Taekwoon didn’t move from his spot. He just had one hand over his left cheek and the other in a tight fist.  In front of him, Jaehwan cradles his trembling hand that hit him, regret written all over his face if only Taekwoon tried to look back at him.

Clearly, whatever happened to them has something to do with Taekwoon being the guilty one. He never looked like the guy you can just smack on the face just out of spite without receiving anything in return. But then here he was, accepting a blow without any retaliation in front of someone whom no one would expect to raise a hand on anybody.

Did he deserve it?

Even if Taekwoon perpetually scares the hell out of me, I never really felt so bad around Taekwoon enough to make me want to hurt him or imagine him getting hurt. Years of being ‘somehow’ friends with him, I had found out there’s something more to Taekwoon than what meets the eye. He may appear to be that cold and hostile guy from the outside, but inside he’s also the type of guy who volunteer works for orphanages and animal shelters during summer with his team.

Taekwoon, never really looked sad too. His expression was either unreadable or intense, but never sad like right now, in front of Jaehwan, where he visibly crumbles under the weight of the other’s dagger like stare.

The switch of persona, between those two, made me understood that look on Hongbin’s face whenever he watched those two; that clear hurt and disappointment reflecting in his eyes when he think no one was watching.

Hongbin invested almost all of his time for their performance today, probably thinking it will patch things up between the two just to end up watching them fall even further apart right before his eyes instead. I felt my own heart ache from imagining how torn Hongbin must be right now.  

The falling snow is increasing and Jaehwan was the first to move, putting his trembling hands inside his pockets. Sighing, he turns his back on Taekwoon without a word and prepares to leave.  

I took that as a cue to leave as well, until Taekwoon hyung spoke again.

 “Are you happy now, Jaehwan-ah?”

Jaehwan instantly stops.

“If this made you happy, you can do it over and over again. I don’t care.”

“What are you saying?”

“Slap me again.” Taekwoon dares him, taking a step forward. Jaehwan instantly turns around from the sound of the other’s footstep.

 “You can punch and kick me as well, I don’t mind—“

“What the are you doing?” Jaehwan steps back automatically to make a distance between them. “You, stop right there!”

Taekwoon doesn’t listen him, only quicken his steps so he can grab Jaehwan’s wrist and stop him from getting away again.

Jaehwan quickly retaliates by pulling his body away from Taekwoon. When Jaehwan notices Taekwoon’s unwillingness to let him go, his free hand lands on Taekwoon’s face again, this time in a fist as he tackled Taekwoon to the ground and starts hitting him.

My feet swiftly started to move on his own to stop the two, if it weren’t for Ravi who appeared behind me and held me in place. Ravi gave me a look that tells me not to intervene.

 “They’re heading here, for now just let those two be. Taekwoon can catch a few more of those punches, so don’t worry.”

I just reluctantly nodded, trusting his words. I was never calm though, jumping almost every time Jaehwan’s fist reaches Taekwoon’s face.

“I told you to let me go! So why won’t you listen to me!?” Jaehwan yells at him, crying. “You didn’t’ have any problem of doing that in the past anyway, so why are you pretending that you care now! Why are acting like you care for me now!?”

“Jaehwan-ah…” Taekwoon croaks weakly, his face on the side, receiving all Jaehwan’s punches. His other hand still held Jaehwan’s wrist while the other just rested on the other’s hip instead of blocking the abuse. “I’m sorry…”

“What will that apology do!? What good will it give me now, Jung Taekwoon!?” Jaehwan pulls at his collar, popping the top button in the process. “Tell me, you ?! Are you just gonna be silent again!?”

“I’m sorry…”

“Stop apologizing damn it! I don’t want it!” Jaehwan pulls hard on the collar so Taekwoon would face him.

“What do you want then, Jaehwan-ah?” Taekwoon mumbles, his lips bleeding from the cut.

Jaehwan despite being the one throwing punches, looks more hurt and broken than Taekwoon was underneath him.

“I ing need to know why you decided to give up… on us… and why the hell didn’t you just tell me that he was behind it all along!“

“Because I was the one holding you back not him… I was caging you and you didn’t even know it. Your brother made me realize that.”

“He doesn’t even know about me—“

“He’s the one who told me about that scholarship in London. You were never going to tell me about that, right?”

“I… What are you talking about?” Jaehwan denies poorly.

“He told me how you’ve always been preparing for that opportunity, so that you can finally prove your worth to the rest of the Lees.”

“That’s not true! I-I don’t need their recognition, I—“

“Right now you don’t, but back then you terribly did. It was always in your eyes, I just didn’t say anything about it because I wanted you to need me instead, just like how I needed you while I was injured.” Taekwoon reaches out to wipe away the tears falling down on Jaehwan’s flushed cheeks. “Thinking that I lost soccer when I got injured, I thought you’re the only thing I have left. I wanted you all for myself, Jaehwan. And without me knowing, I used music to tie you down with me.”

“That’s not true…I wanted to sing...”

“I know you do, but you loved to draw as well and somehow I made you forget all about that. These hands—“ Taekwoon secures both of Jaehwan’s hands gently, this time without the former’s retaliation. “—as much as it can hold a microphone, it looks so much better while holding a pen and drawing incredible things that not even the most beautiful song in the world can express.”

“So you think pushing me away was the right thing to do?” Jaehwan sobs, tightening his hold on Taekwoon’s collar.

Taekwoon cups Jaehwan’s flushed cheeks in between his cold hands, the latter’s tears are warm against Taekwoon’s skin. “It was the only thing I can do for you back then, so that you can chase your dreams again. I had to let you go.”

Jaehwan doesn’t saying anything after that, just cried loudly like a child against Taekwoon’s chest when the latter embraced him. Taekwoon silently cries with him, mouthing apologies again.

Hakyeon and Hongbin appears around that time, making a beeline towards the duo that had me and Ravi following suit instantly. We surrounded the duo, with Taekwoon slowly sitting up with Jaehwan still clinging onto him.

 “Onew seongsaengnim, is at the clinic waiting for us. Jaehwan’s gonna get hypothermia if we don’t get him inside.” Hongbin's the first to break the silence, checking on his cousin’s temperature.

Taekwoon, gave him an alarmed look. “Hongbin, I—“

“Save it hyung, you’re gonna need stitches on those lips—Sanghyuk, help me put Jaehwan on my back.”

 “Oh, okay.” I mumbled, as I carefully placed Jaehwan on his back. Jaehwan quickly clings onto his cousin, and hiding his face on the latter's back.

“Thanks, let’s go.”

Hongbin and I walk side to side, while the rest stayed behind, the couple teasing Taekwoon quite well.

“Looks like someone got beat up pretty good.” Hakyeon mumbles with a lively chuckle.

“I didn’t know Jaehwan had it in him.” Ravi followed suit, grinning.

“S-shut up.” Taekwoon mumbles, wincing at his words but his eyes crinkles in some sort of an eye smile.

Jaehwan seems to smile at that too, while Hongbin looks like he’s brooding over something. I was about to ask what was wrong when, he slowly breaks into a smile then quickly hiding it when he finds me looking.

“What are you looking at?” he raised an eyebrow at me, not sounding unamused at all. Too bad he’s not as good as Taekwoon in hiding emotions. He was happy, definitely.

I couldn’t help but smile at that, and the words the other isn't pleased to hear spill right out of my mouth before I can do anything about it.

“At something beautiful…”  

Hongbin looks instantly stunned by it, but his face didn’t show any sort of disgust like the last time. He just looked obviously embarrassed, with his cheeks almost as flushed as Jaehwan’s from the biting cold and started running away. He was adorable.

 “Yah, be careful!” Hakyeon scolds. “Hyukkie!”

“I’ll get them!” I only replied, following the two while laughing.

The dynamic between everyone in our group, had gotten better that night. Although Taekwoon looked bad the next day, Jaehwan’s still sick and Hongbin’s sort of avoiding me, the mood had definitely lightened up for the better.

Somehow that cold night brought us warmth too…and probably something more.

A/n: This fanfic has always been in HYUK's POV (just in case people forgets).