear invitation if anything, a blatant display of want, and Beomgyu feels his veins thrum with anticipation. 

“Drinks? I’ll show you where to get them.” 

Taehyun leads them through the crowd of sweaty, drunk people, stopping by occasionally to greet their colleagues and their manager before leading him to a bar. The drinks are all complimentary—of course, it is—and Beomgyu orders himself just a small cocktail to last him throughout the night, not wanting to get too wasted. 

“How were the activities like, before I came?” Beomgyu attempts to strike up a conversation. He thanked the lord for the dim lighting over here, so he wouldn’t have to deal with the sight of Taehyun’s chest and collarbones. 

“I mean, the day activities were alright—they were mostly centred around the theme of love after all so it was kind of awkward to be doing them alone. Thankfully Jaemin and his boyfriend were kind enough to invite me over to join them. Then it was the party, I hung out mostly with Yeonjun and his boyfriend, uhm, Soo… Soojin?” 

“Soobin.” Beomgyu corrects. 

“Right, Soobin,” Taehyun nods. “Then you came. That was about it.”

Just then, the bartender slides Beomgyu’s drink over, and he picks it up with a grateful nod. “I’m sorry your plus one arrived late.” He takes a sip of the sugary concoction through the mini straw as they both head back to Taehyun’s table. 

“Well, he's here isn't he?” He sets his drink down on the table and plucks Beomgyu’s out of his hand. “Shall we dance? I was waiting for you.”

Beomgyu admittedly has not attended a party at all since college, much less danced, so the invitation has him panicking a little. Without thinking, he downs half the cocktail in one go—so much for not wanting to get wasted—and the rest in the subsequent gulps. It pulls a shocked laugh out of Taehyun who stares at him wide-eyed in concern, but he grins and excitedly pulls Beomgyu along when he sees the determined look on his face.

Taehyun, well… Taehyun can dance. He's absolutely mesmerised by the way the younger moves and Beomgyu remains mostly still, swaying to the beat while he watches Taehyun dance. 

He's grateful for the massive crowd around them because someone bumps into him from behind and he's pushed forward right into Taehyun’s personal space. Out of reflex, his hands find purchase on Taehyun’s hips.

“Don't just stare at me, dance.” The younger teases, eyes twinkling.

It doesn't take long for Beomgyu to let go of his inhibitions and lose himself in the music, mostly because of the alcohol that had begun to rapidly take effect in his system. His body feels warm, there’s a pleasant buzz throughout his limbs and his mind finally quietens, allowing his body to take over and move. 

At some point, both of them have moved close enough for their foreheads to nearly touch. Beomgyu’s hands are still on Taehyun’s hips, refusing to let go, and at some point too, Taehyun’s hands have crept up his torso to rest on his chest. He’s warm, flushed and sweaty, and Taehyun’s palms burn through his shirt from where they rest on his chest. He feels so incredibly hot, but he finds himself wanting more, wanting to be closer and to feel the heat radiating off Taehyun’s body in waves. 

And he does just that, sliding a palm from Taehyun’s hip to his lower back to pull Taehyun even closer to himself. The last bit of rationality in his brain tells him he probably shouldn’t while they’re both drunk and surrounded by colleagues, but it’s immediately drowned out by the quiet gasp that leaves Taehyun’s lips. Lips that Beomgyu can’t seem to look away from. 

Fingers tighten in his collar, “Let’s get out of here.” 

Nobody pays them any mind when Taehyun drags him off the dance floor by the wrist and makes a break for the exit. Beomgyu realises belatedly that everyone is equally drunk out of their minds to even care about what two of their colleagues are doing. Which is a good thing really, because if anyone came up to him with questions, Beomgyu doesn’t have answers for them.

He lets Taehyun drag him off to somewhere quieter and away from the party. Before he even gets a good glimpse of his surroundings, Taehyun all but shoves him against the wall and swallows his pained cry with a bruising kiss. 

It’s hot and sloppy, and Beomgyu can feel his brain melting out of his ears as Taehyun presses even closer and slips his hands underneath his shirt to press against Beomgyu’s overheated skin. He whimpers in response, his stomach tensing against the touch.

“Tae—Taehyun—”

“You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do this,” Taehyun murmurs against his lips, nicking them with his teeth and soothing them with his tongue. Beomgyu would probably have responded if not for the fact that his brain is now a pile of mush and Taehyun’s pressing his tongue insistently into his mouth, rendering him speechless. The scent of Taehyun’s citrus perfume floods his nose and his knees begin to weaken. 

“I wanted you since day one,” Beomgyu pulls away just a bit to say. He needs to get this out of his system. “Wanted you for so long too.” 

Taehyun’s lips trail down to his neck and the back of Beomgyu’s head collides painfully with concrete. He slips his hand down Taehyun’s chest and undoes the first button, “Taehyun—”

“You cheater!”

Someone shrieks and Beomgyu shoves Taehyun away from him out of reflex. He whips around in a panic to see a drunk Yeonjun pointing his index finger at him angrily while a flustered Soobin tries to hold him back. 

“What the hell Yeonjun? What’s wrong with you?” Beomgyu snaps, straightening out his clothes. He’s getting a little too heated, but he finally had a chance to get his hands on the man he’s been pining after for months and Yeonjun just had to ruin the moment when things were only about to get better, so sue him. “And what the hell are you talking about?”

“You know what I'm talking about,” Yeonjun spits. The way he sways on his feet and his finger can't seem to point in the right direction makes it a little hard to take him seriously. “Sohee!”

There was a beat of silence as all three stared at him. Beomgyu barks out a laugh of disbelief, “We broke up a long while ago hyung. Nearly a year ago.”

He sees the way Yeonjun takes a while to process his words before his eyes widen comically and he stumbles forward to grab his shoulders. “What?” He screams into Beomgyu’s face.

“Look, look, let's talk about this tomorrow morning, yeah?” Soobin pulls Yeonjun off him once more just like how he did hours ago, and shoots Beomgyu a look that says you and I have lots to talk about. “When we're all much sober.”

Yeonjun’s screech was effective in shocking him back into sobriety, Beomgyu wants to say, but he nods instead, agreeing that this conversation is best left for tomorrow. Besides, he turns to look at Taehyun, who had been watching this entire exchange with an expressionless look on his face, he's got something much more important to tend to right now. 

“I'll see you guys tomorrow?”

Beomgyu nods, and he lets out a huge sigh when Soobin finally drags Yeonjun off. He turns around to look at Taehyun. “My room?”

The mood is clearly gone by the time they reach Beomgyu’s room, a rather (unpleasantly) tense silence settling over the room. Beomgyu takes a seat by the edge of his bed and watches nervously as Taehyun kicks off his shoes and sits next to him.

“So—”

“What are we?” Taehyun cuts across him and Beomgyu bites his lip. The younger is choosing to take the direct route it seems. 

“Sorry, that came out a little harsh,” Taehyun laughs. He laces his pinky with Beomgyu’s own. “I just meant, where do we go from here? What does this mean for us?”

Beomgyu lets out a slow exhale. “I like you, I really do.” He begins to say.

“But?” So Taehyun could tell huh? 

“But I just came out of a seven-year-long relationship. I want you Taehyun, but this still feels a little too fast for me right now.” Beomgyu admits. He still has fears left over from his previous relationship, and the thought of getting into one with Taehyun right now has anxiety seizing his chest. 

“And what would be best for you right now?” Taehyun asks gently.

He wants to do it right. He wants to be the best for Taehyun. 

“Can we take it slow? I'm sorry I—” 

“Of course, don't ever apologise for needing time. We'll take it slow together,” Taehyun says and Beomgyu leans in to pull the younger into a hug. He nuzzles his cheek into Taehyun’s hair, relief flooding his insides. 

“Thank you Taehyun, thank you.”

They remain like that for a while, with Taehyun’s face tucked into his neck and Beomgyu’s cheek pressed to Taehyun’s hair. It feels surreal to have the younger finally in his arms like this, and his heart nearly bursts with the mix of emotions at the thought of what the future now brings for them. It is a little heart fluttering—he feels like a young high schooler all over again with a crush, except that this time he knows his feelings are reciprocated.   

“Stay with me tonight.” Beomgyu pleads when Taehyun makes a move to pull away. The younger is so warm and comfortable, unlike the cold sheets underneath them. 

“That's not very slow of us Gyu,” He laughs, and Beomgyu grows flustered at the implications.

“Just cuddling!” He smacks Taehyun’s chest, “Stop being weird.”

“But I need to shower.”

“Do it here.” 

“What about my clothes?”

“Just wear mine.” Beomgyu fires back. His eyes trail down to the expanse of Taehyun’s chest revealed by the button he undid earlier. On second thoughts… “or you could not wear anything. We could start slow tomorrow.” 

It's Taehyun’s turn to flush bright red. “J-just give me your clothes! We're going slow starting from now .” 

Beomgyu chuckles, falling back onto the mattress. He flips to his side and points at his luggage. “Help yourself.” 

Is this what being with Taehyun will be like in future? He’s already loving this. 

Beomgyu wakes up the next day thankfully not hungover, grateful that he was smart enough last night to chug a whole bottle of water last night before going to bed. Despite the harsh sunlight streaming through his windows making him squint painfully, his heart flutters at the sight of Taehyun’s sleeping face. He shifts a small strand of hair away from Taehyun’s forehead and the younger slowly stirs awake.

“Good morning.” He whispers, as if afraid to break the peaceful bubble that exists around them in the morning.

Taehyun blinks sleepily and smiles. “Good morning.” 

Even though they would rather remain tangled in bed all day, they eventually have to get up for lunch and for Taehyun to return to his room to get ready for the wedding. Lunch is room service ordered to Beomgyu’s room, a simple steak and potatoes for Taehyun and pasta for Beomgyu. He couldn’t see it clearly last night but now, in broad daylight, it does very dangerous things to his heart to see Taehyun walk around in his room in his clothes, setting up their lunch that was brought to them. He said to go slow last night, but Beomgyu couldn’t help himself when he creeps forward to wrap his arms around Taehyun from behind and turn him around for a slow kiss. 

It’s so easy to picture them doing the same but in either of their apartments this time, on a weekday morning while Taehyun prepares breakfast. The domesticity of it all hurts his chest, filling his head with even more mental pictures of them together that’s anything but taking it slow. Taehyun looks a little dazed when he pulls away as if he hadn’t expected Beomgyu to kiss him at all. 

“Is—is this your definition of going slow?” 

“You know, I’m starting to regret ever saying that,” Beomgyu whines, dropping his head into Taehyun’s shoulder. He can feel the younger laughing at him. 

“I’m kidding. Come on, let’s eat.” 

The remaining hours are spent cuddling in bed while they watch something on Beomgyu’s tablet until it’s time for them both to part to get ready for the wedding. Very reluctantly, Beomgyu pries himself away from the younger. 

“It’s just a short while away from each other, I’ll see you soon.” Taehyun leans in to give him one last peck on the cheek. “Who knew you would be this clingy.”

“Do you hate it?” 

“No,” there’s a smile on the younger’s lips, “I like it when you’re clingy with me.” 

Beomgyu huffs out an embarrassed laugh. “Okay, okay, off you go.” 

He opens the door to his room. Making sure that there’s no colleague of theirs wandering the corridors, he ushers Taehyun off. “See you later!”

“Bye Beomgyu.” 

The wedding is a lovely affair, of course, with how much money Eunkwang and his fiance had poured into it. Beomgyu meets the other couple at the wedding reception, with Soobin looking well-slept and refreshed while Yeonjun…Beomgyu has known him long enough to know he’s severely hungover underneath all that makeup. They don’t get to talk, of course, besides, it’s hard to have a conversation of that sort with so many people mingling around them. Taehyun arrives just a bit later than he does, eyes immediately zeroing in on him as he makes his way to Beomgyu’s side. 

Beomgyu can’t say he’s not disappointed when Taehyun keeps a respectable distance between them both throughout the entire wedding and the after party which has significantly less alcohol and just good food and music. But he’s thankful for it too, because frankly, Beomgyu’s not quite ready for it too. This is what he means by going slow, and he’s really grateful that Taehyun understands. They’re going to have to set better boundaries once they get back to Korea. 

The plane back to Korea sets off the next day bright and early at eleven in the morning, so by nine, they’re all piled into a van that will send them straight to the airport. They’re all separated into different seats once on the plane, but by some stroke of luck, Beomgyu ends up in the window seat next to Soobin. 

The older slides into the seat with a sigh, and Beomgyu already knows what he’s going to ask. “So, who first? Me or you?” 

“You first,” Soobin says, leaning over so that he can lower his voice into a whisper. “I can’t believe you broke up with Sohee a year ago and didn’t tell me, then hooked up with a colleague of yours and didn’t tell me either. What the hell Beomgyu?” 

“In my defence, I was afraid okay? I didn’t know how to tell you guys I broke up with someone you all assumed I was going to marry. I didn’t want to disappoint you guys.” Beomgyu finally admits how he had been feeling about this and Soobin’s expression softens with something akin to guilt and pity. “And as for Taehyun, it happened. How am I supposed to tell you about him without telling you guys about Sohee?” 

“Well, that’s a fair point.” Soobin mumbles, “I’m sorry we made you feel that way about Sohee. You’ll never disappoint me, and definitely not Kai. You should tell him about it when we’re back in Korea.”

“I will,” Beomgyu promises, feeling a little more assured now. 

“Do your parents know?” 

Beomgyu hums, “About Sohee? Probably not my dad, but I do think my mom has a hunch. And if she’s got a hunch then she probably told him. You know her, she’s got like a sixth sense when it comes to me.” 

“Are you going to tell them?” 

“Yes. But about Taehyun…” Beomgyu sighs, and Soobin gently nudges him.

“Hey, it’s alright if you’re not ready.”

“Yeah, I’m not. We spoke about going slow, but I think we need to set better boundaries once we’re back home.” He thinks about the way they kissed this morning in the room, but went back to behaving like colleagues in public. It leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. 

“That’s good… that’s mature thinking. I’m very proud of you Gyu, you’ve grown.” Soobin reaches over to pat his knee. Feeling uncomfortable with the sudden praise, he switches the topic over to Soobin, “Tell me about you and Yeonjun now. Does Kai know?”

“Of course, he introduced us.” 

Beomgyu shoots him an incredulous look, “How does Kai know Yeonjun?”

Soobin shrugs, “Kai knows a lot of people.” 

“True…” Beomgyu mumbles, “And?”

“And what?” 

“Come on Soob, for him to bring you on this trip as his plus one, it must be serious right?” Soobin flushes, sinking further back into his seat. He sees a hint of insecurity in his best friend’s expression. “I guess…?” 

“Guess what?”

They’re temporarily interrupted by an air stewardess who reminds them to fasten their seatbelts for take-off. When she leaves, Beomgyu turns back to his best friend. “Talk to me Soob.”

“He’s just so…” The older struggles to find the word for it, “perfect, you know? He’s confident, hot and successful, and I’m just… me.” 

“Just because you don’t work a nine-to-five office job like we do does not mean you’re not successful in your own right,” Beomgyu says, and he knows he’s spot on when Soobin’s breath hitches. “You have a bakery that has been running for several years now. Your youtube channel is a major success. You’re opening a third branch soon. How is that not successful, Soobin?”

Beomgyu jabs his finger into Soobin’s arm, “You’re tall, pretty, handsome, funny, a successful businessman and a great baker. If anything, I think Yeonjun is lucky to have found you. Does it really matter if one is not as handsome as the other or isn’t quite as successful? What really matters is how you guys feel for each other and judging from what I observed yesterday, I think he’s genuine about you Soob.” 

Soobin’s eyes are glistening when he looks up at Beomgyu and he panics, shoving napkins at the older’s face. “You better don’t cry on me right now.” 

“Gyu—”

“Absolutely not, Choi Soobin.”

Fall

True to his words, Beomgyu has been taking it slow. He starts first by informing Kai and his parents of their breakup, though he doesn’t bring up Taehyun just yet. They have all the time in the world to figure things out. 

It’s only two months after the wedding and many ‘hangouts’ that Beomgyu realises he doesn’t know anything about Taehyun. 

Beyond the superficial things like his love for cats, his favourite food and colour, he knows absolutely nothing about Taehyun at all, especially about private life, which to Beomgyu, he supposes is essential if they were to start dating. He doesn’t bring up his family much beyond the mention of a sister, he doesn’t know where Taehyun stays nor does he share much about his childhood. Beomgyu’s also not sure if Taehyun’s just being considerate or he’s purposely hiding things from him because he never lets Beomgyu send him home or pick him up. It’s always him meeting Beomgyu directly at the location or an excuse to have Beomgyu drop him off at a nearby station. 

It does make Beomgyu a little uneasy, but they did agree to take it slow, so Beomgyu hopes that Taehyun will eventually trust him enough to get around to disclosing more about himself. He wants to know Taehyun and every single thing about him even to the most minute details. 

On the contrary, he has no qualms about sharing about himself with Taehyun. They’re friends now, with a little something more, but still friends, and he starts off first by inviting Taehyun to his apartment to hopefully meet his feline friend. 

Surprisingly enough, it doesn’t happen all three times he has Taehyun over. It’s quite embarrassing honestly, when he had been so eager and so sure that they would be able to catch the cat this time. They both ended up doing something else, like making pizza together and watching a movie. Still, the cat is something very important to him, and he wanted to introduce it to another very important person in his life. 

“I’m sorry Taehyun, I don’t know why the cat refused to appear again. Normally he would be here at this hour,” Beomgyu apologises for the fifth time that night, lips downturned into a pout as he watches Taehyun lace up his shoes. He lets the younger pull him closer for a hug, and he wraps his arms around Taehyun sadly. 

“I’m sorry—” 

“None of those,” He’s cut off by the gentle press of Taehyun’s lips on his and he pulls back with a gasp, heart thumping loudly in his chest. That definitely broke one of their rules about touching but Beomgyu finds that he doesn’t mind it one bit. 

“You can’t control when the cat appears, Gyu. We’ll just try again next time, okay?” 

Still stuck in a daze, he watches Taehyun sling his messenger back on his shoulder, before turning around to bid him goodbye. 

“Goodnight Gyu,” He waves. 

“Goodbye…”

When the door finally clicks shut Beomgyu immediately crumples to the ground with a muffled squeal, the feeling of Taehyun’s lips on his still fresh on his skin. It was one of the rules established when they returned back to Korea—strictly no touching that goes beyond anything platonic but heavens, he’s not mad at all that Taehyun broke the rule today. Not one bit. 

His heart is thumping wildly in his chest and he’s aware he’s squealing and kicking his feet like a schoolgirl in love, but that—that was so smooth. Shutting him up with a kiss? Beomgyu lets out a loud groan and pounds his fist against the floor. 

His little fangirling moment is interrupted by a small meow, and Beomgyu whips up to see the black cat staring confusedly at him. What the fuck. 

“What the— kitty we were waiting for you the entire day! Come here—” Beomgyu scrambles to his feet, picking the cat up with one hand and tucking it securely under his arms. It’s been barely a few minutes since Taehyun left, he couldn’t have gone far. “Let’s go find him.” 

Ignoring the cat’s meow of protest, he dashes down the corridor to the lift lobby and even takes the lift down to the ground floor, where the security guard gives him a weird look as he dashes out onto the street and surveys the area for Taehyun. There’s no sight of him and he groans frustratedly. “Where did Kang Taehyun go?”

The cat meows, sounding a little irritated, and Beomgyu shifts his grip on the cat in apology and cradles it in his arms. “I’m sorry… I just wanted you to meet Taehyun, he was here earlier. Let’s go back now alright?” 

“It would have been nice if you both could finally meet for once,” Beomgyu sighs, “why are you always not present when he’s here? Normally you would have been here by now. Are you shy? Are you avoiding him?” The cat simply meows. 

“Whatever that means.” Beomgyu kicks off his shoes, closing the front door behind him and setting the cat down on his couch. “Anyway, he kissed me again today, for the first time since the wedding.” 

The cat meows and tilts its head as if to ask him so how was it? and Beomgyu sinks to the ground, pulling his knees up to his chest.

“I liked it, obviously, even though it broke one of our no-touching rules. I don’t know… I hate that we are going slow and sometimes I wish we weren’t but… Taehyun doesn’t share anything with me you know? Sometimes I even feel like he’s hiding things from me. And because of that, I’m glad we are taking things slow. I don’t know if it’s because he doesn’t trust me yet or he has other reasons but it’s just—I don’t know kitty, feelings are hard, dating is hard.” He buries his face into his arms, and he feels the kitty rest a paw on his head with a small meow. 

“Thanks, kitty, I know, I should probably talk to him about this soon, right? I will, once we both have time to sit down and talk. Things are just a little hectic in the office right now and I don’t want to give him even more things to worry about right now, you know?” He leans forward to press his face into the cat’s fur, giving it a little hug. It smells like lemons. 

“Thanks for listening to me once again. And I swear, next time, please, visit me when I have Taehyun over. I want the two of you to meet alright?” 

The cat gives him a little meow. 

Fall

Despite all that talk, Kai and Soobin get to meet the black cat first. 

It wasn’t planned or anything of that sort—Beomgyu had simply forgotten to inform the cat that he will be having guests over until said guests are at his doorstep, ringing his doorbell.

The cat immediately let out a panicked yowl, tail sticking upright as it eyed the front door in fear. Beomgyu quicky scoops it up into his arms, holding the frightened baby close. 

“Shh, it’s alright, hey—it’s just Kai and Soobin, my best friends. They are nice people.” Beomgyu reassures the kitty, walking it over to the front door. He opens it and Kai instantly gasps at the sight of the cat curled up in his arms. 

“Oh my god, it’s a cat!” Kai squeals, offering his fingers for the cat to sniff. Beomgyu watches proudly as the cat gradually relaxes enough for Kai to stroke its head. Soobin, on the other hand, does not look quite as enthusiastic. Instead, he looks at the cat with a weird, unreadable expression on his face. 

“This is your neighbour’s cat?” Soobin asks, nodding at the cat in his arms. 

“Yea.”

“And you’ve never met your neighbour before?” There’s something off about Soobin’s tone that leaves Beomgyu rather confused. 

“...yes?”

“Hmm.” Soobin hums, before he walks over to the cat in his arms. The cat stares up unblinkingly at Soobin, and for a moment there, Beomgyu nearly thinks that the two of them are communicating through their eyes. 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Mr Cat.” He gives the cat’s paw a shake. The cat remains uncharacteristically silent, eyes trained on Soobin’s retreating figure. Beomgyu decides to pay it no mind and deposits the cat in Kai’s lap, following Soobin into the kitchen. 

“What did you guys bring?” He peers into the plastic bags. 

“Chicken and beer. Kai said he was craving chicken today.” Soobin pops the beer cans into Beomgyu’s fridge and takes out those that had already been long refrigerated. Like a mother, Soobin helps himself to the cutlery in his cabinet, nags at him to clear out his coffee table and at Kai to set up the games. 

“These smell so good,” Kai moans, shoving his face into the box to take a good sniff, “I’ve been craving fried chicken for weeks.” 

“Please Kai, that’s gross.” Soobin chides, passing them a glove each. He brings out a plate and sets it on the ground, and places a piece of original boneless chicken on the plate. Beomgyu’s eyes widen in alarm. “You’re feeding that to the cat?”

“Yup,” Soobin replies, popping the p. “Could tell the cat was hungry.”

“But—”

“Don’t worry Gyu, cats can eat human food. Well, not all cats, but this cat definitely can.” Beomgyu can’t help but raise his brows at the cryptic words. 

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Soobin shrugs. “What do you think I mean?” 

Kai moans out loud, interrupting them, “ God, this chicken is so fucking good!” 

The weird exchange is quickly forgotten once the three of them are engrossed in a heated round of Overcooked. It’s nothing but chaos, filled with screams and curses so vile Beomgyu should probably say a prayer after this. Throughout the night, the cat remains curled up on the sofa, watching them struggle with their poor teamwork. By midnight, Beomgyu’s completely exhausted, sprawled across the living room floor and raising a metaphorical white flag. 

“I think—I think I’m done.” Beomgyu gasps, throwing an arm over his eyes. He vaguely hears murmurs of agreement from the other two. 

“What time is it?” Kai fishes out his phone from his pocket, “woah, it’s already midnight.” 

“Already? Shit,” Soobin curses, pushing himself off the ground. “Wait for me Kai I gotta piss, then we’ll go.” 

Beomgyu hears the sound of footsteps leaving then the quiet click of his bathroom door. He removes the hand shielding his eyes and turns around to see Kai watching him. 

“What?”

“So, you and this Taehyun guy, does he make you happy?” He’s never seen Kai this serious before, and it makes him sit upright. 

“He does,” Beomgyu says with conviction, and Kai nods, satisfied with his answer. 

“That’s great because you didn’t seem happy at all with Sohee for the last two years of your relationship. It was very apparent to us outsiders.” 

Beomgyu’s surprised by Kai’s words. Two years? He wasn’t aware at all. 

“Not to say that she was a bad person or anything hyung but, you both weren’t happy. You definitely weren’t I’m honestly really glad you broke up with her and found someone new. Soobin hyung and I are happy Taehyun makes you happy.” 

“I—Thank you, Kai. My relationship with Sohee fell through partially because of my fault as well. But I’ve moved on, and I’m ready to see where this all goes with Taehyun. We’re both taking it slow as of now.” 

Kai nods. “If he ever hurts you just let Soobin hyung and I know alright? We will hunt him down and beat him up for you.” 

Beomgyu breaks out into laughter, “Okay.”

“I’m done pissing!” Soobin declares, announcing his return, and Kai quickly gets up, gathering his belongings. They both help him to clear up the trash and the games then he sees them both to the front door, the black kitten trailing behind him. 

“Bye guys, this was fun. Let’s do it again.” Beomgyu gives them both a warm hug. 

“Definitely.” Kai agrees. 

“We’ll text you once we’re home!” Soobin waves at him. 

“Bye kitty!” Kai waves excitedly at the cat one more time and Beomgyu closes the door behind him. 

Time to take a shower. He turns to the cat, whose eyes widen in realisation and immediately skitters off to hide somewhere in his house. Cute. 

Fall

*

It would be a complete lie to say that Beomgyu’s never been curious about his neighbour. 

How could he not be, when it's been nearly a year since he first met the cat and not once has he seen its owner? Either this owner works graveyard shifts or the owner is a recluse that never leaves their house. Either way, Beomgyu’s very, very curious about his neighbour—especially with the bond he’s built over the months with this kitty, he feels like all the more he should get to know its mysterious owner. Plus, there’s only so long he can continue to call the cat ‘kitty’ when it probably has a name. 

So when his mom drops by his house one Sunday morning with enough strawberries to feed a village, he decides to bring two boxes over for this mysterious neighbour of his. 

Beomgyu feels oddly nervous, rocking back and forth on his heels as he waits for his neighbour to come to get the door after ringing the doorbell. What does he even say when his neighbour opens the door? What if his neighbour is allergic to strawberries? What if his owner finds him a creep? Worse, what if the owner is an asshole or somehow hates him from that short interaction alone and stops the kitty from visiting him?

He hears the click of the lock from behind the door and Beomgyu steels himself, holding the strawberries tighter to his chest.

“Hi! I'm your neighbour—oh my god!” Beomgyu exclaims, strawberries slipping from his grasp. Shocked is a complete understatement for how he feels as he takes a step back, mind reeling from the mixture of confusion, betrayal and horror. 

“B-Beomgyu…” Taehyun trails off, looking equally shocked and very very horrified as well. 

“ Kang Taehyun ?” He all but screeches, taking another step back. 

“Beomgyu—”

“What is the meaning of this?” Beomgyu demands. So Taehyun was his neighbour and owner of the black cat all along? “Why did you lie to me?”

Taehyun’s eyes are wide with panic, his breathing beginning to grow ragged and uneven as he remains frozen by the doorway. “Gyu—”

“There's no way you didn't know I lived right next door. You came over three times. You pretended not to recognise the cat. Why ?” Beomgyu’s voice grows shaky as his eyes begin to water, “Why did you lie to me?” 

“Beomgyu!” Taehyun chokes, grabbing hold of his chest. He doubles over, loud gasping noises escaping him as he struggles for breath. 

“Taehyun?” Beomgyu grabs onto the younger, alarmed, “Taehyun? What's going on?”

The younger opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. Instead, he only lets out pained wheezes, and Beomgyu finds himself growing more anxious. Not wanting to attract unwanted attention from the other neighbours, he steps into Taehyun’s home and closes the door behind him. 

“Hey, baby? Taehyun? Please breathe with me, you need to breathe. I'm sorry, I'm not mad anymore, okay? Please just breathe with me, Taehyun ah,” Beomgyu tries to hold Taehyun close, but the younger pushes him away with a weak hand against his chest. 

“G-go… a-away…” Go away? Beomgyu couldn't help but feel hurt by the statement, but Taehyun doesn't seem to be breathing any better and there’s no way in hell Beomgyu would leave him alone in this state. 

“Taehyun, please breathe—” 

“Go! Away!” Taehyun cries, eyes welling with tears and Beomgyu feels the dejection stab right through his heart like a knife. “Okay, okay, I’ll leave once you calm down alright? Taehyun please, breathe .” 

“I can’t— I can’t, you need to go, please… B-before I— I—” Taehyun’s gasps grow louder and louder. Beomgyu grabs the younger’s hands and gives it a tight squeeze, but in a blink of an eye Taehyun disappears and his clothes fall into a heap onto the ground. Beomgyu lets out a horrified scream, stumbling back and falling painfully on his ass. 

Because curled up in the midst of Taehyun’s clothes where Taehyun was earlier is a very familiar, black cat. 

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” Beomgyu repeats, unable to say anything else. It’s his turn to hyperventilate as he remains frozen in his spot, “oh my god.” 

The cat is trembling like a leaf, curled tightly into a frightened ball. Beomgyu can’t believe his fucking eyes. It all feels like a very bad dream, one that he will wake up to, laugh at, and then text Taehyun about it. But the longer he remains frozen in his spot while the cat remains shaking in front of him, the more this feels very real. His mind is brought back to the conversation he had with Taehyun over Taiwanese beef noodles and he realises with a pained gasp that perhaps Taehyun had been referring to himself. 

It’s all very crazy thoughts—so crazy he hears himself laughing out loud when he thinks about Taehyun being a cat shifter. But if this truly, really, honestly, isn’t a bad dream, then he needs to reassure the poor kitty curled in front of him, right now. 

Inching forward, Beomgyu tries to reach out to the cat, but it immediately uncurls itself with a frightened yowl and dashes to hide underneath the couch. 

“Hey!” Taehyun must be frightened of him, he realises. He scoots closer to the couch but puts a distance between him and the furniture. He holds his hands out on the ground, palms open. 

“It’s just me, baby. I’m so sorry I freaked out on you. You know… when we talked about this several months back, I didn’t think you were actually referring to yourself, so it was a little shocking for me earlier. But I’m not scared nor am I going to run away. Please come out from there alright? I promise I won’t hurt you, baby, just let me hold you. You can remain in your cat form if you want.” Nothing happens for a long while and Beomgyu’s starting to think that maybe he had gone completely bonkers. Maybe he’s hallucinating something while talking to a cat when the kitty—Taehyun—crawls out from underneath the couch. Its ears are flattened against its head while its tail is curled tightly around its body and it remains pressed closely against the couch, looking at him in hesitation and fear. 

“Do you want me to hold you baby? Or will you feel better sitting there?” The cat’s eyes flicker to his open palms, then very very slowly, it uncurls itself and treads carefully over Beomgyu. He remains still so as to not scare the cat off, allowing it to crawl into his lap at its own pace. Slowly, the cat raises itself on its hind legs, asking for a hug, and Beomgyu very gently scoops it up into his embrace. 

“There, there, I’m here baby, I’m here now.” He rocks them side to side, whispering quiet words of reassurance into the kitty’s fur. “I’ve got you.” 

It’s almost an hour later when the cat finally shifts from its spot and climbs out of its arms, heading over to the couch. It drags the blanket over behind the couch and after a few seconds, a very embarrassed Taehyun appears with the same blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He points at his pile of clothes by the doorway. “Uhm… do you mind?” 

“Oh—right.” Beomgyu breaks right out of his staring, scrambling to pick up Taehyun’s clothes for the younger. He must be naked every time he shifts back, Beomgyu realises. Guess that makes some sense. 

“H-hold on.” Taehyun rushes into his bedroom to change, and Beomgyu lets himself slump backwards with a loud sigh. If Taehyun truly was the black cat all along… does that mean he heard every single embarrassing confession he ever made about Taehyun? 

Beomgyu sits upright in horror, the realisation hitting him like a ton of fucking bricks. Thank god he didn’t say much about Taehyun before the wedding but after…oh god, he had been way too loose-lipped hadn’t he? And not to mention the number of times he had stripped in front of the cat thinking that it was just a regular cat—Beomgyu lets out a muffled scream of frustration, tugging harshly on his hair. The cat wasn’t well trained—it’s fucking Taehyun and he made him uncomfortable. 

“I’m sorry I stripped in front of you countless times!” Beomgyu cries the moment Taehyun steps out of the room, hands held up in front of his face in apology. “I swear I thought you were a normal cat!” 

Taehyun freezes in his steps, confused. He frowns, taking another hesitant step forward, “why are you apologising? I hid this secret from you.” 

“Still, I made you uncomfortable, I’m sorry.” Beomgyu’s so embarrassed he could cry. He hangs his head low, feeling steam rising from his ears. If he could bury himself alive he would.

“Can I sit here?” Taehyun says quietly, pointing at his lap. 

“Huh? Oh yeah sure,” Beomgyu agrees, though he didn’t actually expect Taehyun to lower himself sideways into his lap. 

“Shouldn't we do this somewhere more comfortable?” Beomgyu asks. Taehyun shakes his head. 

“This has always been my favourite thing to do as a cat, you know? And I’ve always wondered how it feels like as a human.” Taehyun admits, resting his head against Beomgyu’s collarbone. “And it’s nice, I like it. You’re warm and you smell good.” 

Oh, Beomgyu can feel his face heating up. “Do you feel better now then?” The words we should talk linger unsaid in the air. 

“Yeah, I’m sorry. Whenever things get really overwhelming for me I revert back into my cat form. I lost control of my emotions earlier and gave you quite the surprise.” Taehyun sighs, picking at the loose skin on his fingers. Almost immediately, Beomgyu slips his hand into Taehyun’s, preventing him from hurting himself any further. 

“Don’t do that.” 

“Okay.” 

“So, why did you…” Beomgyu struggles to find his words, “Do all that ?” 

“Approaching you as a cat? Because you’re so beautiful Gyu, I panicked and lost confidence to approach you as myself. The next time I met you again you were crying, so I figured out my presence as a cat would definitely help a lot more than my presence as a human. And turns out you were also my colleague at my new job, which made everything way more complicated. There was no way I could introduce myself as a human then, because how am I supposed to explain the disappearance of my cat every time I’m physically present in the room?” Taehyun pauses in his rambling, taking a huge shuddery breath. Beomgyu realises the younger must have been dying to speak about this after holding it in for so long. 

“I didn’t mean for things to escalate like that. I was genuinely content with remaining as your cat companion but Eunkwang had to pair us up together for that project and we started getting closer at work. Soon, I started living a double life as your colleague and your feline friend and it was so hard keeping them separate I nearly slipped up several times.”

“I remember vividly the day you first compared me to a cat—the genuine fear and panic I felt until I realised you weren’t serious about it. And when I slipped up about that call and had to gaslight you into thinking you told me about it that morning. Honestly? There were so many times I nearly revealed my identity Gyu. All three times I went to your apartment and the cat wasn’t there. When I returned as the cat you carried me down to chase after human me but couldn’t spot me anywhere because I was already there with you, in your arms. I was so surprised but also grateful that you somehow remained oblivious to it all and never caught on to a single thing.”  

”I—” Beomgyu trails off, speechless. 

“I’m sorry I never told you a thing,” Taehyun apologises, “I was afraid you would freak out and be disgusted with me or something. It happened a lot in the past.” Beomgyu’s heart clenches painfully at the thought of Taehyun being abandoned by others. He pulls the younger even closer to his chest, dropping a kiss against his temple. 

“Well I’m still here, aren’t I? I won’t lie and say I’m not shocked or anything but—I don’t find you disgusting at all and I am certainly not going to run away screaming. I’ll be here with you if you would let me.” Beomgyu says, meaning every word. 

“Yes, yes I will,” Taehyun replies almost immediately, letting out a quiet sniffle after. “Thank you, for accepting me for who I am.” 

“Of course.”

“Can I kiss you? I know that’s breaking the rules but I—” Beomgyu cuts him off by pressing their lips together, the same way Taehyun had back then. It's brief, but enough for both of them to be reeling and wanting more. 

“Is it a bad time to ask you to be my boyfriend? I'm so sick and tired of taking things slow. I regret asking for that so much, I swear,” Beomgyu grumbles into Taehyun’s neck, who laughs and smacks his arm playfully. 

“Hell no. At least ask me out properly.” 

“Is this not romantic?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Even as I do this?” Beomgyu says, eyes twinkling in mischief. Without much warning, he stands up, carrying Taehyun in his arms. This pulls a panicked gasp out of the younger who immediately throws his arms around Beomgyu’s neck.

“D-do you want me to fall?” 

“For me? Yes.” Beomgyu replies cheesily. Taehyun rolls his eyes, in response, and turns his head away with a huff. “I don't care. I want to be asked out properly. Or at least let me ask you out properly.” 

Beomgyu spins them around once, delighting himself in Taehyun’s panicked cries, before dipping down to capture Taehyun’s lips in a kiss once more.

“Whatever works for you baby.” 

They are going to be okay.

Winter

“Taehyun? Baby? Where are you?” Beomgyu peeks into his bedroom, which is empty. He checks the bathroom too, also empty. 

“Taehyun? Where are you?” Beomgyu’s met with silence as he searched through every room in his apartment. It's all empty, which means Taehyun's in cat form. 

He looks in every nook and cranny, all of Taehyun’s favourite hiding spots before Beomgyu finally finds the younger hiding on top of his bookshelf. The cat looks almost sulky, staring down at him in disdain. Beomgyu presses his palms together pleadingly. 

“Taehyun, please? Please try this sweater on. Just this once.” 

Taehyun meows in protest and turns his head away. Beomgyu holds the sweater up, putting on his best puppy eyes, “I crocheted this Christmas sweater myself just for you. It took me nearly a month and three tries to complete the sweater Taehyunnie. Please? For me?”

Beomgyu knows the guilt-tripping works when he sees Taehyun turn around to stare guiltily at the sweater before he hops off the shelf and runs off to his bedroom. A while later, he returns to the living room in his half-hybrid form. 

“You should have told me you made it yourself earlier. I thought you got it off the internet as a joke.” Taehyun mumbles, hands outstretched for the sweater. His ears flicker curiously as he rubs the fabric between his fingertips before he tugs his shirt off to put the sweater on.

Anticipation fills Beomgyu’s veins as he watches Taehyun adjust it slowly over his frame, careful to not let the delicate garment catch on anything. When it finally falls into place, Taehyun takes a step back and holds his arms out. He gives Beomgyu a little twirl. “What do you think?”

It's definitely a relief to know that he got Taehyun’s measurements somewhat right, though it is kind of large on him. However, that only makes the younger look ten times cuter with the way the sweater slightly hangs off his shoulder and reaches past his fingertips. Perhaps in his subconscious, he had been trying to create the perfect sweater that will swallow Taehyun whole and make him look tinier than he really is. Paired with the ears and tail though, the effects are absolutely devastating, and Beomgyu holds his hands to his mouth, unable to hold back his coos. Taehyun grows flustered, scratching at his neck awkwardly. “Beomgyu…”

“You're so cute, oh my god,” Beomgyu exclaims, gasping in delight. “How do you like it?” 

“It's okay… I suppose if we disregard the design. You did a great job.” Taehyun is stingy with his compliments, but Beomgyu can see right through his act. With the way Taehyun smooths his hands down the sweater and wraps his arms around himself, Beomgyu knows the younger loves it. He holds the collar up to his nose, a slight blush on his face when he says, “It smells like you.” 

“Ah well, I did spray a bit of my perfume. Do you like it?” Beomgyu admits with a grin. 

The younger nods, “Yes… It's soft and warm.” 

What a relief. “I'm glad you like my gift then.” 

At the mention of a gift, Taehyun perks up as if a lightbulb had gone off above his head. “Wait here,” is all the younger says before rushing out of his apartment, still clad in Beomgyu’s sweater. Beomgyu hears the slamming of Taehyun’s front door before the younger is back in his apartment, this time carrying a large, heavy box that has Beomgyu’s jaw-dropping.

“Taehyun… this—” He watches in stunned silence as Taehyun sets it gently on his coffee table. The younger steps back and gestures at it. 

“Open it hyung. I hope you like it.” 

This shape—Beomgyu already had a hunch the moment he saw Taehyun entering with it. His hands wouldn’t stop trembling as he pries the tape off the sides. 

“Taehyun ah—”

“Just open it hyung.” Beomgyu swallows and nods, proceeding to rip off the wrapping paper. 

True enough, it's an LP player—not just any LP player but the specific one he had been eyeing for months, but never got for himself because he just couldn’t justify the purchase. He had only mentioned it once in passing to Taehyun, how did he remember?

“Do you like it?” Taehyun’s got a small smile on his face when Beomgyu surges up to pull Taehyun into a bone-crushing hug. He can feel himself getting emotional, eyes and nose beginning to sour. “O-of course I do! How—how did you even remember? I only mentioned it once.”

“I remember everything you say, Gyu,” Taehyun states simply as if it's a given, and Beomgyu genuinely wants to cry. He lets out a shaky exhale and presses their foreheads together. 

“Marry me, Taehyun-ah,” Beomgyu says breathlessly and Taehyun laughs as if it's a joke, but Beomgyu’s surprised to find that he's not quite joking about this.

“We aren't even boyfriends yet Beomgyu.” 

“Then be my boyfriend,” Beomgyu replies almost immediately, hearing the quiet hitch in Taehyun’s breath. 

“Gyu…”

“I mean it this time. I’ve thought long and hard about it and I think I'm ready to take the next step with you now. I know my feelings for you are genuine and I truly like you for you, so please, let me be your boyfriend.” 

“Do you mean it? No more taking it slow? Are—are you serious about this?” 

“Very.” Beomgyu’s voice is laced with desperation. “I’ve always been serious about you.” 

Who leans in first, Beomgyu has no idea. All he knows is that Taehyun is in his arms, they are kissing and the pure rush of happiness and relief has him tearing up slightly. He can't hide his smile as Taehyun angles their heads to better slot their lips together, too giddy to properly focus on the kiss. The younger doesn't seem to mind at all, pulling away to press a kiss to his cheek instead. 

“My boyfriend,” he presses another kiss to the corner of Beomgyu's lips, “You're my boyfriend now.”

“Yours,” Beomgyu says and leans in to capture Taehyun's lips in a proper kiss this time. “I'm all yours.”

Taehyun lets out a breathy giggle when they fall back onto the couch with Beomgyu underneath him, hands coming up to cup Beomgyu’s cheek. His tail waves gently from side to side as their lips continue to move against each other’s, slow, tender and unhurried. It’s perhaps Beomgyu’s favourite kiss they’ve shared so far, with a lap full of warm, happy, kitty Taehyun. His heart threatens to burst out of his chest when they pull apart for air and Taehyun collapses on him with a loud purr. 

“Hey look, it’s snowing outside,” Taehyun mumbles into his chest after a moment of comfortable silence. 

“Is it?” Beomgyu cranes his neck to look out of the window. 

“Should we head out for a bit? To enjoy the snow?” Taehyun’s eyes widened in excitement as he lifts himself off Beomgyu’s chest, ears facing forward but tilted back slightly. 

“Should we?” Beomgyu asks lazily. As much as he enjoys the Christmas lights and soaking in the festive mood, cuddling with his newly turned boyfriend sounds just as enticing as well. 

“There’s a Christmas market,” Taehyun says and Beomgyu’s interest is immediately piqued. 

“Where?” 

“Myeongdong.” 

That’s…not too far by the subway. Beomgyu quickly pushes himself up from the couch. “Let’s go.”  

Taehyun grins in excitement. “That’s right, let’s go.”