Hiding in the bushes around town wasn’t exactly Taemin’s idea of a good time, but he was hiding there for a reason. He needed evidence, solid proof that he had lost his almost boyfriend to a girl.

Watching them walking together in town really ripped his heart in two, but he couldn’t just leave now. They were holding hands and smiling at each other, they both looked a little awkward, but happy none the less. Before he knew it, he couldn’t really see them anymore. He blamed it on the wind blowing the leaves around him too much, but really it was his eyes watering up with the realisation that he was officially dumped.

He meant to stop it there, he really did, but something kept pulling him towards Kai and his new girlfriend. He had already stalked her until the early hours of morning. She seemed nice, and incredibly pretty, it was no wonder why Kai was really happy to be with her. But there was something about her eyes when they smiled, just in the pictures she had on her social media. That smile reminded him all too much of a certain someone who seemed to slip right through his fingers.

It had been a week now, for both the new couple and Taemin’s new hobby of stalking the couple. He just couldn’t stop; it was like an addiction. Obviously, like any addiction, it was a super unhealthy one, but he was addicted none the less.

It was on this special one-week mark that he decided to try and get a little closer to the couple in his stalking, he really wanted to know what they were talking about. So as he crept through the shrubbery around the town, keeping a special eye on the couple, he got closer. He wasn’t looking where he was going, and almost tripped over a smaller man who was also huddled up in the bushes.

Taemin began to apologise when the man frantically picked up his belongings that were now strewn across the dirt floor. When the smaller looked up to glare at this stranger, both their eyes locked and they had a fleeting moment of panic as they recognised each other’s faces.

“Kyungsoo…”

“Taemin…”

“What are you doing?”

“Uh, bird watching. What do you think?”

“Soo, you don’t generally bird watch in the bushes in the town shopping centre.”

“Shut up! What are you doing here?”

“Nothing!”

“Creeping around in the bushes isn’t nothing Tae…”

“Well why are you here?”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“… I was stalking Kai.”

“Really!? You can’t do that Soo.”

“Shut up, that’s probably what you were doing.”

“…”

“Don’t deny it.”

“How did you know?”

“Ha! Got you!”

“Stop talking before I push you out of the bush.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.”

“I’ll fight you!”

“Bring it o- wait!”

“What?”

“Look, over there!”

“Oh my god…”

The two watched as Kai gave Krystal his flannelette, watching as both their smiles grew wider. The two in the bushes huddled closer, both their shoulders touching as they tried to look at the view. At the time they didn’t really care, but they found themselves frozen like that, even after Kai and Krystal had walked out of view. Taeming was trying not to cry, he was just so bitter about it all, but he didn’t want to cry in front of Kyungsoo. He still had an image for himself, even if it was just between himself and another hyung. He turned to look at the smaller, seeing that he had already turned his head and was trying to discretely wipe his eyes.

“Kyungsoo, are you crying?” The smaller broke away immediately, and Taemin found his shoulder missing the warmth of Kyungsoo’s. He watched as Kyungsoo carefully packed away his belongings in his bag, Taemin just staring dumbfounded at the boy whose heartbreak was clearly visible. He reached out and put his hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder, stopping him from closing his bag. “Soo, did Kai mean something to you?”

Although his back was to him, and he couldn’t see his face, Taemin saw his head dip down and nod softly as a small sniffle escaped. Without thinking, he pulled Kyungsoo into a tight hug, gently rubbing circles into his back. “Kai was special to me too, Soo.” He felt his shirt begin to dampen as the older silently cried into his chest. They shared a moment like that, and after Kyungsoo had calmed down, they broke apart, both silently wishing to return to that embrace.

Kyungsoo offered to take Taemin out for some noodles, and Taemin happily agreed. The two walked into a small restaurant that Kyungsoo had chosen, and they sat opposite each other as they waited for their orders.

The two talked for a while. It started with Kai, both of them sharing funny stories of their time spent together with him. They continued to talk about him even after they finished their meals, both enjoying the stories each other told. After they had run out of things to share, they both sighed and sat in a sad silence as they continued to run the memories in their heads. They both wordlessly got up and left the restaurant after paying, and found themselves walking in each other’s company. The pregnant silence between the two left them both anxious to start up a conversation again, but neither of them did.

Their feet led them to the building Taemin lived in, and they stopped before the younger headed in for the night. Hesitant, Taemin wanted to thank his hyung for spending that time with him, but he didn’t know how to say it. He let out a sigh and scratched the back of his head before finally opening his mouth. “Hey Soo?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for tonight, like spending time with me and stuff.”

“You’re welcome Taemin.”

“I guess I’ll see you around?”

“Sure.”

They exchanged goodbyes as they went home for the night, and Taemin just couldn’t understand why he felt a little happier that evening.

Over the next few weeks, the two found themselves together spying on the couple. They didn’t talk much, opting to sit quietly together as they watched Kai interact with Krystal. If they stayed out late, Kyungsoo would take him out to eat noodles, and the two would walk home as they talked about the date they watched. It became a kind of habit, the two gathering to stalk the couple and go out to eat afterwards. Eventually Taemin decided to bring snacks along to their ‘dates.’ He unconsciously took note of what snacks Kyungsoo enjoyed and which ones he didn’t, along with casually getting closer to the smaller when they spied. He never noticed the slight embarrassment on Kyungsoo’s cheeks when he’d link arms with him to help him balance as they squatted in the bushes.

At first, he dreaded coming out to stalk Kai and Krystal, feeling as if he was punishing himself for letting Kai get away. But now that he had found Kyungsoo, he began to look forward to them, feeling rather excited as he went out to buy snacks beforehand. Slowly, they began to grow closer, the topics during their meals changed from Kai to them. They gradually began to learn more about each other, and they enjoyed secretly memorising each other’s little stories.

Something was blossoming between the two, and even if they didn’t get past a bromance, they began to hang out together more, eventually shortening their time stalking until they skipped it all together. It was fun, and eventually they ended up hanging out at each other’s places instead of in a bush.

It had been a few months since their bromance blossomed, and Taemin woke up in Kyungsoo’s bed alone. The two had stayed up late to watch sports anime together, and seemed to have fallen asleep together. Alone, he looked out the window, seeing that the day had already started. He could hear someone in the kitchen cooking, he assumed that Kyungsoo was already awake and waiting for him to come out. He laid back down on the bed and stretched out, his eyes catching something interesting on his bedside table. He reached out for it, and saw that it was a little book. He opened it and chucked softly as he saw different logs of the dates Kai had gone on with Krystal, looking at how the pages that were scribbled with information about Kaistal soon turned into what had happened between Kyungsoo and himself as they stalked the couple. Eventually it was filled with logs about what they did together, and Taemin couldn’t help the pink on his cheeks as he read every little detail that Kyungsoo had written down. It was rather cute, and his blush got even brighter as he read the entry he had written this morning.

Taemin came over for the afternoon, we watched sports anime. It was a little cold, so we were cuddled up together in our blankets. I’ve woken up before him now, and he’s extra cute when he’s sleeping. I’m going to go make breakfast so that he doesn’t have to wait, I can’t wait to talk with him again.

Taemin quickly closed the book and put it back on the bedside table, and tried to calm down the redness erupting on his cheeks. Once he walked out, he greeted Kyungsoo with a smile as he helped move the finished breakfast onto the table. They sat next to each other as they talked about their dreams from the previous night, and just enjoyed a general light hearted conversation.

What they didn’t know, was that Yixing was watching sadly from the living room. He had begun to stalk Krystal when she went on dates with Kai, but he had seen the bromance since the beginning. He stared out the window sadly, wondering what to do with himself. Once Suho had woken up, he brought over a coffee for Yixing as he patted his back, muttering some sort of comforts, knowing that the boy wasn’t really listening. Maybe once Yixing felt a bit better, he could spend some time with him to take his mind off of things, but Suho had decided for now to just comfort Yixing until he was over everything.

It was a cruel world, especially to Yixing.